Hello all, I am an official Gross hippy! My surgery was on Wednesday and it was a breeze. I actually wasn't worried about the surgery as much as I am of the recovery. I have to gush over Dr. Gross, Lee, Nancy, Erin and the entire staff at Midland. I also have been very impressed with Providence and it's staff. I showed up at 8 a.m. and was greeted right away by staff who showed me to registration. Very soon thereafter I was taken to pre-op where I was prepped and then taken to get my dexa scan. Yay! My bones are apparently good. Next back to pre-op to finish with surgery prep. A half a dozen people must have come and gone. One thing for sure, they are not going to operate on the wrong limb here. I was given all sorts of happy meds before being wheeled into the OR, within seconds I was out of it. That's when I entered dream scape. I wanted to ask if I had been given some psychedelic drug because it was truly a strange trip. I was like living in a Salvador Dali painting. Gradually, I started coming out of it and I was in recovery. My BP spiked during surgery, so they kept me in recovery longer then most.
I was finally taken to my room and settled in. Since the spinal had worn off, they went ahead and got me up on the walker. I was pretty sore, but managed to go up and down the hall. Still very stiff and I can't really bend the leg at all. Dr Gross said that was normal. Now I'm waiting for PT and OT. I can't wait for OT so I can be given the go ahead to shower and dress. I hate these gowns.
I am so glad I chose to come here and highly recommend it to everyone. The night before surgery we went to the Solstice Kitchen since it was recommended here and OMG, I may move here just for their dirty martinis. Best one I have had in forever. I got a scallop dish that was fabulous - and I usually tend to shy away from scallops because I have had some bad ones in the past. Thank all of you who recommended this restaurant.
Even the hotel was very nice for a Residence Inn. I drove up with my sister, so we reserved a two room suite and it has worked out very well. Each room has a private bathroom and the room has a nice sized kitchen with dishwasher, stove, and fridge. The courtyard is closer, but either way we were going to have to drive to the hospital, so it made sense for us to opt for the double suite at the Residence Inn.
I'm just so glad to be on the other side. PT is here, so I have to go!
Edited because my subject line went away. :o
"WELCOME TO THE OTHER SIDE CTB"
(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z263/kelley124_photos/2.jpg)
Congrats. I'm exactly a week ahead of you. I was pretty happy with the hospital staff as well. Not once did anyone seem put out by a request for help with something. I know nurses and techs sometimes get bad attitudes after dealing with people needing stuff all say every day. Not once did I ever feel that at Providence.
Congrats CTB! excellent news that everything went fine.
I am not surprised Dr. Gross has a top notch crew for sure.
Chuck
Thanks all - I just finished with PT then OT (shower - yay!) then xray followed immediately by group PT. Whew! But it was worth it because I can feel a world of difference in my leg since I got up this morning. :)
Wecome, it's all downhill from here, you're going to love your new hip!
Thanks Dan -I already do! I'm sitting here with no pain whatsoever (ok, the meds may be helping a bit) but prior to surgery I was in constant pain - either stabbing or throbbing - and most meds gave me very little relief. I am also looking forward to the day my sister can't call me Quasimodo anymore. ;D
She'll come up with something else - sisters are like that.
Congratulations, CTB, welcome to the club! Glad you're feeling well
Quote from: hernanu on March 22, 2012, 03:38:31 PM
She'll come up with something else - sisters are like that.
Haha - so true. This is the same sister who told me I was a hypochondriac right before I was admitted to the hospital with an asthma attack. And she's a doctor. ::)
Glad it worked out well. It only gets better.
Congratulations, wishing you a quick recovery.
Hey CTB...Thanks for the info and keep posting...I'm one week behind you (scheduled w Dr. Gross 3/28) and have you and jbennet to look to for advice..All the best and good luck,
Larry
Congratulations on the new hip! I hope your recovery goes by quickly. Take it easy and stay in touch when you can. Your last dinner before crossing over sounds fantastic!
Good Luck.
Pat
AWESOME!!!! Ctb, Enjoy the new ride!
Curt
Sweet! You won't believe how good you'll feel one week from today. Then, you won't believe how good you feel two weeks from today. And so on.....and so on.
Oh, and you have TONS of Gross hippies to look to for advice on here!
Keep us posted!
Update: Day two post op. Last night my leg stiffened up on me again, probably because of the activity from earlier in the day. This morning I was able to get up and walk again and that seemed to loosen the leg up. I was able to shower and dress myself w/o assistance. I would recommend bringing a towel from home to the hospital. All they have are these little towels that you can barely wrap your hair with, let alone dry your entire body. The other thing I would do in hindsight is buy the hip kit before discharge. The grabber would have come in handy on more than one occasion while I was there.
Also, I would recommend getting pads for your crutches if you don't have them already. When I first started using crutches, my hands and under my arms would get sore very quickly, so I ended up ordering some from amazon.
We're back at the hotel now and I am managing to get around pretty well. Dr. Gross said not to walk too much at first, so I don't over do it. I'm trying to just relax and take it easy, but it is hard now that I know I can walk without daggers stabbing my hip. :)
CTB,
Congrats and continued good luck in your recovery. I'm a month from today with Dr. Gross.
Please continue to post, between you and the other recent converts, I feel like I'm being given an incredible gift getting a step by step guide book...knowing what to expect can't hurt, right?
( I know...the "all patients are different" line has to be inserted here).
All I can do to thank you is promise to pay it forward after I get fixed.
I hope your recovery goes better than you ever imagined...thanks again...jb
JB - I know what you mean, it is because of this board that when asked by Dr. Gross if I was nervous about the surgery, I was able to honestly say no, not at all. Frankly, I was more nervous about the recovery process. I still am because that seems to vary so much from patient to patient and I'm terrified I'm going to break a rule and do something to mess up my hip. That being said, I've made it to day 6 post op.
I'm pretty sure now that I must have been running on adrenaline the first couple/few days post op. I was up and walking 200 ft not long after surgery and then I walked quite a bit the next day as well as my exercises and group PT. By that night I was starting to feel it. I felt more energetic and limber on Friday a.m. (day 3), the morning I was discharged, but later in the afternoon my leg felt like dead weight again.
We drove home on Saturday, and my leg was still not nearly as cooperative as it had been the first couple of days post op. I was able to maneuver better on Sunday and today (although still not with the gusto I had immediately post op). I have had some throbbing in my hip today, I don't know if it because of too much activity, not enough activity or if I just didn't take my pain pill early enough.
Some insights/suggestions: We had a 6 hour drive home, but fortunately we had an ac adapter in the van for the ice machine, so I was able to keep my leg iced much of the way home. I highly recommend getting and adapter if you are driving and don't have one already. I also bought a cheap walmart memory foam pillow on the way down and it was worth every penny of the $15 I spent. Not only did it help with the bumpy roads on the trip down, but it also served as a nice cushion at the hotel and the way back home. The Residence Inn beds are not the most comfortable on a sore hip pre or post surgery.
If I could go back in time, I would have bought the claw thing and sock putter on way before surgery. I can't tell you how many times I had to contort my body to put my socks on by myself. And actually, I wouldn't mind having two of the claw picker upper things now. One for picking up things and the other for picking up the first one when I drop it.
If you don't have a kindle/ipad/tablet/laptop, get one (and/or a combination thereof). Bless Providence for having wifi.
I have to reiterate - The Solstice Kitchen is wonderful. It was recommended by several other folks on the board and I am so glad we went. I wish I had gone the first night as well. I'm still having dreams of their dirty martini.
Question: One thing I haven't figured out is why I had a smilie face drawn on near my incision with what appeared to be initials as well as an outline of a person on my calf. Anyone else get the Picasso treatment?
QuoteOne for picking up things and the other for picking up the first one when I drop it.
That is hilarious! I would set it somwhere, go to grab it, knock it to the floor, curse, then call my kids to come help.
I also think that the first day or two feels much better than days 3-5 because there is still some lingering anesthesia from the spinal they give us.
I think the key to the first week-to-ten-days is rest. I did my walking every day, and otherwise just sat in the recliner. That's it. That is why a laptop was critical. But, resting and icing early pays big dividends in how quickly the rest comes.
Keep us posted, and glad you're doing so well.
Sounds good, ctb - I think most people had the adrenaline rush / anesthesia and just being taken care of by hospital staff. You'll get through that and round right into recuperation with the typical swelling / soreness / tightness part. Just do the Ice / rest / exercise bit and you'll come through fine.
Good that you had a good ride home, keep up the good work.
Someone doodled on you with the sharpie? ha! They had me write on my leg too. I guess they try every way they can to make sure they get the right leg. I thought I was the funny guy writing hi for the OR team to read.
Quote from: Jbennett on March 27, 2012, 03:26:18 PM
Someone doodled on you with the sharpie? ha! They had me write on my leg too. I guess they try every way they can to make sure they get the right leg. I thought I was the funny guy writing hi for the OR team to read.
That's what it looks like and because it was a sharpie, I still have the doodles a week later. I'll take pictures and consider them souvenirs. :D
Yesterday, day 7, was strange. I felt a lot better in the morning than I have since surgery. Almost no pain/pressure when walking or doing my exercises, so I upped the walking a bit. Then later in the evening I was feeling it again. Even sitting I had a lot of pressure/throbbing in my hip. I was worried I had broken a rule, but couldn't remember doing anything I shouldn't have. I iced throughout the day, but I still had a hard time getting comfortable last night. I woke up feeling okay this morning. I'm almost afraid to push it today. I'd like to have one night sleep where I'm not achy.
Today is the day I'm supposed to take the bandages off and apply the topical. Anyone delay that a day or so? I'm not looking forward to it as the bandage still seems to be quite adhered to my leg.
Sounds totally normal. Since there's still a LOT of repair going on, the evenings are often more painful than the morning. I was much more swollen toward the end of the day.
Also, if you don't want to "push it", then don't. Take a day off and get the rest you want. That's what your body is telling you, so do it. No harm in that....no need to keep up with the Joneses. I read a few of the posts here about going to work on day 9, and I can't believe it. Just take it easy...your body will tell you when it wants to go further. And, that feeling like, "Wow....today is so much better than since surgery.." is going to come with some frequency. I'll bet your next "Wow" day will be day 10.
As for the bandage.......there's no way around it. It won't be less adhered tomorrow. Just do it quickly. The silver under there makes it look horrible when you take it off. All black and gucky (goocky?), and that will take weeks to get off. I just covered the incision/scar with a large gauze pad and bandage tape for about a week or so, then was done.
I'm glad you've turned the corner. It just gets better.
I did take a rest day on the one week anniversary of surgery (Wed), but my hip still bothered me that night. Then yesterday, I had to move around a lot more and yet, last night I was actually pretty pain free. It was the first night since I've been home that I could get comfortable (still can't manage to turn on either side yet w/o pressure though). This morning I feel like I really have turned a corner - so Andy, you were right, that puts me at day 10. I have been putting more weight on that leg and not feeling that pressure in my hip. I also have much better balance without the crutches when I'm just standing still. Swelling is completely gone, thanks to my polar ice machine. That thing has been worth every dime.
Glad you are feeling better! For me, the first 2 weeks (after all the good stuff wore off) were the worst. I had more pain with my second hip than with the first one, but both got a lot better after 2 weeks, and I was able to get comfortable in bed, including laying on the operated side, which was my biggest problem post-surgery problem. I totally agree with you about the ice machine, although my right leg stayed still stayed swollen for several weeks. No swelling on the left side. Go figure!
After my second hip, I forgot about taking the bandage of after 7 days, and left it on a few extra days. It did not seem to do any harm, but it was just as sticky both times, and left the lovely black goo on my skin. I did not put any bandage on after I took that silver bandage off, because my skin had closed up an none was needed.
It sounds to me like everything is proceeding very normally - just remember to be patient, don't overdo, and don't expect too much of yourself!
Annie, Andy - I had a hard time taking off the bandage. I took off the small one first - the one covering the 1/2 inch incision above the main incision. When I pulled it off, (TMI alert) the scab came off and the incision seemed to open up. No bleeding, but it freaked me out a bit, so I put a butterfly bandage on it and contacted Nancy. She said that should be fine, but after that I was gun shy about taking off the big one. I ended up doing it a bit at a time. I took off the tape first then worked the ointment around the edges. It took about a day, but it finally fell off.
Day 13 (? I think, it's all starting to blur together): Doing much better. I'm managing on one crutch and probably could start using the cane, but I don't want to push it. I'm sleeping much better as well. I'm still sleeping on my back, but I'm having no aches/pains at night. It was uncomfortable when I tried sitting on the couch yesterday, so I ended up using a pillow.
This has actually been a nice vacation for me. I can't tell you how many books I've read. The best part is lying in bed listening to my husband getting the kids ready for school in the morning while I drink my tea. I may have to have more joints replaced. :)
I did most of my "convalescing" in a recliner, and found it uncomfortable to sit where my legs were anywhere close to 90 degrees for almost a month. When I went to work (week 6), I couldn't do more than 30 minutes in my chair at a time. The pillow was totally necessary for me for a while. When I drove my wife's van (where the seat cushion did not adjust much), I brought along the pillow for a while. After eight weeks, that was all history.
QuoteThe best part is lying in bed listening to my husband getting the kids ready for school in the morning while I drink my tea.
Ha! That is funny.