48 Days post Op - first week of PT and Xmas

So on Monday I had PT. It was fine but 4 hrs after I had nerve pain in my left forearm.  What? Everything pre op was right arm. This of course freaked me out.  And by ned time muscle pain, plus new nerve pain, plus small knife in my back pain and I started crying and just couldn't seem to stop.  And this is where I wonder - was/is my attitude made worse by being perimenopausal?  I am not normally a person who cries but my god it was most all day the 23rd.  

Went to MD for clearance to go back to work and told him of new pain and was blown off.  Told if I have nerve pain *just* from elbow to finger its probably carpal tunnel. Um WTF? First how convenient that it's the same pain and where it started on my right. And happened within hours of PT?  And within weeks of spinal surgery on the very vertebrae that has that root nerve? Are you kidding me? Do you think I'm a moron? Throw in the dagger in my back and no - I'm not convinced.  He placated me by setting up an appointment for a month out to see how I'm doing.  But I really did not appreciate the blow off.  So upset I had a cigarette. First one in six weeks and a day. 

People in my acdf support group on FB told me it's possible it was just that the muscles I worked at PT swollen squeeze on the nerve so I calmed down and hormonally I felt so much calmer Wednesday (see I really do think peri has something to do with this extra swinging roller coaster) that we had a lovely Christmas Eve. I had done my PT exercises twice in Tuesday but only once on Wednesday and skipped Christmas altogether because -life, but back to twice a day Friday/ Saturday/ Sunday.  XMAS Eve and day were exhausting from either being upright, visiting with people, preparing or hosting that I crashed xmas night at 745 with a house full of people and didn't care.  Slept almost ten hours.  

Friday, had PT and asked on the swollen muscles squeezing nerves theory and he said "it could be....or....not" great. Thanks.  We did different things than my home exercises and I took my first muscle relaxer in two weeks.  As I didn't want a repeat cryfeast come bedtime.  I decided the next day to cut out one of five PT exercises (bending my ear towards my shoulder) as this hurts like a freakin mother fucker and activates the knife in my back pain like no other.  I will tell Pt tomorrow to hear their thoughts.  

I go back to work tomorrow and have PT at 4pm.  We'll see how I do with both.  But I feel it will be a muscle relaxer night.

40 Days post ACDF surgery

 So last I left you,  I was almost off meds and that next day I went cold turkey.  Had only one muscle relaxer in the first 3 days of no pain killers and I'm doing OK. Pain is there but eh, liveable and I'd rather be able to drive.  

Scar at 38 days, aka my 48th bday

But what was the pain killers masking?  A UTI. Oh goodie!  So two days after being off them I was at my doctor's office to get antibiotics for that.  Prescribed a new drug I've never had before and that Friday night at 10pm I had chest pains for a good 30 mins.  Didn't really know what was going on but since it went away, oh well. Then next day, from 6p-8p same thing only even more intense.  Felt like someone had a glove made of tiny needles had my heart in their hand and would squeeze any time I breathed in.  I knew it wasn't a heart attack as it only happened on in breaths. Looked up drug and it said a rare complication was breathing problems and chest pain.  Ok, not gonna take that again.  Left message Sunday at MDs office so that Monday they could give me new drug. They didn't call me all Monday. So at 345pm I left a message instead of on the general office (only option on Sunday) on my MDs nurse's voice mail (as this office has like 6 doctors). Tuesday morning first thing, they call saying "sorry no one listened my first message from Sunday until now" 😲🤨 but please immediately go to ER to be checked for pulmonary embolism since I recently had surgery.  Oh so fun 4 hrs in ER to learn, nope possibly the drug, possibly some random complication from surgery, maybe GERD, we don't really know.  But here is a different antibiotic.  

My birthday outfit to make my brace as invisible as possible 

After that excitement. Wednesday I went and got my nails done and ran a few short & close errands as my first time driving.  Oh, driving is a bit scary as I'm fearful someone will hit me and paralyze me. And turning my head at lights (particularly left) hurts and I can only turn my head so far.  

It's amazing how AI can now fake a picture 

Then Thursday for my birthday we had reservations down at Joliet to do a little casino time, dinner and drinks (had not had a drink in seven weeks). Turns out being in a recliner so much, I can only hold my own head up for about 4 hrs before I'm in need of laying down.  But enjoyed two rum & diets and one cosmo with a piece of tiramisu.  Happy Birthday to me.  And we only lost a little over 50% of our gambling budget so that was nice.  

And Friday, was my work department's Christmas luncheon that I went to.  2 hrs at Biaggi's.  I feel I talked too much about me.  But admittedly after 7 weeks of not seeing them I felt like I needed to tell all that went on from my surgery as a sort of "I'm off work for a reason, it's not been fun and games" (told ya I get massive guilt about missing work).  But it was so nice to see everyone and know they're caught up enough spreading my work between 3 people that I won't be coming back to insanity in 10 days.

Took brace off for picture and eating.  Kept turning my head so much to hear stories from either side. Probably should have been at head of table for less turning...but that was for two bosses.

But then OMG am I dead from 3 days of doing stuff. Even just a few hours here and there.  So Sat/Sun will be resting. Monday is first day of PT and then Tuesday is my 3rd follow up appointment with Ortho (second set of x rays and work clearance).  Then the Holidays with Xmas Eve at friends and hosting Christmas dinner here.  Then I'll probably need those next three days to rest up again before returning to work.  

But basically after 7 weeks of being away from society as a whole, today was the start of returning to the world outside my little bubble.  Small victory to remember aside from what is above: while trying to sleep on my side still hurts beyond belief if trying to turn to my left.  I was able to sleep on my right side for 15 - 20 mins once this week. I'll take it - as maybe this means I'll be back to my side sometime down the road.

30 days post op ACDF Surgery

 So I did return to recliner for one week.  And then tried back to bed.  It was a better transition this time.  Getting in and out of bed is still the most painful thing I do in a day but not *as* bad as 10 days ago.  And I'm sleeping on just a single pillow - no wedge, no need for the two pillows on eother sides for arms like I was.  

I'm now down to one pain pill, cut in half, every 12 hours as I tried going cold turkey off a 10 mg and at 16 hrs after last pill I was so twichy and felt like my skin was crawling with bugs that I could see OK, that's withdrawls.  So I looked up how to step down.  It told me to cut the pills in half and start spacing out time intervals.  So that's what I've done.  Soon I'll try to just do half pill at bed time but I had leaned the biggest mistake I made was that day I had the withdrawal I had my last pill at 5am and they said you should have last pill at night. 

So, there are improvements from even just 5 days ago.  But it does still feel like there is a rebar attached to my shoulder blades and then a long screw from the middle of that to my spine.  So spine where neck meets back hurts but not like pre surgery.  And left shoulder blade muscle is currently worst of all.  And I still cannot lay on left side.  Layed on right side for 30 mins this morning but was fairly painful - just happy to get off my back.  Two more weeks until I can take a long hot bath and start PT where I hope there are some massages!  

ACDF 25 days post op

 So I couldn't bring myself to stop the pain killers when I ran out but I'm starting to think I should really try cold turkey.  I'm only taking 2 a day 8 hrs apart and then a muscle relaxer at night.  Icing only once or twice a day; usually around 430p and 8p after I've perhaps done a bit too much in a day?

But sleeping was still hurting my arms laying down and trying to get out of bed was still the worst part of every day.  Jeff convinced me to just sleep in the recliner.  It's only been 3 or four nights but I'll probably give it a few more nights before giving bed another try and will try not to feel bad if it's still not time yet.  

But it is annoying that I joined a FB group and it feels like half are like "I stopped pain killers in less than a week, laid flat in bed by a week and went back to work in two weeks."  Well frickin' good for you!  But then there's the horror story group that's like "I've been in a recliner for 3 months and still off work."  Like what? I have to get back to "normal" faster than that right? And hearing the stat that 20% need a second surgery in years from above or below your fusion weakening. Ugh. The idea of constant pain being a possibly for the rest of my life has given me bouts of depression that I told my GP about today at my annual physical.  But she brushed it off that this mood is temporary which I agree; but still the idea itself is based in statistics and family history so not totally out of left field.  

On the good news side.  All the glue is now off my scar and it's so nice and slim.  Looking pretty good!  So I startes using Moderna scar cream gel in the morning and overnight cream before bedtime.