Now I Know Nickel Allergy to my BHRs - On The Path To Healing

[Two4One]

Big doings went down on the Recovery Express yesterday.  During my OT, Carrie said I was "scary way ahead" in my skill and activity level, and she said I was focused like a laser to battle back, not only to my fitness, but also to my life prior to my 2 yr confinement.  She cautioned me to keep it in check and not drive too fast at my recovery.

My fantastic day yesterday with Harry and Carrie with lots and lots of PT and OT, led me to a late night run on toast, butter, & jelly, topped by iced skim milk, and a 10mg Vicodin.  I finally drifted off, but at 5am all my atrophied muscles up and down both sides of my body woke me up.  Today is an 'easy' training day with doing my basic bed and chair PT, but what's new is I'll be doing more reps and trying to rest a little too.  That's really hard.

Rest is a bone of contention right now.  Hubs says I'm not napping and 'relaxing' like I should.  He says I should be off the computer and looking at 4 walls 'relaxing like they did back in the 1940s'.  :P  That does not sound relaxing at all to me!  As if.  No, today I'll write long overdue Thank You notes to all the wonderful people in my life for their gifts, flowers, cards, notes, emails, and calls.   While not doing chair time, making my own meals, doing PT, walking laps from my kitchen to the bathroom, all I DO all day is lay flat on my back.  I have been flat on my back for 2 years and being on the computer is my way to get through this, just like a lot of people here. Hubs wants only the best for me, he wants to care of me, and he's doing a bang up job. 

What is your opinion about computer use vs. 'rest'?

I had a good day yesterday and was busting down my stall.  Today, my low rider drives a little slower.  It's an 'easy' training day.  Therefore, my goal is to sustain newly increased PT reps, per Harry's law.  (I don't watch it, but couldn't resist.) ;)

[Two4One]

Captain's Log, Stardate 12.29.11

5:00am   8mg Dilaudid
Pain '7'-  Stiff and sore
7:15       10mg Vicodin - Pain 7, Knees Cramping 9
7:50       Chair Time - Iced
8:50       Chair Complete- Iced hips, Iced knees, R knee 8, ankle pumps, isometrics, skipped Sitting Knee extensions
              because of knee pain.     Hip pain is an 8.
9:15        8mg  Dilaudid
12:40      7.5mg Norco
3:15        8mg Dilaudid      
6:20pm   7.5 Norco
5:45        Chair and Ice for one hour.  Tomorrow, try breaking Chair Time into smaller chunks.
7:30        7.5mg Norco, 2.5 Ativan
9:15        8mg Dilaudid
11:00      7.5mg Norco & 10mg Ambien
Pain '4" -  Ice followed by heat is a wonder formula!
12:30am   Resting pain a 2l

*** Tomorrow, we'll have a plan for weaning off all narcotics, except for the very occasional Vicodin.  I can tell after one day of following the RN's instruction that I'll become more and more comfortable and have a much easier time of tapering off Dilaudid.  Starting Friday, l'm omitting tables of my daily pain medication intake because I've now accomplished my goal of sharing my somewhat unique experience with other pre operative hipsters . ***




.

[Woodstock Hippy]

Do you have a heating pad?  I have a large one, around 32 x 18.  I use it almost every night before sleep and almost every morning before I get up.  It helps a lot to loosen things up.

[Two4One]

I have several large heating pads and have not used them once because I thought I was supposed to only ice! 

Great suggestion, Woody, because I think heat, along with ice, will really help with the tightness & spasms and help me taper faster.

A Big Thank You.

[Woodstock Hippy]

I also heat up before most workouts and always ice after.

Glad I can help!

[Luanna]

Hi Two4One,

Computer is good. Support systems are essential. Hubby needs to start bringing you meals and wonderful gifts that thrill you and make you want to hug him.  ;)

My pain management doc just recently (late last week) put me on a medication called Baclofen. It works on the Gaba receptors in the brain and relaxes the skeletal muscles. It's different than typically prescribed muscle relaxers like Flexeril.

After only one week, I'm seeing great improvements in the reduction of spasms and tightness. I'm able to exercise more easily without getting tight after a workout and I'm quite a bit more comfortable. After my back went into spasm, I spent a month getting tighter and tighter. The Baclofen seems to have broken that pain cycle by loosening up the muscles.

I don't know if this is something that might be helpful at this stage in your recovery. You might want to run it by your RN.

Luanna

[Two4One]

Computer is good. Support systems are essential. Hubby needs to start bringing you meals and wonderful gifts that thrill you and make you want to hug him.  ;)

Lol, Luanna!!

Hubs says he's accepting donations ;D.

Tomorrow morning I see my pain doctor, and we'll discuss.  I make a point to only use drugs of any stripe that are 'old', on the market for 15 years+, so that puts some limits on him.  The visiting RN had a surprising answer (Thank You God) to my post op pain that i talk about in my next post.

After only one week, I'm seeing great improvements in the reduction of spasms and tightness.

Yay!!!

[Two4One]

At 12noon today, RN Melissa said I was not taking enough pain medication, I didn't see that coming.  She wants me to extend the time between my 4 daily doses of Dilaudid to six hours.  In order to accomplish that, Melissa wants me to take TWO 7.5 Norcos for breakthrough pain in between the Dilaudid base.  From there, I'll have the correct relief base to taper from.

The nurse was right! She said I've been in a pain hole and needed to get all the way out of it.  Melissa explained my post op pain severity is due to a trifecta of a perfect storm: undiagnosed bone on bone OA for an extraordinary length of time, built up narcotic tolerance as a result, and I haven't gotten ahead of my pain since before my surgery.  Melissa also endorsed heat plus ice, and that has settled it all right down!  With some extra Norco I'm finally down to a "2" today and have been all afternoon, and, boy, am I grateful.

[Woodstock Hippy]

Ah, I'm glad thinks are going back in the right direction.

Now...........let the dancing begin!

[Two4One]

Hehehe.  You betcha!

[Two4One]

1 and 1:30pm - Harry the Vendantic PT prescribes:  Meditations 2xdaily and work toward not working, and letting go of thoughts until there are no thoughts and there is only IS, being and uniting with the all.

4pm: My gratitude for light, my thanks for peace.  After my very painful doctor trip this morning that seemed unnecessary and even cruel at the time, I'm very, very lucky to know that the universe (Lord) will provide the right people to come into your life at the most opportune moment possible.  All will be swept away before me, leaving the best behind, a calm and measured recovery. 

My enforced rest day today provided me with the gifts of mental PT, every bit as important as physical conditioning of the body.  I'm growing, through fits and starts, into a brand new body mind and it's kinda weird and scary to throw off old ways of thinking, and it's different to embrace the fear of fear, & the fear of natural, normal recovery pain.
      
Everybody knows with hip resurfacing, everything goes so much easier when pain is controlled.  Am I right?

'Stay ahead of the pain' seems to be one of the Surface Hippies' prime directives.  I would really appreciate learning about everyone's story of how you experienced those tough 2 weeks post op.  I especially would be grateful if those of you who are IN their first two weeks post op chimed in.

What struggles are you experiencing overcoming those first 2 weeks of post op pain?  Those of you past the intense 2 weeks post op, what do you recall?

[bilateralbliss]

Hi everyone. Had both mine done on Dec 6th by Mr McMinn in Birmingham. He and his staff were superb, felt was in the best possible hands. The weekend before I was crying with the pain in bed, bent over when walking in agony.
The hospital was excellent.
When I came too afterwards I was on a high, didn`t sleep til 4am when the tubes etc were removed. Had pain when
epidural was taken out, staff soon sorted that out. Day two was faint when attemting to walk so had two pints of blood,
after which felt much better.
Came home after a week, only taking Ibuprofen and Paracetamol. Healing pain was nothing compared to the agony beforehand. Exercises have become easier as time as past, especially last couple of days, felt the strength returning, had a great day today:)

[Two4One]

Thank you, Bilateralbliss.

[jon]

Hi everyone. Had both mine done on Dec 6th by Mr McMinn in Birmingham. He and his staff were superb, felt was in the best possible hands. The weekend before I was crying with the pain in bed, bent over when walking in agony.
The hospital was excellent.
When I came too afterwards I was on a high, didn`t sleep til 4am when the tubes etc were removed. Had pain when
epidural was taken out, staff soon sorted that out. Day two was faint when attemting to walk so had two pints of blood,
after which felt much better.
Came home after a week, only taking Ibuprofen and Paracetamol. Healing pain was nothing compared to the agony beforehand. Exercises have become easier as time as past, especially last couple of days, felt the strength returning, had a great day today:)

Great report...

Motivating...

[Two4One]

Updates from the front of my Recovery - Completely Normal Ups and Downs

This morning is much better.  Perfect healing doesn't go in a straight line.

My recovery from my December 20, 2011 Bilateral Hip Resurfacing has been enlightening.

God has plans for me. thank you for your continued prayers, best wishes, or vibes, and for lifting me up to the Lord and the Universe.  I am grateful.  It's working.....this spring I'll be hiking in green pastures with my husband, and my little dog Boo, and the sun will be bright and strong.

I have faith the size of a mustard seed.

Amen.

'One

[Dan L]

Awesome positive visualization, sure to help a huge amount, I'm far from a NormanVincentPealian, but keeping similar positive outlooks through this process is one pf the keys to success.  Keep after it, you're doing great!

Dan

[Luanna]

Very nice positive affirmation. We are going to start putting up one affirmation a week on the refrigerator. They can make a big difference. My hubby trained at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado and a huge part of getting the olympic athletes ready for competition (40%) is using visualization and positive affirmation techniques.

Truly very powerful tools to have in your health and wellness toolbox.

Luann

[Two4One]

Lol Dan L  ;D

I'm far from a NormanVincentPealian,

!

Luann, Wow! (par for the course for you)

My hubby trained at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado and a huge part of getting the olympic athletes ready for competition (40%) is using visualization and positive affirmation techniques.

I'm running with the Big Dogs now!  Awooooooo!!  Dog is now looking at me just like Hubs, "who's the crazy lady?", but pup loves getting cheese for the new "sit pretty I taught him post op.

[Two4One]

1pm - Hubs gave me a 10 min massage and calmed my hip, knee, and thigh right down.  Blessings Flow.

[Two4One]

Tomorrow will be even better, and each day is better than the one before.

My hips will settle down from their flare up.  Recovery is just like a winning stock chart, lots of bear retracements and bull runs....ups and downs....then one day you are well.  All you have to do is hang in there....that's life...I will be well because I can do everything about it.

Hope you all have a good weekend and a wonderful, Happy New Year!

'One