Bilateral with Dr Gross, April 2016

[Quig]

Home sweet home. And it was the hardest part, Blinky.

Time for rest. Full report to follow.

[Quig]

R Hip Day 7, L Hip Day 5.

What day is it? South Carolina? Surgery? Seems like it has been weeks ago and it was juuuuuust last week. At this point it's all a bit of a blur but a night at home in my own bed with my girl and my dog and things are definitely looking up!


I've tried to keep this thing updated fairly regularly but between the stress, and the pain meds, and the anesthesia, and the anesthesia problems (more on that later...) and the travel, and the, well, you get it...


So the surgeries themselves both went well. Before leaving the hospital I had a chance to talk quite a bit with both Lee, and Dr. Gross about my hips. Both agreed they were really, really ugly. I've known that for years but I guess it was nice to have it confirmed by those who repaired the damage.


Following my Weds Left Hip Surgery I had a really terrible headache. We chalked it up to the stress of surgery and the narcotic pain meds. When it was still there, and worse on Thursday I got stubborn, quit the meds and waited. If anything, the headaches got worse, a lot worse. Like, debilitating, brain doesn't work, hallucinations, etc... worse. My gf started doing a little homework online and stumbled across a side effect to a Spinal anesthesia called a 'Spinal Headache'. It's a result of spinal fluid leaking out of the hole for your spinal and lowering the pressure of the fluid that your brain and spinal cord live in. The more you're upright, the more leaks out, the lower the pressure gets the worse it hurts. Let's just say it is pretty awful. At some point I think Friday afternoon Lee came by and we talked about it. She said put a 'Core Compression Strap" (?) around my abdomen and get horizontal and see if it takes care of itself. If not, I could get a 'Blood Patch' where blood is injected near the injection sight to fix the problem but that had it's own risks and I had to stop the blood thinners 24 hours earlier. Dr. Gross warned me that if we didn't get the problem fixed, sitting upright in airplanes with the pressure differences were going to make the trip home pretty miserable. I spent two days horizontal wearing the strap, trying to heal, no pain meds. Surprisingly, the hips were never, ever a problem. Each time I got up I was shocked by how much easier it was than the time before and by how good my mobility was. Even with no pain meds for two days. At some point during this mess our flights home got cancelled due to some airline issue and rescheduled  for Sunday. I ended up staying Friday night in the hospital and after waking up feeling the best yet on Saturday I decided to roll the dice and attempt the flights home early Sunday morning without the 'Blood Patch'.


The short version of the story is that it was sheer misery. Maybe the hardest day of my life. I don't regret it, I knew what I was getting myself into and I so wanted to be home it was worth it but it was miserable in a way I can't really put into words. Each flight was me sitting nearly comatose with my shades on and a towel over my eyes to block the light just waiting for it to be over. And I usually LOVE air travel! As ugly as it was, guess what... I made it home just fine.


Overall?


Would I do it all again? Without a second thought. I can't say enough about Dr. Gross and his team. They truly are all worthy of all the praise you read here. Not only are they all amazingly good at what they do, they're all FANTASTICALLY nice, caring people. Seriously, I can't say enough good things about them.


The hips are great! I know I'm trying to find a silver lining to this problem with the spinal headache but there's a part of me that actually thinks it's a good thing right now. Why? Because it's going to MAKE me take it easy for a large part near future... I feel so good that without something to keep me down I'd have a helluva hard time not doing too much. I can walk fairly easily without crutches though I'm trying desperately not to for more than a few steps. In and out of the car? No biggie. Sleeping? NO issue whatsoever which has completely blown me away because I'm NOT a back sleeper. So, I guess I'm trading huuuuuuuuuge posititves with some of the normal problematic stuff for the spinal setback. Each day my flexibility improves a bit and my ability to get in and out of bed  and in and out of a seated position improves a bit. I was terrified of steps and stairs and though I haven't done true flights of stairs yet, steps up and down aren't even the slightest concern. I went for a short walk outside this morning and really noticed how uneven ground (driveways on the sidewalk) were very noticeable and weird. I'm sure I'm in for countless more examples of this... 


Sorry for the rambling, whacky update... I guess I'm just excited to be home with overall very positive news and the actual ability to think clearly enough to type it up. Off to run a couple errands in a few minutes.


I hope everyone else is doing well also!

[Ljpviper]

You made it home, that's awesome. I guess a lesson here is that no matter how good Dr. Gross and his staff are these are major surgeries. Some people have easy recoveries some don't. Good to hear your better now. His staff is outstanding

Yeah I am still wiggling around but getting better myself.

Larry

[blinky]

So it was a spinal headache? Whoa, that's bad. Never had one, but have heard about them as a side effect of spinals/epidurals. Is it gone now? At least fading?


Yeah, the only good news there is that the pain from the head drowned out the pain from the hips.

[Quig]

Glad to hear you're doing better Larry! And you're right, these are major surgeries. I chalk up the spinal thing to a general 'surgical risk' kinda thing. This stuff happens...


Blinky, the headache seems to be improving but is still here if I'm on my feet too much. Just got home from doing some running around. Stopped at work for a bit and a couple other short stops and I'm feeling it for sure. Everyone is blown away with my mobility, kinda nice to see all the "Wows!!". It's kick back time though, head isn't happy and I'm sure the hips need some ice and some rest. I'm shocked how quickly I get tired at this point too, it doesn't take much at all and I need a break.

[jd]

Wow quig, sorry to hear about the spinal headache, that sounds brutal! You must be extremely tough to tolerate flying in such a state. I'm glad you're back home and getting better!

[Quig]

Thanks jd, I reeeeeeeally wanted to get home.  ;)

[Kingrob]

Quig,

I had spinal headaches after my surgery as well - I guess that is what they are called. My hip was fine after the surgery but those headaches blew me away. When I laid down they would eventually go away. They came and went for about 3 weeks. I Have not had any in quite a while. Good luck,

[Quig]

Kingrob,


Yeah, isn't it amazing how quickly the headache subsides when you lay down? I was in really rough shape arriving in the airport in San Francisco and we asked the assistance person if there was a place I could lay down for a bit, he led us to a 'Yoga Room' near our departure gate (who knew airports had Yoga Rooms!?). That room gave me a quiet, dimly lit place to lay on my back for a half hour or so. That single helpful event may have just saved my trip home. 

I'm glad to hear your headaches went away... I'm damn sure looking forward to mine coming to an end also.

[badbone]

Quig


Sorry to hear that you had a leaky puncture.
A spinal headache is the worst thing you can imagine.
My brother had it and had to fly from France to LAX.
HE LAYED on the floor the entire flight.


Glad to hear you are home.
Nothing like being in your own bed.


Glad to hear your hips are Movin and grovin

[Quig]

R Hip Day 9, L Hip Day 7.

Totally Movin and Groovin! Thanks, Badbone! And yeah, the spinal headache combined with air travel was beyond miserable. If there was room for me to lay down I absolutely would have. On a flight the duration of France to LAX it would be unavoidable. Glad he made it ok!


I cannot believe the daily progress. Everything just keeps getting easier. Plenty of soft tissue grumpiness but each day it's less and I'm just blown away at the improvements. Last night I was able to sleep on either side (with a pillow between my knees) with very little discomfort. I also slept a while on my stomach. Not feeling confined to my back is really nice. I just went for a slow, easy walk around the block and am headed into work today for a half day or so after a session with the ice machine. I'm pinching myself multiple times a day...

[blinky]

So glad to hear this! It is amazing.

[Ljpviper]

Wow that's seroius progress your making, work allready, noooo.


Glad to hear.

[badbone]

Quig


Outstanding news!!!
It truly is amazing.
Glad to read about your progress!!
I'm sure you are elated you went bi- lateral.


Keep up the great progress

[Ljpviper]

How did your week go?


Larry

[Quig]

How did your week go?


Larry

Honestly, things are going so damn well I'm scared to mention it for fear of jinxing myself!  :-\


Tomorrow will be the two week mark for surgery #1. Each and every day I see solid improvement in pretty much everything. All are small advances, but noticeable ones. I dropped the crutches a while back and am getting around easily, comfortably and limp free. I have some discomfort when going from sitting to standing or vice versa and when getting in and out of the car. Each is improving steadily and I'm mainly being careful to not break the 90 degree rule.


We have a cabin up in the mountains and I thought for sure I'd need to take a significant break from the place due to the steep, uneven terrain on the property and the abundance of stairs. After feeling so good last week I decided to head up and give it a try. To my amazement, none of it bothered me at all. I did have to use a bit more caution and slow things down a bit but that was more a precaution than a necessity. The biggest surprise was the stairs, one foot over the other without the handrail with not the slightest issue. I was dumbfounded. Granted, I can feel little twinges here and there and I'm certainly a bit weak but nowhere near where I expected to be.


I'm becoming all too aware how hard it's going to be to truly take it easy in the upcoming weeks. I do NOT want to screw anything up!

[blinky]

Ha! It was funny how at first walking a mile every day sounded like it would be a Big Goal, a challenge, and before I knew it, I was trying to figure out how to make that mile be two miles....was there a way to reinterpret what Dr Gross said to give some leeway?


Yeah, don't overdo it. You want everything to heal just right and these hips to last long term.

[Ljpviper]

Good to hear, that's awesome progress. I am walking with no crutches as well. Trying hard not to break the 90 rule. You will have no restrictions by October, enjoy the Cali weather and all your outdoor sports.


Good luck


Larry

[Quig]

Thanks guys, it's nice to have good progress to report!


Speaking of which, today is my official 2 week mark! The progress continues! I've been back at work full time since last Thursday. My dad and I own and run a small independent optical shop, I spend A LOT of time on my feet helping customers and manufacturing eyeglasses. Even though I'm certainly more tired than normal by the time I get home I think it's actually a good set up for recovery. I'm up and down lots and do quite a bit of easy walking. If I get tired I can go recline in the back and recover as necessary. Last week I even brought my ice machine and iced mid-day.


I've been walking quite regularly with walks around the neighborhood and trips to the dog park. This morning I went back to the gym for the first time. Obviously I took it relatively easy but it sure felt good to get a decent workout in and sweat a little! Walking on the treadmill gets boring quickly though... I'm soooooo looking forward to getting back on a bicycle, even if it has to be the stationary bike to start. I've sat on my spin bike at home and pedaled very, very easily with no resistance for a couple minutes with no problem whatsoever. It's warming up here and I'm also counting down to the 4 week mark to get in the pool.


I continue to have little twinges of pain if I move wrong and I think that's expected at this point so it doesn't bother me and they all do seem to be improving daily. Things like getting in and out of the car are very, very little problem now even stepping in normally.


I hope everyone else is also having successful recoveries!  8)

[jd]

I hear you on the treadmill! It was much more enjoyable initially when I just walked around my neighborhood outside.

I did use the treadmill later for to walk up a steep incline in a consistent way, but I ditched it as soon as I was allowed to lift weights instead :)