THR Home from the hospital and looking forward to going back to yoga!

[BarbaraR]

sansabosa, Hi Selin. I went back full time. (Stupid me.) But our schedule gets a little lighter after this week so I'm cutting back to 4 days a week through the end of April. How about you?

 

[sansabosa]

BarbaraR
Just started and today it was my second day at work physically as I had already started responding to emails and phones since 2 weeks. I stayed at the office for 4 hours and came back home and rested. It was OK both mentally and physically. Kept reminding myself that I should get up and walk every hour.
Actually getting back to work slowly and surely motivated me, kind of satisfaction that I can add value, I am progressing to become independent, etc.

 

[zauberflöte]

@everybody this tramadol thread just confirms what I read online (probably the exact same stuff BarbaraR read). I wouldn't want to drive at anythiing over 40 mph on a 50mg dose, so I can only imagine how I'd be on 100 I get a little lightheaded, but this bottle is not nearly so happy as the expired bottle I was using. That's probably a good thing-- what I know I'd get addicted to is the SSRI effect, never mind the pain effect. sansabosa -- Selin and BarbaraR -- keep up the gentle good work at work! chris

 

[designergirl]

BarbaraR they had you on a really high dose of Tramadol! I'm on 50mg at night, but may start cutting the pill in half. I never had bad side effects from this med, I took 50mg 4x a day prior to surgery. What I realize now was I probably was going through withdrawal by the second day in the hospital, because basically I had gone cold turkey on it the day of the surgery. What I'm finding is that while it is good pain relief, it gives me super bad dreams. I will cut the 50mg pill in half for a few days, then drop it totally. I hope there won't be too much withdrawal from 25mg. I'll miss Tramadol, it helped me fall asleep.

 

[zauberflöte]

designergirl check some online sources-- I think I remember that tramadol has a half-life of 17+ hours, so it can take quite a while to get out of your system. I'm scared of what I'm going to feel after dropping my ibuprofen and substituting tramadol for that week or 2 pre-op. may have to rethink that... :( There's melatonin for sleeping-- OTC at the health food store and even your Rite Aid/CVS/Walgreens. I've been taking 5mg valium at bedtime ever since my kids were old enough to sleep past 4 hours in a row at night-- longer than most kids, which had destroyed my sleep patterns beyond repair. 5mg gives me 4 hrs, 5 if i don't wake up from having to pee LOL.

 

[Weezi]

BarbaraR,
How is your pinky toe?

 

[BarbaraR]

designergirl and zauberflöte, I don't want to stop anyone from using pain medication that you need-- I just want to caution you not to get off it too quickly. Tramodol does have it's purpose, and if you need it, take it, just wean off slowly. I've been taking 1/2 a Benadryl to sleep. I sleep better with a whole one, but I'm worried about having to increase beyond that-- I'd like to get off it, but I still have nights when I only sleep 4 or 5 hours, and I definitely need 7.

Weezi, thanks! My pinky toe is fine. It probably bruised like crazy because I had just stopped the Lovenox injections.

 

[Weezi]

Oh that's great! I only had a couple of the Lovenox injections in the hospital. I couldn't believe with all the pain I was in that they were going to give me a shot in the stomach! I barely felt it though and didn't care at the time. It would have been a different story if I had to continue it at home. My doc had me on Warfarin once I got home. I know you are glad to be done with that!

 

[BarbaraR]

I am glad...I have a horrible needle phobia and begged the doctor to let me take oral medication, but that was his protocol and that was that. I figured by the end of the 28 days I'd be over the needle phobia, but alas, I had the same panic reaction the 28th time as I did the first.

 

[zauberflöte]

BarbaraR Somehow i don't think you will become addicted to benadryl..........
I DO hope I get injections not pills, I give me my own allergy shots, so have no fear. Maybe my delicate tummy skin might cringe some, tho LOL
Someday i';ll tell the story of years back when I got bitten by a dog and had to have 21 rabies shots, yes, in the belly button abdominal area.

 

[BarbaraR]

OMG, I would have to shoot myself.

 

[zauberflöte]

BarbaraR I was 25, terrified. Public Health showed up on my doorstep the Monday after b/c I'd been taken to an ER for a tetanus shot, and the police were called as it was a 'disappearing dog" bite. I was riding my bike, and he was chasing hte bike. He only grazed my leg,not at all biting me, just barking his fool head off, but that was enough for them. I'd spent the whole weekend cruising the area calling 'here dog!" and asking people... really never thought that the health police would come after me! Nowadays it's only 3 shots, or 7, I forget, and in the arm I believe. Much nicer, huh.
I had to postpone the recital I was working on-- the shots then were pretty potent neurologically. I have almost no memory of that period. Except my now-husband and I kissed for the first time LOL hard to forget...awwwww

 

[BarbaraR]

I was always terrified of that happening. I've never been a dog person, and your story adds to the reasons.

 

[zauberflöte]

Oh dear. Shoulda kept my big mouth shut. That's the only time I or anyone I've ever known has had that happen. Most dogs you meet have an owner nearby, right? So no worries. I'm neither here nor there on dogs, but the incident didn't make me afraid of them. I remember-- the kiss!!!! LOL

 

[lizzie66]

Hi Barbara, I too am amazed you are back at work so soon. I'm not expected back til May and at the moment even that seems huge to me but i know a lot can happen in a few weeks. Hoping to come down to one crutch next week and then i will feel more independent. How is your knee doing? The one with the CMP? My physio has reinforced the need to strenghten my VMO and doing the hip exercises involving buttock tightening and pressing backs of knees back but reckons the real help will come from cycling once my OS allows it. I am slightly nervous that this will trigger the other hip which will need doing in the future but I can't let that stop me either.
GP said to try Neurofen/Ibuprofen for knee swelling. It may or may not work - I really don't fancy going back on stronger anti-inflammaries. Want to reduce my drugs....
read your thoughts on tramadol with interest. Hadn't even heard of it (thought it might be a US drug!) and then discovered I am taking 35mg of it in the mornings! It doesn't trouble me though.
While I'd like to come off more of the serious drugs my GP encouraged me to continue with the Ixprim (Tr)saying that pain relief actually helps combat chronic pain (not just mask it) - if you know what i mean. I really feel I am doing it for my knees now and not my hips but probably won't know until i am pain relief-free.
anyway have a good day if you are at work and take it easy!

 

[BarbaraR]

zauberflöte, oh please don't worry about it. I think some people are born with the pet gene and some aren't and I wasn't. I like animals and think puppies and kittens are cute, but I don't want to live with them. Fortunately, my husband feels the same. One of my good friends was bitten badly by a big dog when we were little and she loves dogs. I am a little afraid of big noisy dogs.

lizzie66, thanks for reaching out. I can't tell from your signature-- when did you have your surgery? I was really fortunate to have had the anterior approach, and I never used crutches or a walker. I went home with a cane and stopped using it after 3 or 4 days. I think that has made the early part of rehab easier. It is challenging to be at work, but I have a lot of help and support, and I can rest in the middle of the day. I walk about a mile over the course of the day, so I count that as exercise. . Im also cutting back To 4 days a week for a few weeks-- our schedule has slowed a bit so i should be able to do that. I've been working hard on my left knee-- I'm not cleared to do straight leg raises on the right side, but I do them on the left, and I'm doing squats at home and leg press in PT. it's ok, the bike really bothers it (it also bother my butt!). I find myself icing my knee as often as my hip, and I think that helps also.

Everyone will tell you that it's early to come off pain killers-- if my experience helps at all, just make sure that you taper when you're ready. Withdrawal symptoms are terrible and probably slow down your recovery. You have a good day, too!

 

[zauberflöte]

I've been working hard on my left knee-- I'm not cleared to do straight leg raises on the right side, but I do them on the left, and I'm doing squats at home and leg press in PT. it's ok, the bike really bothers it (it also bother my butt!).

BarbaraR I have been NOT doing exercises on the left (good-ish) side that i can't do on the right (BAD) because i read somewhere, not here, that it would create an imbalance. I used to be able to do straight leg raises both sides, but last fall the right side became toooo painful. I will follow your example, I think Want the left side to be stronger for when its turn comes! When you say squats, what do you mean? I put my back to the frig, very slippery, and slide down and up. Just yesterday I realized i'd have to stop that soon too unless I want to do it one-legged, which I pretty much am already LOL. I can still do chair leg lifts, which I used for years while I was jogging, to help painful knees. It worked then, I'm hoping it can work now!
Do you, the yoga-ess, have any suggestions for balance training? I know alot about form from my ballet days, but I can't actually DO it on the right side b/c it hurts to pull up out of my hip! Waaaahhh! LOL Any help gratefully accepted! chris

 

[BarbaraR]

zauberflöte, here's a link to squats and other knee strengthening exercises: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/25/ask-well-squats-for-aging-knees/
I found them hard to do before the surgery, but they're ok now. I also don't have arthritis in my left hip. I am a little concerned about strengthening my left leg more than my right, but it actually hurts a lot to do a straight leg raise on the right, so I'm ok with waiting.

If you've done ballet, you know more about balance than I can tell you. I've generally had good balance, and I've gotten that back pretty quickly (and it was excruciating to balance on the right leg before surgery) so I'm sure you'll get yours back, too.

 

[zauberflöte]

BarbaraR thanks! I tried some of them...mmmm...right hip not happy pretty soon LOL. I hvae a little hydraulic stepper that has really strengthened my quads and glutes, and is so far still not painful. 5+ yrs ago we moved to a house with no stairs. i' never lived with no stairs before, and couldn't believe how fast I deteriorated without knowing it! So I bought this thing, and now can climb stairs again easily. Well, ok, i have to go slowly, and I swing off the handrail to aid my right hip, but that's kinda fun in itself! A year ago I could still trot up them... a year from now I will again!!!!!!
I've bookmarked that page for after
I can still balance on the right leg. But I take alot of pills...you were near collapse, right? I don' think I am. No noise or crunching feeling.

 

[BarbaraR]

We live in a townhouse that has stairs but I rarely have to go upstairs-- my bedroom is on the first floor. It was great for recovery, but not so much for every day fitness.

I wasn't near collapse--I was still able to work, and I was working out at the gym. But I had made my life very very small, and I was taking a lot of nsaids. I was worried about killing my kidneys.