Hi all,
I meant to let everyone know how I was doing after I saw the doctor on
Monday, but I was so tired after the drive (100 miles round trip) that I just
didn't get around writing. DH cousin came for an overnight visit on Tuesday.
Wednesday my son, had to have 4 teeth pulled, (he's starting with braces) and
that took almost 3 hours with me sitting in the wheelchair in an ice cold
office. I am going to see my family practice doctor next week to make sure
there isn't a physical cause (like anemia or something) for my lack of
stamina.
Anyway, this was the first time I've seen the doctor since the surgery in
November. He said that he was pleased and surprised that the hip was still
in the socket. He also said that was cautiously optimistic about future
healing because I have made it this far without any further dislocations.
From the X-rays, the bone grafts seem to be growing in. But the hip is still
pretty unstable because of all the missing (read *dead*) muscles. Even with
the brace, every so often, I can feel it *trying* to slip out of the socket;
so I know he's right about it being unstable. The goal now is to keep the hip
in as long as possible. He is hoping that scarring will take over and will
help hold the hip in the socket. I have restrictions as to what position I
can sleep in. Besides wearing the brace, I have to use a large abduction
pillow strapped between my legs at night, and sleep flat on my back. It's
not much of a bother compared to what I've been through.
I have been able to drastically reduce my use of pain medications since the
November surgery. Which I am very happy about. I also stopped taking the
Elavil. I was taking it only once a day but it made me feel drugged out all
day long. I also felt that my sleep was so deep that it put me at risk for
dislocating at night. Unfortunately, the nerve pain in my leg has increased
because I stopped the Elavil. But, I feel that the Elavil was KNOCKING ME OUT
but not really allowing me to rest. I am not sleeping really well, but when
I do sleep, I wake up, I wake up and feeling somewhat rested.
Since October, I have gone from taking morphine, Vistaril, and at least 6
other drugs to help with the pain. I am now down to taking 4 to 6 Vicodin ES
per day (roughly 2 every 6 hours) and 5 mg of Valium every 12 hours for
muscle spasms. I'm so glad to be rid of all those drugs. I think the
family's glad too! I am going to start back on the herbs and vitamins that
helped before all this started.
It still appears that I will not be returning to my job at Kaiser anytime
soon. I know that I will probably have to use a wheelchair and
walker/crutches for the rest of my life. Frankly, I'm glad to be here and
finally feeling like I'm getting a little better.
The doctor had the brace maker come out to the house today. He added extra
padding and readjusted the length. It's lot more comfortable now, and I
think sleeping in it will be a lot easier. The extra padding will keep it
from chafing my skin so much.
I'm starting to feel more human and things seem to be getting back to normal
again. I have moved back up to my room during the daytime as I still need the
hospital bed at night. Now, if we can just get my family past the after
effects of the flu that everyone got around the holidays. Fortunately, I
never got it, but everyone else is still coughing and feeling pretty tired.
Everyone's prayers have helped immensely in this. If it wasn't for all of
you, and your support, this would be much harder for me to deal with.
Marie Davis, RN, IBCLC [email to: [log in to unmask]]
Web sites:
http://sites.netscape.net/mariedavisrnibclc/index.htm
or
http://hometown.aol.com/davisrnclc/myhomepage/index.htm
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
