Vicodin

I counted the pills that the hospital gave me last night and I only have enough vicodin to last 2 more days. After that I'm not sure what I'm going to do. According to WebMD, I have experienced almost every "mild" side effect of the drug, including mood changes, nausea, loss of appetite, and some others that I won't mention. The website assures me that I wouldn't be on the drug if my doctor didn't think that the benefits outweighed the risks, but then why did I only get a week's worth of the drug? The ER doctors knew that the bone will take at least 6 weeks to heal and I'll probably be in pain for at least a couple of those weeks. So, do I call them and ask for more or do I suck it up and take huge amounts of ibuprofen for the next 5 weeks?

As much as I hate the side-effects of the drug, it definitely has some benefits. First, it definitely alleviates pain. They told me that the more I do my arm exercises, the more I decrease the chance of needing surgery. However, if it hurts to move my arm, I probably won't move it as much, which will not help my recovery. Second, vicodin helps me relax. On Tuesday at my lesson, even though my arm was in a lot of pain, my facial muscles seemed more relaxed than they usually are. I don't know if that was because my body has finally started to do what I want or because of the drug, but it was a surprisingly productive lesson. Finally, it helps me sleep really well. I drift off to sleep in minutes and I don't wake up feeling very groggy at all. On the other hand, it also makes me drowsy during the day, which I counteract with lots of caffeine. This makes it very difficult to stay hydrated and is probably not very good for me.

The problem is that this is a highly addictive substance that I really don't want to become dependent on, but if I take the lowest dose and it's helping to make my life easier right now, what's the harm? Once my bones start to heal, I assume that there will be less pain and I won't need it anymore, but for now, it still hurts to button my shirts in the morning. Either I'll be able to get by without it or my doctor will give me more. Cross your fingers for me.

Update and Things I can't do

Yesterday I went to the orthopedic specialist, which was a little bit of an ordeal. Apparently they make you go and get your own xrays to bring them to your appointment - even when you're crippled. So, I returned to the hospital, where they made me fill out forms, even though I had called ahead of time. Then the nice radiologist came and told me that he had already done that for me and scolded the receptionist for making me fill out the forms. Anyways, when I got to my orthopedic appointment, they put me in traction and said that they might not need to operate, which was really good news. But I do have to go back in 2 weeks to get more xrays, another cast and see if I need surgery or not. Here I am with my pretty blue cast.

So I'm now 3 days into having a non-working arm and these are the things that I wish I could still do:

1. Clothe myself - It's a new low when your roommate has to hook your bra for you.
2. Feed myself - I managed to make a ham steak on the George Foreman, but couldn't cut it.
3. Effectively bathe myself - I can shower, but I'm sure that my hair isn't really that clean, because I can't lather effectively with one hand.
4. Washing my hands - See above - lathering with one hand is hard.
5. Opening jars - I didn't know how many jars I had until I couldn't open them.
6. Lifting/Carrying things - Though I think both of my arms are getting stronger - one for lifting the cast and the other for lifting everything else.
7. Multitasking - You really need 2 hands for this.
8. Opening windows - We have a broken air conditioner and difficult window locks - this annoys me.
9. Driving - Not only can I not turn the wheel, I'm pretty sure the drugs I'm on makes it illegal for me to drive.
10. Typing - I am currently typing this with one hand because my arm doesn't twist. It is taking forever! So, as you read, imagine me typing by hunting and pecking at keys...

The Big Break

It all began on Sunday when I decided to go out and get a little exercise by strapping on my rollerblades and hitting the trail by my apartment. I decided to go left instead of right on the trail for a little variety in my workout routine. After skating about 1/4 mile or so, I came upon the first big decline in the pavement and I didn't notice the little extra dip at the bottom. I hit the ground hard and took one look at my arm and said, "Oh great." It just didn't look or feel right. Carefully, I took off my rollerblades and put on my flipflops and did the walk of shame back to my apartment. Yeah, that's right, I can't go any further on these, so I'm carrying them, because I'm cool like that.

My roommate called her mom, a former ER nurse when I got to the apartment. She suggested that we go get xrays done at the hospital, so we googled the nearest one (HCMC) and used GPS to find it. The nurse at the admissions desk took one look at me and told me it was broken, which was really encouraging, considering we hadn't even checked in yet. They took me to an exam area and proved that it hurt to move my arm and then gave me a double dose of oxycodone.

Side note: Apparently HCMC has the highest concentration of cute, young male doctors in the Cities, just so you know. Mine was no exception.

After I got my xrays, they determined that I had a closed fracture of my distal radius on the joint, which I asked my roomie to write down because at this point, the drugs were making the room a little fuzzy. Then the hot doctor and a pretty female doctor made me a plaster splint. When I complained that I felt a little woozy, the hot male doctor immediately brought me packets of both saltine and graham crackers. Such a good doctor! They sent me away with lots of vicodin and told me to get an appointment with an orthopedic specialist in 2 days to determine whether I need surgery or not. At 8:30, I finally went home, had dinner and called my family to tell them what happened. One vicodin later and I fell into a wonderful, drug-induced slumber.