THR Sometimes peachy, sometimes the pits

[Josephine]

I contacted my surgeon's nurse today to tell her one of the steri strips had not yet falllen off from my wound site. She said just leave it.

Like I said previously - I have NO idea why they say that!

She said to email her a photo of the wound. the surgeon looked at the photo and said it looks like the skin got irritated from the dressing (and) if it doesn't get better in a few days, I have to start on an antibiotic.

How about posting me the picture?

 

[Peaches]

Thank you, Karen. That means a lot since I get down on myself for being so un-stoic about much of this. I have actually cried a lot out of fear. I have had a hard time believing things would turn around. i actually didn't believe the cement leg would ever lighten up enough to put up onto a pillow on my bed; and now, I can do that easily.

Barbara, I laughed at your "tap dancing off the operating table." That is so true. I got so exasperated at all of those types of stories I was told, mainly by people at work, when everyone learned I was taking off several weeks for this surgery. I was told I could be back in two weeks, or three. They still think so. I am trying to ignore those voices, but it's hard.

Thanks, Giraffe. I need to believe it will be better. I was expecting it to be easier. I do find the restrictions just horrible to live with, but part of that is my home environment being so unfriendly toward them and part of it is being alone.

One tip to pass on, for anyone else who has refrigerators too small to reach into, is that you can use baggies for leftovers and containers of things like yogurt. It's easier to grab with a grabber a baggie than any other kind of container.

A good night's sleep to everyone. Thanks for your support.

 

[Peaches]

Two weeks post-op! I've had a really good past couple of days:
** No Norco yesterday or today; only Tylenol (okayed by the surgeon's nurse). I hope I can continue this, but will be prepared for it if I can't. I LOVE not being lightheaded.
** Able to get up earlier than usual and face the day instead of wanting to hide under the covers.
** A few more household activities involving standing and walking around the apt. Made sure to sit down frequently, with ice.
** Went outside for my first walk! The PT came and took me out with the cane for about half a city block; went inside a tiny, crowded store ("the 99 cent store") and bought one of those dustpans that has a tall handle on it.
I was sore during the walk, in the hip area that was operated on; the lower back; and a bit on the other side's hip. I am now resting with an ice bag. But it wasn't horrible pain. I have to say, the lower back pain reminds me a lot of the pre-op pain I had in that area. But the PT thought I did fine; thought my gait has improved and I am no longer waddling back and forth like a duck.

I am so excited! Thanks for letting me share.

 

[Liveringer]

Peaches Great report lady, keep up the good work!

 

[Allycat]

Peaches, fantastic! I have one of those long handled dust pans, they're great. I also have a scrubbing brush with a long handle. That's to do the bottom of the shower so I don't have to get all the way down. (No, I am not scrubbing showers yet!)
I still get SO tired after walking. This week a friend and I went to Ikea. After walking through the whole shop, I said to her I am just about dead. We sat for about 10mins and I had some water. I checked the time and we had walked for 1 and 1/2 hours!! No wonder I was dead! I now ache at the back of my hip - no wonder. Once again a case of me doing too much too soon.

 

[Maeve]

Hi@Peaches,
I think you are doing amazingly well after just two weeks and especially being on your own.
A trolley worked for me....still does. Hired it from. centre for Independent Living. Cost is $10 wee. Paid for a month up front but they eill refund time not used if I return it early.
The meds issue is confusing I agree. Trying to balance just the right amount for pain yet avoiding grogginess and being alert for exercising. It will fall into place as you settle into a routine. All the very best.

 

[Peaches]

Thanks for sharing my joy at things seeming brighter these past couple days. This a.m. I again got up early, despite not falling asleep till 3 a.m. I was watching something riveting on the tube and allowed myself to just relax and enjoy it. I know I will crash later today, but I will take a nap. I am not totally pain free; lower back pain like in pre-op days. It occurs if I sit or lie down for too long; when I change from lying to sitting or from sitting to standing, it goes away. I am not pain free in the operated hip area, either. I know it was advised that I stay on the Norco 24/7, but it makes me not want to do much and I hate that feeling as I want to do the PT and walking religiously to get stronger. I am taking Tylenol. I will be sure I let everyone know if this plan is not working as I don't want to lead anyone astray with how I am doing things. I found last week that if even if I took ONE Norco, at night, I woke up lightheaded and felt a little lethargic during the day.

I have to confess "trolley" has me stumped! Is that like a shopping cart? I don't have one of those yet, but need to get one. I wish I could find one where you could open up a side and put the bags into it that way, rather than hoisting the bags over the top of the basket.

Allycat, the long-handled dust mop is my new best friend! Since I continue to drop things right and left and spend half my day wrestling with things on the floor via my two grabbers, I now can scoop things into the dust mop and raise it up to where I can retrieve it. I wish I had bought this earlier in the game! I will now try to find a long-handled scrub brush for that old, dingy tub I have. No matter how much I scrub it, it never gleams. I am right now unable to use it, anyway, but I assume that even after the restrictions have been lifted, it will not be wise to bend over and scrub away like I did in the past?

Your Ikea trip makes me envious! But that is a long time to be on your feet.

Maeve, I still feel I am doing things a bit slow, so thanks for your encouragement. I know we can't compare our journeys to one another's, but it's hard not to. I have to be really hale and hearty in four weeks, as that is when my employer wants me back at work--and it will be very difficult to argue for more time (I will have used up about all of my sick and vacation days, anyway).

I have a question for everyone about pain and swelling: My operated foot and ankle are now longer swollen, even when I haven't elevated it. Yet the pain that sometimes exists is still there. I thought a diminishing of swelling resulted in a diminishing of pain--no? I do ice frequently.

Here is to a great weekend, everyone!

 

[detazlady]

Peaches, were not too far apart in surgery dates mine was April 16th. I think you are doing really great considering you are doing it all on your own. Congrats on your progress. Just don't push your self to hard or to fast, you need time to fully heal inside. even though it looks healed on the out side it take a lot longer for everything to get back to normal on the inside. I know if you push to hard you will end up setting your self backwards. Slow and steady is the way to go. Take care, rest as much as possible. The restrictions aren't so bad once you get use to them, before you know it they won't be there but you will still follow some of them out of habit. Wishing you the best, for a safe and full recovery.

 

[Maeve]

Hi Peaches,
Oh the vagaries of the English language from continent to continent....funny. Trolley is pretty much as you describe. Mine is really two trays/ shelves on top of each other on wheels ....about the same height as a walker with handles. I like your idea of one that would open up.
It's interesting how people have very unreal expectations about how quick recovery will be. I know I had events in my calendar pre operation that I was sure I would be ready to tackle. How wrong I was. I gave theatre tickets for a play yesterday to a friend and the same for next Saturday. Just the whole experience would have been too much.the play yesterday was in the city at a theatre housed in an old wharf...very long walk on old wooden boards. Then the seating and of course the getting there and back!
I do get a bit depressed about it as a month sounds such a long time since the operation.
Work is looming very quickly for you. I hope you can ease into it and perhaps do some part time hours.
I have a client visit in a country town 5 hours by car from here scheduled for three weeks from now. I think I am going to postpone for a couple of weeks.it is much slower to full activity than I thought!
My hope is all aimed at the 6 week check which may have some psychological impact? The surgeon says everything is AOK therefore I suddenly feel recovered fully.......I wish. Your attitude is the way to go detazlady
Hang in there hippies...patience and acknowledging all the many little improvements seems the way to go!
I do wish a full night's sleep was one of them. Typing this at x3am. Sleep only happens in hourly grabs!

 

[Allycat]

Maeve, I'm nodding my head at nearly everything you wrote. I'm due to go back to work 22nd May, that will be 11 weeks post-op, but I still get quite puffed after doing a small amount of activity. Like, hanging washing on line, taking out bins, walking at shops. And I wonder how I will cope at work. My first week is 3 days, then back to full time which will be 12 weeks. It's a couple of weeks away, so I'm hoping there is an improvement.
My sleep is still terrible. I have been weaning myself off the meds and Dr said only take in the morning. I wake during the night, not in pain, but uncomfortable. Last night I'd had enough so I took an endone at about 3am and slept till 9-30am. Downside, I'm a bit fuzzy headed now.

 

[Littlejem]

Hi Peaches You're doing wonderfully and what's even harder is you've done it all this on your own!! I can't imagine how much more difficult the recovery must be, both emotionally and physically, you should be very, very proud of yourself!! When I got home from hospital, at 4 days post op, my husband had to go to work the next day and I was 'on my own' but at least I knew I had him home in the evening to help me and my daughter popped in to see me during the day to check I was ok. Will your work let you go in for odd days on reduced hours? I went back at 4 weeks, before my sick note ran out but only for 3/4 hours on 2/3 days a week. I was very lucky that my boss and colleagues were very understanding and next week I'll be doing a full week but slightly shorter hours, so easing me in gently. All this is until I have my next one hip done in 6 weeks of course and I'm so hoping I'm lucky enough that my recovery is as good if not better second time around. Remember you are doing wonderfully but listen to your body and do what it's telling you.

 

[tankeryanker]

Peaches You are a trooper in my book. I can't imagine going it alone. I'm grateful that my wife took a week off to take care of me. Of course you know some of us guys are big babies when it comes to pain. You didn't mention anything about haveing to give yourself a shot in the belly for 10 days to keep from getting blood clots. Nor did you say anything about having to put on a compression sock. Two of the things that I thank the Lord that my wife was here to do that for me. Hope your recovery will get easier for you & you'll be thankful that your hip pain will be a thing of the past.

 

[Elosarabrab]

Peaches, this is the type of trolley I have. you are meant to push it forward go forward with crutches or sticks then push the trolley. It is not meant as a walking aid. I was loaned one from hospital. The picture is from Amazon, Not too expensive.
I got a long handled dust pan it makes life easier while I have restrictions.
Barbara

 

[Peaches]

Hi, everyone, and thanks for your kind words of encouragement. I'm afraid it's been a real roller coaster for me this weekend. More and more I am having the lower back pain I had pre-op and it is driving me crazy. By lower back I mean below the waist, the upper buttocks, from left to right. When I lie down to sleep or for a nap, I am on my back, of course, and it's very uncomfortable. When I sit, it's uncomfortable. I take walks down the corridor and it helps a little. Then the pain comes back. I started taking Norco again, thinking that would help. Not really. I'm NOT back on the full-force Norco regimen I was on in the hospital. Just taking it with Tylenol, careful to not take too much Tylenol as Norco contains Tylenol. I am icing it, too. I get periods where the pain goes away, but it keeps coming back. I keep hearing people say how wonderful it is to have that preop pain gone, and I just can't say that that is the case for me all the time. I realize I have had major surgery; I have read the articles. I know I mustn't compare myself to others, but let's face it: We do. It's human nature to do that when you keep reading people talking about how the arthritis pain is gone. I keep wondering what I am doing wrong. I do think that because I'm alone I am doing more than the "activity level" article says. I cook and clean up, not one but both. But surely many of you find that day to day tasks require more of you than what the article says. the demands of our lives--a spouse needing our care, that kind of thing.

As for PT, I am still doing just the handout of about a dozen exercises the hospital gave me when I was released. The PT from the ins. co.'s agency has come a total of 3 times over the course of two weeks. We are not sure if her requst for more home vists was approved. Neither she nor I feel I am ready to go to outpatient rehab for the simple reason that I live in a large city and I would have to take a taxi or public transportation and I do not feel remotely ready for that. I was only given the go ahead to go outside for short walks of one-half block on Friday.
I continue to do hallway walks throughout the day--around 6 of them today--and practice half a flight of stairs (3 times a day).

I feel a pressure NOT from myself but from my employers to be on a slow but steady course UP toward recovery. Instead I find it is one step forward and two back. And this recurrence of the lower back pain is really discouraging.

On another front: my scar is, in my opinion, quite ugly. I mean, it's not the faint line others have described. It has what I guess is black scabbing. There were two steri strips; one was about to fall off and I was able to nudge it off without any tugging or pulling on it. The other one is buckled and loose at the ends but not at all ready to come off. My PT told me to NOT touch it. The surgeon's office said to wait till it falls off. There are also bits of what I guess are skin or scabbing or a combo that are hanging off here and there. I have not touched them, but as I pull my undies up and down they ultimately fall off. Is this a problem? Could this result in an infection?

Sorry for all of the questions.

I'm just blue about not being further along. I would give my right arm to be retired and thus not under the pressure to be all well.

I feel up to do a few household tasks such as sorting through papers while sitting down and bagging them up and taking a light garbage bag to the trash while I am on my corridor walk. Perhaps I am doing too much of this, but it feels good to get some mindless tasks crossed off. (I am in the process of moving or will be as soon as I recover and I have a LOT to do. I will have help later with the physical task of moving, of course, but till then I must take care of paper sorting and trashing and that kind of thing.)

Thanks for listening to this long whine.

Oh--and I appreciate the photo of the trolly! I might actually try to get that or maybe a basket for my walker.
And here is a tip: I found old, lightweight, large-headed tennis rackets in my closet and discovered they could be used in lieu of the grabbers-reachers to scoop things up and carry them around!

I hope everyone else had a good weekend. I will try to be more upbeat next time.....

 

[Peaches]

P.S. Tankeryanker, thanks so much. I don't feel like a trooper, just a big ol' baby. No, I didn't have to inject myself. I read about it here and was preparing myself to do it, but all I'm taking is an aspirin (prescription) twice a day. And no compression socks. In hospital they had those leg pump things going 24/7, which felt good. I've heard those socks are a nightmare. I did have help week one from my dear cousin. I could not have done this without her. I've had kind offers from friends to fetch things for me, but I don't call on them all day to come over and pick up something I've dropped (I'm a bit klutz).

Littlejem, I'm glad you are able to phase back to work! That sounds very sensible. Unfortunately, I will not be allowed to do that. My employers have been very very nice, but they are under the impression one can go back to work much sooner than what I feel I can do, so when I do go back in four weeks, it will be "back in the saddle" just like before the surgery. No phasing in. I dread it. I can't believe you are going back to surgery in six weeks. You are very brave.

Maeve, I'm sorry you missed out on those plays. But it's understandable. Even when we feel up to being up and around and "walking" for a while, we have to remember that we have to get back; and standing around. All of that takes its toll.

 

[Maeve]

Hi@Peaches,
Your statement "I'm just blue about not being further along. I would give my right arm to be retired and thus not under the pressure to be all well." Says it so well.
I can only imagine the extra mental pressure of needing to 'get better' to return to work. That just adds stress to an already stressful time when recovery comes in such very small improvements that you really need to focus to even notice them!
Overlaying that in my case is the voice in the back of my mind saying 'if this is how I feel now, how much soreness and stiffness, how limited real mobility is when on earth will I be nearly back to normal?
I hope you have a big spurt in recovery very soon. Perhaps suddenly we will see a real turning point with only forward moves!
I'm also struggling today and I am two weeks ahead of you! Fortunately I don't have the pressure of return to work but return to some sort of an enjoyable life would be welcomed!

 

[Elosarabrab]

Peaches, Sending you BIG HUGS. It sounds like the blues have really hit hard. It is hard to see the positives when you are under a big cloud.
As far as work goes, The system in the UK our doctor has to approve our return to work. They can put recommendations such as phased return at reduced hours for a couple of weeks. You could try pointing out to your employer that making you go back too soon could put you at risk of an accident. You wont be able to work at full capacity. Unable to concentrate and needing to rest during the day does not make a productive worker.
Can you call your doctor to ask about your scar? They should be able to put your mind at rest that you are healing well. Also address your concerns about your back ache?
Barbara

 

[Giraffe44]

Peaches, I'm sorry things are going so badly for you right now. Using the roller coaster image, I've found that after a while the coaster keeps going higher and doesn't go as low. In other words, the highs are better and the lows aren't as bad. After 6 months I'm still having pain but it is absolutely nothing compared to pre-op. I only get it when I doing something dumb--trying to climb over something I shouldn't have, for instance. My recovery has been slow but real. I'm a bit older than you and that contributes, too. Keep writing to the forum, there will always be someone there for you.

 

[TeeEm]

Peaches . I agree with Elosarabrab. It should be up to your GP or OS and yourself to decide when you are fit to return to work. It's dreadful that your employers are putting pressure on you. There are people on here that go back to work very early, but that's their choice usually. Dont jeapordise your hip and your health by going back before you are ready. Its not worth it . And ask for a phased return when you do go back.

 

[Elosarabrab]

Peaches, Hi how are things today? Did you speak to your doctor about your concerns re scar and back pain?
It is sunny here today for a change. It is so good to see the sun. It really lifts the spirits.
Barbara