10/5/22
I don’t think I do well with consecutive days of Tylenol (600mg) and Motrine (800 mg). It killed my stomach last night when I woke up with the same stomach pains I had when I was going through gastritis. It feels like someone is scrapping in the inner lining of your stomach. The only thing that relieves the symptoms is if I eat or take Tums and Pepto Bismal.
I also realized quickly I cannot eat anything acidic, citric, or spicy. I had to stick to my soups and ice creams, alternating it with Tums and Pepto. I completely stopped taking Tylenol and Ibuprofen today so my knee is definitely more swollen. I switched to turmeric vitamins to help reduce inflammation but that irritated my stomach also, so I had to stop that as well.
Things that I could eat….
Milk; Cream; Ice cream; Saltine crackers; Broccoli cheddar soup; Mushroom cream soup; Chicken soup; Pho; Water
Things I could not eat….
Coffee; Orange juice; Alcohol; Spicy things; Over seasoned things like Indian food or curries; Any tomato based soups, pasta, or spreads; Ketchup; Chocolate; Candies
10/8/22
The universe wanted me to challenge me a little bit more so on top of a recovering knee, stomach issues, and my period….I am also allergic to something. It started around my incisions and I thought it was new skin healing kind of an itch. However, it spread up my thigh and get really hot and raised. My doc thinks its allergic reaction to something and instructed me to stop covering my knee with anything, no more brace, and take antihistamines. He also prescribed a steroid ointment to apply over the itchy regions.
I can only relate the itch to having a thousand mosquito bites on your leg, the kind of itch that will wake you up from a deep sleep in order to scratch your skin until it hurts. I thought I was safe inside, away from the Los Angeles Tiger Mosquitos that infest our backyards. I would rather bend my knee in the middle of the night and feel pain instead of the itching sensation on my skin.
Since I can’t wear the brace, I had to put some extra work into strengthening my quads so my knee doesn’t buckle when I walk. Walking is a lot slower, more focused, with purpose and good gait mechanics. I also avoided shorts because it allowed for things to brush against my leg and create a world of itching. Leggings are my best friend at the moment and icing my knee/skin is also an itch lifesaver.
Doc says it could take weeks for my body to flush the allergy out of my system and for it to stop itching….praying for a miracle before I go insane scratching.
10/12/22
Good news today, my stomach finally stopped hurting and I can stop eating Tums and Pepto Bismal! Thank goodness I can tolerate normal food now. I am so happy I don’t wake up in the middle of the night with an angry tummy anymore.
My incisions are finally healed and there are no openings or leaking from any of the wounds! Now I can start addressing my nasty hives, scars, and dry skin.
My doctor prescribed me a steroid ointment that I used for the first few days but it did not help with the itching at all. It actually made my skin and scar darker and a leather texture. Honestly, the only thing that helped my icing the itchy region immediately and the cold stopping the itching and spread. I also used a non-scented lotion on my leg to prevent itching from dryness and my ezcema.
I bought silicone patches and Mederma topical creams to use on my scar next week when all my incisions are completely healed over with no scabs.
Today I also had enough quad activation to maintain when I am weight bearing on it. I was able to take a couple of small steps without my brace or crutches without my knee buckling. Even though I can do it, I still will use my knee brace and crutches until my knee is really stable to walk without any assistive device.
Being a good patient is very difficult for me, especially with my rehab background, to want to stick to the script. I feel like my body is able to push and do more than the regular patient but I hear my husband in the background scolding me for being a bad patient.