2 Week Post-Op Recovery on New Year’s Eve

I had a really bad day yesterday. I was in a lot of pain. The good news, the elephant feet are completely gone.

My mom was helping me get into bed and hit my right side playfully. I can get into bed myself but sometimes she just can’t help, helping me. She forgot about my surgery. Ouch!! So, I don’t know if it was that, or just because I was not feeling well. I normally have no problems getting into bed, and I almost could not get into bed, without help. Maybe the 2 week post-op mark is really hard. My mom has been noticing even before she hit me by accident, that I have been getting worse.

My hands are becoming a real problem. I have carpul tunnel and my hands hurt from using the walker. Maybe, I have to alternate with the crutches?

My god parents came to visit me again today. Since I was sitting up for a while I was tired after they left. I layed down for a while reading because now its comfortable to lay my leg flat.

I have slowed down in taking my medication. I’ve been forgetting to take it, but maybe thats why I had a bad day yesterday. I’m still taking tramadol, oxycodone, norco and aspirin. I alternate the norco and oxycodone.

13th day of Recovery!

I still have elephant feet, but it does not feel as bad. I guess it will go away, as my mobility goes up.

My experiment with how I slept, was a success. I stacked up the pillows and put another blanket behind me to keep me elevated at an angle, like a hospital bed. My back did not hurt as much. Just a tiny bit. I was able to get up without struggling. I slept to almost 8 in the morning. Thats the latest I have slept until, so far. I only got up because my mom brought me breakfast before she went to church.

The elephant feet culprit was the TED stockings. I took them off but before I did it looks like the stockings were constricting my ankle in two spots. My feet hurt so bad. I layed down with my feet up for a couple of hours and my feet look almost normal now.

12th Day of Recovery or Set Back

I woke up in pain. My back was hurting so bad, I had to get up. Counting the one time at 1 am that I woke up in pain. It happened twice. I have not got any sleep.

I was feeling really uncomfortable and could barely move like I have been. My mom says I’m not getting better, I’m getting worse.

As I was getting ready for my shower, I find out my op foot is swollen. It was about triple the size of my normal foot size. I’m a little worried. I had on the TED stockings but I think it happened because I put a pillow behind my op knee to keep it bent overnight. So, I’m not going to do that anymore.

After my shower, I guess I feel better, but my foot is still swollen. My mom got me briefs that almost came up to my breasts. Wow. My mom was worried about the incision, if she got normal underwear. They were also size 9, and they were extra loose. Yeah, I’m back to going commando, until she goes back to the store to get the correct underwear. She will get boyshorts this time.

She didn’t get boyshorts for me but she got low rise briefs size 8. They fit perfectly unfortunately. I need to be much smaller. They don’t bother my incision, even with staples. I even feel normal now. Because I have been going commando in the beginning of my recovery or been wearing a make shift underwear because they were too tight. The side of my incision, the panties were cut and extended. It worked.

Other than that, my mom and my chihuahua, have been having a war with each other. My dog Amber, is 10 years old, and set in her ways. When she does not want to go outside, it takes my mom forever to get her to go. When she does not want to come inside, she screams bloody murder, if my mom tries to get her to come inside.

This morning, I tell her to leave her alone, if she does not want to go outside. My mom wants the dog to go outside to pee and save the potty pad inside. The problem with that, is the weather. When its cold, she does not want to go outside. My mom won’t win this fight. My mom said this morning she is tired of taking care of me and my dog. She was partially joking. This surgery has been hard on her, because she has to take care of me all the time. I started to feel independent, but today is one mayor set back, which will take a lot longer to become independent.

I’m supposed to start a job on Jan 7th and my mom told me I better not take the job. I’m going to give myself another couple of days and think about taking the job as planned or declining the job offer.

11th day of Recovery

In an extreme amount of pain this morning. I woke up in pain. Never good. It took me a while to push myself up and move into a sitting position. My operated leg feels really swollen. I could barely make it to the bathroom with my walker, like I normally can do. My hands hurt and even though I am not putting weight on my right leg, any time I hop on my good leg, it hurts the bad one. It was also cold this morning. I now have my jacket on and I feel like my body and leg have been warmed up and not so stiff anymore.

When I layed down today, I put a folded blanket under my op leg to keep it bended some. It seemed to help the tight, swollen feeling when I got up.

My mom brought me a Starbucks coffee! Pepperment Mocha Frappucino! Compliments to my brother and his wife. They gave me a Starbucks gift card for christmas, among other things. Even better, my brother said it had 5 dollars, but it had 20 dollars. Now I have 15 dollars left on it. Thats three more coffees. Next time, I’m getting a caramel brullee. I forgot about that one. Too bad I can’t drive myself yet.

10th day of Recovery!

Does anyone else’s heels burn while you sleep? That was why, I had to get up at 5 in the morning. My heels were hurting. When I went back to sleep, I put a pillow under my heels. I think that worked.

The constipation medication I took seems to be slowing down. Last night, I still had to go #2, but I think its about finished.

Its easier now to move my leg on and off the bed. My operated leg is still on the outside of the bed. I still have to grab below my knee to help my leg but I now have control over it.

I started bleeding today. I had my period a couple days before my PAO. My PAO was on the 18th of this month so its way to early. I’m concerned about the bleeding. I also was going commando because it was more comfortable and now I had to put underwear on and I don’t like how it feels on the incision. Its also too tight.

As a tempory fix, I cut the underwear and sewed an extention to make it loose. It looks ridiculous but it workes. I think most of my underwear were tight before the surgery because I gained weight but they were not terribly tight. My operated leg is still swollen and makes the underwear real tight. I just don’t have any underwear that is not tight and I did not get any before the surgery. Its still to early for me to leave the house, but I’ll have my mom get the underwear for me. I seem to have stopped bleeding and hopefully it won’t start again. That is the only reason I had to put on any underwear to start off with. Going commando especially with staples in, is the only way to be comfortable.

I also got into an arguement with my mom and she was not taking care of my dog and she left her outside. So I’m now sore because I had to feed and give her water. Seems a simple task but I can’t bend down a lot and carrying the water to fill her bowl with is difficult with a walker but I managed it. It got messy because I had to pour the water from a far distance. I also had to drop the food from a far distance. Earlier, I had to get help taking my pants off and putting my underwear on, and my mom complained while helping me then. I still can’t do it and I don’t have a grabber to help. Because my mom was acting like she didn’t want to help me, I was getting my lunch myself, I dropped the food on the ground and lost my balance trying to pick it up. My mom finally decided to help me out. She gets my lunch together but the damage has been done. So I had to lay down for a while.

9th day of Recovery

The prune juice and constipation medication worked too well. I just want it to stop. I’m not having diarrhea but its never ending. I went three times this morning and once last night. And I’m not talking about #1.

This morning, I got my mom to put the bedside commode top on the bathroom toilet. She wanted to put the bucket on too. Than there is no purpose of moving it. She thought a gap between the real toilet and the beside would make #1/#2 squirt out. Gravity. So now I have rails and a elevated toilet seat on top of the real toilet so my mom does not have to clean up the stuff. I used it once without the added top and I can do it but I worry about being so low and getting up is a little difficult.

The picture is of my incision. I took the bandage off. My tattoo got a face lift. 😛

My appointment to take the staples out is coming up soon.

My mother's womens group in her church came to visit. They gave me flowers. I have never received this many flowers before. Everytime one of the ladies would ask what kind of surgery I had, I dreaded it, because they don't speak english very well. Korean ladies. I tried my best to explain, but I don't think they got it.

I felt like I could barely walk after I layed down for a while. I got up at 9 pm. A word of the wise, don’t lay down to long. My hands were hurting too! I don’t know why everything hit me at once. I had to get help to get up. Before I layed down, I had a mishap with the walker again. I think I put weight on my op leg for a bit. I also went over the time, I am supposed to take my pain meds. Pain meds are taken and I hope I feel better. I slightly feel better right now.

Merry CHRISTMAS! Merry 8th day of RECOVERY!

The crummy part of this surgery is, while recovering, you can’t get a decent night’s sleep. I always get up around 2 or 3 in the morning, because laying in one spot causes your surgery leg more pain.

I was messing around in the middle of the night and decided to move my pillows to the opposite end of the bed. I love to have a headboard behind my head, but I can’t get in by myself, so this way, my surgery leg is on the outside and my good leg is leading. I officially woke up at 9:20 am but I was up at 8 am, because my leg was becoming uncomfortable in laying in one spot.

I should have woke up because everything stiff now. My neck, back and surgery leg.

I have been going commando, because I only have underwear that is too tight. They fit before the surgery. I had planned to go get larger ones or boxers, but this way works.
My mom made me an egg sandwich this morning and prepared coffee for me. Moms are the best. My brother and his wife suprised my mom and I, with a surprise visit. He said he was coming tomorrow.

Another great piece of news, is that I found a usb cable, that would charge my nook. It’s a usb cable, from my android. The nookcolor is marked by the company, being unable to charge by connecting to computer, but online everyone says it works. It does, but very slowly. I was dying without my books.

My dog has figured out, I can’t move around well and she is taking advantage of that. 😛 My mom has been taking care of her too.

It’s about time for me to take the bandage off. I’m too scared to look at it. I know the doctor used staples. I did not want staples. To me, that is being lazy, because he didn’t want to spend the time closing it with sutures. My surgery took him longer than expected. He says it’s because my femoral head was worn. He had to shave it down like a bad potato. A good simile, but the image produced is scary, to my mind’s eye. 😛

My mobility is the same. Nothing new there. Still using my walker and most of the time I stay in my room. I had recently changed my bedroom in the house into a larger one and I am thankful now. I had a tiny room, and I don’t think all my stuff, would fit.

My brother and sister-in-law were shocked how swollen my leg was. I had no knee before, but now I really have no knee. By the time they left, I was feeling stiff and swollen because I did not lay down at all while they were here. I also did not have my TED stockings on. My mom washed them again. My mom is worried and fawns over me, she instructed me not to get up while she went to visit a friend after my brother left.

Constipation is a ugly word. Constipation feels ugly. After drinking prune juice, and taking constipation medication, i finally went. My brother asked me if I had a baby when I came out of the bathroom. I was in there forever. It was also the first time I used a normal toilet and I will be using the bedside commode again next time. Its too low and I had a hard time lowering myself and I was sitting there too long and my leg was hurting being so low. I think I wanted to use the normal toilet because my brother and his wife were visiting and it was a number 2.

Today turned out to be a great day actually. Surprise visit from my brother and my sister-in-law made Chicken Pho. I was not able to eat a lot, but I enjoyed it. I also got a christmas gift when I was not expecting one.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

ONE WEEK POST-OP RECOVERY

One week has passed and I feel pretty good, for having a major surgery last week.

I was worried yesterday, and the swelling has gone down some. I still have my TED stockings on, afraid to take them off.
I am still applying a ice pack to incision area because I’m paranoid.

This surgery will mess up your sleep schedule. I have never gotten up at 6 am in the morning, and every morning, I’m up.

It has helped a lot, having the bedside commode. Because its like a elevated toilet seat with rails. You can put it over your normal toilet, but my mom does not want to worry about taking the other toilet seat off. She had a hard time putting it on. I’m fine using it in my room or in the bathroom. My mom has to clean it up.

She says I’m her baby again. Yesterday, since I was so swollen I had to get her help getting into bed. I also switched sides, where my surgery leg is in the inside. It was easier getting in with the surgery leg outside but I could not sit up, even with pillows. I need the headrest behind me.

I am of course, still using my walker to get around. I can’t imagine using crutches, well I can, but it hurts my arm pits. No thanks. Matter of fact, the PT did not even teach me to use crutches. Maybe because I had surgery on my left arm and my left arm is not 100 % anyways. When, I start school again, I will be using the walker, with bags attached to the rails. I have only two classes on campus, but I still need it.

Left PAO Plans

I will probably do my Left PAO, if I can, in June. 2013. It might have to wait until Dec. 2013. The doctor tells me, if the Right PAO, is successful, we will do the left. This does not erase Total Hip Replacements in my future. It just gives me more time. 🙂

Recovery Day 6

Score!! I finally had a BM. All those prunes I ate yesterday, as well as the constipation medication I was taking every day since surgery, finally worked. I feel so much better. I would not say I was constipated but it was somewhat hard. I unloaded. 😛

I feel stiffer. Even had a sharp pull at my groin area. It feels tight in that area, even numb. Maybe tight and numb. How long I can sit, seems to be decreasing, instead of increasing. I have been putting ice on the incision area since last night. Seems to help. I did not have my TED stockings on during one part of yesterday, when I had to lay down. I put them back on last night, and still have them on. My mom, for some reason, does not understand why I have to wear them. She says, only during the surgery. It is in black and white in my instructions. Well, at least she gave me the stockings to wear.

She has been real good to me and making me coffee in the mornings. Bringing my coffee into my room, since my walker does not have a cup holder. That really sucks, I wanted a cup holder. My walker has a seat and a soft back to lean against, but no cup holder.

I have a bad memory, so I have been writing my medication on a white board and when I took them. I’m the same, in mobility and movement. Nothing better and nothing worse since yesterday. Sometimes, I still have to have my mom help me pick my leg up or put it down when getting in and out of bed.

One of the nurses broke my cable to charge my nook, so I’m without that until another charging cable comes in from eBay. It was already broken, but she bent it to fix it, which broke finally. I’m not mad. I’ve been trying to use my netbook, as my e-book reader, using calibre but it’s not the same.

The first picture is of my right hip before the surgery. I have a tattoo on my right hip. A mistake when I was 20. 😛 My point is, look how swollen, my hip is compared to before the surgery.

The second picture is of the left side of my stomach, all bruised up from the heparin injections the nurses gave me while I was in the hospital. I don’t have to give myself any, thankfully. I just have to take aspirin and continue wearing the TED stockings.

The last picture is showing my right hip, with the aquacel dressing on. The doctor applied this on before I went home on Friday. I got a quick look at it then. I think the incision goes straight through the tattoo. I’m pretty swollen today, and kind of worried about the puffed up areas coming from the incision area.

I elevated my legs for a while and put a ice pack on the area and now it looks a lot better. My hip did not really look that bad, but the picture above makes it seem so. The positioning of the camera. I am overweight but, as you can see from the before surgery picture, it is swollen. My mom says the marks that are puffed up, are stress marks, because the hip is swollen. The non surgical leg has marks like that too, the only difference now, I can see them real well. My mom was hoping the tattoo would be cut out completely. I would not have cared anyway, if they did or not. The tattoo still looked intact when the doctor changed the bandage Friday.