I'm an Official Hippy, Surgery by Dr. Snyder

[hernanu]

Sounds great Pete. I'm sure you'll be doing the stairs soon and then the dreaded simulated bathtub. Looks like you're on your way, will be tapdancing soon  8).

[PistolPete]

I just did the stairs and the bathtub.  Both were much easier than I expected.  Today has been a huge improvement.  The tightness is still there and getting in and out of bed is the hardest part but it is not too bad.

[PistolPete]

Dan,

You will do great.  The day of surgery is surely difficult but bearable.  The second day is much better and two days after you will feel great.  The nurses here are a little mad cause im only taking the Tylenol for pain but right now I don't feel the need for anything stronger.  If I need it I will take it.  Right now I feel I def don't need it.  I've dealt with hip pain for so long and this is nothing.  It could change over the next few hours though.

[hernanu]

Yeah, keep your mind open on the pain meds, but I also didn't need more than Tylenol after the first couple of days; that happened both times.

If you can do without the meds that's good, just don't try to tough it out if you need it, but I was good with Tylenol after that for good.

One thing when you get home. I got the night sweats bad for about three weeks afterwards. It was probably the anesthesia working its way out of me, but pain didn't wake me up in bed, being drenched did. A towel laid out flat under my thorax and changing my top three or four times a night did the job for me.

Hopefully you won't have that issue, but if you do, talk to the folks in the doctor's office, but it's something that will likely lift in time; it did with me.

[PistolPete]

Interesting about the night sweats.  I sweat a good amount at night but def. Noticed I woke up on fire.  Haha. Glad to hear about the pain  as I've read people on here going a month or more on them.  I will have them with me and if I need it I will def. Take it.  Not worth being in pain if I don't need to.

[PistolPete]

One other thing that is awesome is that I can now stand and lock both my knees.  Because of leg length issues prior to surgery I couldn't do it.  Now my leg length is even or close to even so that's awesome.  I notice that walking with the crutches my foot touches down later than it use to.  Awesome stuff. 

[hernanu]

Yeah Pete - you'll start noticing a lot of cool stuff as you go. Then you'll notice that you start taking it for granted.

I dropped a couple of things on the ground thi s morning, bent down to pick them up right next to my foot, then noticed that I hadn't 1. looked at the things on the floor in dread 2. positioned myself so I could support myself to get them 3. didn't blanch in pain as I bent down... I just reached and got them. Sublime.

[PistolPete]

Well, I'm back at home now.  Sitting the car for the ride home wasn't bad but getting out of the car was a challenge.  We have construction going on at our house so things are quite hectic.  Anyways, it feels good to be in my own bed finally.  I'm sure I'll get a better night sleep tonight.  On a good note I won't be woken up to someone taking my blood at the wee hours of the morning.  I will keep this post updated with my progress as I found these most useful for me.

[ScubaDuck]

Sounds great Pete.  Nothing like home.  Take it easy.

Dan

[PistolPete]

So, I'm on my 3rd day post surgery and things are still improving.  It is so much easier getting in and out of bed and the pain is hardly noticeable even just taking Tylenol for the pain.  I haven't taken any narcotics in 2 days so I'm happy about that.  I had the visiting nurse and PT out to the house today.  Both didn't seem to have any concerns.  The Visiting Nurse said they have no concerns and therefore don't need to come back out unless I call them with issues or anything.  The PT person said she would be back on Monday to work some more.  I even showered for the first time myself which felt great.  I was able to get undressed, get into the shower, bathe, get out of the shower, and dress myself.  I'm feeling so much better after the shower.  I hope I continue to make this progress tomorrow.  The swelling is the only real issue right now and it's really bad.  My entire leg past my knee is completely swollen and bruised up pretty bad.  I was somewhat prepared for this after reading post on here about it but actually seeing the swelling is still shocking.

Hopefully this topic will give people insight on what to possibly expect after their procedure.

[John C]

Hi PistolPete,
With that much swelling traveling down your leg, you might want to consider whether you have been spending enough time elevating your lower leg. Gravity is a pretty powerful force, and if you are upright a lot, all that fluid is going to get pulled down.
Also, are you doing a lot of ankle pumps. I was told that you cannot do too many of these. The calf muscles are sometimes called the second heart, because their contractions are what pumps the blood back up from the lower legs to the heart. When you have a lot of fluid collecting down there, ankle pumps are what gets it moving back up. For the first week or so, I did them whenever I was sitting and awake.

[PistolPete]

Thanks John that's great info.  I don't think I am elevating my leg enough.  I will try being an ankle pumping machine starting today.

[rbt2011]

Pistol,
Congrats on getting through to the other side.  How are you feeling?  Is the leg still super swollen?

[PistolPete]

My day 4 was really difficult.  I felt like I had regressed.  I'm thinking it's because the night before I only slept for 3 hours.  I had a headache for most of the day and was just really uncomfortable.  I'm thinking it was because I did too much the day prior.  I ended up just taking it really easy yesterday and not doing much of anything but resting.  I'm feeling better today already which is awesome.  I'm still only taking the Tylenol for pain but prob. should have taken something stronger yesterday.  I slept a lot last night but the night sweats are out of control.  I wore a moisture wicking shirt which def. helped so I didn't retain all the sweat in my shirt.  However, my covers, pillow, and mattress cover were all soaked so they need to be changed and washed daily.  I hope the night sweats go away soon.

[Pat Walter]

You will go up and down or take two steps forward and one backward, etc.  Healing is not a straight line process.  Many people have terrible night sweats, not unusual.  Just something that will take place until the meds are all out of your body.

Sleeping is always a problem.  I spent a lot of time in my recliner at night.  I would sleep in bed awhile, then go to the recliner, then go back to bed.  I ended up taking a lot of naps during the day.  You will not get back to your normal routine for awhile.  Some people ask their family doctor for some sleep aid meds at night.  I didn't bother, I just rolled with the punches.  Eventually, it will all get better, but you have a few weeks of trying to get back to normal ahead of you.  No way to tell how long it will take.  Just know that eventually, you will get back to normal and not even think much about the troubled times you are having now.  Sometimes people forget and when they go back and read about their recoveries, they are suprised.  So this too shall pass - just be patient and don't fight it. 

Good Luck.

Pat

[hernanu]

They will go away, Pete. I had them just as bad and was starting to get worried, but they happened the same way both times.

It really did help to take a large towel (beach towel), put it sideways on the bed on my thorax area. That way I avoided changing sheets every time. The shirts went, two to three a night, but it was more comfortable; pillow covers were another matter, no helping those.

It was normal for me, I expected it the second time around, despite it being a pain. It went away by the third week. Rest does help a lot. Like mine, your recovery is not going to be linear. There will be times when you'll feel like it's not progressing, but it is - for every progress, there needs to be some rest for your body to get used to the change.

[Cantab]

Pete congrats , I am two days behind you and reading your posts now, I'll look forward to the ride home in the car,and try to figure out how to get out of the car.  The only thing I am doing for exercises is the ankle pumps and getting in and out of bed,that is a challenge.  We'll have to meet for coffee someday when we are both a little more up to it and discuss the procedures. good luck on day 5 and I'll be working on day 3.

[PistolPete]

I'd be up to meeting up with you.  How did your surgery go?  The ride home wasn't bad.  Getting into the car wasn't bad.  Getting out of the car I did not enjoy at all.  But it is great to be back home.  I've been updating this topic each day because I feel it's good for people going thru this to have an idea of what they might expect with the process along the way.

[Cantab]

Couldn't agree more Pete. This forum really helps get an idea on what to expect. Everyone is different but similarities are common.  Surgery went great, hadto have a catheter on Thurs because I couldn't pee, I thought it was because I was restricted to the bed on my back,  heard the guy in the nexxt room sying the same thing the next day,need to stand to get everything working properly.   Now I just need to have a bowel movement so  I can go home tomorrow.  I have been taking the pain pills,more to sleep than for pain, the sleping pills just don't do it. Hopefully the colace works to combat the back up. 

[PistolPete]

I didn't have the backup issues.  I almost went the day after surgery but they said I wouldn't.  I did go the following day.  It will feel really weird when you sit down to poop but I didn't have any issues.  I too couldn't pee and that was not fun.  The catheter was prob. hands down one of the worst experiences of my life.  Because of it I still have issues peeing because it hurts a bit.  I guess it's totally normal.  I'm feeling really good today which I'm excited about.