10 am. Nick gets up saying that he feels good and had a reasonable nights sleep. Quick check of the wound (without moving the dressing) shows that all the bruising around the wound has gone. Does a set of physio exercises and reports a little pain in his thigh which he first felt on doing the full leg extension. We suspect it is his hamstring pulling a little.
1 pm. I had to get to Sainsburys and unfortunately, due to road works and heavy traffic didn't get back until 12.30 pm. Nick looking rather miserable and reporting some back pain to the left of his wound. Says he just wants to sleep. Put on some ice-spray which seems to help and he is now snoozing. He turned down the offer of paracetamol. Conclusion - it's pretty miserable being left on your own when in pain. It's also pouring down with rain and the prospect of a walk is not appealing.
1.30 pm. Well, we braved the rain and got soaked! Nick wanted to walk more but actually managed about 0.5 km which is similar to yesterday. Felt pretty tired afterwards, so we had lunch and then decided to watch a film. He lay on his back with a pillow under his bum and extra head support. Also took 2 x 500 mg paracetamol.
3.30 pm. Had a break from the film to do physio stretches. Reports a little pain, some in his leg. Looking a little more cheerful.
5 pm. Film finished and Nick wanted to go for a walk, so off we went. He comfortably managed 0.8 km and is pretty cheerful. Ice spray afterwards. Lying on his back seems to be the best position so far today.
7 pm. Final physio stretches for the day followed by ice spray. Says he has no pain :-)
10 pm. Nick has headed off to bed. He's turned down the offer of any paracetamol again, and says he has only very very little pain, possibly in his back. He is very pleased that we have found a comfortable way for him to lie on his back, and is wondering whether the leg pain was actually due to him lying on his side.
He has some friends coming round tomorrow to see him, which he is really looking forward to. He also wants to try having a shower - not a bad idea given that he hasn't had one for two days!
For my part, I reckon it's best not to leave him on his own for too long. It's not easy being in pain, and it's even worse if you are alone. I feel really sorry for those who have to cope with this on their own - it must be really tough.
Let's hope that his progress continues tomorrow.
Showing posts with label Deep Freeze spray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deep Freeze spray. Show all posts
Friday, 14 December 2012
Posted with Blogsy
Wednesday, 12 December 2012
1 day post-op
8.20 am. Arrive at the hospital. Nick awake and fairly chirpy. Didn't have a great night, 'not bad' says Nick. Difficult getting to sleep and had a few painkillers to cope with wound pain. Wound hurts when knocked or pressed against, which is tricky when you are lying all the time! Healthy appetite and has enjoyed breakfast. Taken a couple of ibuprofen. Expecting physio to visit after breakfast.
10.30 am. Spoken to surgeon who is happy with Nick's progress. Also seen physio which has proven really helpful. Have a list of very basic and gentle stretches for him to do 3 times a day and had a good discussion about when to see his normal physio again. Nick's recommended to start gentle, short walks as soon as possible. Nick reporting that he can sit straight without pain :-) and they checked that he can walk upstairs. Having a shower here at the hospital after which they will replace his dressing and then he can go home!
Dressing and steri-strips came off in the shower so we've had our first glance of the wound.
11.30 am and Nick's back home! We have some extra painkillers in case his wound starts to hurt, but he is pain free at the moment :-) He's set up on the futon on the living room floor with his laptop and bag of food to his side. When he stands up he can now stand straight and suddenly seems taller than before.
1.30 pm. Managed to sit up at dining table for a quick lunch, although he said it was tiring on his back muscles. Full set of physio stretches followed by ice on back for 20 mins (using an exercise band to hold in place as he is is lying on his side to avoid pressure on the wound).
2.30 pm. Short 10 minute walk (approx 0.5 km) followed by ice-pack and 2 x nurofen. Slight back ache. Measured height - 1.5 cms taller than pre-surgery!
5 pm. Full set of physio stretches followed by Deep Freeze ice-spray. Spray easier to use, but only lasted about 10 minutes so reapplied after 10 mins. Some mild dull back ache around the wound. Nick finds most comfortable position is lying on his side.
We are both learning that you need to use a timer/stopwatch etc to remind us when next activity is, otherwise you just lose track of time.
6.30 pm. More ice spray. A little bit of back pain around the wound but not enough to require any painkillers.
9.30 pm. Had a bit of a set back this evening. All was going well - little pain, managed to sit up for supper and was pretty happy about life until about 8.30 pm. Wound started to hurt so we put an ice pack on and waited 20 mins. But the pain worsened and Nick described the sensation as if the wound was ripping apart. Indeed, it had started to bleed again.
So, took a Diydrocodeine and Nick has been lying face down (lying on back hurts too much) since then. He's feeling very miserable indeed. Shame, cos today had been going so well.
10.20 pm. Diydrocodeine has had desired effect and Nick's pain has greatly reduced. Gone to bed now, hopeful that he will manage a good nights sleep.
I think that today we have been amazed at the impact the surgery has had. We expected a reduction in sciatic pain, but there has been a huge impact on his 'structural' or biomechanics as well. He can now stand properly, he looks as flexible as you would expect a teenager to be and he walks normally. I hadn't realised the impact that the hernia had had on these. He says that he feels 'freed'. The pain this evening is surgery pain and I am sure it will disapate over the next few days.
10.30 am. Spoken to surgeon who is happy with Nick's progress. Also seen physio which has proven really helpful. Have a list of very basic and gentle stretches for him to do 3 times a day and had a good discussion about when to see his normal physio again. Nick's recommended to start gentle, short walks as soon as possible. Nick reporting that he can sit straight without pain :-) and they checked that he can walk upstairs. Having a shower here at the hospital after which they will replace his dressing and then he can go home!
11.30 am and Nick's back home! We have some extra painkillers in case his wound starts to hurt, but he is pain free at the moment :-) He's set up on the futon on the living room floor with his laptop and bag of food to his side. When he stands up he can now stand straight and suddenly seems taller than before.
1.30 pm. Managed to sit up at dining table for a quick lunch, although he said it was tiring on his back muscles. Full set of physio stretches followed by ice on back for 20 mins (using an exercise band to hold in place as he is is lying on his side to avoid pressure on the wound).
2.30 pm. Short 10 minute walk (approx 0.5 km) followed by ice-pack and 2 x nurofen. Slight back ache. Measured height - 1.5 cms taller than pre-surgery!
5 pm. Full set of physio stretches followed by Deep Freeze ice-spray. Spray easier to use, but only lasted about 10 minutes so reapplied after 10 mins. Some mild dull back ache around the wound. Nick finds most comfortable position is lying on his side.
We are both learning that you need to use a timer/stopwatch etc to remind us when next activity is, otherwise you just lose track of time.
6.30 pm. More ice spray. A little bit of back pain around the wound but not enough to require any painkillers.
9.30 pm. Had a bit of a set back this evening. All was going well - little pain, managed to sit up for supper and was pretty happy about life until about 8.30 pm. Wound started to hurt so we put an ice pack on and waited 20 mins. But the pain worsened and Nick described the sensation as if the wound was ripping apart. Indeed, it had started to bleed again.
So, took a Diydrocodeine and Nick has been lying face down (lying on back hurts too much) since then. He's feeling very miserable indeed. Shame, cos today had been going so well.
10.20 pm. Diydrocodeine has had desired effect and Nick's pain has greatly reduced. Gone to bed now, hopeful that he will manage a good nights sleep.
I think that today we have been amazed at the impact the surgery has had. We expected a reduction in sciatic pain, but there has been a huge impact on his 'structural' or biomechanics as well. He can now stand properly, he looks as flexible as you would expect a teenager to be and he walks normally. I hadn't realised the impact that the hernia had had on these. He says that he feels 'freed'. The pain this evening is surgery pain and I am sure it will disapate over the next few days.
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