Days 9-11, Home
Pain level: 2-5/10Up until this morning, there was not a lot to note on this diary. The night sweats are mostly gone. The pain is finally "manageable", even without opioids and muscle relaxers (mostly, for the last part, I did take a muscle relaxer this morning as I woke up super stiff and with some pain). My legs are getting stronger. They feel more stable, have more range of motion, do not hurt as much when moving around or transferring from place to place. I do get massive shooting pains in my non-dominant leg, in the upper quad area, during certain movements, that take pain from 0-10 for 1-3 seconds, but these are lessening as well. No fever. Post-anesthesia shakes are gone. Distraction doesn't hurt at all. I can't feel a thing.
(oh - the constant and painful urination did turn out to be a UTI. I got an antibiotics prescription from my PC doctor and two days later, 90% better).
All in all, I'm essentially fine while I'm in bed chilling, I'm making progress on the walker and with my leg strength and mobility, and things are going well. I literally feel as good as I did before surgery most of the time, when I could go outside at any point during the day for my daily 5 mile run (but well, I can't
).
Before I write anything else, I'm going to post something here that Medium Drink Of Water said in another thread:
Doing very little physical activity, lying in bed most of the day, and taking a strong sleeping pill at night can make a big difference.
In my very recent experience, this is the best advice I've seen being given on this forum
bar none. The days I push myself beyond what my body can naturally handle, I hurt. If I sleep well at night, I have a great day the next day. If I don't sleep well at night, my morning, at the very least, will suck.
If I'm chilling in bed or on the couch or balcony most of the day and don't try to over-exert, and get a great night's sleep, the next day is golden.
What has worked:Going to bed early. Being consistent about PT and especially stretching. Moving my PT to the morning/early afternoon. Everyone is different, but before the surgery, I was incredibly active and super fit. If I worked out later at night, I couldn't sleep.
I'm stretching lots. Maybe an extra hour a day. Hamstrings, quads, calves. Just consistently. 5 minutes here, 10 there.
Eating well. Aside from the prescribed supplements, I'm eating healthy foods that are very rich in protein and supplementing with protein shakes and collagen protein in the morning.
Icy Hot. Works surprisingly well for short-term pain relief. Smells awful
.
Listening to my body. I'm starting to get a sense of when I'm overdoing it. My legs absolutely tell me
. As soon as that happens I'm horizontal in my bed, with a movie or a book.
Mental support from friends and family. I've told a fair amount of people I would be doing this surgery. I didn't really care about being judged, the stigma around this is lessening and literally everyone is getting
something done. I was surprised and touched at how supportive they were, from my family and friends to my primary care doc to my girlfriend. People text, check in, send you food, prayers, well wishes, etc. It all adds up to having a healthy mental state.
What hasn't worked:PT at night. Over-exertion. Staying up late. "Walking" around with the walker longer than necessary.
It sucks, because you want to be ambulatory as quickly as possible. But the exhaust factor is real. Your legs and body are actively healing while you're hurting them by distracting. I'm learning that this is a slow game of patience, where you're fighting your body, knowing that you have to do it all over again the next day.
I've normed to the reality that I won't be able to resume working out, not even swimming, for probably another week at least, and that's OK. All in good time.
On deck:I'm hunting for a radiology clinic that can take x-rays with the magnet ball (no clue what this is, but it's on my prescription from Dr. Rozbruch). I just got it this morning and need to get my first set of post-op x-rays done next week. I also got approved for hydrotherapy (which my primary care doc recommended) and found a great place that films underwater, has a treadmill, and works on range of motion and gait. I'm beyond thrilled.
My doc also recommended hyperbaric chamber treatments. I have zero experience with this. He loves it. The response I got from Dr. Rozbruch's office:
"Hyperbaric therapy is not necessary, but is also not harmful. If it is something you want to do, we can support this."
We'll see how much this helps.
Do you need a helper?During the first 2 weeks, absolutely. And probably through distraction with Precise 2.2. I haven't hired one because of the support system I have. But I could not manage without one. I can shower, bathe, etc. just fine (I bought special chairs, toilet seats with handles, etc.) but where the helper can be invaluable is "can you please get me this thing?". You will have this request 100 times a day and there are things you won't be able to do yourself. If I didn't have my GF and my friends, I would have absolutely hired a helper and anyone considering this procedure should budget for one.
Dr. Rozbruch and his staff:Absolutely excellent so far. My emails get answers in minutes. Sometimes Erica or someone else calls to go over things via voice to ensure things get understood to the letter. Dr. Rozbruch responded to at least of my emails himself. I've never felt like I didn't have medical expertise in this area when I needed it, or wasn't getting the best possible care.
*****
One thing to add, which I've said before: obviously what I'm going through is personal to me, and everyone will make their own choices. But from what I can tell, your immediate environment will be critical to your success or failure in this procedure. I now know that doing this with Dr. Rozbruch was the right choice for me because I simply would not have been able to stay in Florida in a random hotel room for 3-4 months during distraction. Obviously lots of people do this - they even prefer it. But as you're weighing your options, I firmly believe that more than anything else
"Be where you're going to thrive during this experience"
Is a massive enabler. So if for you that's at a place that has other patients, regimented PT, etc., by all means you should do that. If you will do better on your own with PT and love the comfort of where you are, do that.
Hopefully this weekend continues to be just as boring. Be well.
If you have questions, please ask. The reason I'm going to this level of detail is that I intend this to be the most accurate accounting of a Precice 2.2 femur lengthening in every single aspect, so I'm putting in every detail that could one day be helpful to someone else.