THR dede's shiny new bionic hip is installed

[Damn!]

Dede, I hope that in the near future you can get longer stretches of sleep. I'm glad to read that your pain levels are in the lower ranges. I'm down to 1 percocet in the morning upon waking, 400 mg. ibuprofen a couple of times a day and finish up with 2 percocet right before bed. Pain level is about a 1-2.

Are you still feeling sick? I sincerely hope not. Your back to work plan sounds well thought out. What do you do again?

How nice of your husband to play gopher. Just think, your surgery is helping him get more exercise running up and down the stairs for you. It's win/win.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Tammy

 

[dede62]

Hey Poppet,

I'm wearing my trainers (Saucony) when I have shoes on. I have the elastic "speed" laces in them (straight ones, not the curly ones). Since I'm not really heading out very much I've just been wearing socks. It really helps me to see the alignment of my foot when walking about, plus I can keep an eye on any swelling (which I don't have any in my foot/ankle at this time). Since my grabber isn't strong enough to hold the tongue of my shoe, hubby is my official shoe guy. I will definitely look into new shoes once I'm walking unaided. The place I get my shoes specializes in wide width and special needs shoes. They have a camera set up on the treadmill to see how one stands and walks.

Do you wear anything special when you do your nordic walking?

 

[dede62]

Tammy,

At ths time while I'm on the pain meds, I'm actually setting an alarm to take it even in the middle of the night so the most I get is 4 hours. But unlike before, I'm actually able to fall back asleep right away.

I'm not experiencing the nausea at this point, however I still don't have a great appetite. I'm pretty sure it's the combo of th scopolmine patch and hydroxyzine which keeps the nausea away. Kinda double edged sword trading one for the other and it is definitely worth it. Not to worry, things will work itself out over the next week or so. I've got a bit of reserve to pull from so it's not like I'm going to fade away anytime soon! Nurse suggested taking a multivitamin until I'm eating more normally.

Unfortunately hubby's back started acting up again yesterday (he had back surgery almost two yrs ago with mixed results). I think it is a combo of things: stairs, bending down to help me transition (which I am doing for myself now), sleeping patterns, plus the general stress of the surgery. He's become my icing buddy. I'm trying to have him schedule another acupuncture treatment this upcoming week. This too will work itself out.

 

[dede62]

Damn!: I forgot to tell you what I do -- I work for an educational service district over multiple school districts in a region. We curently support 45 public school districts and private schools providing phone support and training for a School Information System (Skyward) that has been enhanced to meet our state reporting requirements. Our group provides support at the building and district level in areas like attendance, grading, scheduling, food service, special ed, etc. We have a second group that provides support for the business office (finance and HR) side as well. We also provide printing services for reporting out of the software. I just finished 15 years with them on my surgery day. Prior to that I worked as a registrar at a middle school for a little over 3 years.

 

[dede62]

Post-op day 7.

Last night an interesting pattern developed. Between the water intake and the every 4 hour pain med schedule, I get about 2 hours between the bathroom and taking another set of pills. Don't get me wrong the two hours I get are solid sleep. However as time goes on I'm worried I've create a sleep pattern that is less than ideal. The part that is the worst is having to get in and out of the wedge pillow during the middle of the night. I use pillows during daytime.

At 3 this morning I hit a little pain snag (fell right in between pain med doses). I had an achy pain in my thigh and groin and a muscle spasm in the middle of my butt. At least it was limited to those areas and didn't travel anywhere else. This was the first time my thigh ached during this whole process. Not sure if it was the way I'm strapped in the wedge or not changing positions enough. Good news was that based on the time table I took 1000mg tylenol with the Robaxin. Eventually fell back to sleep and felt better once released from the wedge. I'll ask th PA on Wednesday if I need to use it until 6 weeks or if can transition to pillows only. I also find that when I get up to walk to the bathroom I need to stretch out my back and hip which also seems to help.

I'm hoping that when OT comes (I think tomorrow) she'll help me find the best to wash my hair. I may have to wait unil I can shower after the staples are out tomorrow. The sinks in the bathrooms are pretty shallow and the kitchen sink is on a corner. I have to reach a little to do dishs and don't think it will work very well. Good news is there is a sprayer there, so it might not be too bad.

Hoping all of my recovery buddies are doing well.

 

[Damn!]

Dede, I ditched that wedge pillow (with my Dr.'s permission) about the second night in the hospital. I couldn't sleep with it at all. I just used a pillow while I was in the hospital, then switched to my french bulldog when I got home. With his 30 pounds of dead weight on top of the covers between my knees, there is no way in HECK I can roll over or break hip restrictions and I sleep pretty good this way. I will, however, figure out a way to comfortably get over onto my stomach and back soon. You mention that you only use the wedge at night and were using pillows during the day. Do you have any issues when using the pillows? It didn't sound like it. Are you sleeping the same length of time during the day as you are at night? 2 hours at a stretch...right? I say use what you are most comfortable with.

You will feel sooooo good when you can get a shower and wash your hair again. Like a new woman! I will keep my fingers crossed (but not my ankles...tee hee...) for you that you get those staples out and can get in that shower. The hot water pounding on your back feels amazing.

Have a great Sunday!
Tammy

 

[dede62]

Tammy,

At our hip class they mentioned that the expectation will be 6 wks but I'll ask Shelby when I see him on Wed. I'mpretty much a deliberate sleeper meaning I'm aware of repositioning. I might be able to shorten the time rather than give it up all together. The pillows are no big deal - one tucked between the legs and one between my feet. Basically making sure my legs stay apart and never cross. While I'm awake I only use the one between my legs otherwise repositioning would be more of a pain than what it's worth. The only time I crossed my legs pre-op was when I was reclining on my side on the couch watching tv in the evening. If I knew I was going to fall asleep I shift to my back.

I can't wait to wash my hair. Hubby helps a great deal with the sponge baths so I can deal with tha a little longer. Even when I'm going to take my bath i'll be sitting as I am not so confident standing or taking a solo step while turning around yet.

 

[Damn!]

Let's try this again. I just typed up a response to this thread and then voila! My frenchie decided to step on the laptop and wiped it out.

I was commenting on how funny it is that our surgeons are taking our staples out on the same day even though our surgeries were one week apart. I know that I am more than ready for these things to come out. They are pulling and burning like crazy. Tomorrow morning can not come soon enough.

Everyone is gone right now, so I am enjoying some quiet time. Watching The Unit on cable and kicking back. I am deliberating over what I would like to eat for dinner. I have been eating really healthy all week, so I am thinking I am going to send one of them out to pick up something bad . There are a ton of junk food restaurants within 5 minutes or less from my house: McDonalds, Burger King, 5 Guys, Wendys, Taco Bell, Subway, Arby's just to name a few. I am really wanting to splurge. Maybe a big mac from McDonalds, onion rings from Burger King, a frosty from Wendy's and some cinnamin twists from Taco Bell. Yum!

Hope you are having a great Sunday afternoon.

Tammy

 

[dede62]

I suppose if you're going all in then why not go in the deep end! Over the last three years of changing my eating habits I can't stand the smell of fried foods any more. I can drive past a McD's with my windows up and smell it. Cures any binges for me. I'm still working on getting my appetite up so I eat enough.

They told me pre-surg that it would only be 5-7 days to prevent the railroad track look. Once I'm sure everything is closed I'll start rubbing vitamin E on it topically since I cant take it internally until off the coumadin.

Have you considered getting a step for frenchie to board the bed on their own?

 

[Damn!]

My husband and I have looked at getting some steps so the little darn can climb up into bed on his own. Problem is my bed is too high. When I return to work, my woodworking teacher has said that he will build me a custom set. Until then, I just send a text message upstairs to one of the girls and they come down and pick him up for me. You know, I may end up having to milk this whole recovery thing.

Not sure if you saw an earlier post I made about ScarGuard MD. You can buy it at Target or CVS. It looks and smells just like nail polish and runs about $30 for the bottle. The stuff works miracles I tell ya'. I had cervical disc fusion about 3 years ago and had an incision right across the front of my throat. My surgeon recommended this stuff. I used it for a few weeks and you can not see the scar at all! It works much better than vitamin E oil. You might want to look into it.

I don't think my doctor gives 2 hoots about the railroad track look. He says that he want to ensure that everything stays where it is supposed to. Um, yes, this would be nice. Either way, those suckers are coming out tomorrow. Whew! Can't wait.

I have attached a picture of my frenchie. He is almost 1 year old and his name is Bandit. Enjoy!

Tammy

 

[nerdgrrl]

Damn!, cute boy! My dog also sleeps with me. On my good side. Keeps me from rolling over in my sleep, while not forbidden, it would surely wake me up from the discomfort. Plus she is warm, which is good when I have ice on the other side.

dede62, any better luck on the sleep? I was so happy when I was able to finagle my schedule to meds every 6 hours. That is a nice workable chunk of sleep, even though with the getting up to go to the bathroom, it ends up being more like 5 hours at a shot. I'm sure you have already tried this, but I will suggest just in case. When I was on meds every 4 hours, I was making my self go to the bathroom every time I took the meds, and it seemed to train my body for that schedule. Of course with enough water intake, that's just not going to happen!

-nerdgrrl

 

[dede62]

The staples are out and replaced with steri-strips. We'll keep it covered for a couple days longer and I'll take my first official shower on Wed before I go for my first followup appt. The staples were standing tall, so they were easy for the nurse to remove. There's a small bit of bruising that runs parallel to the scar. Nurse thought that some bruising might migrate down my leg at some point but didn't want me to be alarmed if it happened. My blood level came down (possibly diet or multivitamin). They'll probably adjust the coumadin again and they might have me go to the anti-coag clinic on Wed after my appt with the PA to do a full blood draw. They'll call me with the changes.

OT will be here around noon.

@Nerdggrl: I finally got some longer stretches of sleep. Had company last night til 530, then I ate took meds and crashed. Only stayed in the wedge for the first half of night. I set my pill alarm wrong and actually slept for 5.5 hours. All is good.

 

[Damn!]

dede62, you are so lucky. The remaining 15 staples I had were not standing tall. Instead, some of them had burrowed their way under my skin. Super painful coming out. I could only take her digging around and removing 2-3 of them before calling a halt to it. After regrouping for a minute or two, she dug around for a few more. I had tears running down my face and tried really hard not to scream. The nurse kept saying "I'm sorry" over and over again. My discomfort had my dogs really upset...so much so that the boxer and the frenchie had to be shut in the bedroom until she was done. Those loveable mutts kept putting themselves between me and the nurse. I just wish they had listened to me and took the darn things out several days ago. As it was, the staple sites were hot and red. Not good. The nurse put a call in to the doctor's office to get me on an antibiotic, just to be on the safe side. Thank God that's over with!

I don't have to have blood tests while on the lovenox. Just 9 more injections to go and that lovely experience will be done and over with.

Hope everyone had a great day.

Tammy

 

[nerdgrrl]

Wow, that sounds horrible! My staple removal was basically painless, then they covered the incision area with steri strips, for the last little bit of healing. So sorry that went poorly! I hope your little body guards are taking good care of you!

 

[Damn!]

nerdgrrl, my little body guards are right here next to me on the couch. They are basking in all the praise and petting.

 

[sissy46]

Damn! the staple removal sounds awful. I thought I was going to have them, but I got glued together instead.
Don't you love the Lovenox? I had it for 21 days. I keep forgetting to take the syringes by the fire department.

Bandit is adorable!

 

[dede62]

Damn!: Tammy, I am so sorry it was so bad for you. Ice, baby and don' be afraid to ask for a little relief from Mr Percocet! I so remember how protective both of our dogs were of me in a couple of scary situations (like being charged after by a rottweiiller I didn't know and a pitbull flying out of an alley way). Those two dogs would have fought to the death for me. My husband always said when he comes back to this world it will be as my dog. He used to accuse me of loving them more than him. It is a different kind of love and you can see the results as they knew it was their job to be 'protector' for their masters. The last one really took that to heart. He was our 'lucky dog'. We adopted him as a stray when he was 4-5 months old. Shortly.after the first dog had to be put down (cancer) we had to find a new home for him because we couldn't take him with us. Lo and behold 1.5 yrs later we got a call from Seattle animal contol that they had our dog. Obviously the new owners didn't update his microchip and we decided to take him back. The reason we did was because the family's other dog was with him, both without collars and 40+ miles from home (i.e.dropped them off to fend for themselves). We had him nearly another 8 years before he got sick.

I had OT about 20 min after the nurse left. Since it was her 1st visit she asked a lot of questions. Hubby took her to check out 'my' bathroom to make sure everything was good. She raised my tub seat and I got in and out minding my precautions. She thought I was walking great and told me to be aware of how tightly I was hanging on to the walker and to maintain good posture. . She thought my gait looked good as I try and go through the stride without any limp. She then asked for the nickel tour in the living room and kitchen. Shesaid as I get more mobile I'll be in the kitchen more often and to move certain things up from the lower shelves in the refrigerator. Hubby will be around to deal with any other height issues.

My awesome supervisor and a cube neighbor from work stopped by and brought dinner - slow cooker pot roast. It was so nice and they are able to report back how things are going. I think I ended up with 7-8 hugs from thr other office mates. Hubby is in heaven with the smell of the roast and was happy they stopped by. My sense of smell is messed up a little so I know tha smell has to be permeating the house!

Once everyone left I was so ready for a nap. Got in a couple of hours before my next pain med dose. Between the staples coming out and doing a bit more in and out of the tub I'm a little sore (3-4). Took the pain meds about 45 min ago and am feeling better. Come on dinnertime!!!

 

[bellaroma]

Damn!, posted on my journey that you would be happy, so sorry you have the staples from hell

 

[limpingaround]

Dede62, glad to see you made it safely to the other side. I think our surgeries were about the same time. My staples come out this fri, 10 days after surgery. good luck

 

[dede62]

Post op day 8. PT just left a little while ago. Did vitals and went through series of hosp exercises. Ok to increase reps as I feel able. We did the stairs with a crutch rather than the cane. Suggested limiting initially to once a day. Also increase as I feel stronger. He likes the form I'm usiing (awareness of foot/leg position). He'll be back on Friday. We'll probably transition to the cane next week (OK by me). Stairs down was fine. Coming back up made my butt cheek hurt about 2/3 the way up. Good thing it was pill time when we finished. The pain shot up a little as expected but then eases back down. He's very positive about the progress. He wants me to go ahead and get outpatient script when I visit the PA tomorrow (better to have and not need than to need and not have).