Well it wasn't a complete night but at least 6 good hours so I'm quite happy about that. I was so desperate for it and it was desperately needed as well. Once more I didn't have to take a pain pill when I woke up, waited until about 10 am today! My parents think my walking with the crutches has gotten better too. Improvement all around methinks!
Today was a very busy day. I had a dentist appointment this morning. Yes you would think I had enough pain inflicted last week, but it was a long overdue visit. Thankfully I didn't have any cavities, and the cleaning wasn't too bad as the lovely lady numbed my mouth up first. I do have to go back next week to have some bonding done on 3 teeth as I have a few very sensitive spots and this seems to help them out, but thankfully it's not painful.
After the dentist I went for my eye exam. I hadn't had one in almost two years so thought it best that I got that out of the way whilst I am on the island as well. My eyes haven't gotten worse, and I got to get new glasses as well. All very exciting, considering my level of excitement has been nil. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my parents, but at least in the city I had some visitors. I'm going a bit mad being trapped out here in the boonies! Thankfully we will be returning to the city tomorrow and not back here till Saturday. I am completely wiped from the appointments though. The crutches, though much better than typical ones, still irritate my shoulders and hands, and it's quite tiring dragging yourself around with them as well.
I have another PT appointment on Wednesday afternoon and a post-op appointment with Dr. Kelly on Friday morning. I hope my stitches will be coming out and that he will tell me I can stop using the bloody CPM machine. It's not that I mind using it that much, it's just going to be another $350 for another 14 days, and am not looking forward to the additional cost. Bloody unbelievable the cost of these things!
24 September, 2007
23 September, 2007
pain is getting worse
I am not sure why the pain is getting worse, but it seems to be. Yesterday I took it easy and barely did anything other than my rehab routine. I iced with the GameReady for a while, did the CPM for two hours and then after dinner did my PT. The exercises hurt even more than the first day I had to do them. Agony was an understatement.
After watching telly for a bit with my mother I did another hour of the GameReady hoping to numb my leg up before bed. We then decided I should take a second pain pill, hoping this would help me sleep through the night, or at least most of it.
I passed out about 11.30 pm and then at 12.30 am woke up with a start! I have no clue what woke me but whatever it was made me jump, which is not good for my hip at all. I have been getting leg spasms, supposedly from the psoas release, and it's driving me mad. I fell back to sleep and then slept till about 4.45 am. After I go up to go to the loo I was in pain so decided to take two more pain pills hoping I'd pass out again. Sadly this was not the case. I would sleep for a few minutes and then wake up again, this went on till about 8 am. I was feeling (am still actually) incredibly wonky from the pills so just vegged for a bit and finally just ate something. I'm now thinking the two pains pills wasn't the best idea. I think between the pain and not being able to move around whilst I sleep is what is keeping me up at night. Normally I sleep like a wild woman, all over the place and wake up in pretzel-like positions. Sleeping on my back is just making me ache all over even more. I tried sleeping on my left side again with a pillow between my legs but that doesn't seem to work for me.
After watching telly for a bit with my mother I did another hour of the GameReady hoping to numb my leg up before bed. We then decided I should take a second pain pill, hoping this would help me sleep through the night, or at least most of it.
I passed out about 11.30 pm and then at 12.30 am woke up with a start! I have no clue what woke me but whatever it was made me jump, which is not good for my hip at all. I have been getting leg spasms, supposedly from the psoas release, and it's driving me mad. I fell back to sleep and then slept till about 4.45 am. After I go up to go to the loo I was in pain so decided to take two more pain pills hoping I'd pass out again. Sadly this was not the case. I would sleep for a few minutes and then wake up again, this went on till about 8 am. I was feeling (am still actually) incredibly wonky from the pills so just vegged for a bit and finally just ate something. I'm now thinking the two pains pills wasn't the best idea. I think between the pain and not being able to move around whilst I sleep is what is keeping me up at night. Normally I sleep like a wild woman, all over the place and wake up in pretzel-like positions. Sleeping on my back is just making me ache all over even more. I tried sleeping on my left side again with a pillow between my legs but that doesn't seem to work for me.
22 September, 2007
sleepless in new york
Last night was Kol Nidre services. I always find the Kol Nidre prayers very moving and I try to attend every year. This year I was hoping to just make it through the first part of the service since I just had surgery this week. Miracle of miracles, somehow I made it for two hours sitting on a folding chair with my brace on. At that point I was hoping to make it through the rest of the services, but my hip was getting the better of me and I had to concede it was time to go home. I don't know if this made the rest of my night worse or if it was just a coincidence.
I decided I would go to bed later last night and by this hopefully sleep longer. Unfortunately my plan did not work. I was up around 4 am and even though I just laid in bed for two hours, sleep did not come. I was in pain when I woke up, but also achy all around as my body does not seem to like sleeping on my back. I did try for an hour or so to lay on my side with a pillow between my legs, but that didn't seem to help either.
After two hours of nodding off for a few minutes then waking again, I gave up and put the telly on. There is absolutely nothing on the telly that early on a Saturday morning so I just left something random on and was hoping to drift off, but I had no luck with that. By 8 am I was starving and had to get something to eat. Not wanting to wake my mother, I hobbled into the kitchen and was going to get some challah. My mother heard me though and followed me in. (As a side note, I know it's Yom Kippur but for medical reasons I'm not meant to fast).
After having a small bite I went back to bed and my mother came in and watched some telly with me. Again I just couldn't seem to drift off. Finally by about 10.30 or so I tried to fall asleep but kept having spasms in my legs, especially the right one. I was told this might occur from the Psoas release, and had been given muscle relaxers for it. I usually take one of those at night but I couldn't stand it so took one then, and also we put on the GameReady. I believe I finally fell asleep for a bit on and off till about 1pm.
I'm still knackered but at least took a shower. My mother had to go get me some more bandages, and when she gets back I will do the CPM machine and then my PT. That's the plan at least.
I decided I would go to bed later last night and by this hopefully sleep longer. Unfortunately my plan did not work. I was up around 4 am and even though I just laid in bed for two hours, sleep did not come. I was in pain when I woke up, but also achy all around as my body does not seem to like sleeping on my back. I did try for an hour or so to lay on my side with a pillow between my legs, but that didn't seem to help either.
After two hours of nodding off for a few minutes then waking again, I gave up and put the telly on. There is absolutely nothing on the telly that early on a Saturday morning so I just left something random on and was hoping to drift off, but I had no luck with that. By 8 am I was starving and had to get something to eat. Not wanting to wake my mother, I hobbled into the kitchen and was going to get some challah. My mother heard me though and followed me in. (As a side note, I know it's Yom Kippur but for medical reasons I'm not meant to fast).
After having a small bite I went back to bed and my mother came in and watched some telly with me. Again I just couldn't seem to drift off. Finally by about 10.30 or so I tried to fall asleep but kept having spasms in my legs, especially the right one. I was told this might occur from the Psoas release, and had been given muscle relaxers for it. I usually take one of those at night but I couldn't stand it so took one then, and also we put on the GameReady. I believe I finally fell asleep for a bit on and off till about 1pm.
I'm still knackered but at least took a shower. My mother had to go get me some more bandages, and when she gets back I will do the CPM machine and then my PT. That's the plan at least.
21 September, 2007
rough night
I'm not sure if my bad night was from too much walking/standing on Wednesday, the car ride on Thursday or a combination of both. Whichever it all equaled a rough night. I was exhausted and went to bed about 9.30 pm. I woke up in major pain around 11.40 pm. I couldn't believe it was only two hours since I'd gone to bed. I woke up again around 1 am and then around 5 am, then 7 am. I was in a lot of pain and discomfort as well as my back aching and my shoulders and wrists hurting from the crutches. I took a shower when I first got up to try to deal with the aching muscles all over, then used the GameReady for an hour or so to freeze my hip a bit. I just took a nap for about an hour and an half as I couldn't keep my eyes open. I am so glad that I do not have to go to work as there is no way I could handle it right now.
Currently I am waiting for my mum to return so I can do the CPM and my PT exercises. She's been an awfully long time, I am beginning to think she's run off! Can't say I'd blame her at this point, she was up with me all night!
Currently I am waiting for my mum to return so I can do the CPM and my PT exercises. She's been an awfully long time, I am beginning to think she's run off! Can't say I'd blame her at this point, she was up with me all night!
20 September, 2007
update
Arianna, Dr. Kelly's PA rang me on Tuesday evening and we reviewed a bit of what was done in surgery. I wrote down as much as I could. I will add the post-op report when I receive it, hopefully at my appointment with him next week.
Arianna stated the following:
Impingement was bad. Acetabulum had too much bone and was shaved down. The femur was also shaved down.
Labral tear was not as big as thought and the frayed portion was debrided. The rest of the labrum was intact so no sutures were needed.
There was a lot of inflammation and very red inside the joint, he debrided what he could.
Psoas release - area was very red, 10% was cut. Because of this I will be a bit weaker for the first 3 months but should eventually get back to "normal" strength.
I was also told that I should be on crutches 2-3 weeks depending on how my strength is and if I am able to walk without limping. But as with everything else, it's a 'wait and see' thing.
I also checked with my genetic doctors office and was told that my biopsied tissue is growing and when they have enough it will be sent to the research lab in Seattle. Still no word on my Echo, but they were following up and hopefully will have that by tomorrow.
So that's the medical bit of the update.
Yesterday I went to PT for the first time. I have to say it definitely helps that I know the guys I am working with there as it made me much more comfortable. We did some small movements with the green band which wasn't too bad. I was not able to do bridges, too painful for me. I went on the bike for a bit but at first could not to a full rotation as it was too painful, so after doing a semi back and forth for a few minutes was finally able to do a full rotation for about 5 more minutes, which was a huge accomplishment. As my little nephew says "I did it!". All in all they thought I did pretty well.
After PT was when the nightmare started though. We left the office, which is on 56th, about 5 pm. We were not able to get a cab on that street, it was the worst time as most were off duty, and the others all taken. I was told not to walk more than a block for a week or so, but my mum and I thought perhaps we could find a cab on 3rd Avenue. After crossing the avenue and waiting for a while, we realised this was not going to happen either. We walked up to 57th, and thought the other side looked more promising. This was not to be either. Eventually we crossed back to the other side of 57th and were going to ring my dad to come down with the car, but there was a bus that had arrived which goes up York near my apartment. I did not have my metrocard which is why we hadn't tried this sooner. I was desperate so sent my mum over to ask the man if he would kindly let me on sans metrocard. Bless his heart as he took pity on poor gimpy me and let us on. I thought I was going to pass out at this point. After 2 hours of PT and then standing for at least an half hour on the pavement was just too much. I still had to walk from York to First Avenue when we got off the bus, and that was very slow going. Every part of my body was killing me at this point. Thankfully we finally made it to my flat and I put the GameReady on immediately, took another pain pill and put on my ipod to try to rest.
Today I wanted to take it easy, but we had to come out to the island, so there was a lot of packing to do. Unfortunately this fell mostly to my poor exhausted mother, who needs an holiday after this for sure! Thankfully the drive was only an hour as I was so nauseous from the pain meds. As soon as we got home I went straight to bed for a bit, and when I woke up was in a lot of pain. I used the GameReady for about an hour and took (reluctantly) another pain pill. I am now wonky again. The less I move when I'm on the drugs the better as even walking makes me queasy. I know this doesn't sound promising but I am foregoing my PT exercises today as I just couldn't do it for all the money in the world. I promise tomorrow I will do it!
Arianna stated the following:
Impingement was bad. Acetabulum had too much bone and was shaved down. The femur was also shaved down.
Labral tear was not as big as thought and the frayed portion was debrided. The rest of the labrum was intact so no sutures were needed.
There was a lot of inflammation and very red inside the joint, he debrided what he could.
Psoas release - area was very red, 10% was cut. Because of this I will be a bit weaker for the first 3 months but should eventually get back to "normal" strength.
I was also told that I should be on crutches 2-3 weeks depending on how my strength is and if I am able to walk without limping. But as with everything else, it's a 'wait and see' thing.
I also checked with my genetic doctors office and was told that my biopsied tissue is growing and when they have enough it will be sent to the research lab in Seattle. Still no word on my Echo, but they were following up and hopefully will have that by tomorrow.
So that's the medical bit of the update.
Yesterday I went to PT for the first time. I have to say it definitely helps that I know the guys I am working with there as it made me much more comfortable. We did some small movements with the green band which wasn't too bad. I was not able to do bridges, too painful for me. I went on the bike for a bit but at first could not to a full rotation as it was too painful, so after doing a semi back and forth for a few minutes was finally able to do a full rotation for about 5 more minutes, which was a huge accomplishment. As my little nephew says "I did it!". All in all they thought I did pretty well.
After PT was when the nightmare started though. We left the office, which is on 56th, about 5 pm. We were not able to get a cab on that street, it was the worst time as most were off duty, and the others all taken. I was told not to walk more than a block for a week or so, but my mum and I thought perhaps we could find a cab on 3rd Avenue. After crossing the avenue and waiting for a while, we realised this was not going to happen either. We walked up to 57th, and thought the other side looked more promising. This was not to be either. Eventually we crossed back to the other side of 57th and were going to ring my dad to come down with the car, but there was a bus that had arrived which goes up York near my apartment. I did not have my metrocard which is why we hadn't tried this sooner. I was desperate so sent my mum over to ask the man if he would kindly let me on sans metrocard. Bless his heart as he took pity on poor gimpy me and let us on. I thought I was going to pass out at this point. After 2 hours of PT and then standing for at least an half hour on the pavement was just too much. I still had to walk from York to First Avenue when we got off the bus, and that was very slow going. Every part of my body was killing me at this point. Thankfully we finally made it to my flat and I put the GameReady on immediately, took another pain pill and put on my ipod to try to rest.
Today I wanted to take it easy, but we had to come out to the island, so there was a lot of packing to do. Unfortunately this fell mostly to my poor exhausted mother, who needs an holiday after this for sure! Thankfully the drive was only an hour as I was so nauseous from the pain meds. As soon as we got home I went straight to bed for a bit, and when I woke up was in a lot of pain. I used the GameReady for about an hour and took (reluctantly) another pain pill. I am now wonky again. The less I move when I'm on the drugs the better as even walking makes me queasy. I know this doesn't sound promising but I am foregoing my PT exercises today as I just couldn't do it for all the money in the world. I promise tomorrow I will do it!
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