No-one ever wants to talk
about bowels. Well, no-one but nurses....we talk about them daily, with our
patients. Indeed, as a labor and delivery nurse, I see much more of the bowel's
products than most. So it doesn't bother me. Hang on to your hats, folks, yes,
we are going there. If discussing such things grosses you out, you might want
to scroll down a bit. 
A little back story....I
have irritable bowel syndrome. Anyone who has this can tell you, it either
leans one way - constipation - or the other - diarrhea. Also, it can be
predictable...you know what will trigger it, stress, medications, certain
foods...or unpredictable, if you are in new situations. My IBS leans towards
diarrhea, but I can be prone to constipation, too, so just in case, I started
taking Colace, a stool softener, right after surgery, knowing that narcotic
pain medications and lack of movement can make the bowels sluggish. Also, I wasn't sure how easy it would be to strain when I can't plant my right foot for leverage, and I don't really want to find out. Know your
medications, and their possible side effects, to anticipate which you might
need.
Now, remember I mentioned
some antibiotics can cause diarrhea? It would be nice if the side effects of
the narcotics and the side effects of the antibiotics would balance each other
out, wouldn't it?? Nope, doesn't work that way...one will win out over the
other.
Guess what I woke up to today?? Yup, you got it...one trip to the kitchen to get some food so I could take my pain medication (we'll talk about the pain in a bit), and suddenly what had started last night before I fell asleep (it sounded like gas bubbles were racing the Daytona 500 through my intestines...come on, you KNEW I would get some NASCAR references in there!!) came to fruition. I ended up zipping off to the bathroom as fast as my little scooter's wheels could take me.
Who knew the quinoa I ate 2 nights ago would come through with such a splash...and like corn, it doesn't fully digest. Ugh, TMI, I know. Sorry!!
And this continued for a bit. I took my Immodium...my go-to for when this happens to me...but sometimes these things just have to clear through.
I waited until I ate to take my pain pills (Motrin and Percocet), then until my bowels stopped rumbling and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to have to zip off to the bathroom any time soon before taking my antibiotics. Dr. Ritchie ordered me Omnicef, which had fallen out of favor due to the high incidence of nausea/vomiting/diarrhea in patients, but in this era of superbugs, bacteria that are basically resistant the go-to antibiotics like Penicillin, and some antibiotics being basically useless, it has come back into favor. People just have to live with the side effects.
So check that off...as long as I'm taking that, I won't likely need my Colace....and after a week, judging by how my foot feels today, I won't likely be taking the percocet regularly, so hopefully once the antibiotics are done (7 days), things will go back to normal. Meanwhile, I still hear Harvick doing some burnouts in there...and Carl Edwards' occasional backflips.....o-kay, o-kay, I'll stop.
FOR THOSE WHO WANTED TO SKIP THE BOWEL DISCUSSION, IT'S OVER!!
Guess what I woke up to today?? Yup, you got it...one trip to the kitchen to get some food so I could take my pain medication (we'll talk about the pain in a bit), and suddenly what had started last night before I fell asleep (it sounded like gas bubbles were racing the Daytona 500 through my intestines...come on, you KNEW I would get some NASCAR references in there!!) came to fruition. I ended up zipping off to the bathroom as fast as my little scooter's wheels could take me.
Who knew the quinoa I ate 2 nights ago would come through with such a splash...and like corn, it doesn't fully digest. Ugh, TMI, I know. Sorry!!
And this continued for a bit. I took my Immodium...my go-to for when this happens to me...but sometimes these things just have to clear through.
I waited until I ate to take my pain pills (Motrin and Percocet), then until my bowels stopped rumbling and I was pretty sure I wasn't going to have to zip off to the bathroom any time soon before taking my antibiotics. Dr. Ritchie ordered me Omnicef, which had fallen out of favor due to the high incidence of nausea/vomiting/diarrhea in patients, but in this era of superbugs, bacteria that are basically resistant the go-to antibiotics like Penicillin, and some antibiotics being basically useless, it has come back into favor. People just have to live with the side effects.
So check that off...as long as I'm taking that, I won't likely need my Colace....and after a week, judging by how my foot feels today, I won't likely be taking the percocet regularly, so hopefully once the antibiotics are done (7 days), things will go back to normal. Meanwhile, I still hear Harvick doing some burnouts in there...and Carl Edwards' occasional backflips.....o-kay, o-kay, I'll stop.
FOR THOSE WHO WANTED TO SKIP THE BOWEL DISCUSSION, IT'S OVER!!
Now the pain. I fell asleep around 3 am again last night, about 2 hours after I took my Percocet and Motrin, which I found is about routine...the drowsiness Percocet brings on for me peaks at about 2 hours after I take it. Also the itching had gotten bad enough I took some Benedryl, too, to make that more tolerable. Anyway, I slept solid through to 1pm this afternoon, didn't even hear Jeff get up for work.
My foot wasn't hurting too bad when I first woke up, just a little sore, but once I started moving around and the blood started flowing more, the throbbing started. Not horrible, just there. And I started feeling my incisions more, including that 4th toe, which I thought maybe would be a bit numb after removal of the neuroma, but nope, it's still there.
Now I know Motrin and Percocet can both be hard on the stomach, so after my above-mentioned bathroom issues, I got some fruit, yogurt, etc from the kitchen, and then took my pain pills. I know better than to just take them on an empty stomach, to do so can bring on other unwanted symptoms...stomach ache, etc.
The Motrin works well for aches and muscle pain, and Percocet, of course, is intended for more severe, sharper pain, like my incisions. Doctors will often prescribe both together, as they work well together. As Motrin is hard on your kidneys if you take too much, it's important to follow the directions on the label as exactly as possible...if you regularly take more Motrin an hour before it's due, you will end up taking more than is good for your kidneys each day. And kidney damage is irreversible, so it's really good to avoid that....
Anyway, once the pain meds
kick in, the most irritating thing is the itching. Itching under the bandages,
itching where the incisions are starting to heal, itching sometimes related to
the Percocet, as that is one of the most common side-effects of narcotics. I
resist taking Benedryl for the itching as much as possible, because Benedryl
also makes me drowsy, and I'd rather not spend any more of my days sleeping.
Another irritant....my shin bone is starting to feel bruised. My knee was already bruised from the horseback riding before my surgery (Reba seemed to find it amusing to try to run me into trees and try to knock me off,
until she
realized I wasn't going to be that easy to knock off). I had thought ahead and bought extra
sheepskin padding for over the top of the padded leg support on the knee
scooter, but apparently it still takes time for the knee/shin to toughen up, as
I don't routinely bear my weight on my knee/shin. I guess I need to use the
crutches sometimes, too.
Another irritant....my shin bone is starting to feel bruised. My knee was already bruised from the horseback riding before my surgery (Reba seemed to find it amusing to try to run me into trees and try to knock me off,
until she
realized I wasn't going to be that easy to knock off). I had thought ahead and bought extra
sheepskin padding for over the top of the padded leg support on the knee
scooter, but apparently it still takes time for the knee/shin to toughen up, as
I don't routinely bear my weight on my knee/shin. I guess I need to use the
crutches sometimes, too.
Now blood clots are also a risk after any bone surgery, or indeed any surgery that can limit your mobility. Also, the doctor splinted my foot to keep it in it's regular, right-angle position, because when numb, a foot will relax and point down more....and with limited mobility, that can result in tendons and muscles stretching out and getting used to that position, so that when time comes to start walking on the foot again, the muscles and tendons aren't used to it. So I'm constantly flexing my foot back upwards, as it tends to relax down against the splint, and moving both legs as much as possible when not on my scooter/crutches, to keep the blood flowing (preventing clots) and the muscles in shape.
It's looking pretty shaded out on the deck right now...I think maybe I'll scoot on out there, read a book for a while.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ahh, a little time reading on the deck, got the plants watered (this is the longest we've gone without rain since last year...the first dry spell, it hasn't rained since last week..up until then, it seemed like every 3 days, it rained for 3 days.). A nice grilled cheese panini for supper, and a banana, and a Percocet...now sitting back, watching Avengers in bed with my honey, testing out that padded headboard we slaved to assemble and mount to the wall last weekend:
Mainly, my foot is just sore, parts are a bit numb, feeling like they are going to sleep, not numb like the block made them. The pinky toe incision seems to be the most painful, but nothing is excruciating; the percocet is doing good.
I just tried crutches again...I guess I need some practice with those. My shin is going to need some relief from the knee scooter...or more padding, one or the other.
2 hours after my percocet...time for a nap. Can't keep my eyes open. And can't ignore the itching anymore. Benedryl time.
It's looking pretty shaded out on the deck right now...I think maybe I'll scoot on out there, read a book for a while.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ahh, a little time reading on the deck, got the plants watered (this is the longest we've gone without rain since last year...the first dry spell, it hasn't rained since last week..up until then, it seemed like every 3 days, it rained for 3 days.). A nice grilled cheese panini for supper, and a banana, and a Percocet...now sitting back, watching Avengers in bed with my honey, testing out that padded headboard we slaved to assemble and mount to the wall last weekend:
Mainly, my foot is just sore, parts are a bit numb, feeling like they are going to sleep, not numb like the block made them. The pinky toe incision seems to be the most painful, but nothing is excruciating; the percocet is doing good.
I just tried crutches again...I guess I need some practice with those. My shin is going to need some relief from the knee scooter...or more padding, one or the other.
2 hours after my percocet...time for a nap. Can't keep my eyes open. And can't ignore the itching anymore. Benedryl time.
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