Even though I have had a somewhat boring recovery, I absolutely remember the pain in the first few weeks. It is truly a slow process. Sending healing thoughts and a big hug, too. You will get through this in your in time and in your own way! Peggy. ;) xo
THR 12 days post-op & 1st post here.
- Thread starter ShellBell727
- Start date
- Status
OP
OP
ShellBell727
junior member
@BMWDavid No worries! Thanks for clarifying your intent. I admit I'm a little oversensitive!
@Jaycey Actually... I haven't been wearing shoes much! I can't put my own shoes on yet so if I dont get them on before my hubby goes to work, I dont wear them. Plus I have barely left the house since my surgery. Maybe I need to wear my new tennis shoes even though I'm not going outside. It will be much easier on my joints.
Today I'm having crazy pain in my inner thigh near my groin. The front of my thigh hurts, too. I'm not sure why but no amount of ice or meds (not more than prescribed!) is helping. I'm relaxing and will start wearing my shoes all the time to see if it helps.
@Jaycey Actually... I haven't been wearing shoes much! I can't put my own shoes on yet so if I dont get them on before my hubby goes to work, I dont wear them. Plus I have barely left the house since my surgery. Maybe I need to wear my new tennis shoes even though I'm not going outside. It will be much easier on my joints.
Today I'm having crazy pain in my inner thigh near my groin. The front of my thigh hurts, too. I'm not sure why but no amount of ice or meds (not more than prescribed!) is helping. I'm relaxing and will start wearing my shoes all the time to see if it helps.
Vetgirl
Sr Bonesmartie
- Joined
- May 15, 2013
- Messages
- 1,149
- Age
- 57
- Gender
- Female
- Country
Australia
Oh no @ShellBell727 so sorry to hear about your pain. Is there anything you can take for breakthrough pain?
Take it easy and rest abit because obviously something may have aggravated it. I know even at about 9 weeks post op I did squats and afterwards was in pain for 4 days. It really got me down
Hope it gets better soon
Take it easy and rest abit because obviously something may have aggravated it. I know even at about 9 weeks post op I did squats and afterwards was in pain for 4 days. It really got me down
Hope it gets better soon
OP
OP
ShellBell727
junior member
Woo hoo! Something awesome to report over here... I was sitting at the table and finished eating. Went to get up and take my dish to the kitchen and- where the heck is my walker? Who moved it? Nobody else is home! Well of course the answer is, when I brought my stuff to the table I left the walker in the kitchen and didn't even think about it!!!
Then, I went to let the dog out and decided to try using my cane instead of my walker. It felt OK but I was a little scared at first. I ended up going five minutes without pain or limping so I kept going. I'm not very strong yet but I went ten minutes! I don't know if I might need to go back and forth between cane and walker for a little while but it sure felt good to be able to walk with a cane. I even got a little teary eyed. I'll blame that on post-surgery emotions.
Then, I went to let the dog out and decided to try using my cane instead of my walker. It felt OK but I was a little scared at first. I ended up going five minutes without pain or limping so I kept going. I'm not very strong yet but I went ten minutes! I don't know if I might need to go back and forth between cane and walker for a little while but it sure felt good to be able to walk with a cane. I even got a little teary eyed. I'll blame that on post-surgery emotions.
grandma chris
graduate
Yayyy!!! That seems like a very important milestone! Congratulations
YAY @ShellBell727 !!! Like you said, you might have to switch back and forth between the cane and the walker at first, but soon, you'll be needing only your cane, and eventually, nothing at all !!! You go girl.
OP
OP
ShellBell727
junior member
I'm afraid I got a little too active with the cane and must have overdone it. I'd been taking walks with my walker 3x/day for 15 minutes so thought I could just switch to walking with my cane. I was so excited to be rid of the stupid walker! And it felt OK at the time! But after 2 days of that, I could barely walk at all. I had to rest completely for a day and have started walking a little again but not nearly as much. The last few nights have sucked as I can't sleep thanks to post-surgery insomnia and pain. I usually sleep in my recliner but tried to sleep in bed last night. I woke up with horrible pain like I'd had right after surgery and never could get back to sleep. The last few days i was trying to wean completely off prescription pain meds but Tylenol and ibuprofen just don't take care of the pain, especially at night. I'm frustrated cause I feel like it should be better at this point, it's been 5 weeks today! Will have to call my OS tomorrow about a refill. Not looking forward to the inevitable lecture from a nurse.
My setbacks, recently increased pain, and insomnia are getting to me. I feel so isolated and alone when everyone else in my home is sleeping soundly. I miss seeing my friends and feeling useful. I'm scared I won't be physically ready to go back to work when all my paid leave runs out in 2 weeks. I'm so tired of feeling trapped at home and not going anywhere. I'm tired of wearing shorts and yoga pants every day because all my regular pants hurt too much. Basically, I guess I'm kind of depressed.
My setbacks, recently increased pain, and insomnia are getting to me. I feel so isolated and alone when everyone else in my home is sleeping soundly. I miss seeing my friends and feeling useful. I'm scared I won't be physically ready to go back to work when all my paid leave runs out in 2 weeks. I'm so tired of feeling trapped at home and not going anywhere. I'm tired of wearing shorts and yoga pants every day because all my regular pants hurt too much. Basically, I guess I'm kind of depressed.
grandma chris
graduate
Oh @ShellBell727 I'm so sorry you've had a little backslide. But please keep in mind that this is probably all that's happening, a little backslide. In spending HOURS reading over so many threads of recovery, this seems to be the most common theme of all - one day "I feel soooo great, life is wonderful" and the next "This is terrible, I hurt, it sucks"!! It would be funny if it wasn't happening to us really. That seems to be the way it goes for all of us. Take heart, dear heart - it will get better again.
OP
OP
ShellBell727
junior member
I had a follow up visit with my OS today. He says I'm doing well and my x-rays look great. I have pain on the outside of both hips (he pushed there and I about jumped off the table) which he says is probably bursitis, fun. My operated side hurts still, and I'm taking pain meds to help with that. He said most of his patients go off prescription pain meds somewhere between 6-12 weeks, and in my case because I was so bad before surgery it might be on the longer side. The pain is at the front top of my thigh and coming around to the side. My incision is very sensitive, especially the top 2 inches! He said it's OK for me to get massage (which is great cause my husband is a massage therapist) and we talked about safe stretches I can do. He said I can try using an exercise bike but start with zero resistance and see how that goes. He advised me to wait until at least 12 weeks before I try a regular bike and to make sure I'm very stable and comfortable with the exercise bike first.
My OS referred me to physical therapy; I'll take what they say with a grain of salt because I know more exercises do not always help and might actually hurt. The pain I have is bad when I first wake up, gets better during the day, and by evening hurts more again. I'm still icing and elevating my leg when I can because it feels better when I do. I'm not having too much trouble falling asleep in bed but wake up from pain around 3-4am and have trouble falling back to sleep unless I take pain meds and move to the recliner with my leg elevated.
At this point I'm not using a cane inside my home but definitely when I go outside my home. I can walk without it but I limp and I'm trying to retrain myself not to limp. I'm doing 5-15 minutes 2-3 times per day, depending on how it feels. I skip walks when it's hurting. I've been driving a little the past week but I wouldn't want to drive too far yet. I'm going back to work 3/19 with light duty (in office only, no driving) for 2 weeks. Depending on traffic the commute can be 30-45 minutes so I'm hoping I'll be comfortable with that by then! So I'll have a total of 8 weeks off work. I'd love to have more time off but I'm out of paid leave and can't afford unpaid leave. I know I'm probably going to be exhausted the first few weeks, but at least my first week back is only 3 days.
My OS referred me to physical therapy; I'll take what they say with a grain of salt because I know more exercises do not always help and might actually hurt. The pain I have is bad when I first wake up, gets better during the day, and by evening hurts more again. I'm still icing and elevating my leg when I can because it feels better when I do. I'm not having too much trouble falling asleep in bed but wake up from pain around 3-4am and have trouble falling back to sleep unless I take pain meds and move to the recliner with my leg elevated.
At this point I'm not using a cane inside my home but definitely when I go outside my home. I can walk without it but I limp and I'm trying to retrain myself not to limp. I'm doing 5-15 minutes 2-3 times per day, depending on how it feels. I skip walks when it's hurting. I've been driving a little the past week but I wouldn't want to drive too far yet. I'm going back to work 3/19 with light duty (in office only, no driving) for 2 weeks. Depending on traffic the commute can be 30-45 minutes so I'm hoping I'll be comfortable with that by then! So I'll have a total of 8 weeks off work. I'd love to have more time off but I'm out of paid leave and can't afford unpaid leave. I know I'm probably going to be exhausted the first few weeks, but at least my first week back is only 3 days.
- Status
