Recovery and Hobbies!

[M1ke]

Great.... Did I mention I get Zero enjoyment from television? Might as well be prison! I don't do well tied down. Reading through the recovery threads certainly hasn't helped my outlook.

I love to read but it also puts me to sleep. What else is there?

 

[Butterfly]

It's not a bad as it sounds -- the first week or two you probably won't want to do much but sleep anyway as the body heals. Pain meds will probably make you want to sleep; when I fussed at my doc about that he said you are SUPPOSED to sleep a lot because that's whe most healing takes place. So at first, just relax and catch up with your sleep. And don't try to be a hero and not take the meds -- they allow the body to concentrate on healing and not on being on edge trying to fight pain. And the worst thing you can do when you start feeling better is to overdo it and set yourself back (I was guilty of this, and wound up being flattened for about 3 weeks because of it). As everyone here says, this is NOT a time to try to "work through the pain," no matter what PTs try to tell you.

But it's really not so bad; what's a few weeks taking it easy vs. living life without pain and being able to ultimately get back to what you love doing? I confess I got a bit disgusted and depressed about having to do not very much during recovery, but then I couldn't do much before the surgery and before it I was also dealing with big time pain. After the surgery you can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and it's not an oncoming train -- it's your new life waiting for you.

Peace and love to you.

 

[Jaycey]

I love to read but it also puts me to sleep. What else is there?

@M1ke , no one can really predict how they will feel during recovery. But after you get over the first few days of "fog" you may indeed want to work toward your guitar goal.

I can't take the heavy duty pain medication so I didn't have that to cope with. At first I couldn't concentrate on a book and sitting for hours was not recommended. I spent lots of time on BoneSmart recording my journey and trying coach my fellow hippies through their recoveries. Well done for setting a goal. It certainly does help to have a positive attitude.

 

[Poppet]

Thanks for the plug @elliemom - I am trying to get the message out that 'we are what we eat' ... Thanks for being my helper xx

 

[betty coltrane]

@M1ke - if you hate TV do you like films ? Or music ? Or "talking books" ? Or puzzles or computer games ? I'm hoping to spend some of my recovery time listening to some music CDs that I have shamefully neglected and haven't played for ages. Like others have said, it doesn't matter if those things send you to sleep. Sleep is good for healing (and it helps pass the time too !!). I think its good to think about how you how might use the enforced down-time and try and think of something to look forward to

 

[M1ke]

Thanks for trying to help. I like movies but not TV. Honestly I've never been one for idle pastimes. I know some of you are rolling your eyes saying get over it etc...

But everyone has their hang ups right? I am not in the slightest bit nervous about the surgery, not worried about the pain etc etc. My only concern is with what I'm going to do with myself. I refuse to be zonked for six weeks on pain meds. I'll take the minimum to get by and help with recovery. Cut the pills in half if I need to etc. I could do two weeks like this but not 6 that's a lot to ask for.

 

[DrToonz]

*** eye roll **

Just kidding. ;)

Here's my day, and it kind of sucks I have to tell you.

I wake at about 8am after a not-too-restful 8 hours of "sleep" in The Big Chair, take my drugs, the DW makes a nice latte for herself and for me and then she's out the door for work. I then kick back in The Big Chair which is my Craigslist recliner/lift chair I bought solely for this purpose.

I surf TV for something interesting and nearly never find anything. Today I watched 2 episodes of Dirty Jobs until I just couldn't take it any more and turned it off. Every now and then I hit the Olympics but that's pretty damned boring when it's all there is.

I made some eggs. (You won't be able to do that the first few days, this is for week 2 to (probably) week 4.
I ate them. I shuffle my few dishes back to the kitchen and sink 'em. This seems like a shorter item, but it takes a long time to shuffle around a walker to do stuff. At least I CAN at this point, although I know that it's going to take its toll so I need to remember not to do TOO much stuff.

I get back in The Big Chair and grab the New Yorker Magazine my dad gave me and read a too-long article about "The future of television" or something like that. I put it down. TV goes back on. I watch the first 15 minutes of 'Desperado' (the Rodriguez movie). I turn it off.

I shop around online and get a valentine's day present for the DW from Amazon. (I hope she doesn't read this). Seems kind of impersonal, but it's not like I can go out and shop for something. I shop around A LONG TIME because I have ZERO need to hurry. It's like I'm INTENTIONALLY wasting time with this little shopping item. Oh, that's right. I AM intentionally wasting time with this little item.

I'd like to take a shower today (my second in two weeks!). In order to facilitate that, I've asked my mom to come over so that someone is within earshot in case I fall my butt down in the shower/tub. She comes with The Dad and they hang out for an hour while I gather the goods necessary and take a shower. This is a long process due to the slothly speed at which a 13-days-post-op bilateral-hip-replacement patient moves when doing such things.
I bid adieu to the folks and they head out.

After the shower I grab the laptop and peruse my Facebook page. A kind friend who knows i have down time offers up the Reddit AMA (click if you don't know what an AMA is) from Bill Gates. I read it. I'm done. I tell her that and we chat quickly about it over Facebook.

I have a laptop on a table next to me on a tray which allows me to move it from the table to my lap fairly easily. I read the news. I check out some of the forum posts on this web site. I find your post here and reply to it (you're reading that now). It's 5:40pm.

In between all of these events, I had to get up and go pee a couple times, had to replace my ice packs which reside on my incisions when I'm in The Big Chair, and got some sodas and ice to sip while killing the day. Each of these items takes up a LOT more time than you'd think which is why I can sum up my day in one little web post when it was 8 hours long (so far).

[also, you'll note that I'm not exactly hurrying through this post either]

The point of all this is that for some, the sacrifice is "going under the knife". For others it's worry about the procedure or the recovery. For some it's pain.
For you, it seems, it's THE DREADED DOWNTIME.
I must admit that it feels imprisoning sometimes.

The first 10 days or so were much foggier than these last few for me. I can see now that the Dreaded Downtime is poised to take it's toll. The foggier the better for time-condensation.

I'm glad you like movies, because there is plenty of time for them. I have a subscription to Netflix Streaming, HBO GO, Amazon Prime and a cable connection. I have plenty of movies and I'll likely use them more now that I'm sleeping a little better (which minimizes daytime naps) and feeling more lucid (which makes the day drag on more).

I don't think I have actual ADVICE other than to prepare for this like an aviophobe prepares for a flight or a tomophobe prepares for surgery. It's gonna suck like a brand new Dyson DC65, but you're gonna get through it.

(and...bonus!...you have plenty of time to look up words like aviophobe and tomophobe and products like fancy vacuum cleaners)

DrToonz (not a real doctor)
I remain optimistic!

 

[M1ke]

I appreciate the post! And all the effort to type it. All I can say is that is exactly what I won't stand for.

I've already made it a goal to find the right pain meds. Ones that don't make you so loopy. My experience with oxy wasn't good.

 

[DrToonz]

I appreciate the post! And all the effort to type it. All I can say is that is exactly what I won't stand for.

Hey, no problem. Like I said, I have no lack of typing time.
I'm not sure what I'll stand for. I do have the guitar nearby, and have played it a few times. Truly only the last few days have been pretty lucid.
I guess what you're doing is probably the right thing: Prepare, know yourself and have your options lined up.
If you're going to have the surgery, the time is part of it. It's up to each of us who does to fill that time, right?

Now...time for me to learn just ONE MORE CHORD.

 

[Butterfly]

Well, @M1ke, you won't have to stand for it. You'll be mostly lying around with your legs elevated for it.

If you try to do too much before you are ready, you run risks of tendinitis, bursitis, or in my case piriformis syndrome with sciatica. At least in my own case, I sure wish I had just "stood for it" and taken it easy like I was supposed to instead of trying to do too much too soon, because then I had to "stand for" almost another month laying on a heating pad and back and forth to doctors while the piriformis issues resolved and that pain went away so I could resume my recovery and work on my gait. And, I was lucky -- I didn't need further medical or surgical intervention like some have had to endure. This is one time in your life when you have to be patient while the body heals itself, and it isn't something you can will your way out of.

 

[M1ke]

Sorry you went through that.

 

[M1ke]

I think there is some misunderstanding in this thread. I am not expecting to be physically active. I won't be doing home repairs, I won't be out riding my bike. I will be as active as the doctor's instructions allow.

What I will do is keep my mind occupied by playing the guitar a few hours a day. If you read the first post, that's all I wanted/ expected. I don't think that is to much to ask when I am only 43 and still pretty darn fit. I doubt very much that I will develop tendonitis by playing the guitar. I have been out 6 weeks with a pelvic fracture and 3 weeks with another accident. Both bike related. In both cases pain killers were pushed far more than necessary. I know what to expect, and I know what effect the pain killers will have. At least this time I can be ready.

My new guitar will be here Monday, well in advance of the surgery and I will have something to look forward on the other side.

 

[DrToonz]

Wait..you mean I could have used this as a reason to get a new guitar?!!

What kind of guitar are you getting? I've got a Tacoma Chief for my acoustic and an Ibanez RGR320SP for my electric. I also have a couple entry-level guitars and one cheapie that i'm attempting my first refinish on in order to give it a custom paint job (just for fun). Can't really do the refinish stuff while laid up, but I can pick up the others and play around.

I'm NOT a guitar player by any means. I know a few chords and have a great time plinking around with them. I think that your plan is the best. The other that I considered was brushing up on my Spanish.

Do you have a date yet for your surgery? One hip or both? Just curious.

Have a great day.

DrToonz.

 

[M1ke]

Alvarez Yairi CY116. It seems there is quite the following for the Yairi's and they are very well thought of and compared to much more expensive models. I still have the guitar that I learned on years ago but it was a cheapie and has terrible sound quality. I gave it to my daughter, she bought her own and it was passed to my son.

I am no player either but every time I do pick one up, I realize I actually do get a lot of enjoyment from it. And then life gets in the way and I forget. Lately I have toyed with the idea of getting serious again and just haven't made it happen. The hip surgery will be a great way to get started.

I have a phone appt on tuesday and I am pretty sure the date will be set at that point. I am told they are very busy and it could be a 6 month wait. I will be put on a call list so if there is a cancellation they can call me and we can bump it up hopefully.

The really, really good news is that between physical therapy and the cortisone injection, I am doing very well.....so I can wait if I need to. I think I can still surf, but riding a bike competitively won't happen. My wife rides as well and her pace is about all I can manage. Hiking is really hit or miss. One day I can manage and another I limp so badly and walk so slow my wife complains Compared to some people on this forum I certainly have no room to complain!

Hope your doing well today.

Mike

 

[DrToonz]

That's a beautiful guitar. Mine's a steel string. Haven't played a classical in a while.

As far as hip degradation goes, I was not as bad as some also. My second cortisone shots got me through a 30-mile hike in Yellowstone in august but after that it was just worse and worse. That set of shots didn't last long either, just a few weeks, so I just said screw it. It's only getting worse, it's inevitable, I may as well just jump as soon as possible and get it behind me.

Like you, I feel like there are many, many people whose descriptions of their problem seems worse than mine but since it was going to happen at some point, I just jumped in. I had a 3 month wait.

I hope your wait isn't too long and that you can feel as good as possible in the interim. Congrat's on the new guitar. A guitar you love is certainly the greatest motivation to play! I love my Ibanez and that's what keeps me playing more than anything.

Good day!
DrToonz

 

[Poppet]

I enjoy reading this thread, I do hope you both get to enjoy playing your guitars - time will tell Mike, each surgery is different as they say

 

[M1ke]

Thanks! I fell I love. At first it was only an Internet romance but she's flying out now :lol:

I didn't have time to look up yours this morning as I was at work. I'll give them a look tonight.

Here's to you getting better!

And thanks poppet. I will enjoy it.

 

[Cantabrigian]

I plan on doing as little as possible, at least for the first few days / couple of weeks! Sleep seems like a big must, from what I can gather from other members' comments on the forums.

However, this might be a tad difficult at times, given that it will be school holidays for me, and my family will all be at home for the 1st week post-op. Hopefully the wife will be able to take the children out so that I can get some R+R.

Catching up on reading is a definite plan ... with a dozen or so books already lined up.
Hopefully I will also be able to dedicate some more time to admin work on a games-site I'm on ... working on a tablet will mean I don't have to be sat at a desk all the time to do it either.

 

[tollertwins]

Hey, Mike...a buddy of mine was back at work and quite lucid at 3 weeks. Never used pain meds even in the hospital. So it's really variable.
I can't take oxy, either. With hip number 1 I took vicodin only. I was on them a little longer because I had been in a LOT of pain and had major disability before I could get the hip done. Hoping for better on hip 2.

 

[M1ke]

@Cantabrigian sounds like a really smart approach. I will likely set off with similar good intentions but be unable to stick to the regiment. I am weak that way.