It’s been two weeks since my surgery and so far I have to say that it’s been very successful. Of course I’m not a physician so my increased mobility, lessened pain, and improved mental state might just be an illusion.
The wound appears to be healing and isn’t as tender as it has been in the past. I’m also finding less and less to clean up when I change my dressing. Keep in mind that, per doctor’s orders, I’m keeping it open to the air whenever possible: basically at home. I do dress the incision lightly when I go out, mostly to keep clothing from rubbing the site. In addition I haven’t seen any signs of infection. That’s sort of a worse case scenario so I check frequently and strive to keep the area clean.
I’m still swollen in the area, though it is certainly less so that even a few days ago. I’m doing my best to keep the leg up when home, it’s not actually that convenient, but one does what one can. I do find that it’s a bit more swollen at the end of the day than at the beginning but as that seems to make sense it’s not worrying.
As for pain, I still have muscle pain from the strain put on by all the stretching. Here’s an animation of the process and you can see why the muscles might be a bit stressed. Please note that while this is animation of an anterior hip replacement I can’t say that it actually resembles the process used on me. It’s similar for sure, but as technique and tools probably vary to some degree and I’m not an expert take it for what it is:
Suffice to say that things are definitely improving. I’m still using the pain medication, though not much. It’s helpful, but I can see the end of the tunnel. I’m going to stay on it till I see my doctor in a couple of days and ask if I can switch to Tylenol (plain – no extras). Until then I’ll continue to follow directions. I don’t want to take something that might have a bad interaction with the other things I’m on.
I’m still using a cane. I rely on it less for support now than simply for for safety. Prior to surgery I really needed it to take up a good deal of my weight, now it’s mostly to make sure I have a secure base from which to move. I can walk normally without it for short distances but as I don’t want to take chances I only do it as a demonstration for friends and only for a few feet. I suspect I’ll be keeping a cane near me for a while yet.
I have more and more energy every day which is great but as I’m only two weeks out I don’t want to overdo any activities. I can tell at the end of the day when I’ve done too much. Yes, I can certainly tell.
My PT activities continue and generally feel great. Stretching out tight muscles can be a bit painful but it’s an odd “good” sort of pain. Indeed it’s almost time for me to stop writing and go home and exercise a bit.
All in all my guess is that I’m recovering at a pretty good pace. I don’t really have anyone to compare myself to and really that wouldn’t be a great idea anyway. We all have our own pace for healing.
That’s it for now. There’s really less and less to report about my surgery, barring a sudden change anyway. When I see the doctor (actually his assistant I think) I’ll report again.
Aloha!