Trusting the GP's receptionist to pass on a bloody message again!
Friday morning I rang the GP's after he asked me to,to inform them how my pain was and I expected them to get back in touch but they didn't but I left it because I knew I had enough meds till Monday morning and I would get the rest in the afternoon.Well how stupid am I!It's bloody Bank Holiday weekend so come Monday am I had taken the last of my meds and OMG yesterday was a nightmare the pain was terrible and today isn't much better either to be honest even with the meds!
I have also been told to slow down by the PT so the walking I was just beginning to enjoy the start of some freedom and it all has to stop :(
So backwards I go again........this knee is always going to test me!
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Friday, 27 August 2010
Day 22
So here we are just over 3 weeks post op and things are ok,I can't say that I am happy as of yet with my new knee and the moment I am having a bit of a love hate relationship with it!I love that one day it will give me the chance to do so much but I hate that it hurts so much right now.
My daily routine is pretty much the same at the moment I wake in agony and really stiff I struggle to the toilet on my crutches and putting the weight through it is really sore,I take my meds I'm on 30mg MST now instead of the Tramadol and I do my physio,knee bends and leg raises I still don't think I am much past 50 degree knee bend and I can raise my leg but I can only do it once as it hurts so much so I am concentrating on strengthening my thighs and quad muscles.
I then try to get as comfy as possible which is nearly impossible and I ice it lots and then more physio and a short walk and I mean short I can only manage to go about 5 doors up the street and back and the day continues pretty much the same!
I am bored and tired as I am not sleeping and I feel horrible from the drugs and the emotions are ridiculous I have been crying at everything!
Anyway enough from happy me for the day!
My daily routine is pretty much the same at the moment I wake in agony and really stiff I struggle to the toilet on my crutches and putting the weight through it is really sore,I take my meds I'm on 30mg MST now instead of the Tramadol and I do my physio,knee bends and leg raises I still don't think I am much past 50 degree knee bend and I can raise my leg but I can only do it once as it hurts so much so I am concentrating on strengthening my thighs and quad muscles.
I then try to get as comfy as possible which is nearly impossible and I ice it lots and then more physio and a short walk and I mean short I can only manage to go about 5 doors up the street and back and the day continues pretty much the same!
I am bored and tired as I am not sleeping and I feel horrible from the drugs and the emotions are ridiculous I have been crying at everything!
Anyway enough from happy me for the day!
Monday, 23 August 2010
AWOL
Sorry I haven't posted sooner but this recovery lark is bloody hard work!
I'm Day 18 post op now and things are improving slowly I have had all my dressings removed and the steri strips have come off,I'll pop some pictures on look away if squeamish!
My knee bend is still 45 degrees but I managed to do one leg raise yesterday I know one whole leg raise whoopeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Anyway getting over the pain has been a struggle I started on 200 mg of Tramadol morning and night followed by 8 paracetemol a day and up to 50mg Oramorph and it just wasn't helping so my lovely GP came to see me on Friday and put me on a 20mg dose of MST and that seemes to have helped I am taking up to 20mg of Oramorph for breakthrough pain and will probably need to up the dose to 30mg MST this week.
The pain seems a lot better for now :)
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Hometime :)
Physio came at 8am I walked the length of the ward and did the stairs and my knee bend had gone up by 30 degrees so she was happy for me to go home :) She asked me where I wanted to go to physio so I requested that hospital as I had heard wonderful things about them.She said it was no problem :)
Then came the start of the wait for home time,what a flaming nightmare every excuse possible was thrown at us and at one point I couldn't have any meds because my meds were at the pharmacists so I was left in pain!!!
5pm I finally left and not one nurse asked how I would be getting to the front of the hospital how I was getting home or even if I would be ok once I got home!I was so disappointed in this hospital after all the good things I had heard about it :(
Anyway finally home and I struggled the stairs and flopped on to my bed and didn't move for the rest of the night!
Then came the start of the wait for home time,what a flaming nightmare every excuse possible was thrown at us and at one point I couldn't have any meds because my meds were at the pharmacists so I was left in pain!!!
5pm I finally left and not one nurse asked how I would be getting to the front of the hospital how I was getting home or even if I would be ok once I got home!I was so disappointed in this hospital after all the good things I had heard about it :(
Anyway finally home and I struggled the stairs and flopped on to my bed and didn't move for the rest of the night!
Tuesday 10th August
In all the drama I totally forgot to mention it was hubby's birthday yesterday how rude am I!!!!
My mum sent him to the hospital with a cake and a candle and we sang Happy Birthday :)I'd already given him an Ipod Touch a few weeks earlier and I had bought him a docking station too.
So I wasn't getting any visitors till evening today so I was concentrating on physio and rest all day,no visitors mean't I had to eat whatever muck they brought me from lunch and boy was it disgusting that is mean't to be mushroom soup!Dinner was no better either,beef hotpot!The NHS needs a huge makeover!
Thankfully hubby and sister brought enough food to feed an army!
Physio came and informed me that I needed to achieve a 90 degree bend and I was only at 20 to 30 so that set me into major panic aout wether I would ever get home!
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Monday day from hell!
So the word on the ward was people were being moved to another ward and I just knew it would end up being me and I didn't want to leave this beautiful ward!
The first lot were shipped out at 10am and I thought I was safe but no 3pm came and I was told to pack up as I was moving,not even to a bloody rehab ward to an admissions ward that wasn't equipped for post op pateients!
The ward was a disgrace it was packed to the brim of inpatients waiting for ops and I wasn't seen to till I had been there 3 hours!No one even asked if I could make my way to the toilet alone or if I needed any meds!
Teatime came and the shout went down the ward to come and help yourself,I sat on the bed wondering if anyone would come and help me,15 minutes later a nurse asked why I hadn't got my tea,well hello I cannot walk!!!She went off and reappeared with a plate of 7 chips and some gravy!I was disgusted!
Things continued to go downhill and we didn't receive our night meds till midnight as they were only 2 nurses and 26 patients!
I finally dropped off at 1am and hoped Tuesday would be different!
The first lot were shipped out at 10am and I thought I was safe but no 3pm came and I was told to pack up as I was moving,not even to a bloody rehab ward to an admissions ward that wasn't equipped for post op pateients!
The ward was a disgrace it was packed to the brim of inpatients waiting for ops and I wasn't seen to till I had been there 3 hours!No one even asked if I could make my way to the toilet alone or if I needed any meds!
Teatime came and the shout went down the ward to come and help yourself,I sat on the bed wondering if anyone would come and help me,15 minutes later a nurse asked why I hadn't got my tea,well hello I cannot walk!!!She went off and reappeared with a plate of 7 chips and some gravy!I was disgusted!
Things continued to go downhill and we didn't receive our night meds till midnight as they were only 2 nurses and 26 patients!
I finally dropped off at 1am and hoped Tuesday would be different!
Saturday 7th August
Today I was woken at 5am to be told my Nerve Block and PCA Morphine pump were to be removed and that the physio would be getting me out of bed!
The physio came at 8am and they helped me get up and put my legs over the bed and OMG did I feel awful,dizzy sick hot shaky and the pain was awful!I managed 3 steps before they had to sit me back down :(
They don't work Sunday so they said they would see me on Monday and to do some exercises over the weekend.
The nerve block and pain pump were removed and the agony was back :( Scott and my friends arrived at 11ish and cheered me up :) Clare bought me lots of pressies she's a fab friend xx
They all went off for lunch while I face another gross meal from the hospital and the removal of my drain from my knee which I already knew was horrible as I had one before now.I was right it was terrible having a plastic tube dragged from the inside of your knee is very un natural!
The rest day went by in by in a blur as did Sunday lots of exercises and plenty of pain!
The physio came at 8am and they helped me get up and put my legs over the bed and OMG did I feel awful,dizzy sick hot shaky and the pain was awful!I managed 3 steps before they had to sit me back down :(
They don't work Sunday so they said they would see me on Monday and to do some exercises over the weekend.
The nerve block and pain pump were removed and the agony was back :( Scott and my friends arrived at 11ish and cheered me up :) Clare bought me lots of pressies she's a fab friend xx
They all went off for lunch while I face another gross meal from the hospital and the removal of my drain from my knee which I already knew was horrible as I had one before now.I was right it was terrible having a plastic tube dragged from the inside of your knee is very un natural!
The rest day went by in by in a blur as did Sunday lots of exercises and plenty of pain!
Friday, 13 August 2010
Recovery
Finally at 6ish I was wheeled into recovery HDU where my care was taken over by a lovely but slightly stressed nurse Gillian whose job it was to observe my obs and keep my pain under control.
Everything seemed to be fine,I spoke to Scott and my mum on the phone they weren't allowed into the HDU and I felt ok.
But then it all started going wrong the Epidural started to wear off and the pain was getting unbearable so the anaethesist was called to up the Epidural,15 minutes later he arrived and the pain was hideous by this point and I was barely holding it together :( He topped up the Epidural and I was told it would be 10 minutes and the pain would be under control,it didn't happen :(
The nurses then changed shifts and the wonderful Jenny became my nurse and she took control she set up a morphine pump which I could press every 5 minutes,it didn't take the pain away but it eased it but she wasn't happy with this she wanted it all gone!So she tried her hadest to get me a nerve block but the on call doctor was having none of it!Jenny stayed by my side from 8pm till 7am and it was a very tough night for both of us :( We sat and had tea and I cried and she reassured me and she continued to badger the doctor who kept coming and upping my epidural but it wasn't even numbing me!
When she went off shift at 7am Gillian came back on and the aneathesist from the operation was there within an hour giving me a nerve block he cut into my groin and put a small tube down with a anesethitic in which worked within half an hour and I became pain free along with the help of the morphine!
I was then moved to a private ward as there was no beds available anywhere else in the hospital and I was finally able to see Scott again as he had stayed over night and hadn't been able to see me since 2pm the previous day I can only imagine how worried he was :(
So my room was lovely it had patio doors leading out on to some beautiful gardens I had an ensuite not that this mattered as I had a catheter in!A huge wardrobe for all my stuff and a plasma TV happy days :)
I don't remember much of Friday I think I slept on and off for most of it,Tommo came to see me in the evening with a huge bowl of Haribo and a balloon I don't really rememeber much else think the morphine might have been taking effect!He took Scott home to Blackpool with him at about 7ish and I chilled for the night.
Everything seemed to be fine,I spoke to Scott and my mum on the phone they weren't allowed into the HDU and I felt ok.
But then it all started going wrong the Epidural started to wear off and the pain was getting unbearable so the anaethesist was called to up the Epidural,15 minutes later he arrived and the pain was hideous by this point and I was barely holding it together :( He topped up the Epidural and I was told it would be 10 minutes and the pain would be under control,it didn't happen :(
The nurses then changed shifts and the wonderful Jenny became my nurse and she took control she set up a morphine pump which I could press every 5 minutes,it didn't take the pain away but it eased it but she wasn't happy with this she wanted it all gone!So she tried her hadest to get me a nerve block but the on call doctor was having none of it!Jenny stayed by my side from 8pm till 7am and it was a very tough night for both of us :( We sat and had tea and I cried and she reassured me and she continued to badger the doctor who kept coming and upping my epidural but it wasn't even numbing me!
When she went off shift at 7am Gillian came back on and the aneathesist from the operation was there within an hour giving me a nerve block he cut into my groin and put a small tube down with a anesethitic in which worked within half an hour and I became pain free along with the help of the morphine!
I was then moved to a private ward as there was no beds available anywhere else in the hospital and I was finally able to see Scott again as he had stayed over night and hadn't been able to see me since 2pm the previous day I can only imagine how worried he was :(
So my room was lovely it had patio doors leading out on to some beautiful gardens I had an ensuite not that this mattered as I had a catheter in!A huge wardrobe for all my stuff and a plasma TV happy days :)
I don't remember much of Friday I think I slept on and off for most of it,Tommo came to see me in the evening with a huge bowl of Haribo and a balloon I don't really rememeber much else think the morphine might have been taking effect!He took Scott home to Blackpool with him at about 7ish and I chilled for the night.
It's back on!
They were ringing to ask if I would come in for the operation now!Had I had anything to eat?Luckily I hadn't it must have been fate so I shouted to Scott to bring in the washing as we were back on!
He wasn't impressed actually as he had just picked the dog up and he had told work he would be back in at the weekend!
We both rushed round like blue arsed flies for 15 minutes and rang frantically around people for a lift to the hospital my ex MIL came up trumps as usual :)So within 30 minutes we were on our way to Wrightington!I was in the back frantically scrubbing purple nail polish off my toes while Scott sat in a state of shock!
Thank god for Facebook and Twitter as I was able to tell all friends and family it was back on in one foul swoop!
At the hospital it was a rush of getting my gown on and having bloods done and before I knew it I was off to theatre and I hadn't even signed the consent form!So theatre staff got a surgeon out to go through the forms and I signed my knee away!The staff were amazing so upbeat and had me in stitches,I made the final walk to the pre theatre room to have my aneasthesia and they were all laughing at how I was the patient that nearly got away they hooked me up to a load of machines and prepared to get going when there was a problem....the machines were bust!So I was wheeled into the theatre which was very surreal it was such a big white sparky place with lots of equipment and they started trying to put the cannula in my hand well I had already warned them that it was very difficult to find a vein and I was right 6 attempts and 2 nurses and a consultant later they finally got it in!Then on to the epidural 45 minutes later they finally got that in,all the time the nurses had me at ease and we were singing along to Robbie Williams together!
They finally gave me some light sedation at about about 4.30pm,I went to theatre at 2.45pm!and I drifted off not before seeing my surgeons appear in space suits and no I wasn't hallucinating!
About three quarters of the way through the op I woke up to a load of noise,sawing and grinding,it didn't freak me out at all it just seemed quite normal and the surgeon had a nice chat with me about how well it was going!
He wasn't impressed actually as he had just picked the dog up and he had told work he would be back in at the weekend!
We both rushed round like blue arsed flies for 15 minutes and rang frantically around people for a lift to the hospital my ex MIL came up trumps as usual :)So within 30 minutes we were on our way to Wrightington!I was in the back frantically scrubbing purple nail polish off my toes while Scott sat in a state of shock!
Thank god for Facebook and Twitter as I was able to tell all friends and family it was back on in one foul swoop!
At the hospital it was a rush of getting my gown on and having bloods done and before I knew it I was off to theatre and I hadn't even signed the consent form!So theatre staff got a surgeon out to go through the forms and I signed my knee away!The staff were amazing so upbeat and had me in stitches,I made the final walk to the pre theatre room to have my aneasthesia and they were all laughing at how I was the patient that nearly got away they hooked me up to a load of machines and prepared to get going when there was a problem....the machines were bust!So I was wheeled into the theatre which was very surreal it was such a big white sparky place with lots of equipment and they started trying to put the cannula in my hand well I had already warned them that it was very difficult to find a vein and I was right 6 attempts and 2 nurses and a consultant later they finally got it in!Then on to the epidural 45 minutes later they finally got that in,all the time the nurses had me at ease and we were singing along to Robbie Williams together!
They finally gave me some light sedation at about about 4.30pm,I went to theatre at 2.45pm!and I drifted off not before seeing my surgeons appear in space suits and no I wasn't hallucinating!
About three quarters of the way through the op I woke up to a load of noise,sawing and grinding,it didn't freak me out at all it just seemed quite normal and the surgeon had a nice chat with me about how well it was going!
Rollercoaster ride!
Wednesday 4th August was a nightmare day I went into town to get all the last minute bits I needed and to stock up on supplies for hubby!When I got home there was an answerphone message from the hospital so I rang them back only to receive bad news which was that they had cancelled my bloody op I was angry devastated upset and many more emotions!
Hubby came straight home from work and cuddled me for several hours while I moaned cried and shouted,he is an absolute star and I do not know where I would be without him!
So we ate the wonderful food that was meant to be my final supper before the anaesthetic and went to sleep.I was awake on and off all night wishing it wasn't me that had been cancelled and wondering when I would get another op date,I normally drink lots throughout the night a side effect of all the medication I am on and for some reason I didn't drink anything,we woke at 8am and Scott went for tea and toast but I couldn't face it,I just wanted to curl up in the duvet and feel sorry for myself!So Scott let me and he went to collect the dog from the kennels and he put a wash on and he was just putting it on the line when the phone rang,it was Wrightington................
Hubby came straight home from work and cuddled me for several hours while I moaned cried and shouted,he is an absolute star and I do not know where I would be without him!
So we ate the wonderful food that was meant to be my final supper before the anaesthetic and went to sleep.I was awake on and off all night wishing it wasn't me that had been cancelled and wondering when I would get another op date,I normally drink lots throughout the night a side effect of all the medication I am on and for some reason I didn't drink anything,we woke at 8am and Scott went for tea and toast but I couldn't face it,I just wanted to curl up in the duvet and feel sorry for myself!So Scott let me and he went to collect the dog from the kennels and he put a wash on and he was just putting it on the line when the phone rang,it was Wrightington................
Monday, 2 August 2010
2 full days to go
Well as Monday is nealry over it means I only have 2 full days till the big op!
The hopsital rang earlier to confirm the operation date and to check that I am in full health I'm not even allowed any cuts or bruises!
The pain tean also rang to discuss my options for pain relief and they seem to have it all under control so I am feeling loads better about the op :)
So I have cleaned the house totally and all the washing is done and my bags are packed :)
The hopsital rang earlier to confirm the operation date and to check that I am in full health I'm not even allowed any cuts or bruises!
The pain tean also rang to discuss my options for pain relief and they seem to have it all under control so I am feeling loads better about the op :)
So I have cleaned the house totally and all the washing is done and my bags are packed :)
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