my surgery saga

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

While my pain meds were still working, I managed to get this written

out.

I arrived at the hospital at 7:15 on June 29 for my scheduled 9:15

surgery. Pre-op was uneventful except that there was a little delay.

Because of my small opening and difficult airway, they can't

intubate me the conventional way and need to use a fiberoptic scope

to put the breathing tube now. It had just been used on another

patient so we just had to wait for it to be cleaned. They gave me

something to sedate me so I don't even remember going back to the

OR.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up in the recovery room with

excruciating pain in my right joint. They brought me to my room

pretty quickly and once I got hooked up to my morphine PCA (patient

controlled anesthesia) pump, things were under control again. I

don't remember much of that night except that I was annoyed I

couldn't wear my glasses and couldn't see anything. Around my face,

I had a bulky pressure dressing along with the ice packs and oxygen.

I had two pain pumps in place (one in each joint) that were hooked

up to long catheters that were taped across my chest. I also had a

urinary catheter and continuous pulse ox (to measure my oxygen

levels) along with the IV with PCA. The night was uneventful and in

the morning, a lot of that stuff was taken off. The only problem we

had was that there was a lot of bloody drainage from the right pain

pump (a clue of things to come).

The second day and night went pretty well. I was able to keep down

fluids well (which had always been a problem with me before). I

didn't have any pain on the left side and the right was kept under

control with the PCA.

Things got bad the fourth night. They decided to take me off the

morphine and just give me oral pain meds, Lortab, along with IV

Toradol. The Toradol was great for about 4 hours at a time but it

can only be given every six. The lortab only helped slightly. I

cried and howled in pain until 4:30 a.m. when they finally knocked

me out with Phenergan and Valium. That lasted until 6:30. The left

side still felt fine, it was only the right which didn't make sense

because the pain pumps had been tested in the OR and worked fine

there. I was supposed to go home that day but there was no way I

could in that condition.

That morning, my surgeon shot the right side up with a local

anesthetic to try to find the source of the pain. My husband said he

pushed the inch long needle all the way in to the hub but I didn't

even feel it, I hurt so badly. Finally he was able to numb me up

enough so I was more comfortable. He discovered the catheter from

the pump was occluded so the anesthetic never got into the surgical

site and that's was why I was having so much pain.

Thankfully, they put me back on IV morphine that night so I was able

to get about two hours sleep and I was discharged yesterday

afternoon. I had a little panic session again this afternoon at home

before my meds kicked in again. At least at home, I can take however

many of them and whenever I need to within reason. Being a physician

does have its advantages – I can calculate my own drug dosages and

write them out for my family.

Last night, I did get about four hours sleep so that was more than I

ever got in the hospital. Between the pain meds, nausea meds, muscle

relaxant and Elavil (typically used to treat depression but also for

chronic pain because it alters a person's perception of pain), I was

knocked out good. I just hate feeling like this and can't wait to be

able to get off all the meds. I don't even like to get drunk because

I hate feeling out of control.

I never ever want to go through this again. I don't know what I'll

do if this doesn't work. I use a feeding tube or live off Boost for

the rest of my life before I have another surgery.

I hope the rest of you have easier recoveries. I don't want to scare

anyone. I've had two orthognathic surgeries as well (BSSO and lefort

I) which were a walk in the park compared to this total joint

replacement.

Thanks for letting me vent. I going back to the couch before this

round of meds wears off.