I have to say, I am completely shocked and amazed by the power of the socks!  The compression stockings that were prescribed for me are the highest amount of compression.  I was warned that I should put them on first thing in the morning and that it would be hard to get them on.  I was told if I couldn’t get them on they do make devices to help!  I wore them for the first time on Wednesday.  It did take some work to get them on, but was doable.  I could see that my ankles (especially the left) did swell some during the day, but the stockings were surprisingly comfortable once they were on. They somehow help improve circulation in your legs.  I had an appointment at the U to have my hearing aids adjusted.  Since my hearing is now stable and my CI surgery is being delayed, I wanted to get them adjusted to my new hearing level and see if it would be helpful.  They actually are helping to some extent. Speech is still not as clear and distinguishable as I would like, but I can follow quite a bit of  conversation now, so that is def. an improvement.  I can also use my neckloop again with my Domino Pro which is huge!  That gives me another method of amplification and it’s so nice not to have the earbuds in my ears all day (skull candy earbuds are not as comfy as my molded earpieces lol).  There is some walking involved from the parking garage to the clinic and my audiologist’s office.  My breathing is so much better – I was able to do it without any problem.  The mistake I made was not eating regularly.  I had breakfast early, a packet of oatmeal – so no protein, then a small snack an hour or so before I left.  It was nearly 3 by the time I had lunch and by then I was feeling it.  I had a big drop in mood, felt tired, major headache, tingly hands and tongue – all of these are typical for me if I don’t eat properly.  By the time I got home my feet were also really hurting.  I sat in a lounger with my feet up and just felt terrible and exhausted.  My feet and legs began to throb.  My headache got worse.  I stayed home from church and fell asleep for a couple of hours.  I felt a lot better by morning.  I think not eating properly was the main thing, but I wonder if there was an aspect of it that had to do with my circulation and my body working hard with the change.  I don’t really know, but yesterday, there was significantly less swelling and even during the day as I did things that would have caused swelling before, it really didn’t happen much.  This morning when I woke up, I noticed that my ankles are thinner than they’ve been in a year!  There were a few days during the prednisone treatment when my ankles looked “normal” again and that’s how I knew fluid retention was still a big part of how I was feeling the rest of the time.  My ankles are even thinner  now, so I think even then there was some fluid retention.  I’m utterly amazed that after only 2 days of wearing these things I’ve seen such dramatic results!  I am now a believer in the power of the socks!!  🙂

Wednesday night when I was feeling so cruddy physically, I was also feeling weary emotionally.  I realized that so much has happened in such a short amount of time.  The most recent hearing loss episode was only  7 weeks ago.  It was discouraging to have gone through so much during the previous year in hopes stabilizing my hearing and then have it turn out not to work.  It was also discouraging to have to go back on the steroids so soon after I finally finished the long term course.  Then it was discouraging for the new efforts to fail.  There was more adjusting to be done with a new level of deafness.  There was more educating myself and research that had to be done about cochlear implants and surgery.  Then, only a short time later, being hospitalized with the blood clots and the scary experience that was. There was a minor surgical procedure done.  There was more education regarding what had happened and there is quite a lot to know and understand about taking blood thinners and getting into a routine with that. There were lots of doctor appointments and blood draws.  Then there was the physical recovery.  Then the compression stockings – another change in daily routine.  Then the sleep study and finding out that I have sleep apnea.  Another area to educate myself on and more new equipment to learn about and understand and adjust to using in my daily routine.  It’s been a lot and I think it all caught up with me a little bit.  Overall, I feel I’m handling it all and I know I will adjust fairly quickly.  I think I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t have moments whenIi felt like that, but physically I am improving and emotionally I am feeling fairly strong again.  I think it’s easy to forget sometimes how much I’ve been through over the past year.  My body really went through a lot and I am finally at a point where I can start to recover and work toward feeling healthier and strong again.  I’ve learned a lot intellectually and spiritually.  I’m really looking forward to spending some time with some of the women in my church family this weekend.  We are having an overnight retreat at a cabin in Northern Minnesota.  Ahhhhh…..just what I need 🙂  Oh yes, and now I am aware of the power of the socks!  🙂