THR Peggy's Progess: 07 Jan 2014

[Madowa7]

No ice packs. Kind of surprised. I will ask about that.

 

[karisa7174]

Glad to hear all went well!! Hoping everything continues to go well and each day will find you a little stronger and on your way to a pain free life!

 

[zumzumpammy]

Congrats Peggy! So glad you have made it to the other side! You had a delay, if I remember correctly? Each day & week gets better! Take it slow & steady

 

[Jaycey]

No ice packs. Kind of surprised. I will ask about that.

I remember asking for ice the second day of my hospital stay. The look I got was so funny. But it eventually arrived and I never had to ask again.

 

[charmed-life]

Interesting how different hospitals (or doctors orders) are - I think I woke up with an ice pack

 

[dickinson]

Congratulations @Madowa. So glad it's going well for you. Quite amazing isn't it? To actually be where we were so afraid to go and have it be so much easier than we expected. May it continue. Devorah

 

[Poppet]

I asked my surgeon to write ice packs up in his orders... That worked

 

[Hoppy Nanny]

I use packs of frozen peas ( and I didn't have to use Birds Eye as the hip didn't mind the economy peas) .LOL...works a treat...you can refreeze them too. My hospital never mentioned icing but I found the info on BS and it soooooo helps with the pain relief. Chrissie xxx


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart®

 

[grandma chris]

@Madowa, thanks for letting us know! I'm scheduled for a RTHR on 29 Jan and very eager and happy to read good outcomes. Your description of 'tightness and a little burning' was very encouraging - I can handle that!! Please let us know how you progress and thanks a bunch!
Chris

 

[Madowa7]

First night back at home. Was so nervous to leave the hospital. I actually asked if I could stay another day. I didn't want to leave the security I felt there. The level of care I received was outstanding. But here I am...it's about 7:30am est and I made it through the first night. Feel like a baby. So, pain level is about a 2 or 3. I'm icing and taking 10mg OxyContin every 4 hours. Can't wait to stop them but I was told to be very mindful of pain control and of course, I'm listening to my bonesmart family. Doing mild hip exercises a couple times a day. Get up and walk to bathroom every few hours. The visiting nurse is coming tomorrow and the home pt is coming Monday. Also taking xarelto (blood thinner) once a day. I think I have all bases covered. My next goal is to be able to make it up the stairs to the bedroom. 13 steps. Not quite ready for that. So, for 4 days since surgery, I think I'm ok.

 

[Poppet]

Well done @Madowa, I would say you are right on track with your progress - good for you

 

[zumzumpammy]

You're doing great! Slow & steady it will get better each day.

 

[Madowa7]

Visiting nurse had a cancellation and was able to see me today instead of tomorrow. Checked me out and everything is good. Bandage is clean and should come off on Tuesday the 14th. Reminded me to take pain meds on time to prevent break thru. For those of you who are sill pre op, I'm sure you are interested in the level of pain you will have on the other side. For the first 24 hours, I really had little pain. They managed it for me very well. On the second day, I needed to make sure I told the nurse as soon as I felt it get to a 3. Then you make sure you don't let it get to a 5 because it takes a while to bring it back down again. The type of pain you feel is not like the bone on bone pain. It is like a deep muscular pain. I also have thigh bone pain. But it's weird, the pain kind of moves around. It's never a constant-in-one-spot pain. It's very bearable. And I find that laying down, my pain level is at 0 most of the time. It is wonderful! No more nights of that deep bone pain or tendon/ligament cramping. I am just amazed. If anyone has any questions, please just ask. Now that I'm on the other side, I will be more than happy to help with pre op fears. ;) Peggy

 

[I'm finally gonna do it!!]

Woohoo! Sounds like you are doing great, and so nice of you to offer any post-op help you can! It is definitely a journey. Is that kitty on your lap making you feel better?! My Beagle was always by my side, and would gingerly make her way up by me, the best! Take care.

 

[MajorHeidi]

@Madowa you are doing so well. (((HUGS)))

 

[psychteach]

I am so glad to hear how well you are doing and allowing us scared pre op people to understand and not fear what to expect. I still have really good days but the pain and lack of range of motion is there.. As well as the limp. I am so terrified of the procedure and few days after that I think can I do this.. But I want to walk again without thought of pain, play tennis, feel my hear beat and sweat from moving!!! I hear all say after.. It was not as bad as they thought and wished after they had done it sooner.. Do you agree with that? You all are doing such a favor to all of us sharing the recovery and making us understand that are fears are exaggerated. So happy to hear all your healing stories.

 

[fulafoto]

@Madowa - thanks for the updates Peggy and especially the pain info. This is invaluable to us pre-oppers! So pleased it is going well for you

 

[shrinkette]

@Madowa @fulafoto @psychteach @MajorHeidi @grandma chris @Poppet @dickinson @zumzumpammy @Butterfly @karisa7174 @charmed-life @I'm finally gonna do it & everybody else -- pre-ops and veterans of the joint wars.

Madowa -- special thanks for posting such good details so soon when they're particularly fresh. I would hope to be in that position pretty soon. So happy to hear you're home doing fine.

For those of you still in the waiting room, so to speak, just thought I'd go on record officially that I'M FREAKING OUT TODAY!! Maybe I won't tomorrow or the next day, but right now I'm kinda shaky. I actually do hope to go gracefully (in the emotional sense, not the physical -- HA!) and even calmly, once I'm on my way. I can do this, just like you all DID it or will do it. I remind myself: Am I really that different from everyone else who got through it? Would the OS touch me if he really had some doubts? He wants to maintain his sterling statistics & keep his hospital happy, right? Right!

Thanks for listening to my self-pep talk. Whew -- this ain't easy, but neither is the grim alternative. Gosh, I'm so glad this forum exists!! XXX

 

[Madowa7]

@psychteach I know exactly how you're feeling. The apprehension before the surgery is really the pits. I too would have good days and wonder if I should go down this road. But the bad days started to outweigh the good. It got to the point where if I walked a certain amount of steps during the day, I'd pay for it at night. So I stopped going to the gym. I stopped going shopping or taking walks. I would plan out my activities so I wouldn't exceed my threshold of steps. But even at this point, i would say to myself...I'm basically healthily and do I want to traumatize my body?? The voices in my head were relentless. So whichever way you looked at it, my bad hip had taken over my life. And I owed it to myself and my family to end this merry go round and fix it. And the fix has an incredible success rate. Many Bonesmart friends told me waiting was the worst part...they are right.

 

[Madowa7]

@shrinkette oh the voices in our heads! They do make a racket, don't they?? The 17th will be here soon..you are all set to go...at this point, close your eyes and jump, my friend. Truly, the visions I had of the surgery and of how I would feel immediately following did not match reality. You will be fine. Here I am, 4 days out and I'm walking with a walker, and I am now able to get in and out of bed by myself. When people say that you get better everyday, they are telling the truth! You'll be fine. ;)