Tonsil Log

Tuesday, Tonsilectomy/UPP day. Erg. what a day. Got to the outpatient center at about 6:30, went in for surgery at about 8. Stylish johnnys, bathrobes, hairnets and sportin' non-slip socks made the 4 of us operands all admitted at the same time the very pictures of sartorial splendor. Got the IV and drugs and don't remember even being wheeled into the operating room much less anything of the process itself. This is a good thing. "woke" up in the recovery room about 9:20 or so, and faded in and out of sleep for the next couple of hours. Sipped a lot of water, got some lorezapam (not the right name I know) which helped my throat stop feeling like someone had taken a large bottle brush to it and listened foggily as the nurse gave M all the instructions and prescriptions. I got that L drug to be taken as needed (every 3-4 hours) and Oxycontin to be taken every 12 hours (precisely). Since O is regarded as one of the most effective painkillers around I am pleased my doct...

Ok, so today is Monday, October 1st, 2001. T-12 hours and counting. It's been rainy and cold and windy all weekend, the kind of fall weather that makes you want to stay inside for so you can pretend that Fall hasn't arrived as harshly as you know it has. Tomorrow morning at 6:30am, a little more than 2 weeks after my 42nd birthday if all goes according to plan I will be getting my tonsils (and some other dangly stuff) removed. Why? To try to address a mild case of sleep apnea I have. What is sleep apnea? It's when you have a pattern of stopping breathing while you are sleeping. Sounds scary, right? Doctor's don't seem too concerned unless you have a severe case and/or are older since the shock of not breathing and then starting up again is rather stressfull for the body I gather. My case isn't severe, in fact since I "only" stop breathing between 10-14 times an hour (all night long when I am sleeping) my symptoms fall into the bottom rung of severity...