Monday, September 26, 2016

Ketamine Therapy for Residual Nerve Damage via Guillain Barre Syndrome Part 8

THURSDAY - TREATMENT 3
I was dragging for this appointment but made it in. Pain wise I went in around a 6. This time when I was called back, both hospital beds were taken and I was given a chair that would recline. I wish I had known about this before! It was so much easier to sit/lounge with the arm rests! I made a mental note to request this moving forward. Before the Ketamine started I asked when they figured I would be done and was able to text my husband details prior to all their questions while I was semi-sober. They continued using my left hand for the IV.
While the switch to the chair was a nice change, the cloth walls were a bit closer around me which kind of made me feel a bit claustrophobic (which normally isn't an issue...) and there was a sliver of a window pane visible from one of corners. Again, normally this would never even bother me; but when the Ketamine treatment started to kick in, the light sensitivity amped up on me and I fought to keep my eye closed the majority of the time. I wondered if it would be weird to bring in one of those sleeping masks with me for the next treatment... :x
Whatever solid ground I thought I was on when it came to getting a handle on these Ketamine treatments was quickly swept out from under me. This time the treatment hit me harder and faster than before and I was rather out of it when it came time to unhook and roll out to see my husband. It took me a few tries to transfer from the chair to the wheelchair to be rolled out and I needed a bit more help getting into the car this round.
I did still want to celebrate it all being half over so we stopped for a smoothie and a bagel before heading home. Sucking down the smoothie on the way home also seemed to help clear my head a bit by the time we got home. I still needed help from my husband to get through the door and to my cot without risking a fall, but since I kept my eyes closed the majority of the time, the headache was much less; mainly it was the exhaustion taking a toll on me. I left the facility around a 5-6 pain though. At this point I was doubting I would be seeing any benefit from these treatments, but I refused to let myself back out from them half way if there was even a slim chance of it dropping my constant pain.
Friday and Saturday were pretty much full bed rest days. Lots of water, simple foods and solid time being spent flat on my back, or at least my side. I got quite a bit of Netflix series binged though with the exhaustion, my attention and concentration were a bit shot. I would guess I had maybe 6 hours each day of being awake. 3 hours in the afternoon and 3 hours in the evening after crashing a few hours.
By Sunday night I was feeling a bit cooped up and restless so at least some of the exhaustion was going away. My pain however was just hovering in that 6 range. This all felt like a waste of time and money. I told my husband, 'Even if I beg, don't let me cut this short. I need to give the full treatment a try before I throw in the towel and look for the next option.'
Monday I was well enough to sit up and work at the computer a little bit and watch some Netflix from the couch while sitting up. We also went out and grabbed a bite to eat for dinner. It felt like I was finally coming up for air from the exhaustion... Just in time for the next round of treatment.



Round 3! Rawr!


The cats liked to keep me company on the cot...


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