Songs in the Tune of Ouch

It's official: the healing from this surgery is taking longer than did the original surgery in September. After that procedure, I was back in action three days later. Three days after this one, I'm still tongue-deep in painkillers.

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I am frustrated that the pain this time is following a schedule all its own. Instead of moving slowly from worse to better, it jumps around the scale. Sometimes I need only one painkiller every five hours; sometimes I'm desperate for two painkillers only two hours into my current dose. At times I feel well enough to rant here on the blog, at others -- like last night at midnight -- I'm pacing the apartment clutching my face and longing for the Tylenol-3 to kick in. That episode reached a six on the pain scale.

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Rest definitely helps. Yesterday, I joined my mom and Jeanette in the outside world for a quick errand. It was no more than 25 minutes, and I was in the car most of the time, and yet by the time we returned home, I felt horrible. I won't make the mistake of venturing out again anytime soon.

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Eating also helps, although it is a double-edged sword: I feel stronger on a full stomach, but the act of swallowing even liquefied food is painful and the ache lingers for some time after the meal. Thankfully, there are plenty of tasty soft foods on hand thanks to Jeanette, to our friends Ali and Andy who dropped off some meals, and to the folks from Annick who sent a generous gift basket yesterday. Thank you! Nothing motivates eating like tasty food (and hunger, I suppose).

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I must sign off now. The sofa beckons and it's time to continue my DVD musical marathon. Surprisingly effective comfort viewing -- as long as I don't try to sing along.