Pain Meds v. Ice

For the past two mornings, I've woken up sore and stiff, hardly able to get to the bathroom.  Last night, I woke around 4:00, and was up for about forty-five minutes with an uncomfortable leg. I figured I'd make it back to sleep eventually, and I did.

Tuesday, I went to my post-op appointment and Claire readjusted my brace so I had greater extension. This really stretched out my leg, and it caused me some grief. I took half a pain pill Tuesday afternoon and I felt better. I managed to go to bed without out pain meds, but I woke up sore.

This morning, it was the same as yesterday. When I was out of bed, my leg ached when I walked. The first thing I wanted to do was take a pain pill, but then I had to decide: did I really need a pain pill to get out of bed in the morning? Could it be something else that was causing my leg to ache that needed to be attended to? Maybe my leg became swollen overnight, and it needed some ice and to be elevated. Maybe the brace was too tight, or maybe it was pressing against the incisions. Maybe I need to make adjustments instead of reaching for a pain pill.

So far, I have and icing and elevating seem to do the trick. I also tried playing a computer game that the Boy was playing on my phone. There have been studies on the narcotic effects of computer games, for better or worse. When the Boy had his sleep study years ago, they had him play video games while they attached a million nodes and wires to his head. He was so engrossed in the game, he didn't notice a thing until they were done and we had to turn the game off. He was not happy when he looked in the mirror.  Likewise, Jack had a patient who was recovering from major surgery. The hospital gave the child an iPad, and she no longer needed pain meds. Carl, my friend the carpenter, said he finished Zelda while he was recovering from his knee surgery.

Carl also said the six months of recovery were the most boring months of his life. I can understand. I could see how the pain meds could cut the edge off the boredom, and give an excuse to sit around and do nothing all day.

In the meantime, it isn't all that bad. When I walk around the house without my crutches, I grab on to every nearby surface. I feel like I am floating around like an astronaut in zero gravity. I wish I were recovering from this in a zero gravity environment, floating with no pressure. Maybe the swelling would be less.