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THR Jojool rides to the other side...

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BeckyR thank you....I feel like I've taken a few steps backwards but now that you've told me that, it makes sense. Again, thank you! :friends:
 
Hi, Jojool, It's important to keep ahead of the pain, and to remember that you have just been through a truly MAJOR surgery, even though the SuperPath technique minimizes soft-tissue trauma and is much gentler than other methods. I chose to spend four nights in the hospital, because I wanted the support and care, and to be more independent by the time I went home, partly to minimize the strain on my husband, who did so much for me. Your body is working overtime to repair itself. Surgery is sometimes referred to as "a massive insult to the body." I love that expression -- an insult! So cute, but true. So much is taking place beneath the surface that you aren't even aware of. The body is a miraculous self-healing machine.

For the time being, you really need to be very gentle with yourself, and LOWER your expectations. Stay ahead of the pain with your meds, but it will still be a huge effort just to get up and go to the bathroom. Many people on this site have written about the day when they suddenly realized they didn't need to think twice about whether it was worth the effort to get up and do something, and realizing that was a landmark of progress. There will be landmarks of progress, but it's mainly going to be measured in weeks, not days.

SuperPath recovery is measured in weeks, rather than months, for the most part, but there sure is a lot of recovery involved. You need to be patient with yourself and the process moment by moment, day by day. You are safely through the surgery, and everything is fine. You are not in any danger, and nothing is going to go wrong. It is just going to take some time, and the journey is a little different for everyone. At this point, just walking around the house -- going to the bathroom, going from one room to another -- and doing your foot pumps, heel slides, and other small exercises is all you need to do. Relax, and breathe. You made it! Nothing but blue skies and sunshine up ahead.
 
Jojool, it doesn't matter which approach you have, or how careful you are about taking pain meds on schedule, or how much you rest and ice.....you are still going to go forward and backward, forward and backward, probably for months to come. Following the mantra (rest, ice, elevate, and medicate) will help a great deal. But the simple fact is that this is MAJOR surgery, with a great deal of shuffling of soft tissue and muscles. Under the very best of circumstances, it isn't a simple healing process.

For me, it helped a lot to just go with the flow. I slept whenever my body wanted to sleep, and I rested up between the naps, because a short jaunt to the bathroom or the kitchen is a LOT of work in the early weeks after surgery. Throw in the exercises that we all think we need to be perfect at, and the bit of walking we all want to do, and recovery is just plain exhausting hard work. I took my pain meds and if they made me groggy and sleepy, that was fine, because sleep is healing all by itself. Day by day, bit by bit, it all gets easier...but never in a linear fashion. Today you feel great, so you do a little more than you did yesterday, and tomorrow you pay the price for doing more yesterday. It seems disheartening until you look back at the early days from the lofty peak of six weeks and realize how far you've come. Same thing around nine weeks. And one days it's been four months, and holy cow.....you feel almost normal.

Except you aren't, so don't get thrown when months later you have those days that feel like you've gone backwards once again. This is ALL normal. Smartest thing we can all do is give ourselves the gift of patience to let it all work itself out in its own good time. If ever there was a time to settle back and smell the roses, it is now. :)

Sharon
 
sharonslp, hi there gorgeous.... Not sure what I am doing here?

Just opened my eyes, turned on my iPad, so forgive me if at 6 am I am not quite with the discussion :)
 
Thank you everyone. I think the thing that got to me is, on my sheet from my OS it said that one of my goals was to be able to walk a MILE, unassisted or assisted within 7 days of my surgery. :yikes: a MILE???? Really? There is no way I could even walk 500' at one time right now. It's still pretty painful, and I tire so easily. I'm going to go with the smarties here on BS, and take it one step at a time and not push too hard. I see my OS on Thursday for a one-week checkup, and we'll see what he says when I am NOT up to what he expects me to be. :whistle:
 
Jojool, you've got to be kidding me. A mile?! I know the super path technique is supposed to be less traumatic, but the surgeon still cut off part of your femur and replaced it with a prosthesis. You still lost a lot of blood. Be kind to yourself please. You'll be walking well before you know it, and you will get your energy back, just not necessarily on the literature's time schedule. (BTW, there's a new season of Project Runway on right now. I DVR'ed it when I was recovering, and watched about 20 minutes at a time in the afternoons when I was lying down. Great escape if you're interested.). XO
 
Jojool I had the superpath in February and again in April. I followed what is said on here. If it hurts don't do it. Make sure you take your meds on time, don't play catch up after you're in pain. Rest and ice. Do the exercises only if it doesn't hurt to bend and stretch. I napped a lot in those first few days, probably the first 2 weeks. By week 3 I was up and doing a lot but with the use of a cane. I am still working at getting stronger. I wanted so much to have this surgery give me back my life in a couple weeks, but really? It took more than a couple weeks to get here and throw in major surgery. Your body has to have time heal. You need to give it that so you process and not go backwards in the weeks ahead. Don't worry about not being able to walk that amount now, in time you will and more. I am 4 months out since my last surgery. I can walk up hills without thinking about it except for remembering how much it used to hurt to do that. I still have to get up and move around because I get stiff after sitting for too long. After I take a few steps I'm alright. You are going through typical healing....it takes time.
 
Jojool, A mile in 7 days unassisted is INSANE!!!!! My surgeon, who went through the exact same fellowship as your surgeon, a year apart, told me I'd be using a walker for one week and a cane for two weeks (or vice-versa) and then be able to walk unassisted. But he also told me that everyone heals at a different rate. There is NO WAY that patients are expected to walk a mile with or without assistance a week after surgery. One thing I've noticed about Dr. Chow -- although I know he's a brilliant surgeon -- is that he is very heavily into marketing, and publicizes cases of people going back to playing golf a couple of days after surgery. That is not the norm! You will heal at your own pace. It will be faster than it would be if not for SuperPath, but it will still be at your own pace, and not at a pace designed to enhance a marketing plan.
 
sandybeach, I am so glad you are doing so well. Your comments on where you are right now are very reassuring to me and give me confidence for the future. You have been the pathfinder for us on SuperPath. Thank you for your honesty and guidance along the trail!
 
Runaround Sue said:
I wish They had given me percoset, the stuff I got was below that on pain relief. I told them it didn't last 3 hours and wanted to take the 2 oxy as prescribed but the nurses said no. I do set my alarm for all night long. Maybe I will try just adding a tylenol with 1 oxy.
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Runaround Sue they get sooo agitated when they think that we are drug seekers...:hissy: I wish they'd given you the percocet too... it was very good for me, and I was off it shortly after 4 weeks *thumbs nose at doctors who think I'll become addicted to feeling slightly nauseated and completely brainless* I don't know how much tylenol is in your oxy, but I have learned to check my numbers very carefully-- my primary care says we must not take more than 3000mg/day.
As to your thinking and eyesight coming back-- how's that going for you?:heehee:
My eyes didn't take too long, but the brains were 6 weeks or more on vacation!

Jojool I'm hoping you're backing off on attempting that mile today!! I had anterior, and was in fair shape before, easily able to walk 2-3 miles so long as I had enough tramadol in me and was willing to pay the consequences when it wore off-- but post op I wasn't walking a mile all at once till the second day of Week Eleven! Always keep in mind, Slow and Steady! :)
 
Jojool, I walked 3/4 mile after 3 weeks, and it nearly killed me. That was partly because it was more than 90 degrees out. I did the 3/4 mile circuit again a week later, after the sun went down, and it was easier. I will be six weeks on Wednesday, and the 3/4 miles is really all I can do right now. It is arduous, but doable. Maybe I would be able to do more if not for my knees, but at least that gives you some kind of guidelines.
 
Good grief! Walking a mile 7 days after surgery as a goal seems unrealistic and a set-up for disappointment. I didn't have SuperPath, I had anterior, and before surgery I asked my OS how long post op before I could: paddle my kayak, ride my bike, walk a mile. And he said 4 weeks, 4 weeks, and 4 weeks. And he was right on.

You're only a week out, and you should listen to your body and take it easy. There aren't any prizes for how soon you do things, and there can be consequences for pushing too hard.

Chill! Read a good book, watch a video, eat ice cream....
 
Thanks everyone. Particularly sore day today.... *sigh*
 
Jojool I was just typing a message to you and discovered I had been logged out. I think we lost our internet connection this afternoon.I was just typing this to you when I found out I was logged out. I hope you are taking it easy, there is no rush, healing comes in due time. There is more trauma to your leg and hip than you know. Plese be good to yourself :console2:


Jojool How are you feeling today surgery buddy? I had a nap earlier, folded wash and did my second set of exercises (boy are they rough!) Now I am sitting on an ice pack. I have things like abduction, mini-squats ,butt lifts, leg curls and a bunch of other more difficult things to do. I hope you are feeling better, don't push yourself, take it slow and steady, the BS mantra you must have seen a million times over the past months :)
 
zauberflöte there is no tylenol that I can see, it is oxycodone hcl 5mg tab the generic for roxicodone. Really! I can't imagine wanting to take this stuff if I din't absolutely have to. I feel like my brains are jello, kinda dizzy all of the time, my eyes won't focus they sort of feel like they are crossing, and I am so groggy. My appetite is completely gone, nothing tastes good, I can't think of anything I would like to have to eat.
 
Jojool sorry about your "sore" day-- one day up, next day down, this continues for months, but the overall trend is always towards less pain, really!! Did you identify anything you might have done the day before yesterday to have made you extra sore yesterday? Sometimes (for me, who's a slow learner, often!) it works like that--- you do something that feels ok at the time, and pay for it the next day. How are you today?

Runaround Sue I do know that mush-for-brains well! It will go away, but right now I'm afraid the narcotics are your "friend" (with friends like this who needs enemies, right?). Go ahead and call the OS about adding some tylenol to that oxy. I thought oxycodone always came with tylenol in it-- my hubby took vicodin once and it did, so I was making rash assumptions here LOL.
As to eating, I only had that reaction of loss of appetite for a few days here and there, and a little chocolate ice cream cleared it right up:heehee:
Those are some tough exercises you have! Remember what we say on here-- if it hurts, don't do it, and if it makes you hurt worse the next day after, don't repeat it. I had to ease in to my exercises, and one of them (lifting knee in front while standing on other leg) still hurts if I lift too high-- so I don't! It will come when it's ready!
 
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