- Joined
- Jun 8, 2008
- Messages
- 54,809
Hi girls, I cannot sleep tonight though I was exhausted when I went to bed here I am after midnight and wide awake. Well at least I can keep up with your posts and get started on some of my posting lol.
Dear Sarah, first of all you are doing so amazing. Way ahead of the game. The pain will get less with each week and please don't be afraid to take the pain meds. I was too and also was afraid of becoming addicted. I can see it now. You and I the 2 least likely people to become addicted worrying about that lol.
In the first month or so part of my problem was I was scared to take enough pain meds because I didn't want to get nauseous or addicted but I needed them and finally started taking enough to get a handle on the pain. I stayed in the hospital for 4 days and 4 nights and I was taking morphine via IV and 3 Oxys every few hours for most of that time. I thought I had a high tolerance to pain but I cannot imagine someone who has a low tolerance going through that kind of pain.
So please take it if you need to and do whatever you need to (eat, anti nausea meds) to avoid the nausea and you will not become addicted.But stay ahead of that pain because it makes life miserable. Soon you will not even need the meds but take them while you need them. I remember I was so worried I would run out of the pain meds that I asked my surgeon to write for as many Oxy pills as he could and I have over 100 unused Oxy left lol. And just to reassure you I have no desire to take them ever again.
With each week you will see improvement. I was non weight bearing for 3 months so our individual experience will be somewhat different but as soon as I got to partial weight bearing I did improve much more quickly. I did all my PT faithfully with the goal of walking and walking well in mind. I still have a limp when I get up from a seated position and have to work that out by walking but I am so grateful for the progress I have made. And my ankle almost looks like the other ankle so another amazing change because it was not a pretty sight. The incisions are ugly but like we both wrote earlier. They are our war wounds and show we are leading interesting lives. And that's OK. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger right?
My girlfriend who was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer (in fact she visited me in the hospital the day she got her breast cancer diagnosis at Sloan) and underwent surgery and radiation this past autumn called me today and asked me how it is I'm not angry about what happened because she is having all these feelings of anger dealing with the breast cancer and the treatments. I told her I was angry at first. Angry at myself, angry at Greg because somehow blaming myself and Greg gave me some illusion of control over the situation and made me feel better. Except it really didn't. And my feelings of anger were quickly replaced with gratitude that I was able to get treatment and able to walk again and resume most of my activities.
The surgeon and other medical professionals in the field told me that if my injury happened decades ago before they had this technology I would never be able to walk right again or perhaps even walk so you can bet that I am grateful. That is not to say I am not sad occasionally when I think about the last 8 months ( and really 13 months when my health took a down turn) and all the lost time. Sure I do get sad about that especially because I am still dealing with some issues. But my overwhelming feeling is one of gratitude and thankfulness and appreciation. For my progress and the love and support of my friends and family. And of course you are already at this point but just sharing these thoughts with you in case it helps in any way. We both are so fortunate that we live in the time we do where advances have been made in this kind of technology that allows us the ability to retain most if not all of our functioning that we had before the injury and surgery.
To answer your other questions the pain was excruciating for me for at least a few weeks after the surgery (and 10 days before I was able to have the surgery-that was the worst part for me because I was just waiting for the surgery and no progress was being made during that waiting time) I think and I took 3 oxy pills every few hours during the first week or 2 after the surgery and tapered it down as the pain allowed. Don't be a hero. If you can tolerate the pain meds and the side effects don't make it bad take them as you need to. Eat those small meals with them and take the anti nausea meds before you take the Oxy. The pain was just so overwhelming in the first few weeks and as I wrote before drowned everything else out so I just needed to quiet that pain to function mentally because I wasn't functioning physically at all.
I can feel your pain Sarah. It is still fresh in my mind. I wish I could take it away and make this time speed up for you so you could already be where you want to be but it will come. I promise. And it is so helpful that you are in good shape and ready and willing to be better. You are the best type of patient. One who wants to and will do what it takes to get better.
Sending you the biggest (((HUGS))) and healing vibes for a full and as quick as possible recovery. You will get there and each week the pain will be less and less till it is just a distant memory. Please though don't overdo too much. Listen to your body and rest when it tells you to.
Thanks for your concern about our house during Sandy. We were very lucky as only our backyard got destroyed. The house was untouched. We rebuilt the backyard the winter/spring right after Sandy and while it was something I hope we never have to go through again we were so fortunate and I still cry thinking about those poor people who lost everything.
I only worked part time for the last number of years so I am going back to my usual days. I hope you find a good balance for you when that time comes. I think we know when it is time to let go and when we are just not ready yet. It's all about finding that perfect balance. I don't know what the future holds re work yet because there is a lot of extraneous stuff I am now going to have to deal with (EMR EMR EMR OMG OMG OMG LOL) that I am not sure I will be able to deal with nor want to deal with. Add to the mix all the other stuff I am dealing with and well I am playing it by ear. Day by day. One thing I promised myself during this summer (while I was recuperating and struggling with the pain and the challenge of being non weight bearing where I couldn't even do the simplest task for myself) was that I was not going to put myself through any unnecessary stress and suffering ever again. So while I am going back because I want to give it my all I am not going to stay if I hate it and I am also not going to beat myself up about that if it happens. Been there done that and I don't want to make myself feel badly or guilty if it doesn't work out. Giving it my all but I am mentally prepared if it doesn't pan out like I hope it does.
Callie, oh you poor dear. That is too much snow you were dealing with and I hope all your trees survive. Yes more snow on the way but I am hoping it is not too much. I have that appointment with a new dermatologist Monday and I would hate navigating the streets in the ice and snow but it isn't looking good unfortunately. I think we have that in common. Both ready for the winter weather to be over and longing for a beautiful sunny and mild spring...
Oh I am sure we could have found the perfect pair at the Miami show but not sure my pocketbook could have withstood the blow lol. Still looking though and as I wrote before the search is half the fun. I am ready to find the right pair now though as this has been a very long search.
Marcy, glad Marty drove you to work when the roads were icy the other day and glad they are clear now. You should put that bunny to work helping clear your driveway and street. He certainly has a lot of extra energy that could be channeled for good. Something to think about.
I hear you on the grocery shopping. I used to like grocery shopping but now the stores are too crowded and there is too much traffic everywhere. Truth be told Greg has been doing all the grocery shopping the last few weeks but I am going to try and go with him tomorrow. Of course it is well after midnight and I am still wide awake. Too much on my mind I guess. Same old same old.
Hope your roads stay clear and that you enjoy the weekend together. And I hope Marty is all caught up on his sleep too.
Have a good night everyone with sweet dreams!
Dear Sarah, first of all you are doing so amazing. Way ahead of the game. The pain will get less with each week and please don't be afraid to take the pain meds. I was too and also was afraid of becoming addicted. I can see it now. You and I the 2 least likely people to become addicted worrying about that lol.
In the first month or so part of my problem was I was scared to take enough pain meds because I didn't want to get nauseous or addicted but I needed them and finally started taking enough to get a handle on the pain. I stayed in the hospital for 4 days and 4 nights and I was taking morphine via IV and 3 Oxys every few hours for most of that time. I thought I had a high tolerance to pain but I cannot imagine someone who has a low tolerance going through that kind of pain.
So please take it if you need to and do whatever you need to (eat, anti nausea meds) to avoid the nausea and you will not become addicted.But stay ahead of that pain because it makes life miserable. Soon you will not even need the meds but take them while you need them. I remember I was so worried I would run out of the pain meds that I asked my surgeon to write for as many Oxy pills as he could and I have over 100 unused Oxy left lol. And just to reassure you I have no desire to take them ever again.
With each week you will see improvement. I was non weight bearing for 3 months so our individual experience will be somewhat different but as soon as I got to partial weight bearing I did improve much more quickly. I did all my PT faithfully with the goal of walking and walking well in mind. I still have a limp when I get up from a seated position and have to work that out by walking but I am so grateful for the progress I have made. And my ankle almost looks like the other ankle so another amazing change because it was not a pretty sight. The incisions are ugly but like we both wrote earlier. They are our war wounds and show we are leading interesting lives. And that's OK. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger right?
My girlfriend who was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer (in fact she visited me in the hospital the day she got her breast cancer diagnosis at Sloan) and underwent surgery and radiation this past autumn called me today and asked me how it is I'm not angry about what happened because she is having all these feelings of anger dealing with the breast cancer and the treatments. I told her I was angry at first. Angry at myself, angry at Greg because somehow blaming myself and Greg gave me some illusion of control over the situation and made me feel better. Except it really didn't. And my feelings of anger were quickly replaced with gratitude that I was able to get treatment and able to walk again and resume most of my activities.
The surgeon and other medical professionals in the field told me that if my injury happened decades ago before they had this technology I would never be able to walk right again or perhaps even walk so you can bet that I am grateful. That is not to say I am not sad occasionally when I think about the last 8 months ( and really 13 months when my health took a down turn) and all the lost time. Sure I do get sad about that especially because I am still dealing with some issues. But my overwhelming feeling is one of gratitude and thankfulness and appreciation. For my progress and the love and support of my friends and family. And of course you are already at this point but just sharing these thoughts with you in case it helps in any way. We both are so fortunate that we live in the time we do where advances have been made in this kind of technology that allows us the ability to retain most if not all of our functioning that we had before the injury and surgery.
To answer your other questions the pain was excruciating for me for at least a few weeks after the surgery (and 10 days before I was able to have the surgery-that was the worst part for me because I was just waiting for the surgery and no progress was being made during that waiting time) I think and I took 3 oxy pills every few hours during the first week or 2 after the surgery and tapered it down as the pain allowed. Don't be a hero. If you can tolerate the pain meds and the side effects don't make it bad take them as you need to. Eat those small meals with them and take the anti nausea meds before you take the Oxy. The pain was just so overwhelming in the first few weeks and as I wrote before drowned everything else out so I just needed to quiet that pain to function mentally because I wasn't functioning physically at all.
I can feel your pain Sarah. It is still fresh in my mind. I wish I could take it away and make this time speed up for you so you could already be where you want to be but it will come. I promise. And it is so helpful that you are in good shape and ready and willing to be better. You are the best type of patient. One who wants to and will do what it takes to get better.
Sending you the biggest (((HUGS))) and healing vibes for a full and as quick as possible recovery. You will get there and each week the pain will be less and less till it is just a distant memory. Please though don't overdo too much. Listen to your body and rest when it tells you to.
Thanks for your concern about our house during Sandy. We were very lucky as only our backyard got destroyed. The house was untouched. We rebuilt the backyard the winter/spring right after Sandy and while it was something I hope we never have to go through again we were so fortunate and I still cry thinking about those poor people who lost everything.
I only worked part time for the last number of years so I am going back to my usual days. I hope you find a good balance for you when that time comes. I think we know when it is time to let go and when we are just not ready yet. It's all about finding that perfect balance. I don't know what the future holds re work yet because there is a lot of extraneous stuff I am now going to have to deal with (EMR EMR EMR OMG OMG OMG LOL) that I am not sure I will be able to deal with nor want to deal with. Add to the mix all the other stuff I am dealing with and well I am playing it by ear. Day by day. One thing I promised myself during this summer (while I was recuperating and struggling with the pain and the challenge of being non weight bearing where I couldn't even do the simplest task for myself) was that I was not going to put myself through any unnecessary stress and suffering ever again. So while I am going back because I want to give it my all I am not going to stay if I hate it and I am also not going to beat myself up about that if it happens. Been there done that and I don't want to make myself feel badly or guilty if it doesn't work out. Giving it my all but I am mentally prepared if it doesn't pan out like I hope it does.
Callie, oh you poor dear. That is too much snow you were dealing with and I hope all your trees survive. Yes more snow on the way but I am hoping it is not too much. I have that appointment with a new dermatologist Monday and I would hate navigating the streets in the ice and snow but it isn't looking good unfortunately. I think we have that in common. Both ready for the winter weather to be over and longing for a beautiful sunny and mild spring...
Oh I am sure we could have found the perfect pair at the Miami show but not sure my pocketbook could have withstood the blow lol. Still looking though and as I wrote before the search is half the fun. I am ready to find the right pair now though as this has been a very long search.
Marcy, glad Marty drove you to work when the roads were icy the other day and glad they are clear now. You should put that bunny to work helping clear your driveway and street. He certainly has a lot of extra energy that could be channeled for good. Something to think about.
I hear you on the grocery shopping. I used to like grocery shopping but now the stores are too crowded and there is too much traffic everywhere. Truth be told Greg has been doing all the grocery shopping the last few weeks but I am going to try and go with him tomorrow. Of course it is well after midnight and I am still wide awake. Too much on my mind I guess. Same old same old.
Hope your roads stay clear and that you enjoy the weekend together. And I hope Marty is all caught up on his sleep too.
Have a good night everyone with sweet dreams!
I just want to reach through the screen and hug and kiss them both. SO adorable! Your sweet doggie seems like he wants to make friend with Puff. How does Puff feel about that? And how cool that Puff is saying his name. WOW. I wish we could teach our kitties to talk. Oh wait a minute, maybe I don't wish that. One of the nice things is that they cannot talk back to us LOL.
I was wondering, you're out of your cast? If you are, look into getting a prescription for some Voltaren gel if your surgeon thinks it would help. Its a very local painkiller, I used it at night on my leg and knee to be able to sleep without pain and discomfort. It also took all the ache and discomfort out of my hands (back when I was still working for Mayo and doing way too much keyboarding) too 
My mom used it with great success on her sore neck. Voltaren gel is naproxen sodium in a base ointment. It is contraindicated if you have a bad heart. It comes with an applicator guide to ensure you don't OD yourself on it when applying it. I just eyeball it, myself. 
We drove past Talbots tonight and they're having a good sale, so I might just mosey on over there tomorrow and see what I can find.
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