JoeyRamone
new member
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2024
- Messages
- 10
- Age
- 50
- Country
United States
- Gender
- Female
I made it to the other side! Surgery was scheduled for 230pm on Thursday, April 25 and everything was right on time at the outpatient surgical center. As someone who had this as their first surgery other than wisdom teeth over 30 years ago, I am going to go into excessive detail here.
Day 0: They took me back into a private room, gave me my gown and mesh underwear, and told me I could leave my sports bra on which left me unreasonably excited. They set the line for the IV, put on all of the monitors for heart rate, etc. one of the stickies didn’t work so my heart rate kept skipping down to zero which was entertaining. blood pressure was initially high, but I guess not unexpected. I was pretty nervous until my surgeon (Dr. Sean Gallagher at ATXOrtho) came in. He’s very, very calming and reassuring. My husband had some questions about the postop medication and he answered those, then asked me several times what questions I had. I shared my anxiety and asked if I would be given something to me calm down. He assured me they would give me something to calm me before the nerve block around my hip. He walked through everything that was going to happen over the next two hours, including those two shots for the preop nerve block, the epidural, the postop local numbing agent. His approach is direct superior, or Superpath. He told me the names of the two drugs he would be using, but all I heard was something about “bejeweled,” which I know is not right. I asked him specifically about Exparel because I read about it here. He knew what I meant but said no it’s not that it’s a combination of xxx and yyy.
The anesthesiologist came in next and asked the same series of questions everyone had been asking, which leg, etc. He was much more business-like and impersonal than the surgeon so it was a little bit anxiety inducing. He also made many fewer promises about how long the epidural and local would last after the fact. The surgeon said that the equivalent would last about 18 hours, the anesthesiologist said maybe three. Then they kicked my husband out came back with something to calm me down. There was not any impact of whatever it was, but then they realized the IV line had not been opened yet and as soon as they opened it, I said, “oh ****” and we were off. They had an ultrasound to guide the preop shots around my hip. I started getting chatty and apologetic for being chatty but they laughed it off. Then the OR nurse came back in. I haven’t mentioned the preop nurse, but he was fantastic also. They all knew that this was my first surgery, and were excellent about explaining everything.
The OR nurse took me back to the room. They had me roll over to the hard operating table. They explained I was going to sit up and bend over a pillow while they did the epidural. Although I was on the anti-anxiety meds, I was still kind of freaked out. The nurse held me the whole time. The anesthesiologist was excellent and explained exactly what was gonna happen and how it should feel. He was much more calming in the OR than I would’ve expected based on the preop visit. It wasn’t painful at all. They laid me on my side situated me on my side with bolsters in a way that was as comfortable as it could be while I was still awake, then put the mask on and I remember nothing else.
I woke up in recovery a little over two hours later moaning because the incision site was burning pretty bad. The surgery took a little bit longer than hour and a half he had projected. According to my family this is because he “wanted to make sure he got my leg length right.” I remember moaning quite a bit because the incision site was pretty painful. I found out later that I was given a couple of the 5 mg oxycodone, and when that didn’t help, a little bit of Dilaudid (.5mg). Then the shakes hit, I have never felt anything like that before, worse than even when I have been sickest with bad chills. My best friend is a nurse and was asking for updates so when my husband told her about that uncontrollable shaking, she suggested he ask about Demerol. He asked the postop nurse and she gave me some. When I talked to the postop nurse in the follow-up call yesterday, she said it she’s given it much more frequently at other places she’s worked but the surgical center doesn’t use it much. my postop blood pressure was initially pretty low, something like 90/55. I changed into my postop clothes (an easy to put on dress as suggested here.) They set me up to try and walk and even sitting up was too much, I felt like I was going to pass out and maybe throw up. So I got some Sprite and crackers. We waited another 20 minutes, BP made it to 118/70. The one other person in postop had finished surgery about an hour before me and my sense was that they were waiting on me to get out so they could go home. The next time we tried, I was able to sit up and walk about 10 steps before the dizziness hit again. They put me in a wheelchair and got me to the bathroom where I was able to go. Then it was back in the wheelchair and out to the parking garage.
I was able to get in the front seat of the SUV with no problem, forgot the trash bag, but that was OK. We had brought ice packs in a cooler and a protein shake thanks to the suggestions here. we also brought blankets and pillows in case it would be easier for me to lay in the back, but I was fine up front. I I had my pillow and comforter and the 2 hour drive was fine as long as I was fully reclined and had a pillowcase over my face so streetlight didn’t make me feel sick. We were home by 9. I was able to get out of the car, use the walker up to the front door, and then I got wheeled back to the bedroom and an office chair that has served an amazing wheelchair.
Day 1 (Friday): I dozed for most of the night, but didn’t get a very deep sleep, kind of like after a long and exciting/exhausting race. The routine was limited to walking with the walker to the bathroom about every two hours and taking medication (tramadol 50mg, acetaminophen 500mg) every 6 hours; 100mg celebrex, baby aspirin, and 4mg dexamethasone every 12; and 1300mg tranexamic acid with 125 mcg vitamin d3 daily. By the end of the day yesterday I was able to walk to and from the bathroom, before that, I needed to be wheeled back to the bed because I was getting lightheaded.
Day 2, ~ 42 hours post-surgery (Saturday): Pain is ok, not too much different than what I felt after a 100k or 100 mile. (And just to be clear I was not in racing shape going into this procedure! I have not been able to run in a year. On good days I was able to walk a couple of miles and be sore for a couple of days after. The pain/soreness after long runs is just the closest comparison I can think of. )
The worst pain so far was the incision in recovery, that was about an 8, I’ve been at 5 or below since and mostly below, sometimes with no pain. I’ve been very regular with icing and keeping legs elevated except the hand me down ice machine broke last night. Have been able to tolerate real food since yesterday afternoon and that has helped. I’m still aiming for 3 protein shakes a day.
The one really unexpected and unsettling thing that’s happened was uncontrollable shaking last night, about 25 hours since getting home. My quad, hamstring, and especially hip flexor have been very sore and the shaking makes the hip flexor much worse. It happened again this morning too. My husband called the doctor to ask if a muscle relaxer would help so we are trying that. Otherwise things have been going pretty well. I feel like I’m definitely in the middle of the range I see described here. Getting up today, washing my face, putting in contacts finally, and going to the bathroom wiped me out so I don’t think I’m going to be walking around the block this week, but I’m aiming for a shower this afternoon. Sorry for the very lengthy post, I hope it helps other first-timers!
Day 0: They took me back into a private room, gave me my gown and mesh underwear, and told me I could leave my sports bra on which left me unreasonably excited. They set the line for the IV, put on all of the monitors for heart rate, etc. one of the stickies didn’t work so my heart rate kept skipping down to zero which was entertaining. blood pressure was initially high, but I guess not unexpected. I was pretty nervous until my surgeon (Dr. Sean Gallagher at ATXOrtho) came in. He’s very, very calming and reassuring. My husband had some questions about the postop medication and he answered those, then asked me several times what questions I had. I shared my anxiety and asked if I would be given something to me calm down. He assured me they would give me something to calm me before the nerve block around my hip. He walked through everything that was going to happen over the next two hours, including those two shots for the preop nerve block, the epidural, the postop local numbing agent. His approach is direct superior, or Superpath. He told me the names of the two drugs he would be using, but all I heard was something about “bejeweled,” which I know is not right. I asked him specifically about Exparel because I read about it here. He knew what I meant but said no it’s not that it’s a combination of xxx and yyy.
The anesthesiologist came in next and asked the same series of questions everyone had been asking, which leg, etc. He was much more business-like and impersonal than the surgeon so it was a little bit anxiety inducing. He also made many fewer promises about how long the epidural and local would last after the fact. The surgeon said that the equivalent would last about 18 hours, the anesthesiologist said maybe three. Then they kicked my husband out came back with something to calm me down. There was not any impact of whatever it was, but then they realized the IV line had not been opened yet and as soon as they opened it, I said, “oh ****” and we were off. They had an ultrasound to guide the preop shots around my hip. I started getting chatty and apologetic for being chatty but they laughed it off. Then the OR nurse came back in. I haven’t mentioned the preop nurse, but he was fantastic also. They all knew that this was my first surgery, and were excellent about explaining everything.
The OR nurse took me back to the room. They had me roll over to the hard operating table. They explained I was going to sit up and bend over a pillow while they did the epidural. Although I was on the anti-anxiety meds, I was still kind of freaked out. The nurse held me the whole time. The anesthesiologist was excellent and explained exactly what was gonna happen and how it should feel. He was much more calming in the OR than I would’ve expected based on the preop visit. It wasn’t painful at all. They laid me on my side situated me on my side with bolsters in a way that was as comfortable as it could be while I was still awake, then put the mask on and I remember nothing else.
I woke up in recovery a little over two hours later moaning because the incision site was burning pretty bad. The surgery took a little bit longer than hour and a half he had projected. According to my family this is because he “wanted to make sure he got my leg length right.” I remember moaning quite a bit because the incision site was pretty painful. I found out later that I was given a couple of the 5 mg oxycodone, and when that didn’t help, a little bit of Dilaudid (.5mg). Then the shakes hit, I have never felt anything like that before, worse than even when I have been sickest with bad chills. My best friend is a nurse and was asking for updates so when my husband told her about that uncontrollable shaking, she suggested he ask about Demerol. He asked the postop nurse and she gave me some. When I talked to the postop nurse in the follow-up call yesterday, she said it she’s given it much more frequently at other places she’s worked but the surgical center doesn’t use it much. my postop blood pressure was initially pretty low, something like 90/55. I changed into my postop clothes (an easy to put on dress as suggested here.) They set me up to try and walk and even sitting up was too much, I felt like I was going to pass out and maybe throw up. So I got some Sprite and crackers. We waited another 20 minutes, BP made it to 118/70. The one other person in postop had finished surgery about an hour before me and my sense was that they were waiting on me to get out so they could go home. The next time we tried, I was able to sit up and walk about 10 steps before the dizziness hit again. They put me in a wheelchair and got me to the bathroom where I was able to go. Then it was back in the wheelchair and out to the parking garage.
I was able to get in the front seat of the SUV with no problem, forgot the trash bag, but that was OK. We had brought ice packs in a cooler and a protein shake thanks to the suggestions here. we also brought blankets and pillows in case it would be easier for me to lay in the back, but I was fine up front. I I had my pillow and comforter and the 2 hour drive was fine as long as I was fully reclined and had a pillowcase over my face so streetlight didn’t make me feel sick. We were home by 9. I was able to get out of the car, use the walker up to the front door, and then I got wheeled back to the bedroom and an office chair that has served an amazing wheelchair.
Day 1 (Friday): I dozed for most of the night, but didn’t get a very deep sleep, kind of like after a long and exciting/exhausting race. The routine was limited to walking with the walker to the bathroom about every two hours and taking medication (tramadol 50mg, acetaminophen 500mg) every 6 hours; 100mg celebrex, baby aspirin, and 4mg dexamethasone every 12; and 1300mg tranexamic acid with 125 mcg vitamin d3 daily. By the end of the day yesterday I was able to walk to and from the bathroom, before that, I needed to be wheeled back to the bed because I was getting lightheaded.
Day 2, ~ 42 hours post-surgery (Saturday): Pain is ok, not too much different than what I felt after a 100k or 100 mile. (And just to be clear I was not in racing shape going into this procedure! I have not been able to run in a year. On good days I was able to walk a couple of miles and be sore for a couple of days after. The pain/soreness after long runs is just the closest comparison I can think of. )
The worst pain so far was the incision in recovery, that was about an 8, I’ve been at 5 or below since and mostly below, sometimes with no pain. I’ve been very regular with icing and keeping legs elevated except the hand me down ice machine broke last night. Have been able to tolerate real food since yesterday afternoon and that has helped. I’m still aiming for 3 protein shakes a day.
The one really unexpected and unsettling thing that’s happened was uncontrollable shaking last night, about 25 hours since getting home. My quad, hamstring, and especially hip flexor have been very sore and the shaking makes the hip flexor much worse. It happened again this morning too. My husband called the doctor to ask if a muscle relaxer would help so we are trying that. Otherwise things have been going pretty well. I feel like I’m definitely in the middle of the range I see described here. Getting up today, washing my face, putting in contacts finally, and going to the bathroom wiped me out so I don’t think I’m going to be walking around the block this week, but I’m aiming for a shower this afternoon. Sorry for the very lengthy post, I hope it helps other first-timers!
