Day 5

I'm 5 days post op and would have to say this may be my worst day. Not unbearable but certainly uncomfortable and achy. I've been pleasantly surprised how good I have felt and how little medication I have had to take. However I think when you feel good you think you are capable of doing more - not always a good thing.

Took my massive bandage off a few days ago. I had 3 incisions. Each with 2 stitches. One of the incisions was pretty bruised and they all looked pulled tight but overall not too bad. Now a few days later my entire upper thigh is bruised and the swelling is by far the worst. My day is ultimately made when my hubby takes off the ted hose and massages my legs - complete heaven!

I tried crutches up the stairs (with my hubby's help) but it completely scared the crap out of me so I decided to sit down and pull myself up. Much easier. The shower felt great and the shower seat was a huge bonus!

Still sleeping in the living room. My day consists of moving from the bed, to the recliner, to the chair, back to the recliner. Hoping to take a ride tomorrow for a little fresh air and change of scenery.

On  the not so glamorous side of things it took several days to get my "body functions" to start working. We did enlist the help of milk of magnesia  to help things along - definitely recommended. I think since I wasn't in so much pain meds that probably helped.

I don't go to the dr for another week and expect to start pt after that visit. Going to enjoy watching unlimited HGTV, price is right and Ellen to keep me occupied!

The big day

Yesterday was my surgery day. Arrived at 8 am and went through normal check in procedures.  They gave me a dose of oxy, gabapentin, Celebrex and naproxen. They also out in a patch for nausea - I think this was the secret to success!  I keep it in for up to 3 days to avoid the yucky feeling from anesthesia and pain meds.  I was told they corrected the pincer and cam impingements (trimmed the socket and smoothed the ball) and had minor labrum tears corrected but did not require anchors. I have a huge "foam" like bandage from just above my knee to my waist and side to side but was told I have 3 incisions - 2 on my upper thigh and 1 on the side. I get to take that off in 3 days when I can first shower.  Rolled back for surgery at around 10:30. I woke up in recovery at 12:40. They gave me another dose of oxy and naproxen. Oh and I get to wear the TED hose for 2 weeks to prevent blood clots. My only issue was low oxygen so they moved me to extended recovery to get that better.  I had to admit to my husband I felt better than I have after any surgery. I'm sure the meds helped but really feel that patch was the kicker. My hip really didn't feel any worse than when I had a "bad day". I left around 4 pm to come home.   I have a 2 story house and the 15 stairs upstairs scare me so my hubby set up a bed in the living room.  I felt pretty good yesterday with no nausea. I just compared my head  to the feeling you have when you get new glasses and things seem "wavy". I slept pretty good, waking up every few hours. Feeling a little more tight laying here now. I know it's time to get up and move around. We will see what today brings but I couldn't have asked for a better surgery day!

One more day

So my surgery is tomorrow at 10 am. Everyone keeps asking if I'm nervous and I don't really think I am - other than the iv (hate those!). I'm more nervous about recovery. Figuring out a new way to do things. Nervous about a 2 story house and figuring out crutches. Scared of falling.

But today is all about my family. Going to the pumpkin patch and planning to make my hubby's favorite dinner as a pre-thank you for all he is about to deal with.

Where is the paper bag?

One week to go and I am absolutely panicking!  Just got a copy of my FMLA paperwork and it is showing 2-4 weeks before I can drive and 2 weeks to 3 months off of work. Significantly longer than expected. I am freaking out!  I am fortunate I could work from home but OMG. That's is a lot longer than I was originally told. I am hoping they are just being conservative on the paperwork. Good news - I got my temporary disability parking permit in the mail today.

Started "nesting" trying to get everything prepared before I'm off. Halloween costumes, birthday gifts, bought my shower seat and some other recommended supplies to be prepared.  One week to go

12 days and counting

It seems like it is taking forever to get here and on the other hand I keep having 2nd thoughts. Is this going to help and make the pain go away?  I have had a few good days recently and have thought about "postponing" it again. But I know it will always return.  Today is not a good day. Walking funny and deep deep burning and pain. I  just need to commit!  I think weather affects it too.  My husband had spinal fusion  several years back  and we have resided to the fact that he will never be pain free - but the goal is to have more good days than bad days.  I think that is my goal too!  The doctor warned me that it would likely be a full year before I feel recovered but definitely at least 4-6 months before I feel good. Sort of depresses me that will be APRIL....

Prepping

What I love most about this blog is it might help someone else. It's because of many other blogs out there that I am feeling pretty good about what to expect and most important what I need to prepare. As a married mother of 3 (14 , 13 and 9 year old) I want to do the best I can to make it as easy as possible for my family.  There were quite a few suggestions I have read that I would have never thought about otherwise.  Things like a shower stool, pads for your crutches, a bag attachment to carry your items rather than a purse, slip on shoes (because you won't be able to tie them for a while) and applying for a temporary disabled parking tag are some big ones for me. So today I stopped to get my "surgical prep kit" and submitted paperwork to complete for FMLA leave and the parking permit and will be going to get some of the other items this weekend so I can start practicing with my crutches. I'm pretty clutzy on a normal day - throwing crutches in there is downright dangerous, so I need all the practice I can  get

Let's start at the beginning

For as long as I can remember I have always had leg and hip pain. As a kid I often had horrible burning in my legs that would radiate from my knees to my hips.  They would feel like they were on FIRE!  I was always told it was growing pains and just something to deal with. As I got older it would get worse. Finally during an annual checkup about 4 years ago I asked my dr for medication for restless leg syndrome (RLS).  She was leery (said i was too young) but did prescribe it for me. I will say it has helped but i still have good and bad days.  The next year I talked to my dr about how it radiates to my hips and I was starting to worry how my hips were hurting more and more. I cant explain it but it is this deep bone pain. Doesn't matter if I'm sitting, standing, walking, sleeping - it was always there. I remember growing up my aunt had horrible hips and always walked with a significant limp.  I was also told my other aunt and grandmother (who passed before I was born) also had bad hips. My fear was I would walk like that and suffer for the rest of my life. So after talking to my dr she suggested maybe I was starting to get arthritis and likely had bursitis and did a cortisone injection. A few days later it was back.  Ill admit I probably let this drag on way too long but I was scared I would get answers I didn't want - "you are going to be crippled for the rest of your life - sorry!"  I went back to the dr 2 years ago for my annual and again told her it isn't better. She decided to do an X-ray. The X-ray came back with something unexpected. Good news - no signs of arthritis. Bad news - I had a type of "bone spur" on my left hip and it was causing a pinching to happen, ultimately causing a chip in the ball socket. She referred me to an orthopedic dr in town. I didn't make the appointment for nearly 6 months. Again - I'm a bit of a procrastinator and a chicken and frankly had good days and bad days so would justify that it isn't hurting that bad so why should I?  But I couldn't deny it was getting worse. I finally went to the specialist in September 2012. He diagnosed me with FAI (femoral acetabular impingement) - basically my hip catches. He suggested an MRI with contrast and that he would refer me to a specialist to do a hip scopeNext step was insurance approval of the MRI. Denied. Tried again. Denied. Insurance wanted me to do physical therapy before even approving the MRI.  The specialist said he would battle with insurance and to hang tight. I waited and waited ...and waited. I called several times and couldn't get calls back, couldn't get answers. I was finally so fed up with the specialist I call my regular dr for another referral.  She referred me to "the best hip surgeon in town".  But I knew my insurance wouldn't change so moved forward with pt. I started in January 2013 and went for about 6 weeks. I'll be honest, it did seem to help a little and honestly felt good when I was doing it, but I knew it was still there. I was doing a ton of travel for work so made the appointment in April 2013 for the new dr. I went, got another set of X-rays which showed the same thing and was told the same diagnosis. - but this guy only did hip replacements and not hip scopes. So he referred me to another specialist, but not without caution. He explained the procedure and how the put your leg on traction, dislocate your hip and crutches for a month not to mention months of intense therapy to follow. Oy!!!!  But he promised this was the guy to go to.  By this time I was having some pretty good days and frankly it scared the hell out of me so I didn't call. Until the pain was so bad I was walking with a limp and need a constant rotation of ice packs and hot baths. I called in August and had my appointment in September 2013. Another set of X-rays - only this time it is now showing early onset arthritis and the "spur" has gotten a little bigger and the chip a little deeper. I explained to him my insurance woes and he says "I know a guy". Here we go again. He said give me a few minutes. I roll my eyes. 10 minutes later I have an MRI scheduled that afternoon and approval for surgery. What the hell just happened!!!??  MRI was smooth and the next day the call that I had small tears in the labrum which he suspected. My surgery is scheduled for October 14th. He put my mind at rest and assured me of the process. I remember crying I was so happy I finally had answers. And because I was so mad I let this go on for so long. So this is my journey. I decided to blog after doing some research of my own and found a lot of other people have a lot of good information out there from their own experiences. Most people I saw got FAI after sports injury - usually running.  My doctor feels that mine is likely a birth defect or something Ive had all of my life. My hope is that my story will help someone too.