Hurting from head to toe

Okay, I have to admit it, in the last few weeks of craziness at my work, I've thought dreamily about these first few days after surgery, when I could just lounge in my recliner in a drug-induced haze.  Although I typically take as little medication as possible, this time I was going to just let the pain meds do their job and enjoy the mild euphoria.  Sounds like a plan, right?
So much for best laid plans.  For some reason, the effect of the hydrocodone this time has been very undesirable.  For the first couple of hours after taking it, I have a weird sense that I have to take the act of breathing to the conscious level, or I might forget.  That's not a comforting thought!  And then the next two hours, as it wears off, are filled with a pounding headache (I guess this is what being hungover feels like?).  Headache is a common side effect of hydrocodone, so I called the doc on call to see if there was an alternative drug for pain.  His only suggestion was that I add ibuprofen on top of the hydrocodone, to treat the headache. Yikes. He asked if I might be dehydrated, and I said I had been drinking a ton of water. He also said that it could be the effects of the anesthesia causing the headache, rather than the drug.  
I really couldn't continue on in that cycle last night, and my head was killing me, so at bedtime I switched over to only ibuprofen.  Taken every four hours, it seems to be keeping the foot pain at a tolerable level, but my head still feels weird and hurts. 
So . . . patience.  I know that I'll feel better as time passes.  But I can't help feeling gypped out of a few crazy hazy days of drug-induced happy non-responsibility.  I get that chance so seldom in my life!
     

I think my surgeon owes me a pedicure

Just following orders . . . but I really hated to take off the polish from this week's pedicure.  Do you think I can bill the insurance company?

Round Two--Here We Go Again!

Although I would much prefer to wait about FIVE years before going through foot surgery again, I'm heading back in for surgery on the other foot in a week and a half.  I decided it would be better to get it done on this current insurance year, which ends on July 1st.  So I've scheduled the surgery so that all of my follow-up visits will be complete before July 1st (that's assuming everything goes as it should!).  This means that I can't wait until school is out, so I'll be going back to work for 3 days after Memorial Day, less than a week after surgery. Should be interesting! 

Here's how the feet are looking now:



I think my right foot is looking amazing!  It is 6 months post surgery.  The scar is really faded, and the 4th toe is soooo straight, compared to how it used to be.  I have good range of motion, thanks to all that physical therapy.  The pain level is pretty low, only hurts occasionally, and I can wear any of my shoes (that's more than I can say for my left foot!).  There are still little peripheral nerves waking up, as evidenced by the tingly pain I get about every few weeks along the scar. 

I'm REALLY not looking forward to going through the entire process again.  Although I'm very happy with the results, it's still so recent that I haven't forgotten any of the yukky parts (sort of like having a baby just six months after the first one--it doesn't happen that way for a reason.  We have to get all forgetful and sentimental before we are willing to go through THAT again!).  I remember lots of pain from the first foot surgery.  I remember becoming so impatient with the lack of mobility, thinking, "if I could JUST get up and walk across the room right now I'd be so happy."  I remember how hard it was to get things accomplished.  I remember lots of icing, elevating, wrapping and rewrapping my foot.  But mostly I'm not happy about becoming so immobile just when school is letting out for the summer.  With a little more time on my hands, there's so much I could get done around my house and yard!  Relaxing Julie is not my strongest self, as you can tell.  I'll have to channel her again and again in the coming weeks. 

So . . . here's my I'm Grateful For list, to help me get in a good frame of mind for surgery:

• a good surgeon, and the opportunity to get my other foot fixed by him
• a caring and supportive mate
• teenagers who will help
• a comfortable recliner
• good books to read on my Kindle
• a long summer to recuperate
• a trip with my mom and sisters coming up in July--good motivation to heal well in June
• time to relax!

That's all for now.  Going to try to figure out how to reset the countdown timer on this blog for the upcoming surgery.  Here we go again.