THR Feb 25 Birdlady moving to recovery side

[bottomshollow]

@birdlady, you are now an

! Looking forward to all the details when you feel up to it.

Take care and keep us posted. We care.

 

[fulafoto]

@birdlady congratulations on going to the other side!!! I look forward to reading about your recovery

 

[birdlady]

Well, I just had breakfast, and got dressed without too much difficulty. Still haven't managed a BM, but I haven't been eating that much either, so that will probably happen soon now that I'm home and on a more normal diet. I'm taking my stool softeners and extra fiber, so just letting nature take it's course. I had the spinal with sedation for my anesthetic and that worked really well. Didn't have any of the groggy headed feeling of GA and the effect lasted for several hours. They tried me on 10/325 hydrocodone after surgery and that didn't take care of the pain, which brings me to my first question for this group. What is a realistic level of pain? They asked me what my pain goal was and I said I didn't want to go higher than a 4. Was that too rosy? Anyway, my pain was spiking up around 7 and the nurses were giving me a hard time about more medication. On top of the pain issue I had a nurse had obviously hadn't been trained to work with hip replacement patients. She was about as gentle as a lady wrestler. She set me on a regular sized toilet which was too low, with toilet paper out of reach, aid cord out of reach and then left me there. I finally dragged myself up onto my walker and got myself into bed. This was on the first post op day. By the time my husband arrived for the day, by pain was spiking up around 7-8 and I was in tears. Since I'm not normally a teary person, he was understandably concerned. I ended up with a different potty nurse, and got put on a pain pump with Dilaudin? for 24 hours. That got the pain issue much better, but I still insisted on something stronger the the hydrocodone. I've been taking 10/325 oxycodone and that seems to be working pretty good. However, this brings me to my very strong recommendation for future patients who have to have multi-day hospital stays.

Know what pain medication you are on and keep track of when your last dose was.
I know that nurses are very busy and do the best they can, but unfortunately patients can get lost in the process. I thought that they had some kind of tracking system, but in my situation that didn't seem to be the case. The first time I was off the pain pump I had to call to remind them that I was due for pain meds. It still took over an hour for someone to show up. They were apologetic of course, but in the meantime my pain had a chance to spike again. After that I made to sure to note the time when meds were given and when the next was due. Then I called when the next was due. This took me through discharge with much less hassle.

After all that I have to say that I strongly agree with the advisors here that it is important to stay on top of the pain. I didn't start making real progress in getting around until I was on a regular med schedule. I'm setting my alarm so I make sure I take my oxycodone every four hours. I'm not going to worry about reducing the dose or lengthing the time between doses until I'm ready. Since I feel like I'm making pretty good progress, that shouldn't be more than another day or two. OK, enough sermonizing to now, I need to stretch a little and then take a little nap. My husband is such a worry wart about taking care of me, and I'm starting to worry about him. I'm sitting here in my office at the computer, and he's taking a nap on the floor right behind me so that I don't try to get up from my rolling chair without help. I'll try to write again later since I'm starting to feel a little fuzzy.

 

[sharonslp]

Oh Birdlady!! That potty nurse....I have such unkind thoughts I can't state them publicly! This reminds me of my mom's independent living facility. Such a big deal they made about the pull cords for emergencies. But yes...they are all up on a wall, high enough that they are useless in the event of a fall. Or any emergency where a person is immobilized for some reason and can't get to it. I suppose that's why all the alert systems that you keep on your person are thriving businesses.

During my second hip hospitalization, my roomie had two occasions when she wet the bed because a nurse didn't come soon enough when she used the call button for help. Not sure which is worse....being left in the bathroom or never getting to the bathroom. Both are unacceptable!

Anyway, so glad you are home and stabilized with your meds and on the path to a full and happy recovery.

Sharon

 

[birdlady]

@sharonslp
Thanks for letting me vent. Every time I need hospitalization there seems to be at least one nurse who needs a bit of sensitivity training. The sad thing is that all the other nurses know exactly who the problems are, but they can't really do anything about them. Nuf said!

 

[MsFit1]

I'm so sorry you had to deal with that awful nurse! And I don't understand why they would give you grief over your pain medication - it just doesn't make sense to me. What are they, masochists??? Anyway, happy to hear about your improvement at home!!!

 

[birdlady]

Today is 1 week post op and I'm feeling pretty good. I'm off the oxycodone and now on Norco. Seems to be working ok and will be able to start stretching out the doses in a day or two. Had my first in home PT yesterday and that went ok, although I was a little stiff last night. PT will be coming 3 days a week until my OS follow up on Mar 19. The home nurse drew blood yesterday and called me back in the afternoon. Surprise, OS says to stop taking the Coumadin for 3 days, as my blood had thinned too much. Have to make sure I don't cut myself somehow until they get it back to where it should be. I'm doing pretty well with my walker, although I'm not ready to wean myself off it just yet. The worst part is not being able to carry anything and use the walker at the same time. I never could find any kind of tray that would fit, so I have to rely on my hubby to fetch and carry. He says he doesn't mind, but I'm too independent to be happy about this. Anyway, things are going much better than I had expected and I feel badly about those who are having continuing problems. I'll keep you all in my thoughts and hope for your continued progress.

 

[Healthyhip12]

Good to hear from you! I am sure they told you to avoid green leafy veges while taking Coumadin, right? I am jealous that you are already off the oxycodone. Tried weaning yesterday without success. Can you find a basket or bag to attach to your walker? I am glad that your husband is taking such good care of you. My husband is doing the same. I am amazed at how well I am doing, but I did spend hours preparing and doing hip exercises till I was bored and drained. I can manage to get around with one crutch if I need to carry something. Keep up the good work and stay away from sharp objects.

 

[birdlady]

Wish I could blame the Coumadin issue on green leafy vegetables. I haven't had those in a while and really have a craving for a good salad. Kitchen skills are not high on my husband's resume, so I've been relying mostly on fruit, yogurt and frozen dinners. Yuck! I'm thinking maybe today I'll have him setup everything on the counter and try to cobble something together. I'll have to talk to the nurse first, since I seem to have also developed a rash from one of my meds.

 

[MsFit1]

Maybe you could send someone to the store to pick up one of those "all-in-the-bag" salads that includes everything - the greens, dressing, salad toppings, etc. Maybe not the ideal gourmet salad, but it's sure easy - and goof-proof - even for husbands!
Sure hope that rash clears up soon!

 

[mature mama]

Congrats on your new hip! Shame on the bathroom nurse and also the ones questioning pain. You need to be able to manage pain and 4 is where I always shot for myself. I was at Sinai hospital in Baltimore and they always tracked my pain med time and amount on a marker board in my room. It was a great system for me. I always knew if I was allowed meds and took them when I needed and recovered better for it.
Take care while you recover!

 

[birdlady]

Thanks for the positive feedback. Sometimes the hospital staff make you feel very insecure about your pain tolerance. I might be just a wuss, but I wanted to be a comfortable wuss.

 

[AndisMom]

Another salad suggestion...Chik-fil-A and Wendy's drive thru! Both have great salads IMO and even a husband can handle a drive thru!

 

[Healthyhip12]

I read my post op orders in the recovery room ( three pages) For pain 2-5, I was to be given 1-2 oxycodone and for pain 6-10 I was to be given 3-4 oxycodone every 4 hours. I made sure those nurses knew my pain level and even got mad at one of them who decided she didn't need to give me anything because my eyes were closed. And I really appreciated the preop nurse who went over the pain scale with me before surgery. A level five preop is still a level five postop. And since incisional pain, not osteoarthritis pain is being treated, it is quite reasonable to expect pain to go down to level two. By the end of my hospitalization all my nurses brought my pain meds on a schedule. By getting my pain under control early, I used less pain medication. Just sayin'.

 

[MajorHeidi]

Why can't nurses keep patients on a schedule?
Thanks for the tips @birdlady , they are helpful.
Glad you have a good, kind hubbie to help you. That is a definite plus.

 

[younghippie]

The description of your husband napping on the floor behind you made me smile. Sounds like you are very lucky. This experience has made me realize how sweet my husband (and others) can be.

 

[birdlady]

Thanks everyone for your support. I haven't been able to post for a few days due to computer issues, but I'm doing pretty well I think. Today is 16 days post op and I graduated to a cane yesterday. My PT gal gave me a gold star and a pat on the head. I'm still taking my Norco every 4 hours and a 50mg Tramadol at night to help me sleep, but the pain is manageable in the 2-4 range. I see my OS next Wednesday for my post op exam and I hope he can give me some reassurance about my leg length differential, since it's quite significant. Also, I'm having a fair amount of knee and shin pain which I was hoping to get rid of after hip surgery. Other than that I'm pretty happy with where I am right now.

I wonder if anyone can advise me on how often to get up and move at night. Lately, I've been sleeping pretty much through the night, only getting up a couple of times to pee and take my meds. I am on Coumadin and the doctor didn't say anything about how often I needed to get up. I'm either sitting or walking about during the day, so at night in bed is the only time I'm really stationary. They've also had a bit of a problem getting the Coumadin dosage adjusted correctly. The home nurse takes my blood sample on Monday and Thursday. Last week they cut the dosage in half to 2.5mg, and today they told me to bump it up to 7.5mg and alternate each day between 5mg and 7.5mg. Has anyone else had this issue? I try to watch my diet, so don't know what else to do. @Josephine, do you have any thoughts about this?

Hope the weather is changing for everyone finally, so we can get outside and feel the sun again. Take care all, and I'll post again soon.

 

[MajorHeidi]

Hi @birdlady Your 16 day report sounds promising.
Glad you are doing well with your recovery.

 

[Josephine]

I wonder if anyone can advise me on how often to get up and move at night. The doctor didn't say anything about how often I needed to get up.

Why would he need to? Just be pleased you can get a good night's sleep and stop obsessing about such trivia!

 

[MsFit1]

Congratulations on your gold star recovery!