THR Resurfacing

[Josephine]

Brilliant! I'm so pleased for you.

 

[medic4355]

As usual I pop up from time to time to ask some questions.

As many of you know the reason that I had my bad accident that led to my multiple ortho surgeries and hip replacement was because I was abusing pain meds at the time. So now I am down to only having 2 Lortab a day as needed. I have weeks that I don't take any and then I have days that I do need them depending on weather and activities. As this is a website I really need some true answers here. I still do at times deal with the addiction side of things. There are times that I am tempted to overtake my meds and there are times that I take them when I don't need them. Truth is I can't do completely without them because sometimes I truly do need them. My doctor tells me because of the severity of my injuries I may always need some type of pain meds available. So for me it is a real struggle to deal with at times especially when I am dealing with depression.

Fact is I am a man. Now I know that may sound sexist but I promise it is not a knock on woman so much as an indictment on a man's ideals. I was raised and taught that a man always works and provides for his family. I was not raised to think that a woman place is at home so don't go crazy on me. My wife works as well and truth is I make more than she does on disability. I live in a a very small town so the thought of a support group here is kinda a joke.

My insomnia is at times outrageous. I may go three days without sleeping but I don't know if that is related to depression or pain. I guess I am asking does anyone here work miracles and can fix everything all at once? LOL

I just need your prayers, advice and encouragement. I hate being on a fixed income but because I have a private disability that pays on top of my public, any money I make they automatically take out. I refuse to be dishonest and make it any other way. What are some of your suggestions. Please help.

Now I also truly miss taking care of people. The state would pay for me to go back to school and finish my nursing degree if I wanted but I don't know if I could hold up to the hours and once you get off disability it is almost impossible to get back on it. Plus I would lose my private. Here is the deal with my private. It pays me an extra $1,418 a month. If I lose it I can still work and make up to $1,000 on disability but that still leaves me at a deficit of $418 a month. Is it worth it to feel like I have meaning in my life again?

 

[Josephine]

Fact is I am a man. Now I know that may sound sexist but I promise it is not a knock on woman so much as an indictment on a man's ideals. I was raised and taught that a man always works and provides for his family.

And that's absolutely nothing to apologise for. Male or female, if more people were imbued with the work ethic, societies all over would be much nicer places to live it.

I may go three days without sleeping but I don't know if that is related to depression or pain.

Or a combination of both? I am a strong believer that if you have pain you should take pain meds of some sort - not always necessarily narcotics. IMO, acetaminophen is a hugely under rated pain killer which nowadays is sadly overlooked. But if this isn't enough then it's perfectly okay and appropriate for the person to take something stronger.

I was abusing pain meds at the time

Does this mean you were actually addicted? As opposed to being dependent which means taking them for the kick rather than because you had genuine pain.

Now I also truly miss taking care of people.

And that does you great credit. Once you'd finished your nursing degree, can you not work part-time? Just a thought.

I also think you're in what we call "the poverty trap" meaning you can't earn more than the state will give you no mater how much you need it or how hard you try. It's an iniquitous situation to be in.

 

[Jaycey]

@medic4355 , I take pain meds everyday. Not because I am addicted - because I need the minor relief they provide in order to get on with life.

Now I also truly miss taking care of people.

Is it possible for you to volunteer somewhere where you would be able to help people? Volunteering might also help you to build your stamina for that nursing course. More activity for both mind and body might also help with the sleep problems.

 

[medic4355]

@Josephine At the time of my accident I was a severe alcoholic and drug addict. Yes there were times I needed pain meds from a previous accident where I sustained a three inch basilar skull fracture but I did take them for other than pain related issues. I have never taken a pain med to get high, it was always to get low (Sleepy that is). I have dealt with insomnia for years and there seems to be no end in sight. I have never had a sleep study done but it is my understanding that they are primarily looking for sleep apnea and my wife will verify that I don't have that. Heck I don't even snore when I do sleep. Truth is I just want to go back to work. I sleep better with a fixed schedule and I truly do miss taking care of people. That is my truest passion in this life. Oh and also since that accident I don't even drink anymore much less abuse drugs in anyway at all. God's grace is amazing.

 

[Josephine]

Isn't that the truth! Hallelujah!

 

[Elizak]

Hi,
Perhaps you should consult both a psychiatrist and psychologist to address the trauma from your accident and subsequent surgery and your insomnia.

Best wishes


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[medic4355]

I am scheduled next week to see a psychologist which is now required by law in the state of La if you are on pain meds for more than three months consecutively. Crazy law or is it? LOL Pun intended. Truth is I was on Trazadone for 8 years which started off addressing a kidney issue that I have. It is also used as an antidepressant and to help initiate sleep. The side effects that I had were what convinced me to come off of it. It gave me dry mouth horribly bad which caused me to drink a ton of water which in turn flared up my kidney problems. It was all a big catch 22. I don't doubt that the low dose Trazadone was treating some aspects of depression seeing as how I became disabled literally overnight in an accident. Since I have been off of the Trazadone my insomnia has become worse. Thanks to all here who help me out in letting me vent. I will be interested to see what the "pain psychologist" has to say and share with all of you.

 

[Jaycey]

I am scheduled next week to see a psychologist which is now required by law in the state of La if you are on pain meds for more than three months consecutively.

That's really interesting @medic4355 . Is the person actually a pain specialist or a psychologist. As a person who deals with chronic back pain, I think I would want that person to have expertise in the issues around pain management and living with pain.

 

[medic4355]

Oddly enough he is a psychologist who specializes in dealing with people with chronic pain. He doesn't write the pain meds or depression meds. He just sends his report to the pain specialist. Makes no sense at all. La is trying to combat the abuse of pain meds but they are cutting off their foot to help the issue. Now you can not have pain meds written to you from a doctor out of state. This is why I am going back to my pain specialist I had before the hip replacement. I think they forgot to think about the people in La who go to M.D. Anderson for cancer. How will that one work for those people. I hope they quickly see what a horrible idea this is.

 

[medic4355]

Probably don't doubt I should have seen a psychologist years ago. The first appointment was with a counselor. The next appointment is to take a personality test. It's the minnesota one that takes about 3 hours to do. I know because I have done it before. Then in 4 weeks I get to see the psychologist who is a medical psychologist that actually writes depression meds. So the first meeting with the counselor she diagnosis me with PTSD. I already knew that with 4 years in the air force and being a war veteran. On top of that add 18 years as a Paramedic. So even before I get to see the psychologist the counselor recommends exposure therapy. I truly don't know how I feel about that but I agreed to see if it would help with the insomnia. Am I depressed? I don't doubt it. I had 15 years of martial arts, I hunted, I fished, I played all kind of sports before my accident. Even though I know I am blessed to be walking again there is definitely a different life. I was one of the most active people I know and now I am not. I am just now after 5 years getting back to working out but it is all with limitations. Oh well who knows maybe this will all help. Sorry y'all I just needed to vent for a while.

 

[Jamie]

Medic, I am really impressed with the way you are approaching the challenges you have right now in your life. I do believe that doors will open for you as you continue to feel better and you'll see a good path for the future.

You mentioned that you had never had a sleep study. You know, you might try having a good one done. They check for many things and not just sleep apnea. I had one back when I was having irregular heart beats. They wired my head up along with the rest of my body and some guy in a room watched all those electrical signals as I slept. There were some 800 pages of reports generated that were analyzed. Everyone expected me to have sleep apnea, but I didn't. What I did have was a lot of irregular heart episodes during the night and pretty severe restless legs. This was disturbing my deep sleep big time. I would have never known this had I not had the study done.

I will also leap on the positive about you considering going back for your nursing degree. There are jobs for nurses that don't involve hours running around in a hospital. It's pretty obvious that you would flourish in any job where you could see that you're helping people.

Just a thought too, that as your time would permit, you could spend time here on BoneSmart helping our members. I must say it has proven to be a VERY rewarding thing for me. We would certainly welcome your increased participation.

 

[medic4355]

I am having a lot of itching around my scar tissue. Does anyone else deal with this when the weather changes? Any solutions or ideas. I have tried regular lotion but no luck.

 

[Josephine]

Do you have a rash or anything? Is it pinker than the surrounding skin?

You might try an antihistamine cream for nettle rash such as Anthisan.

 

[medic4355]

well my recovery thread has been closed so I am starting a new question. Tomorrow will be one year since my RTHR and I amstill having some pain issues. I have been out of rehab for over three months now because they were working me more than they were helping me. I am not in constant pain but my ability to stay on my feet for any length of time brings significant pain. I have seen some people talk about a resurfacing surgery or corrective surgery. I am headed back to see my dr in January but I am also in school full time. Can someone please tell me what this surgery is and what the recovery time would be.

 

[kfenn]

Did the surgery go well?? Have you had any films post op??
Have you received a second opinion on the RTHR? And if the prosthesis is anatomically correctly positioned?
You probably have looked into these thoughts, just some instant thoughts on the subject.
I dont know much about corrective or revision procedures to THR.

 

[medic4355]

Aurgery went well. It took this guy being my 4th opinion to agree to do the replacement. Long history in that I broke 24 bones in an accident. Initially I had a rod in the hip that caused it to grow back crooked and spontaneously dislocate. We haven't done any post op films because we knew it would be a long recovery all things considered. My surgery was 6 hours from home so I didn't go back but once. Now I am getting a local doctor to do some films and send them to him.

 

[Josephine]

my recovery thread has been closed

@medic4355 No longer and I moved your post into it.

I have seen some people talk about a resurfacing surgery or corrective surgery.

You cannot have a resurfacing as you're already had a total. The other 'corrective' surgery is to have the total done again which is called a revision. This is the common resolution for idiopathic pain (pain without any identifiable source). And invariably it works!

So obviously, the recovery will be pretty much the same as your first surgery.

 

[Hoppy Nanny]

Sorry you are still in pain after a year @medic4355 I do hope you can get some answers or more importantly a resolution to your pain Chrissie x


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[medic4355]

I guess I will endure the pain for now. I just dropped my Medicare supplement plan F for a cheaper one because that one was costing me almost $450 a month. I have until February to swap back but I just can't imagine having to go through this again. I am only two years away from graduating now so maybe after that I will consider it. It is not dislocating and the pain is not unbearable just tiresome. My life has been an ordeal and now on top of all this I am facing a divorce. This is one reason I had to go with the cheaper insurance. Wow whats next. My wife just flat doesn't understand my disability and has flat told me she doesn't care to. Sorry for the complaining y'all its just been one of those days.