Surgery with Dr. Lenke

[leahdragonfly]

Hi Dollie,

It sounds like you are doing well despite the feelings that you are not! I definitely had plenty of blue and weepy moments and days! The first 2 months are really hard, but just focus on getting enough rest, and do yourself a favor by keeping your pain under control. I cheated myself on pain control in the early days because I was so nauseated and sick from the oxycodone. My husband was concerned that I did not have adequate pain control, but at the time I couldn't deal with the heavy narcotics anymore. Let your family baby you, and do not expect to accomplish anything. Who cares about the holiday shopping? You can always celebrate Christmas in February once you feel stronger.

I too had the sensation that my ribs had been beaten with a baseball bat for several months at least.

As for your questions, I used my walker for two days then didn't need it.

I wore loose comfy lounge pants for about 5-6 weeks I think. It took awhile for the abdominal swelling to go down, and jeans just seemed so restrictive and uncomfortable. I am sure there are others who got back in their jeans sooner.

Keep up the good work, you are doing great!

[mabeckoff]

How many of you were given a walker postop and how long did you use it for?

Warmly
Doreen

I only used the walker for less than one week and from then on have been using a cane

[loves to skate]

I was never given a walker to take home. I used one in the hospital and the rehab center for just a few days. After that, I used a cane.
Sally

[JenniferG]

I didn't wear jeans for months. I just love my pjs. I lived in them for weeks. I'd bought some really nice ones before surgery so that I'd enjoy wearing them and not get sick of them. Not frilly ones, comfy, stretchy ones like trackies. At a pinch I could have worn them out (but didn't!) I could still live in pjs and working from home, I can really!

Day 2 I was not able to walk due to needing more blood, but Day 3 they brought in a walker. I walked across to the door and back and I never saw the walker again. After another unit of blood, I didn't have any problems walking. Sitting was another story.

[walkingmom]

How many of you were given a walker postop and how long did you use it for?

Warmly
Doreen

For me, the walker served a two-fold purpose; one for stability and the other for protection from people bumping into me. I ended up using my walker for about a month following my surgery but only when I was out and about in public places. It's amazing how quickly I could clear out an aisle in Walmart with my walker in tow! Plus, it served as a reminder to others that I was still fragile and not yet huggable!
Donna

[Doreen1]

4 Weeks Post-Op

Today marks 4 weeks since my surgery and tomorrow marks my last day on Oxycotin; down from 6+ meds to only 2 (vicodin and ambien). Jeremy and Lizzie continue to tell me I'm making progress but there are days where I just don't feel that I am. I asked Jeremy to take another photo of my back today and he asked if I wanted to see it. I still have not looked at any of my post-op photos or at my back in the mirror. I decided to take a peek at today's photo and it just freaked me out and I cried. Of course crying hurts tremendously so I was a bit of a mess for a bit. Someday I'll have the courage to look at all the photos and share them here, but now is not the right time.

I'm walking a lot more around the house without my walker. Sitting in the car hurts a bit even having a bunch of pillows around me. I'm starting to feel new pain in my lower shoulder blade area, particularly the right side which is where my rib hump was. I'm attributing this to healing and the numbness starting to go away. The pain in the front of both sides of ribs still hurts, but slightly less.

I said to Jeremy the other day, "So what do I do when that happens," and pointed to the ground. My grabber was propped up again the wall but then fell flat onto the floor. He tried not to laugh and said, "You call me when that happens."

I'm taking a 2 - 3 hour nap each day and am sleeping well at night. Jeremy said there were two evenings I slept through the night.

I finally balanced my check book yesterday after trying for almost two weeks. Word of advice to those pre-op, don't try balancing your check book until 4 or more weekls post-op :-)

Warmly,
Doreen

[JenniferG]

The pain you are feeling is probably not new. More likely it's because you're reducing your meds. Perhaps stay on the Oxy on a low dose for a little while yet. At four weeks it's still very early to be off the Oxy. A low dose probably won't play havoc with your bowels but might hold some of that residual surgical pain at bay until it's had a little more time to heal. Just a suggestion.

I didn't start reducing my Oxy until about 6-7 weeks, then took another 2-3 weeks to stop. Many need it for much longer.

[titaniumed]

Doreen

The 4-6 week period is a difficult time due to many factors. Attempts at weaning will cause pain, your body is still healing at an incredible rate, your getting tired of playing recovery and you have to balance constipation issues. I wondered if I could ever be able to get to my feet to tie my shoes.

The good news is you are almost through the hardest part. Use Jens advise on weaning, take it slowly....One of these days, you will be weaned. This is the time when the Mag Citrate needs to available. If you are off stool softeners, be careful....always drink plenty of water and keep walking.

To get that grabber that has fallen, you have to get used to squatting while keeping your back erect. This is hard on the legs and knees, but also good for keeping the blood flowing down to the feet. I found that getting down to the dishwasher was one of the hardest things. I would squat down and transfer items up without getting back up again. Its too hard to go up and down for every fork and knife.

I didn’t feel much improvement at all until I was around 6 weeks. Then all of a sudden it felt as if I had a 20% improvement bump all at once. It’s a slow process, but it will happen. These are major surgeries and take plenty of time.

My scars are not easy to notice at all anymore, you will be surprised how well they will heal up.

Cheer up! your getting there.
Ed

[mabeckoff]

Doreen,

I agree with both Jen and Ed. There is no need to rush to get off of the pain killers. If you are feeling pain, then you need to address it before it gets out of
control because then you will not be able to physically do anything and you do not want to lose what you have done so far.

You are doing great. Don't rush

[JDM555]

Like others said, no need to rush. I'm probably last person to say that lol, sound like a hypocrite, but it's true. Take as much as your body tells you to, don't overdo it and don't try to wean too fast. Honestly, in my opinion, weaning off a sleep aid was harder for me than weaning off oxycontin. I weaned off of OC from 20mg, to 10mg, to 1 10mg and slowly taking percocets (10mg), then sticking to all percocets, then lowering percocets to once a day, and then weaning to 5mg percocets, and those are useless, so you might need a 10mg if you're in pain. Then after that stage, I'm taking hydrocodone 5mg, which is even weaker.

But using valium as a sleep aid was a PAIN! It helped me sleep, but without it I couldn't sleep at all. And Ambien's pretty darn good, and I'm sure it's addicting, so weaning off that will hurt your recovery because without sleep, you'll be in more pain and have a hard time doing anything the following day. Slowly wean off that as early as you can, while weaning off of OC. If you have more pain from twisting or doing something, forget weaning and fix the current pain, 1-2 doses won't make you restart the whole weaning off stage. I wish you the best.

[Doreen1]

Walked Outside without Walker :-)

I haven't been using the walker very much the past few days. I notice that I need to remind myself to relax my shoulders because I end up tensing my shoulders. Today was sunny and almost 50 degrees so Jeremy and I walked two loops around the cul-de-sac. In the shady areas, I started to shiver and noticed how shivering, along with crying and laughing, hurt my back.

I appreciate everyone's advice about not rushing the weaning process off meds. I followed Lenke's suggestions and listened to my body. The oxycotin was completely killing my appetite and the thought of most food made me feel queasy; happy I'm done with that stuff. I talked with Lenke's nurse today who said I was doing great with my weaning and asked that I keep her updated for when I begin to wean off vicodin (no plans to start that just yet). The past two days I laid down for a nap but was unable to fall asleep. Now that I think about it, the past two mornings I slept in late so that probably explains the lack of nap.

A couple of things I'm able to do myself include putting on/taking off shirts, jackets, pants and socks. My daughter and I have a hair appointment Sat and I'm praying I'll make it through sitting in the chair and car ride. Jeremy will drive us there and bring pillows for me. Since we missed our November appointment (had to cancel because of surgery date change), getting my hair done will make me feel better.

Warmly,
Doreen

[Doreen1]

Great Weekend & Terrifying Episode

I've been meaning to post for a while but have focused my energy on walking, sitting, eating and sleeping. I'm 5 weeks 3 days post-op. The hair appointment on Saturday went better than I expected (main concern was sitting at an angle to get my hair shampooed). We brought a big pillow which really helped for both the shampooing and the cutting chairs. I started to get a little light headed when propped back up from the shampoo so my stylist gave me some apple juice before I stood up which really helped. On the way home we stopped for lunch which was tasty. Fortunately, we brought my pain pills with us because I was due for a dose on the way home which is when the pain hit me really hard. It was a beautiful sunny, warm day and it felt wonderful stepping back into civilization!

Sunday we went out for a birthday lunch for my daughter. The only issue I had was miscalculating the height of the booth seat as I was lowering myself down. Since there was a wait to get a table/chairs we decided to try the booth where I sat on the outside end and Jeremy across from me so he could help me up/down. As I was lowering myself onto the booth bench, I though the bench was a bit higher than it actually was so I kind of dropped down onto the seat which was quite a jolt to my spine. I was able to make it through lunch, but we had to get the desserts to go because I was hurting.

Sunday evening, about 4am, I had one of the most terrifying episodes of my life. I blacked out in the bathroom after using the toilet. The dogs barking woke up Jeremy because he couldn't hear me calling for him. Jeremy saw me falling out of the doorway where the toilet is and I was falling toward the tub. He some how got to me in time before my face hit the tub.

After talking with Lenke's office, we discovered the combination of my meds was causing an issue with my blood pressure dropping too low (I normally have low blood pressure). I'm off Ambien (sleeping pill) now and am doing better. In fact, I'm sleeping better without the sleeping pill. Lenke's office told me they recently had a patient blackout in her bathroom and hit the tub on her way down breaking her neck! YIKES!

I'm finishing a bottle of hydrocodone 7.5 - 325 (down from 7.5 - 500) and Lenke's office wants me on the next lower dose starting tomorrow. Aside from this med, the only other thing I'm taking is a stool softener.

Yesterday was probably my best day so far post-op. I slept well, spent a good amount of time sitting, did some walking through the house, was on track with taking my med on time, so it was a good day. I haven't used the walker in about 2 weeks but will definitely bring it with me when I go away from home. Since the surgery, my left hip now sticks out so I'm a bit unstable walking. I'll be seeing Dr. Lenke next month so we'll see what he has to say about the protruding hip. I'm hoping that it will resolve itself as I heal.

Warmly,
Doreen

[Doreen1]

For me, the walker served a two-fold purpose; one for stability and the other for protection from people bumping into me. I ended up using my walker for about a month following my surgery but only when I was out and about in public places. It's amazing how quickly I could clear out an aisle in Walmart with my walker in tow! Plus, it served as a reminder to others that I was still fragile and not yet huggable!
Donna

Hi Donna,

You are so right about people getting out of your way with a walker! This weekend was my first big outing away from home and I discovered how accommodating people were to me when they saw the walker: offered to help, concerned about my comfort and helped move a table in a restaurant.

Warmly,
Doreen

[mabeckoff]

Doreen,

Glad to hear that you are doing so well

Melissa

[patty22]

so glad you are getting better everyday

Hi Doreen,

You sound better and better each time you post! Other than the scary blackout, you seem to be getting back into the groove of things. I'm so glad. Take care and keep on posting when you feel up to it Happy new year.