Ok, so this hurts. By this, I mean the fact that I can’t bear touching (or anyone else touching) my upper right arm, the fact that when I laid on a hospital couch with my corset off yesterday, I felt a terrible pulling and the fact that, try as I might to push through the pain, I just can’t sleep on my side (good or bad). I know it’s temporary, but I wish it would hurry up and subside!
This pain is my own fault, so no need to dust off the sympathy violin just yet (the ‘woe is me’ will be over presently). I’ve been keen to cut down my pill intake so that, when fertility starts, I won’t feel like a walking chemist. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was recovering really well. I think I might have been a little bit too ambitious (oops).
For those of you who’ve had major surgery, you’ll know that the treatment of pain is unlike that of treating a graze or a thumping headache. The aim of the game is to eliminate pain from the start, and then ensure it stays away – rather than only taking pills when the pain strikes. For my hip, for example, I was assigned my very own pain team, who were tasked with making sure I didn’t feel pain – let alone think about it. I did pretty well, until the nerve pain descended, making it feel like my leg was being split in two.
This time, when the anaesthetist’s parting words in the recovery room were: ‘I’ve been generous with the pain medication,’ I knew I was in good hands once more! My PCA was packed with Fentanyl to tackle breakthrough pain, and the liquid morphine (Oramorph) was a welcome friend after a walk to the shower room.
Of course, controlled medications don’t usually make the outpatient pill package (I had to confirm my name, date of birth and hospital number just to get a shot of morphine). But the combination of dihydrocodeine, omeprazole, ibuprofen and paracetamol – along of with my meta progesterone pills for fertility – has kept me in a comfortable and happy place since leaving the ward – as long as I take them that is!
One quick aside: as a cancer sufferer, you do qualify for a prescription exemption certificate, which gives you free prescriptions. Ask your breast care nurse for a form, post it off and a nice credit-card sized treat will arrive through the letterbox.
I’m not sad writing this. I’ve learned my lesson, and I am committing this to virtual paper to remind those dealing with pain to ‘take the pills’! I’ve had my pill cocktail to start the day and it’s already making a difference. I am also happy to report that yesterday was not all grimacing and winching. I passed my wound care clinic appointment with flying colours and there was only minimal weeping – from the saucepan-shaped wound on my new fleshy mound, not from me. It was slightly odd that I didn’t feel the cold solution squirted on my new boob or the steri strips being removed, but I won’t complain about numbness (in many ways that’s a blessing).
While thinking about this blog post, I typed the word ‘pain’ into Google and something beautiful appeared. It was the word ‘hope’, redefined as an acronym: Hold On Pain Ends. As long as we have hope, we have the strength to know that one day, we won’t feel pain any more.
In many ways, pain should be the last thing on my mind right now. I have my big pathology meeting tomorrow to determine the course of the treatment. Wish me luck!
Small boobs, big smiles 