Become an Insider

THR zauberflöte's Magic New Hip!

Status
Not open for further replies.
zauberflöte, I'm glad you survived the most recent storm you had. But when were you hauling branches??! And how? I worry about you doing that.

Are you really seriously considering doing the other hip this year? With every twinge my "good" hip gives me, I start worrying about the same thing.

I'm tackling the surgery bills and "this is not an invoice, it's just a scary piece of paper that makes you wonder what you are going to be told to pay" notices today. My big fear was the anesthesiologist, as I mentioned. I was not given his name prior to surgery, despite my numerous phone calls to make sure I was not stuck with an out-of-network bill that I had no control over choosing. I was not allowed to choose; wasn't even introduced until I was strapped in and ready to roll into the "theater" (I love calling it that; if you're going into surgery, you might as well be going to a "theater").

I keep thinking you are so much further along than you are, because you seem so well. But tell me, how are you doing? You are so on the spot on checking in on everyone else.
 
aw Peaches you're sweet. The last time I was hauling branches was a couple of months ago, which itself was a month or more after a wind (I don't think there was a storm, actually, just a common-or-garden windy day) had made a mess of the neighborhood. It was Bottomshollow who was hauling branches after Andrea recently.
You did mention being upset about the anaesthesiologist (can that be the last time I type that please?:rotfl: ) once or twice. I'm just plain nervous about the whole pile of bills and EOB's.... no moral fiber yet. What has happened with the anaeshtisbggist? (told you I wouldn't type it again!)

Thanks for asking, I'm doing quite well :) I think. Very tired in the mornings-- I think it's low BP from the percocet at night. This was to be my last week of weaning, and I'd hoped to get off it all by the end of the week. I'm being followed by the cardiologist for the BP issue, don't want to put me back on the BP med and have me "bottom out" LOL. So I'm watching carefully the results of no narcotics during the day. Taking up the slack with tylenol, and for the past 2 nights I've added 2 advil-- huzzaaaaahhhhh better sleep!! More comfortable!! Can lie on "good" side longer!!! Heh. Last night I tried gingerly to lie on the op side. Oooooo- Kay . That will be a long time till I sleep on that side!!! Phooey-- it's the side I prefer to fall asleep on. It must be bruising underneath-- that's what it feels like. Not sore till I put my full weight on it and then:yikes: wide awake now, yes we are!

Anyway, I'm far less energetic than I was a couple of weeks ago, and I'm thinking I'd better clean up my diet. I suppose it's one of two things-- I'm actually doing moer than i think i am in each day anyway, or, the white flour and sugar have got to go. And the eat and cheese. Hubby bought a 2 1/2 lb brick of Cabot 3-year cheddar the other day at Costco, WOW I love it when we get that, but cheese and I are not in agreement altogether LOL.

Do you have Costco in NYC? I can't imagine there being room! I visited a friend there 30 yrs ago and remember being amazed at how tight every little storefront was. My only city experience before had been Montreal, which was not at the time so crowded. Not sure how it is now...

you're an awfully good listener-- thank you! I plan to make an update tomorrow or Wed, for my 4 weeks :)
 
zauberflöte, look forward to your update!!!

I saw my OS today - for some reason I didn't ask any questions (even though I have tons) and I am back to see him in 6 mths. He just wants me to focus on getting back to presurgery activity. He said no driving for another 2 weeks as my pedal leg is the affected one. Told me to drop my crutches which is great as I don't use them at home just out walking. Took my cane for a walk today and didn't limp so that will be me from now on. The next few weeks will prove frustrating with the no driving/no hubby at home. Booooorrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeedddd
 
beckylou great to ditch the crutches, isn't it. Did your cane enjoy the walk?:heehee: And oh yes, bored is the name of the game. I've started watching videos during the day, which is so totally unlike me. I'm realizing just how active I was pre-op, even if it all was housework. I would feel I deserved to sit down at the little breaks, and the end of the day. Now practically all I DO is sit down LOL.
Maybe I'd better get somebody to take me driving in a parking lot today, so I can get out if need be. I need to be able to drive 70+ miles with an OS visit at the midpoint, a month from yesterday. No time like the present for practising that, eh Peaches ? :)
 
Hi, I didn't want to hijack the other thread, so I'll answer here: I'm doing great! thanks for asking. Sometimes I just pause and think about what this time last year was like, and I'm so grateful for my new painfree hip, and so happy to be able to do the things I love doing. To not have to look for the best parking place at the grocery store, and not have to consider ever invitation to do something with "how far will I have to walk?"

It sounds like you're getting a little cabin fever, but getting out and driving a bit should help. I was able to drive pretty quickly since I had the left hip done---I think it would have taken longer with the right, or if my car hadn't had an automatic transmission.

Videos in the daytime? Horrors! If you haven't watched the first two seasons of Game of Thrones, now would be a good time to get with it. The books got me right through my recovery---made it much easier to laze around.
 
sissy46 thanks for stopping by! :) Game of Thrones? I will look on Netflix and Amazon Prime. (Just finished the first season of Call the Midwife and I am h-oo-k-ed! But season 2 is 1.99 per episode :sad: ) I had meant to check out some Harry Potter books, which I never got to read when they came out, but the timing was all wrong. Maybe, since the library is a 6 minute drive in the neighborhood, I can try that for a first trip! :)
 
I enjoyed Call the Midwife, and the book was good, too. Season two is just now coming out on DVD, and it is in my Netflix queue. Another series that I enjoyed is Doc Martin. Light, funny, very entertaining. I have to say, Game of Thrones is heavy, full of murder, mayhem, direwolves, dragons and worse, and just when you grow to love a character, they die in some hideous way.

The Harry Potter books would see you through. I read all the Harry Potter books---what a joy it must have been for kids who were just the right age as each book was published.

Just finished reading Reconstructing Amelia, by Kimberly McCreight. Reading this book, however, could cause extreme anxiety for anyone with a teenage daughter.
 
Hi, zauberflöte... can't wait for your four-week report. I hear you about sleeping on the op-side. I have done only on sometimes, and ALWAYS worry/wonder about it. But now it doesn't hurt like it did when I first tried it. You'll get there.

Glad you weren't wrestling with branches!

The thing about my anesthesio (how's that for a nickname) is that at my hospital, I wasn't allowed to know beforehand who it would be, if he/she would be in network.The patient has to wait till a few minutes before showtime and the curtain rises in the theater before meeting the anesthesia. So the ins. co. realizes the patient should not be charged an out-of-network fee. FINALLY they paid Mr. Anesthesio! Thank god. I was really worried.

I hope your bills / "statements" don't contain any nasty surprises. What kills me is all of the stuff I've bought for home use ... the toilet thing, the horrible pillow to sit on that was a nightmare, the grabber-reachers, the too-big shoes for the too-big feet, then the new pair of shoes since I can't wear the old pre-op shoes, the cane, the walker, the myriad ice packs, the heating pad for work ... I know I'm leaving out stuff.

Post-op life is very bizarre ... because even though you're bored out of your mind with not having your life back, you can be too preoccupied with I don't know what to really get distracted by anything meaningful. I couldn't even read a novel, good or bad; I tried to watch junk TV and could not. I don't know what I did all that time, to tell you the truth. I"m sure you do more in a day than I did in a week!

I love Cabot cheese (that's Vermont, right?). No Costco near me. Have never been to one. There was a funny Seinfeld episode where Kramer goes to a Costco type of place and gets so excited, he buys tons and tons of stuff, only to find there is no room at all in his small apartment. I used to go to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods and regular garden variety grocery stories in NYC and lug home grocery bags ... but no more! This whole hip thing has made me rethink how I must stop lugging heavy stuff around all the time.
 
zauberflöte. I just caught up on your thread and discovered you do have low BP from the Percocet. How is the dizziness.
And, there is a Costco in a warehouse area in Brooklyn. It's huge, on two levels, with one escalator for people and another for carts. I have not gone since the hip got bad, and my husband is dangerous there alone!

I look forward to your report,
 
Peaches, you have a way with words, ma dear....your description of post op medicated brain is spot on. (Post-op life is very bizarre ... because even though you're bored out of your mind with not having your life back, you can be too preoccupied with I don't know what to really get distracted by anything meaningful.) you made me chuckle with that description.
Zauberflote definitely hunt up the potter books...missing them would be like missing Tolkien, or Star Wars they are iconic. I solove working in middle school because the kids who are readers all share book recommendations with me as soon as they realize I am also a reader. It is really fun.
 
Hi All -
zauberflöte, definitely the Potter books, as sissy46 said. Delightfully written. Peaches, nmscienceteacher,Yes, bored. Someone mentioned that I seem to be "back to activities" (I think in my thread) but I really am not doing half of what I normally do. (Ok, so... I guess that means that maybe I AM doing close to half. I feel lucky to be doing so.) But still, I have more time on my hands and on my duff that I normally do. I keep thinking that there are things I could be doing with this time.... knitting, maybe? Some kind of crafts...? I used to make all kinds of this and thats.....? but I can't seem to organize my brain enough to gather what I need to get started!
LeeApril26 and Peaches, That Costco cheddar is really amazing - friends served it to us once. There is a Costco a few towns away, and I was a member for a while, but found that I just didn't go there often enough to continue the membership. Now there's a BJs .5 mile from us, and I am a member there (managed to join through some program that also benefits a local school, so, win/win.) 85555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555559*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-99 (sorry.... Pooh Cat just walked across the keyboard again, ad decided to stand there until I scooped him off....)
 
zauberflöte
Okay, I give up...what is the deep dark hidden meaning behind your grouping of peaches, a silver shoe, cantaloupe, bananas, several cans of....fruit(?) and an unknown blue object that is vaguely cylindrical? Don't keep us in suspense, please enlighten!
 
nmscienceteacher said:
zauberflöte
Okay, I give up...what is the deep dark hidden meaning behind your grouping of peaches, a silver shoe, cantaloupe, bananas, several cans of....fruit(?) and an unknown blue object that is vaguely cylindrical? Don't keep us in suspense, please enlighten!
Click to expand...
Glad you asked, was wondering myself.
 
octopus nmscienceteacher Songlady Peaches ByGosh LeeApril26 sissy46 beckylou SeaSiren TennisNut @everybodyelseIforgot TeeEm Elosarabrab Kim22

Heh heh. The avatar is called STILL LIFE WITH FOOTGEAR and is part of a long-running joke with clifford149 regarding tinned plums, go read his recovery thread for some laughs. The can is a can of plums, the red jar is salsa, the shoe is gold in real life, and the blue thing? That's the Shower Feet!!!!:tada: Just my warped lack of warped artistic sense...PS you left out the pine cone! Giant loblolly pines, giant pinecones.

LeeApril26 BP slowly rising, up to "nice low normal" some of the time, thanks for asking! I am dizzy a lot, but I'm not sure it's the BP, it may be my fried brain!!

Ok, let's get this update on the road.

ZF's 4 Week Update: things that are new and things I have learned.

Pain meds: daytime 2 tylenol 325's+1 advil x5 hrs, night time 1/2 percocet+2 tylenol 325's+2 advil. The percocet should be gone by Sunday. Then we will see what my BP does!

Off Celebrex and aspirin. I find the advil to be more effective than the Celebrex!

Pain: most of the time "good" hip hurts worse than the op hip, it used to get a lot more advil than now so I think it's telling me what it really feels like. Hands hurt too. Op hip stiff on getting up from sitting (but walks off in a minute or so), but not (!) on getting out of bed!!!! "Good" hip painful at both times... I have discovered belatedly that sitting on an ice pack solves the "chair that hurts" problem very nicely. Let's hear it for ice!

Swelling: at end of day, ankles mostly.

Scar: stupid tape is still stuck to it!! There's a small part at the bottom which is uncovered, and I massage it. I think it's making it softer. The goose egg is definitely getting smaller and softer, I'd call it a small painted turtle now. I can feel lumps under if I'm lying down so the leg is flabby. More massage I guess!

Activities: Some laundry nearly every day, bed making and turning down daily, vacuumed the wood floors today about 15 minutes, much meal prep/some cooking, some kitchen clean-up w/dishes; load, run, and empty dishwasher most times, walks shorter this week than last, PT cut down to 1-2 per day from 3. I have enough strength on these isometric PT's to hurt myself now, am scared of rotating while glute clenching! Added sideways walking when I noticed it on somebody else's thread. Get the mail, feed 2 cats 3x daily and 1 other cat as much as she wants. Have walked carefully in the yard-- mole tunnels are AWFUL and I don't want them to take me out and shoot me cos I broke a leg in one!! Take the trash out every so often. No yard work or gardening-- I don't usually do anything except pick up sticks and pine cones anyway, not a gardener tho I'd love to have the desire... No outings except church Sunday; I'm not an outing person most of the time anyway-- only go out to shop as needed usually.

Ice and Elevation: still many hours per day elevation, ice towards end of day seems to feel good. No ice in bed for a week or more-- I'm just fine in bed and I love it!!!! except for the.........:

Restriction: my beloved two-week-old 'no rotation" restriction has been assimilated, resistance was futile. I have put some grace into my movements again, and the hip doesn't feel as frozen as it did when I started this. Also, I think I cheat sometimes. But I have not had any pains from any possible rotations that I've done, so I guess I'm not dislocated yet....I expect when I go back on July 17, they will give me a 90-degree rule and no crossing legs...

Energy: not so much
Brains: not at ALL

Sleep: worse than 2 weeks ago, by a long shot. It seems I sleep ok one night, then lousy the next. Last night was a good night: I fell asleep or back to sleep 3 times, at 1:0am, 2;30am, and 5:30am, for a total of 5 1/2 hrs, which is good enough for now. I tried going to bed early one night, and was up till 3:shocked: this too shall pass...

Entertainment: I have read all but one of an 8" high stack of science fiction magazines dating from March-Sept 2013! I hang out at this online forum called BoneSmart, do you know it? great folks. I thought I'd follow a bunch of bird webcams, but I haven't, more's the pity, b/c I was really looking forward to it. Just can't get the drive up for it. Netflix, and Amazon Prime. Old comedies with hubby at night, and Call the Midwife and Downton Abbey and really bad old movies by myself. sissy46 I looked at that Thrones one-- not my cuppa LOL. Thanks anyway :)

Things I really wish I could do: strip, launder, and re-make my water bed. Hubby just doesn't have time, and my allergies are acting up. Get up the nerve to drive! I am brainless and am not sure I'd make the right decision fast enough. Clean the whole house, including vacuum, swiffer, and damp-mop. The allergies wish I could do this, and they don't want some perfumed stranger coming in and doing it for me, either...

There. Done for the week, whew! I am definitely farther along than a week ago, and I think the main progress is in the comfort department. To compensate, the energy level and the brains have depleted...all is on track, I feel :)
 
Thank you for the ' splain on Still life with footgear...I will check out clifford149. Sounds as if you are right on track in terms of what you are doing...when you add it all up you are doing a lot. Your backyard sounds far more dangerous than mine...tell those cats of yours to get to work and knock down the mole population so you don't have to worry about dislocated hips and fractured legs! The most dangerous thing in my backyard is the million or so bees in our 6 hives and they are pretty benign. Time to go make supper....
 
nmscienceteacher oh the cats are working as fast as they can on the moles.... a mole is a HUGE meal for a cat, and it's a HUGE pain when it's brought into the house when you're not there, and climbs up into the radiator and is dried. Urk...I have also wrestled a cat who had its second mole in as many days, won, and of course then had to put the thing in the freezer where we keep our carrion till next garbage day...
Have a great supper, no road kill allowed!
 
Hi, zauberflöte ... congrats on a great four-week report! Wow, all that work you do in and around the house is amazing. And yet you'd like to do more! I'm sorry about the sleep problem, but surely that will sort itself out?
Maybe you are readjusting to the decrease in non-OTC medication (if I read that right)? As for feeling dumb, well, welcome to the club. Just today I had to ask a coworker four times for the name of a novel he highly recommended. It was embarrassing. And as of right now, I have no clue what the name of it is. I think you are wise to not drive yet, just because you don't sound like you are totally confident. Once you are, you will do fine.
I love your suggestion of sitting on an ice bag.

I still say you sound very far along for wherever you are, at any given time!

And on a final note, it would seem it's Guess That Avatar ??? I was startled to see another one.
Keep 'em coming and keep us guessing!

And revel in your wonderful four-week milestones!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

Members online

Total: 886 (members: 1, guests: 885)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom