The Pang of Physical Agony! in General Mental Anesthesia

UPDATE - Home from the hospital, black eye & celebrating a friend.

I know that most of you think that coming home from the hospital after 16 days sounds like a good thing (in most cases it is). However, while in the hospital (about a week ago) my Gastroenterologist as well as the hospitalist both expressed a deep concern.

Seeing as I have an extraordinarily high tolerance for pain (I refuse pain meds most of the time) but while in the hospital had to take VERY strong meds and even they hardly worked at all.

Morphine… did nothing.... Oxy… just about the same. Fentanyl took the pain from an 8 or 9 to a 6 or 7, but just for a half hour. I mean… I was in very serious pain and it never went away. All that suffering caused my blood pressure to remain high and my resting heart rate was always between 110 - 130’s (it should have been closer to 70).

Ekg’s came back good, but as stated above, both of those Dr’s expressed a deep concern and “literally” said to me: “I fear that you won’t survive very long at home in this kind of pain”.

It was largely due to the fact that the pain was causing a lot of strain on my heart (making my heart work harder) but at home I would not be on any pain medication. They couldn’t send me home with anything (for pain). Thus exacerbating the issue.

Now, not only am I dealing with the ulcerative colitis pains etc… but when I fell in the hospital the other day… here’s what happened…

I got sick and had to run to the bathroom as per usual, but I was given a 60mg dose of Cymbalta because I was dealing with some sort of severe knee pain. A side effect of that med is grogginess, so when I went to sit on the toilet (bare in mind I was moving quickly) instead of sitting, I fell full body weight on it. At home you have a tank behind the bowl, but at the hospital it’s just steel plumbing. When my back hit that plumbing at full force (especially considering that I have herniated discs) it sent such a shockwave of pain through me it was unreal. I remember that I couldn’t breathe, then the next thing I know I’m waking up on the bathroom floor.

I was unconscious before I hit the floor and out for about 10 minutes before the nurses found me. Of course that led to my bed being alarmed, so every time I had to get up alarms would sound and nurses would rush in. I’ll show you the progress of the shiner from my face hitting the floor.

The diagnosis of my back is that it’s sprained in 2 places, but I could have tears in the ligaments or tendons or both; I know that there is more to it. I believe there to be nerve damage of some kind, because my extremities are constantly restless now, my arms, my legs, even fingers. I can’t relax and every time I move, I’m literally screaming in pain! An inch to the left or right is all it takes let alone still running to the bathroom 12 - 15x a day.

Is it nice to be out of the hospital? Yes, but now the real challenge begins. No pain meds, shortness of breath, pressure in my chest.... My back hurts so bad even my 10mg flexeril has no effect! Getting out of bed is absolute fucking torture!!! Jay is not a happy camper!!!

And on that note:

I just want to take a minute to celebrate my best friend of 30 years Ken (aka: Alice).

We’ve been through a lot together and always kept in touch after I moved away. Letters, emails, phone calls, texts… We’ve both had our fare share of difficulties in life and had many more adventures.

He drove on hardly any notice from Boston to North Carolina, just to see me, and only for a few hours because of this nor easter hitting New England, he had to get back. It just so happened that I was being released when he got here and he picked me up from the hospital.

Words can’t describe that kind of friendship, so I’m going to share a few photo’s from over the years. Just like my brother is one of my best friends, Ken has been like a brother to me and my entire family considers him one of our own.

On a cruise

At a party I was throwing back in college while he was visiting.

Like family, here he is with my family when we bbq’d

It was a rock ‘n roll lifestyle for me back then when I was in a metal band (minus the drugs) here we’re chilling at King Jeef’s place.

That same night, it was a good time with some crazy people!

Lastly, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention his beautiful and awesome wife Jodi who didn’t hesitate to let him come see me and supported him in a way that many people don’t support their significant others. It’s a true testament of their love and respect for one another and I’m very thankful to her.

Thank you Jodi!

As always thank you to everyone for their support on the gofundme page. Every penny is needed and every share as well. Much love to you all. Thank you!

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