I know, I know, I'm sorry, it has been a few days since I have posted about my progress from surgery, so sorry! I am just tyring to get back into the swing of things, all while trying to take it easy. If that's possible? Probably not, but I'm doing my best.
Today is my two week mark, and I have to say I have had a rough couple of last days. I know that I way over did it in Turkey, taking in some of the sights before leaving, that was followed by a layover in Paris, that came with all play and very little rest, and than an 11 hour flight home. It was a lot to ask of my newly repaired nerve that is trying to heal, and now it's giving me grief. On Sunday and Monday I couldn't even rate my pain it was way beyond anything on the 1-10 scale. On Monday I also noticed things were starting to wake up a little, the numbness is starting to leave, but the nerve is waking up very angry and agitated. OUCH!!! On Monday the pain kept me up for most of the night. I started to get a lot of shocking sensations, or quick zaps of shock like pain. At first it started in a couple of areas in my in-betweens, and before long there was no rhyme or reason, I was feeling the shocking pain all over. I could find no relief, I broke out the strong med's, and for the first time ice was offering no comfort. The way I understand it, is that this is normal for nerve regenerating, and as terrible as this is to go through, this is a very good sign that the nerve is making new connections. I slept most of the morning away, and by the afternoon I was starting to feel more comfortable. By night time I would say my pain was at about a six, and I was able to get out of bed, and hang out with my family for a couple of hours around dinner time.
Everyone has been worried about my leg, and is wondering how it is doing. For the most part my leg has had some slight improvements over the last two weeks. But, there is still areas that I can not feel, and I can not point my toes up for the life of me. My biggest issue is, that once getting home, I realized that I was not going to be able to drive, since my right leg and foot has lost some of the motor function and feeling. So on Monday my husband drove me to my physiatrist appointment. After an examination we discussed a few options, in Turkey they really thought having an EMG was urgent. Here, the doctor thought this was not the most important test right now, maybe in couple weeks, but not right now. He thought the best test to start with would be an ultrasound. He said if he was not getting the results needed from the ultrasound we would move onto a MRI. These test are to rule out the damage to the nerve and to look for any pockets of blood that might be surrounding the nerve. These test would determine two things, one, we can simply allow the swelling to go down around the nerve and within 2-3 month's everything will go back to normal. Or, two, based on the findings, know that in order to regain the feeling and function back in my leg, I would need to have peroneal nerve decompression surgery. Wow, another surgery, seriously! Not just another surgery, but another nerve decompression surgery. Well, I have to say, based on the slight improvements over the last two weeks, I hope this is a good sign, and with some more time my leg will return to normal all on it's own. After my ultrasound I will let you know the results, for now we just wait, and hope for more improvements.
Shirlayne - So many times I have wayyyy over-done it when my pain has gone down to level 5 or so, and have 'paid for it' with horrible level 9/10 pain that starts about 48 hours later (and lasts for days/weeks). It's not exactly over-doing it, am just trying to be normal! Have also had the 'off the chart' pain, makes childbirth feel like a nice walk in the park. So sorry you got to this pain level. Don't be afraid to take the strong meds. I am on very high doses of morphine when needed - no use suffering, and in your case I don't see how the body can heal if you are feeling so much pain.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure you have heard from others, but will write it again cause it's important for you not to get discouraged.... I have been in touch with at least 12 people who have had surgery, and in most cases relief only began a few months after, I guess when things calmed down inside. I was in contact with one person whose pain went down only about six months after surgery - so it can take time. And yeah, this can seem like a lot of time, but six months is nothing compared to a lifetime of pain.
(Have a look at some Australian PN forums, the Hope forum (not on Facebook, but the web-based one) and TIPNA to find the surgery stories/contact info of others. I only know of two people who had less pain soon after surgery, for everyone else it seems to take time. Hang in there! Praying for ya.