Lessons Learned

Had the most painful night of my life Wednesday. It was worst in my right leg, bad in my right hip and back. Since I didn't kill myself, I guess it was bearable, but it didn't seem that way. Finally took a Gabapentin (Neurontin) about 1:00 and fell asleep about 2:30. Woke up in a couple of hours in pain. Took the Gabapentin yesterday and last night. Did almost nothing yesterday. Pain almost as bad last night as Wednesday. Got a little sleep but woke at 4:00 in horrendous pain. Gabapentin did absolutely nothing. So I gave in and called doctors. To make a long story short, I now have some Endocet (Percocet; Oxycodone) and shall take my first one as soon as I finish writing this. (I'm afraid it will knock me out or make me too woozy to do anything.)

Lesson 1: Neurontin does absolutely nothing for acute pain. It's for long-term use for chronic pain.

Lesson 2: If one is taking pain meds and one has pain, the solution is NOT to stop taking the pain meds! I had stopped the Vicodin Sunday night because I felt it wasn't doing any good. My guess is that the pain I had the last two nights would not have been as agonizing if I had kept up the Vicodin.

Lesson 3: A three-level decompression (that's what my surgery is called) does not heal in a week or even two. Somehow I had gotten it into my head that if the surgeon did not have to do a fusion my only recovery would be from the incision and that it would last no more than two weeks. Since I have a history of impatience and of wanting what I want today if not yesterday, this has been a hard lesson.

Lesson 4: I am powerless over the rate of my healing and over the success of the surgery.

Meanwhile, any hope I had of driving or doing much of anything is down the tubes. I suppose I should get someone to come and take my car out for a spin on the freeway before the battery dies. Or maybe it's dead already. I haven't even tried to start it. Had hoped my cousin Charlie would be here by now to take care of things like that. It's probably better that he's not here since I'm definitely not good company!

Off to the land of drugs. More later.