THR Could be better, hope it's not worse

[tikipadre]

Glad to hear you're home, keep up with the meds.. no sense in being in pain if you don't have to be. Hope the new day brings a little relief. ~Peace

 

[Cookie42]

It was a good night. I finally got unloopy enough to set my timer for taking pain pills so pretty much got that under control. There were enough pillows piled on top of me that the cats could sleep on me without hurting anyone. I figured out I should replenish the ice with each trip to the bathroom. Still itchy, though, but I'd rather itch than hurt. Am still in the recliner and probably will be for a couple of more days. Right now I'm hoping the breakfast fairy will show up soon. Or maybe I'll take a nap first. Decisions, decisions.

 

[tikipadre]

Good to hear, If you find that breakfast fairy, send it my way.

 

[anniemg]

Cookie42, I ordered a breakfast fairy..but i think they're out of stock!:rolleyes:

 

[sissy46]

How has your day been? Don't forget, inquiring minds want daily updates

 

[Cookie42]

Ah well, I guess they stopped making my breakfast fairy after I got him almost 49 years ago. I guess I'd better keep the model I have. He's getting pretty put out with my not wanting to eat anything he fixes. So far Cheerios are the winner.

The barfing returned this afternoon -- it must be the pain pills. So I'm trying to use Tylenol instead every other time. So far, so good.

The only bruising I have is where they had the IV. I see none on my leg. Did I say before my main leg pain is in the knee? Certainly different from the last time, but fairly common from what I read here. Yesterday I decided I'd rather just go ahead and cut the danged thing off, but then I realized I'd still have phantom pain and no leg so I ditched that idea.

I cannot stay awake long enough to watch a tv show and cannot concentrate enough to read even a short story. So far it's not been a lot of fun, but I'm hoping for improvement as time goes by. I think DH is having less fun than I am, especially in trying to keep me in ice. The packs are almost melted by the time they get from the freezer to my leg. Maybe surgery in July wasn't such a good idea after all.

 

[sissy46]

Sounding better, Cookie, but I hope the nausea is soon a thing of the past. It might be a bit early to substitute Tylenol for some of your pain med (Percocet?) doses---did you ask your doctor for something to combat the nausea?
Glad you decided not to whack the leg off; you would have missed it, I'm pretty sure.
Warning: Nigel and Ollie are going to get used to you lying around petting them day in and day out. They will be brats when you're back to your normal activity. Mine were!

 

[Cookie42]

Nigel and Oliver are certainly getting used to a loudish "oomph" when they jump on me. My only unprotected space was my belly (I'm running out of pillows) so that was the spot they chose for landing.

I think I may be ready to switch from chair to bed. Last night was the best sleeping night so far -- only woke up once and that was when the alarm for another couple of pills went off. Actually there was also one oomph awakening as well. Yes, I did switch back to the high octane stuff -- time seems to have taken care of the nausea problem. So far today food has tasted pretty good. DH is lamenting that there will not be a bikini in my future. He can always dream, but that ship sailed about 50+ years ago. Why do we not realize what we have until we've lost it???

You might remember I was concerned about those 4 deepish claw stabs in my thigh where the cat took off in a hurry -- I pointed them out to the assistant when he was doing his last check for any open sores. Thankfully he deemed them healed enough because he said he'd seen surgery canceled for lesser wounds. So folks with cats -- protect yourselves pre-surgery from startled cats -- start with a protective barrier before the operation, not just afterward.

 

[sissy46]

You sound like a new woman, Cookie! I'm so glad things are getting better. You had me a little worried for a while.

 

[zauberflöte]

Cookie42 Belatedly adding my "take the meds by the clock" advice, and so happy you are sounding better now Well, on Monday. How are you today? Continued improvement, I hope
That's a great point you make about cat protection pre-op-- I had not thought of that. I'm in the club of hippies who had a startled-cat-event immediately on arrival home-- you know, the cat makes to leap on your lap, and you, in your drugged haze, can think of nothing to do except watch. And of course the cat lands on the op thigh with its hind feet, and you scream, and the cat scrambles, and you have track marks from the cat burning rubber to get out of there.

 

[Cookie42]

And that's not good either! Another advantage to the large ice bag they gave me -- I'm protected now on that leg.
The other foot however was not safe from Nigel when he went on a tear in the middle of the night a couple of nights ago. I slapped a bunch of hand sanitizer on the long scratches and they didn't get sore, so I didn't either. It did make me a bit more protective of the rest of my body though. We just adopted these guys from the humane shelter last winter so I didn't have to be concerned last surgery. Hopefully if I ever need another operation, they, and I, will be too old to care!

The grandchildren (2&4 years old) are coming for a short visit today. I'm missing them and I hope they're missing me.

I'm supposed to take off the bandage tomorrow and am fretting about that. Last time I had steri-strips and could see what was going on. This time it's a gel bandage and everything under it is a mystery. I think I'd rather keep it that way. I won't tell you about the dream I had about it the other night.

I swear by all that is holy that tonight is the bed night. It's starting to call me really loud. And it's time to start the stairs exercise anyway.

I'm getting around a bit better today -- every day in fact. Still too wobbly for the cane (tried it and was not pleased with the results). Of course Hubby does not think I'm getting around nearly enough. That I do remember from last autumn!

 

[Cookie42]

The little grands have come and gone. They sure can make my day brighter. Their mommy brought along some home made banana/blueberry bread. I had no problem eating that.

I called the OS's office about removing the gel bandage. The incision spot has been burning a lot today and I really don't want to remove the bandage tomorrow. The nurse more or less promised nothing with large, slimy teeth would poke it's head out of my wound and said it must be removed after 7 days, so I guess I'll do it. DH is more squeamish than I am. He promised for better or worse, but considers bandage removal as way beyond what he promised.

 

[Butterfly]

I am so glad you are doing better. I do doubt that there is anything slimy with long teeth waiting to come out.

Have you enjoyed any of the soups you put away yet? I've been meaning to cook some up, but have had a couple bad days and mostly haven't been able to do much of anything. I will get it done, though! I wish my mama was here to cook up a big pot of her "everything" soup. Mine is never quite as good as I remember hers being. I think the missing ingredient is all that mother love she stirred in.

Love and peace to you.

 

[sissy46]

Cookie, does your incision have staples or glue? Mine was just glued, and I couldn't believe how good it looked when I took the dressing off at home. I was nervous, too, worried about a gaping incision or signs of infection. You didn't have a problem with your first hip, did you?

Regarding Ollie and Nigel, could your DH take those rascals over to the vet and get their claws trimmed? Or you could do it, but just be careful not to trim into the quick---very painful for the kitty if that happens.

 

[Cookie42]

The bandage is off and nothing evil popped out -- just some steri-strips and glue. No more burning so it must have then the bandage pulling a bit. The sleeping in bed was a failure. Going up the stairs was really hard, climbing into the high bed was harder and getting comfortable was impossible. So I crept back to my lovely recliner and slept like a log. And I will at least for another week. After checking on my old thread I found out it was two weeks last time and will be again.

Butterfly the soup has been wonderful. Even when I couldn't eat anything else, a bit of soup went down easily. Making it myself and putting in only things I like, including the amount of salt, was its saving grace. And you're right -- nothing is better than the soup your mama made. Love is a wonderful ingredient. So show yourself that love and make that soup!

 

[sissy46]

Hey, Cookie, how are you doing? Time for an update; inquiring minds, you know....

 

[Cookie42]

I'm headed for the doctor this morning sissy46 and will let you know this afternoon. This time I will be still be on the walker, not cane like last year.

 

[sissy46]

Will be checking back for report.

 

[Cookie42]

The doctor didn't seem concerned about the walker, nor about my having more pain than last time. He said everything looked good and to keep on doing what I had been doing. I wish DH had been there to hear him say that since I've not been doing very much. Since I discovered what a good friend prune juice can be, I'm not afraid of Percocet any more, so I'll keep taking them until the pain lets up. I'll also try some of Jo's pain cocktail when I need something, but feel I can skip the Percocet. He did mention the new joint is about 1/8 of an inch shorter (or longer -- I don't remember which) than the other. I hope that will resolve itself or at least not be noticeable. Told me I could take off the steri-strips and get rid of the white stockings. The stockings had already came off as soon as I got home from surgery. The grin he gave told me he suspected that all along. I go back in one month.

My biggest problem now is wild cats. They are choosing my bedtime (and sleeping area) to go nuts and do the tear thing -- zipping, zooming, leaping on each other and me, knocking things off tables, etc. I'm still in the recliner -- bed simply did NOT work -- so can't shut them out. Any good natural kitty tranquilizers to recommend?

 

[sissy46]

Good report!
Regarding the wild cats, mine also will get wild at night, especially if I've been gone all day and they've slept all day. They eat dry cat food, but once a day I give them canned, and I find if I feed them generously at bedtime, it slows them down. Mostly. Also play with them before the feeding, get them to chase and jump. This mimics their natural behavior of hunting, then eating, then sleeping.