9/17/14. The post where I am a good patient (mostly) and make everyone feel better.

9/17/14: my morning started earlier than it has for the last two weeks, with an 8am appointment to the dermatologist.  I now have an appointment to have the cyst on my head removed in two weeks.  (He mentioned that I could try a longer course of antibiotics if I did not want to have it removed immediately, but he did not recommend it.  I like this guy already.)  He kept calling it a surgery, which seems a little dramatic to me.  Although it involves (local) anesthesia and stitches, I can drive myself and I only have to be there 15 minutes early.  Easiest "surgery" ever.  I was happy to learn that he did not think the procedure would cause a flare-up or spreading of my CRPS.  I was even happier to learn that he knew what CRPS is.  I was prepared to have to explain it.

Even though I went back to the full dose of pain pills yesterday, the pain and irritation in my "generator" hip did not subside.  If anything, it felt worse after the trip to the dermatologist.  My patient, long-suffering husband examined the incision and did not see any sign of infection, but when he touched my hip, it was significantly warmer than the other side and he asked me to call the medical company rep.  To prove my status as a good patient and to make him feel better, I called.  And the medical rep asked me to call my doctor's office and get the soonest available appointment, saying he would have someone from his office meet me there.  To prove my status as a good patient and to make the medical rep feel better, I called.  And my doctor's office told me to come over right away.

Fortunately, the incision was not infected and the device was functioning properly.  They attributed the warmth of my skin to a combination of increased blood flow to the area during the healing process and the generator itself, which is closer to my skin as the swelling subsides.  I felt slightly silly, but my doctor assured me that I was a good patient for getting on it immediately and he felt better that I had come in, rather than ignoring signs of a possible infection.

I'm glad I made them all feel better today.  Mostly I'm glad my doctor did not try to give me another antibiotic prescription, because I would have immediately ceased being a good patient.  (That makes two antibiotic bullets dodged in one morning.  Whew.)   I did not escape blame completely, though.  I accidentally let it slip that I had tried to taper off my pain meds this week and my doctor was not amused.  He suggested that this might explain my increased pain and told me I needed to continue the full dose for significantly longer and taper down more gradually.  He reminded me that it would take six to eight weeks for the incision to heal and six months before I really felt "normal" again.  

I left his office with a 45 day refill on my pain meds and an admonition to slow down and give myself time to heal.  The good news? I now have full, uncut pain pills again, which are much more pleasant to swallow than the ones I altered.  I can save my half pills for later (much later, I promise), when it's time to try tapering off again.  I spent the rest of the day being a good patient and taking it easy.  Which I'm sure makes everyone feel better.