Hi
@lovesstars,
Glad to hear (or read) that your pain is lessening. I wanted to offer two more “lessons learned” to you from my previous surgery. First, related to the ice machine. It take a lot of ice... and I mean a lot. I have an ice maker as part of my fridge, it it cannot keep up (it is a bit slow, taking 24 hours to refill the bin, and one bin gets me only two ice machine fill ups). So, if you can, have someone grab you a few bags of ice (or more if the have a big freezer) every couple of days, so that you don’t run out. Even if you have an ice maker, having the extra ice on hand is a huge help because it will allow you ice maker to catch up. Also, and this is VERY VERY IMPORTANT. ALWAYS use a thermal barrier (like a couple of pillow cases) between you and the pad (the pad gets near as cold as ice, and can damage the skin), and MEVER fall asleep with it on... you need to be Che King the skin every hour to make sure you skin is not getting too cold. It is a really handy device, it because you can use it for very long period, you become desensitized to the cold. You don’t want to change one problem for another. Also, you may find you incision extra sensitive compared to the surrounding area... son you can stick a bandage (like gauze and tape) on it’ll lessen the cold a bit.
Okay, that was a lot in one “lesson learned”. Here is the other, and it has to do with crutches. And I learned this lesson directly. Many people do not know how to use crutches correctly. They have them set way to high, all the way into their armpits, and then use their armpits to take weight of their leg. If you do this, you are in for nothing but misery. First, doing this affects the way you walk, causing you to hunch over, which strains you back. Second, and more importantly, the armpits have a surprising number or nerve endings. These get easily irritated, and you will find that after a day or two, your armpit will be extremely sore, and sensitive to the slightest touch, preventing you from continuing to use your crutches. You can also damage to nerves, causing pain in armpits that will take months to go away (at least it did for me, and I only used the crutches incorrectly for a week). So, here is how to use the crutches correctly. Lower the crutch until the top is six to eight inches below you armpits. When you grab the handle, your arms should be bent about 15 degrees (more or less). When you go to walk, the crutch and your op leg should touch the ground at about the same time (the crutch may lead a little, hitting the ground first... but not by mutch). Then as you put weight on you op leg, push down on the crutch handles with your hands (or simply tighten your triceps), in a manner similar to pushing yourself out of a chair. Onto us to push down on your crutches through the full range of motion. The more you push down, the more weight you take off you op leg, and vice versa. You tube has some pretty good videos demonstrating this.
Crutches take time to learn how to use, so don’t rush it. Just practice here and there until you gain confidence. You may find that the crutches help you walk more upright than the walker (I certainly did) which could help to alleviate any lower back irritation (from being hunched over with the walker, and lessening your pain. But, as an said, take it slow and practice before ditching the walker altogether... else you could strain muscles in different areas.
Cheers
United Kingdom
Heck . . . I can just look at a bottle of opioids and get stopped up!!
