I got my splint and sling off today, so I’m (kinda) back. YAY! I’m still not supposed to type a whole lot, but a little bit is better than what I did have. 
Apparently, all is on-track with my recovery & healing process, and I start therapy on Monday.
I’m leaving in a few minutes to go have my lil’ outpatient surgery. Due to the nature of my recovery, I’m not sure how much typing I’ll be able to do for awhile. This might be the last thing anyone hears from me online for a little while. Y’all think about me, k?
My tennis elbow surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday at 3:15 p.m. I have to be there at 2:15 p.m. I’m not allowed to have anything to eat or drink after midnight Monday. Except clear liquids up until 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning.
That means no food. I’m accustomed to eating a little something every two hours. If I miss, peoples’ lives become endangered.
That also means no coffee.
My poor husband.
Considering the lack of evidence supporting prolotherapy, the lack of availability of acupuncturists, and my lack of funds to pay for those services not covered by insurance … the verdict is: surgery.
I went to see the Orthopedic doctor today, and he didn’t want to inject my elbow again. So, he said, “Yeah, you need surgery to fix it.” Being in pain and wanting it fixed, I said, “Okay … Surgery it shall be.”
I will go under the knife.
I believe he said it’s only about a 30-minute surgical procedure, and it’s done as an outpatient, so that’s cool. I will have to wear some sort of sling/splint for about three weeks. I guess I won’t be doing much typing during that time, huh? So, that’s *not* so cool. I’m willing to do this, though, as I know it’s helped many others with their tennis elbow problems.
Surgery is scheduled. More details to follow at a later time.
That is all.
My loyal readers will know that I’ve been struggling with recurrent tennis elbow for quite awhile now. I was Googling yesterday out of painful desperation, and I came across a new-ish therapy which seems to have good results. It’s called Prolotherapy. The point is to CAUSE inflammation in tendons and/or ligaments which will encourage the body’s natural healing process. From what I’ve read, this is more of a permanent type solution than the current treatments for tennis elbow (and other tendon/ligament-related issues). I’m hopeful, and I found a doctor close by enough who does Prolotherapy.
Having said that, however, I’m not sure which step to take next. If there is some underlying cause (like psoriatic arthritis), I should probably go and see my Rheumatologist first. I don’t know if it would be problematic to treat the symptom and not the cause. So, enter the two big concerns now: time and money. Time off work to traipse around from doctor to doctor and money to pay them time and time again. Both are not unlimited resources. AND, it’s quite likely that Prolotherapy isn’t covered by my insurance, AND - that being the case - will be fairly expensive. If it works and is permanent, I don’t mind doing what I need to do in order to achieve those results. However, I just don’t know which step to take next.
In the mean time, I’m in agony. It’s pretty damn bad this time - I think worse than the first time I had it in this arm. So bad, as a matter of fact, that doing the stretching exercises I learned from PT actually cause tears to pop up in my eyes involuntarily. Owie.
Why don’t doctors do phone consultations? I’d much rather be able to CALL the Rheumy and just ask her, “Look — do you think this is a possibility? If so, what should I do next?” That would save me time and money. I guess if they did that for one patient, though, they’d have to do it for all of them, wouldn’t they? Ugh.
Oh, and have I mentioned that my ankle still hurts?
It is now official. I am falling apart.
(*) Just as an end note: tennis elbow is the third most painful thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. Childbirth being 1st and post-surgery pain being 2nd.
I will be keeping a copy of this printed out in my purse to show doctors when they try to ignorantly give me NSAIDS. (source)
What happens to the lower stomach?
—Why your surgeon doesn’t want you to take Motrin
The lower stomach is still an active organ. It continues to make gastric hormones, acid, enzymes, and mucous. It does not shrink up or go away. It can also develop ulcers.
The effect of aspirin, Motrin®, or a host of other drugs called non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAID), is to break the barrier in the stomach. This does not bother some people too much, but a fair number of individuals end up with some ulcers. While having a pill sit on or in the stomach is irritating, the effect of the NSAID is not dependent on direct contact. This is why a number of surgeons do not like their patients taking these pills (like aspirin, ibuprofen, Naprosyn®, Indomethacin®, and other drugs of this class). If you develop an ulcer in the lower stomach, there is no easy way to have it treated or even diagnosed.
That lower stomach is physically separate from the upper pouch. Normally if a patient develops ulcer symptoms, a gastroenterologist can look into the stomach with an endoscope and make the diagnosis of an ulcer. If that ulcer is bleeding, the gastroenterologist can also treat the ulcer to stop it from bleeding by injecting a drug into it or putting some electric current on the ulcer to coagulate it. These options are taken away once you have a RNY bypass. There is no physical way to get to that ulcer. If these medications are important to you, you might wish to consider some other operation instead of the RNY bypass.