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THR Miss Muffet proudly presents - her new hips

Good morning from The Old Country. :yay: Managed some sleep and :chillpill: will get back to preparing my parable today. I want to chronicle it as I know I would have found the detail of what to expect helpful and maybe others coming up behind will too. (And you're all well aware that I can go on a bit ..... :type:).

This is really just to let you know that I'm fine and dandy. Everyone is happy with my progress and I am pleasantly surprised:egypdance:. Be in touch - gotta stop now the Druggie trolley has arrived
 
Hi MissMuffet, it's wonderful to hear you're doing so well, very inspiring, enjoy your rest!
 
Hope you are home by now Ms M! The trip and getting back to the real world can be a bit daunting at first. Coming from an environment where everything is done for you to one where you must make it on your own is sometimes overwhelming. Take it one day at a time. If that's too much, try minute to minute. You are on your way!
 
OK - pin back your ears.....

This is my update and I really hope that anyone new to this fantastic site will find it useful

For me, Bonesmart was serendipity. I was overflowing with anxieties about every aspect of my forthcoming hip replacement(s). If you should find yourself, like me, wondering whether to go ahead then I really do urge you to voice your fears and queries here. I am someone who needs to know what to expect, in order to be mentally prepared, and no matter what I raised and whenever I asked for help I was met with a stream of advice and personal experience. Nothing is taboo. So gradually I began to feel better.

So here we go from the top of my Op experience .......

Op Day - Arrived at hospital about 1 pm. Various checks like BP, patch test to check I'm not allergic to iodine (which they paint on your leg) etc. Organised my bedside rammel (English expression for stuff) so things were ready and in reach for my return. This comprised phone, glasses, iPad, Chargers, watch and a small bag containing chewing gum breath freshener tiny hair brush, eye blackout mask.

Then my anaesthetist arrived - he was charming and friendly. Asked how I was feeling and despite a really strange calm which had washed over me a couple of days prior to admission I said I was petrified. He asked to list exactly what I feared. They were - the spinal (very concerned it would hurt and I would jump and muck things up). Then I said I didn't want to see the operating room at all. I didn't want to see/hear/smell anything, was concerned that I might wake up during the procedure and I didn't want nausea and/or sickness.

He came and sat beside me and said he had taken on-board my concerns and he would address every one of them. He explained that I would get the equivalent of a couple of gin and tonics ahead of the spinal so I would feel really relaxed. Everything else I had raised he said was no problem at all and I need not worry any more. He left and I felt much reassured. Phew!
TOP TIP - speak out and let them know how you feel. Don't hold back.

My OS arrived. We chatted through the procedure, marked my leg to confirm which one he was about to operate on and told me he anticipated no problems at all. He's a good guy and I have huge faith in him. After all he was The Chosen One. There was little I needed to ask or say.

Nurse arrived and gave me some pink solution which she asked me to wash the area with. I changed into my hospital gown, she put TED on my non- operated leg (explaining the other one would be put on in theatre at the end of the Op). I was also given a couple of tablets - painkillers to set the wheels in motion early (they actually enabled me to walk pretty well, although I did use my crutches as support to walk to theatre)

About 3.30 someone came to escort me to the anaesthetic room. I sat on a bed with my feet on a stool. My lovely anaesthetist come in and fitted a cannula on my hand and we debated very briefly whether I actually preferred a double gin or wine? .... At that point I was sedated. I don't even remember drifting off. Apparently I talked and was able to cooperate to enable him to deal with the spinal.
I felt nothing, zero, nada ...... Success!

The procedure lasted somewhere around 90 minutes (including anaesthesia) and at roughly 5.30 I woke in the sort of way you would when someone comes into your room when you are fast asleep and they say they've brought you a cup of tea. I opened my eyes and was fully conscious immediately. I am told that in recovery (where I spent about 30 minutes immediately after my Op) I had conversations.
I recalled nothing, zero, nada ....... Success!

So I was now in the Step Down Unit, rather than being returned directly to my room. This is because my Op was towards the end of the day and there are less staff on the evening shift, so they moved me and 3 others to a central ward where they could keep a watchful eye on us all under regular Obs. The excellent team there asked what my pain level was (0-10) and did I feel any nausea? Truthfully there was no pain. Initially my scar felt ever so slightly stingy. I could wiggle my feet, move my knees and clench my butt (as requested by Dr Wizard the Anaesthetist). From then on my level settled at around 2 (it was 9-10 preOp) At one point it did spike to a 5 and I simply let my nurse know and she gave me a syringe of oral morphine which worked really quickly and tasted rather nice and fruity. Then it settled and soon was a zero. All the time it felt absolutely tolerable.

I had a drip which was feeding me fluids. The cannula was where antibiotics were fed. I had a BP cuff on my arm which blew up at intervals and soft boots on my feet which, also at intervals, tightened and loosened to keep my blood on the move, and was fed oxygen via my nose. Nothing was uncomfortable or in the slightest bit intolerable.

The Step Down Unit was a busy place, necessarily because of the regularity of the Obs. and our monitors would beep or ping at intervals and my booties would squeeze pressure alternately on my feet every few seconds (DVT prevention) making clicking noises. Naturally this went on all through the night and I was warned that it would mean not the best night's sleep.
TOP TIP - pop some ear plugs in your dressing gown pocket and your blackout eye mask and ask the nurse to get them out for you.

To be honest, being pre-warned , I simply accepted the situation and was grateful that the lovely nursing staff were keeping an eye on me so I simply settled back and nosily observed the activities, having decided I'd make up my kip over the next few days. What I also had time to reflect on was how absolutely marvellous it was that the first of my badly behaved hips had finally been dealt with and the postOp discomfort was so completely manageable, unlike the preOp situation where the situation was rapidly getting worse.

Mr Muffet was allowed to visit and as he walked in and I gave him a cheery wave the look of relief on his face as a picture. He's not good at hospitals. Told me he was expecting me to look dreadful - and here I was smiling and chatting. I realised that it is so easy to overlook the fact that, in the midst of our arthritic preoccupation, it is terribly hard for our loved ones because all they can do is watch on and feel helpless. So when he left he was a very much happier bunny.

They brought me a few cups of tea (nectar) and some sandwiches during the evening/night/early morning and I was able to get out of bed (with help) to use the commode. Having a drip meant I was being kept well hydrated but they wanted to ensure that my output was also good, so they used a scanner to check how full my bladder was. Because I'd had a spinal I wasn't yet actually aware of it, so the normal sensation when I would want to empty it had disappeared - such a funny situation. Of course, if I didn't always get the sensation that I needed to GO, things could happen without me realising! And folks they did .... I was so embarrassed but the nurses treated me with such understanding, saying it was a very common. This meant bed and nightgown change and me feeling a bit silly, despite their reassurances. But I guessed if that was the worst experience immediately postOp then I certainly wasn't grumbling.

Day 1 - About 7 am I was wheeled back to my room where I was given a bed bath to freshen me up. Drug trolley arrived and a light breakfast. Every time staff arrived they asked about my pain level and whether I felt any nausea. To be completely honest, "pain" seemed like a strange expression. Pain was what I experienced preOp and what I had now was more like discomfort in the form of tightness in my hip and a feeling in the lower back of drawing my muscles taut.

I pulled the comms cord for my first loo trip just as the Physio arrived and learned how to get out of bed. The wooden leg feeling is odd. I told IT what the plan was but IT wasn't listening. The Physio assisted by gently moving it into position, explaining that gradually (over a period of time) I'd be able to do that myself once my muscles started to wake up. I had absolutely NO problem, was able to fully weight bear and simply felt the tightness in my lower buttock. I got the grip of the getting on/off the raised loo technique and back to bed again. This meant 2 boxes ticked as the Physio's visit was covered by the fortunate timing. Walking and loo management = check.

Bit by bit the appendages were removed - oxygen and drip, and BP monitor put on only when I had Obs checks. I had lots of visitors that first day, flowers, cards and presents and naturally enough they wanted chapter and verse on everything that had happened. Of course I overdid it, but I felt so marvellous and so relieved.

Day 2 - I didn't sleep terribly well because I made the mistake of lying flat and that gave me lower back pain coupled with no meds through the night (although I could have called for them) so I felt a bit of a energy drain the next morning. The grandkids were due to visit and I was told that Skye (aged 7) had been in tears at school saying she was worried about me. I was determined to look as 'normal' as possible, so this was to be the day of my first shower, hair-wash and clothes, and me sat in a chair, not in bed. And it felt sooo good! I didn't want her to see me with tubes attached - you never know when they just might need hospital, so I wanted it to appear to be a nice, normal place.

A while later a small pair of feet covered by a huge bouquet of flowers arrived - this was Harrison (aged 2) - who marched over and peered at my strange blow up boots making weird snapping sounds. He was followed by an anxious looking Skye wanting to know what "they" had done to me. I took some time to explain that I had a poorly bone which they simply took away and replaced with a good bone and now I was fine! The Physio arrived again so it was more walking down the corridor to the stair test (which I managed). Great timing because it meant Skye could see I was ok, so she left feeling much reassured having decided she was now my nurse. She had conducted some final examinations on me wearing some pinched NHS blue rubber gloves and giving me an appointment for 2 weeks time. (BTW Harrison also passed the stair test, so was allowed to go home)

I didn't have a huge appetite but was aware that I needed to keep an eye on my nutrition, so small pleasant dishes of food were tempting even if I didn't manage it all. And regular drinks plus fresh water kept the waterworks busy - so exercise was mostly trips to the loo. The story with the bowels is a different kettle of fish - frankly they've gone on holiday. I have been given meds for this and do believe they'll take effect and I also have the full prune and prune juice arsenal at the ready.

The meds tinkering was about right and pain was invariably down to zero, so they wanted to try me on Tramadol. I began to feel woozy and it did make me sick, so that was quickly changed and some anti-nausea introduced to counter the effect which worked just fine. Clearly I didn't tolerate it.

I had commissioned a cake for the nursing staff. Needed a theme and elected against a prosthetic hip (not very appetising) so settled on a Hippie cake (no dope. Figured we've got enough drugs in us already) this arrived with Mr Muffet the day after surgery and was met with huge amusement. They are even going to feature it in their newsletter. Added to that, we discovered my OS is an avid surfer, so we saved a slice for me to give him that evening when he visited me, topped off with the surf board. I'll have to upload a photo later when I'm reunited with my PC - can't seem to attach it via my iPad.

So this morning Day 3 - I got up, showered and dressed myself (with lower leg and TED assistance) even blow dried my hair and applied make-up. Had my marching instructions - prescription, starter medication, letter for GP, and lots of helpful leaflets on how to progress, together with my exercise plan. Not a heap to do, but easily manageable. Then headed home. First I sorted all my drugs into my pill organiser, then clambered into bed for a couple of hours of heavenly elevated sleep in my beloved Tuffet. Am about to retire downstairs to do some more elevating and icing.

This has been a long epistle, but will serve as a reminder to me when I embark on my Hip#2 journey. I feel extremely positive about this outcome already. It is very important not to let OS be the boss. We are fortunate to have the resource to make things so much better and I am so glad I moved forward.

If I've made spelling errors please forgive. I'm not yet topped up on sleep but that will come.

More to follow in the days ahead - happy hippy days everyone!
 
Fantastic @Miss Muffet, makes me feel much less scared about tomorrow. I haven't had much time to think about it, been so busy with the boys but now it's hubz turn for a few days. Notes written, pinned on door, fridge, into phone.so fingers crossed they will be ok whilst I am in la la land. I am so glad for your support and will report in as soon as I can. Take it steady, big hugs :happydance::friends::flwrysmile:
 
Look at you Missy! Isn't it amazing how much easier this surgery is than what our imaginations envision? Great update and I'm so happy for you! I know you're going to be of great help to those following after you. Rest and relax, oh, AND use plenty of ice on that new hip of yours. Hugs and xo's! :loveshwr:
 
Hi @Miss Muffet, I'm very glad to read that you're doing so well and are having a wonderful experience. You sound like the ideal patient, calm, accepting and appreciative -a fantastic attitude. They want us to get better too and it probably puts the Drs and hospital staff at ease to have a such pleasant patient esp one who brings cake!

I read your missive a couple of times and it really calmed my nerves, think I can do this and like you, I need two thr's. It's good to know what's going on and I appreciate the step-by-step detail and succinct writing style. It's around midnight for you so happy slumber!
 
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