Morphine's back on the menu

James and I had our first guest over this morning, and she brought gifts!

Marylou from Kaisers Hospice Care came by to get me started on pain management. I have time-release morphine capsules I'm supposed to take once every 12 hours, and a fast acting dose I take as needed. Because it's a controlled substance I'm supposed to log the dosage.

We also talked about my trouble breathing at night, so she ordered an oxygen tank for me. A doctor is supposed to come by next week to see how I'm doing, and a dietician is going to help me on foods and recipes so I can eat more. There was a laundry list of drugs she ordered that I may or may not need in the coming weeks.

Then she whipped out the DNR form: Do Not Resuscitate. Signed it.

Tomorrow morning, before my first chemo treatment, I have an appointment at the Pain Management Clinic to go over any other options I may have. I'm hoping that acupuncture is in there. But if not, I have a number for a guy in Silverlake. I'm bringing a bag full of my Chinese herbal medicine so the doctors can let me know of possible negative substance interactions.

James and I opened our joint checking account this afternoon. We went to the B of A branch in Chinatown since it was so close by. Afterwards, we stopped by an herbal medicine store because Chuck said his mother suggested I take Yun Zhe to boost my immunity. Got that, and had a nice talk with the man behind the counter.

The morphine capsules really knocked me out. But I did feel rested afterwards, and it really helped with the pain... finally.