gave myself a shot..

i successfully gave myself a shot in the stomach tonight! and will have to do it again tomorrow morning at 8. i have to be religious about giving myself these shots every morning and evening at the same time. the pharmacist said you can't waiver on the time with this drug. i also found out that my husband has great insurance through his company. my bill went from being $500 w/o insurance to $30 with it. amazing.

today i learned a lot about what is involved in my recovery. for the next seven months while on the blood thinner medication, my diet has to be consistent. specifically, if i start having vitamin K (greens like spinach and broccoli) in my diet, then i must stick to the same quantities each day, and every day for the duration of my time on the drug. when i get to california, the pharmacist said that i will need to find a "coumadin clinic" to start going to for regular blood tests. if i was staying in austin, she said there's a good one at Brack. the vit K in my diet will affect the blood test results and that's why its crucial that i either be consistent with it in my diet, or stay away from it all together. its just the vit K though. i chose today to keep it in my diet..why not? its healthy. and i love a good salad too. i will also have to start a work out routine that i will have to do everyday. i need to be sure that i move around every 40-ish minutes when i'm at my desk, and get away from crossing my legs during this recovery period. its not bad bad to cross your legs, but for long periods of time, its not good for the blood circulation. i'll be getting off the birth control too, since the estrogen in birth control accounts for some of the blood clotting in our bodies each month we're on it. and last but not least, no alcohol while i'm taking this drug. :( so, no happy hours or beer tastings for me for a while.

this will all take some getting used to. i'm not a routine-driven person, and apart from going to work everyday, i don't tend to do the same thing at the same time each day. i am terrible when it comes to taking medications on a set schedule, but i feel reall good about this recovery. i know i'll take good care of myself over the months. i didnt realize how serious my condition with DVT was last night. didn't realize how crucial my ER visit was to my well being and my life. my brother's girlfriend's mom had DVT when she was 28. she didn't catch it at my state, and it went to her lungs. she spent 10 days in the hospital, and her doctor told her she probably would not survive it. she recovered by the end though, and knows how lucky she is too. i have heard about instances where a traveler on a long flight developes DVT and died from not getting it treated. like me, they thought the discomfort was just sore muscles, aches and pains from sitting so long. john told me about a girl who died at age 24 from DVT she developed on a 20+ hour flight out of australia. john and bill were so great, keeping each other informed, and said they were praying for me. both have been calling today to see how i am. i have the best brothers, and fam.

i'm going to get better after this. i'm not real worried. i thank god over and over again for the timing of the events yesterday after work. going to my mom's instead of going home. the ER not being busy, and the doctor being able to see me right away. we didnt leave seton til 2am this morning, but after 7 hours there, they diagnosed the problem and found where it had started and how far it had gotten. they then got me started on the solutions. praise god for good doctors, good medicine and the perfect timing for me being on xav's insurance when almost two weeks ago mine discontinued.

good nite!---kristin