THR AussieMike returns

[Poppet]

It would be upsetting Mike... and yes, the meds and anaesthetic drugs can make you emotional, also there are the post surgical blues that most of us get.. It is a well known medical symptom..

I would most certainly be discussing your meds with your surgeon in the morning.

But in the meantime if you feel strange or have any unusual sensations I wouldn't hesitate to ring the buzzer.

I had a nurse like that, so I spoke to the senior sister of the ward and said, I don't want that nurse, explained why, and she said no problem she could switch them around.

That afternoon the same nurse came on duty and came into my room and I asked her to leave and send the senior sister.. it was resolved quickly and the nurse never came back into my room..

Too bad what they think.. I was quite happy to go to the top and complain if I had to..

So don't feel bad, you have rights!

p.s. I looked up your meds... It said drowsiness, weakness and a feeling of tiredness. Plus you had extra exercise with the hydro today, that certainly made me tired when I had mine.

 

[AussieMike]

Thanks Poppet

Your kind and sage advice has calmed me down. I self medicated myself a cup of black tea and two sweet biscuits. Wonderful drug sugar. I have decided, based on what you have said to wait and speak to the doctor tomorrow. We are in night shift now with only two nursing staff so there is no avoiding the nurse who was so off-hand. Let's hope I don't need to hit the buzzer before the 10pm changeover of staff.

Thanks for being there.

All good

Mike

 

[Poppet]

Great Mike..

We are having ISP issues where we are on the South Coast.. taking forever to load a page and now all of a sudden magic.. it is back to being my slave!

Don't you just love IT :(

 

[Poppet]

Now you are doing my head in, lol!

You are organized, it is still only Thursday 4 Oct

 

[AussieMike]

Yep. Planning - its what I do. God bless cut and paste.

 

[Poppet]

Figured that's what it was... Great Project Management Planning by the way

 

[tashia]

I just read your post and I feel I am in a office looking at two co-worker doing the very best and making the office looking good because of being organized and doing all the things that need to be done in a efficent way. This is a very good complenment. I hope you take that way. After you are all healed you two can come over to my place and get my place done. I do hope you all have a very good day and enjoy a walk outside if the day is beautful. We are findly getting cool. We having been having 100 degree days. Ops I forgot your don't measure temperture that way. Oh well its finally cooling down. Do have a very good day and most of all hope you have a day of not being dizzey. Do take care and do be careful. Tashia I am having dizzy issures also.

 

[AussieMike]

Thanks Tashia for your message. The days here is Sydney Austraia are also beautiful clear and sunny. Whilst we don't have the same temperature scale as the US, I am old enough to remember when we did. Hot days in my childhood were measured by reaching 100 degrees.

Cheers

Mike

 

[AussieMike]

****GOOD NEWS***GOOD NEWS***GOOD NEWS***GOOD NEWS***GOOD NEWS***GOOD NEWS***GOOD NEWS***

I woke around 1.30am with mild pain from my operated leg but with mental clarity and no dizziness. I got up and walked down the hall to make myself a cup of black tea while I waited for the 5mg Endone the nurse brought me to take effect. As I walked down the hall it occurred to me that I was walking with great ease. I climbed back into bed to watch the T20 cricket semi-final and sip my cup of tea when it suddenly occurred to me - my swelling is gone!!

I felt my leg and it felt much smaller. I jumped out of bed and headed for the mirror in the bathroom and sure enough there is no real difference in size between the two legs. I am such a lucky man. I wonder if it was the hydrotherapy? In the end I don't really care. Now three overs to go and 32 runs to score...

 

[AussieMike]

Figured that's what it was... Great Project Management Planning by the way

Well I worked out that if I create the journal entry before the day starts I forces me to think about what my focus for the day ahead will be. Then if I wake up during the early hours of the morning, I have somewhere to add a quick note. Being medicated I can't rely upon my memory to be accurate about times or dosages of medications in the middle of the night. It works...lol

 

[Jaycey]

Hi Mike, regarding speaking to someone about your meds - certainly you should be heard. If needed go out to the desk and stand there until someone will listen. Sometimes you have to be your own champion. If staff are on autopilot - make some noise. Glad things are easing.

 

[Poppet]

5:54 am Frid ....

Just read your post about the swelling going down. The hydro therapy is just the best and I am very sure that and all the other movement you are doing is contributing. .. Fantastic. One doesn't realise how powerful the effect of working with the water resisitance is for rehab.

Glad you got your Endone during the night, no point at all being in pain, that is counter productive to recovery.

Enjoy the pool today, you will probably feel as though it is the highlight of your day... Well, that and your good lady visiting

 

[AussieMike]

Morning Poppet,

The swelling returned somewhat but I have had an insight into my future last night. That's pretty cool. I am better rested. Less emotional and feel I have been listened to by the hospital staff and we have a shared understanding going forward.

Yes I am pumped for the pool - there is nothing better than being told to kick your legs whilst holding the side rail. I took this as permission to wet the ladies in the group of course. I expect I will be given more space today..lol

And again you are correct, having my lady come in tonight will be lovely. Did I tell you that we wanted to go to a local restaurant for lunch on Saturday but this was not allowed. Well we have decided to have a seafood party in the gardens of the hospital. You know good Aussie stuff like prawns, oysters and sparkling water. Looking forward to that...

Thanks again for being there at my time of need.

I hope your day is happy.

Mike

 

[AussieMike]

Hi Mike, regarding speaking to someone about your meds - certainly you should be heard. If needed go out to the desk and stand there until someone will listen. Sometimes you have to be your own champion. If staff are on autopilot - make some noise. Glad things are easing.

Hi Jaycey,

Glad to report that my meds situation is sorted to everyone's satisfaction. On with this beautiful day. I have to dash there is physio to be done, pools to be swam...

Cheers

Mike

 

[AussieMike]

***ADVICE PLEASE***ADVICE PLEASE***ADVICE PLEASE***ADVICE PLEASE***ADVICE PLEASE***ADVICE PLEASE***

This time tomorrow I will have been here for a week. I had originally planned to stay for two weeks. Lots of the people who have been here during my first week are leaving today.

This set my mind to thinking, how long should I stay?

What should I make sure I have achieved before I discharge?

I am in the fortunate position of having private insurance which covers all the costs of my stay here, so cost is not really a consideration.

In my opinion the important physical milestones that remain are as follows:

1. Build strength in left glute.
2. Build strength in left calf.
3. Improve endurance to be able to walk around the block.
4. Reduce pain levels to the extent that I can function with low level pain relief e.g. Panadol
5. Improved sleep duration to at least 6 hours a night.

Some of these are just going to occur as part of the healing process no matter where I am doing my rehab work. I would be grateful for advise from the Bonesmart Angels on what I should be considering in making this decision.

Thanks

Mike

 

[Poppet]

Well, IMHO...

I would stay! Reasons being....

You have a heap of stairs at home, external and internal..

You have a pool at your disposal...

You have your own room...

You are being looked after well....

You are having great food delivered to your room...

You don't have to pay for being there.....

Your immediate health, obs, etc.. etc.. Is being monitored....

It is different when you go home Mike.. There is no immediate support there on hand... There is good and not such good reasons for either decision. After 5 days in ICU, 6 days on the surgical ward, my OS suggested I go to Rehab.. But by then I wanted to go home to my SO.

You have to be sure and confident in your own mind and be fully assessed before going home.. to ensure that you are able to cope on your own at home.

I would stay and get stronger and stronger .....

 

[AussieMike]

Hi Poppet

I have to say that is my inclination too. The people who are making me question my plan are the nursing and PT staff who are surprised that I am NOT going home tomorrow. But the reality is I have poor muscle endurance in my operated leg. The calf and glute are easy to exhaust with 15 mins of exercise. They then take a good hour to come good again. It doesn't seem like a good platform for independent living to me. Sure I am strong and fit in other ways - yes I can plank for 2 minutes, I can do all the quad exercises with ease and I am the youngest person here, so I look like a star but my weaknesses are very real.

Just needed someone to say it to me...

Thanks

Mike

 

[Poppet]

Consider it said my friend...

Don't worry about what the nursing or PT staff say or imply... They have not had complex major surgery!

Also, think of it this way.. You are in effect keeping the staff employed!

 

[Jaycey]

Hi Mike, I agree - stay if you can. But one thing to note you may not accomplish everything on your list in a week. You will certainly make a good start though. Seafood party - yummmmm!

 

[AussieMike]

CURRENT DATE: Friday 5th October
Procedure: LTHR
Post Op: 11 days
Location: Rehabilitation Hospital
Current Weight: 77kg / 170Ib
Target Weight: 70kg / 154bIb

CURRENT ISSUES:
Feeling dizziness and over medicated
Muscle weakness in left glute
Muscle weakness in left calf

ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE:
1. Got out of bed independently
2. Stood in place with walking frame
3. Walked 6 meters to bathroom
4. Used bathroom independently
5. Took shower seated with assistance
6. Dressed with assistance
7. Walked 30 meters with a walking frame
8. Walked 10 meters with 2 crutches
9. Walked up and down 1 step repeatedly
10. Showered standing independently
11. Dressed independently (except TED socks)
12. Walked 100 meters with 2 crutches
13. Walked up and down the 6 step mini-stairs
14. Walked down and up 2 flights of stairs (total 60 stairs)
15. Hip Flexion 90 degrees
16. Hip Abduction 30 degrees
17. Supporting my roomie and new friend David on his journey
18. Making people happy and positive
19. Walking with two walking sticks
20. Walking with one walking stick
21. Commenced hydrotherapy program
22. 30 seconds of continuous kicking against the Hydrojets
23. 60 second Plank

CURRENT PAIN MANAGEMENT:

Targin every 12 hours
5 mg Endone every 3-4 hours upon request
Gabapentin every 12 hours
Panadol every 6 hours
Aspirin 150mg per day
Ice packs as required

TODAY'S FOOD PLAN:

Breakfast
Muesli, plain yoghurt, orange juice, poached egg, white coffee
Lunch
Assorted sandwiches, fresh fruit, apple juice
Snack
Black tea, biscuits (2)
Dinner


TODAY'S FOCUS:
1. Physio session @ 9am
2. Hydrotherapy session @ 10am
3. Physio session @ 1pm
4. Use the stairs not the lift - 50% of the time
5. Discuss meds with doctor

NOTES:

01.40 Took 5mg Endone for pain relief with moderate pain in the left glute. Hoping this will do the trick through to 6am when the Targin tablet is administered.

04.00 The Endone at 1.40 bought me 90 mins sleep (it took an hour to drift off to sleep). I have now reverted to my ice pack hoping that this can get me through to 6.00 am

07.15 I awoke with the pain returned to my incision and lower leg. I requested 5mg Endone and was also give a Targin tablet. This took the edge of the pain in about 10 minutes. Overall this formula for a night's rest is better than what I was doing before. It required only 10mg Endone in total to assist me to rest.

07.30 I found a more comfortable bed position last night. I have a bed which allows me to raise the head and foot. Previously I was elevating my feet significantly and my head a little. Last night I placed pillows on either side of my body and placed my arms on the pillows ensuring I could not roll onto my side. I elevated the head moderately and the legs were left flat. I found this to be a very comfortable and restful position. Even when I wasn't sleeping, I felt relaxed.

07.45 A member of the PT staff came to see me. She was the same person I had spoken to last night when I indicated I felt over medicated. She enquired as to how I was and I said I felt much better with the reduced intake of Endone.

I indicated that upon discharge from the operating hospital I was on a four hourly dose of 15g of Endone and had no concept that this was indeed a lot. Perhaps the disconnect here is that no-one said that I should try to cut down the dose and see if it still has the desired effect.

10.51 I have completed the morning's physio session which included exercises for hip flexors, glutes, quadriceps, abs, hamstrings and lower and upper back. My personal favourites are the door squats and the plank. Most exercises are done in three sets of ten repetitions.

I then moved on to the hydrotherapy pool. We had a different PT with a different set of exercises from yesterday which was great. The exercises included walking, jogging, giant steps, backward walking, balance shift from one leg to another, leg raises using a noodle for resistance and my favourite walking against the hydrojets.

16.05 I completed the physio session at 13.00. Its only 25 mins long with a series of range of motion movements and stretches but it hurts me so much. I lie down every day after this session for at least 2 hours to recover.

It doesn't seem to have this effect on anyone else. I can't figure out why it effects me so. I am sure the nursing staff think I am lazy as they ask me questions like Have you been walking? Are you full weight bearing? and other pointed questions which all seem to be code for "Why are you lying on your bed, get up and walk you lazy so and so..."