Ramblings regarding my scheduled 2/16 resurfacing with Dr Gross

[23109VC]

Are you flying or driving home?

I'm traveling to dr gross from california.  I am not sure if I will feel up to flying home right away upon release from the hospital or if I will want to stay local for a couple days before I go.

I have a short flight from Columbia to Charlotte, then about a four hour flight to san diego.  I had planned to stay in Columbia over the weekend and try to fly home mon or tues.  My surgery is wed, so if I waited to tue, I would be almost a full week post op.... Is that too long?

My wife and I will want to go home as soon as we can.  Relatives will bevwatching our kids and like you, inknow we will be anxious to get back to them.

[FlbrkMike]

To give you something to compare to, I'm now at 7 days post-op (though with a different surgeon), and feel like my recovery has gone extremely well.  At my second home PT appointment yesterday the therapist said I could pretty much discard the second crutch unless needed for longer walks.

For myself, I think a cross country flight with one plane change would be challenging but doable.  Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to check in, and take it very easy on the connection (assuming you have ample time between flights).  I would feel pretty confined on the cross-country leg if I was sitting in a standard coach seat, unless possibly an aisle seat with my operated leg on the aisle side.  No problem sitting but would want to get up and walk a bit periodically.  Sometimes if I'm sitting too long, or otherwise overdoing things, I start to get sort of a cramp in my hamstring area and the only way to get rid of it is to stand straight up.  You'd have a real problem trying to do that from a window seat in the coach section.

That being said, if you have some painkillers take the maximum dose and try to sleep through the whole ordeal.   ;D

[obxpelican]

This is just my opinion, providing you can get wheel chair service on both flights and you got decent seats so that you are not cramped it's VERY doable. 

Now, worst case, you don't get help at the airport and you fly coach, I would wait and fly out on Monday or Tuesday.

In a car I could stretch my legs and stop and get out and stretch, Saturday you will feel better probably but you would be feeling better on Monday or Tuesday when the meds have all worn out.

If you do flyout on Sat, before you get on that flight to Cal take the maximum dose of pain meds that you can handle.


IMHO.


Chuck

[23109VC]

Thanks.  I appreciate all the advice.  I talked to the airlines and they said i woud be in coach but woud get q bulkhead seat... So i should have more legroom than a normal coach seat.  My wife jokingly said we should rent q car and drive back...see the country.. But it would take a long time, a lot of gas, and i don't know if Id be up for sightseeing.... ;)

I'll see how i feel on mon or tues,  my tickets are standby so i can leae whenever i want,  but of course i want to leave sooner vs later.

Hey, another question... Now that i am days from leaving Im starting to pack,  what do you suggest taking as far as clothes?  I'll just bring jeans for the few days Im there before surgery, bu once i get into the hospital' do they have you in a gown the whole time' or could i wear sweats ror athletic pants?  Smething light and with an elastic bandlll comfort would be high on my list of priority.

And what about shoes? Should i just use slippers or someti ultra comfy and easty to put in the hospital?  I'm thinking i should have stuf that i can just slip on... Wen i fl back, pajama type slipper might not work so well, but mane soemkind of s upper comfort slip on shoe would be a good idea...

Any other last minute suggestions before i leave? 
glad to hear you are doing well.  I am kicking m cold and it looks lke i will be good to go for this Wednesday.  Like everyone else has said , i feel nervous and excited.... Worried about all the what ifs, but excited to think bout all the things i have given up being within reach again... 

[FlbrkMike]

I was in a hospital gown at first but, as soon as all the tubes were removed on the second morning, I wanted to change ASAP.  They offered me some hospital pajama pants, but even the XL wouldn't fit over my swollen butt.  I took some loose athletic shorts (which I used for two days) and a couple of loose t-shirts.  I also had some loose sweatpants, which I ended up not using.  You will be much more comfortable in your own clothing.  I was very happy that I took an extra shirt because I had a fresh one to wear home on day 3.

When I woke up from surgery I was wearing knee high TED stockings, and socks with some kind of non-skid rubber thingies over my feet.  These were useful for hallway excursions.  Also some air pressure cuffs over my calfs to help prevent blood clots.  The stockings and socks stayed on until I got home, and I never wore any shoes until I was ready to leave.  I have some clogs that are really easy to put on and remove, which I wore for the ride home.

Again, I was in a different hospital, so your experience may be different.

Best of luck on your surgery.  Once you get there you'll be amazed at how fast it goes.

Mike

[newdog]

About the shoes. I bought a pair of CROCS (I think that's how you spell). They are soft rubbery shoes that slip on and have a strap that goes over the heel. Even if you don't use the strap, they stay on very well. I never had a pair before and was amazed how well designed they are. They fit very well, easy to slip on, won't fall off, very cushiony on the bottom. They seem to grip well on wet surfaces. I like them so much, I'll wear them a lot even when I'm able to tie my shoes. Other than a pair of slip on slippers that I wear around the house, that's all I have worn for 5 weeks now.

[obxpelican]

Buy yourself some of that silky type gym shorts, they allow you to rotate on your rear when you are put in a car, get them on the large size they are easy on easy off.  Make sure to have an elevated toilet chair, we bought ours there, they also have a kit that you can buy that has a sock puller and a grabber, those itmes are very good to have.

I was in a gown early on but then I decided to put my shorts on, they made me much more comfortable than the hospital gown.

Bring something to wear out for dinner the night before, have a good time when you are out your surgery will go well.

Columbia SC in August was hot and humid, the pool was in the mid to high 80s then, but I would check the weather channel to see what the weather will be like when you go.

The whole trick is bring casual, comfortable stuff.

Read this before you leave, it's our Dr. Gross tips:

http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php?topic=1512.0


Chuck

[einreb]

We're now at the doubletree in charlotte. They don't have wireless, so I'll do a longer update tomorrow when I get home.

The leg is swelling a bit, but feels stronger. My Sherpa wife has been a great help. :)

 

[23109VC]

Chuck, thanks for the link and tips.

Great info!  I will be one of you guys in a matter of days...  A surface hippy!

[23109VC]

A few random questions...

What time on Friday did they discharge you?  I'm curious if they keep you there most of the day or are getting you out early?

If you had to say what was the best and worst part of the whole process, what were they?

How soon were you able to ascertain that your old hip pain was gone?  As I typemthismi can feel that always constant dull throb in my left hip.... I was thinking how it will be great, but in some ways, strange to have no more hip pain....the pain has just been something I accepted and grew to tolerate...  It will be weird to have it be gone... Don't get me wrong...I won't miss it at all... It's just almost hard to believe I'm only days away from putting it all behind me! 

How long is your trip home?  Where r u from?

I'm going to dr gross out of San Diego.

[einreb]

We left yesterday at noon.

Worst part was the first night. I should have gotten ahead of the pain with meds.

I sat at a table for dinner last night with no pain.  Granted, it's weak and hurts with certain motions, but it was a taste of what is to come.

Made it through tsa. Slow, but curtious.  Headed back to Chicago this am.  

[obxpelican]

God Speed be with you buddy, your venture is almost over.


Chuck

[Dayton96]

Bernie,

Thanks for posting about your trip to SC.  If you are bored, I would certainly enjoy reading about your first week back home.  By the way, are you going back to SC for your six week checkup?

Mac

[einreb]

I'm home.  It felt good to hug my kids.  I certainly missed them. 

Thanks a lot for listening to my banter.  It helped to talk it out through the process, hear the experience of those that had gone through it, and hopefully provide some insight for those about to have it done.

I will either add to thi thread or start another as I make it through my slow recovery rehab.

Feel free to ask if you have questions while the experience is fresh.  I should also note that I tested the raised toilet seat!

[einreb]

I stopped the oxycotin today ( I may take one tonight, but I'm not sure) and just took a nucynta (similar to vicodin) and a tylenol preemptively to doing my exercises at noon.  I napped this afternoon and rolled to my operated side as well as my stomach.   I can already feel an increase in strength with the exercises.  I've been icing a lot.  I think that has helped me.

In hindsight, I'd lean towards more pain meds than less!   I felt nothing when I woke up and was surprisingly alert and happy.   Once I felt the pain, I should have loaded up on the meds.

I'm not sure if they do the same for everyone, but I think I got ocycotin prior to surgery along with celebrex.  They then gave me oxy and celebrex every 12 hours along with tylenol more frequently.  The nucynta is 'optional' and I initially declined it.  I should have taken it when I first started feeling the pain the first evening.  Once I got up to 2 nucynta every 4 hours... the pain was never really an issue. (again, this was my experience!)

I barely feel like I need any meds 4 days post op, but I learned my lesson the first day!

[obxpelican]

Most Dr. G patients fair pretty well, I still had a lot of the vicodin left when I stopped taking them.  I think I was day 7 before I stopped taking pain meds, I usually needed one a day or more.

YMMV.

Keep us updated.

Glad you are doing well.


Chuck

[einreb]

Day 6 post op. 

I have very little swelling and only took the Tylenol and Celebrex this morning.  I wont hesitate to take narcotics if  I feel something coming on... I learned that lesson the hard way. :) 

I suspect that my 10% weight bearing limit and extensive use of the ice machine may be limiting the swelling.  I feel strong for all my exercises done twice a day.

I had a few questions that I fired off to Lee Webb yesterday. I'd always been confused as to why if the leg is at its weakest at 3 months that they would be limiting me for the first 6 weeks to crutches and not longer.  Her answer makes a lot of sense.

A femoral neck fracture does not just suddenly happen at 3 months post op, it is a gradual occurance related to stress on the bone. This stress starts early post op and eventually results in a "stress" fracture of the femoral neck. We have you 10% weight bearing to take the load off the hip, in particular the femoral neck to avoid this stress impact. You are correct, there is a balance of impact to stimulate bone, after the 6 weeks, it actually helps the bone by weight bearing. We just don't want you to be doing high level activity at 3 months when the bone is still weak (we know you won't but trust me, there are some who push the limit). Hope this helps.

I was also concerned about the Fosamax prescribed since its a bit controversial. Her response that they have had 0 fractures for those with weak bone on the slow recover process and taking Fosamax was reassuring.  You cant beat 0 fractures.  I don't plan on being #1 and screwing that up.

We have been using this for quite some time with excellent results. We have seen our fractures gone from 1% to 0 on the Fosamax.

I think that an additional weapon that they have is the extensive amount of data that they collect and mine to see what works best for each situation as they continue to improve.  I suspect that the overall protocol improvements that Dr Gross makes will continue to limit the failures.  A protocol resulting in 0 neck fractures on high risk patients is a huge deal.

[obxpelican]

What makes Dr. Gross's uncemented numbers so really really good is that he takes patients like you who are at a higher risk for fractures and he makes it all work with great results.

I am glad you are doing well, keep it up you will be walking before too long.


Chuck

[einreb]

8 days post op

The 'slow recovery program' (10% weight bearing for 4 weeks) has me bouncing off the walls, but I am trying to keep it in perspective that I need to invest this relatively short slowdown time for a long term solution.

I can easily crank through my PT exercises with very little pain after.  I throw in extra reps since I feel strong.  I still have serious weakness moving my leg in certain directions, but It looks like that strength is regained in the phase 2 exercises.

I drove yesterday (no narcotics during the day) to pick my kids up from school and we all went out to dinner.  I took an oxycotin last night when I went to sleep.  I don't know how much I need it for pain, but it makes it very simple to fall asleep.  That stuff knocks me out.  I think I may try to skip it tonight.  I wonder if 8 evenings on that stuff will have me feeling odd when I stop.  ::)

[obxpelican]

That short time on a narcotic should not hurt you, other than loose stool when you stop sometimes.  I was on it for months before my surgery and I had some minor stomach issues but it went away in a week or so.  YMMV.


Keep up the great rehabbing. The phase II are more wicked, even my PT told me she was surprised the excercises were as much as they were.


Chuck