One Year Anniversary

Today marks exactly 1 year from my first ever hip arthroscopy. This was supposed to be the ONLY surgery but as luck would have it, it opened the flood gates and resulted in 2 more surgeries, bringing me to a whopping 3 hip arthroscopies in only 8 months. Its like winning the lottery! hahaha!

1 year ago today, at this time, I was most likely downing a Vicodin and in a ton of pain. I actually remember very well that I decided (stupidly) to sleep through the night and went 8 hours with NO pain meds. When I woke up in the morning, I lunged for the bottle and took 2. That began the vomiting with hipscope #1. I learned after that and never went more than 4-6 hours without drugs. I even went to to PT the next morning (absolutely barbaric) and lunch, but that was where the fun ended. It was back to praying to the porcelain god for me!!

I ended up getting Compazine (pretty light weight for me) and Ultram because my pain was so bad, I stayed on the Ultram for 2 weeks. I was in a lot of pain after the first scope. I imagine that it was due to the f---ing impingement remaining in my hip. I noticed a huge difference immediately following scope #2, even from day 1. Its a shame that my left hip didn't become painful first.It would have saved me a lot of time, pain and a hell of a lot of aggravation.

One year later, the results speak for themselves. Yes, there were a few extra (not so) minor bumps in the road, but the important thing is the end result, and my hips rock (for the most part)!

Too bad I didn't begin my blog 1 year ago, but like I have said, I didn't think there would be anything to blog about!

As Tight as a.....

I can't think of a simile, but my hip is TIGHT. As I was riding tonight, I got into some standing sprints for the first time, but it felt as if there was a cord wrapping tighter and tighter around around my hip with each revolution, until I couldn't take it anymore. I kept saying to myself, 'it is not your problem, P will deal with it tomorrow...' but hell no, it is my problem now! Especially since Jk is asleep and I have no one to sit on my leg and stretch me!

Interestingly, I had a pretty shitty day on Sunday and Monday. Ironically, those 2 days were really really cold, the kind of days where you don't want to go outside unless absolutely necessary, the days where you drive down a street in Manhattan and there are no people on the sidewalk. Why is the cold bothering me so much???? I was between Tylenol and Darvocet, I was going to start with Tylenol and then take a Darvocet if it didn't help but it must have bc I never went for the stronger stuff!

I am going ice skating again tomorrow with hipster Amy, who has been banned from the ice by Dr. Kelly, but L really wants to learn how to skate! I am more nervous about freezing my ass off than breaking something since we are going to the Wollman Rink in Central Park, the indoor rinks are closed tomorrow or don't have public hours, I already started packing a bag with extra socks and sweaters! You can take the girl out of Miami, but you can't take Miami out the girl (did I ever mention I was from Miami, and have been 'stuck' in NY since college???)

On a positive note, I think I had the best ride tonight since my revision scope! YAY!!!
Just curious....should I still call scope#1 a 'failed hip arthroscopy' or 'part 1 of the job for my right hip'!
Also, I think I have to change my profile since I mention the 'twisting/popping' incident and really, it has nothing to do with anything, other than sending everyone down the wrong path on the ever so fun investigation of 'why does my hip hurt AFTER my arthroscopy?"
(I have to stop exercising at night, I have way too much energy)

I am No Longer a Drop-Out, I am a 'Crawler Backer'

Today is the one year anniversary of my first appointment with Dr. Kelly. Who would have thought that after a long argument with his receptionist 13 months ago, who almost refused to give me an appointment because my injury was not 'sports related', that I would be recovering from not 1, not 2, but 3 surgeries...all done by him. I told you so!!!!

I have been busy the past few days, J and I are going away for the weekend, without the kids. We are going on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas, and my in-laws are watching L and Jk. I have been furiously cleaning up he apartment, not cleaning cleaning, but putting things away.Like all of my maternity clothes which were stacked on our treadmill, someone wanted to borrow 1 shirt, so I had to pull all of it out, and then repack it. The desk is a mess, , my Spinning Bike is in the way.......basically make it look like I didn't have surgery 7 weeks ago and my nanny is really not on vacation!

I had to return to PT. To add insult to injury, P said 'I knew you would be back...it was only a matter of time.' I think I am hitting my 7-8 week dip.This has happened in the past, I regress for a while but eventually do come back.I have been having a lot of muscular pain, mostly adductors and TFL, maybe some psoas and occasional piriformis spasms (nice). My anterior capsule is also pretty tight, this is why I developed a limp a few days ago, I have lost extension, yet again. Since this was a sudden decision, I had to go in today, on a day I don't normally work. Even though P really mobed the heck out of it, I am tight. He also worked my psoas, iliacus, adductors and stretched my hip flexors. I am typing in bed, and just took half of a Darvocet to take the edge off. Just a reminder...the last time I took a painkiller was post-op Day 2. I am not a happy camper...plus I have to begin (and finish) packing for my trip.

I received a call form one of Dr.Kelly's people yesterday, I was supposed to call them at 6 weeks post-op to report on my progress. We discussed the tenderness issue, and she said it sounded like a 'nerve thing'. She said they don't write for Lidocaine patches, but she will discuss it with him.I told her that he had said that if the nerve issues got bad, he could give me Lyrica...which I DON'T want. She admitted that she doesn't think it works anyway!!! I am waiting to hear back...no call today though...surprise surprise!!!

I am a little bit nervous since I am exactly where I was after scope #2 when the post-op pain got really really bad. Hopefully this won't happen...but I am taking Darvocet on the cruise!

Thanksgiving Fun Cont.

Luckily we are home and have no stairs! I have minimal pain, could probably benefit from Tylenol but I have a huge aversion to anything that closely resembles a pill, or may possibly be medicinal. I didn't leave the house all day yesterday but took care of the kids crutchless. This involved breakfast, playing, lunch, naptime, snack. Luckily J did all the packing and loading of the car. We tried to minimize the stairs and stay on one level as much as possible. Stairs in and of themselves don't seem to be a problem, it was actually easier to them crutchless using a step through pattern as opposed to a step to pattern. But the hip really feels good. I have a little move I call my 'making sure I still have pain...or am I losing it', it was especially helpful post-injection 1 and 2 when the radiologist did not do a pre and post test. I stand on the affected leg and internally rotate the hip by turning my body away (out).If there is impingement, it pinches. It no longer pinches on the right, YAY!!!!! I am cured! I will have a 'brace throwing away event' soon. Interestingly, I held onto it after my first scope, something in the back of my head said to keep it. I still have the left brace too but I will toss it as well. Anyway, I wore it one day after this scope.

This morning we took the kids to a holiday cookie baking and magic show (the magician didn't show up though), it is at L's school so we walked. I walked with 2 crutches but left 1 in the stroller when we got there. Later we went out for pizza and I took one crutch. I get tired after a while, that's why in the house I was ok, I wasn't going very far in one stretch.

But it is so nice to be home, like any good Jewish family, there are always in-law issues, sibling issues and plenty of food! I have never eaten so much dessert before, hopefully my body needed all those extra calories to heal!

I return to PT tomorrow, I am not sure if I will go more than one time this week. Dr. Kelly wants me to take it slow, and it is Jk's birthday on Thursday, we are going to see Playhouse Disney Live! I will let P check my ROM and see what he thinks. Extension is going to be my biggest issue this time around I think, and I am developing some trochnateric bursitis, I think. I am still awfully bruised on the trochanter and medial to the incisions. It makes me wonder if they ever found the cushioning device that was 'missing' pre-op. L says my femur is very purple. Yes, she says femur. She is very into anatomy, and at 3, it i impressive, She knows the following bones: Scapula, clavicle, humerus, radius,ulna, phalanges, femur, patella, tibia, fibula, calcaneus. She loves medical dramas as well. We watch House, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Scrubs.

I have some cute pics, we have a new camera so I will try to get J to upload them for me!! I am in bed for my daily rest!

2 Steps forward....blah blah blah

No, my head is not back in the toilet! I overdid it, in a major way. My mom left this afternoon and I really have very little patience for things not being done my way. I know, this is only temporary, I should deal, but I can't. Anyway, the kids needed dinner, and they wanted more ketchup, and L wanted lemonade, then Jk wanted lemonade, then they wanted more french fries, then they needed grapes...so I ditched my crutches...temporarily.

Now remember, I have had almost no pain until now...until now. Stupid, stupid, stupid. There is ignorance, where I could have said I didn't know better, but I do know better, there was no excuse. I had tears in my eyes from pain, and oh how I longed for the satisfaction of a Percocet...but ice it was. And ice really helped. As did the resumption of 2 crutches. I spread out on the couch with my precious, stolen icepack for the duration of an entire episode of Little Einsteins. Once the kids were in bed, I entered mine, and plan on staying until tomorrow and hopefully this will only be a very very temporary setback. I feel like a recovering drug addict, I long for the relief of drugs but know I can never have them again!!!

29 Hours Since my Last Hit

I am Percocet free...still. The withdrawl is going well!!! I don't think I can ever take narcotics again, I am so scared. I have been in bed for 29 hours with ice on and off, I occasionally haul myself out to use the bathroom or ride my bike for fear of a DVT. I am also trying to remember to do ankle pumps and quad sets and short arc quads in bed to help the blood circulate.

I am a lot better than yesterday but not great, I can't believe the nausea has not completely passed. I am eventually going to have to get up and do more stuff, then the pain med situation may become sticky. Worse comes to worse, I have Darvocet, which has been good for me in the past. I hope it doesn't come to that.

It is definitely not what I take, but how much. I think the levels were just so built up in my system I couldn't tolerate it anymore. Live and Learn!

A New Day, A Brighter Day

I wish! I woke up nauseous, It has now been 22 hours since my last Percocet and I still feel like crap. Last night I felt better so I had dinner, then took 2 Tylenol and went to bed. I was not expecting to wake up sick again. I have been drinking ice water only, I took a Zofran, hasn't helped much. I showered and decided to ride my bike a little since I have been so sedentary and do not want a DVT. The bike still hurt my butt, thanks perineal post, but better than Tuesday. I am losing track of days as I leave my imprint on my mattress!

I plan on icing, icing, icing, and not moving. Luckily I have a laptop so really have everything I need with me. We had grand plans to go out for dinner tonight...we will see!

Details, Details,Details Part 2

As promised, here is the rest of the 'story'.

So the last thing I remember is the anesthesiologist asking me to sit up and then passing out. I am really scared of spinal needles, I have horrific memories of the pain of the spinal before my c-section and the epidural during childbirth with Jk, I like that I was out fr it during my first 2 scopes and wanted the same this time.

I was awakened in the OR, I think, and I asked what time it was, someone said 10:30, and then I fell back asleep. I remember waking up in the PACU again, maybe Dr.Kelly had come to speak to me as I really made it clear that I wanted to speak with him before going home. He had told me to make sure not to leave, plant my feet and don't move, until he came out of surgery!!! He tried to show me the scope pics and some x-rays, but seriously, he could have been telling me about the football game from the day before, he did say something about scar tissue and the cam bump, then I fell asleep. My spinal began wearing off and my pain was bad. I was given some Dilaudid, I slept some more. Then the PA from pre-op came to check on me, I remember saying 'I need pain meds', which got everyone jumping. The nurse said she had given me all the Dilaudid ordered, so did I want to try and eat something and take Percocet since she would have to ask the anesthesiologist if I could have more Dilaudid, and he was in surgery. I'm sure by now you can guess what my response was: "Page Him." So she did, and I got my drugs! I slept more, and more. I think I ate some crackers at some point and drank some gingerale to take the Percocet, then I slept more, I was really really lightheaded and dizzy. I don't remember if I got more Dilaudid after that. Dr. Kelly came back again, he asked if I remembered speaking to him earlier, I said yes, but I didn't remember what he said. HE told me again...took down the cam, scar tissue, and the psoas was fine 'you were right, I'm glad I listened to you.' He also said had he done my left hip first, he would have done the same on the right, cam and pincer in one shot. I asked, 'so I am not crazy', to which he replied 'that I can't say!' While he was there, he checked my dressing and decided to change it bc my incisions had ozzed I guess, I was in no condition to really care though. The nurse also requested he order more fluids since I had all that Dilaudid.Then I fell asleep again.I just couldn't stay awake but I really wanted to get out of there and go home. I finally called over my nurse, who btw, was incredible, she took great care of me! I told her to get me up, I want to go home! she asked if I was sure, she was nervous bc I was so lightheaded. I said we'll take it slow. So first she sat up the bed, then I sat on the edge for a while, I was close to the fine line between passing out and not, but I made it. She had to take out the epidural catheter from my back, then I transferred to a reclining chair on wheels. I was taken to the bathroom, you cannot be discharged without demonstrating that you can urinate. in the past, by the time I get out of bed, I am ready to explode, this time I wasn't, but I knew I had had a lot f fluid. I got to the bathroom and had no urge to go, but sort of forced myself to. I had a FULL bladder, so it was weird to not have any sensation. I mentioned it to the nurse but she thought nothing of it. The same happened when Jk was born...it resolved. I was then taken to Phase 2 of recovery where you get dressed and have PT. They left in my IV because I didn't look too hot! I now know the PT's and they were really nice to me. I got dressed and took a short trip around with my crutches and was allowed to be discharged! It was around 4:00 I think, surgery was at 8AM! There was another one of Dr. Kelly's patients in phase 2, he obviously had his surgery after mine since I was first, and we were being discharged at the same time! I would make a terrible drug addict, I would be too tired and sick to enjoy the high!! I guess that's a good thing. J picked me up in the car and we went to CVS for my drugs.

I made it into CVS but began feeling lightheaded, so I sat down. CVS was out of Percocet, I kid you not, and hadn't filled my Zofran bc it was for 20 pills but my insurance only covers 12. We got the 12 and went home sans Percocet, but I had some leftover from last time. Good thing I keep a nice stash!! I inhaled a Zofran in the car and made it home with no incident!

I spent most of the rest of the day in bed. I went to the bathroom shortly after arriving home, I looked at my leg, shit, the bandage had soaked all the way through with blood. This had never happened, I guess that's why he changed it earlier. I called and spoke with Dr. Kelly, he said to have J go buy gauze and tape, change the dressing and apply pressure. We changed it and I fell asleep. Arianna called around 9 to check on me, I think it had stopped bleeding, she said numb up my hip and sleep on that side to apply more pressure. It worked, it hasn't bled since.

I woke up around 10:45 needing a Percocet, J brought me some soup and I had the pill, was up for a bit and fell back asleep. I guess I am making up for all the nights the last few weeks. I no longer have anxiety, obviously it was over this, my blood pressure yesterday morning was 140/82, way too high for me!

I think we are in the clear, other than some serious butt pain from the traction, I have only surgical pain, no 'groin pain'. I will definitely keep you posted in my usual fashion!!!

Post-Op Day 1

I know I promised to recap surgery day but I will post it later, it is too much info for me to write about in my Percocet haze.

I slept well last night, woke up and was able to have breakfast, no nausea. I then removed my dressing, the scope sites were not oozing and there was only a little bit of blood on it. I applied my waterproof bandages and showered, then removed them and applied regular (elmo) bandaids (that is all we stock here!!!). I was able to get dressed independently except for my socks which my mom helped me put on. Then we were off to PT. I think I took a zofran before leaving.

In the car, I took a Percocet. PT was basic. We took some ROM measurements. My flexion is same as it was pre-op, 112'. IR 30', it was 36' pre-op. This is great. What is limiting me is the HUGE amount of swelling. This is the worst it has ever been. MY leg has tons of bruising, I think Dr. Kelly must have been like 'I'l show her', hahah! J/k. As P was flexing my hip, I felt like my thigh was going to rip open at the seems from the swelling. My IT band feels tight as do my external rotators, thanks traction!!

My pain is not terrible, but I am taking percocet religiously. If I lay in bed and don't move, I am good. Moving hurts a little but I have so much more active motion than I have ever had this early post-op. I can do a heelslide without a problem and getting in and out of bed is not as hard as it has been. Again, 'wow, PT really works'!!!

After PT, my mom and I went out to lunch. As we sat down and the food came, I got very lightheaded so quickly ate half a sandwich, it helped. The plan was to go to CVS after lunch to pick up more bandaids, colace and percocet (can you believe the pharmacy was out of percocet last night....good thing I had some left over from last time) but I got soooo tired I had her take me home and I napped for 3 hours.

Now I am in bed, just chilling! I have phone calls to return and I should ice, I forgot to put my stolen icepack in the freezer (I took one from work today).

More To follow!!!!

Details, Details,Details

I am in bed, took a Percocet about an hour ago. No one else is up in my house yet so there is no point in geting out of bed.
I had to be at HSS at 5:45AM. I had already filled out the majority of the paperwork last week, so I waited. In the meantime, I met the people from the magazine who were doing the photoshoot. They didn't call me in until after 6:30. I had to take a pregnancy test (negative, phew), and put on one of their cool hospital gowns with the heater attachment, and the 'hip scope breakaway' shorts! The camera crew came in to take some pre-op pictures. The PA came to do his mini pre-op physical around 7, 7:15. J was still in the waiting room. I was getting nervous bc in the past, everything has been done by 7, but hey, it wasn't like they were going to start surgery without me, right!
Next came the woman who washes the surgical body part, so she washed my hip. Then J was allowed to come in and we hung out for a bit.

Anesthesia came next. It was not Dr. Jules, the one I had requested. But I remember Dr. Kelly reminding me that all the anesthesiologists are great, so I was ok.He asked if I had had issues with anesthesia in the past. I explained that when I had a spinal with scope #1, it took me a long time to recover, so scope #2 was done with a combined spinal epidural, much better. So he said he would plan on that.
The nurse was next, almost 7:45, we were running out of time. She had to go over my medical history again, then start the IV. She wanted my to lay down, I assured her I wouldn't pass out, but she insisted.

While she was doing her thing, Dr. Kelly showed up to 'sign' my hip. I asked him to please write 'do not release psoas', in case he forgot! He said he would remember, and wanted to know if I was going to have the psoas police in the OR!! He even showed me the consent form, he said 'look, it is not even on here', so I said 'good, bc I don't consent'. I asked if I am his biggest pain in the ass patient, he said not even close, I just know too much. I didn't have a response bc just at that second, the nurse inserted the IV needle which silenced me! He said he was just going to go in and remove scar tissue, adesions and obviously the cam bump. Ok, fine,I could deal with that.

The OR nurse came next.She looked at my hip brace and asked where the rest of it was? Huh, thats all I have. What about the posts and pillow?Huh?? That's all they gave me. So off she went, super annoyed, to find whatever it was that was missing (I still am not sure). she came back to bring me to the OR, 'we are 5 minutes behind' she said. I left J, and we went to the OR. We passed someone who was looking for whatever it is she was missing.He said 'I told Dr. Kelly', to which she got clearly annoyed and said 'don't tell Dr. Kelly'. I assume they found it bc we proceeded into the OR. The camera crew was in there with someone showing them all the scope tools, I was trying to get a glimpse, but they needed to get the anesthesia going. I was laying on the table and the anesthesiologist gave me something to relax me, and asked if I could sit up,I told him I didn't want to feel the needle go in, he told me he would make my skin numb, and then I was out!
Part 2 to follow after coffee!

Some More Tidbits

I am copying the email I sent out earlier to the 'groups' and adding some more details.

Hi everyone!I am home and resting after my revision hip arthroscopy ( bringing me to a total of 3 scopes). My worst fear was that there was really nothing wrong, and I was 'making this up'. My second worse fear was that my OS would be right and that this was all psoas. We had a lot of discussions/ arguments over this and finally settled on him promising not to do any type of release on my psoas.Well, to my surprise (not really), my psoas was fine, it is nice to actually hear a surgeon say 'you were right, I'm glad I listened to you'. He did shave down any residual cam impingement (pincer had been taken care of in scope #1). Being that I am argumentative and stubborn, I have gotten away with coming home with no cpm or gameready this time, my kids use the CPM as a ride-on toy and the gameready is just annoying for anyone taking care of me to use. I promised to be compliant and ride my bike and ice with regular ice.So...I had a large cam decompression, scar tissue removal, synovectomy (he said the joint was really inflamed). I think the labrum was fine, there were some adhesions I think....we spoke twice but I was really drugged, I will get the op report as soon as I can. He also said something about the cartilage being soft. I woke up and once my spinal had begun to wear off I was in awful pain, worse than any other surgery. I maxed out on the prescribed amount of dilaudid so the nurse had to page the anesthesiologist to see if I could have more. I was also given zofran and pepcid for nausea in the OR, and zofran to take home.I was still REALLY nauseous earlier. I also had a lot of drainage from my incisions, had to have the dressing changed once in the PACU and when I got home it had soaked through again and changed it again.As I am writing, my husband just said that he saw the before and after x-rays of the femur, before looked like 'rocky mountains' and after was nice and smooth.The pain is there but the hip is moving well, I think I attribute this to some serious pre-op PT. I went in really strong.Before I continue rambling in my percocet/ dilaudid induced blur, I will stop!Thanks to everyone who has been there to listen to me vent and complain and tell me I'm not crazy!!!

Thats the email. It is 12:30AM. I slept a few hours earlier, then I woke up and needed percocet, so J brought me some chicken soup to eat first. Percocet and empty stomach don't go well. I am also popping Colace like candy. The Percocet makes me extremely dizzy and lightheaded, but it is the better alternative to Vicodin, which makes me throw up like a madwoman. I haven't taken another Zofran yet, I probably will in the morning. I am feeling itchy all over, I will do a quick search on the meds they gave me and see what the deal is. My thigh is numb in the quad area. I will see what else is numb in the AM when I remove the dressing to shower (shhh). There are 3 incisions, I cant tell if they are over the old scope sites, I asked Dr. Kelly but don't remember what he said. I hope I can sleep tonight.
I am also having bladder issues. I am not having the urge to pee, even when I know I have to bc I drank a ton.I sort of knew right away bc in the pas I ahve woken up from surgery and really have to pee, this time no urge and they ad t hang an extra IV bag to be of the extra Dilaudid. I finally went to the bathroom and sort f had to force myself to pee, alot came out but with not a lot of force. Something similar happened when Jk was born, it resolved on its own in time, and I am sure this will too, but it is just one more annoyance for me at this point.
I think that is all I can think of for now!

Where Have I Been

Sorry to leave you guys in the dark for so many days. Truth be told, there is not a lot going on these days anyway, but in my defense, I was away since Wed. I am home now.
I finally have an appointment for my psoas injection, it will be a week from Tuesday (the 9th maybe), and then I see Dr Kelly the next day, when all decisions will be made. I am waiting to hear from Dr. Millis' office regarding my package.
The last few days were ok, I find that I go in cycles. My right hip was so bad in the beginning of our trip, I endued up taking a Darvocet on Friday and have been fine since then. The same thing happened to me a few weeks ago, the pain escalated to 'awful', I took a pain med and then didn't hear from it for a while.
I am thrilled with the left hip, It rarely hurts, occasionally it will remind me that there was a problem there, but I can run after the kids without a problem there. I am just about 3 months out. In the coming days I will post a detailed 3 month update, maybe I will have P take measurements and post them!!

Stressing

To sum up my day, I took a Darvocet at 4pm. I was at my wits end. It probably doesn't help that this has been an insane week for me. It started with my nanny's sister calling me Sunday to tell me my nanny was in the hospital and not coming in for the entire week, and she would be covering. I have since decided that this is a lie and everything they have told me is complete bullshit, yet I don't know what to do about it. J is out of town. My hip hurts (did I mention that). L's school is still not opening (I don't think I have mentioned this yet), they have had dept of building issues and now licensing issues, it is such a headache. My friends are pressuring me to switch her to another school, but I keep thinking things will soon be resolved.
I needed my nanny to work for me Fri. night and all day Sat., just this week, but her 'illness' does not allow, so now I have to pay someone to do this. The nanny's sister came in 30 minutes late today, making me late for my first patient. I had a message that one of my patient's surgeon's was pissed off bc he didn't receive a note which I did send, 2 weeks prior.
So you can see what kind of day I am having.
Around 3 pm, I was developing a limp. Jk didn't want to go to sleep, L wanted to watch TV in my bed and my hip was throbbing. I went to look for Tylenol but couldn't find it. This was definitely not Tylenol pain though. I knew I needed something stronger, but based on my history of pain meds and side effects, I was scared since J is not here and my nanny is AWOL, so I decided on half of a Darvocet. It took away approximately half of my pain, but I was definitely more than half stoned! Since I rarely take any of this stuff, I have such a low tolerance.
I am happy I took it, I really wanted to get the kids out of the house but the pain was too much for me to walk on,let alone push the stroller. I ended up taking a short walk and going to the park with a friend.
I am not sure what my take is on pain meds, as this has been a topic of conversation lately on the message boards. I did feel like I was 'losing the battle', but I was able to get out and do things. I am on the fence with this one.
Oh, Dr. Kelly has not returned my phone call. I am pissed off.
I did get through to the medical records/ radiology dept at NYP, they are making me a CD of my x-rays! Should arrive in a few days and everything can go to Millis.

Left hip- I was demonstrating plie's for a patient, almost like mini-squats (for pelvic floor training), each time I would come up, I had adductor pain all the way to the groin and about 1/3 of the way down my thigh.I called J, the PT, not J my husband, to see what she thought. I told her abt my earlier trouble with SLR and how this is a similar instability type of muscle pain, she said keep strengthening the adductors and rotators. Will do!!!!!!!!!

It Can't Possibly Get Worse Than This

I am now officially done being positive for the day and time for a lot of negativity, aggression and downright complaining. You have been warned!

I will skip the emotional aspect of this bc I know no one really cares that I burst into tears for no apparent reason at inappropriate times, but the last 3 days have left me feeling desperate for answers as well as a solution.

It all started Fri morning, shortly after PT, and now looking back, I wonder if something we did precipitated this awful mess. My right ROM in hip flexion is 90-100 degrees, at which point I develop pinching in the groin. P tried some Mulligan mobs and was able to increase that number a lot. He also did a lot of psoas work. A few hours into my day, I started getting that all too familiar achy pain, which didn't go away. My pain has pretty much always been intermittent but the pain free periods have been coming less and less. Fri was no exception. By 1pm, I knew I needed to do something and that was when I decided on the injection (still haven't heard back).

Friday night was awful, the pain just never went away, I gave in and took 2 extra strength tylenols which helped a lot. I think Tylenol gets a rap for being a 'wimpy' drug, not strong, not helpful, but I have to disagree.

Saturday, I was stupid (again) and wore heels for a few hours in the morning, not my sexy shoes, but 3" platform wedges. Whoa, bad, bad idea. Pain all day. J was nice enough to let me nap for 3 hours in the day and watch the kids, I was physically and emotionally beat. I never realized what pain can do to ones psychological well-being until now.

After my 'power-nap', we took the kids to the park, then home for a bath and bed. I again, took my 2 extra-strength Tylenols, but this time, they didn't work. Shit. Now what? I really don't want to take narcotics for this, but I saw no choice, I was in that much pain. I have a total of 4 narcotics here, all left over from each surgery and my 'trial and error' period with each. If the phrase 'pick your poison' ever held truer, I would be shocked. Here were my choices: a)vicodin b)percoet c)ultram d)darvocet
And the winner is.....choice D, Darvocet. For the shear reason that I was not 100% sure what it would do to me, the last time I had taken it, I threw up multiple times but I didn't know if it was bc I had taken it on an empty stomach or if I was throwing up from the anesthesia.
Darvocet is still the winner in my book!! It did the trick and had no side effects, I was even able to carry a conversation afterwards!!

This brought us to Sunday. I woke up in pain, took 3 extra-strength Tylenol, they took the edge off, but not enough. Not quite 4 hours later, I took 3 more, still, not enough. I really, really didn't want to take Darvocet again, so I added 1 teeny tiny Aleve to the mix. If you have been a religious Goodnight Nobody reader, you would know that I cannot take any anti-inflammatories bc of other issues, but I needed something to get me through this. In the end, the Aleve helped a little more, but nothing was quite as good as the Darvocet. I am trying not to take them, not bc I am afraid I will run out (I have 59 left) but bc I don't want to feel like I have to rely on pain meds for this.

It was our anniversary yesterday (6 years) so J went out and bought ingredients to make my favorite drink, I figured this would be better than Darvocet! Looks like all those meds don't go well with alcohol, because I ended sicker than I would have been had I taken a Vicodin! Live and Learn!

My newfound love

Pre-op, I loved cortisone, it gave me back my life! Post-op, I am having a love affair with Percocet! Yay, I finally have found a painkiller that isn't killing me. Ok, it isn't perfect, but so far, what a difference! I took one at midnight, 6Am, 12PM and around 5:30pm. I am trying to stay ahead of the pain. I am a drop nauseous, it makes me dizzy and lightheaded, but hey, I am not lying in my bed, curled up in a fetal position, garbage can ready, so to me, this is a HUGE improvement. I am not pain free with it either, but I don't think I could handle 2 pills at a time. Finding a comfortable medium is very important!

I am also icing a lot, it definitely helps too! My Gameready is being put to use often! I still have numbness, swelling and bruising, and need this to go away ASAP!

I ventured out of the house today! I drove to the park to be with L and Jk, then we went to get pizza for lunch! I did fine, thanks to my new found love! Percocet got me through my c-section pain with little side effects too, I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier.
My hope is that in a few days I can wean down from it and try the Darvocet again, or even the Ultram!

Oh, I just woke up from a Percocet induced sleep to find that I am able to do a mini heelslide!!!

Post Op Day 1 Cont.

So you already know that yesterday sucked, but after I posted, things got worse. Let me start at the beginning. After my first surgery, I went to bed at a reasonable hour that night and slept through until the morning, no pain meds throughout the night. I woke up in horrific pain. I was not letting that happen this time. SO...this time I took vicodin at 12 and then at 6, I felt fine nausea-wise. Of course I had to go to PT that day, which in my opinion is barbaric. My PROM was better this time but AROM was not, all active movements hurt, a lot. All I did was (attempt to) ride the bike, that hurt too, at first I couldn't make it all the way around with the pedals, but soon I was able to. My PT then just did some PROM on my hip, everything went well.
Since things were going well, I decided we should go out for lunch. I took a Vicodin on the way there, and then a Zofran during lunch. Just as we were finishing, I felt this all too familiar feeling, and I knew I had to go home, NOW. So I did. I collapsed into my bed, garbage can nearby, but luckily the zofran kicked in, It didn't do a lot for the nausea, but I did not throw up. I ended up falling asleep, on the operated side (note to self- don't do that). I spent the rest of the afternoon in bed.

Later in the day, Dr. Kelly's office called to see how I was doing, we decided to change the painkillers (yet again), this time to percocet. Since no one could go pick it up at that moment, I took an Ultram because the pain was coming back and I was petrified of Vicodin. Ultram took the edge off of the pain and didn't make me sick.

Later that night, I had had enough of feeling "hospital dirty" and wearing the huge bandage on my leg, so even though the post-op instructions say no showering until post-op day 4, I could not wait. I have these waterproof bandages by nexcare, they work great. So off came the bandage, to reveal a mess of a leg underneath. 3 scope sites this time, as opposed to 2 last time, bruising, swelling and.....numbness. Shit, this is not good. When I spoke with Dr. Kelly on Mon. night he asked about numbness, I didn't think I had any, his assistant asked me as well, and I told her no, but now with the bandage off, I can feel it (do you feel numbness? that sounds weird, but I know it is there). What worries me is that it is in the distribution of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, I really really hope it is from the swelling and will go away really soon. Today is a holiday but I plan on calling Dr. Kelly tomorrow about it.

My shower felt refreshing, and before I went to bed, I took a percocet, hopefully percocet and I can become friends and have a nice and pleasurable experience

Oh, my kids did eventually get out of the CPM and let me use it, I like to use it while I am icing, my GameReady is on the floor next to the bed with a hose leading to the attatchment on my hip!

Post-op Day 1

Today sucked!!!! I am not in a writing mood right now, I will try and post more later. In a nutshell, my pain is too intense for Darvocet, so I took my old Vicodin, which of course made me sick, so I just took an Ultram, and had Percocet called in to the pharmacy!
I have been too nauseous to ice/ cpm, but the cpm is being put to good use as a jungle gym!

Nitty Gritty II

Since I am stranded in bed with no one else awake, I will continue with my detailed story!

I left off when I kissed J and was taken to the OR. With my first surgery, I arrived in the OR and it was bustling with action, there must have been 15 people in there, all of who ignored me!

This time, I arrived, and it was just the anesthesiologist, the room didn't look like it was ready either. She had me lie on the operating table and immediately gave me sedation, last time, the sedation immediately knocked me out, this time it just made me foggy. For some reason, I have some recollection of her inserting the the needle in my back, but it didn't hurt, I just felt pressure, and that was all I remember!

I woke up 3 hours later, to someone saying "its over"! I opened my eyes and said "is Dr.Kelly here?" "no", "they said, "he is speaking to your husband". Now remember, I am a control freak, despite the fact that I was sedated and had just woken up from surgery, and was still in the OR, I needed to know what he had done and what he had found. "Is his fellow here"? "yes" they answered. So I asked him what they did (he must have thought I was crazy...but I am, so that's ok!). I think he said something about shaving the acetabulum and the femur....but then I fell asleep again.

I woke up in the PACU, shaking like crazy. They plugged me back into the gown heater, and covered me with about 7 heated blankets, but I kept shaking. They explained that the OR was cold, they use cold IV fluids, I was exposed....so it all adds up to this crazy shaking. I then asked for my CPM (J says I'm a pain in the ass....being that I work in the health field, I know you need to speak up to be heard). It finally came, I was still shaking. That lasted about 2 hours (by this point, all the other 8am surgeries had gone home). I still could not move my feet and was picturing another lovely day wasted in the PACU.

A little while later, the nurse came to see how the anesthesia was wearing off, she said it was down to T10 since I had some feeling near the top of my leg/ bottom of my stomach. Then I had a burning sensation near (where I think) the incisions were, but really, awful burning. So I had her turn off the heater. She asked me if I wanted pain meds...YES, but I had to eat first. At this point, I did not want think about food, look at food, and much less eat food! My choices were tuna sandwich, turkey sandwich or cheese sandwich....under normal circumstances, I would not have gagged at this, "how about some crackers" I said.
So they sat me up, and I got REALLY dizzy and lightheaded, so they brought the bed down a little. A lovely volunteer brought me 10 crackers, what a joke! I ate 1/4 of one, and she said I had to eat more if I wanted the meds. She also brought me my all time favorite hospital drink, apple juice, this I drank!

Finally,I called the nurse, I NEED pain meds, so she brought me darvocet, but warned me to take them every 4 hours round the clock for the next few days because they are not that strong. I took 1, and it didn't make a dent in my pain, then I took another, 15 minutes later, I still had pain. It was so bad that I was on the verge of tears, I think she noticed and gave me a shot of dilaudid in my IV. A little later I had this again! The Dilaudid made me a little sleepy, but I really wanted to go home, and at this point, I REALLY had to pee, I had gone through one huge IV bag, and part of another, plus a cup of apple juice. I needed to go now!!
The only problem was that this required getting out of bed, into a wheelchair and then into the bathroom, and I still had pain, despite everything I had already taken. I also had no idea that the epidural catheter was still in my back, so this had to come out as well. It didn't hurt,other than when she had to remove all the tape it had been attached with, it felt like a bad waxing job!
I finally peed, and was taken to phase 2 of recovery. At this point, they disconnect your from your IV bag, but keep it in place, just in case you need more fluids, they help you get dressed and you have PT.

I had my own crutches from my first surgery, they are Millennial crutches, I highly recommend them, they are spring loaded and really comfortable on your hands. The PT in recovery tried them out and she really liked them as well. I stood up, she put on my lovely hip brace, and I walked with the crutches.I don't think I did a great job, but well enough to be sent home!

First morning

I made it through the night! I really hurt, not as much as I did the morning after my first scope, but again, live and learn. I took vicodin at midnight, and now another one at 6am, this is not darvocet pain, this pain requires something stronger!!! I am only taking one at a time though, and I have my zofran handy, I may just take one now as a precaution. Of course, most importantly,I am popping colace like they are candy! No one ever mentions the side effects of narcotics, so it isn't until you have a bad experience one time that you know!

I went to sleep on my good side, with a pillow in between my knees, but woke up on my back, pillow still there! I would normally get up and go have my first cup of coffee, but being that everyone is in asleep, I will have to wait!

Home at Last

I am home! I will try to keep this short bc I don't know how much is me talking and how much is meds! Hopefully tomorrow I will post all the details of the day, now I will give a quick rundown!
My biggest concern for this surgery was throwing up post-op and anesthesia, since last time I was in recovery forever.
So.....surgery was at 8AM, it ended at 11AM, that is a long time for a hip scope! I just found out that I had a bone spur on the acetabulum, a bone spur on the femoral head-neck junction, and a labral tear, as well as loose bodies in the joint. I didn't get to speak to my surgeon afterwards. He did speak to my husband but J does not know the right questions to ask!!!
My surgeon is Bryan Kelly in NYC, he s awesome!!! I highly recommend him to anyone with similar problems.
I had a combined spinal epidural (I have to google this later), the anesthesiologist thought I would recover quicker this way, she also kept the sedation lighter than last time. It's a good thing we went this route since the surgery lasted so long, she said the spinal would not have lasted that long.
Most people who had 8am surgeries went home around 12 or 1pm, I went at 3:30, better than last time!!!!
I took 2 darvocet in the hospital and was given dilaudid in my IV, I threw up twice already!
I am hoping it was the anesthesia, I cannot handle more puking, I prefer pain, which is why I am without pain meds at this time, if I lie perfectly still, I am ok!
I will post all the gory details later or tomorrow, hopefully I will be more lucid! I also have PT at 9:30 tomorrow morning so tomorrow I will have a lot to talk about!