One Month Post-Surgery Update: Lizz’s Perspective

It’s been just over four weeks since my elbow surgery. The surgery will hopefully correct pain and numbness that I’ve had in my right arm for over two years due to cubital tunnel syndrome. You can learn more details about why I had the surgery here, and read the immediate post-op update here.

As Dan had said, the surgery went well. I made sure to request they not use Versed during anesthesia (we learned I reacted poorly to it after my SI joint injections), and waking up was a lot easier without it! I was nowhere near as nauseous as I have been after every other surgery. They still gave me IV Zofran right after I woke up though – I was a tad nauseous and nerve pain can always make that worse. I was dealing with pain (and somehow able to give it a number while barely conscious), and they gave me several (3) doses of IV fentanyl before releasing me. (I just looked at Dan’s post-op update, and they also gave me a Dilaudid apparently.) Below is a slideshow of pictures from my surgery day!

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Immunology Lab Results: I GOT ANSWERS!

*sings and dances*
I’m broken and I have proof, I’m broken and I have proof!
*keeps singing*

Before I get to the good news, let me back up a little. Earlier this year, I went to an immunologist my ENT/allergist had recommended I see. It was the worst appointment I have ever seen and because of it I terminated my relationship with my ENT/allergist and decided to seek care elsewhere. You can read more about my appointment from Hell: here.

After that awful appointment, I went to my rheumatologist. Some of what the horrible immunologist had said about my conditions really shook me, so I wanted to double check on my fibromyalgia diagnosis and get a little more clarity as to why I had received the diagnosis exactly. I also wanted to get a recommendation from him as he is an amazing and brilliant doctor and has given me many excellent recommendations in the past.

I set up an appointment with the new immunologist for February 26th. That first appointment was amazing: an hour and a half of him truly listening to every single thing I said as we went through my history system by system, asking me in detail about many of my parents’ health conditions, him formulating hypotheses out loud about what may be going on and what may be connected to what, and then figuring out testing to run. He requested records from several doctors to make sure they hadn’t missed anything in their tests, and he ordered a bunch of lab work.  Continue reading