Life is Not Always Fair in the Drug War

Welcome to the weekly blog of a Donate Life Northwest volunteer who has graciously offered to tell the story of her journey through the organ transplant process. She posts to this blog every Wednesday so you can ride this interesting, bumpy road with her.

We almost have the cocktail right! I was afraid to talk about it being so good. I kept knocking on wood, and then one night – boom. Woke up with a hammering head at 3 a.m. and already nauseated. Knew I was in for it, and I was. Bad, bad rest of the night and all the next day. Even the liquid morphine barely helped, but it did make me sleep a bit. I now have created what I call the “black box.” It contains the arsenal of anti-migraine drugs: the injectibles, the nasal sprays, the narcotics, the anti-nausea drugs.

But I have a new favorite addition I found in an antique store, and I just love it. It’s an old fashioned ice cap! And it works so much better than a plastic bag which leaks all over my head and bed. And filling the bag is the one tangible thing my husband can to do to help in an otherwise helpless situation. We have also increased one of the prophylaxis drugs based on this last killer migraine, and bless them at OHSU- they even mentioned acupuncture before I had to. I will follow up on that next clinic visit.

So while we are talking about the unpleasant side effects (now remember, my new heart is great , but the drugs are very difficult for me), the diarrhea is increasing and now becoming not only annoying but uncomfortable. They say it’s from the drugs. However, it actually has the benefit of helping get my core abdominal muscles in shape. Besides losing weight and having fit abs by summer, if this continues, I could actually wear a bikini again. But no one would notice, and I can’t be exposed to the sun! Now where is the justice in that!

The author is a heart failure patient going through the post-transplant process. She also is a nurse and former hospital administrator. She would like to thank Donate Life Northwest for permitting her to post her observations on the Donate Life Northwest website. She also wants to emphasize that all opinions and views stated in the posts are her own and not those of Donate Life Northwest.

Tags: heart transplant, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, organ donation