Chronic pain
Mood swings and surgery
fairycakesandtea7 · 29/07/2021 21:28
Due to have surgery in just under a week, so self isolating as instructed by the hospital for 10 days and my moods are very up and down, one minute feeling OK about it and the next I'm tearful and anxious. Wondering if this is normal or if its the added factor of having to isolate making me feel a bit wobbly!
fairycakesandtea7 · 01/08/2021 18:45
@toodizzyizzy
Ah it's horrible isn't it. Normally I'd go out and see friends/my partner to distract myself but it's just been my myself and my thoughts! I am feeling a little calmer today though, my op is in 3 days. Best of luck for yours 😊
fairycakesandtea7 · 01/08/2021 18:48
@Akire
It is a very surreal time to be having surgery. I'm having an ankle fusion so expecting a long recovery ahead but hopeful for a good outcome (a pain-free ankle!)
toodizzyizzy · 04/08/2021 13:24
Thank you Akire, that's very kind of you. It's been a very long journey to get here, in many ways I am lucky to even have a treatment plan. Many aren't so fortunate sadly. To live in chronic pain is very isolating. I'm glad there is somewhere on Mumsnet for people to get support, wish I'd found this sooner!
fairycakesandtea7 · 08/08/2021 12:28
@toodizzyizzy
No news from me from the hospital about rescheduling my surgery yet...
Sorry to hear about your operation toodizzyizzy, hope it gets rescheduled soon! Had mine on Wednesday. Hopping 1 legged using a zimmer frame and having ongoing issues with dizziness and mobility and feeling generally very weak, have to have help just to get out of bed!
fairycakesandtea7 · 09/08/2021 09:45
@toodizzyizzy
I have chronic nerve pain as well so its hard to tell which is nerves and which is the surgery pain! I really hope you get your date and its not too far away. How long will your recovery be? Have you got any support at home?
toodizzyizzy · 10/08/2021 01:15
That sounds like a very painful combination fairycakesandtea7.I have chronic nerve pain too, so fully appreciate how hard it must be on top of the surgery pain! What kind of recovery are you looking at? I hope you have lots of support?
Still no news from the hospital, it's very disheartening as I can't get through to anyone. I wasn't sure about the recovery - the operation was to remove my top rib so that my nerves and blood vessels had more space. I had everyone all ready to help me - partner has taken time of work, my Mum was having the kids...
It's nice of you to ask, I've found living with chronic pain quite isolating. What medication do you take for the nerve pain - I take codeine,.Tramadol, pregabalin, nortriptyline..GP has just prescribed oramorph today
fairycakesandtea7 · 10/08/2021 12:33
@toodizzyizzy
Still no news from the hospital, it's very disheartening as I can't get through to anyone. I wasn't sure about the recovery - the operation was to remove my top rib so that my nerves and blood vessels had more space. I had everyone all ready to help me - partner has taken time of work, my Mum was having the kids...
It's nice of you to ask, I've found living with chronic pain quite isolating. What medication do you take for the nerve pain - I take codeine,.Tramadol, pregabalin, nortriptyline..GP has just prescribed oramorph today
It is rotten isn't it! It's a completely different type of pain to my arthritis pain and allodyna. Recovery will take up to a year but I should be hopefully walking properly by Christmas 😬 3 months in a plaster cast doesn't fill me with joy but neither did the arthritis in my ankle 😂 I still have arthritis in my midfoot and my toes so the journey isn't over unfortunately, I'll have to have further surgery down the line. That sounds really painful but hopefully you'll have a good outcome and it'll improve your quality of life. I'm glad you were going to have some support it can be really rough going through it on your own. Chronic pain can be incredibly isolating, hard when your friends/family/partner don't have it, I've had to have rest days and plan my days around my pain for years which often leads to me turning down days out with people 😔 I take nortripyline too! An opiod patch, naproxen and lidocaine, now on oxycodeine and dihydrocodene for that post op pain!
toodizzyizzy · 12/08/2021 20:03
Hi Fairycakesandtea7 sorry I've not been well enough to check for a reply, I've been out of it on morphine but have some good news my operation is next Thursday 👍
Sorry to hear about what a long recovery you have, but like you say the alternative is probably worse. Do you have to wait to find out how successful the surgery has been? It's so hard to have to cancel people, or if you do go out to deal with the fall out that comes from doing too much. There's little choices in all this. Let's hope surgery comes for me next week, I'll let you know how it goes 🤞
fairycakesandtea7 · 14/08/2021 15:16
@toodizzyizzy
Sorry to hear about what a long recovery you have, but like you say the alternative is probably worse. Do you have to wait to find out how successful the surgery has been? It's so hard to have to cancel people, or if you do go out to deal with the fall out that comes from doing too much. There's little choices in all this. Let's hope surgery comes for me next week, I'll let you know how it goes 🤞
I'm so glad to hear you have an operation date! It's good that they managed to reschedule it pretty quickly although I can imagine you're feeling nervous about it now. I should have an x ray at 3 months to see if the bone has fused and then if it has I can have my plaster cast taken off. It definitely is hard, there's been times when I've been asked why I've cancelled and then having to admit that I'm in a bad flare up or heavily fatigued can be embarrassing sometimes although I've definitely gotten better at it as I've got older.
Been in quite a lot of pain this last week, hoping it calms down soon. Let me know how the op goes 😊
toodizzyizzy · 17/08/2021 01:27
Hi @fairycakesandtea7 sorry to hear you've been in a lot of pain, it must feel endless but hopefully you do now have hope for the longer-term. Right now I can't wait to be on the other side of surgery, but I don't really know what to expect as no one has explained that part to me The pre-assessment nurse didn't know anything, so I've been having to do my own research but there's isn't much...not from the UK anyhow. I had my pre-operative covid test today, so only 3 days to go now. I hate waiting for anything, but I'm more chilled on the medication now so hopefully the time will fly by. Did your nerves settle by the day of your operation, or was it worse on the day?
toodizzyizzy · 17/08/2021 12:32
Hi @Perpetualstateofchaos sorry to hear that you're in the same situation. The self-isolation is tough, it's making me feel even more nervous. I have teens, so thankfully they don't need me for entertainment. I still very guilty though, especially as my son can't do his sports. We've been isolating all summer holidays as my operation got cancelled, then I was on standby and now it's this Thursday. How old are your kids? Do you know how long you'll be in hospital for? Even with older children I'm finding the planning hard as there seems to be so many unknowns. I don't even think I can have any visitors at the hospital.
Perpetualstateofchaos · 17/08/2021 13:33
Thank you i should be a day case my parents are having dc and overnight so i can rest and incase i do get kept in. Theyre 9 and 14 so trying to do lots with them over the next few days. My surgery has been booked since the begining of July so plenty of time to plan with shopping and preparing meals so my eldest can heat them through. Just going to be tough knowing i cant go out apart from the 2 hospital appointments i have over the weekend i think theyll be welcome relief.
Im sorry your sons had to miss his sports ive been told my sc can go out its just me that has to isolate.
toodizzyizzy · 17/08/2021 23:10
Hi @Perpetualstateofchaos if you have 2 hospital appointments then maybe it will go much faster than you fear. I've just done day 2 and it's harder this time with the weather being so awful. At least last time it was sunny and I could chat to the neighbors from afar. I don't even know what I've today, but it's gone fairly quickly. I'll just be glad to get past 5pm tomorrow without being cancelled (that's how far I got last time)! Good luck with everything, hopefully I'll be being discharged from hospital as you start isolating, so if I'm well enough I'll check in to see how you're doing
fairycakesandtea7 · 19/08/2021 16:40
@toodizzyizzy
How are you feeling now? Is it romorrow your surgery? The nerves settled by the time i'd got to the hospital on the day but then creeped up again when they sedated me as i have really bad veins 😅 had my plaster cast changed today to a lighter one, it'll be changed in 2 weeks. My wounds are healing nicely but i have horrendous additional nerve pain!
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