THR My life with Helga the Hip1

[Brave gal]

@ Florida girl&@ Briggeride
I am in same boat as both of you, I am fellin same way and I am resigned to keep it slow and steady recovery. pain and discomfort levels higher now at times than directly out of surgury but when I was discharged they wanted to put in a numbing med in my IV line left in my hand but it fell out that morning when I showered. my discharge nurse said that they had put it in my IV line maybe more than once while in hospital. Plus it was the most traumatic thing my body has been through ever and I reviewed Josephine's info on dislocation etc and know that I would be unable to move. as far as blood lot or infection I was told if I had fever and insision was hot to call 911
we all know if something is really really serious going on I hope I do. I hope the setbacks and discomfort are telling us to chill out which I have been doing for 3 days, taking my meds before pain gets to bad like every 31/2 to 4 hrs I decide I do not make a good hero and the pain meds were givin for a reason. I hate pills but this is major surgery and I am gonna just try to limits my discomfort so I am not frustrated and just goin with the recovery process. my bone on bone hip developed over time so same goes for my recovery. I came in here last week sayin I amdoin xyz and I realize I deserve the best recovery for my body so I am icing reading talking to u guys and literally begin a lot of a coach potatoe but I want to get well and then I can do things that probably hurt me now if I do before my body is ready

 

[Briggieride]

@Brave gal , we sure are getting Bone'Smart' [learning from our mistakes], us 'know-it-alls'. I blame the meds. They were misleading us. [I am keeping myself entertained by trying to put just the right kind of emoticom into my writing.]
@DrToonz , The thrill of victory of your great Seahawks carried me right to the OP without any fear. Thanks Seahawks. Let me know when you have you first brewsky so we can go together. Currently I love Interurbans IPA

 

[Briggieride]

DrToonz , oops, our great Seahawks. No Beastmode in recovery please!

 

[Brave gal]

@briggeride. I was just reading posts from Gabrielle's mom check it out very interesting
I sent you an im. Nancy

 

[FLgirlie]

I asked my Dr. what it means and he said (I think I mentioned this before) that it's really subjective.
In a way he told me that I NEED to overdo it, because there is no way to really know what overdoing it is until you overdo it. Then DON'T DO IT AGAIN.

That made me laugh...

 

[Briggieride]

@Brave gal , Hi Nancy, where can I find the posts from Gabrielle's mom? Currently two of my grandgirls are visiting. I played Battleship with one of them.

 

[DrToonz]

Let me know when you have you first brewsky

Feeling bad now because I read your post after GOING OUT FOR DINNER at the local pub and I had my first brewski! Sorry I was unable to let you know in advance. I had just one and it was VERY yummy. A local craft chocolate stout on nitro. Yum. The DW had the Trixter IPA which is a great IPA too.

I am icing reading talking to u guys

As you should be! I'm icing and reading too, RIGHT NOW, and I'm about a week ahead of you!

trying to put just the right kind of emoticom into my writing

Definitely adds a bit of literary flair to a bulletin board post when you add a good emoticon.

thrill of victory of your great Seahawks carried me right to the OP

I had to watch the game reclined in The Big Chair and hopped up on Oxycodone as it was 2 days after getting home from the hospital. Still loved it!

That made me laugh...

Always a great bonus when I can make someone laugh!

 

[Briggieride]

@DrToonz . My DH [Took me a while to figure out what DW in meant, but I did it.] spend one morning brewing beer in the kitchen instead of looking after me . This brew is called Dead Mouse Black IPA. There is a story behind the name . It does involve a dead mouse.

 

[DrToonz]

It does involve a dead mouse.

I think that could just add a little extra protein. As long as your wort was hot enough, I'd still drink the resulting brew.

 

[Poppet]

What an interesting conversation.. although have absolutely no idea what it is about?

@DrToonz ?

 

[scubysteve]

@Poppet In the Uk I'd call it malt but the essence is the same

 

[DrToonz]

@Poppet: Home brew!
I'm a newbie at the home brewing, but it seems that the @Briggieride household actually know what they're doing! (except, possibly, for some kind of dead mouse event which I'm not privy to the details of).

 

[scubysteve]

Maybe the mouse was in the privy (alternative meaning )

 

[Jaycey]

Day 12 in my recovery. Today I am not doing as well as I have earlier in my recovery. Since yesterday there has been more pain. It kind of feels like the pain I had before my hip replacement. Maybe I should not have cut out the Oxycodone?

Uh, yes you should not have cut down on medication. Far too early. You need the meds to get more mobility. Pain only sets you back. Take the full dose until you start forgetting doses. That's your body's way of letting you know it's time to cut down on the meds.

 

[DrToonz]

Take the full dose until you start forgetting doses.

That's an interesting way to do it and it makes perfect sense. I tried to 'ween' myself intentionally at a point where I thought it might work and that wasn't quite right.
That said, dropping dosage (I went from 15mg Oxycodone/ 4 hrs -- to 10mg / 4 hrs and so on over time) worked pretty well for me.

 

[Briggieride]

@Jaycey @DrToonz . Day12 in my recovery. I got mixed up yesterday.
I also tried to ween myself intentionally from my [comparatively tiny] dose [5mg] of oxycontin. I had forgotten to take it one time and that made me think 'now is the time to start weening myself'. Well, after walking a little bit while trying to not 'over do things', I had more pain. So...maybe I overdid, maybe I undermedicated. I think the latter, since I am supposed to get mobile. Back on more regular oxycontin I am and I like the 'no pain' feeling. I don't take it every four hours. Instead I let my pain level guide me.
In the hospital they had me on 10mg oxy, morphine at night [slept awesome], 650 mg acetaminophen [I still do that by the clock] and twice they gave me dilautin [sp?].
My doctor also gave me Lyrica for nerve pain before the surgery and after. When they tried to make me stand up four hours after the surgery my blood pressure dropped to very very low levels [I can't remember how low] and my pulse went down to 37 bpm [that for some reason I remember]. They tried to make me get up twice that day, but it was impossible because of my bp and pulse. They stopped the Lyrica. The next day I had no trouble getting up and walking around. But when I first used my right leg the skin on the top of my thigh felt like it was being peeled off; a horrible searing pain. But it was fleeting. I still have that a little bit, but it is no big deal. I guess is that is the nerve pain Lyrica was supposed to suppress.
And now for something completely different: I'll explain the story about the Dead Mouse Black Ale some other time. Right now I don't feel like it. Right now I am only doing what I feel like. It's awesome. Brigitte

 

[DrToonz]

They tried to make me get up twice that day, but it was impossible ... The next day I had no trouble getting up and walking around.

This is EXACTLY what happened to me. Twice they tried to get me to walk, but once I was standing I started sweating, feeling clammy and cold and then the room started getting dark. PT just said (quite calmly): "OK, why don't you just sit back down now." I did. Just before blacking out as far as I can tell.
Woops.
And this happened twice. The second time more slowly than the first.
The third time I was up (the next day/ the morning after my second/last day in the hospital), I stood in one place for 2 minutes or so to be sure that I was not going to pass out and then I went on a short shuffle-walk with the walker out into the hospital hallway for a total of about 50-60 feet round trip. A TRIUMPH!

when I first used my right leg the skin on the top of my thigh felt like it was being peeled off; a horrible searing pain

I also had this burning feeling. It seemed like someone put a hot iron on my legs (I had bilateral so both legs felt this way). I felt this searing both immediately after the feeling came back in my legs and at a few other times throughout my few hospital days. Not after.
You are 6 days behind me. I'm now 2 days into abandoning my walker and using only hiking poles for getting around (I had them already and since a cane is really a one-leg-surgery deal, I thought i'd try it and they work great).
I'm also on my 4th "no oxy" day. The last 2 days that I took it, I only took it just before bed and when I got up to pee in the night. I was finding morning pain, so I was thwarting it.
I now take just Ibuprofen, Aspirin and Acetaminophen.

It sounds very much like your recovery is quite similar in its milestones as mine.

Best of luck, @Briggieride . Keep us posted!

 

[Briggieride]

@DrToonz . Thanks for sharing. Well, you had bilateral hip replacement. Very impressive! I only had my right hip replaced through the MIS-2 approach by Dr. Paul Manner at the UW. Amazing procedure! I watched the whole procedure [from the first cut to the last stitch] on the internet [after my surgery, but not mine]. I am ready to do this on anyone who trusts me. I feel extremely competent.
Today I walked, once again, to a nearby lake. I took my forearm crutches, just in case I had to alert some crazy driver that I am an invalid and would be unable to jump out of their way so thiswouldn't happen [minus the bicycle].
On Tuesday I can take those stupid TED stockings off and I will also be done with those stupid injections twice a day. Did you have to do that as well? And before my shower I will put some vaseline on the surgical glue, which will remove the glue. Dr. Manner said so. And I believe him, because he is awesome. Thanks Dr. Manner and UW.
I hope your recovery keeps progressing nicely so you can get back on your bike soon. That's what I am looking forward to doing again too, although I was able to ride my bike before the surgery. I couldn't do any long rides [over 25 mi] anymore. I am looking forward to so many things I could not do anymore the last seven years: hiking, gardening and just regular pain free walking.
Here's to tomorrow...

 

[Poppet]

The searing pain is often due to the little nerve endings that have been cut or moved, that sensation should ease

 

[Poppet]

Here we just call it beer