A lot of things have happened since my last post. After looking around for a job since my operation in May, I’ve finally got one. Well technically I have two part-time ones. They’re both Assistant Psychologist posts working with people living with chronic pain. Seems everything’s worked out quite nicely as I nabbed the positions when I’m finally fully fit! I should point out that it took me almost 100 applications to get these jobs, and that including me browsing a jobs website around a week after my surgery in the patient computer room (whilst pumped full of medication which made it extremely hard to read anything at all!).
On the topic of psychology...where have all the psychology bloggers gone?! Seems that everyone’s had to dash off into hiding after one anonymous blogger was outed to her company.
In terms of my heart there are a few things to mention. Sternum wires...god damn them! They leave these in you after sawing your ribcage open and it holds everything together during the recovery. They don’t bother to take it out as it would require another operation. I have a mental image of what my chest x-ray would look like...lots of jagged lines all over the place, tied in knots to hold the bones together. Why do I bring this up? Well I’ve noticed that I can feel them poking out slightly. If I arch my back out in a stretch I can feel a wire poking out uncomfortably. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, but it sure is annoying!
I went ahead and got the swine flu vaccination. Seems I’ve had a bad reaction to it as it’s sent my heart rate up to a 100 and given me some bad symptoms. I’m hoping these will pass...I worked hard to get my pulse back down to 70! So if you’re a patient and thinking of getting it, just consult your cardiologist. Opinion tends to vary depending on the cardiologist.
Part of my keloid scar has reduced thankfully, but it still looks hideous and sticks out. I’m considering the dreaded injection of steroids which apparently can help. Will decide a bit later on...
Showing posts with label Keloid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keloid. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Healin' Tape
As you’ve probably noticed I haven’t been updating my blog as regularly as I used to. One of the main reasons for that was because, heart-related, there wasn’t much to say. The aim of the blog had always been to provide a site where future patients could come and see what the experience would be like before their own surgery. And I felt if I deviated off that track and wrote about other things...well that wouldn’t be good! But I am aware that a blog that gets updated rarely would not get read...so give me some feed back people! Is it just heart related stuff that you’re after or other topics too?
Getting back on track, I consider myself pretty healthy now. In fact, fully recovered. It’s strange because my family and friends always ask how I am and it’s getting quite irritating now. Although I shouldn’t be annoyed because they mean well! I think it’s always harder on them because they had to witness what I went through and it always looks worse to them. That’s not to say it was a walk in the park! So now I’m doing a lot of running, weights, and even bought an exercise bike. I know, I’m turning in to a fitness freak.
The only sign of my surgery is the scar. It’s still quite unsightly because it’s raised a rather large (keloid scar). My GP offered my the option of injecting the scar with a steroid which can help...but the stories I’ve heard of how painful that is made me refuse. So instead he offered me something called Haelan Tape. Keep that in mind if you have a keloid scar yourself! I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how annoying those things are and Haelan Tape actually works. It’s like Sellotape that you place on the scar and throughout the day it will release some form of steroid on to the scar to reduce the size. I’ve been using it for about 2-3 weeks and the size of the scar has reduced dramatically. I would post a picture but I don’t think you’d like to see that! Hopefully it will go away eventually.
I’m still taking Warfarin (obviously, otherwise I’d be dead!)and my anticoagulation level is pretty much stable (if you don’t know what I’m talking about shame on you! Have a read of some of my older posts to do with INR/anticoagulation/Warfarin). I know have to see the nurse every two months or so, which is great compared to the 3 times a week when my INR was unstable after the operation.
Getting back on track, I consider myself pretty healthy now. In fact, fully recovered. It’s strange because my family and friends always ask how I am and it’s getting quite irritating now. Although I shouldn’t be annoyed because they mean well! I think it’s always harder on them because they had to witness what I went through and it always looks worse to them. That’s not to say it was a walk in the park! So now I’m doing a lot of running, weights, and even bought an exercise bike. I know, I’m turning in to a fitness freak.
The only sign of my surgery is the scar. It’s still quite unsightly because it’s raised a rather large (keloid scar). My GP offered my the option of injecting the scar with a steroid which can help...but the stories I’ve heard of how painful that is made me refuse. So instead he offered me something called Haelan Tape. Keep that in mind if you have a keloid scar yourself! I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how annoying those things are and Haelan Tape actually works. It’s like Sellotape that you place on the scar and throughout the day it will release some form of steroid on to the scar to reduce the size. I’ve been using it for about 2-3 weeks and the size of the scar has reduced dramatically. I would post a picture but I don’t think you’d like to see that! Hopefully it will go away eventually.
I’m still taking Warfarin (obviously, otherwise I’d be dead!)and my anticoagulation level is pretty much stable (if you don’t know what I’m talking about shame on you! Have a read of some of my older posts to do with INR/anticoagulation/Warfarin). I know have to see the nurse every two months or so, which is great compared to the 3 times a week when my INR was unstable after the operation.
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