I'm definitely a "better safe than sorry" person - one reason I've agonized so about the decision to pursue surgery. There's only so much we can do for ourselves with this operation, to improve our chances of coming through safe and sound . (I've gone through at least ten ops alone with little or minimal help - i.e., got a lift to and from, if that ) .
But there are SOME things we can do to be safer! Besides planning with back up plans and persons to spare, we can try to be as healthy as possible, going in.
Also I've been thinking right along about immunizations: Flu shots (there's quite a range), shingles vaccination and last but not least, pneumonia vaccine. Yesterday at Walmart there was a nurse giving a flu shot (each one contained a whole LOT of strains including HINIs). Also, pneumonia shots were offered separately. The latter, $60, contains over 20 strains of pneumonia bacteria. This has been much on my mind lately, in connection with our scoli comrade who is fighting her way back from a nasty attack.
I've had at least one such vaccination in the past (I WISH I knew when!). I'm troubled because the latest info says patients aren't to have more than TWO in a lifetime and not more than five years apart. I'm trying to get a clear answer from my PCP about the odds of having it even without remembering my exact vaccination history.
It certainly seems it would be a great advantage to go into surgery with this extra protection! Or ARE there serious risks to possibly going over the maximum? I know some people even worry the side effects of the flu shots (regular. HINI and a few sub-types), outweigh the advantages.
But there are SOME things we can do to be safer! Besides planning with back up plans and persons to spare, we can try to be as healthy as possible, going in.
Also I've been thinking right along about immunizations: Flu shots (there's quite a range), shingles vaccination and last but not least, pneumonia vaccine. Yesterday at Walmart there was a nurse giving a flu shot (each one contained a whole LOT of strains including HINIs). Also, pneumonia shots were offered separately. The latter, $60, contains over 20 strains of pneumonia bacteria. This has been much on my mind lately, in connection with our scoli comrade who is fighting her way back from a nasty attack.
I've had at least one such vaccination in the past (I WISH I knew when!). I'm troubled because the latest info says patients aren't to have more than TWO in a lifetime and not more than five years apart. I'm trying to get a clear answer from my PCP about the odds of having it even without remembering my exact vaccination history.
It certainly seems it would be a great advantage to go into surgery with this extra protection! Or ARE there serious risks to possibly going over the maximum? I know some people even worry the side effects of the flu shots (regular. HINI and a few sub-types), outweigh the advantages.
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