First Week Post-Op
Well…one week down! I
have to say that the one highlight of surgery day HAD to be the nerve
block. If only I could get one of those
shots every morning, it would be smooth sailing! Unfortunately, mine began to wear off about
ten hours after the surgery. The doctor
prescribed Vicodin, which I began taking at the first signs of pain and as I
began actually feeling my toes. I
started with one Vicodin every four hours, but immediately moved up to two
every four. When the nurse called the
day after surgery, the surgeon bumped me up from Vicodin to Percocet. On my first dose, I took two Percocet, as I
had with the Vicodin. Bad idea! The extra pill didn’t give me any additional
pain control, nor any longer duration, just made me light headed and generally out
of it. The magic dose for me ended up
being one Percocet every four hours.
After a couple days, I was able to go back to the Vicodin, and have
since begun taking Aleve during the day, and one Vicodin at night. I have also been taking 800 mg of Ibuprofen
every 8 hours to help with the swelling…and it seems to help. I would recommend taking a stool softener
with the pain meds…the nurse had instructed me to do so. I can’t say if it helped, but it definitely
didn’t hurt. The pain hasn’t been
overwhelming as much as the inability to do anything that I enjoy. From playing with the kids, to just general
Daddy duty…it’s been a tough week…and I know there are more to come. I’m trying to keep in mind that it’s most
important to follow the prescribed regimen…but it’s never easy to just sit
still. Elevation has been important, as
I can definitely feel increased swelling and discomfort whenever I go any
period of time without elevating my leg.
I’m looking forward to the two week checkup, to seeing what the incision
looks like, and to hopefully taking the next step forward. (figuratively speaking of course!) Good luck to anyone who is just starting
their journey!
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Hey Reel - you’re on the way to getting better! I’d LOVE to give a big hug to the person who invented the nerve block - what a wonderful invention!
I was quite lucky after my surgery - the block wore off about 8 hours after, and although it was somewhat painful (a 6-7 out of 10) - with the drugs and ice and elevtion, it was fairly manageable. I did end up with a slight fever that evening, and called my Doc - he told me to pop some Ibuprofin, which took care of both the fever AND the pain! I woke up the next day with hardly any pain at all, and was able to get off the heavy meds within a few days.
Keep the faith and keep your eye on the road my friend!
Greatly appreciated. I do notice a significant difference when I take ibuprofen in combination with the pain meds or Aleve. Assuming the additional anti-inflammatory is the reason for it. Keep the faith…it’s about all you can do in the early stages right?!
Reelaction,
The fist week is the toughest, but things get way better after that. I am sure you won’t even need advil or anything like that in a few days.
My nerve block lasted for a day and a half, and my pain afterwards was about a 7 out of 10 for about 30 minutes - that it. I was off the meds by the end of week two.
After week 2, if possible, start moving those toes.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Ron