THR Other side for Tamra!'

[tamra]

Wondering if i walk too much? 6days out. I went without any pain med more than six hrs earlier. Boy did i know it. Only took one long nap today. Woke up at 7:10 pm having to pee badly! And no pain relief in sight. Poppd 2 -5mg hydrocodone fast then got moving. Probably 75 steps. Omg .. that hurt! Just gritted teeth tho and pain pill finally started helping.

Still wore out easy. No energy to read yet. Watch a lot of Netflix and Hulu. Hoping Kindle will call for my attention soon. So how are you'all? !!!!

 

[Postalgal]

@tamra be sure and check the swelling tomorrow with the doc. See what they say, wondering if too tight? I get to take off my leg compressors off on Thursday, I just wonder why all surgeons don't have their patients do these?? It is usually a 2 week thing, but when they called if I was moving about , take off Thurs.

You stood there long enough and made scrambled eggs? Awesome! Hubs took the walker and grand daughter on the other, ugh, my sense of security blanket! lol I walked! lol Well of course I have been walking and they say walk with walker regardless, so what i said to him today is i think i am putting some weight on the walker, what it is , is that I am a scary cat! ha! So I walked out in the yard, slow and sure, more like Frankenstein, but hey it's Halloweeeeennnnn! LOL

Your doing great!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Postalgal]

No energy to read yet. Watch a lot of Netflix and Hulu. Hoping Kindle will call for my attention soon. So how are you'all? !!!!

I have that too! I feel like I can't focus, or my usual dizzy head lol! I do Union work, and did walk a gal through a grievance today, pepped me up big! I was just wondering about the reading thing...and there you have my answer.

 

[Jaycey]

If you are taking blood thinners and getting around regularly you should be just fine. It's really your decision on getting rid of the TEDs but most of us gladly ditched them early.

 

[tamra]

Dang .. doc appt isn't till Wednesday. Good thing i called to check this morning.

Slept in bed first time last night. I think i can do that now. Not real easy to get leg propped up on pillows but i can do it with the leg-lifter. I slept pretty well considering i am a dedicated side sleeper. Not much chance of turning over though lol.

Pretty sore this morning. Once i hit the 5 hr mark after taking pain meds it starts hurting pretty fast. So first thing on wake up is to check log to see what time i took them last and then take two 5mg Norco and hope i can get up without too much pain because bladder always wakes me up!

No big plans today. Try to get VPN to work working on big computer. No more than i have to at that tho. Watch more AHS on my roku. Maybe see if my son will help me out on the deck a little bit for some fresh air.

Hope you'all have a great day.

 

[tamra]

I have that too! I feel like I can't focus, or my usual dizzy head lol! I do Union work, and did walk a gal through a grievance today, pepped me up big! I was just wondering about the reading thing...and there you have my answer.

Hope we get over this soon! I have some really good books in that kindle waiting for me! I've read a little but it puts me to sleep lol.

 

[tamra]

Hey .. biggest accomplishment for me since a week ago is 8 days SMOKE-FREE! I had cut down a lot prior to surgery (5-6 a day) and a week ago today was the last time i smoked. Have the urge to smoke now and then but i just tell myself 'nasty habit' and pop a breathe mint in . I have used nicotine gum a couple of times but trying to stay away from that since the nicotine should be pretty much out of my system now. Had to throw that out there

 

[Tweetybrd]

Yay! You can do it!!!
I am worried about sleeping in my bed cuz I am a side sleeper too. Glad you were able to again.
Hope you get less fuzzy headed so you can read soon.

 

[Miss Muffet]

I am worried about sleeping in my bed cuz I am a side sleeper too

If you make a big nest of pillows the worry about side sleeping is lessened. Also you are rather aware of your new hip and incision, which tends to remind. I was allowed to side sleep after 2 weeks, but only on my operated side. I hesitated before I did it. Slightly uncomfortable at first, but soon got used to it. I favour my right side to sleep, so will have to re-educate myself to sleep on Leftie

 

[tamra]

Wow post-op Blues are definitely a thing. Hit me hard yesterday. My recovery is going sooo slow. Doing everything I am supposed to but still in a lot of pain. i had it controlled for the most part till i realized at my current consumption (as per the label and to keep pain bearable, not gone) I would run out of pain pills a full day before seeing OS on wednesday. So i tried to cut back. Wrong thing to do. Most of yesterday was spent in worse pain than i had since right after surgery. Just early morning did I really get it back to bearable. OS office is being helpful and when i talked to them yesterday and let them know how much i still hurt they added Torodal as an anti-inflammatory which was probably the key to cutting back on the Norco. They are refilling the norco but my son has to drive up there and pick that one up of course. i think with the torodal though I will be able to do just the one pain pill instead of 1 1/2 or two per dose and not sit crying in my recliner like i was last night. Feel sorry for my poor son. He kept checking on me and asking if i needed anything but I just wanted to stop hurting so he really couldn't help. He even pep-talked me which is great coming from a young man with severe PTSD that hasn't cared about anything for years. If anything, that made me feel better to see him showing care for someone else. Big breakthrough for someone with disabling PTSD!

In any case, a little better today, calmer and even got some work done over VPN which helped by taking my mind off the last 24 hours.

I think I can officially say .. this is the hardest thing I have ever done. And I could never have prepared for everything. But even intense physical and mental challenges can have silver linings.

 

[Miss Muffet]

post-op Blues are definitely a thing.

I know Tamra - it does hit us all. Mine was tears stupid things like hubby didn't stack the dishwasher as I would. Really just sheer frustration that I couldn't get up and do something when the mood took me. Cabin fever and the risk of boredom, so heaps of mindless TV, mags and occasional visits by friends to divert my attention from myself. Whatever else you do - don't forget to keep icing, as I swear it made a big difference to swelling, bruising and helped numb pain.

My pain was mostly controlled provided I was on top of my meds. Hopefully you getting your new prescription will take care of that. Now you mustn't get behind otherwise playing catch-up is too difficult. How sweet your son is supporting you like that. I hope it gives him some comfort to know he's being so caring and that you appreciate it.

Have you read the details on here about PostOp blues? It helps a little if we understand what and why, but I found it did pass. My best advice is to keep a very brief diary of what you can and cannot do/ pain levels and general mood. Although some days I didn't register any difference, there were days when I did and it helped to be able to look back and see that I was actually improving. Remember things take time and you've had a major surgery, however once you're through this (and you will get through) the difference it will make to your life is remarkable.

 

[gertie]

@tamra Oh yes those blues. I've had several mini meltdowns including one this morning mostly to do with feeling out of control, sick of being a patient, etc and I'm only on day six!


Sent from my iPad using broken link removed: https://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=75543

 

[Postalgal]

Ouch on blues! Yep they come. I have wept for all the reasons. Can do a 180 most days. Just have to remember the recovery has to happen so that we CAN have our lives back. Even though have granddaughter here, which is delightful! Sometimes it does not stop that cloud from coming, hubby saw the tears last week and yesterday am, when I had a nightmare. I don't know if we just have to go through it or what, but definitely is real. Hang tough all!

 

[Postalgal]

@tamra I hate to see you are in pain. Are you doing too much? I called my nurse and asked and few questions and asked her finally about my walking, how much and holding up the walker, etc. She told me NO, to use the walker and don't worry about distance yet, that I could have a gimp if I push too soon. Again, we go back to the Bone Smart mantra, take it easy girl!

 

[tamra]

@tamra I hate to see you are in pain. Are you doing too much? I called my nurse and asked and few questions and asked her finally about my walking, how much and holding up the walker, etc. She told me NO, to use the walker and don't worry about distance yet, that I could have a gimp if I push too soon. Again, we go back to the Bone Smart mantra, take it easy girl!

Literally only doing what i absolutely have to. I do feel better today. Doc appt in a bit. They are taking bandage off incision. Hoping I can shower today. I have not been capable of that yet .. been sponge bathing.

 

[SwimGirl]

@tamra Just checking in on you today! I hope you are getting some pain relief! Sounds like you are having a very difficult time. I think tears are necessary at this point. You are allowed. So sweet your son is there for you. Awesome! When you are able to shower it feels wonderful. When is your next follow up appointment. You may want to check in more often since you are having difficulties!

 

[Postalgal]

@tamra How are you today? Hope it was good and you went to the OS? I don't go until next Wednesday, over 2 week checkup? But they call, I think I get a xray and make sure things ok. Did you read mine last night? Trying to do my own "getting off" , forget it! lol Jaycey explained it best, as I didn't understand why pain at night and not as much during day. So we take our meds at strategic times, esp morning and night, to do mobility and important rest! I get to take the leg pumpers off tomorrow and look more like a normal person, instead of Frankenstein, lol! But I most like will still wear compression sockings especially at night. Oh to sleep without those things crunching my legs will be great!

I have to understand how all this stuff works, so glad for BoneSmart! Hope all is ok.

 

[Postalgal]

Oh, I am going to be loning it next week, week 3...hopefully all will go here, so glad your son is with you!

 

[tamra]

@SwimGirl @Postalgal OS appt went well today. Long incision (8"as opposed to the 4 1/2 we were hoping for) but healing well. They took out half the staples. Other half out in a week.

I have seriously felt much better today. Everyone at doc office was surprised i was getting around as well as i was which shocked me since my 94 yo grandma could definitely win a race against me right now lol. But apparently they were really rough on me with the big ball on femur issue. So no wonder hurting so bad.

I actually did get some work done on VPN today and almost feel like i am halfway normal .. if really slow.

Thanks for being out there for me .. it really does help. Been a big day so trying to rest a bit more tonight. Starting to set goals for the next day. My goal tomorrow is to see if i can get the VPN on my work computer set up on my desktop here. Will be a lot easier to use and i like setting up for a bit longer now I think.

Hope everyone is doing well. Gonna check on u all now before i leave here tonight!

 

[Miss Muffet]

Good morning @tamra - I think you've turned a bit of a corner by the sounds of things. I believe the blues we get are when we plateau and then make up our minds things are never going to get better. But when we get an 'up' day we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's hard to convince ourselves when we're a bit down in the dumps, but it all changes eventually. Nature is in control to a large degree - but provided we follow the good advice on this great site we are far more likely to pick up that bit quicker. Have a good day.