Nursing Myself

The World of Home Nursing

Today has started out very well. I am still having to play around with just how much I “eat” and when. I am trying to make it so that my “breakfast” is the big meal of the day then have my meals get smaller throughout the rest of the day. I need to figure out just how much “food” to eat at lunch. Today I am going to stick with eating granny’s formula. It has no taste so I will need to use my imagination to make believe I am actually eating something that I would really enjoy having.

I think I need some guidance on some simple exercises that I can do to help keep my digestive system stimulated. Before I have any of granny’s formula they have me do a simple test to see if the last “meal” has been digested or not. Of course if it has not then I am not supposed to “eat” anything. Due to the results of this test it seems that my lunch and dinner are taking forever to digest. Mom and I have noticed that I am more active in the morning then during the rest of the day. This is why I am thinking I need to get up out of the chair or bed and actually do something. Do any of you have any “simple” exercise suggestions?

Now get this I am on a high level of pain medication for my cancer, I get it via IV, you would think that it would take care of any pain in my body, but no I still get headaches. I feel that when I stepped out of the hospital this last time I came home to a new world. I call this new world the: World of Home Nursing. Here I am required to be a nurse to just me! Although I wanted to be a nurse when I was a little girl I think we all know that I never did it. So, of course, it feels like an entirely new world where I have no idea what I am supposed to do. Thankfully those who work at the VNA understand just how confusing this can be for their new patients. So far they are being great to me. I called last night and was gently guided through what I could do for myself. This morning I still have a slight headache so I did more of what I did last night, took some Tylenol.

One thing that I am nervous about is drug interaction. I don’t know what over the counter medications I can take and which to stay away from. It is nice to learn some of the ones that are okay to take.