THR Wide Awake - Mailman Chases Dogs Away

[Mailman]

End of Day 6: Six thoughts about pain and pain relief-

1. Pain is present now for a reason. It has a purpose. After 3 initial overmedicated pain-free days, pain has slowed me down to help me heal.

2. Instead of only focusing on what pain killer drugs and how much of them to take to eliminate pain, i'm thinking of how to make use of it. I'm thinking about how to moderate it, instead of kill it. I'm focusing more on what I can do to heal and outpace it. It's a race I'm running by running more slowly. What kind of race is that?

3. To heal quickly a body needs rest, it needs plenty of water, it needs vitamin c to build collagen. It needs all the amino acids required to rebuild cells. It needs vitamin d in sufficient quantity to heal bones as well as enough calcium and phosphorus. There are some miraculous processes going on in there! I should be helping the best I can.

4. My body will muddle through if I ignore it but it will respond more efficiently with my conscious intervention.

5. Pain is not the enemy of my sense of self nor is it the enemy of my body. It's an integral part of both right now.

6. Especially now I need the best rest and nutrition possible but perhaps most importantly an attitude full of gratitude.


What do you all think?

 

[dnordo220]

On point @Mailman love your POV

 

[Layla]

I love an attitude of gratitude and surgery / recovery can certainly bring that out in us.
We realize all of the simple pleasures we take for granted, until they become difficult if not impossible.
May this week be a good one!
@Mailman

 

[Mojo333]

Perfect. @Mailman
This is the mindset that all new hippies can benefit from.

I decided after my BTHR, The purpose of this "race" was not to see how fast I could get back to Normal, but to give my body what it needed to heal and for these to be, hopefully, my Forever Hips.
Well worth the time it takes....

 

[Hippie Chick]

I love the concept of forever hips!

 

[Mailman]

@dnordo220 's recounting her story of dislocation on day 18 really influenced my attitude about recovery as did @Jaycey 's warnings in the first few days to take it easy when I was still heavily medicated and thought I was immune to pain.

Ego isn't helpful. It's better to learn from others here who have already been there.

At 1 week post op today I'm considering reducing pain meds. Not to win any race to recovery. I just want an accurate view of my current pain threshold. My belief is this: where optimum healing happens is not at total comfort and not at the edge of the bearable, but at the comfortable bearable.

In the pursuit of that I have found that humility works better than excessive ego.

 

[mature mama]

I too feel the attitude of gratitude! My Mom had her hips replaced maybe 25 years ago and enjoyed the pain free time before lung cancer got her. Her mother however must have suffered, as there was no surgery for her back then. I realize she must have been miserable from the pain. What kind of life is that? No wonder she was my nasty grandmother.

I was talking to my PT about pain yesterday. It reminded me that moving at times will hurt during recovery, even when careful. Unless I do something crazy, I am unlikely to be able to really injure my hip. Good to keep in mind.

 

[mature mama]

I would make sure to keep more pain meds at night, as without sleep your body cannot heal well.

 

[Mailman]

I'm careful about moving too. If I haven't tried a particular movement I test it cautiously at first before

 

[Mailman]

adding it to my dance repertoire.

 

[Mailman]

 

[Hippie Chick]

I started cutting back on stronger meds at the end of week two by one pill a day, cut back two the next week, until I was only on Tylenol. My nighttime dose was the last to go which helped me sleep. The Tylenol helps me to do more with less pain.

 

[djklaugh]

@Mailman You will be back on the dance floor sooner than you might expect. 6 months after my BTHR I traveled cross country for a school reunion and ended up doing a sort of Rockettes high kicking chorus line with my 65yo classmates. Twas loads of fun!

 

[benne68]

At 1 week post op today I'm considering reducing pain meds. Not to win any race to recovery. I just want an accurate view of my current pain threshold.

My belief is this: where optimum healing happens is not at total comfort and not at the edge of the bearable, but at the comfortable bearable.

I encourage you to rethink this belief -- especially so early in your recovery. Pain generally does NOT help with healing -- in fact, it can delay your recovery as noted in this pain chart:

I

Your medical team has provided a pain medication regimen for a reason. Please stick with it until you are further down the road in this recovery.

 

[Hippie Chick]

@benne68 thanks for sharing this! At two months I still needed to see this. I will miss my Tylenol and then wonder why I am hurting more.

 

[Mailman]

@benne68
I appreciate your advice. Here is the pain management regimen provided, what I have done with it, and my subjective response as of beginning Day 8 today.

1. Tylenol- take 2 500mg tablets 3x each day- I only missed 1 dose.
2. Naproxen- take 1 500mg tab 2x each day- I haven't taken any.
3. Oxycodone- take 1-2 5mg tab every 4 hours as needed- I haven't taken any, except the 1 given in recovery room following surgery.

Response to medication- Adequate. I have yet to need any help getting in and out of bed, getting up from the dining room table and walking (slowly and carefully!) without a cane or walker though I use one or the other for safety and very careful when I went out in public days 1-3 to watch my step and steer clear of other people and especially dogs. I do this less the past 4 days since the initial 'cocktail' inserted in my wound has run its course. What started out as zero pain has became wound burning/tearing especially upon standing and beginning to walk, then to now feeling aching pain in hip bones and muscles but nothing much of that if I mostly lay in bed. I think I am getting the right amount of walking more specifically100-300 steps per day, except first half of day 2 which was 1090.

That 1090 on day 2 surprised me, but in retrospect I was heavily drugged by the cocktail. I had no pain whatsoever for almost the first 3 days.

Given all this are you still recommending I add more of the prescribed regimen starting with the naptoxen so I can be pain free again and do more walking which is the only exercise permitted for first 3 weeks, or continue the minimal dosing shown above which provides more incentive not to overdo it.

Your thoughts?

 

[dnordo220]

@Mailman - were you prescribed anything else?

I have a schedule. And I’m taking it til it runs out. I did with my 1st hip last year, even with the dislocation I wound up having a good recovery.


6am Tylenol, gabapentin & Prilosec
10 am aspirin & meloxicam & colace
2pm Tylenol & gabapentin
10 pm Tylenol pm (I swapped that out) &aspirin & Miralax

Today I took 1/2 of a 5mg oxycodone-

Tonight I’ll take a tramadol

I promised myself this time I would not over do it, I’m not doing any of my activities until at least 6 weeks. No boxing, no biking, not HIIT workouts. Just walking and maybe some upper body weights in a chair.

That’s it. I need to heal, I have a bunch of vacations coming up. lol.

 

[Mailman]

Yes, the following but not for pain..

Chewable baby aspirin as blood thinner to avoid blood clots.
Omeprazole to keep the NSAIDs from giving me a stomach ulcer.
Vit D2 50,000 units, 1x weekly, because pre surgery i tested a bit below the acceptable range.
2 stool softeners, Senokit S and Miralax which I haven't needed because I haven't taken any opioids.
Narcan, in case I OD on the OxyCodone I haven't touched.

 

[Mailman]

@dnordo220 , taking the meds you listed how do you feel pain wise day and night? How does your experience this time compare to last time, with the exception of the dislocation? I can't really imagine how bad that experience must have been.

 

[dnordo220]

@Mailman I feel good, considering it’s a major surgery. i don’t have pain, I describe it as discomfort. But if I don’t take the meds, I know the pain will creep back up.

I have less pain now than before. I couldn’t sleep before. I couldn’t walk without pain and looking like a weeble.

This time I knew what to expect. So I feel like I can share advice, especially on what not to do.

This hip feels like it’s healing differently though. My thigh was so swollen, my leg didn’t swell last year at all. My foot is a little swollen. I’m elevating more this time. I have zero bruising (none last year- except from the dislocation) my knee feels like it’s pulling a little.

Other than the scar you wouldn’t have even known I had surgery last year.
I know it’s only been 10 days, but I can tell this hip is going to take a little longer. So I’m taking it easy.

It’s 10 pm. Time to Medicate !