I’ve been injecting my tummy with Lovenox twice a day for the last 30 days as prescribed by the vein specialist. I’ve never done injections before but didn’t think it would be all that hard. After all, I’d already been through two months of once-daily Lovenox shots when in rehab last year, and while I didn’t like it, it wasn’t hard.
No one told me to expect to get hard lumps at injection sites. Bruising, yes, because I’m injecting blood thinners and the bruises are blood bruises. But not the lumps. And now my tummy is full of small hard spots and two really swollen ones on each side that are at least 4-5 inches long and 3 inches wide, hard as a rock and very sore around the margins. I feel as though an alien is poking out through the stomache.
Tomorrow I go back to the vein guy for another leg ultrasound to see if the clot is actually dissolving, which is of course the goal. I know it’s not gone because my leg is still swollen, though it might be a bit better. But we are definitely going to have a chat about Lovenox and what other options I have. Because there has to be one and I do NOT want to keep stabbing myself with needles.
Today is my birthday and I had carrot cake for breakfast because, why not? My brother and sister-in-law brought it with them yesterday to celebrate my day a bit early, and there are carrots in it, so it’s healthy. It certainly is tasty. Cecelia gave me the best b’day present ever: a massaging foot bath followed by nail trim and foot massage. Honestly, my feet have been so unhappy (it’s been 3 months since the podiatrist was here and I really can’t cut my own nails because of the neuropathy) that it was the perfect gift. Plus I’m touch deprived and dearly miss regular pedicures and massages. At least I can touch and cuddle the cats, even though they’re not all excited about being cuddled.
For my birthday, I’m buying myself a loveseat for the living room. This was the original plan last year when I moved in but it never happened. Now it’s time. I’ve had a great time looking at furniture online and trying to find something that’s not too big, not too boring, and made of lighter colored fabric that the cats won’t want to immediately claw. They leave soft chenille fabrics alone so that’s what I looked for. I also bought a coffee table from Pottery Barn in wood and metal that will match my shelving unit. Both loveseat and table will give the girls more places to nap and change up the look of the space while still giving me ample room to wheel or walk around. I needed more space for that when I first moved here but I know what I’m doing now. It makes a difference.
My belly is sore from my twice-daily Lovenox shots, and I have lots of purple splotches. I do morning shots on the left and evening on the right to make sure I’m spacing them out properly. The first few days I had waves of nausea that I finally realized were from the shots, and on one walk in the hallway found myself in a cold sweat bad enough that I turned around because I was so shakey. That might have been low blood sugar which usually isn’t a problem. I’m hoping these shots are actually starting to work on the blood clot.
I see the cardiologist on Tuesday for my regular annual exam and will see what he has to say about the clot. But first I need to call the vascular people to have a report of my visit sent to the heart doc so he has all appropriate information. We shouldn’t have to do all of this checking and tracking but I don’t expect the offices to do it on their own anymore. My work experience in dealing with vendor customer service for a zillion different reasons helps enormously but I wish I didn’t need it.
Random Thoughts of a Disordered Mind 