Post Surgical Update & Incoherent Rant of Frustration

[nightfox]

I just got back from my first post-surgical visit to my MD and he's very happy with my progress. My incisions are both healing really well and while I'm frustrated with my pain level and continued need for what I consider way too many drugs, he assured me that it's normal and I need to stay on them for a while longer. My x-rays are apparently "excellent", so at least the grafted bone and larger hardware seem to be working out so far.

So I shall continue to be a dopey dish for a bit longer. I keep falling asleep sitting up! Several times I've woken up with my face on my keyboard and the imprints of the keys dug into my cheek and forehead. This morning, my bestie found me just sitting up, cross-legged on the floor, spine straight and my chin tucked down on my neck brace which in turn was braced against my chest, dead out asleep, hands still on my laptop keyboard! And like dead out asleep; it actually took her calling my name several times to wake me up. I never sleep that deep. Usually I am such a light sleeper that if a squirrel farts in a tree two blocks away it'll wake me up!

I hate narcotics!! Even when I need them, I hate them. I had one day of clarity in the past 14 days and it came at the cost of massive pain. Science has just got to come up with a better system of pain control than this. It's absurd!

OK, I am off to nap some more cuz I'm feeling the percocet I just took. On yeah, Doc increased my Valium due to my increased muscle spasms, so now I can sleep even more! Yay. :-|

Good news is no more bandage changing and I get to dump the neck brace in another 2 weeks! I went out for dinner with friends last night to my favorite Moroccan restaurant and I swear, people stare at you like you're something nasty just because you're wearing a visible medical device. How dare I disrupt their mental aesthetics by appearing in public with such an ugly thing on. Shallow twits. On a terrific note though, dinner was Fabulous and I only nodded off twice during the meal :D I need to learn to cook more Moroccan dishes, I LOVE that food!! I could happily eat that 5 times a week.

More good news, I get to start physical therapy in 6 weeks :D Can't wait!

Thanks everyone for all the positive thoughts and well wishing, I really do appreciate it ♥

Comments

[loaded-march.livejournal.com]

I am waffling between -- "That sucks!" because I know being on pain meds is really not fun, and kind of envious, because you have pain meds that work.

(Oxycontin does nothing for pain for me; most pain drugs don't have lasting effects, either. But I can relate to the face-in-keyboard symptom -- I was given morphine, once, and I dozed off in mid-conversation. Mid-word, even. My spouse thought it was hilarious.)

But I am glad to hear that the healing is going well!

[faithharkness.livejournal.com]

"I can relate to the face-in-keyboard symptom -- I was given morphine, once, and I dozed off in mid-conversation."

I can relate to the keyboard, too. Sadly, however, it was not due to morphine or strong prescription drugs. Nope, Nyquil does that to me. My friends won't let me have anything more complicated than a remote for the DVD player when I'm sick enough for Nyquil.

[k-nightfox.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Nyquil makes me sleep too. It does that to most people. That's cuz it combines antihistamines with a hefty dose of alcohol! The stuff is 25% alcohol by volume making it a 50 proof liquor as well as a good cold remedy ;-)

[k-nightfox.livejournal.com]

Well, the pain meds work now, they didn't really for the first week. The pain from the bone graft site in my hip was so bad that the percocet didn't touch it but I had no way of getting a new RX from my doc cuz he's 1 1/2 hours away, I can't drive and my friends all work during MD's office hours. So I sucked it up and then it started to get better. I liked morphine when I had it once for a kidney stone because it didn't make me sick like the percocet does. However, they don't hand that out if they can help it. Oxycontin is the only narcotic I haven't tried yet.

Yes! I have drifted off mid-sentence several times and sometimes I only get half-way through a meal and I fall asleep. It's great for weight loss though! I've taken off 10 lbs since the surgery cuz I have no appetite. Percocet is great like that, it kills any desire I have to eat anything and interrupts my ability to finish any food I start on! However, last night I was determined to enjoy my first night out in weeks and my friends kept me from falling face first into the communal dishes!

[loaded-march.livejournal.com]

Your friends are nicer than my friends. They would've let me drown in my soup and they would've snapped pictures for Facebook.

[k-nightfox.livejournal.com]

Hah! Yeah, my besties are awesome. Also we all were eating from one large platter to small plates in front of us and if I landed in the food they couldn't eat it either so it may not have been niceness so much as self preservation ;-)

[loaded-march.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, you got to be suspicious of your friends in those kinds of circumstances...