one surgery down, one to go

Surgery #1 is done, and surgery #2 is tomorrow, March 17--I'm SO ready for it so I can get on with recovery.

Here's a rundown of what's been going on.

Surgery

The first surgery was Tuesday, March 3. I had to be at the hospital at 6:00 am that morning, with surgery scheduled for 7:30 am. That meant noting to eat after midnight, clear liquids only until 4:30 am, and then absolutely nothing after that except enough water to take any pills I needed to take. I thought I'd be hungry, but I wasn't. I was nervous, so I'm guessing that's why I wasn't hungry. I did, however, miss having my daily homemade iced mocha latte. I made one to have in the fridge for when I returned home.

Surgery was about two hours and 20 minutes, which is pretty fast in my opinion.  The doctor removed the affected disc; placed a spacer between the vertebrae; injected some of my own bone marrow, which was harvested from my pelvis; and installed temporary plates to hold everything in place.  According to my husband, the doctor said he "cleaned up" a lot of arthritic tissue in the area. I knew there was arthritis there and that it had progressed, which explains why I was feeling worse the last six to eight months, but it sounds like there was more than he expected.

I spent about five hours in Recovery, as did many people. They were waiting on an available bed. Plus they were on Day Two of a new computer system. They wouldn't allow me to get up for the bathroom, so I had my first experience with a bed pan--that was fun. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do! And I had a busting-full bladder, so it's not like I could just hold it. The down side to being in Recovery that long was that they don't allow visitors like other hospitals do, so Bob spent many hours in the hospital just waiting to hear something.

The hospital stay was fine, but uncomfortable. The discomfort I had really wasn't post-op pain. It was pain and stiffness in my hips and back muscles due to laying on the operating table, followed by hours in bed. (Unfortunately I never got rid of that pain until I got home--pain meds didn't help with that at all.) They brought me for a CT scan that night, which was so the doctor could see what the bones look like and help him prepare for the next surgery. The next day the occupational therapist and physical therapist made visits to make sure I can walk, get dressed, do stairs, and just function in general.

I spent one night in the hospital, which is good for several reasons:  it means I'm doing well, it means I can get home to my own bed, and it means no more being woken up every couple hours for medications, check on vitals, etc. Everyone was very nice, but it was nice to get home. The only issue we had was that they couldn't find my back brace. I was advised to bring it with me to the hospital since I would need it for the ride home and possibly while I was there. The morning of surgery they put in on the stretcher with me and wheeled me to the OR. They weren't sure if the doctor would put me in it right away, so they wanted to have it available if needed. I didn't realize until the following morning that it wasn't in my room. They searched for it without success. They called my doctor, who apparently made it Abundantly Clear, based on the the nurse's tone and the look on her face, that the brace must be found. Coincidentally, they found it while I was being discharged. It turned out they put it on the shelf under the stretcher since it wasn't needed, and then they forgot about it.

This is supposed to be my special recliner, but it's
impossible to get a seat with these guys around!

Pain Levels

Thursday after surgery was a good day. I was able to get around quite a bit. I did a little laundry, cleaned up, etc., all with the help of a grabber I'd bought before surgery (no bending!).  Friday I started to feel pretty sore, mostly sciatica. This continued through Monday. Then Tuesday...Tuesday was awful. I woke up about 2:30 am (I thought it was 1:30 am; however, I'd forgotten to change my bedside alarm clock for Daylight Saving Time) with awful pain in my back.  The only way to describe the pain is that it was like when you sit with your back against a hard surface and there's something protruding from it that pokes into your pack and creates a really uncomfortable pressure point. I took my first dose of oxycodone (2 tablets) along with some Tylenol and tried to get back to sleep. No luck. I took another tablet about an hour later, as the first dose did nothing for me. This additional tablet made it bearable, but it was still very uncomfortable. About an hour later, the pain level increased again so I took another tablet. Same thing. I ended up taking my entire day's worth of oxy (eight tablets) between 2:30 am and about 9:30 am and all it really did was make the pain tolerable. I eventually went down to the couch and slept for a bit, which seemed to help. I found that if I stayed on the couch in one position, the pain eventually went away. So I spent the whole day sleeping either on the couch or in bed, moving as little as humanly possible, so as not to aggravate my back again. (There may have been some crying mixed in there...)

Wednesday I felt much better and the rest of the week was pretty good with the help of the pain meds. I was able to do some things. With Bob driving and the support of my back brace, I ventured out to the drugstore for a prescription refill and a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg. Priorities, you know.

Saturday night into Sunday (this past weekend) wasn't great.  My left leg was killing me. It started out as occasional aches near my knee and in my calf, and then by Saturday night it was a near-constant ache from the back of my upper thigh down to my foot. When I went to bed, I found it impossible to fall asleep, even with the sleep aid I'd taken. I couldn't take it anymore and had to take an oxy to get to sleep. I woke up at 3:00 am and the whole-leg ache was back. I couldn't fall back asleep so I got up and took two oxys along with three Tylenol, which helped immensely. It didn't completely eliminate it, but it at least made me much more comfortable. I spent yesterday relaxing as much as I could, though I still made sure to get up and move around, take a shower, etc. Last night I took both the sleep aid and an oxy, plus two Tylenol and slept until about 1:30 am. Due to the return of the whole-leg pain, I really wanted to get up and take another dose of pain meds, but I didn't since I knew that would leave me short on my prescription. I made an effort to just lay there and deal with it, trying to fall back asleep. I somehow managed to do so, and woke up for good at 4:00 am. I took my pain meds and while the pain is still there and it's really annoying, it's at least tolerable. I find myself wishing today was surgery day so I wouldn't have to deal with this anymore--it's SO uncomfortable.  I really hope this doesn't happen again after this next surgery.

Other Stuff

I haven't had any issues with getting up and down, using the bathroom, and using the shower. It's hard to get used to "no bending, lifting or twisting," but I'm managing just fine. We put a garbage bag on the passenger seat in the car so I can easily get in and turn myself.

The incision in my abdomen is quite big (see picture--sorry if you're squeamish!)--about seven inches--and was closed with staples and stitches. I'm not thrilled about that, as it's not nearly as pretty as what the plastic surgeon did a few years ago, but it's just a scar. It's worth it, because it means my back has been fixed and I'm on my way to being pain-free.  I had a reaction to the bandage, which I've never had before. I broke out in red, itchy bumps. I've been using hydrocortisone cream and it's almost gone. though I'm still a little itchy once in awhile. The incision was sore for over a week, but that's feeling good now. though the staples are starting to annoy me.

In summary, I'm getting around really well, much better that I thought I would be. I was surprised that my pain levels weren't as high as I thought they would be, which is good. Most of the pain I've had has been more around the sciatica and leg pain, and the episode I had last Tuesday, which I'm guessing is from inflammation. I'm surprised that it took almost two weeks for that to set in.

And now it's on to surgery #2, which is tomorrow morning!