New here - 2 weeks post-op, fused T10-pelvis

[susancook]

I grew up in Oceanside and then went to NYU for college. I stayed on the east coast until 2011 when we moved to CA
Melissa

So close! I attended Columbia. We have lived in Oregon/Washington since 1976.
Susan

[susancook]

Gayle said it all and I just want to add a few things. Write down the times and dosages of the meds you take. My memory was shaky and I needed to write everything down.

As far dressing up goes - it will become easier and easier to do. I know that you prefer dresses, but if you want to wear shorts or pants with sneakers, my advise would be to put pants on first and socks last. It is easier to slide your bare feet down the pants. I used a grabber when putting my pants on and dressing stick was not useful for that. I used a dressing stick to take off my socks and flash a toilet so that I didn't bend :-) Now I keep this tool in the car. When I fill my car with gas, I use the dressing stick to pull the gas lever, which is on the floor. Back to the pants - use your grabber to kind of smash the pant leg so that you have it all in the jaw of the grabber, put it on one leg, then repeat the same with the second leg. At about three months post-op I went to Gap and tried putting on skinny jeans and even jean leggings just for the heck of it. I thought it would be impossible to put on regular jeans, but I even managed to squeeze myself into jean leggins (not that I liked the look of it).

You'll get there, just be patient. Two weeks is very early - take your painkillers so that you are comfortable and don't push yourself too much.

I somehow missed the "dressing stick" in OT. What is that and what do you use it for? Where did you get one?
Susan

[mabeckoff]

I somehow missed the "dressing stick" in OT. What is that and what do you use it for? Where did you get one?
Susan

The dressing stick is a wooden stick with a hook on one end and a cup hook on the other end. I use it when dressing and I need to get something on the floor that I cannot reach. I find it very helpful

Melissa

[Irina]

I somehow missed the "dressing stick" in OT. What is that and what do you use it for? Where did you get one?
Susan

Here is the picture of the dressing stick. They didn't give it to us in UCSF and I just found it myself while browsing amazon. I keep it in the car and use it when I go get gas and need to open a gas lid (the control for that is on the floor in my car). Sometimes, when I open the car door too wide, I use this tool to close the door so that I do not not lean to shut it close.

http://www.amazon.com/Maxi-Aids-Dres...dressing+stick

[susancook]

Here is the picture of the dressing stick. They didn't give it to us in UCSF and I just found it myself while browsing amazon. I keep it in the car and use it when I go get gas and need to open a gas lid (the control for that is on the floor in my car). Sometimes, when I open the car door too wide, I use this tool to close the door so that I do not not lean to shut it close.

http://www.amazon.com/Maxi-Aids-Dres...dressing+stick

Thanks! I actually have a stick that looks something like that which was given to me in rehab, but nobody told me what to do with it. I will try to find it. Susan

[the_baroness]

Had a big trip into manhattan today to have my incision looked at by dr Pelham, the plastic surgeon who closed me up. Got the all clear from him. He says it looks good and I won't need to go back unless for some reason it opens up again. So yey! The outside of me is looking good. Now I just need the inside of me to heal. Two car rides in one day, now I understand the meaning of "the bear claw"! It's like a clamp on my ribs. Time to spend the rest of the day in bed. Until the afternoon walk that is. Hope everyone is having a great day. I am more than thrilled to have gotten to visit my fair city. I sure love Brooklyn, but I'm becoming immune to the charms of my three-block radius...

[jrnyc]

hope you heal well and as fast as possible...

of course...NYC is the best...greatest city in the universe...
and i say that without any prejudice...just because i miss it so much....
does not mean i am biased...wink
am transplanted to CT after born raised and lived NYC most
of my life...
but my puppy didn't like it the one time i brought him in...
he said there wasn't enuf grass...he is like a bunny....
and he said all he saw was peoples' knees!(he is a Maltese)
and they are small and close to the ground...

jess...and Sparky

[jackieg412]

You really sound like you are doing so well.I hope it is smooth sailing for you. I think we all deserve that!Take it easy yet and rest when you can,Jackie

[the_baroness]

Gabapentin

Is anyone else taking Gabapentin (or Neurontin)? I've been taking it for about a week for the nerve pain in my back and foot, but I really don't like it. It makes me sleepy and groggy, and makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. I'm thinking about giving up on it. Or should I give it a little more time and see if I adjust to the side effects? What do you all think?

[tae_tap]

Is anyone else taking Gabapentin (or Neurontin)? I've been taking it for about a week for the nerve pain in my back and foot, but I really don't like it. It makes me sleepy and groggy, and makes me feel a little sick to my stomach. I'm thinking about giving up on it. Or should I give it a little more time and see if I adjust to the side effects? What do you all think?

I did not like taking Gaba either. I took it for about a month after surgery and it tore my stomach up. I had to take protonix to counter act the effects of the Gaba. The sleepy effect, you need all the sleep you can get right now. The more sleep allows your body more time to heal.

You sound like you are doing great.

Tamena

[Irina]

I was taking gabapentin for nerve pain in my leg and foot and didn't do anything for me. Then pain management nurse switched me to amitriptyline - it's an old antidepressant, but they no longer use it to treat depression (and I don't have any), but prescribe it for nerve pain. That drug helped me.

[jackieg412]

I have been on gabapentin for a few years now. Some of the side effects lessen with time. My biggest problem is blurred vision.Also in the higher dose it seems to make one retain water.It does help me with my irratated nerve in my chest wall.Also at the higher dose, I started to fall. Like leg gave out. The Dr reduced the dose and the falling stopped!

[the_baroness]

Gabapentin

I can't tell what dose I'm taking because when the pharmacy printed the label on the bottle, the instructions ended up getting typed over the other info on the label. Not very helpful. But I'm taking 3 pills a day. You know, I'm not crazy about sleeping 12-14 hours per day, but as Tamena says, at least now I'm making sure I get enough healing sleep! And my husband is a firm believer in the healing power of sleep, so he's satisfied now too. Boy, that's one way to bench this over-active patient.

I have had a little blurred vision. And I'm a little wobbly. I will give it a few more weeks, I guess. Can't tell if it's helping with the nerve pain. My back and foot still feel prickly. But I do think the "fire ants attacking" feeling is gone from my back, and now it only feels like pins and needles in my right heel, rather than a nail being driving through it, which is how it felt before. So maybe the Gaba is helping. I'll stick with it for now, I guess. I'd prefer not to take it, because I want to be freed from all of these drugs! But I will accept them for now and try to be a good patient!

[leahdragonfly]

Hi baroness,

You can call the pharmacy and they will tell you the dosage of the gabapentin. I would want to know what I was taking.

Glad you're getting some rest.

[susancook]

Gabapentin...the good, bad, and ugly

Gabapentin, like many drugs, takes a while to get used to. It can be sedating, but can also solve nerve [and seizure, pain] conditions. Some drugs that tend to be sedating are started at low levels and gradually increased as tolerance is usually achieved. For some people, the side effects are worse than the original problem.

I took Gabapentin briefly with another medication for headaches and drove off the road twice in one night when I fell asleep. Time to stop the Gabapentin! I did take it about 20 years ago successfully for headaches for about year.

Every drug has side effects and we are all individuals and react differently.

Good luck. Also, most drugs should not be stopped abruptly, but tapered off.

Susan