3 days post-op update....snails pace...

Surgery was Monday and didn't go too bad. I was most nervous for 1. the nerve block and 2. going under general anesthesia as I haven't been all the way under before. I was also hoping that the nurse listened to me and didn't put the IV in my hand..I HATE that..always hurts. All the nurses and staff were very nice. The nurse actually asked me if I had a preference or any ideas on where to put my IV. I told her if she can get it in somewhere other than my hand that'd be GREAT! After slapping my arm around a little she found a good vein on my forearm that seemed it would work. Success!! She did an awesome job, I didn't even feel it! Next was off to the anesthesia room to get my block. The anesthesiologist gave me something to relax me a little through my IV first. Then he had me turn my head to the right and gave me a general anesthetic to numb the area...just a slight burn..not bad at ALL. Next they hooked these pads up to me to stimulate my nerves to figure out exactly where to place the block. That was a very odd feeling but didn't hurt. My arm started flopping around like a fish outta water! They administered the block and I didn't feel anything at ALL as they were doing it...thank goodness!

They took me back to the pre-op room to wait for my surgery. ONLY complaint that I had is that they told me if there was time in between the block and the surgery they would send John back in. The Dr. came in and marked my shoulder and told me that it would probably be about a 1/2 hour to an hour until surgery. I didn't see John again....

From the beginning of the day I had a headache, I think mostly from not being able to have my morning coffee. It kept getting worse until it finally turned into a full blown migraine about 2 hours before actual surgery. I obviously couldn't take any migraine meds and didn't know how they'd react afterwards with all the other pain meds and anesthesia. I remember the last thing I said after I was in the surgery room was, "I figure I'll ask all of you guys since you're all here, can I take a Maxalt when this is all done to get rid of my migraine?" LOL...I remember the nurse saying, "We're gonna give you something here in a minute that will get rid of that headache for you". I said, "ok" thinking that she meant for good!

Coming out of anesthesia I remember being very restless..and STILL with a migraine. WORST FEELING EVER. First thing I asked OUT of anesthesia was if I could take a Maxalt. The nurse said shouldn't be a problem and just at that moment the Dr. was walking by, quick told me everything went well, no surprises, and YES I could take a Maxalt! wooohooo. I got my grape juice and pretzels, John was called in to go over discharge instructions and I was wheeled down to the car...where I took a Maxalt! Longest car ride home EVER! Came home and crawled in bed...just wanted my migraine to go away! John had to run out to the dollar store and get me one of those "beauty sleep" masks, so I could keep all the light out as best as I could that was coming through the blinds

 

Sleep the first night was rough, I got about 4-5 hours of very broken sleep. I am to be taking my pain pills every 4 hours round the clock. We have our alarms set so I take at 8pm, 12 midnight, 4 am and 8 am....so I'm waking up through out the night to take a pill and eat a snack so I don't get sick.

 

After my migraine was manageable John had to laugh at me, I wanted to sit up and come out to the living room, but without having any lights that dim, they were still just a little too bright for me..therefore I had my sunglasses on as I was talking to my mom on the phone. Told me I look like a redneck diva in my flannel with sunglasses on and on the phone....and the lovely bag of frozen veggies!

 

Last night the block finally started to wear off, the numbness and tingling was horrible, but now the pain is pretty intense. I was in tears last night and broke down and took 2 pain pills instead of just 1. I'm allowed 1-3 pills every 4 hours..and have been trying to stay with the least amount possible. I took my pill at 8pm and at 8:40pm I decided I was taking another and going to bed. I slept all night waking at 12midnight and 4am to take 2 pills each time.

 

Physical therapy started this a.m. They took off my bandages. I have 3 incisions with steri-strips over them. I went into p.t. with the saying, "no pain, no gain" in mind. I know that's usually what they go by. I was fully prepared to be in some pain. I had my pain pill at 8am with a bowl of oatmeal and was feeling ok...weak, but pain wasn't TOO bad. He told me we are NOT looking at my situation as, "no pain, no gain". The bone was cut...therefore I will have a LOT of pain, but at the same time, we need to let that bone heal a little before we can really start messing with it. I got hooked up to a stimulator and a cryo wrap. The cryo wrap puts compression all around your shoulder to try to promote circulation all the while it's forcing ice cold water through the wrap so your whole shoulder is encapsulated in cold...it felt GREAT! He explained to me how to be holding my arm and placement with sleeping and sitting. Really cool thing is that I can have my arm placed just so and still type without moving my shoulder and FINALLY have MOST of the feeling back in my hand...finger tips still tingling but getting better.



 

I was told by the p.t. that this will be a very slow process of first healing, then range of motion, then strengthening. He told me it will take me about 6 months to get back to the strength that I started with! Guess I'm in it for the long haul...moving forward, even if at a snails pace.