Bionic's Bone Blog

[obxpelican]

Clunks are normal, so is a feeling like a sucking feeling and release that I got.

You're walking now, tomorrow will be better.   Keep doing your excercises and moving that old log around you're doing well, the low blood pressure thing does happen.

Your travel day will tax you a bit, but you'll do fine, you may also find Sunday that you're swollen, ice and elevate.

So you were an end stager too.  Cool!

Chuck

[Todd]

Bionic,

Don't worry.  The feeling fine one minute, then wondering if you'll make it back to bed without falling on your face sounds familiar.  Rest yourself.  You've been through some serious surgery and your body is telling you it's not ready to take on the world yet.  You'll be skipping through the halls soon enough, so best not to mess up your face by taking a header in the hospital.  Good luck!

[Bionic]

So you were an end stager too.  Cool!

You can check out my x-rays at the first post of this thread and see how bad mine look compared to yours.  My arthritis felt pretty end-stage to me, but I did not wait to become totally crippled (like some people ;) )

I just had my dressings changed.  This new one should last for 7 days, and I will be able to shower with it.  Of course I stood up to allow the nurse to change them.  I figured I was okay since I had been sitting a long time and was pretty clear-headed.

But no! :(  After about 10 seconds I was turning gray again and barely made it back to my chair on time.  Now I'm receiving another bolus of IV, in an attempt to raise my BP.

The nurse thinks I'm still suffering the after-effects of the spinal.  It can cause the veins in the legs to dilate, which means all the blood flows to my legs whenever I stand.  Let's hope for a better day tomorrow.

[Bionic]

You'll be skipping through the halls soon enough, so best not to mess up your face by taking a header in the hospital.  Good luck!

Yes.  Face replacements have not come nearly as far as hip replacements ;) (by which I mean to include resurfacings).

At least my brain sort of works when I'm sitting down.  I have to say, though, that I'm finding myself forgetting a lot of what happens to me.  I'm still drugged on narcotics.  When was my last pain pill?  Don't remember.  I think the BP issue is also making me forgetful.  It's a good thing my wife is with me, to be the official rememberer.

[Todd]

I had a spinal too, and had similar symptoms.  2 minutes laying down with my feet up cleared up most of the issues when I went grey.  On my 2 hour ride home from the hospital, I felt pretty good until the last 15 minutes where I barely made it into the house and into bed--5 minutes on my back and felt fine again.  I also had some pretty stiff headaches for a couple days after getting home which I was told were likely due to the spinal still wearing off.  You've got so many fun, new things to look forward to, but it's all worth it in the end!

[Bionic]

I believe this comment pertains mostly to men, but maybe also to women.

I got a Foley catheter for surgery and recovery.  It was removed this morning.  Peeing through a Foley was not a problem, but I did find it became more difficult this morning than it was last night.

After the Foley was removed, there was a period of time when I felt that I might not be able to hold back my pee.  One of the nurses gave me a hand-held urinal, and I just set that up to catch anything that might drip out.

After a couple of hours, I started to feel more in control.  I felt like I had to go and I tried and tried, but to little avail.  I sat there for 20 minutes trying to pee.  The most I could accomplish was a little squirt here and there.

This improved on the second attempt just before lunch this afternoon.  It took only 15 minutes this time, and I was able to eliminate a much higher volume of urine.  Finally, at 4:30 today, I tried going for a third time, and it was a much more normal experience.  Thank goodness for that.

The nurses have been really very respectful of my privacy.  Not every one is happy to drop trou in front of a team of nurses.  Without my even asking, they took care to only expose me as minimally as necessary.  I thought this was nice even though I frankly was prepared for much worse.  I have to say I've feel very comfortable with the nursing staff here.

Number 2 has not been an issue for me yet.  I simply haven't had to go in over 20 hours.  One of the nurses mentioned that this was normal, as was the trouble peeing, since the bladder and bowels are the last things to "wake up" after receiving a spinal.

Sorry to be gross, but I think lots of people are probably interested in how their bodily functions are attended to in the hospital.

[obxpelican]

Bionic,

Ask for some juices tonight, also make sure they are giving you stool softeners.  Your problem won't be #1 as all of your descriptions were right on.  It's my opinion that the more you drink the better to flush your system out, including all of those drugs they gave you.

Pain meds will cause a massive case of constipation, I mean you will feel like you are passing big sharp rocks----ask for several glasses of fruit juices and also grapes are good too.

Pain meds always drive my system crazy. 



Chuck

[Bionic]

I just got my surgical report.  It looks like it my acetabular component's inclination is about 35-degrees, if I'm reading it properly.  I'll ask Dr. Gross to confirm when I see him tomorrow. 

[obxpelican]

You missed perfect by 5 degrees if your measurement is correct.


Chuck

[JeanM]

Bionic,
Congratulations and welcome to SurfaceHippydom!  I've enjoyed reading your posts!  I also had issues with my blood pressure and my heart rate during my time in the hospital.  My heart rate was so low that anytime I drifted off to sleep, my heart rate dropped into the 30's, so I would set off the alarm on the heart rate monitor and all the nurses would come running into my room.  I thought that it would be great to go into the surgery in the best shape possible.  LOL!   I didn't anticipate that having a low resting heart rate would pose such a problem!  Anyway, they finally re-adjusted the threshold on the heart rate monitor and that solved that problem.  But, my blood pressure was really low too.  I was very weak and every time I got up to walk to the bathroom, I got very dizzy and nauseous.  My surgery was during the week of the Democratic Convention and I'll never forgot that I was vomiting into a bucket while watching Barack Obama  giving his acceptance speech.  All I could think was 'this wasn't how I pictured this moment!'.  By Friday (discharge day, my numbers started to come up to normal levels and I felt much better. 

Regarding the catheter, it can pose an issue for women too.  After they removed my catheter, I drank and drank, my bladder become fuller and fuller.  But, I had no sensation that I needed to pee.  The nurses kept asking me if I peed.  I kept saying no.  They kept saying 'well, we won't be able to release you tomorrow unless you pee, so drink more'.   I drank more.  I tried and tried.  But, I still couldn't pee!  They finally measured my bladder and then it turned into a total emergency situation!  My bladder was way too full.  So, then they brought a team of nurses in and installed another catheter (Ugh!) right on the spot to drain it!   Talk about losing all inhibitions and having no sense of shame at this point!  Anyway, once they drained that all out, the sensation to pee returned and everyting functioned normally.  Whew!  Their explanation was that after having the spinal it can take awhile for everything to 'wake up' and start functioning normally. 

In any case, you will be surprised how quickly you bounce back in the next couple of days.  Remember, your polar care ice machine is your best buddy.  Best of luck to you!!

Jeanie

[Bionic]

Jeanie,

I'm sorry you had such problems, but it's good that your sense of humor came through intact.  Misery loves company, I guess, and it's great we can share all of our miserable stories here.

My nurse referred to me this morning as a "complicated case," because of my problems with blood pressure.  I've been drinking and peeing as never before--peed about 1.5 liters last night!  I hope that means I'm flushing the spinal anesthesia out of my system.

I'm supposed to be released today, but I don't think they'll let me go if I can't walk or climb stairs.  I also desperately need a shower.  It's Friday and my last shower was Wednesday morning.

The nurses cut my narcotic dosage in half because they thought it was contributing to the BP problems.  The goal is to get me through PT this morning (without collapsing).  As much as I like the nurses here, it will be a relief to be back in the hotel.

By the way, the food here really is not so bad.  I've enjoyed all my meals.  I actually had grits for breakfast yesterday.  I guess you could call that a treat.  I also ate scrambled eggs, sausage, juice, milk, coffee, and wheat toast.

I was very cold last night, despite my 2 blankets and thermostat being set to 75.  Maybe it was the polar ice machine, or perhaps a sign that my parasympathetic nervous system is finally waking up.

Still no BMs.  After Chuck's depiction of his first after surgery, it is not something I look forward to.

My hip still feels pretty good, but the front of my thigh is achy and extremely weak.  As others have reported, I cannot lift my leg at all.  I got my "hip kit" yesterday, but it's now sitting in my hotel room.

I understand Dr. Gross is expected to come by soon.  I'm looking forward to seeing him.

Chuck: Are you saying 40-degrees is "perfect?"  I've been looking for some guidelines for optimal inclination.  Where did you see the 40-degree number?

Frankly, 35-degrees doesn't seem bad to me.  Maybe it's not optimal for motocross, but it seems okay for walking, running, and biking.  Metal ions shouldn't be a big issue.

[obxpelican]

Bionic,

To the best of my knowledge 40 degrees is optimal.  Dr. Gross could probably enlighten you better, but I think that is correct.  Compare your x-ray to the one on Pat's home page, I think that is optimal.

Get some grapes for the hotel tonight, although I guess it's possible they might hold you over another night due to your blood pressure issue, I've never heard low blood pressure not working out in the end.

Did you get the kit yet?  The grabber, the sock puller are excellent, I myself never used the sponge..... my wife helps with that kind of thing.   ;D

I expect you to be released walking without any assistance going to Hooters for beer and mussels.   :D

Don't get down, you have a temporary delay in your rehab due to BP, but we're all different.  Make sure you do those excercises and plenty of foot pumps.

Chuck

[JeanM]

Bionic
Good luck with getting released today!  I remember there was a world of difference between how I felt on Thursday vs. Friday.  I hope this is the case for you too!  By Friday, I felt pretty much back to normal and all of my stats returned to normal.  I was released from the hospital around noon. I guess one thing I did have going for me is that I had no pain, so I didn't have to take any of the narcotic painkillers and they also didn't give me the Lyrica because of my low blood pressure.  So, I didn't have the additional challenge of trying to tolerate all those additional medications. 

Best of Luck!

Jeanie

[obxpelican]

Jean,

You followed me by a few weeks, was it still hot in Columbia the end of August?

How are you progressing now?



Chuck

[Bionic]

Things are looking up!  My BP seems to have stabilized at around 125/60.  That was enough to be allowed down the hall and back on crutches and up and down the stairs, and therefore to meet the discharge requirements.

Since I had had problems with BP, I was told I was to stay in the hospital until the afternoon; I will probably be released around 2pm.  The really good news is I've taken a shower!  My nurse moved the commode chair into the shower, which allowed me to clean up all the sweat, urine, and Betadyne encrusted on my skin (thanks to some help from my wife).

I also managed my first BM in two days, and it was (thankfully) uneventful--not at all like broken glass.

So, all systems appear to be working.

I'm getting along better on crutches, although I find it painful to put my full weight on the operated leg.  I have one more PT session today, before I'm released.

So I appear to be pulling out of my fog.  I'm eager to get back to the hotel.

Dr. Gross stopped by for rounds earlier today.  He thought 35-degrees was pretty good.  He had previously seen a guy with 25-degrees who had awesome ROM.  The bigger issue is that you don't want to go above 55-degrees.  That causes the region of maximum stress on the acetabular component (I think he called it the "scar") to be located right on the edge of the implant.  That can cause high wear.

He also pointed out that those OR x-rays are not especially accurate for measuring implant angle, and can be off by +/- 5 or 10 degrees.

[Bionic]

I'm back at the hotel and feelin' fine.  I've got my ice machine chugging away, got some hydrocodone on board, and expect my in-laws to arrive for a visit shortly (they live about an hour away).

One downside of the Residence Inn--the hospital attendant can't wheel you back there after you're discharged.  I had thought someone would arrange transportation, but no one did.  After some confusion with me waiting outside in a wheelchair, the attendant wheeled me back into the hospital.  I was expecting a long wait, which wasn't really welcome since my pain meds were wearing off and I was feeling my first real, deep pain since the operation.

Thankfully, one of the nurse managers took mercy on me (it is a Catholic hospital after all!) and personally drove me, my wife, and our luggage over the hotel.  These people literally go the extra mile.

So, here I am, back in the hotel where I started.  Did all this really happen?  Am I truly a surface hippy?  With the help of narcotics, the experience has been a bit surreal.  But the 4-inch incision in my butt tells me it was not merely a dream.

I go home tomorrow.

[karenj_m]

Look at all these wonderful Dr. Gross hippies! Woo-hoo!

Congrats Bionic...I hope you have smooth travelling going home.

ICE, ICE, Baby (to keep the bruising/swelling down)....I left that ice machine on constantly.

Karen
RH Biomet uncemented / Dr. Gross (SC) 04/02/08

[Bionic]

Hi Karen,

I feel honored that you made your first post in this thread.  I plan on keeping my ice machine going as long as possible.

[Bionic]

By the way, does anybody manage to sleep after surgery?  3 or 4 hours is about all I've been able to manage, including last night.  Ugh!

I fly home today.

[Todd]

Sleep was difficult and interruppted for a couple weeks in my experience.  Be thankful you aren't sweating like you're in a sauna.  Actually, in the days after leaving the hospital, I was up at least once or twice a night for many nights.  Always had to pee.  The nurses got me overly worrried about being able to go #2 once I got home due to constipation.  That added (unnecessary) stress didn't help either.  It was several days until I had what was a normal BM.  No real issues to speak of other than the worry as I was expecting some horrific pain and suffering if I didn't go as soon as they expected.  I mentioned earlier about sweating which bothered me for a couple weeks after surgery.  In addition, I would wake up freezing and shivering/shaking.  I would think that is somewhat common after surgery as you are getting the meds out and your body is regrouping after being cut open and rebuilt.