Surgery scheduled for 3/14/12

[WTW15]

Congrats and welcome to the Healing Side!  Hope you are now home and getting comfortable.

[Jbennett]

Got home about 8 tonight. Iced down for a little over an hour. Really beat. Meds are making me sleepy.  I'm looking forward to sleeping in my bed tonight. 
Jeff

[Jbennett]

First morning home has started kind of rough. I think the 10hrs in the car was too much. I used the polar care maching last night took pain meds and went to sleep. Got up a couple times with some difficulty to go to the bathroom. Just got up for good about 30 minutes ago. Woke my wife up to help me. I don't know why but I'm hurting more and just burst out crying. Back in the ice machine. Wondering if in just swollen more after not using it on the car ride yesterday. Took pain meds again. I need to take the celebrex still. Hoping that reduces the inflammation some too.

[imgetinold]

The first few days can be rough.  The car ride sure will do it, particularly for that long.

I think I said it before, but take the meds on time, and stay in the recliner.  It took me two days to realize that I had to take the meds on a tight schedule.  I took the 12 hr. pill (I assume you have nucynta as a Gross patient) every 12 hours, and took the 4 hr pill every 4 hours.  I even would set the alarm to take the pill in the middle of the night so I wouldn't wake with pain.  And, yes, the Celebrex will help with the swelling. 

Taking the meds on a schedule does not mean you'll be addicted.  I weaned off the 4 hour pills on day 4 post-surgery, and off the 12 hour pills on day 6 or 7.  Then, I only took Tylenol until day 10 post surgery and I was done.  I did keep taking the Celebrex until the prescription ran out, and that helped.  I say all this because I've never been a pill taker, and I had this idea that I was a bad ass, and could handle the pain.  I might have been able to, but why? 

The swelling will be there for several weeks, but ice and laying down help a ton.  In a week, you'll be a ton better, and in two or three the pain and swelling will be a memory.  Hang in there, it gets better very quickly.

[Jbennett]

Today is better. At least i didnt wake up crying like a baby again. Lol. Stayed in bed or on the couch all day yesterday and took pain meds as frequently as it was prescribed yesterday. Iced a ton as well. I have not been able to sleep more than 4 or 5 hours at a stretch but I can nap so it's ok. I'm taking Nucynta ER and Percocet. I think Percocet start to wear off around the 4-5 hr mark and that's when the pain in my behind wakes me up. Got up at 5:30 or so this morning took another one and had just enough ice left in the machine that I felt comfortable putting that on and dozing off for another hour. Got up for good about 7 and had coffee and showered. My sweet wife agreed to go out and see if she can find a recliner she can live with. my recliner was my first belonging that had to go when we got married 13 years ago. ;-) anyway I suspect a recliner will be more comfortable that laying in bed or sitting on the couch.

[Jbennett]

Just did my first walk outside. Pretty spring day in Memphis. Used one crutch to go to the stop sign and back. About .35 miles according to pedometer app on my iPhone. Pretty easy to do that. I'd have gone further but was afraid it might not be a good idea.

[imgetinold]

Sounds just like my first few days.  You'll feel better each day.  I did 5 mailboxes on my second day, and was up to a mile by day 10.

Your recliner story is hilarious.  My wife fought tooth and nail against one until I found one that doesn't really look like a recliner.  They're out there, and they're PERFECT for a recovering hip.

Keep us posted!

[mslendzion]

I bought a recliner for the surgery, brought back many memories of my Grandfather, he loved his as I do now.  It was a good choice for resurfacing and it does fold up nicely to look lik a normal chair.  I definately recommend one if you are getting HR.

[Kiwi]

I hired a lazy boy for the first 8 weeks & set myself up with laptop, books, magazines, phone, chargers etc all at arms length (or at least arms + sock pullers length) away.
Really assisted me in relaxing & icing after exercises.
A lot of folk here also ended up sleeping in their recliners some nights as they found it more comfortable than the bed. Personally I was fine in the bed - along with two strategically placed pillows between my legs.

[mslendzion]

Kiwi, you were set up. I'm kind of missing my recovery time, bittersweet memories for sure.

[Woodstock Hippy]

Glad you're feeling better and making progress. Keep moving but be patient.  We've all had setbacks, big or small, but you can see the improvements every week.  It won't be too long until it feels like nothing ever was wrong.  I'm at four months and I only feel it after a good workout.

[Jbennett]

Took Benadryl last night hoping if would help me sleep. Did not prevent me from getting up at 5 anyway when the leg started hurting. Did my usual 5am ice down and went back to sleep. The ice is usually melted enough by 5 that I don't worry about it plus I'm a light sleeper anyway. I do think they should put a timer on these things though so you could sleep with it on. Maybe with a safety to shut off after an hour anyway in case you were foggy and didn't set it right. I decided to skip the Percocet this morning. Just took the Nucynta ER, Celebrex, and Tylenol for pain this morning. I'll see how it goes. 

[Jbennett]

Do you think I can walk too much? i'm feeling better than I thought I would. I walked twice today. Probably 1/3 mile before lunch and 2/3 mile about 5:00 tonight. My wife thinks I'm walking too much too soon since Dr. Gross's instructions say to be walking a mile at 4 weeks. Muscles stiffen up a little after walking but not too bad. I can't wait unit 6 weeks when I can go back to the gym. I'm definitely going to go back to work next week barring any unforeseen setback. I'll go stir crazy sitting here and Ellie is stressed because we have so many houses under contract that need to be dealt with. She had to show houses all day Saturday when we got home after driving 10hrs from Columbia on Friday getting us home.Not to mention all the work involved in taking care of me and two kids this last week. Even if I just take the kids to school and put in a 1/2 day at the office next week I know it will take a load off of her.

[hernanu]

I think it depends on how your body reacts. I walked about a mile per day from two weeks on, about 1/3 per walk (3 walks per day).

All of us heal at different speeds, just be aware that if you do push past your limits, your body will let you know and the best thing to do is to scale it back so that your body recovers properly. We all pushed the limit and our bodies pushed back.

Sounds to me like you're doing fine, if you can deal with work, then I would do so, but your body will need to be accommodated, since you are still in early healing of basic components of your body that were deeply manipulated during the surgery. It's great to take care of business, but be wise about things when you get exhausted or your body aches. Give it rest when you need it, you need for this to last.

Just my 2cents...

[Jbennett]

About to lose the hospital bandage. I realized it got soaked in the shower this afternoon. I went out and hosed all the yellow pollen off my porch and car this afternoon. That stuff covers everything in Memphis for two solid weeks. I kept thinking I had gotten some water on my shorts but then realized it was the dressing bleeding water out not the other way around. It did give me an excuse to break the driving rule. I drove a few blocks to walgreens for gauze and tape. Much easier getting in the car than I thought. I can work next week.

[Kiwi]

I over did my walks at least twice in the forst 3 weeks & had massive muscle spasms that floored me completely. As Hern says, everyone reacts differently. I also think the pain killers early on can disguise how you really feel, so that can be a trap also. I was so excited about how good I felt, I thought I was Forest Gump... not so flash in the first few weeks! Those muscle spasms were painful!  :o
Sounds like you're doing really well though - particularly driving & going back to work so soon. Good stuff & try to listen to your body.

[Jbennett]

I hear you. I'm going to take today off walking. I actually am a little more sore in the groin area today than I have been. A little pain and I get all paranoid I've messed something up. Seeing that surgical wound for the first time tonight was a little disturbing too. Yikes! Don't know what I expected but it was pretty gnarly looking. Tonight is going to be a tv and pizza kind of night.

[Kiwi]

Yeah I hear you - the paranoia is natural, especially early on. I still get some now & again, but you'll find you get more & more confident with it as each weeks passes. I'm now doing lunges with weights as part of my exercises & wouldn't have considered that possible a couple of months ago.
Emmmm pizza...thin crust I hope!!  :D

[Jbennett]

Probably not recommended at 12 days or whatever I was yesterday but I went back to work and worked until 11:30 oe so. Then went and got baby chicks for my kids for Easter but we are also going to have a little urban backyard coop and raise our own eggs. I actually built the cage myself yesterday. At least the wire portion that will hold them for now until I'm in good enough shape to build a proper small coop. My wife thinks I'm crazy but my kids are excited.  :o They just sat out there with the chicks all afternoon then took a lantern out there after dark until I made them come in. We got two Rhode Island Reds and a black something or other. Should get about 18 eggs a week in a few months.

[imgetinold]

That is very cool!  You're a good dad.....

As for the walking....at day 10, I could do a mile pretty easily, and wanted to do more.  Dr. Gross' office basically said "No".  They did respond, "Nothing over 1.5 miles until 6 weeks", which gave me an extra 1/2 mile, but they really want you to rest and heal.  It drove me NUTS, but the time went by quickly.  Now, I can exercise bike, elliptical, and walk all I want.  So, don't overdo it.....six weeks will arrive before you know it.

By the way, I want to the gym at 4 weeks, for upper-body only.  As long as you are using machines for upper body, and your legs are not supporting the weight (sit down bench press), you're fine.  The only caveat is that you can't use a machine where you "hook" your legs to keep you in place, like a lat pull-down machine.  Working my upper body really helped my mental state-of-mind.