Sunday, June 26, 2011

John Loses 15 Pounds (by John)

This is John writing tonight. It has been a few days since the last update, and I thought we should keep everyone current.
My healing continues apace. I still have to be careful with remembering to take Tylenol, as the insertion point into the lung where the fluid was drained gets sore easily. And then that pain spreads to the rest of my side. But as long as I stay on top of the pain, it is not a problem.
The most dramatic change for me in the past week is that I am now 15 pounds lighter than I was last Sunday. Indeed, I am probably the 15 pounds lighter since just last Wednesday, when the fluid was pulled off from my lungs. The weight of the fluid itself has something to do with this, but I seem to have been holding a lot of water otherwise. My cardiologist prescribed Lasix (a powerful diuretic) to prevent fluid retention, and it has certainly done its work.
Part of the effect of the Lasix is that I now feel sharper mentally, and even though I am fatigued from the past week, I can feel myself getting more energy with every passing day, and expect to be more active than I was before the hospital stay occurred. I guess that not packing that much fluid helps!
Other than that, the news for this week is that I will be seeing an oncologist on Wednesday for follow-up. My family practitioner is being cautious, and wanting to be certain that the lung fluid does not indicate some form of tumor on my lung. But given my response to the Lasix, it is much more likely that there is a minor problem with my mitral valve.
Joan continues to recover apace, and besides having friends over tomorrow afternoon, we hope to go car shopping tomorrow, looking for a replacement for the mini-van.

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