Pain Management - Day One Post Op

The theme of the first full day after surgery: pain management.  The ankle was screaming throughout the day.  I was told to use the first couple of days to allow for recovery, limiting my movement.

We found a different set of shorter crutches.  We transferred the pads, but I found that these were of a much lower quality than the "too tall" crutches.  We'll continue to use them to see if they'll work.

It was a "two pill every four hours" kind of day.  The meds would bring the pain down significantly an hour after I took them, then three hours past the pain would ramp up again.  Yikes!  It is a burning kind of pain. Sleeping is difficult due to the pain.  I'm elevating and icing to help out.  What a bummer.

Lots of in and out of sleep and watching mundane television.  Lots of recommendations for binge watching, but it is tough to pay attention for a long time so I can't really get into anything too complicated.  "Dumb tv" is the order of the day.

Lessons learned today


  • This is the day the pain meds were made for.  Two hydrocodones is a heavy dose.  It is tougher than it sounds to stay ahead of the pain.  The pain meds fool you into thinking you're doing better than you are.  
  • Crutches are tricky.  Trying to work up a little more each day to where I'm more proficient.  
  • "Wash gloves" from CVS aren't as good as a shower, but certainly better than nothing.  Plan to try to wash my hair in the kitchen sink on a bar stool on Day Two.
  • Going to the bathroom is a real pain.  No more detail needed than that, but it is a challenge.  It is made more difficult by the fact that our only main level bathroom is tiny.  
  • Counter height barstools are terrific for crutch users.  You just back up to them and sit.  



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