A Pain In My Neck...No More?

I'm happy to report that my neck feels a million times better than last week.  Immediately after I had the shots on Friday my pain level went down even though I was still experiencing the pinching.  Saturday the pain was less than the previous day and Sunday was even less than that.  

My pain level was at such an acceptable level yesterday that I ventured out of the house and went to my in-laws to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday.  Both my neck and ankle did reasonably well, although I was really wiped out by the time we got home and my ankle was aching a bit.  Nothing a little nap couldn't cure!  And I really needed it since I was sleep deprived.  As usual, the steroids gave me a bit of insomnia.  I usually can't sleep the night of the shots, but for some reason I didn't sleep Saturday night instead.  And my left knee started hurting on Saturday and is still bothering me today.  I swear this also happened the last time I had steroids....I'll just file that under "random weird happenings of my body" :)

So even though the pain was less, I continued to feel the pinching throughout the weekend.  Today, I have no pain in my neck and haven't really noticed the pinching.  My physical therapist did “the wand” on the spot where I was experiencing most of the pinching last week.  Hopefully that will help keep the muscles loose.  As far as medicine goes, I've been taking Flexeril 10mg, 3 times per day.  I took a Vicodin today...but that was because I was going for PT.

There is still a spot on the back of my neck where the skin is numb, and I'm still totally freaked out by this.  Anyone else with neck problems ever experience this?  Tomorrow my pain management doctor is back in the office and will let me know about the x-ray readings and we'll discuss if I still need to get the MRI done that I have scheduled for Wednesday.

Many thanks to everyone who kept me in their prayers...they worked :)

"Room At Arles" ~Vincent Van Gogh

A Pain In My Neck...Again

For the past week the right side of my neck has been hurting like crazy and my normal remedies (heat, massage, muscle relaxers) haven't been helping at all.  And the neck pain that I've been experiencing all week has been different than the pain I usually experience on the left side.  At first, I thought the pain was because of the weather since it started last Sunday when we had freezing rain, but after it didn't let up during the week I started coming to other conclusions.

In the past, the pain on the left side of my neck has been a burning pain that starts at the base of my skull and radiates down my neck, up my head, and across to my ear.  If you remember, I had tried an epidural injection and facet joint injections to help relieve this pain that was caused by the occipital neuralgia that I was diagnosed with two years ago.  (In case you missed it, you can read about why I have neck problems here).

This week, the pain on the right side has been very different than the left.  The right side has been a pinching pain and when it gets really bad it just feels like someone is stabbing me in the neck.  The pain also starts from the base of my skull (but on the right side) and radiates down my neck to my shoulder.  Also, my skin is numb at the back of my neck on the right side.  This numbness freaks me out the most.

The pain had gotten so bad mid-week that I started taking Vicodin Wednesday night.  I was kinda upset at this since I had just stopped taking pain meds for my ankle.  Oh well... I've also been taking a muscle relaxer since Monday to see if that would loosen it up.  By Thursday nothing had changed, and I had a physical therapy appointment for my ankle that day.  I was hoping that my therapist would have some answers.

I know that my neck muscles get tight and just assumed that I probably had some big knots that may need attention.  My therapist looked at it and said that it didn't feel knotty to her and that my facet joint felt a little off.  She was unsure whether that was “normal” for me, considering that I had surgery back there.  Instead of manipulating me too much, she did an ultrasound treatment on the spot where I felt the most pinching and told me that if the pain didn't go away I should see my doctor.

After coming home, I took a double dosage of muscle relaxers and a couple of pain pills (gee, I sound like a junkie!) and called the neurosurgeon that I saw two years ago to see if there was any way I could see him.  Instead, his secretary told me to see my regular doctor first, this way they could order any tests (x-rays, MRI's) and rule out if it is just a muscle spasm.  I had called my pain doctor for an appointment that morning, so I was already set.

I saw my pain doctor today and she shot me up with some steroids in the back of my neck.  It feels a bit better now, but the pain isn't completely gone and I can still feel the pinching.  She thinks that it's probably just a muscle related thing, but ordered an x-ray to be on the safe side.  She also said to keep with the medicine protocol that I had started...muscle relaxers and pain meds if needed.

We shall see how the next few days go.  I have an MRI scheduled for next week, but if I miraculously get better over the weekend than maybe I can cancel it.

Fingers crossed!

5 Week Update – Ankle #2

Last week my therapist gave me the exercise of standing on both feet and transferring my weight back and forth.  This week I can now stand on ankle #2 with about 40% weight without the boot.  With the boot on, I can stand 50/50...pretty even.  The biggest difference is that I don't feel like I want to die from the pain like I did just a couple of weeks ago.  As far as my theraband exercises go...I found my blue band that I was given with ankle #1, and have started using that instead.  It is a step more difficult than the green one I was given last week, so it's a bit more challenging.

The best news is:  I stopped taking all my medicines for my ankle...except on PT days.  The 24/7 pain I was feeling for the first few weeks has subsided and now it just hurts when I work it or if it isn't elevated for a while.  Oh, and the redness I was worried about last week seems to have gone nowhere...thank God!  My incision is a bit red all around, but in a normal, healing way.  Still, it looks gross :)

29 Day Update -- Ankle #2

Today in physical therapy we started weight shifting...oh happy day!  Weight shifting is exactly what it sounds like...you stand up and shift your weight from your good foot to your bad one.  It's pretty painful, especially when you first start.  Right now, I can put maybe 25-30% weight on my operated foot.  The ultimate goal is to be able to stand on my new ankle and balance for at least 20 seconds.

I was also sent home with a green theraband today.  A theraband is a resistance band that is very common in physical therapy.  The different colors indicate the resistance levels.  Even though the green is not too hard, it's still a challenge for me right now.  Doing the theraband exercises is really helpful for recovery and getting your strength back.

Coming home from therapy was tough today...my ankle was really sore.  Luckily it was time for pain meds!  I took one Vicodin and iced it again.  Right now, just a couple hours later, it's back down to a 1-2 pain level.  Not too bad!

There is a bit of redness on my incision that I will keep an eye on.  It looks like I have a bit of a blood blister on it, which may be normal, but I'll need to make sure it's nothing more than that.  I'll monitor it over the next few days and make sure the area of redness doesn't get larger and that I don't get any other symptoms of infection (fever, pain and swelling at the site, etc).

It just started snowing a little while ago and I'm really glad that it waited until after my therapy was over to start...the thought of going out in my crutches and sloshing through slippery snow is scary.

The view from my window is so pretty...I want to go out and catch snowflakes on my tongue!

4 Week Update – Ankle #2

I'm 4 weeks post-op and so far so good!

I am able to shower again...like fully, with no cast care at all!  This is so exciting!  We really take the little things, like showering, for granted.  But anyone who has ever broken a bone and had a cast on, you understand what it's like to take that first shower with no cast care.  Having the warm water run over my foot was pure heaven.  And taking a washcloth to it...oh Lord...thank you for the little things!

Of course, now that I can get my foot totally wet, the steri-strips that they put on a week and a half ago are starting to come off.  Some were hanging on by a thread, so I just pulled them off.  Today I pulled off the steri-strip that was directly over where my incision was leaking (where they had to put the medical super glue).  That was pretty gross.  Of course, I like gross stuff, so it didn't bother me.  Check out my picture page for some updated pics.

I've been lotioning my leg and foot like crazy since my skin is so dry.  And now that I have access to (part) of my incision, I've been putting cocoa butter on it.  Usually, I lather on the cocoa butter in the morning and at night before bed.  I did this with my last surgery, and the scar isn't too bad.  Plus, I like the way it smells :) 

I decided to stop taking my 12 hour release Oxycodone.  It's supposed to be for all day pain relief, and I realized that over the past few days I don't have any pain if I'm just sitting around doing nothing.  Like NO PAIN at all.  Like a big fat ZERO on the pain scale.  Do you understand how awesome this is?  I went from, just two weeks ago, having a 6-7 pain level all the time, to having nothing (I'm still blaming that stupid splint).  The zero pain level is only true if I'm not using my ankle at all.  Physical therapy, of course, counts towards the pain, but so does something simple like showering.  Really, if my foot isn't elevated, even if I'm not using it, it will start to throb.  Once I get my calf muscle back in action and strong again, this should subside.

I'm hoping to get to the point where I only have to take pain meds on physical therapy days.  I could probably do that now, if I was allowed to take my Celebrex (arthritis medicine), but I wake up so achy that I have to take something or I'm in pain all day.  I've been taking the Tramadol in the morning and then again in the afternoon.  And on PT days, I'll switch back to Vicodin because it works better for my ankle pain.  The Tramadol is harsher on my stomach than the other meds and I have to make sure I take it with food.  Even still, some days I just feel sick to my stomach...no matter what I do.  Yesterday I woke up with a headache and sick to my stomach, and went to bed the same way...nothing I did made any difference.

Tomorrow at PT I'll start weight shifting on my ankle.  That should be awesomely painful.  So far, my big homework has been to stretch it.  I use my husband's belt and put in around my foot, and pull towards me. This kills my achilles and I have to ice it afterward, but no pain no gain right?  I'm definitely ahead of the game with my range of motion compared to ankle #1.  Since I started PT at 3 weeks out with this ankle, my foot didn't have as much time to lock up and stiffen on me.  Anyone else who has had ankle replacement surgery...how long did you have to wait until you started physical therapy?

As we ring in the new year, I am reminded of all the hopes and expectations I have for 2014.  I'm not making resolutions, because I feel like that just adds anxiety to my life that I don't need.  Instead, I think of improving my life little by little...in my own time.  Currently I'm working on getting both of my ankles stronger, and I'm always trying to be a better, kinder person.

What are you working on or towards?  Either for 2014, or in your own time?