Hi all,
So here is an update... it is a bit of a long one... so get some coffee :-P.
Saw the OS today. Both the trip down and trip back were uneventful. I was quite surprised to see how well I was doing out of the house. I took two crutches with me but only ended up needing one. Pain was mostly mild the entire time.
Now, on the the appointment. The reason the OS wanted to see me this early was to ensure that the numbness was not progressive. He is going away for a couple of weeks and wanted to make sure I was all good before leaving. If I experience any additional numbness, or experience any weakness, he assured me that there is always someone in the office I could see... and that one of the other OSs could consult. Anyway, the appointment went really well. They checked the strength levels in my operated leg (5 out of 5 on all fronts), discussed the bruising and swelling down the side of the hip (a likely causes of the numbness and nerve pain), and discussed the after surgery X-Rays. I will summarize the visit in point form below:
Numbness
- Numbness is likely caused by swelling/bruising putting pressure on the nerve branch. Should resolve over the next 6-8 weeks. Could also be caused from the spinal, in which case it also should resolve in the next 6-8 weeks.
- Numbness is at skin only with no weakness of muscles, and only a depressed feeling at the skin (meaning I feel a bit at the skin, rather than nothing at all).
- Patella reflex on the operated leg is a little low, but present.
X-Ray Review
- X-Rays look great.
- Leg length is bang on; however, he indicated that he needed to make me a little wider (2 mm) on the op side for stability (very common apparently). As a result, my hip may feel slightly cantered (higher on one side) for a while. That plus the swelling will make my legs feel different lengths for a while (until swelling resolves and my body adjusts)
- No lift required, but the OS indicated that if it bothers me during recovery, I could stick a gel pad in the one shoe until my body adapted to the feeling.
- To e honest, I barely notice the LLD now, so I don't think this will be an issue. Time will tell.
Misc
- OS was very pleased with the progress thus far.
- Did some strength tests (walking and what not), and said he would like me to start using a cane tomorrow (I have been single crutch for most of my time home). He wants me to try it out a couple of days at home, and if I feel comfortable, continue to use it.
- OS and the fellow both indicated that Advil would be okay to take... just not all the time. Take when needed kind of idea (this thrilled me). I only plan on taking it on bad days, and only once a day
.
- Incision looks to be healing well. No need to take the bandage the hospital put on off at this point (barely any blood or drainage).
All and all it was a good appointment. I will still be seeing the OS in 5 weeks time for the six week follow up. Felt pretty good in the car ride home. The ice helped. On that note,
@Layla, I did not get you reply in time before I left; however, the "ice it, ice it, ice it" mantra from you was already stuck in my head when I got up this morning... so I load a cooler full of ice bags before I left. So even though I missed your message, I thank you for staying in my head and reminding me to bring ice
.
As for the cane thing, I am happy to move off the crutch... but I will still bring two of them with me (in the car) when I am out and about. I know from my last surgery that my legs will get tired (both of them), and I am horrible with a cane (ditched it completely after the scope and stayed with one crutch... but I was 3 months non weight bearing for that, so by the time I was ready to ditch the one crutch, soft tissue had mostly healed). This time I need to give the cane a better go, but there will be less muscle atrophy as I am weight bearing right out of the gate... so hopefully I am better with the cane. But I plan on using my crutches as a... well... crutch... at least for a while.
That's all for now. Thanks all for the well wishes.
Cheers
United States
