So I've been hooked up to this pump for the last 11 weeks that slowly pushes Zofran (an anti-nausea medication) into my leg. It does some wonderful things like make me not so barfy, makes it easier for me to eat and drink, and also to keep those food and liquids inside my body rather then having them just use my mouth as a revolving door. It also does some things I'm not so crazy about. For example, in order for the medicine to go into my leg, everyday I stab myself with what looks like the biggest thumb tack you could imagine (and then add 2 inches to that) and it's attached to a small tube that stays a few inches under the skin and the meds run into my leg and pool underneath the fat and muscle tissues there. It leaves a very large, red, swollen area (a little bigger then a computer mouse, but a little smaller then a bagel) that hurts a LOT. So much so, that you're willing to stab yourself in the other leg just to give the first one a break. As with any other owwie, they don't heal instantly, it takes about a week for them to be completely gone, so what you really end up with are 2 legs covered with varying degrees of healing welts with knots, bruises with knots, and knots. Eventually you run out of real estate. So yesterday afternoon I was trying to move that thing to a new spot, but the needle just WOULDN'T go in. I tried 8 times with 2 different needles all to no avail. I had noticed that it had been getting progressively more difficult to get that thing down into my leg for a while now, but I could always get it eventually.(according to my nurse husband, it's most likely due to the increased amount of scar tissue I have under the skin from having done this 78 different times.) So, I just turned the pump off and set it on the counter. I'm free. Probably. With the pump, I also get a home health nurse who calls every other day to make sure I'm gaining weight and don't have too many keytones (which if you don't know what that is let's just say it measures if your body is digesting your muscles for fuel). So I've discussed with my nurse what the process is for getting me off the pump and she definately didn't say 'just rip it off when you can't take it anymore'. It was more like turning the pump down by degrees till I'm off it completely. Although my nurse, Louise, is the best and she did say that a lot of girls do just turn it off one day and there's technically nothing wrong with that. So I'm free. For right now. I've been off it now almost 24 hours and I feel pretty ok. More nauseous and tired, but I haven't thrown up, and I've been eating and drinking. So far, so good. :) I'm happy. I don't have to sling on my 'medicine purse' (as my girls call it) everytime I stand up. And by the way, that picture at the top is the pump itself and some model with the 'site' in her abdomen. (you can put it there too, and I did a few times, but it hurts a lot more there on me for some reason.)
6 years ago
