05 October 2011

Shoulder Surgery

So, it has been just over a month since my shoulder surgery.  I really hope it was worth it.  It has been a long road.

I was in so much pain the day of and night after.  The doctor did an orthoscopic entry to begin just to see what they were going to need to do.  Then they actually put an incesion in my armpit area.  It comes up the front and it about 3 1/2 top to bottom.  It was extremely painful.  I was given what is called a party ball after the surgery.  It is a nerve block that was left in my shoulder for 3 days.  I also got pain meds perscribed too. When I got home from my surgery I was seriously sick.  I could not keep anything down.  I vomited in the recovery room and for the rest of the day.  Matt was so nice and kept trying to help me eat little bits and drink little bits of water.  I kept telling him that my shoulder hurt and I wanted pain meds.  He was right when he told me that I should not take them until I could keep something down.  Finally, the pain got so bad that I screamed at him and he gave me some.  I kept them down for the most part.  That was about 10 PM.  I noticed then that the party ball that was giving me the nerve block was leaking.

The next morning I had a post-op appointment with the PT and the nurse.  I told them as soon as I walked in that the block was leaking.....they were on the phone with the surgical center in a matter of seconds.  I was told to go there immediately after my appt.  The PT guy was great.  I was still in a serious amount of pain and he was kind in being careful while he was showing me the three small movements that I was to do for the next 3 weeks.  He told me not to move it unless I was doing these three things (turning my hand back and forth, up and down, and try to get my hand to my mouth).  The nurse was not so nice.  She ripped the steri-strips from the small incesion off and replaced them.  She went to grab the ones on the big incesion and I about came unglued.  It hurt so bad.  (Remember that at this point the party ball was not working and I had only had one pain pill, or so I thought.) I did not let her take them off.  She was not nice about it.  You have to understand that I had steri-strips on was because with EDS, stitches could actually rip through the skin and not stay....causing even more problems.

We made it out of there pretty quick.  From there we went to the surgical center.  I was seen right away and they "flushed" the block (at least that is what they said).  The block was moved around some and I was sent out.  It started dripping in the waiting room so I asked them to look at it again.  They were unable to do much and I was told that it was not necessary.  So, I left and went back home. When I got home Matt came to the realization that he had not given me a pain pill the night before, but an antibiotic instead.  Ugh....no wonder there was so much pain. No pain meds and a block that did not work.  Oh well, I started getting pain meds as soon as I got home, but the block never did work.

The next couple of days I just hung out.  The brace was cumbersome so I could not do a whole lot anyway.  After about a week, I was able to start taking less pain meds and was able to pick Max up from school, but not much more.

It has now been a month and I am just getting back on my feet.  I got to take my brace off the end of last week and I am so thankful for that.  I am still in a bit of pain and movement is still not very easy.  I can use my hand, but barely lift my arm up.  Stinks, but works for now.  Matt is still doing a lot around here that I cannot do.  I am taking the kids to school and picking them up.  I also went with both of them to the pumpkin patch on school field trips this week.  It was horrid......I was able to keep up and smile for the kids. It really was fun, but I was done by the time I got home.

My first physical therapy appointment was this morning.  We are taking it super slow.  I went in, was given heat, 2 stretches, and then ice.  That was it.  Nothing else.  No exercises.  I am not to lift anything more than a cup of coffee or can of soda.  I can use it as I see fit, not past pain or adjusting my posture to accommodate movement.  It is going to be a long trek back and painful.   I am going once a week for awhile and then we will reevaluate it and see what is next.  I think I will be seeing the therapist for 6 to 8 months.

Matt will be gone next week and I am nervous as can be.  I know that I can do it and I will work through the pain, but I am still nervous.  Good thing for me is that it is a 3 day school week.  That means I only have to go out for those 3 days.....if I am having a rough day, sticking to home is much easier.  I also have two great little helpers.  I am sure we will work it out.  Besides, I am sure that Matt can use a break, even if it for work.

I am hoping to blog each day to chronicle to come back from my surgery and share with others with Ehlers-Danlos so they know what to expect.

5 comments:

  1. I hope it continues to improve!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What is the name of the surgery you had? How are you now? ( shoulder specifically)

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  3. Hello friend,

    Your blog is nice for Shoulder Surgery. It’s a awesome posting. Its very useful for others.

    Dr. Pasquale Longordo and Shoulder Surgery

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post Shoulder Surgery thanks to share this all information here..

    ReplyDelete