13 days and counting

[jjmclain]

Congrats Lori!!!! Sounds like you are doing well!! ::)

[Krunch]

Glad all is well!  Rest up and take it easy. 

Best wishes,
Craig 

[bdoughty]

Yay for you! Say hi to Dr. Rector for me. Love that GameReady machine. You're on the downhill side now.

[hernanu]

That's great Lori! I know some people don't like the leg massage machine, I loved it. On the sunny side of the street now (apologies to Dorothy Fields).

[katekosar]

You did it!  Or rather, your surgeon did it!  Congratulations to you and your new hip, my friend.  The Notebook is one of my very favorite movies, btw, always good for a nice cry at the end.

Recover well and enjoy the time off from the kidlets.

kate

[phillwad]

Lori - I am glad to get on surface hippy and hear that you have succeeded and getting not to the other side but to the better side.  Stay stong and welcoem to being a surface hippy

Cheers - Phill

[Lori Cee]

Hey Lori, I'm glad to hear that you are doing so well!
Can't wait to hear how you are going with your rehab as you get up and about and getting to be better than ever.

[lori.36]

Good Morning everyone,

Today I am Post-Op 3.  This is the day that the PT says that everyone feels groggy and needs to rest, which is perfect, because today we are heading back to our home.  I should back up a litle bit for everyone.
So I was doing wonderfully on Post Op day 1 I was walking around on the crutches and did stairs the first day.  I was able to get in and out of bed by myself.  I needed help with the abductor wedge and also the Game Ready machine.  The nursing staff was amazing and fun to talk with.  I did not have to take anything for the pain, no narcotics.
Well Post Op evening I thought, hmmm I should take some pain medicine to make me sleep.  Bad Idea.  I took NarCO, which is Vicaden Oxyc I think.  OMG My stomach started to gurggle beyond belief, and I thought it was because I needed a to poop, I went to the bathroom.  The nurse left me alone for some privacy and then the room started to spin.  I know that this is a precursor to Blacking out, so I pulled the Nurse String.  I woke up to the nurses yelling at me, in total panic.   :o  The nurse called a code Blue, I told her I just blacked out, and that there is nothing to worry about.  Just lay me down.  I was lucky, I sat down in a spot that wedged me and I did not fall on the ground.   :)  I decided after that I do not want any more NarCO.
Post OP day 2 I was woooze from blacking out.  It took me a while to get my bearings together and also the confidence to start crutching.  The OT talked me into taking a shower, which cured me.  I even shaved my legs.  I felt like a million bucks.  Dr Rector came to see me in between surgerys and said not to worry about the black out incident that it happens all the time.  He is so calm and sure that I feel even better.  He tells me to take it easy and if I need to stay in another night then I can.

[lori.36]

Continued from above.....
I sat in the chair, I crutched, I napped I did stairs, and then best of all I had my first bowel movement!  When I came out from the bathroom Dr Rector was in my room waiting.  I smiled so big because I felt so good.  He told me that he would release me.  I asked him about pain meds, because I did not want to take that strong stuff, and he recommened OTC Tylenol, becuase I am not reporting that bad of pain just stiffness.   :)
So I went to the Boulder House and stayed with my family, which was intresting.  We ordered Thai Delivery, which was amazing.  We finally got everyone asleep, even me.  I took 2 Extra Strength Tylenol and I did a cycle on the Game Ready that was at 10pm.  At 1am I woke up and did the game ready.  I also did the same thing at 5am.  So here it is at 7am and I still have not had any Tylenol.  I am stiff, and I really need to ice.  I am going to take my Celebrex and my Tylenol in a couple of minutes, so this is where I am with recovery.  I think that I am doing better than I expected.  I will try to keep everyone updated on my progress.  All I can say is ICE, ICE ICE.
Lori
LBHR 4-11-11 Dr Rector

[jjmclain]

Congrats Lori! It sounds like you are doing fantastic!!!!!!! I didn't like the narcotics either! Or my body didn't! Keep us posted on your recovery. ;D

[hernanu]

Sounds great Lori! Too bad about the blackout, I guess the pain stuff works for some of us, some not. I just did the Tylenol for a while, and it worked fine.

[Anniee]

Lori,

I'm glad you're doing so well again and off those strong pain meds!  The blackout must have been really scary! 

How on earth did you manage to shave your legs so quickly after surgery?  I'm several weeks post op and still haven't figured out how to do that, and believe me, they need it!

[ScubaDuck]

Thanks for the update.

I haven't much success with pain meds in the past.  Hopefully I won't need much.  The blacking out had to be scary with the new hip.  I have had a quite a few incidents of vertigo and blacking out over my life.  It is a helpless feeling.

I hear that first bowel movement is very important.  I have been told that controlling your diet and getting plenty of water is a key to that first bowel movement post surgery.  And it will be a momentous occasion.

Thanks.  Sounds like you are doing great.

Dan

[lori.36]

Anne, I shaved my legs by sitting on a bench and propped the leg on the wall.  I have heard of some folks using duck tape, stick and razor.  A woman has to do what a woman has to do.

Dan, so you also get motion sickness and blckouts?  Do you have a high pain tolerance ?  When are you going in for surgery?

[ScubaDuck]

Lori-

Yes, I have had vertigo issues and blackouts throughout my life.  But they are so infrequent, sometimes years between incidences, that they haven't found out why.  I don't know that I have an extremely high pain tolerance but it is higher than average.  Why?

My surgery is on August 1st with Dr. Pritchett in Seattle.  I have to check in at 5:30 am.  I hope my surgeon will be awake.

Dan

[katekosar]

I am sad that you had your incident with Vicodin and vertigo, Lori, but I am very happy that you posted about it.  Last Friday (surgery 2-1/2 weeks) I switched over from percocet to vicodin.  The same thing happened to me.  I hadn't had the vicodin in my system for 1/2 hour than I had an incredible case of vertigo.  It quickly devolved over the afternoon into a raging case of the spins.  I couldn't keep my eyes open.  I couldn't stand up.  I was nauseated, clammy, sweaty.  By the evening, it was all I could do to wobble down the front stairs and get into the car so my husband could drive me to the emergency room.  They did blood work and x rays, urinalysis and an ekg and couldn't find anything physiologically wrong.  They sent me home with an anti-vertigo drug called Meclizine which I've been taking over the weekend.  It took me until this morning, really, to feel even halfway all right again.  A very scary experience.  I am glad you posted about this, Lori, because it explains, perhaps, my "lost weekend."

Needless to say, no more narcotics.  I have some Advil liquigels, but I'll take the pain anyday over the room spinning madly.

Kate

[lori.36]

Dan, I ask about the tolerance, because I am thankful that I do not have to take the heavy drugs.  I know that I have blacked out around 15 x and I blame alot of those on my sugar levels.  I am hypoglycemic, which is low blood sugar, and I think thT the drugs effect me differently.  I also think pain effects my nuerlogicial system differently.   I am making all of this up though.  I will hope that you will be good with icing. 

Diane, wow your experience sounds wAy worse.  Sharing is good.  Sorry to hear about your experience but happy to hear that you are good now.  What day post op are you?