Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Residue

Today I'm feeling better. Not fabulous, but better. The pain is a little better, and so I slept better, and that helps. The being hungry but not wanting to eat thing is still alive and well, but I don't know, maybe I'm more resigned to it? Last night I choked down a little container of cottage cheese for dinner while blissfully reading the list of foods I'll be allowed to eat starting next Thursday. And today I had lost another pound.

I just wish I didn't feel HUNGRY. This state of being totally takes the fun out of hunger. Before, it was kind of nice to be hungry, because then you could eat something, you know? It's nice to eat something that tastes good when you're hungry. It's a good feeling. It is not nice to force puree down your throat when you're hungry. It's kind of sad how eating has started dominating my life since the surgery, even though I don't want to eat--I dread the next time I get a hunger pang, and when I do get them I let my hunger and my nausea battle it out until the hunger finally wins.

Anyway! Let's not dwell on this, shall we? It will only make me grumpy again. Instead, let's talk about how our neighborhood seems to be full of kids selling magazine subscriptions to help pay for college. Which, first of all, makes me feel really old, for kids to be hitting me up for tuition donations. This one kid was asking me what I do and how long I've been doing it and I said since college and he said, "Oh, you must really like it, then!" the subtext being, "Oh, so like, since forever!"

I was like, dude, I've only been out of college for three years, and as it turns out I'm only six years older than you. However. He also didn't know what a mortgage was, so, there's that little difference between us as well. Anyway, he was only selling magazines I wasn't interested in AND they cost like $50 for a year's subscription, which seemed like quite a lot, so I gave him a $10 donation and sent him on his way.

Also in the category of strange things I've noticed about Denver: the TV channels here are FULL of commercials for ambulance-chasing law firms. Seriously, every commercial break seems to have at least one, and sometimes two or three, commercials for various law firms reenacting horrific car crashes, blathering about how the insurance companies want to rip you off, and insisting that THEY are the premiere auto accident law firm in the Denver area. It's enough to make me want to gnaw off my own arm and throw it at the TV.

And lastly, under my list of minor complaints, I've taken off all my bandages so that now only the steristrips remain, but I cannot for the life of me get that fuzzy gross gummy residue off. Seriously, there are huge square patches of it across my abdomen. I tried scrubbing with soap and water and a loofah, and I tried kind of scraping it off with my nail, but neither of those things worked and I'm not sure what to do, especially since there are healing incisions scattered across the gross residue. Any thoughts on how I can get it go away?

27 comments:

  1. oh, Baltimore is full of ambulance chasing lawyer ads on local tv.

    the residue will take it's time. you could try Goo Gone. Worked for me ;-) but if it's near an incision, I would just leave it alone.

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  2. two words for you...Rubbing Alcohol, it will cut the goo and wont hurt your incisions, i envy you with the small incisions, i had 56 staples running up my abdomen a drain and a g tube.

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  3. Alcohol is my suggestion, too. Though you might also try make-up remover.

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  4. Over here in Australia we use eucalyptus oil to remove sticky residue off almost anything (since I make a lot of cards, it's usually tape residue off scissors) but I dont know if you can buy it over there.

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  5. I like your approach to the kid selling magazines. Support his quest to go to college without succumbing to a magazine subscription you don't want!

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  6. Oil usually works to get adhesive off. Maybe some olive oil? Of course, you want to keep it off the incision.

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  7. You get an entirely new outer layer of skin (i.e. you shed the old one off gradually) every 7 days or something like that, so if you just wait, it'll definitely be gone within a week on its own, no harsh chemicals or abrasion required. The band-aid residue from donating blood last Sunday is already gone for me, even though the bruise in my elbow is still there!

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  9. I've heard baby oil works well on that. It's funny, I was thinking yesterday about minor things that annoy me, and band-aid residue was on that list. :)

    I'm sorry about the hunger pangs. A long time ago after I had the flu, the doctor recommended nothing but fluids for three days, even though I felt fine enough to eat real food. But he was adamant. My ex and I got into a HUGE fight because he was straining my chicken noodle soup so it was just the broth and I was screaming, "Just let me have ONE NOODLE!"

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  10. you might also try nail polish remover, although that would sting an awful lot if you got it on the incisions, i'd think... so, uh, maybe not :-)

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  11. I'm glad you feel better but definitely get the hate to be hungry feeling.

    I agree with some of the commenters, nail polish removers usually work. And they're safe

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  12. We have a tv lawyer on here called the "Texas Hammer" and he practically yells at the tv to get you to call him. We routinely make jokes about him.

    Also, that gummy stuff if so annoying! I'm lame and just let it slough it's self of.

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  13. I used body oil (the Korres almond is delicious) to remove medical tape goo.

    I lean much more in the other direction on the food issues continuum, so I like being hungry (it feels like I'm accomplishing something - so sick).

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  14. I would try baby oil to get rid of the residue. I would try and keep it away from your incisions, just in case.

    I am sorry that eating and not eating is kind of taking over your thoughts. Hopefully you will find a way to negotiate this awkward time soon, and then TaDa! It will be Thursday.

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  15. I can never remember whether it's baby oil or rubbing alcohol that removes adhesive. I think both do. I would use rubbing alcohol near an incision.

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  16. I hear witch hazel is a miracle thing. But maybe nail polish remover?

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  17. I'd give rubbing alcohol a shot. Hopefully your stomach will quit bugging you so much! It's got to be annoying to be hungry but have no appetite.

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  18. I would try oil over alcohol, since that never works for me.

    Having been the receipient of a lawsuit orchestrated by one of those ambulance chasing lawyers, I despise every single one of them and think they should outlaw those commercials. Actually despise might be too nice of a word...

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  19. Rubbing alcohol, but I see it has already been said.

    He didn't know what a mortgage was? What the heck?

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  20. Anchorage has loads of commercials for ambulance chasers too.

    I'm glad you're starting to feel better.

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  21. They used alcohol on some of my iv sites when I had that problem...

    Glad things are looking up some today!

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  22. We have the kids selling magazines around here as well. But since we live in a little 2 bedroom apartment and drive cars that look like their on their last leg, I'm not really sure what they are thinking asking us for money.

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  23. Chiming in a vote for rubbing alcohol. There's also baby oil, which has helped me in the past, but I'm not sure that you want that near your incision.

    Glad to hear you're feeling better, though I agree with you - daytime television is the worst!

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  24. alcohol pads will work on the residue. hang in there!!
    *hugs*

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