Re: 2 Months Post-Op

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Great report and its sure good to hear that you can feel your own progress.

Please get yourself a nice pad or notebook, dedicated to questions, and leave it

in a handy spot. Write down your " doctor " questions and do not for one minute

feel silly about it. If you search any for any kind of information about

patient/doctor interactions you will see that this IS THE RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE.

It will be helpful to the doctor to not have you needing to call back with the

follow up questions that you forgot to ask.

I am wondering about your PT setup. Why cant you go to someone closer to you, or

have someone come to your house? Either option might be possible, perhaps with a

bit of work. Other alternatives might be to see if there is a medical van

service in your community. At a minimum I would call the hospital closest to you

and ask to speak to their social worker and see if they might share some

suggestions with you. The other thought is, did you check to see what a cab or

limo would cost. I know " limo " sounds ritzy and expensive....but generally car

services are not as crazy as they sound, unless of course you ask for the

stretch white limo with champagne....not that that isn't in order after your

report!

Take Care, Cam

[Guest guest]

, Is there a bus service for the handicapped in your area? We have one here and I believe they will pick you up and drop you off wherever you need to go. It might be worth looking into. Surely you’d qualify for services. Thanks for posting. My surgery is coming up this month and it helps to know what others are dealing with. It sounds like getting to PT defeats it’s purpose if you can’t find a better system. It made me hurt just to read what you had to go through to get to and from PT. Good Luck to you! Kate

From: Curran Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2011 2:32 AM

Subject: [ ] 2 Months Post-Op

Hi Everyone!Monday (5/2) marked two months since my revision surgery, which wasdone on March 1-2. I had a follow up appointment with Dr. Glazer'sphysician's assistant, Jeff, approximately a week and a half ago.The follow up overall went ok. He noticed that my shoulders havebecome more uneven since my last follow up appointment, which heattributed to uneven muscle weakness/strength and the fact that Itypically hold my cane in my right hand. He said that PT would helprebalance me, and referred me to outpatient PT. Though the referralwas for general post-operative PT in order to regain muscle strengthand flexibility, both of which I am severely lacking right now.My first PT appointment was yesterday (5/3). The appointment itselfwent fine, and was essentially an initial evaluation, plus arecommendation of a few exercises to start off. I have anotherappointment on Friday, and will be going twice per week for a while.How long did some of you spend going to PT post-surgery?The thing about PT that is causing me the most difficulty is the tripthere and back. Since my husband needs our only car during the day,driving myself is not an option. Therefore, I am stuck using publictransportation, which in my case means two buses. The bus tripsyesterday were brutal -- hard plastic seats, bus drivers whoaccelerate and brake suddenly, and a long time spent waiting duringthe transfer from the first bus line to the second -- in an area whereI had no option of sitting down. The thought of repeating that twiceper week for who knows how long is stressing me out. I'm trying tofind ways to minimize bus trips, such as scheduling my appointments attimes when my husband can pick me up afterward. I'm also beginning towonder if carrying some sort of cushion with me to sit on while ridingthe bus will help. I'm envisioning a camping-type portable cushion orsomething like it. I know I'd look odd, but if if helps it's worth it.During my last follow up appointment my pain medication doses werelowered. I've stopped taking the Topomax I had started taking lastyear for nerve pain. The dose of my long-acting pain medication wasdecreased a little, and I was told to take my breakthrough painmedication no more than once per 6-8 hours instead of the 4-6 hours itwas before, though the dose wasn't changed. I am also still taking amuscle relaxant.At first I was concerned about decreasing my pain medication, andending up with the pain getting out of control. However, I seem to befinally turning the corner pain-wise, and the post-surgical pain hasfinally begun to improve significantly. I am still in quite a bit ofpain, but it's a world of difference from how I was feeling only acouple of weeks ago.I'm moving around better, and rarely ever use my cane when at home. IfI go out where I will be on my feet for a while, I still use it then-- such as my trip to PT or shopping. I'm still too weak to walkaround without it for extended periods.No specific return to work date has been set yet. I definitely am notready to return full time, that's for sure. Though depending on howthings go over the next 2-3 weeks, I may feel well enough to begin atapered return to work -- perhaps a combination of working in theoffice a little bit and/or doing some work from home. I need to chatwith my boss and HR soon about possibilities. But this is allcompletely hypothetical right now, because I really need to get a bitstronger first, and we'll see how long that takes.The weather is only into the sixties in Boston right now, but I'malready feeling very uncomfortable with my brace on due tooverheating. I honestly can't remember how long I will be required towear the brace, but I already feel silly having to put it on when I'mjust doing simple walking around my house. But last I was told wasthat I needed to wear it unless I was in bed, in a high-backed chair,or in the shower. I look forward to those restrictions being reduced abit.My next follow up is in four weeks. Everytime I show up for anappointment I seem to forget all the things I've been meaning to ask.I suppose I really should show up with my questions written down sothat I can refer to them. I feel silly doing that, but I shouldn'tcare about looking silly.It's hard not to grow impatient and frustrated with a recovery thattakes so long (even if I'm recovering well), but I keep remindingmyself that I need to take care of myself so I don't cause any setacme, which would be much more frustrating.Beat wishes,

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

You would do yourself tremendous help if you would only stop worrying

about looking silly. Nobody cares what you look like except you.

Certainly not strangers on a bus who may see you carrying a seat

cushion. And certainly not a doctor who sees you with a list of

questions. And if they do care, so what?

And, yes, I carry a seat cushion wherever I go, and I always bring a

list of questions to doctor visits.

Bonnie

[Guest guest]

Hello Ladies,I, too, take my seat cushions everywhere I go. I also tend to seek out restaurants, coffee shops, etc. that have bench seating as I find it has the most padding. I even sometimes take my chair with me, depending on where I'm going and how long I'm going to be there .... my sister likes to tease me about my "throne"!!!All the best,:-)From: Bonnie Stone <bonnie@...> Sent: Fri, May 6, 2011 1:30:50 PMSubject: [ ] Re: 2 Months Post-Op

Hi ,

You would do yourself tremendous help if you would only stop worrying

about looking silly. Nobody cares what you look like except you.

Certainly not strangers on a bus who may see you carrying a seat

cushion. And certainly not a doctor who sees you with a list of

questions. And if they do care, so what?

And, yes, I carry a seat cushion wherever I go, and I always bring a

list of questions to doctor visits.

Bonnie

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I had my revision surgeries with Dr. Glazer last year. My 3rd and final surgery

was on May 5 and I was able to " wean " out of the brace during the middle of

July. You can call and ask or Isabelle to have Dr. Glazer or Jeff call

you if you don't want to wait another 4 weeks. Jeff may have just forgotten to

even mention that or maybe Glazer wants you to wear it longer than I did? I am

certain he will probably want you wearing if you are using public transportation

- be careful with that!! If you find it too painful and feel you aren't ready

for that, ask Jeff or Glazer about that too - is it really necessary right now

or can you hold off on the PT for a little while? Nothing is set is stone and as

you can see from this site, all the doc's basically tailor things individually.

Good luck.

D (RI)

>

> Hi Everyone!

>

> Monday (5/2) marked two months since my revision surgery, which was

> done on March 1-2. I had a follow up appointment with Dr. Glazer's

> physician's assistant, Jeff, approximately a week and a half ago.

>

> The follow up overall went ok. He noticed that my shoulders have

> become more uneven since my last follow up appointment, which he

> attributed to uneven muscle weakness/strength and the fact that I

> typically hold my cane in my right hand. He said that PT would help

> rebalance me, and referred me to outpatient PT. Though the referral

> was for general post-operative PT in order to regain muscle strength

> and flexibility, both of which I am severely lacking right now.

>

> My first PT appointment was yesterday (5/3). The appointment itself

> went fine, and was essentially an initial evaluation, plus a

> recommendation of a few exercises to start off. I have another

> appointment on Friday, and will be going twice per week for a while.

> How long did some of you spend going to PT post-surgery?

>

> The thing about PT that is causing me the most difficulty is the trip

> there and back. Since my husband needs our only car during the day,

> driving myself is not an option. Therefore, I am stuck using public

> transportation, which in my case means two buses. The bus trips

> yesterday were brutal -- hard plastic seats, bus drivers who

> accelerate and brake suddenly, and a long time spent waiting during

> the transfer from the first bus line to the second -- in an area where

> I had no option of sitting down. The thought of repeating that twice

> per week for who knows how long is stressing me out. I'm trying to

> find ways to minimize bus trips, such as scheduling my appointments at

> times when my husband can pick me up afterward. I'm also beginning to

> wonder if carrying some sort of cushion with me to sit on while riding

> the bus will help. I'm envisioning a camping-type portable cushion or

> something like it. I know I'd look odd, but if if helps it's worth it.

>

> During my last follow up appointment my pain medication doses were

> lowered. I've stopped taking the Topomax I had started taking last

> year for nerve pain. The dose of my long-acting pain medication was

> decreased a little, and I was told to take my breakthrough pain

> medication no more than once per 6-8 hours instead of the 4-6 hours it

> was before, though the dose wasn't changed. I am also still taking a

> muscle relaxant.

>

> At first I was concerned about decreasing my pain medication, and

> ending up with the pain getting out of control. However, I seem to be

> finally turning the corner pain-wise, and the post-surgical pain has

> finally begun to improve significantly. I am still in quite a bit of

> pain, but it's a world of difference from how I was feeling only a

> couple of weeks ago.

>

> I'm moving around better, and rarely ever use my cane when at home. If

> I go out where I will be on my feet for a while, I still use it then

> -- such as my trip to PT or shopping. I'm still too weak to walk

> around without it for extended periods.

>

> No specific return to work date has been set yet. I definitely am not

> ready to return full time, that's for sure. Though depending on how

> things go over the next 2-3 weeks, I may feel well enough to begin a

> tapered return to work -- perhaps a combination of working in the

> office a little bit and/or doing some work from home. I need to chat

> with my boss and HR soon about possibilities. But this is all

> completely hypothetical right now, because I really need to get a bit

> stronger first, and we'll see how long that takes.

>

> The weather is only into the sixties in Boston right now, but I'm

> already feeling very uncomfortable with my brace on due to

> overheating. I honestly can't remember how long I will be required to

> wear the brace, but I already feel silly having to put it on when I'm

> just doing simple walking around my house. But last I was told was

> that I needed to wear it unless I was in bed, in a high-backed chair,

> or in the shower. I look forward to those restrictions being reduced a

> bit.

>

> My next follow up is in four weeks. Everytime I show up for an

> appointment I seem to forget all the things I've been meaning to ask.

> I suppose I really should show up with my questions written down so

> that I can refer to them. I feel silly doing that, but I shouldn't

> care about looking silly.

>

> It's hard not to grow impatient and frustrated with a recovery that

> takes so long (even if I'm recovering well), but I keep reminding

> myself that I need to take care of myself so I don't cause any set

> acme, which would be much more frustrating.

>

> Beat wishes,

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Val,

Yeah for your 1 year anniversary....what a ride it has been for you! Thank god

things have mellowed out as far as your healing and you can focus on getting

other areas in your life sorted out.

I am sorry that you are going through divorce. Its hard, but you will eventually

come to a new place and hopefully will find peace and happiness there.

I am relieved to hear that you were able to get back to work full time and

manage your commute. I know it looked iffy in the early days! Give me a call

sometime and we will catch up!

Take care, Cam