Surgery and Recovery

From Friday morning...

I am T minus 164ml.  

That is all that is left in my nerve block pump. 

After that I am on my own.  Pain management will be out of a pill bottle and the scares the heck out of me.

We are now 65 hours post-op and I am now sick of my recliner.  Sick of not being in the world.  Sick of being waited on. And almost ready to part ways with my nerve block pump. 

I won't miss wearing the lovely fanny pack around my neck like a pack mule.  Forgetting and then remembering after one stride of the crutches that I need to take the fanny pack that is connect to the tubing that runs from my hip to just below my knee with me, or I will regret it.  Part of me is even thinking I will be happy to feel my toes again.  

But I prefer NOT to feel the pain that I know must be coming. But at the same time I HATE pain meds.  Like, with a PASSION!.  You have no idea.  A friend of mine who has gone through 6 of these surgeries, stopped in on my FB page to check on me and was the only person to give me frank advice.  Perhaps she is the only one because she is coming from experience.

"Also, if your doc didn't tell you, once your nerve block wears off and you are starting to feel more pain, don't let your pain get too bad. What I mean is let's say you feel ok and don't take your pain medication for several hours. If you put it off for several doses, the pain will catch up to you and by then, your dose may or may not give you any relief."

I need to hear it like that.  Because I will go as long as I can.  I will skip doses of drugs.

So I started taking Tylenol last night on the 4s.  My body must be expecting it, because here it is as midnight waking me up for it.  I am trying to figure out where I can fit in the Tramadol in order to avoid the Oxy and Percocets.  I am not a girl who likes to take drugs.

My everyday meds with baby aspirin and antibiotics thrown is as safe guards.
I really can do without more.

I think I am more frightened of this than I was of surgery.  I tolerate pain well, like scary well.  But what if this time I don't.  Last week when I broke it, my FF knew it was bad because I was whining when I moved...and I took the Percocet.  By Sunday I wasn't taking anything stronger than Tylenol.  And by Monday I was taking my husband to the hospital to get some things checked.  Swinging myself through several wings of this building while they fit me in within 2 hours of me calling (AMAZING may I just say) with no pain meds whatsoever in my system.  I take enough meds, I don't need to add to them without cause.  So, on the hospital pain chart, I can tolerate up to a 5/6 without any drugs, or perhaps just OTC. 8 is where I am assuredly taking OTC and considering scripts to sleep.  10 does not happen often, but that is where I am actually using the drugs offered to me on the scheduled times.  I am hoping to not reach that.

Wish me luck.

T minus 133ml.