the acupuncture dr suggested that the sessions will help with my bone health more than the numbness. he thinks the numbness comes back naturally when the body feels like it. so i stopped getting acupuncture since i was trying to treat numbness. that's kinda disappointing news.
i added back box jumps to my gym activities. i don't think it's so bad as long as impact is absorbed properly when landing on the box.
SCREW REMOVAL
a few days before screw removal, a pre-op nurse called me to go over health history etc. the business day before screw removal, i called pre-op to get my screw removal day surgery time. it was set for 1:30 and show up 90 min ahead. i didn't need to go in for xrays or labs. day surgery is typically scheduled after the more complicated/longer morning cases. not all dr's take out screws but as a pediatric orthopod, i think Dr Millis prefers to take out hardware. i find them bothersome and poking out at times and Dr Millis also wants to take more images so it's probably better to have them out.
we flew up to boston the day before screw removal. i ate a late dinner, around 9:30, of vietnamese pork chops on rice with a runny fried egg on top. and an avocado shake. i had to follow the same NPO guidelines as PAO, so no solids after midnight and no clear liquids 2hr before surgery. i snack and eat all the time so i was really scared about being hungry all the way until my 1:30pm surgery time. i got some apple juice to get some calories in the morning. i asked about coconut water (since it's high in electrolytes) but it was dinged b/c it's not clear.
i had to stop fish oil 2 wks prior to surgery. other preparation i did was bring my no-rinse bathing wipes, my cough pillow and some of the pain and nausea meds from PAO. luckily it's warmer now so i brought dresses to wear so i wouldn't have to deal with pants around my wound. and i packed my granny undies again.
the morning of screw removal, i actually went to flour bakery to pick up some pastries. they're famous for their sticky buns and the almond croissants are tasty too. i didn't eat them, just looked at them fondly. i got a call from an OR nurse asking me to come in earlier if possible. i was mostly restricted by my last liquid intake. this day surgery (hardware removal cpt code 20680) did not require pre-authorization from my insurance carrier.
at day surgery pre-op, check-in was signing some consent forms and producing a urine sample. a nurse went over my health history and took vitals. Dr Millis and his fellow Dr Novais came in to check on any questions i had, and i signed more consent papers. my main concern was having my incision scar heal prettier this time around so Dr Millis suggested keeping steri-strips on for 4mo and to really try not to over-stretch that area for a month or so. he said upper body exercises while seated should be fine, but to really try to lay low for the first 2 wks. we decided not to do general anesthesia and opted for conscious sedation. i did conscious sedation for my impacted wisdom teeth and remember hearing them wrangling my teeth out. both dr's said this would be much easier than that. they take the screws out manually(!) with a screwdriver. i was afraid if i was "awake", i'd hear power drills going and have bone chips flying in my face.
anesthesiology Dr Sethna and his resident started poking stuff into me. i got woozy then was rolled into the OR. i remember a little more this time around. they showed me on the TV screen. i started spotting this AM so i left my panties on and they pull them down in the OR. i remember hearing lots of voices and then they gave me my screws in a baggy and i was clutching onto them. when i came to, the first thing i said was "i played golf twice". very random.
i was pretty alert and felt good in recovery. i had a huge foam bandage on, from mid-thigh to belly. not quite like the Millis diaper but still pretty puffy. good thing i had loose undies and a dress cuz there's no way i could get pants over this roof insulation padding. Dr Millis checked up on me and the nurses went thru discharge. had some apple juice and oyster crackers. the only thing that hurt was the huge IV in my hand. they gave me crutches again. i think i was wheelchaired out in less than an hour. Dr Millis suggested i eat light first and might have difficulty being comfortable sitting at a restaurant, so we went straight to pick up peking duck and lobster with ginger&scallion sauce. i ate heartily back at the hotel, including my pastries from this AM, then got sleepy and dozed off.
i woke up from pain after my post-op morphine wore off, even tho i also took 1-2mg of dilaudad. it felt like a really really bad burn and intense stretching. walking around to the bathroom and standing up straight was also uncomfortable and the whole area feels sore. i didn't bathe the first night but used my no-rinse wipes. luckily i don't have any nausea this time. i slept with a pillow under my knees b/c lying flat seemed to stretch the incision area. sleeping on the unoperated side caused much discomfort in the incision area.
the following morning i removed the puffy protective bandage and the gauze underneath was pristine (no blood leakage). i was reminded that the painkillers may cause constipation but didn't have a problem. i showered and was going to visit Dr Millis but since there was no bleeding he said not to go in. i didn't think i'd need crutches but i'm glad they gave me a new pair cuz it's difficult to stand up straight and it's nice to take pressure off the operated side. i took the T (boston subway) and got lunch but had to walk really slowly. i should probably be eating my pain meds more frequently b/c i have much pain but can tolerate it. i guess i didn't feel any of this during the PAO cuz i was on epidural for 3 days.
i'm getting a lot of itchiness again, on my belly and upper back. same as after PAO, most likely from the pain meds. plane ride back to NYC was fine. i still have to crutch slowly b/c i feel like the incision is stretching a lot or something but i didn't opt for the wheelchair. i don't think i need the cough pillow this time around. it doesn't hurt to sneeze which is good b/c of allergy season.
i ended up using crutches for 6 days after getting the screws out, 2 crutches for the first 2 days then using 1 or 2 crutches depending on how far i was walking. Dr Millis made the screw removal incision the exact same as my PAO one because i wanted to clean up some blobby scarring. usually i think the screws can be removed with just a ~2in opening (vs the 5in PAO incision). i think scar tissue was cut out which made my skin feel more tight, which is why i think i had trouble standing up straight for a while. it felt like i might split open my incision.
Showing posts with label meds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meds. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Week 5 & One-Month Post-op Appt
we flew up to BOS for my one-month post-op appt. i decided not take the airport wheelchair but they let you thru priority on crutches. i wasn't sure if i could walk thru the metal detector unassisted so i got treated to a full body pat down. my crutches got sent thru the bag scanner. the flight was uneventful and i was greeted with a wheelchair in BOS airport so i took it. on the way back to NYC, i went thru security by hopping on my good leg so i wouldn't have to get pat down.
PA erin was away this week so the appts were running really late. i didn't get into an exam room until 2hrs after my appt time. i had xrays done and Dr Millis was very pleased with my new pelvis/femur angles. the gap between the bones on the side of my hip where the cut was made is still 9mm wide! i didn't realize there was a real gap. other areas of the cut bone were growing in well. my left quad looks scrawny compared to my right. when i wear pants, the material on my left thigh is wrinkled funny while the right is taut...but they didn't do any girth measurements at the appt.
i have no more restrictions on my hip bending angles, i don't need to sleep with a pillow under my knee, i can sleep on my side (with a pillow b/w my knees) and stomach, and i can do a normal gait with my crutches while walking--so no more keeping bad leg in front of good leg at all times anymore. i can walk much faster! and i am to put 40% weight (up from 16%) on my left side. the only way i can really mess up my hip is by having a bad fall.
my new PT moves are butt bridges, ab crunches, quad stretch while lying on belly, and theraband leg raises. jaime gave me a yellow band to start with and i move up to the orange band when i feel stronger. the theraband leg raises def felt weird.
i also was cleared for the gym! i can do bike 0 resistance for 5min, upper body that doesn't engage lower body, gentle swim, calf press, quad ext and ham curls.
i also can stop my lovenox shots (hurray) and switch to 81mg aspirin for 60 days. what a productive trip!
the day after my 1mo post-op, i went to the gym and did 19' (3mi) on upright stationary bike. our gym has expresso bikes where the screen shows a video of bike path graphics, so it's like going for a "real" bike ride with scenery. i don't think i'd survive on a bike otherwise. i also hit the speed bag, shoulder rotator cuff conditioning, overhand pull-ups, and quad extension. i was able to do 7 OH pull-ups pre-surgery and i seem to have lost 2 in the hospital. i'll have to work on that. i mentioned to jaime that my knee felt unstable and she explained that with quad dis-use, the muscle that connects to the knee gets weak.
i alternate my quasi-strength day with gentle swimming with a kickboard and walking in the pool forward and sideways for around 30min. i was very tentative my first time in the pool and barely made any ripples in the water while kicking. i started taking the bus to the pool b/c it's less stairs than going into the subway. but then i decided just to crutch back which is just under a mile.
my itching has stopped completely. i started to massage my scar with coconut oil, perpendicular to the scar with a 2 fingers. PT jaime and PA erin both said it didn't really matter what i use to massage. i am prone to keloid formation and there is some bumpiness on one end of my scar. i feel the massage is helping to break down the collagen there. my scar isn't very pretty and has some extra blobby parts instead of just being a thin line. there's a nubbin poking up on one end and parts of it seem folded over funny. i wonder if some inexperienced resident sewed me up. i want a plastic surgeon next time!
PA erin was away this week so the appts were running really late. i didn't get into an exam room until 2hrs after my appt time. i had xrays done and Dr Millis was very pleased with my new pelvis/femur angles. the gap between the bones on the side of my hip where the cut was made is still 9mm wide! i didn't realize there was a real gap. other areas of the cut bone were growing in well. my left quad looks scrawny compared to my right. when i wear pants, the material on my left thigh is wrinkled funny while the right is taut...but they didn't do any girth measurements at the appt.
i have no more restrictions on my hip bending angles, i don't need to sleep with a pillow under my knee, i can sleep on my side (with a pillow b/w my knees) and stomach, and i can do a normal gait with my crutches while walking--so no more keeping bad leg in front of good leg at all times anymore. i can walk much faster! and i am to put 40% weight (up from 16%) on my left side. the only way i can really mess up my hip is by having a bad fall.
my new PT moves are butt bridges, ab crunches, quad stretch while lying on belly, and theraband leg raises. jaime gave me a yellow band to start with and i move up to the orange band when i feel stronger. the theraband leg raises def felt weird.
i also was cleared for the gym! i can do bike 0 resistance for 5min, upper body that doesn't engage lower body, gentle swim, calf press, quad ext and ham curls.
i also can stop my lovenox shots (hurray) and switch to 81mg aspirin for 60 days. what a productive trip!
the day after my 1mo post-op, i went to the gym and did 19' (3mi) on upright stationary bike. our gym has expresso bikes where the screen shows a video of bike path graphics, so it's like going for a "real" bike ride with scenery. i don't think i'd survive on a bike otherwise. i also hit the speed bag, shoulder rotator cuff conditioning, overhand pull-ups, and quad extension. i was able to do 7 OH pull-ups pre-surgery and i seem to have lost 2 in the hospital. i'll have to work on that. i mentioned to jaime that my knee felt unstable and she explained that with quad dis-use, the muscle that connects to the knee gets weak.
i alternate my quasi-strength day with gentle swimming with a kickboard and walking in the pool forward and sideways for around 30min. i was very tentative my first time in the pool and barely made any ripples in the water while kicking. i started taking the bus to the pool b/c it's less stairs than going into the subway. but then i decided just to crutch back which is just under a mile.
my itching has stopped completely. i started to massage my scar with coconut oil, perpendicular to the scar with a 2 fingers. PT jaime and PA erin both said it didn't really matter what i use to massage. i am prone to keloid formation and there is some bumpiness on one end of my scar. i feel the massage is helping to break down the collagen there. my scar isn't very pretty and has some extra blobby parts instead of just being a thin line. there's a nubbin poking up on one end and parts of it seem folded over funny. i wonder if some inexperienced resident sewed me up. i want a plastic surgeon next time!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Week 2
we stayed in BOS at the Yawkey Family Inn for 7 nights before heading back to NYC. i was probably ready to go home a couple days earlier in terms of comfort. i slept fitfully the first couple nights out of the hospital. it's really annoying cuz i can't move around since my legs are all stuffed with pillows. maybe the hospital bed was more comfortable because it can prop up at a slight angle. i tried a valium at 2am one night and felt so out of it the whole day, i didn't eat it again.
my left leg is so swollen it looks like thanksgiving turkey dinner. i used the commode over the toilet to get extra height mostly b/c my thigh was so tight and uncomfortable being bent. i don't have any issues getting up from seated. my pain is pretty low but mostly have stiffness and tight and burning feelings. Dr Millis says this can be nerve waking up or psoas rubbing over incision. the numbness in my left leg is getting smaller but the whole left half of my thigh is still numb. my bowels seem to be very active and i'm quite gassy. i'm not sure if it's the drugs or what. my palms are all chafed and sore from crutching. i can't believe i'm getting callouses from my crutches. i still suffer from crazy itchiness. the sarna works temporarily. we decided to try gold bond cream. the area around my incision and steri-strips are itchy and i have to be careful when i scratch it. after i shower (maybe every other day), i ceremoniously apply sarna all over my itchy areas and gold bond where it's esp itchy.
the PT moves i was given are still really hard. heel to butt slide, abduction/adduction, knee pronation. i look at my leg and try to make it move but it doesn't. the heel to butt slides are progressing more than abduction/adduction. i also practice doing stairs at Yawkey. there are tons! my left hip flexor just really didn't respond and wouldn't lift on its own. miraculously about day 9, i could do stairs easily. i spent the first few days at Yawkey in my wheelchair and after i could do stairs, even the staff noticed i was out of my wheelchair and moving better.
we took field trips to trader joe's, cvs, dairy queen (for my calcium boost) and copley, all getting carted around in my wheelchair. the wheelchair creates some serious static electricity! i didn't have any problems with bumps in the roads and just had to shift around once in a while to loosen up. we stopped by Dr Millis before leaving for NY and he removed my tegaderm so i just had steri-strips flapping around. parts that were exposed looked pretty closed up.
since my pain was fairly low, i gradually pushed out my 1mg diluadad from 4hr to every 8hr. and i have my daily lovenox shot which i DREAD. i switched to 650mg tylenol on day 13, took it for 2 days then stopped all pain meds.
the drive down to NYC from BOS was pain-free, both with my hip and with traffic. it was thanksgiving morning and we were back in our apt 3.5hr later. since i practiced stairs on my crutches so much at Yawkey, i had no problem getting up our 26-stair one-flight walk-up. i couldn't help bring any of our luggage up, which was a very helpless feeling.
my left leg is so swollen it looks like thanksgiving turkey dinner. i used the commode over the toilet to get extra height mostly b/c my thigh was so tight and uncomfortable being bent. i don't have any issues getting up from seated. my pain is pretty low but mostly have stiffness and tight and burning feelings. Dr Millis says this can be nerve waking up or psoas rubbing over incision. the numbness in my left leg is getting smaller but the whole left half of my thigh is still numb. my bowels seem to be very active and i'm quite gassy. i'm not sure if it's the drugs or what. my palms are all chafed and sore from crutching. i can't believe i'm getting callouses from my crutches. i still suffer from crazy itchiness. the sarna works temporarily. we decided to try gold bond cream. the area around my incision and steri-strips are itchy and i have to be careful when i scratch it. after i shower (maybe every other day), i ceremoniously apply sarna all over my itchy areas and gold bond where it's esp itchy.
the PT moves i was given are still really hard. heel to butt slide, abduction/adduction, knee pronation. i look at my leg and try to make it move but it doesn't. the heel to butt slides are progressing more than abduction/adduction. i also practice doing stairs at Yawkey. there are tons! my left hip flexor just really didn't respond and wouldn't lift on its own. miraculously about day 9, i could do stairs easily. i spent the first few days at Yawkey in my wheelchair and after i could do stairs, even the staff noticed i was out of my wheelchair and moving better.
we took field trips to trader joe's, cvs, dairy queen (for my calcium boost) and copley, all getting carted around in my wheelchair. the wheelchair creates some serious static electricity! i didn't have any problems with bumps in the roads and just had to shift around once in a while to loosen up. we stopped by Dr Millis before leaving for NY and he removed my tegaderm so i just had steri-strips flapping around. parts that were exposed looked pretty closed up.
since my pain was fairly low, i gradually pushed out my 1mg diluadad from 4hr to every 8hr. and i have my daily lovenox shot which i DREAD. i switched to 650mg tylenol on day 13, took it for 2 days then stopped all pain meds.
the drive down to NYC from BOS was pain-free, both with my hip and with traffic. it was thanksgiving morning and we were back in our apt 3.5hr later. since i practiced stairs on my crutches so much at Yawkey, i had no problem getting up our 26-stair one-flight walk-up. i couldn't help bring any of our luggage up, which was a very helpless feeling.
Hospital Stay
Day 1
throughout the night nurses come in regularly to check vitals, give meds, empty the catheter bag, empty the wound drainage bag...i woke up with less nausea and zero pain. i must say, the nurses at CHB are all very pleasant and cute. i wonder if it's cuz little kids are happier with perky nurse. i tried to nibble on some crackers with water and apple juice. my daddy came into town, with my aunt and cousin. my dad is always thinking of food. he brought 2 stuffed giordanos pizza for us and brought back a whole peking duck from the chinese restaurant in the howard johnson. unfortunately i had no appetite. i tried to eat dinner and ordered chix noodle soup and toast from the hospital dining service. it took 2hrs for the food to arrive. the soup was terribly bland so i had bits of toast and called it a day.
PT came buy and had me do ankle pumps, quad extension, glute squeeze.
my upper body was really itchy and i had a dull headache all day. they gave me nubain and benadryl for my itchiness and tylenol for my headache. i received 3 doses of cefazolin antibiotic and started lovenox shots (60 days) for anti-clotting.
Day 2
i woke up with less nausea but my dull headache lingered. i was super itchy all night (back, belly, around the edges of my millis diaper) so the nurses decided to change my sheets. they gathered a crew of 6 to change my sheets. i didn't know what they were going to do to me, but i lifted myself up with the trapeze thing and they got my sheets changed in one motion. really quite amazing. i went ahead and got a towel bath and my hair washed. that was really SO refreshing and my itchy back and torso got some temporary relief. getting my hair washed was a bit of a production tho. they had to adjust the bed into an upside V (automatic buttons) and put a collection tray under my head to catch water. my dad visited again and my sis-in-law brought goodies from rosie's bakery. flowers from friends and family continued to come in. winston flowers has some beautiful arrangements.
my wound drainage was removed and dr millis cut off my diaper and replaced the tegaderm over my steri-strips. now i had easier access to all my itchy spots. they also gave me back the blood that i donated before surgery. my hematocrit went up 3 points to 23, still anemic. in addition to nubain, they give me narcan for my itchiness. my nurse also started me on myolax to get things moving again. i was super gassy ALL day from that...tho i wonder if my blood was still tainted from the stomach bug i had prior to donating my blood...my catheter kept getting stopped up so i felt urgency but i was thinking, i shouldn't have urgency b/c there's a catheter. so i had to have nurses come by frequently to un-kink the collection tube. whenever it would empty, there was an uncomfortable tugging inside so i wished the tube wouldn't keep kinking.
i ordered full meals hoping to eat but ended up picking at everything. we ordered bertucci's for dinner but i didn't feel like eating that either.
PT had me do adduction/abduction, slide foot to butt, and pronate knee. i seriously couldn't do any of these moves and the PT was doing it all for me. amazing, losing all that control.
Day 3
pain still low. i would say there's more discomfort in the hip area, tightness and the whole area is numb so it doesn't feel normal. there's a fire&ice burning sensation that comes and goes. plus it was all swollen.
today was a big day--they yanked out all my tubes. my epidural was turned off at 7am and removed at 11:30am. my catheter came out the same time. they gave me 5mg oxycodone and tylenol for pain. and more colase and myolax.
my guy cooked me his famous slow-cooked scrambled eggs, english muffin and bratwurst for bfast. i could eat but the brats were a little too aromatic for me still. ordered some yogurt, cottage cheese, soy milk and strawberries for lunch to get some calcium for bone-healing for lunch. didn't get to it til dinner, and only picked at it.
got another sponge bath today cuz my period came and i soiled the sheets. PA erin and the nurses all said this was common after the body endures trauma like surgery. the hospital has funky gauze-y underpants. getting bathed is great cuz of the itchiness. my inner thighs started to itch like mad now. w/o bathing, getting wiped with rubbing alcohol feels great too.
PT today was getting out of bed into wheelchair. i did it in record time b/c i had to pee so bad. they asked me how my pain was since this was my first time out of bed. i felt no pain; just had to pee right now. they stuck me on a rolling commode chair to use the toilet. my left thigh is so fat and swollen. that might have been too much excitement for me. they had me sit in a big recliner chair. i sat there for a couple of hours and had no energy to stay awake. i took 10mg oxycodone prior to my next PT session in the afternoon. i technically wasn't supposed to have a 2nd session but they thought i got out of my chair so well, i could do the next step. getting wheeled over to PT was very nauseating. i was to walk the parallel bars which caused even more nausea. i couldn't finish the length of parallel bars, turned back and wanted to vomit. that's when the miracle wax kicked in so i got rushed back to the toilet. then i was very sleepy and napped.
i was woken up by a friend's visit. she dropped off a big fat magazine. oddly, during my whole hospital visit, i have no energy to read or even watch tv. i just sleep, scratch my itchy spots, sleep, go to the can, do PT, entertain guests, eat, sleep. very strange how all my time passes. after i woke up, i tried to go for a stroll in my commode chair. i got into the hallway but had nothing to pull myself around. a nurse asked where i was going and sent me back to my room.
nurses trying to get me off nubain for the itchiness cuz i can't take it home. throughout day, experimented with different doses of oxycodone and they decided that 5mg was the best amount for me.
Day 4
woke up with no pain but very drowsy. they gave me more colase and cortisone cream and sarna for my itchiness. appetite still isn't back but the yogurt with fresh strawberries is yummy, tastes like pinkberry! tried to pick at some roast beef for lunch. au bon pain chix noodle soup for dinner.
nurse suggested i might get discharged if i can pass crutches test and get a good balance for pain/nausea control. took a shower and washed hair in the bathroom. that was very tiring, so i went back to sleep after. and it's very uncomfortable to have so much pressure on left butt. my wheelchair and 3-in-1 commode were delivered.
for PT, tried parallel bars again. still very difficult. i can't move my left foot forward and have no hip flexor control. got very nauseated again and went straight to can. had to take a nap again. for afternoon PT, i walked the parallel bars much better. then they had me do a round with crutches. was physically wiped after that and then had to poop and sleep again. i need to tell the nurses no more colase.
my brother visited! the nurse showed my guy how to give me my lovenox shots. went to bed with small chills.
Day 5
woke up pain-free, not too drowsy. switched to 1mg dilaudad to see if that helps nausea. my itchiness is out of control--back, belly, inner thighs. it looks like i walked thru a thorn forest.
ordered choco chip bananas for bfast, yogurt w/sberries, oj w/prune juice. all very good (good job CHB kitchen). eating better but stomach feels smaller. chix parm and mac n' chz for lunch. eating is actually quite tiring.
Dr Millis took me down to get an x-ray done (so i can get discharged). getting wheeled around didn't cause any nausea. a skin ulcer check nurse came by, and audit nurse, and food quality rep.
for morning PT, i crutched to the stairs and then had to go up and down 3 stairs. that was SO hard and tiring. my left leg simply doesn't move. it's like the PT lady doesn't think i'm trying. she let me go rest and for the afternoon session i had to do stairs 4x's before she cleared me for discharge. it was very ungraceful.
so finally cleared for discharge! i needed to be able to do stairs with crutches, have bowel movement, have pain under control, and my x-rays were fine. there was a ton of meds to pick up and paperwork to sign and take home. my guy only brought me a pair of pants for discharge...so i wore a child's hospital gown as a shirt and hospital socks out of the hospital. my left leg was so swollen that i had difficulty getting my pants on (luckily for my sanity, they fit fine now).
we called a van cab to take us (and my wheelchair and commode and all my flowers) to yawkey family inn. i got in and out of the van without any problems and wheeled myself into the house.
throughout the night nurses come in regularly to check vitals, give meds, empty the catheter bag, empty the wound drainage bag...i woke up with less nausea and zero pain. i must say, the nurses at CHB are all very pleasant and cute. i wonder if it's cuz little kids are happier with perky nurse. i tried to nibble on some crackers with water and apple juice. my daddy came into town, with my aunt and cousin. my dad is always thinking of food. he brought 2 stuffed giordanos pizza for us and brought back a whole peking duck from the chinese restaurant in the howard johnson. unfortunately i had no appetite. i tried to eat dinner and ordered chix noodle soup and toast from the hospital dining service. it took 2hrs for the food to arrive. the soup was terribly bland so i had bits of toast and called it a day.
PT came buy and had me do ankle pumps, quad extension, glute squeeze.
my upper body was really itchy and i had a dull headache all day. they gave me nubain and benadryl for my itchiness and tylenol for my headache. i received 3 doses of cefazolin antibiotic and started lovenox shots (60 days) for anti-clotting.
Day 2
i woke up with less nausea but my dull headache lingered. i was super itchy all night (back, belly, around the edges of my millis diaper) so the nurses decided to change my sheets. they gathered a crew of 6 to change my sheets. i didn't know what they were going to do to me, but i lifted myself up with the trapeze thing and they got my sheets changed in one motion. really quite amazing. i went ahead and got a towel bath and my hair washed. that was really SO refreshing and my itchy back and torso got some temporary relief. getting my hair washed was a bit of a production tho. they had to adjust the bed into an upside V (automatic buttons) and put a collection tray under my head to catch water. my dad visited again and my sis-in-law brought goodies from rosie's bakery. flowers from friends and family continued to come in. winston flowers has some beautiful arrangements.
my wound drainage was removed and dr millis cut off my diaper and replaced the tegaderm over my steri-strips. now i had easier access to all my itchy spots. they also gave me back the blood that i donated before surgery. my hematocrit went up 3 points to 23, still anemic. in addition to nubain, they give me narcan for my itchiness. my nurse also started me on myolax to get things moving again. i was super gassy ALL day from that...tho i wonder if my blood was still tainted from the stomach bug i had prior to donating my blood...my catheter kept getting stopped up so i felt urgency but i was thinking, i shouldn't have urgency b/c there's a catheter. so i had to have nurses come by frequently to un-kink the collection tube. whenever it would empty, there was an uncomfortable tugging inside so i wished the tube wouldn't keep kinking.
i ordered full meals hoping to eat but ended up picking at everything. we ordered bertucci's for dinner but i didn't feel like eating that either.
PT had me do adduction/abduction, slide foot to butt, and pronate knee. i seriously couldn't do any of these moves and the PT was doing it all for me. amazing, losing all that control.
Day 3
pain still low. i would say there's more discomfort in the hip area, tightness and the whole area is numb so it doesn't feel normal. there's a fire&ice burning sensation that comes and goes. plus it was all swollen.
today was a big day--they yanked out all my tubes. my epidural was turned off at 7am and removed at 11:30am. my catheter came out the same time. they gave me 5mg oxycodone and tylenol for pain. and more colase and myolax.
my guy cooked me his famous slow-cooked scrambled eggs, english muffin and bratwurst for bfast. i could eat but the brats were a little too aromatic for me still. ordered some yogurt, cottage cheese, soy milk and strawberries for lunch to get some calcium for bone-healing for lunch. didn't get to it til dinner, and only picked at it.
got another sponge bath today cuz my period came and i soiled the sheets. PA erin and the nurses all said this was common after the body endures trauma like surgery. the hospital has funky gauze-y underpants. getting bathed is great cuz of the itchiness. my inner thighs started to itch like mad now. w/o bathing, getting wiped with rubbing alcohol feels great too.
PT today was getting out of bed into wheelchair. i did it in record time b/c i had to pee so bad. they asked me how my pain was since this was my first time out of bed. i felt no pain; just had to pee right now. they stuck me on a rolling commode chair to use the toilet. my left thigh is so fat and swollen. that might have been too much excitement for me. they had me sit in a big recliner chair. i sat there for a couple of hours and had no energy to stay awake. i took 10mg oxycodone prior to my next PT session in the afternoon. i technically wasn't supposed to have a 2nd session but they thought i got out of my chair so well, i could do the next step. getting wheeled over to PT was very nauseating. i was to walk the parallel bars which caused even more nausea. i couldn't finish the length of parallel bars, turned back and wanted to vomit. that's when the miracle wax kicked in so i got rushed back to the toilet. then i was very sleepy and napped.
i was woken up by a friend's visit. she dropped off a big fat magazine. oddly, during my whole hospital visit, i have no energy to read or even watch tv. i just sleep, scratch my itchy spots, sleep, go to the can, do PT, entertain guests, eat, sleep. very strange how all my time passes. after i woke up, i tried to go for a stroll in my commode chair. i got into the hallway but had nothing to pull myself around. a nurse asked where i was going and sent me back to my room.
nurses trying to get me off nubain for the itchiness cuz i can't take it home. throughout day, experimented with different doses of oxycodone and they decided that 5mg was the best amount for me.
Day 4
woke up with no pain but very drowsy. they gave me more colase and cortisone cream and sarna for my itchiness. appetite still isn't back but the yogurt with fresh strawberries is yummy, tastes like pinkberry! tried to pick at some roast beef for lunch. au bon pain chix noodle soup for dinner.
nurse suggested i might get discharged if i can pass crutches test and get a good balance for pain/nausea control. took a shower and washed hair in the bathroom. that was very tiring, so i went back to sleep after. and it's very uncomfortable to have so much pressure on left butt. my wheelchair and 3-in-1 commode were delivered.
for PT, tried parallel bars again. still very difficult. i can't move my left foot forward and have no hip flexor control. got very nauseated again and went straight to can. had to take a nap again. for afternoon PT, i walked the parallel bars much better. then they had me do a round with crutches. was physically wiped after that and then had to poop and sleep again. i need to tell the nurses no more colase.
my brother visited! the nurse showed my guy how to give me my lovenox shots. went to bed with small chills.
Day 5
woke up pain-free, not too drowsy. switched to 1mg dilaudad to see if that helps nausea. my itchiness is out of control--back, belly, inner thighs. it looks like i walked thru a thorn forest.
ordered choco chip bananas for bfast, yogurt w/sberries, oj w/prune juice. all very good (good job CHB kitchen). eating better but stomach feels smaller. chix parm and mac n' chz for lunch. eating is actually quite tiring.
Dr Millis took me down to get an x-ray done (so i can get discharged). getting wheeled around didn't cause any nausea. a skin ulcer check nurse came by, and audit nurse, and food quality rep.
for morning PT, i crutched to the stairs and then had to go up and down 3 stairs. that was SO hard and tiring. my left leg simply doesn't move. it's like the PT lady doesn't think i'm trying. she let me go rest and for the afternoon session i had to do stairs 4x's before she cleared me for discharge. it was very ungraceful.
so finally cleared for discharge! i needed to be able to do stairs with crutches, have bowel movement, have pain under control, and my x-rays were fine. there was a ton of meds to pick up and paperwork to sign and take home. my guy only brought me a pair of pants for discharge...so i wore a child's hospital gown as a shirt and hospital socks out of the hospital. my left leg was so swollen that i had difficulty getting my pants on (luckily for my sanity, they fit fine now).
we called a van cab to take us (and my wheelchair and commode and all my flowers) to yawkey family inn. i got in and out of the van without any problems and wheeled myself into the house.
Operating Day!
i called CHB at 3pm the business day before my November 12 scheduled surgery date. i was to report to the pre-op room at 6am for 7:30am surgery. we arrived in BOS the day before surgery and checked into Yawkey Family Inn. for some freak reason, my blackberry started to go on the fritz and my brand new suitcase had crooked wheels. so i took care of these errands, got some groceries to put in our YFI food cubbies and then got an early dinner to comply with the 8hr NPO restriction prior to surgery. i decided to try to get one last boost of iron so i chose legal sea foods to try to get some clams and shellfish. the next morning i had a juicy juice apple juice carton at 5am then we set off for the hospital for 6am arrival.
everyone asked me if i was nervous. i wasn't sure what to be nervous about. even in the waiting room, none of the kids there seemed to care and i'm like 3-4x's older than all of them! nurse mary took me in and did vitals, made sure i hadn't put anything in my mouth per NPO instructions, and checked that i had no polish on my nails (to monitor oxygen during surgery). i had to give urine (standard pregnancy test). i made sure all my tubes were emptied and then we were called up to the holding room.
i changed into my hospital gown and put all the clothes i was wearing in a brown paper bag. a bunch of people visited me--anesthesiology, residents, fellow. i got poked a few times and Dr Millis initialed my left thigh. i think they gave me a happy drug. i remember being rolled into a room that had lots of stuff. they told me they were giving me something...and that's all i remember.
when i woke up, someone was saying my name and asked me to wiggle my toes. i had a mask on my face and i was wrapped up all over from head to toe. they wrapped my whole mid-section in mummy gauze (aka the millis diaper). my guy was saying sweet nothings to me which i wasn't registering. i felt very nauseated, my throat hurt, and i was very groggy. i got poked a bunch of times because my sodium and potassium levels weren't normal. after 4.5 hours in recovery (i think i was one of the last ones in there), i was wheeled up to my hospital room. i opened my eyes at one point but had such bad motion sickness so i just closed my eyes.
my surgery report is they cut the acetabulum from the pelvis, rotated it laterally and put in 4 screws. they decided not to explore the joint capsule but may scope it in the future to visualize the labrum and medial cystic cartilage abnormalities that showed up in my pre-op MRI. i lost 900ml of blood and was in there a standard 4.5hrs.
my first night in the hospital was a blur of beeping and flashing lights thru my groggy haze. i had zero pain but intense nausea. when i had to lift myself up with the trapeze handle for someone to check my epidural, i had such bad motion sickness and dry-heaved. i also couldn't tolerate talking on the phone, esp when my sister called with her cheery non-church voice. the respirator machine kept beeping cuz it didn't think i was breathing. then it would set off the nurse alarm. they completely turned off my epidural for about 30min for the pain team to figure out how to manage my meds. they also took a chest xray to make sure my lungs hadn't collapsed. i had a bout of intense tightness in my jaw and upper body. my teeth were chattering and i couldn't relax my neck and shoulders. i had itchiness on my chest area. my epidural had started at 15 and was titrated down in 2.5 increments until they decided that 7.5 was a good level for me. i was on dilaudad and bupivicaine for pain, and zofran and reglan for nausea.
they gave me an incentive spirometer, a contraption to blow into to keep my airways open. i had to blow hard enough so these balls would rise in their tubes. i was supposed to do it 10x/hr but it gave me a bad headache so i wasn't very diligent. they also had pneumoboots on my calves to help circulation. my guy fed me ice chips throughout the night. ice never tasted so good.
the medical team decided that i am extremely sensitive to opiates which is why i had such bad nausea from the epidural (i guess i didn't experiment enough in my younger years). prior to surgery, i passed out before they were able to get the epidural in me. i think getting in an epidural requires patient cooperation but i was lights out already. in my hospital bed, the pain team didn't bother giving me the control button to increase my epidural strength.
my guy's parents visited briefly. i didn't think i felt that bad but his mom was staring at me like i was on my last breath and holding my hands very dearly. i remember wanting to brush my teeth very badly. they have toothbrush and toothpaste at the hospital (plus baby shampoo, dial soap and keri lotion).
everyone asked me if i was nervous. i wasn't sure what to be nervous about. even in the waiting room, none of the kids there seemed to care and i'm like 3-4x's older than all of them! nurse mary took me in and did vitals, made sure i hadn't put anything in my mouth per NPO instructions, and checked that i had no polish on my nails (to monitor oxygen during surgery). i had to give urine (standard pregnancy test). i made sure all my tubes were emptied and then we were called up to the holding room.
i changed into my hospital gown and put all the clothes i was wearing in a brown paper bag. a bunch of people visited me--anesthesiology, residents, fellow. i got poked a few times and Dr Millis initialed my left thigh. i think they gave me a happy drug. i remember being rolled into a room that had lots of stuff. they told me they were giving me something...and that's all i remember.
when i woke up, someone was saying my name and asked me to wiggle my toes. i had a mask on my face and i was wrapped up all over from head to toe. they wrapped my whole mid-section in mummy gauze (aka the millis diaper). my guy was saying sweet nothings to me which i wasn't registering. i felt very nauseated, my throat hurt, and i was very groggy. i got poked a bunch of times because my sodium and potassium levels weren't normal. after 4.5 hours in recovery (i think i was one of the last ones in there), i was wheeled up to my hospital room. i opened my eyes at one point but had such bad motion sickness so i just closed my eyes.
my surgery report is they cut the acetabulum from the pelvis, rotated it laterally and put in 4 screws. they decided not to explore the joint capsule but may scope it in the future to visualize the labrum and medial cystic cartilage abnormalities that showed up in my pre-op MRI. i lost 900ml of blood and was in there a standard 4.5hrs.
my first night in the hospital was a blur of beeping and flashing lights thru my groggy haze. i had zero pain but intense nausea. when i had to lift myself up with the trapeze handle for someone to check my epidural, i had such bad motion sickness and dry-heaved. i also couldn't tolerate talking on the phone, esp when my sister called with her cheery non-church voice. the respirator machine kept beeping cuz it didn't think i was breathing. then it would set off the nurse alarm. they completely turned off my epidural for about 30min for the pain team to figure out how to manage my meds. they also took a chest xray to make sure my lungs hadn't collapsed. i had a bout of intense tightness in my jaw and upper body. my teeth were chattering and i couldn't relax my neck and shoulders. i had itchiness on my chest area. my epidural had started at 15 and was titrated down in 2.5 increments until they decided that 7.5 was a good level for me. i was on dilaudad and bupivicaine for pain, and zofran and reglan for nausea.
they gave me an incentive spirometer, a contraption to blow into to keep my airways open. i had to blow hard enough so these balls would rise in their tubes. i was supposed to do it 10x/hr but it gave me a bad headache so i wasn't very diligent. they also had pneumoboots on my calves to help circulation. my guy fed me ice chips throughout the night. ice never tasted so good.
the medical team decided that i am extremely sensitive to opiates which is why i had such bad nausea from the epidural (i guess i didn't experiment enough in my younger years). prior to surgery, i passed out before they were able to get the epidural in me. i think getting in an epidural requires patient cooperation but i was lights out already. in my hospital bed, the pain team didn't bother giving me the control button to increase my epidural strength.
my guy's parents visited briefly. i didn't think i felt that bad but his mom was staring at me like i was on my last breath and holding my hands very dearly. i remember wanting to brush my teeth very badly. they have toothbrush and toothpaste at the hospital (plus baby shampoo, dial soap and keri lotion).
Preparing for PAO
dGEMRIC MRI & Autologous blood donation
i had to make another trip to Boston (from NYC) to get a dGEMRIC MRI done and give a pint of blood (Dr Millis wanted 2 pints total). the dGEMRIC MRI is only done 4 or 5x's/wk at specific times. the blood donation center is closed on mon. blood giving has many restrictions--how far apart you can give blood again after the first time, how close to surgery date. i chose to have my blood drawn at CHB because if i donated it in NYC to have sent up to boston, there would be a $470 charge that is not covered by insurance.
i had to make another trip to Boston (from NYC) to get a dGEMRIC MRI done and give a pint of blood (Dr Millis wanted 2 pints total). the dGEMRIC MRI is only done 4 or 5x's/wk at specific times. the blood donation center is closed on mon. blood giving has many restrictions--how far apart you can give blood again after the first time, how close to surgery date. i chose to have my blood drawn at CHB because if i donated it in NYC to have sent up to boston, there would be a $470 charge that is not covered by insurance.
the day before i went up to BOS to have my blood drawn, i had a stomach bug. i was wondering if that would affect my blood draw and was hoping it wouldn't. there's quite a few things that will make you ineligible for blood draw that i wasn't aware of. you can't have eaten aspirin or NSAID or other blood-thinner in the last 72hr. you have to pass a hemoglobin pin prick test (minimum 11). and unfortunately for me, i got dinged for my stomach bug so i had to wait til i was symptom-free for 48hr before i could go back. i was able to reschedule for the next day (exactly 48hr from my last episode) and then went up to get my dGEMRIC.
i got injected with a contrast before going in the MRI tube and then i had to walk around the hallways for 30min for the contrast to distribute properly. i was given a helmet to watch a movie for my MRI. they only had children's movies but it's better than staring at nothing, esp since this MRI took over an hour. another perk of being at a children's hospital is they offer juice and crackers after every procedure. the MRI confirmed that i was a good candidate for PAO. the report showed abnormal cartilage near the labrum, bone marrow edema, and some cysts (which Dr Millis couldn't explain). Dr Millis also wasn't sure why my degeneration was on the medial side of my femoral head (vs the lateral side).
back for my blood giving the next day, i passed the hemoglobin test but then they had to check if it was ok that i had gotten contrast injected the day before. luckily i was cleared and 10min later they had a bag of my blood. i didn't think i felt tired but i ended up sleeping a lot the next few days, and i decided it was from giving blood. i was originally told to start taking iron pills and eat iron-rich foods with calcium (to increase absorption) to prepare for my next blood giving 2wks later. the blood center lady said my iron was plenty high and not to bother with the iron pills. plus they make you constipated. so before my next blood giving, i ate a lot of steak, liver, smoked clams, miso soup (with firm tofu and seaweed), dates, and prune juice mixed with OJ. yum.
other medications/supplements that need to be stopped prior to surgery are birth control pills to prevent clotting (2 wks prior and can resume 1mo after surgery), fish/flaxseed oil or any other blood thinner.
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