onc appointment update

Hello Dearhearts

I am home from my onc appointment with both positive news and not so positive news.

First, the onc does not believe that I have an abscess. Hooray! I did not think so either, but given all the pain, who knew.
She explained that the pocket of fluid is not totally abnormal. She said that it was such a big operation and she had to do a lot of scraping tumor and such, that my lymph system is still way out of wack. She did say that if I develope any new symptoms such as fever, chills, vomiting or pain that becomes worse than it is, to call right away because it is possible that she is wrong. She feels strongly though that there is no infection right now. So I guess it's just have patience and be watchful of changing symptoms.

Second, as far as receiving blood transfusions, she is not big on the idea. She said that it is my choice. If I choose, I can get admitted now and receive blood. There are always risks when being transfused. I have had many many transfusions with no adverse issues, but there is always a first time. She said that she would hate to give me more problems than I already have. Okay, but I still feel so awful.

So the plan right now is to see how I feel and how well I can manage the effects of not enough blood. My regular doc is out of town till Monday, although he does call me every night to see how I am and to help with adjusting pain med doses. He's a great guy!
Anyway, hubby and I will try to see if I can hold off on receiving blood. I would prefer to not get any, plus getting an i.v. to work for any length of time is a real challenge for me. We will let the reg doc handle transfusions if I still want or need them either by Monday or before that if necessary.

So I will take it day by day and see how bad the symptoms become. Hopefully they will not get worse. Right now they are pretty bad. I am dizzy and get off balance a lot. I am not able to do much of anything right now, except rest. The onc said that even if my counts were normal, I still would not be able to do much, since the surgery was such a big deal.

As far as the pain control, I am working daily with my reg doc to find the best combination or dose that will give me the best pain relief. Both the onc and the reg doc feel that I must control the pain before I am able to really heal.

So for now, I will be at home and just rest. Same thing I have been doing everyday.. I will try to drink more and eat more too. That part will be hard. But I will try..
Hubby and I will be aware of any changes and just take it day by day or hour by hour if need be.

Thank you all for your continued words of support. I really feel the love and care you are sending me daily.
I hope and pray that all of you have easy days and that you are without pain!
You all are so very important to me and are imbedded in my life beyond measure.

Huge hugs to all
Lisha