Caffeine Sensitivity

WHAT?!?  How did that happen??

I had a coffee yesterday afternoon at my sister's kitchen tea and I had a really restless night last night.  I don't understand where the girl that went out in the evening and drank 5 flat whites and went home to bed. I know that was some years ago now and I don't drink as much coffee as I used to but, c'mon, it was 4 o'clock - not even dark!

Though most of today was in a little bit of a lack of sleep haze, I felt good.  I saw Reese first up this morning for physio and my body did quite well considering the demands that I put on it over the weekend. My muscles turned out being no where near as tight as what I thought they'd be and there were actually a few parts of today's session that felt relaxing.  (Note:  Only a few! Sounds a little crazy I know.  Maybe I was too tired to feel pain!  No, really, some of my lower body muscles are starting to behave normally, it really is amazing)  I have a new exercise to add to the plan.  I love the new challenges.  This one could be a little bit interesting 

I came home and played with Jack for a while.  I still love the little guy.  He smelt a bit like dog today which I wasn't overly enamoured with but he is a dog and this will happen from time to time.  I played for an hour before I came home.  Not all of his family is home yet so I still get to visit so that he isn't alone too much.  He's taken to help me stretch and move and expects me to follow him around.  If I don't, he'll sit and look at me like he's waiting for me.  I guess he has decided to be a part of my rehabilitation programme.  You don't say no to a little face like that spurring you on!

I'm getting a little bit of work done tonight so tomorrow isn't as busy a day.  It will likely to be a big one since I have a lot to catch up on from last week so anything I can do now will take the pressure off a little bit.  I don't exactly know what happened but somehow I got behind in a few things.  I'll be back in bed in a couple of hours and relaxed and ready for tomorrow.  

Sleep In Saturday

I didn't really get out of bed this morning.  It was after twelve by the time I decided that I was too hungry to nap anymore and needed some breakfast.  I wasn't home too late last night and there was only one glass of red wine but I have been paying for it all day!  It has been a full week and there were a few nights there where I didn't sleep well, so it isn't too surprising that I needed to catch up on some snooze time.

Last night I went out with some of the people that I used to work with.  As I was getting ready to go out, I figured that I might give boots a go.  Last winter I couldn't wear them unless I had some help to do the zippers up.  The zipper runs down the inside of the leg right to the sole of the shoe near the arch.  Pre-op I couldn't reach that.  I managed to get tights on and my boots which I was pretty pleased by.  I did joke to my sister that I might need her to come around this morning if I couldn't get them off when I got home last night.  As I headed out, I really wasn't sure if would be able to get them off when I got home but I wasn't too concerned about that.  I've slept in my shoes before after a night out and overdone it.  Things can only get better from here on in so it was worth a try.

It was good to catch up.  Everyone has gone on to do different things and has new stories about the things they are doing.  It would be awesome if there was a project in the future that we could all work on again.  We had a really good team there.  It really is a shame that it all ended.  Sitting around talking about the good old days is surely a sign that I'm getting older.  This was a very quiet night for this crowd.  Likely another sign that we are getting old.  It was a good night.  We should do this more often.  Life just gets busy and moves on to different things.  I'm not quite sure what mine is moving on to.

Recovery Day

The post that was made yesterday was written on Friday morning after I read the RA Guy's post and was scheduled to post.  I was going to check it before it went out but I ended up doing very little yesterday except for sleep for most of day.

Friday was a big day.  I started off with Hydro and stayed in the pool for an extra 45 minutes after the end of my session.  I had to pick up a computer in town and then I headed home to read email, news and blogs and wrote a few comments like my post.  By the afternoon I was out doing grocery shopping.  This time, I went to the supermarket that was a longer walk from the car park to the store and only used the cane.  I was pretty tired by the time that I got home and hadn't expected to go out again.  There was a tentative plan to go to my sister's house to see her wedding dress that had just arrived, though I had expected that it would move to Sunday as when we had spoken about it, that seemed to be the preferred option.  This isn't how it worked out and I was out again very shortly after getting home.

The peak hour traffic south was pretty bad and a trip that would normally take about 20 minutes ended up taking more than twice as long.  The trip was ok and I was fine with the stairs to her apartment.  I had one of my niece-to-be's help carry things up the stairs but I think that I would have done that anyway even if I wasn't still sporting my cane.  The dress is perfect and my sister looks like the perfect bride.  I'd love to post a pic since I'm sure you would all agree that she looks perfect but that would be just wrong.  It's starting to get exciting now.  I just hope that everyone behaves themselves.  Weddings don't always bring out the best in people.  I'm not really up for arguments yet and tell people they are out of line.  I will though, if it that's what needs to be done to keep them in line and behave themselves.

There is still about 8 weeks to go until the wedding by which point I need to be walking without a limp.  I'm pretty sure that it is an achievable goal to halve that.  I've been practicing my walking every day.

Practicing walking is different than actual walking.  Practising means concentrating on everything to get everything right.  Even when I'm concentrating really hard, it's not quite there yet.  I guess that once I get it right, I'll have to practice wedding walking.  I don't want to confuse my brain too much too soon.

I got home by about 8:30pm and was pretty wrecked by then.  I was overtired though and didn't go straight to bed.  It took a while to wind down before I finally passed out.  That led into a whole day of naps as I got back on top of it.

Coffee Break and The Week in Review

Last night my husband got home from being away for a few days for work.   No matter how much he wanted to be at home, there is work to be done that cannot be delayed forever no matter the desire to do so. The deciding factor was more to do with how I was going and whether I could confidently do what I needed to do on a day to day basis.

I am pretty self sufficient now with the only thing that I really need help with being getting the compression socks on for day and TEDs for night.  These special socks are knee high and not the nicest things to get on and off.  They are used as a blood clot preventative recommended by the rehab doctor for at least six weeks post-op until my mobility increases and is a little closer to normal.  There are differing opinions as to the duration required, the time that it will take for mobility to return to normal and what activity level will prevent the development of clots.  The time frame recommended is at least the six weeks while I am on the clexane injections (aka lovenox, a blood thinner, daily self-administered injections).  My GP suggests that after the six weeks are up that this is a decision that I need to make based on how mobile I think I am as to whether I continue wearing them.  At this stage, it really doesn't hurt to be cautious, though a little time off from them each day since that the clexane finishes today will be most welcome.

I had some awesome sock helpers come and stay through the week to help me out with this and keep me company through the week.  Special thanks for the help and the company!  Even though I know I would be fine home alone, it is nice to have someone around to chat to (and overdose on chocolate or apple crumble with as it really is no fun to moan to yourself that you ate too much and can't move!)

Physio this week was great and there were increases to the measurements that we made for the range of movements last week.  I'm expecting another change when we measure again next week.  Amazingly it is the hip flexion that is lacking over abduction.  The reason I find this a little odd is that it was very much the reverse pre-op and I had really expected them to return and strengthen in the reverse order.  Hip flexion equates to more of my functional goals at the moment.  Stairs without compensation vaulting being the big one.  Once the hip precautions are removed, it will be an important part of building the strength to drive again as well.   The exercises to strengthen these muscles are becoming more manageable since I have been able to start leg lifts using my own strength.

Today was a big sleep in day.  It was awesome to have no where to be and nothing to prepare for this morning.  Coupled with a late night last night chatting with my husband and a big week, the extra sleep was welcome.  I can sleep on either side now quite comfortably so even though I wake to move, I am able to move into different sleeping positions safely (ie not breaking hip precautions) and getting a reasonably good sleep each night.

After a lazy start, we headed out to have coffee with friends of ours.  This time when we arrived, I used the stairs and not the elevator.  I wouldn't have contemplated that week.  I'm not sure if the stairs weren't even and smaller than normal but I was able to step up without compensation on just over half of them.  When I arrived at the top of the stairs, I walked the long way around to the front of the restaurant and arrived at the same time as our friends.

This afternoon has been rest, catching up on email and reading some of the blogs that I frequent.  The feet on the recliner are up, the tv is on in the background and as I think of it, there are foot pumps or muscle contractions or little leg lifts, just something to keep moving while I kick back.

12 Days Post Op: Progressing Well

I am progressing reasonably rapidly at the moment.   I still require some assistance to survive the day, though the amount of effort required from the 'assistant' is reducing as I am starting to be able to use more of my own strength.  I am still a little way off being a superstar of the rehab process but I think I at least deserve a gold star for effort!

The main area where help is required is to get in and out of bed.  My legs are still too heavy to move around from a laying ore reclined position in bed around to the side of the bed without a little help.  It still astounds me as to how much weakness that there actually is.  I understand the concept that I was cut open, bone sawed off, extra pieces put in and all sewn back together again, however, I just can't seem to grasp how this makes all the muscles go to sleep.  I understand that muscles will waste if they aren't used but still it hasn't been that long since they were used properly.  I guess that I have underestimated the amount of activity that I actually did do in a regular day even if there were a few lazy ones back to back sometimes.

It really is a vicious circle that needs to be broken out of as quickly as possible as when you are weak, activity is difficult, slow and you do less of it.  The less you do, the less you can do.  As an example, Pre-surgery simple activities like going to the bathroom aren't a planned and executed event, you just go and think nothing of it.  Post-surgery they are. In addition, middle of the night trips become a major exercise so returning to sleep isn't particularly easy.

I don't think that I started down that path of doing less and less, which is extremely positive.  I was lucky that even though I was ill for the first week post-op, I had the encouragement and assistance that I required to get started on the path to recovery.  (Even when I was high on oxycontin the first time I had it ever and was freaking out and throwing up, I still tried something.)  Each day I get stronger and have both more ability and more endurance to complete the exercises and add new ones in.  I'm hoping that this continues for a while yet as I still have a number of old skills to remaster.

The big one is walking.  I am currently using a rollator/gutter frame that looks like this to walk.  I am using significantly less pressure through my arms and walking is slowly becoming more fluid.  It is more difficult to walk in the rehab gym on the bars, though this too is getting easier as time passes.  The bars are a prelude to crutches which I will need to be an expert on before I am allowed to go home.  My left side is still recovering from a bruised nerve and is weaker than my right side.  There may have also been a pre-existing weakness in this side that I wasn't aware of as it was the side that had the most joint damage.  Thankfully I was still able to have the BMHR on the left and it didn't have to be changed to a total hip.  Surgeon's skill or luck or likely a lot of the former and a little of the latter, I don't know, I am just grateful as it will make revision a little easier.  As I walk without pressure through the arms, I fall into the left side as the hip stabilisers aren't there yet.  I have added in other exercises to start to encourage these guys to fire and work a bit harder.  The residual numbness in the left side is almost gone, so hopefully we will soon see strength returning a little quicker than it has on this side so far.

Sleep is still difficult and is likely to continue to be for a little while yet.  I have started to get into a little bit of a routine in which I am able to get about 3 hours before waking to get up and move around for a bit and then back to sleep again a half hour later for another 3 hour stretch if I am lucky.  There is always further little sleep time depending on waking times, though this can be as little as an hour.  I manage a nap in the afternoons before the afternoon rehab session or in the early evening before my 10pm meds.

I am spending a higher than normal amount in bed and suffering muscle tightness in my mid and lower back.  The periodic muscle pain is pretty much all there is as the actual hips themselves are pretty much pain free.  There is still a lot of swelling left and ice is one of my best friends.  As I understand it, this is pretty normal and will continue to be this way right throughout the rehabilitation process.

Human Again

Nine days post-op

Today is the first day that I really feel human again.  I had an early start this morning waking at 6am, then had the usual hospital interruptions each half hour as I tried to doze back to sleep to have a bit of a sleep in. I started off rough, though through the span of time between 6 and 9:30 the little naps seem to have done the trick.  I've just started to get a little weary (it's 2:30pm) which isn't too bad at all really considering that this is the first day I've really been awake and alert for five hours straight.  In that time I also went for a walk and had a small physio session, gotten up two other times, showered and had lunch which are activities that usually require nap time after them.  It looks like improvements are starting to come more quickly, so I hope that I'm on that upward swing with the strength in my legs as well.

Best of all, the depression waves seem to be staying away today.  I am still a little all over the place emotionally and this may well just be hormonal (yes - freaking unlucky I say), though a small amount of depression when things aren't working the way that they are supposed to would have to be quite normal I should think add the hormones in and hey presto, a recipe for a crazy woman.

The physios have been a really positive influence on my mood.  I wasn't expecting that.  Not that I have anything against physios - I love mine that I have been seeing for years, I was just wary about the hospital system and just how much support would be provided to me.  I think the biggest issue I've had so far is my own expectations and how these were influenced pre-operatively.  I really thought by day 9, I'd be learning crutches, not still how to get out of bed with one assist (rather than the two I was using yesterday or when tired and ready for meds at 6 this morning).  There is absolutely no way on earth that I was only going to be in here 7 - 10 days.  Maybe that was always just the rehab component and I got something wrong, but I don't know.  I'd over estimated it to two weeks, though in reality it will be three weeks or just over.

I'm having some visitors for a little while this afternoon and then hopefully I'll get a restful night sleep tonight.  I think that really is the big thing that is missing and causing most of the issues now - lack of good sleep.  The big issue is how difficult it is to move to get comfortable and not being able to sleep on my side which is how I have slept for the last twenty years.  Apparently the restrictions will reduce at some point, hopefully once I can actually get into that position as I'm not quite sure how to stop myself doing that in my sleep.  It's pretty easy right now as there isn't any way to get into that position without rolling assistance and I'm sure someone will tell me once it becomes a concern.