Just spoke to Dr Aranoff and he said since there's still an abscess I have to come in for him to drain it and possibly put a clamp on it??? I have no idea what that means. Tomorrow at 11.45 is the designated time. He says it will be quick and I can come back to work after, and it needs to be done as he couldn't do the fistulotomy until it is cleared up anyway (he hadn't mentioned that before), so I don't have a choice -what else is new!?!
Also he said that since my drs want me to have a colonoscopy, that I should maybe do it b/f the surgery too. I will discuss that with him tomorrow but am not looking forward to that prospect.
Have I mentioned how much fun it is to be me lately???
04 June, 2008
?'s
After my dr's appointment last night, I have a list of questions to ask Dr. Aranoff about the upcoming surgery. My dr. wants me to see if he would do a colonoscopy at the same time, so I wouldn't have to be put out twice. I don't know if I'm up for this, but I will ask. She and my internist want to discover why this all happened.
I also wanted to ask some other q's re: anesthesia, wound care, etc. My dr. wanted me to tell him also that the abscess is about the size of a cherry now and not oozing much as the current wound is almost completely healed over. So I really don't have a clue if I will be making it till the 20th or going in sooner. I did just realise that Dr. A is out of the office today so I won't hear back till tomorrow. Fun fun fun.
At least I slept last night, I love those klonopins! First time I've slept through the night since I can remember. I knew the weather was going to be crap today so felt like I should at least get some sleep. Still pretty groggy though. Thankfully it's dead at the office so I don't have to worry. Tomorrow & Friday the big guys are in so it will be much busier.
I also wanted to ask some other q's re: anesthesia, wound care, etc. My dr. wanted me to tell him also that the abscess is about the size of a cherry now and not oozing much as the current wound is almost completely healed over. So I really don't have a clue if I will be making it till the 20th or going in sooner. I did just realise that Dr. A is out of the office today so I won't hear back till tomorrow. Fun fun fun.
At least I slept last night, I love those klonopins! First time I've slept through the night since I can remember. I knew the weather was going to be crap today so felt like I should at least get some sleep. Still pretty groggy though. Thankfully it's dead at the office so I don't have to worry. Tomorrow & Friday the big guys are in so it will be much busier.
03 June, 2008
37 weeks post-op
Has it really been that long? Mind-boggling, truly.
Yesterday I walked all the way home. I was definitely feeling it on the way but kept it up. I'm a bit sore today but not as bad as I thought I would be, v. happy about that.
I haven't had a chance to go to the pool yet, but am thinking that I will do that tomorrow. I really want to get in some exercise before I have to have the next surgery on the 20th. I know the doctor said I can go in the water afterwards but I'm not sure how I will feel so would like to get some pool time in now, just in case.
I had to change my appointment with Dr. Kelly that was on the 27th June back to the 18 July. It was the first appointment he had available in a time I could manage. I didn't think going to his office a week after I have the surgery would be good, since he likes bending my legs and hips all over the place. Trying to put off as much pain inducing actions as possible :-)
My bum is still not happy but I'm trying to get through the next 2+ weeks as the doctor had said it would be better to wait a bit. Hopefully (touch wood) I will be able to manage it.
Did get a letter regarding the insurance appeal, and it's in the works. Fingers crossed that I can at least go back to PT for a bit to see what my real strength is and what I should and shouldn't be doing. I know bike riding is not in the near future, but that's not because of my hip!
Yesterday I walked all the way home. I was definitely feeling it on the way but kept it up. I'm a bit sore today but not as bad as I thought I would be, v. happy about that.
I haven't had a chance to go to the pool yet, but am thinking that I will do that tomorrow. I really want to get in some exercise before I have to have the next surgery on the 20th. I know the doctor said I can go in the water afterwards but I'm not sure how I will feel so would like to get some pool time in now, just in case.
I had to change my appointment with Dr. Kelly that was on the 27th June back to the 18 July. It was the first appointment he had available in a time I could manage. I didn't think going to his office a week after I have the surgery would be good, since he likes bending my legs and hips all over the place. Trying to put off as much pain inducing actions as possible :-)
My bum is still not happy but I'm trying to get through the next 2+ weeks as the doctor had said it would be better to wait a bit. Hopefully (touch wood) I will be able to manage it.
Did get a letter regarding the insurance appeal, and it's in the works. Fingers crossed that I can at least go back to PT for a bit to see what my real strength is and what I should and shouldn't be doing. I know bike riding is not in the near future, but that's not because of my hip!
29 May, 2008
It's like a never-ending bad joke
And I'm not even talking about all of my joint issues!
Today, after a night of no sleep from a sore throat, I was sitting at work and realised my bum was hurting. It felt like it did before I had the abscess diagnosed/drained. This totally freaked me out. I investigated and lets just say I found something that was wrong. I immediately rang the doctor at NY Pres that did my wound check, but they first said they couldn't see me till the 5th, and then said someone would get back to me. I was not v. trusting after my first experience there so decided to ring my regular doctor who is just a few blocks away from my office. The best thing about having the same doctor for a million years is you know the staff and they take care of you. Her amazing assistant A. got me in withing an hour! That was impressive! So, she looked and said yep, something is definitely wrong and that I needed to see another specialist. I told her about the NY Pres doctor and that (I had found out after a call from one of the nurses there) she was going away. Dr. Rosen said there was someone in her building she referred to and rang down to see if he could see me. Amazingly, he could, and did so v. promptly. I was v. impressed with him and his staff. He's v. direct and to the point and laid it all out for me, which is what I need. Between crying I got the gist of it all, and it is not pretty, in any conceivable way! Basically I need to have surgery again, but he wants to wait at least two weeks so the area can calm down and heal a a bit, and he's put me on antibiotics for the interim. There are many case scenarios and I don't want /can't even begin to think about right now. I'm just praying very hard. He said the wound will be bigger than last time and takes about two to three months to heal. Well, I guess the upside is he said it would be okay for me to go swimming whilst it was healing. Silver lining somewhere I guess!
Today, after a night of no sleep from a sore throat, I was sitting at work and realised my bum was hurting. It felt like it did before I had the abscess diagnosed/drained. This totally freaked me out. I investigated and lets just say I found something that was wrong. I immediately rang the doctor at NY Pres that did my wound check, but they first said they couldn't see me till the 5th, and then said someone would get back to me. I was not v. trusting after my first experience there so decided to ring my regular doctor who is just a few blocks away from my office. The best thing about having the same doctor for a million years is you know the staff and they take care of you. Her amazing assistant A. got me in withing an hour! That was impressive! So, she looked and said yep, something is definitely wrong and that I needed to see another specialist. I told her about the NY Pres doctor and that (I had found out after a call from one of the nurses there) she was going away. Dr. Rosen said there was someone in her building she referred to and rang down to see if he could see me. Amazingly, he could, and did so v. promptly. I was v. impressed with him and his staff. He's v. direct and to the point and laid it all out for me, which is what I need. Between crying I got the gist of it all, and it is not pretty, in any conceivable way! Basically I need to have surgery again, but he wants to wait at least two weeks so the area can calm down and heal a a bit, and he's put me on antibiotics for the interim. There are many case scenarios and I don't want /can't even begin to think about right now. I'm just praying very hard. He said the wound will be bigger than last time and takes about two to three months to heal. Well, I guess the upside is he said it would be okay for me to go swimming whilst it was healing. Silver lining somewhere I guess!
27 May, 2008
Recap & 36 Week Post-op
So the test run in Tampa went fairly well. My right hip was pretty amazing, especially since I have not been in the pool for two weeks! Unfortunately my left hip has really been hurting the last couple of days. I do not even want to consider what we may need to do at this point. I mentally can not handle the idea of another surgery, at least not presently.
So, we did a lot of walking around mixed with driving every day. I think the most walking I did though was on Thursday. I am definitely happy that the right hip did so well. I was also shooting with my Hasselblad so was bending over and kneeling more than I have in a long time. I was a bit sore but nothing too bad. It helped that I iced it after the long walk on Thursday.
My wrists were a different story. My left was hurting from using the H and my right, well, it just doesn't like me anymore and constantly likes to hurt me. Another surgery I'm not ready to contemplate, so we will pretend it's all fine. Jeepers, I feel like Humpty Dumpty!
There was a message on my VM at work from Friday from someone at the Clinical Appeals Department at Oxford. I rang her back but she wasn't there. Can't wait to hear what she says. I guess they received my letter from last week!
It's good to be home though. Florida is nice, but for a visit. I could never live there. I am definitely a city girl!
PS-I've added some photos from the trip on my Flickr site :-)
So, we did a lot of walking around mixed with driving every day. I think the most walking I did though was on Thursday. I am definitely happy that the right hip did so well. I was also shooting with my Hasselblad so was bending over and kneeling more than I have in a long time. I was a bit sore but nothing too bad. It helped that I iced it after the long walk on Thursday.
My wrists were a different story. My left was hurting from using the H and my right, well, it just doesn't like me anymore and constantly likes to hurt me. Another surgery I'm not ready to contemplate, so we will pretend it's all fine. Jeepers, I feel like Humpty Dumpty!
There was a message on my VM at work from Friday from someone at the Clinical Appeals Department at Oxford. I rang her back but she wasn't there. Can't wait to hear what she says. I guess they received my letter from last week!
It's good to be home though. Florida is nice, but for a visit. I could never live there. I am definitely a city girl!
PS-I've added some photos from the trip on my Flickr site :-)
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