Agony

Wow! Thanks to everyone for all the good wishes. I spent most of the night in my easy chair because it was less uncomfortable than the bed. Now I'm wide awake. (I went to "bed" early.) In about 5 hours I get the catheter taken out. if the experience is the same as last time, there will be intense but brief pain while peeing, after the catheter is out, but that was easier to endure than the constant discomfort of the catheter.

A silver lining:

When you have troubles, you find out you have more friends than you thought. Not only all the good wishes from all you nice people (including the ones I argue with ), but also the people who've come through for me with rides to and from the hospital and today's catheter-removal appointment.

 

UPDATE:

Today I got the catheter taken out!!! Whopeee! I'm far from well, but everything else is tolerable. Some fairly intense but brief pain when I pee (and a little less pain each time) which I can tolerate because it's brief. Some nausea, probably from the meds (an antibiotic and a urinary tract anesthetic) but it's only as bad as a moderate carsickness, nothing I can't handle.

In short, I'm feeling much better and definitely on the mend. It was only the catheter that was unendurable.

(Parenthetically, I had a brief scare: The nurse injected the catheter with water before removing it, saying that if I could not pee out all the water she'd have to insert another catheter. Then she gave me a container and left the room. I peed, but not very much, and thought I had failed and would have to have another catheter put in, and I was miserable. But when she returned and looked at the container, I had actually peed a little more than she had injected, and passed with flying colors.)

Not yet well, but very happy!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dave @ Mar 16 2007, 02:48 PM) [snapback]406955[/snapback]</div>

Thanks, Dave.

I have a follow-up appointment with the cardiologist next week, and I hope to get an answer to that very question.

BTW, I'm feeling a bit better today than I was yesterday, and I expect to improve a bit every day.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rufaro @ Mar 21 2007, 09:14 AM) [snapback]409563[/snapback]</div>

I had never had morphine before. It was quite nice. I just felt warm all over.