Re: What was most difficult for you after surgery?

October 8, 2010

,

I'll chime in a bit on this.

First, the brace, they will teach you at the hospital how to put it on, either PT or OT will. Know your brace may need to be tweeked, if it is too high or low, or rubs you the wrong way. Took me around three outting to the brace maker to get mine feeling more comfortable.

I wasn't allowed to use a bed rail to pull up out of bed, they said it it would put to much of the wrong force on my back, was taught to log roll, and push up from my side with my arms, proper form they said. Best to speak to medical staff for this, what was right for me, might not be for you, always good to run it by a doc.

All movement in the beginning is tough, believe me in those first days, your life will revolve around getting to the bathroom, getting showered, and getting back to bed for much needed sleep afterwards. Life becomes very basic in those first few days. As things get added in, you will find a pathway that works for you. I've been lucky enough to have seen patients besides myself go through this up close, and how people pop back is widely varied. You will have no idea how you will do, till you are in the thick of it.

Things that have helped me and others are to name just a few:

Set up your house now with an eye to not being able to bend, might mean you may have to put things handy on counters or upper cabinets.

Get yourself more than one grabber, I have/had one in each main room. Don't get the ones that look like a hook, they suck, ones that have suction cup ends are best, Arcmate ones are really good, Cam has a link on the site for them, once you buy them, if they break, they'll replace them. The other grabber I love, is a Pik Stik, got it at a local medical supply house, I love this one for laundry, getting stuff out of the dryer, it's solid hard plastic, and is a good work horse grabber.

Others swear by silk pajama bottoms, for ease in movement in bed, and getting out of bed, wish I knew that one when I was recovering.

Another trick that I used and was taught by OT was the Black garbage bag on the bottom of the car seat for ease of movement gettting in and out of the car.

Set up your bedside table with everything you'll need or want, at home mine was a big end table thing that was high enough, and had a drawer to put little things in like chapstick, tubes of lotion, etc.

Have one of those old persons pill containers set up daily, with meds, early on, best done by a support person, so you take the right amount at the right time. Set the alarm on your cellphone, or a clock. Take your meds as prescribed, don't allow your pain to get out of control, thinking I'll cut down, or I'll tough it out. Letting your pain get out of control isn't good, takes a good amount of time to get it back into control, and leaves you not making progress. Also be vocal with your doc, if pain control isn't working, you are going to have pain despite it, but it should be tollerable, and not so profound that you are unable to do the basics, like walk, and bath and get to the restroom. My doc and I found what worked for me, and what worked for me, might not for you, so be vocal, and not suffer in silence, there are plenty of meds that work pretty well in those early days. Communication is key. Remember he/ she is your care partner.

Know early on that you will have to be dependant on the help of others, thats okay, and allow that to happen, you have no choice. Make steady progress, don't push too hard, if you push too hard your body will tell you that you did. This isn't a race but a marathon, and slow and steady is how to get to the finish line with a good outcome.

Now you are gleaning the help we have to offer, thats why we are here, to help you through this process, as you go post as you can, so others can see a first hand account of your recovery. That helps more than you will know. Who knows you may decide to stay and help others like we have after you have healed. Pay it forward so to speak. Know all the help you will recieve from others, family , friends, or even members here, you will have the opportunity at some point to return the favor, and that feels so good, after so much has been sent your way, it was for me.

I know many look at this surgery as their toughest moment in life, or one of the top say three, but for me it gave me a pause to evaluate myself, and learn some lessons. I learned I had to slow down and allow the people around me to give me loving care, hard when I was a complete control freak type A person. I'm a better person for that lesson. I also learned empathy and understanding of those who have medical problems, I was a kinda pull yourself up by the bootstraps gal, and said and did a lot of crap about others that maybe with a bit of understanding, I would have done things differently. Lesson I'm still learning. I think my whole revision escapade taught me, to slow down, and enjoy those around you, as that matters, not how clean your baseboards are, or how others judge you.

Believe me, Revision is tough, hard and yucky, but it's doable, if you prepare, follow protocol, and allow those around you to help. The blessing of being here is seeing that others have done it, and I can too, afterall you are doing it to get improved movement and wellbeing, and I wish that for you in spades.

Colorado Springs

On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 5:13 AM, queserarachel <queserarachel@...> wrote:

Hi All, Days away! I am trying to have things ready for me when I get home and would welcome your input. My question to all of you, if you can take a few minutes; What was the hardest/most difficult physical action you had to make on a daily basis and did you find any ways to overcome it (tricks to make it easier) example; someone suggested I get a bed rail, it made all the difference getting out of bed....

TLSO brace - did you figure out how to put it on yourself? You know, those little genius moments we have that make us so pleased with ourselves and wish we could take out a patent on the idea. This might be too broad a question, I am fishing I know. I am trying to grip the fact that I can't control everything (sooooo aggravating!) but would appreciate little inspirations from anyone. You all are my Wikipedia!

I feel right now that all I'm doing is taking taking taking from you all, hope I can give back 10 fold in kind in my future.Thank you,

October 8, 2010

Probably the hardest was getting up and down from a chair or the toilet. We installed a high-rise toilet in our bathroom but it still wasn't tall enough. I preferred the bedside commode over the other toilet because it had arms to help pull myself up. The other thing is I would have never been able to roll over in bed without wearing satin pajamas as advised in this group. I still wear them 3 years later! I seem to roll to the left fine but I still need something to grab when I roll to the right. I was able to use the computer desk that was right next to the bed so didn't need the bed rail but I would highly recommend something!Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryFrom: "queserarachel" <queserarachel@...>Sender: Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:13:16 -0000< >Reply Subject: [ ] What was most difficult for you after surgery? Hi All, Days away! I am trying to have things ready for me when I get home and would welcome your input. My question to all of you, if you can take a few minutes; What was the hardest/most difficult physical action you had to make on a daily basis and did you find any ways to overcome it (tricks to make it easier) example; someone suggested I get a bed rail, it made all the difference getting out of bed.... TLSO brace - did you figure out how to put it on yourself? You know, those little genius moments we have that make us so pleased with ourselves and wish we could take out a patent on the idea. This might be too broad a question, I am fishing I know. I am trying to grip the fact that I can't control everything (sooooo aggravating!) but would appreciate little inspirations from anyone. You all are my Wikipedia!I feel right now that all I'm doing is taking taking taking from you all, hope I can give back 10 fold in kind in my future.Thank you,

October 8, 2010

Try to read my letter in the FILEs>Hospital section. I tried to keep it light

and these were the most valuable things I learned in the hospital.

-Dyann Diamond

October 9, 2010

,

I think one thing I didnt quite appreciate or expect was how the permanent fused

to the sacrum position would forever change the way I sat. I would say that

finding or purchasing and remembering to have on hand, in cars and your home,

small pillows to support yourself while sitting (on a firm and flat seated)

chair would be one tip worth investing in before you go to the hospital. You

will want them for the ride home and for support while sitting up at the get go.

The other easy tips are to have a plastic trash bag on hand to sit on to help

with the " slide " when you are getting in and out of a car. The other was having

silky PJ pottoms for " slide " while turning, rolling or just moving in bed. You

just dont want to do anything to torque that spine-hip area....its all about the

slide!

Take Care, Cam

October 9, 2010

HI,

In addition to 's excellent advice, I'd suggest renting a

hospital bed for the first few weeks at home. My doc prescribed it,

so insurance paid. It helped tremendously with turning and getting in

and out of bed. Good luck!

Bonnie

October 10, 2010

Hi ,

Where to begin..........well, I'd say that I agree with . Purchase a

grabber for every room. I think you have mentioned to me previously that you

already use grabbers on a regular basis anyway. I didn't require the need for

the garbage bag, I think most likely because my car is an SUV, making it very

easy to get in and out of and it has leather seats, so the " slide " function was

already there. If you car is low with cloth seats, I would imagine the garbage

bag trick would be invaluable. I also used satiny pajama bottoms and I do

believe that it helped. I also had adjustable bed, which made life a tad easier.

I still have it, in fact. Funny thing is though, that even now at 5 months

post-op, I cannot sit inclined in the bed for more than a few minutes. I don't

find it comfortable at all, and my tailbone hurts if I try to force myself to

sit there for any length of time. I actually fell down my garage stairs about 17

years ago and cracked/broke my coccyx.......ever since then, my tailbone will

scream when I put myself in different positions. Point is that I don't think my

inability to sit up in a hospital bed is caused by fusion to my sacrum, as I had

this issue way before my revision. I'd bet most others don't experience this

problem. Also, I really didn't turn in bed very much. I slept on my back for the

first two months I think. I didn't find it comfortable to be on my

sides.........now, at this point in my recovery, I only sleep on my sides and

rarely on my back!

You will want a table close by for chapstick, glasses, and I liked an alarm

clock. I'm one of those people who always wants to know what time it is! I had

to make sure I had my watch with me in the hospital AND my cell phone! Just a

personal preference. I had done a lot of cooking (I try to eat mostly organic)

myself beforehand. My freezer was chockful. You would be wise to have a large

pillcase and have someone (preferably the same person) do up your pills. There

is no way you will handle this responsibly on the amount of drugs you'll be on.

Showering was hard for me. I had difficulty lifting my legs into the

shower, due to some sort of hip constriction but also my painful knees.

Showering was a lot of work for me and I would be absolutely exhausted

afterwards. It sure did feel good though.

I'm a lot like . I'm generally a pull up your boot-straps, " I'll do it

myself " kind of gal, so I made a pact with myself beforehand to just let it go.

I knew it would be the best scenario to just graciously accept the help of

others. I think allowing myself to do this alleviated a lot of frustation that

would have occured. I'm still struggling with let others do for me. I just have

to accept that there are certain things I cannot do and I must rely on others.

Lastly, I truly do believe that the MOST important thing is your ATTITUDE.

It's half the battle. So much of it is out of your hands, you will be reliant on

everyone, BUT........you and you alone control your mind. Just keep repeating to

yourself that you are strong and you will perservere and you will. Neer mind, " I

think I can, I think I can... " , it's " I KNOW I can, I KNOW I can.. " . And you

will.

D (RI)

>

> Hi All,

>

> Days away! I am trying to have things ready for me when I get home and would

welcome your input. My question to all of you, if you can take a few minutes;

What was the hardest/most difficult physical action you had to make on a daily

basis and did you find any ways to overcome it (tricks to make it easier)

example; someone suggested I get a bed rail, it made all the difference getting

out of bed....

> TLSO brace - did you figure out how to put it on yourself? You know, those

little genius moments we have that make us so pleased with ourselves and wish we

could take out a patent on the idea.

> This might be too broad a question, I am fishing I know. I am trying to grip

the fact that I can't control everything (sooooo aggravating!) but would

appreciate little inspirations from anyone. You all are my Wikipedia!

> I feel right now that all I'm doing is taking taking taking from you all, hope

I can give back 10 fold in kind in my future.

> Thank you,

>

October 10, 2010