I was at dialysis yesterday.
About an hour into the vampire machine working I got the familiar crampy belly.
I’m not even kidding.
It hurt so bad I was thinking of ways to off myself in that little cubicle without causing to much stress on my fellow kidney malfunction inmates.
Since that was impossible I decided to complain and complain, say dirty words and complain more.
I’ve had alittle cramping everytime but this was terrible. Plus I now have cankles where there once was ankles.
I’m really really not doing well and THE director of the center and my own personal dialysis expert(mind you not a nurse) decide to visit my cubicle and tell me to stop screaming. They were calling my doctor.
Finally he okays a fentanyl injection. Omg. I immediately went into orbit. Whoo baby, that’s some crazy stuff.
The lil’wrekker was with me. I never remember her coming back to the center. Somehow I got home and in my bed.
I slowly woke up, hours latter.
I dreamed my legs were gone. I was trying to figure out how it happened. I decided it was time to look.
I lifted the covers and saw two long black things. No toes. I determined they were my prosthetics.
I said “Self, you got yourself in a big mess now!”
How was I gonna manage? How the hell was I gonna walk? Who or what chopped my legs off?
Man this is just horrible. How long had I been unconscious? Days? Weeks?
I swung my fake black legs over the edge of the bed. With a thunk
. Oh. Wait.
What the heck?
I do have toes.
I can stand.
Well, I stood for a minute and down I went, planted my face right in the dog bed!
They weren’t fake legs at all.
I was clothed in thigh high black support stockings.
Man oh man.
This just won’t do.
Come on, medical device manufacturers. How about some nice looking ones? Lacy on top. Cute colors. Please.
Granny wants to go wild!!
Beck, some men think black thigh-high stockings are trés sexy. Don’t ask me how I know. Oh, hell, you can figure it out. You could think of 'em as your hubba-hubba support hose. I could see you in striped ones, though. Or polka dots–only in your purple haze, you would’ve thought you had measles.
I was just thinking about you yesterday and wondering how you were doing. It sounds like the going is rough. We’re counting on you to hang in there, ya know. {{{{{Becks}}}}}
Man, that’s not good. At my dialysis clinic, if someone is cramping or in pain, they act concerned and do what they can to help, but they never tell the person to stop screaming. They understand that pain from cramping is intense and you can’t help moaning and yelling. And yes, I’ve been there moaning in pain myself, but I’ve never been told to shut up. Sounds like the director could use some more compassion.
Serious comment here:
Before you do, please understand they come in a bewildering array of sizes and shapes. And the correct height, width, contour/taper, and amount of squeezy-ness is key to them doing good rather than pinching your plumbing closed and trapping fluid in your extremities or OTOH, being simply useless or falling off you.
Go to a reputable medical supply store in a decent sized city and they should have a trained fitter. There’s a real skill to getting them a size you can get on when your legs are full of fluid and that will also be useful once you’ve been wrung out to more like your non-edemic size.
Once you get that fit right, then it’s time to be thinkin’ purty.
Juzo is far from the only brand in the US, but they’re one of the biggees.
It does me. I think there are several side effects. My ankle swelling is one as well.
Everyone is different.
I had a great dialysis today. A tiny bit of cramping.
Came off the machine well.
Mondays are gonna be my bad day, it seems.
My biggest issue is we are going into hot weather and I’m on restrictions about my liquid intake. As I’m very scrawney they want me to drink protein drinks. That takes up a bunch of my liquid allowance.
I’m already thirsty 24/7. I can’t imagine how bad it’s gonna get in July and August.
I pass this along FWIW, which may not be much. A friend’s husband was on dialysis, and they didn’t have A/C at home, so he was hot and thirsty in the summer. A nurse suggested freezing lemon wedges and sucking on them. He said it helped. He was not fond of lemons, but he was able to do a lemon wedge, then a frozen grape, and that seemed to help.
All other drinkables, add ice (include in your fluid total) and blend into slushie consistency. Think frozen margarita style. Lime wedge and tiny umbrella optional.
.