Hello everyone,
Some background about me. I am a 27 year old woman. I do not lead an overly healthy lifestyle. I do not have high pain tolerance nor do I really exercise. Like many of you, I noticed that my legs were “off” when I was a child and it really bothered me. I assumed I would have to live with it until I came across this blog a few years ago. Eventually I took the steps necessary to meet with Dr. K and I am currently recuperating from the second, and thankfully last, surgery–Yay!
I want to share my post op experience since everything before that was pretty similar to other contributors’ experiences. I had my first surgery, on my left leg, in February 2017 at Sibley Hospital with Dr. K. I remember waking and not feeling any pain, which I was thankful for. Although I was drowsy and sleepy I was not in pain the whole time I was in the hospital. I was able to hop to the bathroom with the walker. I decided to use the walker, rather than the crutches because it just seemed safer. I also did not have bad bruising which made me happy.
I went home a day after my surgery and I had to get through two flights of stairs to get to my room. I decided to stay in my room until my follow up with Dr. K because I did not want to deal with the stairs again. I must say the boredom was at times the worst part of the recuperation. At first I was taking my painkillers religiously but a few days in I started skipping taking the meds at night because I was able to sleep fine without any pain. Throughout the whole recuperation of the first surgery my pain was never more than a 3-4 mostly after PT.
Four days after the surgery I had my first PT session. I was surprised it was that it was so soon since many other contributors mentioned that they waited weeks before starting PT but Dr. K instructed me to start PT and I listened. I had two PT sessions that week. They were somewhat painful but not too bad. By the time I saw Dr. K for the follow up, a week after the surgery, I had become an expert at hopping and at non weight-bearing exercises. Dr. K told me to stop using the walker and the brace and to start putting weight on the leg. I was surprised but I trusted Dr K and I followed his advice. Three days after the appointment, (10 days after the surgery), I was working from home and putting full weight on the leg. It was somewhat painful but the idea of soon being able to get out of the house kept me going. Thirteen days after the surgery I was driving short distances and. After 6 PT sessions my therapist told me that I did not need any more PT and I would be fine. By week three I had stopped taking all my pain medication. Five weeks after my surgery i was good as new (with minor pain here and there) and Dr. K was very happy with the results.
My second surgery was five days ago. I am already working from home. My experience so far has been similar to the first. Only difference is that I had some pain when I woke up from the surgery and some pretty bad bruising. I think the bruising was caused because I was not as diligent about keeping the leg elevated when I was in the hospital. I have already stopped taking the Oxy, but not the other painkillers. I had one PT session but I did not think it was too useful since I know what to expect. I have my follow up on Friday and I am hoping Dr. K will let me put weight on the leg so I can start walking and stop using the walker.
Like I mentioned, I do not really exercise and I definitely do not have high pain tolerance. After my first surgery, I made sure to keep my leg elevated a lot but I slacked off when it came to icing. Other than that, I did not do anything special, yet I was fine within a month after my first surgery. I am already cutting down on the painkillers five days after my second surgery and I am hopeful that Dr. K will allow me to put weight on the leg soon. I am sharing my story to hopefully make some people feel better about the recuperation process.
Not a Cowgirl 