Thanks to those of you who stopped to send good thoughts and positive wishes. Especially to those who left actual comments.
The situation here is that by Friday morning I thought my recovery was pretty much done. I had knocked off the prescription pain killers because the prescription pill didn't seem to be better at relieving pain than plain ole' Extra Strength Tylenol - and it didn't last as long as that cheaper, OTC (Over The Counter), drugstore pill, either. By Wednesday, I was taking extended release Tylenol, pretty much one dose at bed time, which is one of those pills that is slow to dissolve so that it lasts eight hours. I wasn't sleeping more than 5 hours on the prescription pain pill and could sleep nine hours on the extended release Tylenol. Sleep is good. More sleep is better.
In the afternoon Friday, I took off the elastic support wrap I had been wearing so I could take a shower, and it was such a tremendous drop in pain that I sat around without it on for maybe an hour. While sitting around, the skin that had been under the area where the elastic support bandage had two layers, started getting incredibly itchy. When I looked down at my gut area, I had what looked like a heat rash.
Basically that led to being very uncomfortable days from Friday afternoon through now. I haven't really found anything that makes the itchiness go away completely but taking OTC benadryl antihistamine pills and adding some cortisone cream is as close as I've gotten. Meanwhile, my followup appointment is Wednesday morning, but there's one really big bandage that's looking like one wrong move could make it fall off. I think I call the surgeon's office with a "HELP" message first thing in the morning.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch.
Axiom Space's AX-4 mission to the ISS is back on hold with only a nonsense listing of a possible launch date (NET June 2025). Which covers pretty much any day from right now out to infinity.
Remember the Psyche mission? A probe to examine the asteroid by that name (16 Psyche), launched in 2023. This weekend, Psyche passed one of the milestones in its long trip to the asteroid - which is expected to take up the rest of this decade, making it to the asteroid in late 2029.
The robotic mission proceeded normally until April 1, when the spacecraft detected a drop in pressure inside the line that feeds xenon fuel to its four thrusters. The craft reacted to the pressure signature by powering off the thrusters.
In the weeks between April 1st and now, they have studied the issue, switched to a backup plan and resumed "full thruster operations" on Monday, according to NASA.
The spacecraft, built by Maxar Space Systems, will operate its electric thrusters for the equivalent of three months between now and November to keep the mission on track for arrival at asteroid Psyche in 2029.
Artist's illustration of NASA's Psyche spacecraft, as it approaches the
asteroid, showing (most of) one of its solar arrays. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU
One of my favorite quotes I've come across in reading reports on missions like this is from Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Psyche's principal investigator at Arizona State University. She said when she gets asked what Psyche is going to look like she says "potato-shaped."
"It's not spherical," she said. "I always say potato-shaped because potatoes come in many shapes, so I'm not wrong."
I had to look up electric thrusters, neat!
ReplyDeleteThe itch... the only thing that comes to mind is when the kids had chicken pox and we gave them an oatmeal bath to easy the itching. It looked to work.
Spray Benadryl. Thank me later. It’s amazing!!
ReplyDeleteAnd any thought of potential sabotage at SpaceX? Or are they just pushing hard and having a bad streak?
Well, from what little *I* know, the ISS is the problem. Leaks.
DeleteStay tuned, they *may* have fixed the problem.
Hope you get better soon. Have you been taking large doses of antibiotics? I've had problems where I took some for a few days before I had an allergic reaction.
ReplyDeleteas you're aware I'm no physician
ReplyDeleteI've always had a problem (very large) with anything containing cortisone (or any of its analogs); not personally, but I've followed several people who swore by this chemical and have had other side (deleterious) effects. I've been told told that it relieves "itchiness" but I'd recommend against it unless Rxed (definitely not OTC) and followed by a physician
My wife is a retired wound care nurse and has a ton of experience. Some thoughts:
ReplyDelete- Suggested use of Benadryl spray/lotion above can be useful if it’s an allergic reaction.
- Using a cream with lidocaine can be useful to prevent itch.
- if you get some Zeasorb powder, that can prevent any fungal infection to which you can be susceptible after a long course of antibiotics.
- Good luck with sleep. I take a Benadryl tablet before bedtime and that can help.
FWIW, my go-to is the one my grandfather used - Noxzema. Cheap, useful for many skin reactions. I use it for periodic eczema, works as well as the expensive meds. Also works on acne. Unlikely to irritate skin.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone!
ReplyDeleteI called the surgeon's office as soon as they opened and got with his #1 medical assistant. She simply said, "how soon can you be here?" We agreed I'd show up at 9:30, and the plan was to have a nurse check me out. That nurse was pretty surprised that I had what looked like a reaction to the pre-op stuff they had prepped me with. Generally people get those the same day, and here it was a week after the surgery.
Where to start? I've had no antibiotic pills, but I might have been wiped down with some before the surgery. I've been taking OTC Benadryl pills, and I have a rub-on form with Calamine that seems to be at least as good as Cortisone. I get the feeling that showering would help get whatever crap might be left on my skin. I've never heard of using Noxzema for something like this, but there's probably some in the house. As opposed to Zeasorb that I've never heard of at all.
I read that as "That nurse was pretty; surprised ..."
DeleteI use (crotch) Zeasorb after swimming, showers, walking in very high humidity - and brush it off/dry. I love fungi (like a hobbit - mushrooms) and, unfortunately, they love any chronically moist skin surfaces on my body - and Zeasorb manages to reduce any and all - IMHO, not a bad product for sweaty Floridians.
Glad you are recovering and the rash was not dangerous.
ReplyDeleteTMI - it looks like I'm going to have to try Zeasorb or Noxema for my... *ahem*,,, crotch rot.
ReplyDeleteGetting old sucks.
Were you stitched, or stapled, SiG? I had staples when they opened me up about 8" to do my hip repair, and it had a wide "Band-Aid" type dressing over the staples that was stuck down about 1/4" along it's perimeter. Just curious if they used the same type of dressing.
ReplyDeleteGeez....I'm sounding like I belong on 75 Meters!
Neither stitch nor staple. Superglue.
DeleteI'm not 100% sure on that. I think there are some internal stitches, but the places I can see were glued.
I've never had an allergic reaction to bandages or anything medical, so it's kind of freaky. The surgery was centered on my navel. They put a clear plastic sheet with an adhesive on it over that bandage and judging by the color, I think they spread Betadine, that iodine-based sterilizing agent, all around my abdomen. I've never had an issue with that before. That whole area turned into hundreds of little bumps like bug bites.
After I had the stents put in, I was on a new medication that caused my back to break out in hives. Big, red, itchy bumps. Doctor switched that med, and it went away. Almost sounds like you had what Mom called "Prickly Heat"!
DeleteThat's exactly what SLW and I were saying. I'm not sure I ever had that before, but the worst of my rash was in the area where the support belt was double thickness, so the hottest.
Delete