THR Recovery in Labrador

[labanan]

Hi Jaycee - yes, feeling fairly good. Only hassle now is getting more regular, but I'm cutting back on my pain meds in the daytime and increasing my dosage of what is called locally "the bomb" (created by Grenfell nurses - a mixture of prunes, molasses, lemon and senna leaves). I'm also hoping to walk more - we have such a wee house that I spend more time turning than walking but hey!

Thanks for your encouragement- it is so helpful.

Jan

 

[joydiver]

Wow you have wolves & moose ? I've never seen either, but I'd love to, as long as I'm using binocs from a safe distance. We are not near the Pine Barrens, but live more in the northwest part of NJ.

Please let us know when your novel is published - would be fun to read it. My most most imaginative childhood friend, Diane Chamberlain, was a psychotherapist for adolescents, but then changed careers and is a novelist.

You mentioned Netflix on Cathy's thread -,please share any favorite series. We just finished Shetland and I wish there were more episodes - very atmospheric and interesting mysteries (though the accents were a bit tough at times and we had to learn that "croft" is the Scottish word for cottage).

I'm still recovering from a klutzy move with my cane which caused my knee to jam - so trying not to overdo things and Netflix is a help !

Stay well !

Joyce


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[labanan]

Hi Joyce,
I haven't seen wolves but there were seven of them for the longest time in Sheshatshiu, the Innu reserve where I work. They send one of the females in heat to lure the males dogs and then that's that! I've seen plenty of moose but we have them in the northern part of Nova Scotia too.

That is funny about your friend, as I'm a psychotherapist who works with youth! Oh, I'm sure when I finally get picked up you'll hear me yelling in joy from here!

Netflix - here goes my faves -if you liked Shetland I bet you'll like Trapped (set in Iceland) . I love Offspring (an Australian tv show) and Rake (likewise). We also adored the quirky British show called The Dectorist. Very odd and funny. When I was in my last bunch of months of suffering with pain I could only handle light stuff - The Gilmore Girls, all ten seasons of Friends - very embarrassing but my work is heavy so I do not like more pain and suspense much!! I've really enjoyed Mind of a Chef since I got home. Watched quite a bit of Outlander before getting kind of bored. So there you go.

Sorry about your cane mishap. I live in fear of a fall!

Time for a nap...
Jan

 

[joydiver]

Thanks for the Netflix tips - added them to my Q [emoji106]


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[labanan]

Day 16 - today is a red letter day. I got fully dressed and went outside and walked to the end of our driveway. Ta da! My step-dot was here to spot me but it was okay. It is sunny but cold. -4 C or 26 F . I really noticed that I've been fooling myself on the walker - thinking I've been putting more weight on my legs than I thought. I used a cane to get down the porch stairs and immediately realized my delusion on that front!

I also had the nurse by for the last home visit. She took the dry dressing off and put nothing on. I can see a bit of it - looks like someone drew on me with a light red ballpoint pen. No marks, no nothing. I'll be back at the strip club in no time!

Now I'm going to rest awhile. I earned it. Ha.

Jan

 

[labanan]

Day 19 - feeling good.
Not sure if I'm right but I have a hunch that many folk stop reporting on their recovery if they are trucking along just fine. I think, if I'm right, that that is too bad. I want to encourage those coming along because it is scary making the decision to have surgery, even if you're in a tonne of pain from your hip. So here goes:

I would have slept the night through if someone hadn't phoned here at 2:30 in the morning. (It is quite normal in this community to get between five and ten wrong numbers a week)
I'm down to one Tylenol with codeine in 24 hours. I think tonight I'll go to the straight Tylenol tonight. This is a very big deal. I've been on both sleeping pills and hydro-morphone for about seven months prior to surgery. Before that celebrex.
A friend from work came by for a visit yesterday and couldn't believe the difference in my face since she last saw me prior to the surgery. She said the look of pain has fallen away.
I'm taller. Yes, I am. I've been sinking into my pain and now I'm lifted out of it.
I can concentrate on things that the pain had distracted me from - back to my voracious reading, following long conversations. It is like I was in a cave of pain and I'd wave to people who came to the entrance but I wasn't truly present. Like a woman in labour I was always inside attending to the pain.
I am making plans (don't worry - they are turtle plans) , plans I wouldn't allow myself to make, not trusting this body to be able to carry them out.

Oh and I can put my underpants and pants on all by myself.

Tomorrow I see the physiotherapist for the first time. Hope dhe doesn't yell at me for not doing my exercises! One of the notable side effects of being an ortho patient (possibly any sort of patient) is that folk feel they can scold you! My that gets old fast.

So thanks for reading. I know I have lots more hurdles and healing, but today I feel good and want you all to know.

 

[Delphi]

Great update labanan! Really good to hear about the achievements and upsides as well as commiserating on the disappointments and backward steps. Well done you on reducing the meds so much by this stage. I tried to do a similar thing but a couple of weeks after you.
Hope you continue to progress this well,
Diane

 

[labanan]

Thanks Diane! Today will be another adventure. I hope to get two walks outside today. It's - 9° C today but sunny.

 

[joydiver]

Jan, so glad to read things are progressing well ! I've been off Tramadol for a while and have been taking just Tylenol. Had some 'bumps' in the road and had to spend more time resting and less PT & walking, but I seem to be back on track now. Recently found out there is 'extended' 8 Hour Tylenol, so I can take 2 pills at 6 am, 2 pm and 10 pm, for 24 hour coverage and a good nights sleep. Hoping this will see me thru the rest of recovery, if I'm careful not to overdo PT.

Last week the PT guy encouraged 2-3 sets of 10 step-up & step-downs with my op leg - did the 30 without pain but then paid the price for a week :-(. So I will definitely add new exercises more gradually !

Bravo for doing underwear & pants ! Did you have anterior or posterior ? I had posterior so still have to be careful bending - i use my clothing stick to put on underwear but sometimes pants are too thick to do easily.

Good luck with your PT & managing his/her expectations [emoji2]


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[sammylou99]

Great update Jan, I agree that it's very cheering to hear good progress reports. It's a great moment when you get off the strong meds.
I love your description of a cave of pain. That beautifully describes where I was pre surgery and I have had so many people say I look younger/happier. I think I was lost to it. It is incredibly liberating to be free from it.
And the putting your own undies on is a top moment. Could never get to grips with the grabber tool method.
Hope you go from strength to strength.
Sam x


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[VThereandnow]

I think you just described pre surgery for so many of us very eloquently! Now that I am doing more I must admit, though Tylenol all day, I still take a tramadol a night, and though not as strong as the dilaudid I was taking, it helps me sleep without pain. Because my surgeon lengthened my leg, my thigh muscles and IT band are really really tight. He said it could last for months, but I digress. Being in pain for a long time, I really gained more compassion for those challenged with physical issues their whole life. It does change you, but the good news for us is that we have the opportunity to come out from under it and some people can't unfortunately.

Glad things are moving along so well. Getting back some personal skills is always a delight! Make sure if you have a bossy pants physio, remember, you know your limits and your body better than anyone, so follow that lead. Hope you had a good walk outside

 

[labanan]

Joydiver - yep, I hear you! Slow and steady wins this race. Oh, and when I said thst I could put my clothes on unaided I meant by other humans - I still use the darn grabber!

Sam - thanks! Coming out of that cave it is so helpful to see (even virtually) the faces of others who were in one too!

Cathy -I'm still reaching for the pill at night but only have a few left! I had two walks (very short) yesterday and was rewarded with sleeping all night. Yay! Oh and I lay on the couch to watch a flick about Joe Cocker with fella and dear step-dot. That was a first ss I've restricted myself to one hard armchair with my zabaton wedged in. The fella had to hoick me out of it at the end but well worth the massive feeling of freedom! Ha.

 

[joydiver]

Hi again @labanan ! Just saying hello since it's been a while since you've posted. Hope you're busy with good stuff ? Has all the snow melted yet where you are ?

Took me a while to find a way to lay on the couch too - after a few weeks I realized I could put the Adirondack chair cushion on my low couch to boost it up by about 6 inches. Added a few pillows at the end for elevation and it's now very comfy and easier to lay down and get up from.

I'm making progress and only have occasional soreness in my hip and knee/shin. Doing PT but always fewer reps than are suggested - seems to work better that way for me [emoji4]


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[VThereandnow]

Wondering if all is ok over there. Like above post says, i hope it is u r too busy and not that something is wrong. When u posted on my site u were having an issue so i hope it is resolving. Thinking of you

 

[labanan]

Hi all - yep I'm doing fine. Went backwards for a few days but now I've recovered from that minor setback and am doing well!
I chucked my walker for a cane on Monday evening which feels like a big deal. Couldn't go out yesterday as we had a snowstorm - 20 centimetres! Bah. Went out this eve just up and down tge driveway as the plow ridge is still there and the fella doesn't want to shovel in May! Tomorrow I go for my first Physio apt. Supposed to go last wek but someone got their wires crossed. So it'll be a month tomorrow! I'm off the opioids as of a couple of days ago. That means a glass of wine with dinner! Yeehaw. Only small amount of discomfort these days but boredom is setting in. As of next week Ron is making me a bed desk and lending me his laptop for I cannot sit st my desk. I do find sitting uncomfortable but getting better. At any rate getting set up to work on a novel I've got on the go, so that will be nice.
That's it for now - thanks @joydiver and @VThereandnow for checking in on me! I'll be over soon to see you two...

 

[joydiver]

Glad you are doing well, Jan, graduating to a cane !! Snowstom ? Yikes - hope it's your last. Nice to settle in with a glass of wine [emoji2].

Another small setback for me - I went to pull the sock tool out of a plastic container where I keep that stuff and it all started to fall. I turned quickly to stabilize it and twisted my bad knee [emoji45]. So back to lots more ice and elevation. Two steps forward, one step back - but I know I'll get there someday. Enjoy the weekend....


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[Lancs Lass]

One of the most useful things I bought for the early days afyer surgery, was a female urinal. It meant that I didnt have to stagger to the loo in the middle of the night or even worse in the wee small hours. I could urinate standing up, get back into bed and back to sleep so didn't risk falls in the night. I just emptied the urinal in the morning. It's basically a plastic bottle with a handle and an anatomically designed top to enable a woman to pee into the bottle while standing (or sitting I think) without dripping.marvellous. and it was cheap.

 

[VThereandnow]

Glad to see you're back after a blip on the radar. Oh wouldn't it be wonderful if it was a straight line upward, these recoveries of ours, but alas it is not the case. Sounds like you also @joydiver are experiencing the ups and downs of recovery. You are not alone obviously. I was so glad to increase my walk the other day and get down to the lake. Only 3 blocks more than I was walking, but 3 is actually 6 since I have to come back, which is a half mile, but still I felt great....till a few hours later and I was making supper and then the inside of my leg near my knee wigged out on me. Guess I did a bit too much, so the side of the leg that was making up for the weak hip side did double duty and was mad. I could hardly step down, acted up for a few days ugh. Onward and upward ladies, and downtime when the body says so haha.

Moving to the cane IS a big deal. Hooray for you!! Ack, snow? I hate even thinking of it now that it is gone here. Not a fan as I get older AND since I had to start using a cane. Yay for the wine too lol. That fella of yours is sure handy. Glad he's setting you up to work on the novel.

Glad we are all hanging in. Have a good wknd and move mindfully -Cathy

 

[labanan]

Hi lovely womens!
Yes, I feel good today so far. I slept on my side - oh frabjous day calloo callay!

Sorry about your sock mishap Joy! I've worn socks exactly once since my surgery- on Friday to go to the physio. My sock doo-hickie never worked and I can get my low boots on better without for my little walks. Hope you've recovered.

Lass - a friend and I went into LL Bean looking for one of those about 30 years ago. No luck! We knew they existed. My bathroom is very near and now that I'm not drinking quite so many liquids I don't need to get up at night.

Cathy - yes snow! Today it is raining though which will diminish the drifts some. This time of year is when we start betting on when the ice in the bay will breakup. Then we have an event called the Ice to Water Dance.

General Report!
Saw physio who said I was doing swell, gave me some exercises that I said I would try, but have zero interest in pushing through pain, so that would be my guide. The trip into town is 45 minutes - so that and his putting me through the paces made me feel like doing nothing yesterday but a walk. I will try them today and let you know.

I did my walk alone - a first as I've had fear of falling (snow and ice still abounds) . I ate sitting at the table on our warm kitchen bench, my favorite perch. I slept on my side - oh yah, I said that already. I did my Buddhist practice. All good.

See you round the forum.

 

[labanan]

38th Day - a small report. I'm good. I'm going for two walks a day and they are getting longer and longer. Yesterday I also attended the community library sale and dinner. Not the usual crowd for some reason, but still my first public event. In truth I think I might have overdose it as I had a crappy night. It was exacerbated by the durn squirrel chomping in the crawl space and several wrong numbers at 4 am! Grrr...

So today I don't feel as excellent as yesterday, but I remind myself that this is not a straight line.

I have my doc appointment and xray on the 25th. Think, if all is as it seems, I will start back to work the following week.

Sitting is still not so great but getting better.

And I'm going to be cooking again - yay! Both the fella and I love to cook but he's been doing most of it. I'm making Chicken Divan tonight - the longer no soup way!

Later....

Oh here's a concertina I made with a view from Sunday Hill Rd. The fella took me up there on Sunday so I could paint in the truck while he and the dog rambled.