Just had shoulder replacement. They gave me an IV anti-emetic, which was awesome–I wasn’t puking from the Oxycodone post-surgery, which had happened with my previous shoulder surgery and really sucked. Have Miralax on hand. You will be plugged up. Good luck!
While many rightly think of Meals on Wheels as a long-term solution that helps recipients live independently in their homes, meals are also available on a short-term basis. Meals on Wheels presents a great option for those recovering from a medical event, as the meals provide nutrition that’s key to a healthy recovery. Or, as was the case with Marsha, home-delivered meals can be of great help if physical limitations related to your recovery present challenges with cooking.
Worth considering. In the alternative, many grocery stores and specialty food chains sell prepared meals that can be frozen and microwaved. Some are actually tasty and nutritious.
Good luck!
I have two buddies that can help if I need it. I’m hoping I won’t have to ask them for help…
I’ve got frozen hamburger and chicken for burritos and tacos, some frozen beef stew, and my mom said she’ll bring a cooked chicken from Costco.
I bought some dried prunes if the stool softener isn’t sufficient. I’m hoping to not have to take the strong pain killers…
Thank you for the suggestions. Talking about it makes me less nervous.
I doubt not taking opiods is an option. You want to get ahead of your pain. You might get away with a week, but the evening after my shoulder surgery I was 2 oxycodone every 2-3 hours, and it was not optional. Scaled backed, but it took a week.
Let’s face it–they’re taking your body apart and reassembling it. There’s a lot of pain. That’s no joke. If you are prone to opiod addiction, proceed with care. Apparently I can do a 60 pill regimen and not get addicted. YMMV.
Just checking in, hoping everything went well with your surgery.
Hey EastUmpqua, hope everything is good check in with us.
@FluffyBob How are you doing? It’s still weird for me that I have a ceramic-titanium ball-and-socket hip joint now. “We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him stronger that he was before”.
I had my first Physical Therapy session last Friday, which was 2 weeks after my surgery. The PT said I can drive now (I drove to the appt, so I’m glad she said that). I’ve been off the pain meds for 3 days. I can walk better on the surgery leg than I could 3 weeks ago, but some things (i.e. crossing knees, losing balance) still hurt quite a bit. I was surprised how much bruising there was. The bruising took about 5 days to really set in. I had a couple days of pain level 5 or 6. Much better now. I hope you’re doing great!
When the pain gets up to 6 that is not good.
When I got to level 5 or 6, it was usually because I didn’t keep up with the pain meds. Instead of pretending that I’m tough, I learned to just take the narcotic pain killers every 6 hours for the first 5 or 6 days. I had tramadol and oxycodone. The tramadol worked well for me, especially during the day doing exercises and feeding myself. I had to take the oxycodone at night sometimes to sleep. I graduated to just tylenol after 12 days, and to no pain meds at my two-week aniversery. @FluffyBob How are you doing?
I’m doing good, improving daily but much slower than the first week or so. I am still struggling with pain / sleep, I think because I did bilateral.
As a result of poor sleep I don’t think I am healing as fast as I could. I keep having to go back to pain meds to try to get a decent sleep. Also hard to be motivated to get through all my exercises when I am so exhausted. Add to that a coworker got sick last week with covid, got my self and the two senior managers sick. Ive got a respiratory infection though I was negative for covid when I did the rapid test.
I still take the canes with me walking but only because I get the occasional spasm. I see the surgeon next Wednesday, but I have been clearly told not to drive before then. So been using Uber / transit.
A little stressful as I am really behind now at work and we are likely to get a lot more work coming in very soon.
Good to hear you’re improving daily. I’m struggling with sleep too. I keep getting this tingling in my legs at night that makes me have to move my legs. I think it’s left over from the narcotic pain meds. Sounds like you’re doing great. Keep doing what you’re doing!
@FluffyBob How are you doing? I hope you’re more focused on your recovery than on work. I’m probably going to have to get my other hip replaced, and kinda wish that I’d done both at the same time to get it over with. How about an update?
Hi EastUmpqua,
Im doing good, everyday is a bit better. Walking around,
bending, crouching, even squated down to look at something this morning! I am going to try a ride on the real bike this weekend. I have found the stationary bike really helpful. My main issue is still sleep.
I do have occasional pain. Woke up at four this morning hurting. Decided to take a Tylenol and then 30 minutes later was still struggling so took half a Tramacet. I’m good most of the time without anything, but it seems things tighten up or whatever every now and then and a dose of pain killers helps reset.
Im glad I got both hips done at once, but it was an ordeal. I am sure recovery is easier with one at a time. My friend that had both done separately eas happy with it and said the second procedure was a lot easier to manage.
It sounds like you have a strong support network. For me, I live by myself and I don’t think I could have done both at the same time. It feels good when there’s consistent improvement. Stay strong!
@FluffyBob I hope you’re getting outside today and enjoying some nice 26 deg weather in Alberta. The sun is the best source for Vitamin D. When you get a chance, let us know how you’re doing.
My mother-in-law had been complaining about knee issues for years. She had a similar recommendation re hip replacement - and found that it DID help things. Very counterintuitive - but I guess the physical strains involved in accommodating for bad hips cause additional knee pain.
Pretty amazing to see how many people refer to the procedure as outpatient! MIL spent a day or so in the hospital each time, and went to rehab facilities for a week or two both times.
Re toilet seat risers: we have a set of standalone toilet rails that we trot out whenever someone needs them. My mother-in-law had the elevated toilet seat, with bars attached, and I hated the thing - too narrow for my fat ass (it can’t have been good for her, either). The height was nice. But we removed it when we were prepping their condo for sale and apparently it’s nearly impossible to clean around the thing. EWWWWWWWWW.
We’ve put risers on 2 of our 3 toilets. The ones that are stable are impossible to clean under, and the ones that can be cleaned aren’t all that stable. We settled for removing the whole damn thing and reinstalling it once a month in order to get it clean. We also removed the attached bars in favor of a freestanding set because they were too narrow. I’m in favor of just replacing the entire things with tall models, but I can’t get a consensus about spending the money.
Before my hip surgery, I thought the reason to elevate the toilet seat is that it’s easier to get back up after you’re done. Nope. I just got the stand-alone rails. What I’m trying to say politely is that the challenge isn’t getting up from the toilet seat, it’s getting it out sitting down. I had to mostly stand up and support myself on the rails to make it work. It got much easier after I stopped taking the pain meds.
I didn’t get out much this weekend, should have pushed myself more but Ive been pretty wiped out from this flu/covid. Im feeling a bit weak still but I am hoping to try an actual bike ride this week.
I don’t think I could have bent my hips enough to sit on a regular toilet that first few days, but I tossed that seat as soon as I could. Raised toilet seats are made by the devil. They had a comode chair in my hospital room. It was like a wheel chair with a toilet seat that was rolled over the toilet proper. It was slighty better than the toilet seat risers but still a cruel mockery of a proper throne.