Medical Shenanigans Part 2, or: What I Learned.

I did learn a great deal during my week-and-a-bit in the clinic. One thing that's rather easy to learn if you're lucky like me, and go through your procedure and recovery with very little trouble, is - humility. There's a lot of luck involved in the diagnosis and treatment of any disease, and when you hang out in a clinic, you will usually see quite a lot of people that have it much worse. 

I also gained a much deeper appreciation, and a lot more respect, for the people working in the care industry. Everyone on my ward was always calm and friendly, even if there was a lot to do. They were going back and forth all the time, and put in some extra time before their shift and some extra time afterwards to make sure the hand-over was complete, and their colleagues were informed about everything. Whenever there was an issue, they'd be there, happy to help. Any questions were answered if possible, or if it was a question for a doctor, that was stated clearly and then the doctor would be asked about it. Once I was woken up for the night-shift checks, and the lady apologised for having to wake me - even though it was her job to do so, and I knew when I went to bed rather early that this would happen. 

Working a care job is a very hard job, but seeing the people on this team, you'd never suspect it. They were, one and all, really wonderful and I can't praise them enough.

Another thing I have learned? How to administer an anti-thrombosis injection to myself. Because of side issues of Cushing's Disease like a less effective immune system and a higher risk of thrombosis, I got extra antibiotics plus extra anti-thrombosis injections for a full 5 days, 3 times a day. That was a lot of injections... and I was offered, straight from the start, that I could do them myself if I wanted to. After a few of them, and after one of the ladies managed to accidentally hit a spot where it actually hurt, I did decide to try it. The trick is to pinch a fold of muscle in your thigh (or belly, but I went for the thigh), insert the needle, then let go of the pinch and slowly press in the injection. It did not hurt at all that way. (It got a little uncomfortable and stung afterwards, as the liquid moved through the tissues, but that can't be changed. You also inevitably get a "blauer Fleck" around the point, proof that the anticoagulation stuff is working!) 

When you get surgery like mine, you also get to do fun things for a while. Such as dragging an infusion stand around with you; I quickly dubbed him Hans-Georg. Though, admittedly, we had a lot of fun together, the nurse's declaration that he would be my new best friend was not completely correct. I was quite glad to officially break up with him on Tuesday night! 

I also learned that I tend to drink a lot if there's tea available right outside my door, and I have nothing to do all day. Except, well, hang around and sip tea, especially as that also seemed to help my nose to get less congested. And sniffing the tea was a nice way to try and wake up the sense of smell.

Finally, I got told (before surgery) to ask for pain medication afterwards as soon as I'd realise the pain was coming back, or increasing. Both the surgeon and my roommate at that point made it very clear that trying to just endure the pain would be a very bad idea. The explanation? Traumatic pain like you have after a surgery is harder to dampen down the higher it was able to rise, and there's a kind of memory mechanism that will kick in over a certain threshold. You do not want to have pain memory. So, basically, waiting too long before asking for more pain meds after a surgery will mean that they take longer to take effect, and that you will need more and possibly stronger ones to work. Since I was not planning on having more pain than absolutely necessary, I asked for some more drugs straight away when I noticed the pain coming in - and that did work wonderfully.

Fun side story: When I first came to again after surgery in the wake-up ward, I had some pain in my nose (which was to be expected) and in my left ankle (which was utterly unexpected). The pain meds made the nose pain go away, but the ankle persisted in being really painful. I told the nurses about it, and there was nothing visible, no swelling... and then they removed the foot part of the surgical hose, and a minute later, the pain was gone. There must have been a tiny fold pressing on a weird spot!