THR wcgirl painting rainbows

[wcgirl]

Interesting about the Tylenol -- I just took 2 pills but don't know the dosage. No, I'm not trying to get off the D I was just wondering is going longer without pain causing the headaches but I think now that it is a side effect - headache- and the Tylenol is what helps with that.
my goal is never get to #8 and take med before therapy when it could get to #6 until the ice device brings it right down to #2 or less and I'm due for the next dose -- about 3.5-4 hrs during busy active hours.

 

[JanetLynn]

Are you managing the pain ok? You're not that far out from your surgery. I have a fan in my room as I tend to be warm. My housemate tends to run cold so he put the heat on this morning. Take care of yourself. I like your informative posts.

 

[wcgirl]

I'm home after 2 pills earlier in anticipation of busy day, PT for getting into car & truck and 2hr drive. Ice on thigh & hip area and 1 pain pill & Tylenol. Sore now so 2 pain pills. So much I want to do & remind caregivers not to put my things on the floor. ;-) I'm vegging out now. Miss the hospital bed that raises at the head. My bed is covered with 'my stuff' -- I'm home and plenty of time to organize.
@@Cindy99 thinking of you.
Fellow hipsters who do rehab Make sure you don't leave until you are really ready. This was hard work! I was on fast track HA! ... Ouch! Meds kicking in as I relax. Tacos for dinner 'Cinqo de Maya' and different diet means diligence. Stool softener anyone?

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

Great to hear you are home @wcgirl - you will get into a routine in no time at all - just include lots of lying down! I am now able to golfer's reach light stuff off the floor so no longer freak about stuff left by man and dog here and there. But I know exactly what you mean about having to remind others of what you can't access.

Like the sound of tacos for dinner - what's in 'em? I have kept up with the high fibre cereals (no more prunes, keep them away!), beans and lots of fruit and veg, and that seems to have worked fine. Once you are able to move for longer, that helps too. Lots of water!

Are we turning into a bunch of nags?

 

[wcgirl]

1st nite home managing meds. I thot I'd be more comfortable but it's a job. I'm sure the schedule will even out. I thot I'd be doing okay but I still have adjustments to make to my living space for getting around easier w the walker. Also my bandage will come off tomorrow --the swelling in my thigh has gone down significantly since surgery so the bandage is puckering. So glad to have ice device. I've really moved around more today so I'm sore tonight. Have any of you upped your dosage after going home and begun to be more active? Thanx

 

[webbie73]

If I have figured the time right you are heading home to your own little bed today! I hope the pillow helps with the jarring of the potholes which are nearly impossible to avoid. It was a hard winter on our roads . My ride from the hospital to the rehab center was jarring to say the least.

It is nice to read that you have little swelling. I am still swollen and using the ice. It seems like typical New England weather, cold and damp one minute and bam beautiful 70 degree weather. The air conditioning in the rehab center has not been turned on yet so I am roasting....the ice feels great!

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

Have any of you upped your dosage after going home and begun to be more active

I was continually fiddling with how much pain relief I took - but once I got home home (ie out of the hotel, all big travel over) I did discontinue the strongest morphine based one as it made me feel sick and not steady on my feet. I think my activity level at first was similar - or even a bit less than - in hospital and my bed and all the lovely soft pillows were much more comfy so I didn't have much pain really. I did zizz a lot!
ahhh!

It all depends, I think, on how if your pain starts poking through - then you need the pills - and everyone has different reactions and responses to the meds so it is hard to compare. Also - keep up the ice if you get sore - it is so soothing.

 

[wcgirl]

Anyone have a sore heel? The PT showed me this afternoon how to raise my calves w a pillow but cautioned as not having legs flat interferes w stretching out quads at rest when they tend to stiffen up.
Still working out meds -- naughty heel.
@Great Aunt Janet when you backed off on morphine what did you replace it with? Im not quite ready for that but it is amazing how quickly things change. I liken coming home with a new hip to bringing a new baby home -- 3 mos after coming home all the cradles, swings and swaddling clothes/ice, walkers, reaching tools, 'comfort' clothes & meds are no longer needed but wonderful while you need them. HA!
Thinking of @Cindy99, @webbie73, @IMs my Apr 27 hipster buddies. Looking forward to moving more and 'pilling' less. Oh, my Docs protocol has me graduating to crutches so i learned to use them on 3 stairs and out the driveway and back. Will practice at beach parking lot with Dairy Queen (DQ) reward? No goat fairs yet @great aunt jane -- thank you for enlightening me.

 

[sunbunny]

@wcgirl yes about the heel. I also had abut six days of pulsing in the ankle. What saved me on heels was folding a small blanket under my feet when I slept. Something very soft. I know you are happy to be home. It is amazing the progress but also the easy fatigue. Take care and thinking about you.

 

[Cindy99]

@wcgirl You so torture me with you talk of beaches and Dairy Queen. I do wish there was a way for us to meet and rehab at the beach!

 

[craftdee]

So glad you're home @wcgirl ... there's no place like home

In no time at all you'll be "moving more and pilling less". Your body can only heal or deal with pain... so if you "manually" deal with the pain the hip can get on with the job Get yourself comfortable (get the pain well managed) ... keeping your activity levels as they are, then start increasing the activity, if you need to up the meds a bit to make that level of activity comfortable, so be it... once your able to maintain that level of activity with comfort... increase the activity... rinse and repeat

I was on crutches from Day 0 ... I liked them, really more maneuverable than a walker I'm sure! I did get sore shoulders sometimes, because i was hunching a bit I think; oh, and the fact that I was sleeping on my back with my legs flat made them and my lower back sore.... my OS said the same as your PT - he wanted me to persevere with having my legs flat when in bed, but it really pulled my psoas - some nights I just caved and put a low pillow (small inflatable job actually) under my ankles and it helped the pulling sensation, the sore lower back AND raised my heels off the bed giving them a bit of relief. I can lay with my leg flat now, have been able to for months and wasn't able to pre surgery for YEARS, so don't think you have to "fix" this in a few weeks... and don't let your PT MAKE you think it either it'll get there without torturing yourself!

Hope you keep well,
Donna

 

[wcgirl]

Can it be? Suddenly I'm pretty much painfree? 1st nite home not so great, last nite very manageable, and now after morning lite exercises i'm going longer without needing pain pill just 2 tylenol. I do feel somewhat like a chicken on a spit -- need to transition regularly from lying flat w lite exercise, to sitting up straight w chair lite exercise, to standing lite exercise, to walking around -- 60 min max for lying flat during the day and sitting up before I get stiff. Sunny weather today today! @Cindy99 beach maybe not today, but yes, sounded great didn't it. Always good to have a fun plan to look forward to. OT this afternoon to check me out w showering. My sons will be happy w that! Shower beats out a ride to the beach! Hugs

 

[webbie73]

Wcgirl, DR and the beach are a perfect combination. Forget about spring finally arriving....summer weather is more like it.

Glad to read you are doing so well.

 

[wcgirl]

@craftdee I have to say that you have the most practical suggestions! Rolling a sock under my ankle really helped with that heel pain and my sleep is so much bettter. It still wakes me up but I'm seeing the swelling disappearing progressively from my thigh to knee to ankle and feet. I'm practicing crutches now, need to break it down so that I am not moving too quickly and making sure that I have myself balanced.
I'm finally figuring out how to manage discomfort… not really pain… with my 'pain log' setting my alarm for longer and longer. Another point that you made was that tylenol is only effective for 6 hours and I've adjusted that so that I don't have the swings that I was having. I take them every six hours and not necessarily with pain med. My sister pharmacist said that there is a longer lasting version available but the hospital did not prescribe that.
So I'm moving around more and finding ways to be comfortable with different scenery.
Thank goodness for my brother and his wife this week. They want to make sure that I'll be safe. I am blessed.

 

[IMs]

Hello @wcgirl I wish you all the best in your recuperation...

All the best to all the other hippies, too!

God bless!

@IMs

 

[wcgirl]

Well it is day 12 and I'm doing okay. My brother has been wonderful as i begin to feel stronger and test myself. Reading through Bonesmart it looks like I am where I should be realistically. He's moved chairs, helped w laundry for what i'm not ready to do yet, helped me work around refrigerator to counter and keeping an eye as I make myself simple breakast & lunch. The OC therapist on Thursday was wonderful walking thru showering which I did on my own this morning. We found a better more comfortable seating arrangement for relaxing w easy in & out besides my dinner chair. I have found that the visiting nurses have been excellent and im glad i didnt dismiss them too soon. They have great experience & help ideas. I am awake an more active daily. I find that my most uncomfortable time is at nite maybe because im quiet and more aware of the aches and pain and that i shouldnt ignore that so i will make sure to take meds before i settle in even 2 painpills instead of one. This morning I actually slept in a bit and woke just feeling a little stiff. Oh, there is so much more that i'd like to do, but i've had to put off prjects this long -- it can wait a little longer. I have not faired outside except when the PT was here but getting lots of travel time in the house. The PT did see my stairs to the 2nd floor that i've avoided and her eyes lit up. Uhoh, i'm not looking forward to that at all!
Be well & stay safe. Brother & I are talking about how to do that when i'm alone. There should be an app for that!

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

Day 12 already! @wcgirl, you really are doing amazingly (considering scary sounding stairs, are you sure?) and sticking to the taking it easy route will surely be worth it. I think that my recovery has been so much easier because for the first time in years, I didn't over-think things. And that is down to just following the bonesmart guidance and all the support on this forum, which helped me not to worry about every niggle or wiggle (which I usually do) and just go with the flow.

You sound pretty zen to me, and I reckon that is half the battle! Have a lovely weekend.
cheers!

 

[wcgirl]

Just had the PT in. Not sure but I think she knows that I may not have done every exercise every day. I had graduated myself to one crutch because it is so easy to carry for meals. Nope, not until week 3-4pm. I need to be using 2 crutches to work on my gait and no limping. I'm prepared to be sore tonite.
It's all good.

 

[wcgirl]

Almost at the end of 3 weeks recovery. PT has me focusing on gait and no limping on 2 crutches and The bed, chair, & standing exercises -- all very doable and not too uncomfortable when i take my pain pill 30 minutes before my workout and ice after. It's amazing how my swelling is almost all gone -- i can see my ankle! I'm to do workout 2-3 x day and no getting tired with housekeeping. I cat nap midmorning and afternoon.
So now i'm feeling stronger without much pain (stiffness) And sometimes i'm changing from sitting to standing and i catch myself just about to start walking away without aids! And this morning I woke up sleeping on my side without a pillow! (Today i took 1 pain pill before 2 workouts and 1 tylenol every six hours round the clock. Im icing now before i turn in.) It was scary as I don't want to injure myself.

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

Oh yeah, @wcgirl - I know what you mean about the pillow - and finally, last night (and don't forget, I am coming up fast on 6 weeks post now), I slept with no pillow 'down there' at all. Oh the bliss, slept all night. I am not sure how high the risk is now, and I think I'm pretty well trained even in my sleep Good to hear all your swelling has gone and you just have stiffness - I think that is what happened to me too, and now I am not really often stiff even. You are better disciplined than I am re doing the workouts though!