Saturday, November 29, 2014

Update: June thru November

I haven't posted for several months, because I've been busy with health issues. Before 2014 ends I wanted to describe what happened after my second toenail surgery:

By late May both of my big toes had bulky bandages. So I could only wear sandals with velcro straps around the ball of my foot and over the toes.  That didn't provide much support while walking. So I was unbalanced and slipped several times while walking on concrete sidewalks with rocks or sticks.  I only sustained a few scrapes and bruises from those falls until June 28, when I was walking downhill on a sidewalk with scattered landscaping rocks. I slipped on the rocks, slid downhill and fell on my left hip.  When I tried to stand I felt excruciating pain down my leg.  So my husband ran home to get the car and we drove to 'Urgent Care' where I received x-rays which weren't definitive.  So then we drove to a nearby hospital to get a cat scan, which showed a non-displaced fracture of the femoral neck (large leg bone which fits into the 'ball and socket' joint at the hip).  Based on that x-ray I was admitted to the hospital immediately, had nothing to eat until late the next day, and nothing to drink after midnight.

The next morning I had surgery to stabilize the femoral neck fracture with 3 pins and 3 screws.  In recovery my surgeon told me I could walk on that leg now.  Despite problems with medication (the anesthetic made me nauseas and Demerol for pain made me throw up my first post surgery meal), I finally got some IV Tylenol and did well after that. That afternoon I was given a walker and was walking well the next day.  I was released the next day with a walker, which I used for 2 weeks before getting a cane and leaving the walker for my cockatiel who liked to perch on it.  After a week on the cane I started physical therapy and abandoned the cane to walk unassisted.

 After 10 sessions of physical therapy I noticed that I had developed new muscles in my thighs and hips.  So I decided to try on my heavier clothes (fall/winter pants, jeans, skirts) to see what still fit. After a day of trying on pants, I was a little stiff. After the second day of standing in a small closet in a cramped position trying on clothes I could barely move without excruciating pain in my back. I could no longer do most of my pt exercises without pain. Around that time I was scheduled for another x-ray of my surgery site (left thigh) and visit with my surgeon.  He said my femoral neck fracture was healing well, but suggested I get an MRI and get more pt for my back.  I decided to wait until after the MRI before starting pt so the therapists wouldn't have to guess what my back problem involved.

The MRI showed that I had a bulging disc at L5/S1 in my lower back as well as several (old) vertebral fractures.  I had recently gotten a DEXA bone scan which showed significant osteoporosis in my back and right (nonfractured) thigh bone. So the vertebral fractures and osteoporosis were consistent with loss of height (about 1-1/2 inches) over a 30 year period.  So I went for more physcial therapy, which focused on strengthening my back this time.  After 12 pt sessions I'm doing well, but I continue at home physical therapy exercises daily to prevent more back problems. I still have occasional pain and stiffness, but I can easily walk 3-4 miles or about an hour without stopping and do almost everything I previously did,except lift heavy objects without pain. 

However, when my naturopath saw my DEXA scan results, she freaked out and wanted me to start a complicated program for bone health, which included talking many supplements, adding biodentical HRT and cutting my thyroid supplement dose drastically.  I'm doing most of that now, but I'll describe that process and problems in another post.