24 Nov 08 Convalescence leave sucks : After (sequential) extreme varicose vein stripping surgeries in 5 weeks – that’s enough.

Well, here I am, still trying to err… convalesce from the 16 incisions (and who knows how many staples) for the varicose vein stripping surgery on my right leg. I’ve gotten thoroughly tired of my couch-ridden existence off work; in between doses of Ratio-Emtec (acetaminophen + 30mg of codeine) pain killers I try to find a comfortable position. The worst, by far, is sitting or standing in the same position. The blood rapidly pools in my right leg and becomes unbearably (9/10) painful…

Basically it’s been resting / napping / surfing the net for news / watching the government bank bailout of the day and the correlated 400 point swings on the Dow. Yes, I wish I could be stable and pain free enough to be back at work so I could bitch about projects, bureaucracy and that lovely usual stuff. Wonder how the French expression “ca pourrait être pire” is so true and appropriate.

It also highlights the real-world benefits of having a career with an organisation that provides excellent health benefits – and more importantly: respects the health benefits!

Obviously, I won’t be getting any transdermal Fentanyl (a.k.a. Duragesic) for this kind of pain, and at least I am now a bit more familiar with what to expect given that just 4-5 weeks ago I had the cutting and stripping done on the left leg. That one is healing relatively well although it was a bit early for it to become the “strong” leg.
I’ve also learned to keep pain meds close to me – especially at night; no one likes to get out of bed in the middle of the night… imagine if it involved excruciating pain around 16 (precision) cuts in one leg …
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Tags: codeine, Fentanyl, Health, Kids, Love, surgery, varicose veins