Good news so far: I did not die during surgery! I have not lost the leg…YET.
Wednesday night (the surgery was Tuesday morning) I had to go to the ER for pain, and that was miserable (it hurt too much to sit down, which is why I was there, so I had to stand with my walker for hours in the middle of the night—which, to be fair, I would have had to do at home if not at the ER). But I had a nice ER doctor who said that the pain medication I was on was for “delicate old people, and BABIES,” and gave me a shot of Di1audid which did nothing for the pain but knocked me right out so I got a few hours of sleep, and then in the morning Paul called the surgeon who saw us a few hours later and prescribed 0xyc0ntin and m0rphine, and now I can sleep, and sit, and do my little exercises. (The surgeon had not prescribed the 0xyc0ntin earlier, because another doctor 20 years ago said I was allergic to Perc0cet, and people allergic to Perc0cet but not acetaminophen are allergic to 0xyc0ntin. But I am taking the 0xyc0ntin and, separately, acetaminophen, with no allergic reaction. This means mathematically that I am NOT allergic to Perc0cet, and now let’s see how difficult that is to get changed in my records.) (I hope this is all making sense. The pain medications don’t make me feel high, but they do make my thinking feel gappy.)
I am in that stage of recovery where I wake up, make my way to the bathroom, brush my teeth, take my pills, eat some breakfast, wash my face, redo my ponytail, do my physical therapy exercises—and it’s lunchtime and I need a nap. The whole day goes like that. I have not read one single book or magazine. I have broken some of my Wordle and phone-game streaks. It wasn’t until three days after the surgery that I managed to take a patchy sponge bath and change my clothes. I’d thought I was going to binge-watch TV series and be really bored, but the whole day is just eaten up.
I am fairly covered in bruises. It took three tries to do the IV, and I have a big decorative bruise for each one, and also a bunch of pretty bruise-dots where they put the tourniquet. The surgical leg is 1.5 times the width of the other, and is very bruised, including a big garter-like dotted bruise where they put THAT tourniquet. The ER doctor clucked over me in a pleasing way: “Oh, look at this. My goodness. What did they do to you.”
Today (Saturday) is the first day I’ve had an appetite. Paul has been putting food in front of me and I eat it and it tastes good and makes me feel better, but today is the first day I’ve thought of food and wanted some.
I can go up and down stairs with a cane and the railing, but I need someone else to carry my walker up/down and meet me with it when I arrive. If this were going to go on longer than a couple of weeks, I would get a second walker; as it is, people are home anyway and it’s no big deal to ask one of them to transport the walker.
I am still sleeping in the recliner downstairs, even though I can do the stairs. There are several reasons which now seem almost too boring to list. The number of times I get up in the night, and how much noise I make doing so. I can’t roll over anyway, and it’s easier to sleep on my back in a recliner than in a bed. Paul’s snoring. A series of events that meant Paul would be gone several early mornings and I would be stranded upstairs until the kids woke up. The complication of middle-of-the-night medications. Anyway I am still in the recliner, but hope to soon be back in a bed.
I have put my earrings back in. I took them out as instructed for the surgery, and my ears felt weird and naked. But it wasn’t until three days later that I gathered the necessary resources to put most of them back in.
I cannot believe they didn’t give you something equivalent to 0xyc0ntin and m0rphine. And it sounds like you didn’t get a nerve block, which is criminal.
I hope the worst is over and things go smoothly from here.
I did get a nerve block! It was predicted to last about a day, and did.
I also thought it sounded like no nerve block! I was like Wh0a Wth!
I know if YOU actually went to the ER then things were very, very bad indeed!! Glad to hear you are doing better now, I’ve been thinking a lot about you 😁
I’m so glad you came through it!!
I’m very glad that you did not die, and have not lost the leg (yet)! I hope your healing speeds up now.
Oh my goodness! Having to go to the ER in that state sounds absolutely miserable! The nerve block from my ankle arthoscopy wore off in the middle of the night (did not get ahead of it due to being asleep). That pain was roaring white hot and nearly induced a mess in my pants. Now I set an alarm to take meds in the middle of the night. Got my first shower in today! Still on the couch, too. Cheering you on in your recovery.
The early pain ordeal sounds awful and I’m so sorry you had to endure that and relieved that you were able to get the pain under control. A relative of mine had major surgery roughly equivalent to knee replacement and was still doing a lot of restorative sleeping nearly a month out. The body has to do A LOT OF WORK to recover from something that serious! I’m glad you are getting sleep and getting around. Thinking of you and very glad to hear from you!
I’m glad you went to the ER, even if that does sound miserable waiting.
I was having benevolent PTSD reading, I remember those days well. Kevin would come home from work and it felt like he just left. At risk of sounding trite, it’ll get better quick then Future You will be grateful for all the plans Past You laid in place. :)
Go at your own pace and throw things at people if they’re bugging you. :)
I’m so relieved you are on the other side. Joint replacements are so common that we forget they are MAJOR surgery. I wish I’d warned you about getting two walkers. I got my second one as well as a shower bench from our Small Town medical loan closet, and the first full-body shower was all I wanted out of life. Don’t hesitate to accept help from anyone who offers and nap every chance you get. Also, this is not a competition. Winifred (my new hip) is 4 1/2 months old and I love her, finally, but it was a fraught courtship. People who told me I’d be fully normal in six weeks are full of it.
We appreciate the update!
Thanks for updating us! I’ve been thinking of you. Sending all my good thoughts that things continue to improve, and you’re able to manage the pain going forward.
So glad you are on the other side of the surgery! Hope your healing has zero surprises, or at least only of the pleasant kind.
I’m glad you’re making it through. Wishing you an easier recovery from here on out.
So glad you made it through the surgery; and so mad at your doctor for not prescribing you stronger meds. Rest often; the body needs it to heal.
Thanks for the update! I think I’m headed in the direction of a knee replacement myself, so I appreciate your info. Take care of yourself, and keep us posted.
I’m glad they figured out your meds and got you more comfortable!
A doctor in the 80s told my mother-in-law that my husband must be allergic to penicill1n and he went his whole life telling everyone he was allergic to penicill1n and then a couple of years ago was tested for some reason and he … isn’t. I remember at the time there was an article out about how a lot of people were told they were allergic but they aren’t actually, although I forget the particulars.
Anyway, in my experience Perc0cet does nothing anyway, so I’m glad that the ER doctor has you on stuff that works and you’re able to get sleep and let you body do the hard work of recovering!
Good to hear you made it! Doctors are pretty good at keeping people alive during surgery. One thing I learned after my only major surgery (so far) many years ago is that depression after surgery is very common. Like mine hit a week or two after, I think. So keep being nice to yourself and sleep as much as possible.
I’ve been waiting anxiously for this update! I’m so glad you’re recovering. Recovery is hard work for the body! I can totally see how a day goes by with just recovery things, because those recovery things are big deals!
Did this comment make sense, I have no idea. Sending supportive hugs and love, Care Bear Stares from me. xo
Glad for the update! Hang in there.
so happy for the update. Hope you continue to be able to rest and to improve with no further issues.
Happy to hear you made it!
Hang in there; it’s got to get better from here on.
I’m glad to hear the update! Two of my co-workers, in age range of 45-52 got knee replacements last year. They are both walking well and say it is worth it! I hope you continue to do well.
So glad you got better meds! The worst of it is over now, slow but steady progress ahead. I hope all goes really well for you as you move forward.
So glad you are post-surgery and recovering, though that sounds difficult (I have not endured or supported a knee-surgery person so have no direct experience but have heard knees are way worse than hips, with which I have had experience as a support person). Ugh to needing to go to the ER in the middle of the night for any reason, pain certainly on that list. I am glad you have enough people around to help. My hubby slept in his recliner for some time after his hip surgeries (replacements) so that sounds normal to me.
Yay for update! I was looking at our calendar (twins!) and thinking about you today! I’m so sorry you had to go to ER. I had a surprise tumor removed from my kidney last year and I didn’t do anything at all for two weeks, and was still resting heavily the full eight weeks. I watched no shows, read no books, just literally rested. It was weeks and weeks before I was even bored or thinking about other things. The body will tell you.
Thank you for updating us. So glad you’re managing. Ack ack ack about the pain!
I’m sorry your post-surgical experience has been so rough. I hope it’s better now that you have better pain management and that you can get the rest you need to heal.
I am glad for the update and that things are heading in the right direction. Drops in the bucket!
Swistle, I am so glad you are okay! I’ve been thinking of you and I’m pissed they didn’t give you better meds to start with.
So glad to hear you came out in one piece. Here’s to a swift and thorough recovery without much pain and discomfort!
Swistle, I’m glad for the update and that you got yourself some better meds (even if the ER trip was harrowing). I’m glad that food is starting to sound good to you and that you have family members around to offer some help <3.
Excellent! Well, not the pain and ER part. But the rest! Encouraging and positive trending news here. Thinking of you sending good vibes (I hope you like vibes)
Wow, that sounds rough! I hope the days to come are gentler with you
Glad you’ve got some meds to keep things steady during this phase. Sending wishes for continued progress and healing.
Oh hooray, so happy to have an update from you! Although those first few days sound… very very not fun. I’m sorry they did not give you the proper medication for pain management. Glad you advocated for yourself and got the good stuff now. Keep taking it super easy, and I’m sending warm, heal-y, fuzzy thoughts to you!
Glad you are doing well Swistle !
Glad you’re improving and managing! Thanks for the update and thinking of you!!!
Yeowch, so sorry to hear about your pain! It must have been horrible! Otherwise, very glad to see your update, and hoping you have more energy soon so you can binge-watch as you rightly deserve.
Keep on recovering! Be gentle with yourself, I know you will. Glad you posted! Yay, new knee!
So glad that you are through the surgery and wishing you a fast recovery with less pain than you’ve had so far.
It’s very upsetting that you had to stand in the ER for so long, but your ER doctor was very validating. Good job giving you dil@udid, I love that stuff.
I’ve been thinking about you a lot and I appreciate the update. I hope you heal well and peacefully.
Heal quickly, Swistle! We’ve been thinking about you! Wishing you a (now) pain free recuperation <3
Thinking of you. So glad you are on the recovery side and got the good meds finally
Swistle, glad to hear you did not die!!!! Functioning legs are in your future! Best wishes for continued recovery.
These blog entries are so helpful…. I know we’ll be on this path one day at our house.
checking in daily to see if you are doing ok. Thinking of you and hoping recovery is going well.