Saturday, April 23, 2011

A Sore Throat or Two

What a day today. This morning it was pouring rain outside. Vince and I went grocery shopping and had a trip to the drug store for some prescription refills. It wasn't until we were in the car that Vince mentioned it was pouring rain and he wasn't in horrible pain; just the normal everyday pain. That was good to hear. Maybe we are getting his pain under control? Or maybe he was just having a decent day despite the rain? We finished grocery shopping and came home. He had a low reaction on the way and stuffed his face with soda and starburst when we got in the house. He watched some tv and tried to take a nap since he hasn't been sleeping well in the last few days and said he was very tired. He couldn't sleep though. The rain seemed to catch up to him and he was yelling in pain while in bed. I went in to see what was wrong (even though of course I knew what the yelling was about). I got him his pain medicine along with his mid day medication and he sat up on the side of the bed to take the pills. Once he was done, he looked at me standing in front of him and passed out and fell forward into my arms. I grabbed him and yelled at the top of my lungs to get him awake. A few seconds later, he came to and I checked his blood sugar. 245. Okay so a little on the high side, definitely not low, so I asked him why he passed out and he said it was from the pain. I just stood there hugging him as I realized I screamed so loud when he passed out that I now had a sore throat. (the first of the afternoon) So I laid in bed with him and we had our normal tear filled talk about how difficult our life is and wondered how we get through it and stay happy. A few minutes later we got up and had dinner. After dinner, Vince went to the kitchen to wash his hands. I was in the living room crocheting away my stress from earlier. It dawned on me that the water in the kitchen sink had been running an awfully long time, but I quickly told myself to quit being paranoid and to leave the poor guy alone. A few seconds later I hear screaming in the kitchen. My first instinct was that he was in pain, but I quickly realized it wasn't that type of scream. I leaped off the couch and found him in the kitchen and he said he fell asleep at the sink with the hot water on and burnt his hand. As I got him an ice pack and put the cold water on for him, I leaned over and put my head in my hands. I said out loud, I knew something was wrong. See honey, this is why I am paranoid all the time. Because I need to be. He understood. So he went and relaxed on the couch and about 15 minutes later he went to the kitchen to get his inhaler since he was wheezing a little. As he stood there I saw his body swaying. He was falling asleep again. I screamed at the top of my lungs at him (since I didn't think i could get to him in time) until I scared my cat off my lap and startled him enough just before he fell backwards to the floor. (sore throat number two) I quickly went over to him told him to put what was in his hand down, and took him by the hands straight to bed and demanded he go to sleep or at least stay in bed. He gets way to drowsy from the medication and not sleeping well on top of it is just no good. Hopefully he can get some rest and feel better. It's days like this that frustrate me so much.


7 comments:

  1. Sandy,
    Please don't think I'm trying to tell you what to do, as you have plenty on your plate already, but . . . it's pretty concerning that Vince falls asleep while standing up. Are there any other meds that he can possibly try for the pain, as this seems like a really unacceptable, dangerous side effect? I know that my hubby was once on so many pain meds (all at the same time) that I felt like I had totally lost him for awhile, as he just wasn't "there." And driving anywhere got really dangerous. I think he is down to just 2 pain meds now, and one of them is Lyrica. I will check with him later to see what else he is taking . . . he has slept the entire day, as we were out most of yesterday, and is still asleep. Considering it's now almost 8:00 P. M., don't know if he'll get up at all. Another day in the life . . .
    Take care and hugs to you,
    Lilly

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  2. Hi Lilly, falling asleep while standing up isn't a norm for him. Only when he first started the lyrica years ago. He has just been so stressed lately that he's not sleeping well so all the drowsiness from his meds are catching up to him. He is finally asleep in bed now...he is on two pain meds, lyrica, cymbalta, and topamax, along with muscle relaxers and a few other meds for other conditions...all of which say may cause drowsiness. When he was working he was actually prescribed a med to keep him awake but he doesn't take that anymore since he is home and can nap...xoxo

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  3. May tomorrow be a much better day for both of you!

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  4. I am the LEAST scientific of the bunch of us, but it sounds like his meds are off
    Sandy you are wonderful taking such good care of Vince
    both of you are in our hearts and minds
    good luck trying to figure out this latest challenge.....

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  5. I hope he has been able to get some sleep. And you too.

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  6. OMGoodness Sandy! Is he doing better now? Something does sound a bit off...I know you guys are on it. Hang in there and chin up when you can and when you need to vent...vent to us...we are always here for you.

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  7. Thanks Reyna!!! I love all of you! He is doing a little better. He wasn't sleeping well cause of his pain and he can't handle the medicated drowsiness when he hasn't gotten good sleep to begin with.

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