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THR Okay so it's over! 12/17/13

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My spinal did not take and in the end I was put under but must have been lighter as I woke up easily with no grogginess or nausea (never had that in two previous times I had anesthesia) and no sore throat so either way will work - after a day you won't know the difference - might seem big or scary now but it will not matter later!
 
Last time I had a general I had no problem too Pat.. was eating chinese food a few hours later. Makes me wonder what the difference is between the two types of general I had. Cheers folks.
 
@dkirk0530 ... so glad your mom is doing so well and also that are doing so great ... and that your staple removal went okay. See ... THAT is why Bonesmart is so great. I would have frankly freaked at staple removal (I had that superglue instead, so it wasn't an issue), but I would have gone to Bonesmart, searched for "staple removal' and read your thread and others who attested to how it wasn't a problem. And that would have been one less thing to super worry about. I was actually worried a lot about both a GA or a spinal, was told it would probably be a spinal and not much I could do about that, but read on Bonesmart than people tend to not wake up during the spinal ... and I was feeling much better. (For the books, or any pre-ops reading this ... I don't even remember the spinal! I think I conked out after the anesthesiologist put something in a vein in my hand and kinda remember being wheeled toward "the room" (or the "theater" as some say) and that is it. Did not wake up till they were rolling me out of the room.) When I had my pre-op consult with the anesthesiologist it was minutes before surgery time, and I told her I didn't really want to wake up beforehand, and if I did how would I signal to her to put me back under, etc., and she assured me I would not be waking up.
 
Well.. made it to church today and had friends over for dinner.. pretty much getting back to the life that I had pre-surgery minus pain. Lucky this was a LTHR and I can drive. Very little pain now, just due to heaviness, hip/thigh touch (numbness) and swelling.. I've been reading BS about swelling and realize it's normal for quite some time. It's just weird looking down and seeing Fred Flinstone feet!! With a good night of sleep and I'm good to go after elivating. Need to elevate more during the day as I sit! Week four will be Tuesday.. progressing nicely.
 
dkirk0530 my name is Mandy and I am actually the wife of a soon to be THR recipient. I noticed that you are from GA. We are also, near Athens. I was just curious were you are located. My husband is young, 30 to be exact, and extremely nervous. Hoping for maybe some positive feedback on our local hospital and surgeon. Thanks for your time
 
@Kempkemp Hey there fellow Georgian! I am from the Macon area.. but had surgery at Emory. LOVED my OS, hospital, etc. They were awesome! Have heard some good things about OS's in Athens.. almost went that direction too. Had the anterior.. private message me if you need more info. Happy to share!
 
Hi Bill.. @fulafoto I'm doing really well! PT twice a week, ROM improving, recumbent bike about 2 miles, working still on rebuilding muscle and flexibility. It is absolutely amazing being upright, not in constant pain, and not LIMPING!!!! I'm floored by that. I wish I could go back just one day and realize how much different it is. If I could have started my pre-log earlier and kept track of all the misery I was in.. I would do so. I just don't want to forget how far I've come in such a short time! My daughter even said to me today, mom. really happy you are doing so much better! We attended church today, two weeks in a row. Last week I was slow and steady but still a bit tentative. This week I parked up on a slight hill, passed up the golf cart that picks people up ( I always used to have to take it!) and walked! I also finally found a store that carried a Fitbit Force and purchased that yesterday. The Force will track my steps so I'm a goal oriented individual and wanted those steps to count for me today. Going to take a stroll hopefully later this afternoon with my husband to get some steps in and increase my step ROM. I'm doing slight PT exercises as I can at home, just to strengthen muscles.. do both legs. I'm going back tomorrow and will ask PT if I can start back to the gym to do upper body strengthening again and continue on the recumbent bike to start building my endurance and burn calories!

One thing that happened to me late last night, I did have incredible itching.. deep tissue, nothing I could do about it itching. Thankful for BS. Went on around 3 a.m. to see what it might be and found some posts about itching and putting ice as well as taking a Benedryl. nerves awakening I'm sure. It was quite maddening!! One feels so alone at night and it's hard to explain itching that is deep.. my skin has no feeling yet I'm itching! The Benedryl did wonders and today no itching. So happy I had it on hand. Might be something to consider for others that might experience this randomly as I have.

I'm sleeping okay now. Can pretty much sleep on side, not surgical side. Found out from my new Fitbit Force that I'm awake a lot .. the Fitbit monitors sleep. I'll see if that continues. I'm sure it will. I'm a restless one at night for sure and the back hurts a bit still due to sleeping on back and really probably doing more than I have been in years!! as well.

So all in all I'm doing great. Enjoying the pain free walk and starting to rebuild my strength and ROM as time progresses. I'm now post surgery 5 weeks~! woot woot! Thanks for asking.. how are you all doing? Bill? Others? Keep the faith.. the journey is worth it.
 
@dkirk0530 - thanks so much for the update Diane - having your updates are keeping me going and I am so pleased your getting your life back and looking forward to doing walks and getting back to the gym. Passing up on the golf cart sounds like a real achievement for you and I am sure there was a sense of triumph when you did it and comments from family like your daughter made are absolutely priceless - I really am ecstatic for you Diane :happydance:

I finally received a letter last week that I have another appointment with the OS on 12 February and from there I SHOULD get a date:beg:. This is a lot better than my previous appointment with another OS in December where I was put on a waiting list of 365 days :shocked:- thankfully I have a wonderful GP who wrote to the hospital and have had my appointment upgraded! This is the way the public system is in Australia and I cannot really complain.

I am still getting around on crutches - yesterday (Sunday) I woke early and it was a gorgeous day - thought about what my usual practice was on Sundays - walking up the street to get the Sunday newspaper saying hello to other locals, taking the time to have a chat with neighbours, generally socialising.

I considered driving up the street to get the paper and even that was too much trouble so did without it.

All I can say is bring on Feb 12!!!!
 
@dkirk0530 Thanks for your great update report Diane. I enjoy reading them. :)
@fulafoto My OS visit is Feb 17; then find out about appt.... Bet, we have ours close together; or hope so.
 
Interesting seeing the difference in public medicine. In US we just go in and try to find a mutual date that will work. I was pleased to have an appt in December as I had met my full medical deductible for the year. What this means is I had already paid out 3000.00 out of pocket expenses for my medical including pharmacy, appointments outside of wellness, etc. So it was ideal that I had surgery in December. So far they are telling me I do not owe anything further for the visit since I met my annual 6000.00 total out of pocket!! ugh... we have a high deductible health plan. I thought I'd just share a little on my "insurance" process here. That is one reason I waited till late in the year to get the surgery. The other reason is due to my business life somewhat slowing down around the holiday season.

So Bill @fulafoto since you were moved up to earlier date, thankfully, does this mean you will more than likely be scheduled/slated for a date when you visit your OS? Obviously your GP thinks it a necessity at this point so hoping that's a good sign in your country!

Also, wanted to give you an update on mom! She's doing okay. Her recovery is much slower of course at 86. She's in rehab now and prob will be for a few more weeks. I keep calling her almost daily. Will prob try to go down when she returns home to keep her spirits up and to visit. Hoping my recovering will coincide with her hospital departure.. my sister lives with her but also has a lot of health issues so cannot take care of her well. When it rains it pours.. wish she had waited a month or so but at least we have gone through this together. I think she will be very surprised as time progresses and the pain decreases in the leg area, how much she is no longer in chronic pain. For now she's doing okay and for that I'm thankful. She lives aout 7 hours frome us.

Well.. hope you are all having a great day! In US this is MLK day so it's a national holiday of Peace!! Peace to all!
 
@dkirk0530 thanks for your encouragement - you are always reaching out and so uplifting to all. Thought I'd stop by to see how you are doing and wow! You are doing great. You are a motivator to get me to work out and get to the gym, do a bit more tan just my PT visits. Wishing your mom a steady, pain-free recovery.
@MajorHeidi & @fulafoto - wishing you peace as your OS appts come up and pray you get scheduled so you can move forward. It is scary & unpredictable, but the hope of pain relief is real :). God bless.
 
Woot woot.. did the Leslie Sansone 1 mile easy walk video today.. took it easy but it was a fun way to get my PT exercises in and get some minor cardio in as well. Loving ability to walk without a limp.. so fortunate to have a new lease on life. People are telling me how I look like I've lost weight.. seriously??? I think it's because my alignment is now better.. haha. Stand taller, look thinner! Got hair done today and new glasses.. so looking different too, feeling different.. good day!
 
Woohoo! Go girl...thrilled for you! Not only are you standing taller, with better alignment, nor is it just the hair & new glasses - it's the "facelift"...your veil of pain is gone - you have that new lease on life....keep up the great progress.

I thought of you today at PT - I worked out & pushed myself a bit more knowing I'm not yet going to the gym (T/Th PT). Finished with that satisfied/good workout feeling.

I forgot to add my comment re: insurance. Like you, I also planned my surgery before year end, as I was hitting my max out of pocket. Hopefully, this new year, my medical out of pocket will be minimal!

The best to you....continued blessings.
 
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Hey Hibbe.. you and me both on the insurance although my PT is taking a chunk out of it right now ;) Hope you are all having a good Saturday.. off to gym and shopping.. cleaned house a bit this a.m. Really, hip is feeling almost back to pre pain days.. Still have stiffness and soreness but geez.. six weeks.. awesome! I will love to see this year progress and the pain and stiffness decrease.. it's like being reborn again!
 
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