Hello everybody. I wish I could tell you something definite but I'm on a roller-coaster of ambiguity. After having a lot of pain a couple nights ago I was just fine yesterday and last night but then about noon today the discomfort started up again. I have seen the visiting LVN twice and spoke to a GI doctor on the phone. The LVN put a dressing on the stoma and told me to leave it untouched until I saw a doctor but I just had to change it anyway to see if more discharge was coming out. It isn't, so far. The LVN gave me a friendly lecture and put on a new dressing yesterday. The GI doctor does not seem to think I need to worry about anything.

The LVN said I should take acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain instead of Tramadol because opiates give me side effects like nervousness or insomnia. I used to take ibuprofen daily but in the past few years my dysphagia has gotten to the point that I can't swallow aspirin-sized pills now without them getting stuck in my throat. Tramadol is small enough for me to swallow, but like I said, it makes me feel weird and often I can't sleep. So a few minutes ago I took an Alka Seltzer Plus and I hope it helps get rid of the pinprick pains that keep bouncing around in my abdomen and ribcage. Every once in a while the stoma sends out a microburst of burning pain, which I guess is just to be expected and does not concern me too much as long as it does not get worse.