Recovery Day 4

It's Saturday!!! And I've got a funny feeling that tonight.. "tonight's gonna be a good, good night!"

...I'm in a really good mood because a ton of my closest friends are coming over to spend time with me tonight.  It will be awesome to get to hang out and "forget" what my hips are currently going through.

So, let me go back to yesterday afternoon when the numbness developed all down my left leg.  A few hours later, just as I was forgetting about the numbness, all the muscles in my thigh started convulsing and shaking... and I could NOT stop it! However, just as the new "shaking" sensation developed, my Aunt Fran and cousin Kristin arrived... so I just forgot about it for a while.

Aunt Fran and Kristin were nice to enough to bring me a huge bottle of Moscato wine and sat with me for about an hour.  We had great conversation and I'm so happy I got to see Kristin before she heads back to BC on Friday.

After my visitors left, I called the lovely Kira Levykh (Dr. Coleman's PA).  She explained that since my muscles in the area surrounding my incision completely shut down during surgery, they are learning how to "move" again. From getting on the stationary bike for 30 minutes, my muscles fired up and swelled (as they should).  She believes they hit a nerve ending and the sensation traveled down my leg.  Well, you'll be glad to know, when I woke up this morning, only my thigh was numb! ....PROGRESS! :)

As for the "shaking" sensation, Kira explained that even though I'm in "super shape" (as she called it), yesterday was the most activity my thigh muscles have done since completely shutting down.  Kira believes they started shaking because they reached fatigue level.  She also thinks this is a completely normal sensation.  Well, after another icing session, you'll be happy to know that the shaking subsided.

Let me move on to the good stuff of yesterday afternoon... my SHOWER!  I was very nervous to get in the shower, in fear that the water would somehow get under my secured waterproof band-aids and ruin my stitches.  However, with the help of my mom, I was able to lift my legs over the bathtub and took a quick, but SUCCESSFUL first shower!  I think today will be even better, as I won't be as nervous to spend some more time under the running water.

After my shower, I ate a healthy dinner and did some more studying for my upcoming licensing exam while icing.   I'm telling you... this Game Ready ice machine has definitely become my best friend! I even got a card in the mail last night from my Aunt Stephanie and cousin Jamie... with SCRATCH OFFS in it!  Here's to hoping I'm lucky when I decide to "scratch" them off today.  I better use a lucky penny or something... ;)

My mom and Anna Banana left for the beach last night, so Julia is now in charge of me all weekend.  She was nice enough to sleep in my room again, in fear that I might fall out of bed ;)  I must tell all my readers:  One of the key components to this recovery process is to have a GREAT support system.  My mom and Julia have been ANGELS... literal angels and I'm so happy I have them to help me.  So thank you guys!

Here is a list of symptoms I have and am still having since the surgery:

1) Dry mouth (from anti-nausea patch that Dr. King gave me).
UPDATE: I took the patch off yesterday, hopefully the dry mouth will subside shortly.

2) Dry nose (from the oxygen that I had during the surgery).
UPDATE: I used Saline Solution nose spray yesterday and that seemed to help.  I'll use it again today and it should clear up.

3) Upset stomach (from all the drugs I've been taking and the epidural)
UPDATE: Still dealing with stomach issues.  For the first 3 days I even had to take a stool softener to help me "regulate."  Luckily, they worked, but my stomach is still out of sorts.

4) Random times of nausea and dizzy spells
UPDATE: Still dealing with this.

5) Random body temperature changes (probably due to the ice machine and 90 degree weather)
UPDATE: Yesterday was a LITTLE better.  Hopefully this subsides soon as well.

6) Numb upper left thigh (from the surgery)
UPDATE:  Still dealing...

7) Shaking thigh muscles (from fatiguing on the stationary bike)
UPDATE: This will probably continue after exercise until I regain all my strength.

8) Stiffness in the hip, pelvic and upper thigh area (from the surgery)
UPDATE: Still really bad.  This is also impacting my range of motion greatly.  I hope this will start to improve when I start physical therapy next Friday.

9) Irritated skin on the upper thigh (from the big pillow-like bandage tape).
UPDATE: Still irritated, but going away.  I think I'm also starting to develop this irritation under the 4 waterproof band-aids I have covering my 4 stitches.  I'm not really sure what to do about this one...

10) Anxiety about gaining weight (from not being able to do my normal cardio routine)
UPDATE: Starting today, I am going to cut down on portion sizes until I am up and moving around more.  I'll let you know how this goes, as changing an already extremely healthy eating plan can't be too easy...

Well, that is all I can think of so far.  I'll let you know if any more symptoms arise!

I'm signing off now to get some icing and study time in before heading off to the stationary bike and chiropractor (for my neck!).  And then my best friend, Doug Hollinger, will be here all day to babysit me until Julia gets home from work!

I love you all!

XX,
A