Crossing the Threshold

Why the picture of Obama? Because he gives me hope for the future of this country, and right now I'm feeling so good that I'm quite full of hope for my own future so I thought it seemed appropriate.

I've crossed the 6-week threshold. This is about the time when the doctor said I'd be healed up and back to normal. And I have to admit, I'm feeling pretty good. I seem to have gotten the programming figured out much better on this stimulator so I've been doing quite well. I haven't missed any work in the last two weeks and in fact I even earned a couple of extra hours this week! That's the first time that's happened since 2007 so it is kind of a big deal. I must be getting used to the tight wires in my neck because they don't bother me much at all...it's been at least 2 weeks since I've had a freak out about them and had to go lie down. I'll still probably get it fixed this fall if I can, but at least it's not a hugely pressing issue at the moment, which is a relief. Most of my surgical pain is gone. I have a few random pangs here and there but if I press on the incisions, they don't hurt. I rarely notice the battery in my way anymore either, I guess I'm getting used to that too. Sometimes I touch it for some reason and it surprises me because I forget it's there. I still have hematomas on each side of my head, which is getting annoying, but I figured I'd give those at least 2 more weeks before I really start to worry about them enough to call a doctor. I'm kind of over seeing doctors constantly. I'm enjoying the break from them.

I said I would give myself at least 6 weeks before I started riding my horses. Since the farrier is coming this weekend to trim their hooves, they should be good to go this weekend just like me. So maybe I'll take the old mare out and give her a go and see how everything feels. I don't know that I'm quite ready to take the mustang out yet but that has to do with more than just my surgery...he needs a little tuning up as well!

So all is good. I have a few more ideas for posts but I'm afraid that soon I'll be feeling so normal that I won't have anything left to write about!

Three Weeks Post-Surgery

Today is officially three weeks since surgery. I started back to work this week--jumped right in and started going full time. Monday was a bit rough. My head really started hurting in the afternoon and I had to crank up the stimulator, but I still had a bit of a hard time keeping the pain controlled. I'm sure it was just the massive stress of coming back after being away since February. I was fine the next morning. I was also really tired when I got home that evening. I guess I'm not used to doing anything productive for that span of time!

Wednesday was rather warm, and I was driving around in a truck most of the day for work, and for some reason I had another day where I could feel the wire in my neck a lot. Mostly on the right...it's definitely tighter on that side. It doesn't restrict my movement or anything...it just feels kind of weird. I thought I'd be used to it by now, but I'm not, which makes me think it's a little tighter than it should be. I think the next time I go to Chicago (which won't be anytime soon) I might ask about getting a wire extender put in on that wire. I'm afraid that if it's too tight I may over time end up compensating for that and screwing up my neck or posture or something dumb.

"I may walk around looking like this, but at least I don't have headaches anymore!"

Yeah...not so much.

My scalp is still a bit more sensitive than I'd expect, but only really on the left side (the side I had the trial wires put in on). And the battery site is still a bit tender too. Sometimes I forget about it and do something that hurts it a bit, which is annoying. BUT I don't seem to feel it as much as I used to...I'm definitely getting used to it, which is positive. I'm not taking the painkillers anymore...I weaned myself off them during the week as I hated that "junkie" feeling I had this weekend and I seem to be fine now.

All in all, things are going well. Sometimes I feel like I'm not as far along in my healing as I wish I was, but at least I'm back to a sense of normalcy. I even have social plans for the weekend for the first time in months. Yep, I'm just that popular.

One Week Post-Surgery

It's been a week since surgery. Well, actually a tad more but close enough. I went to the doctor today and thought he was going to take my staples and stitches out but he decided to leave them in a few more days and I have to go back on Tuesday to get them removed. Which is fine with me. I'd rather make sure everything is closed up tight before all that stuff comes out. He said everything looks to be healing well though. He also gave me the g0-ahead to have a shower and wash my hair! WOOHOO! I'd had a couple baths this week, so I wouldn't completely stink, but my hair hadn't been washed since the morning of my surgery. It was dirty and had all the blood from the surgery still crusted in it. My scalp was really starting to itch terribly too...I wouldn't have been surprised to find some bugs hiding in that mess. Not really, but it sure felt that way.

A Medtronic rep was also at my appointment to help program my stimulator. I felt like one of the wires wasn't in the right spot, but she reprogrammed it so that the stimulation came a bit further down on the wire and it seemed to work like a charm. I didn't know they could do that, but apparently they can, which is good to know. She also gave me a few other things to tweak on my own remote, like pulse width, which can give me better coverage as well. They didn't have all that kind of stuff available on the trial stimulator so it was a learning experience for me. They are also going to set me up with a Medtronic rep in either Wyoming or Montana to help me out when I am back home, if I need it. Glad I won't have to travel to Chicago any time I need anything adjusted. If it's surgical I will, but not for adjustments to the stimulator programming.

I'm still tired, my head is still sensitive to sleep on, and I'm still taking my pain meds. But every day seems to get a little easier. Hopefully in another week I'll be able to go home! *Cross your fingers!*

Post-Surgery

I got home from the hospital on Friday afternoon. The first couple days were a bit rough, although not as painful as I expected. I had laproscopic surgery on my abdomen a few years back, and that was much more painful than this procedure. Then again, I have stronger painkillers this time and the incisions aren't as deep or in an area that moves all that much. But it's a pleasant surprise when you end up being in less pain than expected!

I felt really good on Sunday...good enough to get on the computer, although the angle of my arm when I'm moving the mouse doesn't feel great so I was not on there very long. But of course I think I overdid it that day because on Monday I slept most of the day and was in noticeably more pain. Oops.

Sleeping is difficult because it's hard to find a comfortable position for my head since there are incisions/staples on both sides. I also tend to not sleep well on pain meds. They knock most people out but they get me all crazy, and they make me itch. With all the tape and bandages, it's hard to get at those itches so it's kind of a never-ending cycle of craziness. I'm still taking the pain pills regularly but the pain isn't bad at all. The incision sites are more achy than sharp now. Where the leads were tunneled under the skin just feels like a bruise (it felt like that from the beginning, there was never sharp pain there). I just have to remember to take it easy or my shoulder starts to hurt because I think I'm moving it too much.

I'm a bit worried that the wires on the left side of my head are not in the right place. The front wire seems to be about an inch too far forward, and the back wire seems both too far up and too far to the left. I can't tell if they will work where they are or not because during surgery the doctor put a lot of local anesthetic in my head, and it hasn't worn off yet...my scalp is still numb. So I haven't had the headache pain come back yet to be able to try the stimulator out. In fact, I really haven't even had the stimulator on at all since I had the surgery. Between the pain pills and anesthetic, I haven't needed it yet. Keep your fingers crossed that I'm wrong about the wire placement because if they do need to be moved, that means opening my head up again on that side...something I will not be happy about. I'm ready to be done with surgery, pain, and medications and move on with my life!

I haven't been able to shower yet, which is kind of gross since my hair is crusted with blood, but the doctor told me not to shower until after I'd seen him on Friday to get my stitches/staples out. I think that's a bit ridiculous but I guess I better listen to him. I had a bit of a sponge bath yesterday but my hair is starting to drive me nuts. I've been camping for periods longer than this without a shower but I think it's just the idea that there is all that blood on my hair that's driving me crazy. A bit of dirt and grease is one thing, blood is another. Yuck.