POST OP HOSPITAL STAY TIPS, RECAP AND PAIN MANAGEMENT
Okay so reading through other diaries, a lot of people describe the first few days in the hospital after the surgery as a nightmare. A lot of people have even said they fainted or cried the first day they got out of bed.
Meanwhile, my pain during this period never really went above a 3, and on average I hovered around 1 or 2. You would walk into my hospital room and see me chatting and laughing with the nurses. Everyone's experience is a bit different, and everyone has different pain tolerance. In hindsight, I think I have an above average threshold for pain, which has helped a lot, but here are a few things that helped me stay ahead of the pain.
1) Pain Med Discipline: So they have you on Toradol and Tylenol through the IV, staggered every 4 hours. This helps a lot. However, the oxy is given as needed based on what YOU communicate to the nurse as your pain level. I would tell my nurse I need pain meds every 3 or 4 hrs, and they would give me 5 or 10 mg of oxy. I set a timer on my phone, to inform my nurse So you see, I was never chasing the pain or reacting to pain, instead, I got ahead of the pain by taking a disciplined dosage of Toradol, Tylenol, and Oxy, at a fixed cadence. I don't encourage abusing this or getting hooked on the pain meds, just managing it wisely by staying ahead of it. As the pain crept up to a 2 or 3, I would take the meds before it went any higher (as opposed to waiting till it shot up to a 6 or 7 to bring it back down to a 3 or 4.)
2) Upper body strength and thoughtful weight distribution: Upper body strength is key to mobility during this time. Your legs are next to worthless. Stryde is a game changer, but all your legs are good for are taking little tiny baby steps, leg raises, quad stretches etc, you have to go in with the mindset that your legs will not be primary when it comes to functionality and mobility. That leaves you with your upper body- the key areas being your triceps to lift yourself up, your core (abs) to maintain stability, and your back (lats to pull yourself up, these areas of your body are working over time while your legs are taking a break. So getting out of bed, I would lift myself up using arms, use my core stabilize myself, and use my arms to move my legs along by lifting them little by little. When my feet touch the ground from the bed, I'm not pushing up with legs to stand, I'm extending my legs out so there is no weight on them, and using my arms to push my entire body up to get on the walker. When I'm on the walker, my arms and core are keeping my body stable and bearing most of the weight, with my legs just taking little baby steps. Occasionally I'd let go of the walker to see if I could stand, which felt fine, but still, any core movements and weight distribution were handled by my arms and core.
PRO TIP: If you have your surgery booked more than 3 months away, I would advise you to hit the gym and work out your upper body, build up strength and endurance in your triceps and shoulders, core abs, and back. They will offer incredible utility when your legs are gone.
Ice Pads Post surgery your legs are going through trauma. Ice those legs to keep the swelling down. The ice also helps with the pain as it numbs the area a bit. Remind the nurses to refill your ice pad bucket whenever you have the chance.
Mindfulness and meditation After this surgery, your body might go in shock because you're not use to this. Personally, I've never broken a bone in my body, so this was all new to me. There are new, weird, foreign feelings throughout your body, you don't know what to expect. During this rollercoaster of a time, it's best to stay cool, calm, collected and rationale. You hear something pop or feel a weird tingle in your leg as you get on your walker? Don't freak out, panic, have an anxiety attack, etc. That will only amplify your pain and trauma. Focus on the present, the task at hand, rationalize your thoughts, be aware that you are in a hospital surrounded by RNs and MDs, you are fine, embrace the new, weird, exeriences, and breathe. Continue to breathe. When my pain shot up to a 3 in a rare case where maybe my leg was dangling or angled weird when getting off the bed, I just took a deep breath and focused on the present. Sorry not trying to sound like a yogie guru, but breathing and mindfulness helps!
In summary, I'm thankful that my post op hospital stay was a success with low pain. Not trying to brag at all, because you'll see in my next update, right now I'm struggling with pain during the night, the kind of nagging pain that wakes you up.....I'm still trying to manage that, so it's not a walk in a park, there are real challenges in this journey. Stay tuned!
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Topic: Diary: Stryde Femurs with Dr. Paley September 2019 (Read 47345 times)