The journey begins

orthodoc · 09-12-2012, 06:41 PM

Actually 5/325s would be better than what I have, because you can take 3 of them at a time. I have 5/500s and 2 is the limit per dose.

Another bump in the road today ... I found little blisters in the surgical area today after showering, and the color there didn't look right (on the weekend, the house staff were worried about necrosis, although they didn't pump up the fluids when my pressure dropped into the 80s systolic). I called in and they saw me in clinic within an hour; I was figuring wound infection, which would suck because it'd ruin the reconstruction. But reality sucks more. I'm going to lose a big area of skin to necrosis unless they can turn it around with hyperbaric therapy.

If it responds (which isn't likely), good. If not, I'll need a full-thickness skin graft (more, painful ++ surgery). I'll have a nasty patchwork series of scars and a delay in my chemo schedule.

So I went for 'intake' at the hyperbaric clinic. I really didn't know anything about the practicalities of it. Wow. There's a major risk of fire and explosion so I can take nothing in, have to wear only an all-cotton gown (no synthetics or plastics), no creams, makeup, hair product, deodorant, nada; I can only watch TV or sleep during the 2.5 hour treatment. I can't drink any carbonated beverages (and beans, I assume, are forbidden!

). No alcohol, inside or out. I get a bracelet that grounds me to the chamber, then the chamber is grounded outside. If I wear/do something that breaks the rules, I kill both myself and the tech. Nice.

Possible side effects include seizures, vision changes that last 2 months, hemorrhagic blisters on my eardrums with possible rupture, and GI reflux. I get to do this twice daily with a 3-hour break between sessions for five days straight.

New experiences, hooray! But this one wasn't on my bucket list.

Oh, one sort of cool thing - the hyperbaric chamber is exactly like the chamber in The Fifth Element that they used to 'reconstruct' Leeloo. Guess I'll just lie there and pretend I'm the female supreme being.

09-12-2012, 06:41 PM	#13
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	Actually 5/325s would be better than what I have, because you can take 3 of them at a time. I have 5/500s and 2 is the limit per dose. Another bump in the road today ... I found little blisters in the surgical area today after showering, and the color there didn't look right (on the weekend, the house staff were worried about necrosis, although they didn't pump up the fluids when my pressure dropped into the 80s systolic). I called in and they saw me in clinic within an hour; I was figuring wound infection, which would suck because it'd ruin the reconstruction. But reality sucks more. I'm going to lose a big area of skin to necrosis unless they can turn it around with hyperbaric therapy. If it responds (which isn't likely), good. If not, I'll need a full-thickness skin graft (more, painful ++ surgery). I'll have a nasty patchwork series of scars and a delay in my chemo schedule. So I went for 'intake' at the hyperbaric clinic. I really didn't know anything about the practicalities of it. Wow. There's a major risk of fire and explosion so I can take nothing in, have to wear only an all-cotton gown (no synthetics or plastics), no creams, makeup, hair product, deodorant, nada; I can only watch TV or sleep during the 2.5 hour treatment. I can't drink any carbonated beverages (and beans, I assume, are forbidden! ). No alcohol, inside or out. I get a bracelet that grounds me to the chamber, then the chamber is grounded outside. If I wear/do something that breaks the rules, I kill both myself and the tech. Nice. Possible side effects include seizures, vision changes that last 2 months, hemorrhagic blisters on my eardrums with possible rupture, and GI reflux. I get to do this twice daily with a 3-hour break between sessions for five days straight. New experiences, hooray! But this one wasn't on my bucket list. Oh, one sort of cool thing - the hyperbaric chamber is exactly like the chamber in The Fifth Element that they used to 'reconstruct' Leeloo. Guess I'll just lie there and pretend I'm the female supreme being. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

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