8 hours to go...

Feeling sorry for myself, I am wide awake, hip, ankle, and knee are aching, and can't get comfortable in this hotel bed! Really mad at myself for leaving pain relief gel and lunesta behind. Don't know what I was thinking. Meanwhile dane is sound asleep. It's really going to be a long miserable night. I can only hope that means I will be tired enough to sleep through the worst tomorrow.

surgery eve

We are in green bay for the night so can be at the hospital by 5:30 tomorrow morning. Forgot to bring my lunesta so am not expecting much sleep. Hope I didn't forget anything else!

last day of school!

Today was my last day at work, my long term sub spent the day getting the hang of the regular routine so hopefully that is all set and jeanette is feeling ok. Had a great send off by friends and the staff at north so have money to spend at b&n after I get home. Pat and Carrie gave me flowers and a gift basket so I am feeling awfully special with some great friends and coworkers! Physically and mentally I think I am ready as possible. I have a mamogram tomorrow thing the dogs go in for shots then last.minute packing and heading down to gb by 3 or so.

What a day!

Just when I think I have things under control something happens to show me that I don't!. I was home trying to fix Tue computer and getting frustrated with that when I got a call from brunos neighbor to led me know that the furnace minded light was on indicating the furnace was off and sure enough it was so 3 hours later the dte service man has it running again and all is good except my leg is throbbing from the extra hours of being up and about back and forth to Tue house Nd up and down to the basement so now I am struggling to fall asleep. ok the positive side is thank god tje.light worked and I got a call to check.it before pipes froze Like last time6

Pre-surgery weekend

Got the platform finished and washer and dryer in place with help from Dave and Sher while Dane was at work. Unbelievable how much it helps and that we didn't do it sooner! I spent the weekend trying to get ahead on laundry and cleaning but somehow as soon as I get ahead it piles up again but hopefully the head start will help in the first week or so after surgery when I won't feel up to doing much. I am feeling a little less apprehensive about the surgery and feeling more comfortable it is the right thing to do that may change again as it gets closer but with 4 days to go I am ok. Wish I could remember how many bad days it really was but guess I should try to be more positive and hope for the best. I have been reading the posts on the Totally Hip Support Group on Facebook and overwhelmingly people are more positive about the procedure than I am, maybe surgery on the left side will be easier than the right and will improve my opinion.

Getting closer...

Accomplished a lot at school today getting things organized and ready for my sub to take over, wish I was organized all the time! Pain has been steady and I have started taking 1 1/2 vicodin instead of 1 in hopes of being able to do a little more before having to sit again but so far even though it helps the pain level it doesn't do much to improve my mobility or how long I can stay on my feet. I have the house to myself tonight so am hoping to get ahead for the weekend there are so many things I would like to have finished before now so am hoping to get motivated to finish. Picked up 2x12's to build a platform to raise the washer and dryer a little to make loading and unloading easier, unfortunately they are too big for me to handle cutting on the table saw myself so I will have to wait for Dane tomorrow but am hoping if I get everything set tonight it will be easy for the two of us to finish tomorrow.

The power of anti-inflammatory meds

To reduce the chance of surgery complications the doctor instructed me to quit taking any anti-inflammatory medication a week before surgery and without realizing how much it was helping I quit taking it even earlier. It has been almost a week now and the amount of pain and limited mobility I now have as compared to a week ago demonstrates how effective the medication was even though it didn't necessarily feel that way at the time. Where my pain had been maybe 4-6 depending on how much walking I did it is now more often 6-8 and I am having a hard time lifting my leg to even put socks or shoes on. I don't remember going through this degree of increased discomfort last time around but maybe I waited a little longer to quit taking the mobic last time. Had my pre-surgery test done today so am one step closer to being ready.

F on the pain scale

Unfortunately since stopping the anti-inflammatory medication as per presurgery recommendations my hip and leg pain has increased greatly. It may be helping improve my attitude and readiness towards thr but it has led me to reach 'f' on my personal pain scale, which is the point when I start swearing. Under normal circumstances I rarely swear and when I do it is pretty mild. However the increased pain is bringing back the swearing I went through after my first surgery. Even though its just to myself, the fact that this time around I have hit stage f at 8 days preop could be a bad sign!

Frustration

I have been waiting to hear from hospital scheduling about prop testing and still haven't heard and am running out of free days left before surgery. Had a bad night sleeping last night tossing and turning not finding a comfortable position and hoping for a snow day. Neither worked out so headed to escanaba for all day training then back to school to do lesson plans for tomorrow, not sure when I am going to get my classroom organized for the sub, I am running out of days for that day too, only one.week left to go.

Going downhill

Several coworkers have mentioned to me how much worse I have gotten in the last few weeks especially. I quit taking the mobic on Friday so I have really be struggling with added pain and mobility in my left side. Getting in an out of the car, chair, bed, etc. is all painful. Bending my knee and lifting my leg to get dressed is equally frustrating. Only 2 more actual days at work so lots to do for lesson planning.

10 days to go...

I am still trying to get pre-surgery tests and paper work taken care of and am down to just a few days left at work, lots to get ready for, wish I was better at organization. I quit taking the anti-inflammatory prescription and am really feeling the effects. I am surprised about how much the joint pain affects my muscle strength in limiting my ability to lift my leg to get in and out of the car or into the recliner or bed. Also surprised by how quickly it seems to have deteriorated, hopefully that means this is the time to do the surgery.

and so it begins...

Surgery is a little less than two weeks away and I am still anxious but resigned to the necessity, and know that waiting another few months or so isn't going to make a positive impact so might as well get it over with.

Made some progress cleaning and getting the house ready for me along with a little extra effort to get it ready for potential visitors too :). Finally finished moving Christmas decorations to the basement storage room.

My only frustration was how limited I was before I had to sit and take a break, although in some ways that made me feel a little better about needing the surgery now rather than putting it off.

2 Weeks Pre-op

Decided I need something to keep my mind off worrying so am trying to keep a journal of surgery preparations and results. Wish I had done this the first time around so I had something to look back at in preparing for surgery number two because right now all I remember was the post surgery pain and being sick from pain meds but don't remember how long it took to start feeling better.