Well, as promised, here's my next update. 19 days post op. Does seem like this recovery goes on and on! I do feel a bit stronger every day though stamina/energy levels are still giving me fits. Seems like I can be feeling like I could take on the world one minute and after a simple task, getting a drink, bathing, washing dishes for instance, I am completely tuckered out. I will say that emotionally I'm feeling better. I do have my occasional periods when I fall into that 'woe is me/will this ever end' but for the most part I've seen an upswing in my mood and general mental outlook. It's about time too.
I had my first followup appointment with my doctor yesterday. It was a long 2 plus hour trip one way. We stopped about half way there and back so that I could get out and piddle around on my walker. Getting there wasn't really an issue and I arrived a bit tired but not feeling too bad. I had saved 2 percocets out of my original prescription just for this trip as the Lortab I'd been prescribed afterwards did me no good. I'm glad I did because I think it would have been a lot worse if I'd had to depend on the Lortab.
They took an x-ray while I was there. This was probably the worst part. The tech told me to get on the table, which I did, though I was a bit worried because the tech walked out and I could see myself trying to roll onto the table and off the other side. I did fine though and managed to adjust myself where I needed to be. The tech then told me to pull up my knee and allow my leg to 'fall' to the side. I immediately balked. I had just had a discussion with my PT the day before about restrictions and he had said that THAT position, where you're lying on your back with your knee pulled up is fine but that I was not to allow my leg to 'fall to the side' until all restrictions had been lifted and my doctor had given the ok. The tech was asking me to push it down to the table while bent and out to the side. Sort of like sitting indian style while lying down. I told them I was told not to do that and that I couldn't do it anyway..which I can't at this time. (Heck, I haven't been able to do that for 2 years since the original injury!) It's too stiff and painful and I don't have that mobility yet.
So finally they tell me to 'just do the best you can'. I did try to push it down a bit but it really, really, hurt and I'm not sure if I was more mad at myself for trying to do what they'd asked, or at them for asking me to do something that I wasn't suppose to be doing anyway. They got their x-ray though and off to the doctors room I went to wait.
The doctor came in and looked at my x-ray and said everything looked good. He then went on to gush (I was quite amused at his excitement and animation when he told me this part) that usually when doing these operations there are adjustments that must be made on the bone etc, in order to have it fit properly. He said my body and bone structure were perfect and that the prosthesis was as if it had been custom made just for me. He did say that it had no bearing on how long it would last, but was still extremely excited at how well it fit. I must say the x ray did look perfect even to my inexperienced eyes. So, I guess that's a good thing?
I also told him about my 'boo boo' the other day when I inadvertently (stupidly!) turned and took a step bearing my full weight on my leg and how it gave out with me. He said he didn't see any damage or anything to worry about but had no explanation as to why my leg wouldn't hold up. He did say that sometimes when the muscles are moved and then reattached that they can 'roll' or 'pop' in the early stages of healing and that I perhaps had twisted the muscle in some way. As it seems to be ok now, I'm not going to worry about it. It does make me a bit cautious about wanting to put full weight on it though. He said I'm to start practicing with a cane next week though only in the house and if I go outside the house or anywhere else that I am to use the walker.
He gave me another prescription for Percocet and had no issues doing so,saying he'd rather me take the meds that work rather than not move or do my rehab because of pain. I was surprised he actually said that as I fully expected him to give me issues about more pain meds. Guess I got worked up over nothing. It probably didn't hurt though that I had a friend along who didn't waste time telling him how Lortab wired me and kept me awake not to mention the awful headaches they cause me. He didn't give me as many as when I left the hospital though they are a stronger strength for whatever reason. I'm not taking them round the clock now so hopefully these will last for the duration and I can get off them soon. I'm mainly taking them at night as the late afternoon/evening is when I seem to hit that 'crappy mode' stage.
I do feel stronger these days though it can come and go. I can get in and out of bed just fine though a bit slow sometimes. I get up and down out of my recliner with no issues at all. I'm moving around on my walker fine and turn loose often to do certain things though can't walk with no aide just yet. My sleeping habits are awful except for yesterday and last night after returning from the doctors trip. My return trip was a bit rough and I was sore and stiff and uncomfortable by the time I got home. I wound up going to bed and staying there until early afternoon today. Guess I really was exhausted. When I got up I felt much better though and surprisingly wasn't stiff at all after being in bed for so long.
This morning I also 'slept' on my un-operated side for a bit. It's the first time I've tried getting off my back. I had a pillow between my legs and it wasn't uncomfortable at all. It was sooooo good to be off my back for a change! I still haven't laid on my operated side and don't think I'll be doing that for awhile yet as my incision is still tender.
I've had two showers since finally figuring out how to get into my tub (I have a shower chair that I slide onto) and it's been like heaven.
I wanted to mention that if you're in need of a bag to carry things in on your walker, a bicycle bag works great. Last year I received a new bike along with accessories which I haven't yet been able to use. (I had surgery last year that didn't go as planned and haven't been able to ride it yet) I put the bicycle bag on my walker to haul things in on the walker. It's lite weight and had all the attachments already on it to secure it to the walker. Just an idea for those who might could use it. I also have a bike bell on my walker. No reason. lol My friends thought a bright pink bike bell with a peace sign would be just the perfect accessory for this rebel grandma.
And yes, I showed up at the doc's office with it still attached, having forgotten it was still installed.
At this time I can do very small chores, such as wash up the breakfast dishes. Make myself uncomplicated meals. I can get in and out of my bed with no problem though sometimes it's a bit slow. I can get in and out of chairs with no issues at all. I could probably do lots of other things but my house is rather small and not always easy to get around through the narrow hallway and such. I get a good work out just heading to the potty. The pain level is mainly due to stiffness and some soreness if I don't move for awhile or soreness a tiny ache, if I move too much too often. The biggest issues I have pain wise is my back and my arms and hands. I have carpal tunnel in both wrists and I think the use of the walker has really set that off. Sometimes if it weren't for my back/arms/hands, I'd be very comfortable. Not sure what is setting my back off. It's only on one side, the surgery side, and the only thing I can think of is because I'm not walking correctly and it maybe puts more pressure/twist on the surgery side. My hands are numb the majority of the time which is concerning not to mention very uncomfortable. My friend put some Styrofoam on the handles of my walker and it seems to have helped somewhat but I still have the pain. I use moist heat on my back (and sometimes my arms and hands too) which seem to relieve the pain but wish I knew of something that would provide more relief. I've also used Aspercreme rub on my back and arms. It does a tiny bit of good but not much and I wonder if I should be using it with the blood thinner I'm on since the creme has aspirin in it.
I still crave juice and have no use for coke or cola's. Maybe too much info, but with the pain meds, even cut down, I still need a dose of Milk of Magnesia all along. I'm doing the stool softeners too but they don't seem to really do much for me. My sleeping habits are all over the board. I usually go to bed quite early and fall asleep quickly but after an hour or two I'm awake again and watch the telly off and on throughout the night between dozing, even yesterday when I spent all night and much of the day in bed, it was a lot of dozing rather than straight through sleeping.
I'm wondering about taking vitamins and what would be the best to take. Vitamin C or a daily multivitamin and if I can do that while taking the blood thinner. It's odd in how I crave the juice though I'm not really feeling extremely thirsty or dehydrated. I just crave juice. I also can't eat much at one time. I'll be so hungry but by the time I get ready to eat I'm no longer hungry. Weird for me. And finally, I crave ice cream, but only at night. I'll eat a little bowl each evening like clockwork. I've never been much of a dairy product type because of lactose intolerance, so this is also weird for me. Oddly, I've had no issues with the small bowl of ice cream each night though. I'm feeling totally backwards in how I usually am as far as nutrition and such.
If I could get rid of the back and arm/hand pain, I think I'd be doing fairly well. Of course I'm still not walking unaided, but I guess we'll start on that next week some time. I'm a bit nervous about it but excited too. I have a brand new cane in a purple swirl pattern so I should be styling for an older-ish grandma
Edited this to finish up my doctors visit. Wasn't really much to it. He said he basically called his patients in on this visit to make sure the staples were out and that there was no drainage. Both were ok. I go back in four weeks at which time he says he'll check my leg strength and things of that nature. I think really that except for getting the prescription, there wasn't much need for a 4 1/2 hour round trip though it is nice to know that everything is going along as it should. And that was that.
Looking back on the past 19 days, I would never have believed I'd have come this far since surgery. I know it doesn't seem like much, and many others are doing far better than I at this stage, but for me and all I had to go through, it's a great deal of progress in my eyes. Thank you all for being here, for listening to my rants, whines, tears, joys, and answering the hundred and one questions, and for making me feel not so alone.
Wishing everyone a great day!
Kay
United States
I did have my first followup doctor's appointment yesterday (Friday) and was able to get another prescription for the percocet. As I said to Poppet above, he was very amiable to having me take what works as he seemed to be truly concerned about my being pain free in order to move so that was a positive. I'm going to do an update and don't want to bore the mass with numerous repeats, so will save the bulk of the visit for later. For now just wanted to say thank you. The electrolyte idea is a great. I had wondered about that myself along with whether I should be taking vitamins. I'm probably the worst patient in the world when it comes to things nutrition and I think my body may be rebelling over that fact. My own fault and one I need to work on. I agree too that I'm probably not medicating enough lately. I'm down to taking my meds pretty much only at night now, though I did save a couple of percs to take on the trip to the doctor. Anyhoo, a very big thank you. Sounds like you're doing great. I'll be glad when everything is back to normal. Right now one of my biggest issues is energy drain. I can go from 65 to 0 in nothing flat it seems. Best of the best to you and continued wishes for a grand healing. Thank you!
Sending my kindest and most calming thoughts her way. I'm sorry you've said she's on Bonesmart but I guess I haven't met her yet? I haven't really looked around much lately here. I get started but seem to flip-flop and lose my place. My own foggy brain, not the site's fault.
Once I did feel like I was leaning sideways..as in I'm going to keep going sideways lol, but I gently caught a chair and righted myself. The second time I wasn't on the cane but was doing stand up exercises in front of the walker and he seemed to think I was falling backwards. I didn't feel that way at all, but he 'caught' me. I was truly sorry that I made him nervous (I didn't even know I was doing these things and felt fine, except for the leaning to the side that one time) but I did find it somewhat amusing in an unintentional wicked sort of way I guess. 
There just isn't a lot of room for straight out walking. Just seems it would be easier for me in my circumstance to get around on the cane. Not like I'm not in close proximity to something to grab, except when in the hallway and there's always the wall I guess. He seemed to be afraid I'd trip/fall/crash and burn. I swear I think he's the greatest, but he reminds me of my doting and over protective grandmother (rest her sweet soul) sometimes.
Now if it would just fast forward a bit quicker! 
