The countdown has begun

I started Lovenox shots this morning. I do them in my belly every twelve hours. I'll do them until 24 hours before my surgery on Wednesday. Then I start them again 24 hours after. I do them for four more days while the coumadin comes back up to what is hopefully a good level.

Lovenox is low molecular weight heparin. It's an injectable form of a blood thinner with a 12 hour half life (I think it's 12 hours)

The idea is that I don't want a bloodclot so I don't want my blood to be of normal clotting abilities any longer than it has to be. But if I get the spinal tap while on the blood thinners I will get bruising and bleeding of the spinal cord. That can lead to paralysis and death. Being a coward with a lot of things I still want to do before I die I frown on either of this side effects so Lovenox it is.

These shots have come a long way. When I was pregnant with Cam and had to do plain old heparin I would draw the stuff up in a syringe, tap out the air bubbles, disinfect my belly, pray for strength and inject. I kept the heparin in the refrigerator and the used needles in a mayo jar. When I went in to see my OB he would toss them in with his sharps for proper disposal.

These 21st century shots are much cooler than that. They are premeasured. Swab, stick and go. (Of course I still have to pull back on the plunger once the needle is subq to make sure I haven't hit a blood vessel.) When I am finished with the shot I press a magical button and a cover springs up and over the needle, rendering it safe for the word. It's rather cool. I'd like to make some sort of sculpture with the needles. They look so interesting and springy.