It has been a full month since my surgery. Many MMA surgery bloggers report that the time flies by. Unfortunately I cannot say that. This past week has been pretty tough. It has been a week since my last blog entry. You will see why in a minute.
The Good
My recovery from surgery has been going well but I believe it has likely been hampered to some degree by my illnesses. I have very little pain and numbness due to the surgery. I am able to sleep on my back without any breathing problems. My sleep is gradually improving.
My arch bars come off in three days….Haaarahhhh. We are both flying over to San Jose on Monday for just the day. It is just a 10 minute procedure done in Dr. Li’s office. Mary is taking very good care of me.
The Bad
Tuesday and Wednesday nights were the worst nights I have had since surgery. For that matter, I think they were the worst nights I have ever experienced, including CPAP usage and non-usage. The longest period of sleep I obtained was no more than 10-15 minutes and you are not going to get even close to deep restorative sleep in that short span of time. I was coughing every 2-3 minutes all night long.
The Ugly
I apparently caught the flu or a severe cold this past Sunday or Monday. I had a fever up to 101 and have been constantly chilled 24/7. My sinuses are clogged and I have the worst cough I have ever had in my entire life. My stomach feels bloated and very upset and this has not gone away even for just an hour or two.
I initially started with an antibiotic thinking this was a sinus infection. After two days, I got worse. Dr. Li informed me that I very likely did not have a sinus infection since I had a fever and was coughing. I immediately went to my primary care doctor. Can you believe I called my doctor’s office at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday and I was in his office at 9:30 a.m.? He believes I have some sort of a bronchial infection. He ordered chest x-rays just to be sure pneumonia was not setting in.
He placed me on a new antibiotic (it is a smaller pill and easier to take); gave me two shots in the cheeks (not the ones that Dr. Li worked on). One was a strong antibiotic and the other was an anti-inflammatory injection. Another record……These two shots hurt the worst than I have ever experienced. And remember, I had a ton of shots when I was in the Marines and throughout my life. I was willing to take whatever they had to make me feel better. It has been a day and a half and my cheeks still hurt.
However, the most significant thing I was given, which I believe will lead to my recovery is an oral prescription medicine called “Promethazine with Codeine”. This is a cough suppressant which also causes drowsiness. I do not mind that side effect at all. It actual helped me sleep last night. I am doing better today. I really needed that sleep last night. But I still feel pretty lousy. I have not been able to eat much. My stomach feels bloated and upset all the time. Hopefully in one or two more days, I will feel better. Every time I need to take a pill Mary removes my front bands, I take the pill and then she puts the bands back on.
I feel like my body is an open petri dish. With my immune system in shambles and my body recovering from the surgery it seems like I catch whatever ailment is near me. Well, give me a couple more days and I should be doing better. Just having the arch bars removed will be a giant step forward.
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