First Morning at Home

In the hospital, I felt wonderful, but here at home....not so much. One large difference is that I'm now taking pain medication by mouth (Percocet), and I absolutely loathe it. I loathe it because it makes me feel dizzy and woozy, and it makes me feel exhausted. My solution to this problem is to take it as little as possible--just before going to bed and 30 minutes before physical therapy. This morning, because I had taken Percocet around 5:00 a.m., I got up feeling dizzy, tired, and vaguely nauseous. From 8:00-ish (when I got up) to 1:00, I lay on the couch feeling too zonked out to do anything but doze. I didn't have enough energy or focusing ability even to watch TV, and certainly not to read. It was a discouraging morning. I couldn't face eating breakfast, but around 11:00, I ate a few Club Crackers, drank a ginger ale, and ate a plum. That was so exhausting, that I fell back asleep until 12:45.

Do I have advice for the first day home? Expect to be tired, expect to have no appetite. You should have two places in your house arranged prior to going to the hospital: a place to sleep during the night, and a place to stay during the day. Have something light to eat like crackers and ginger ale. Have some method of keeping your knee iced down. We were thinking of just using ice cubes but quickly found during the night that a ziploc bag full of ice didn't stay in place and it melted quickly. Stan had one large gel-pac so I used that this morning (it needed time to get cold) and he's gone out to buy more so I can always keep something cold wrapped around my knee. Make sure you have ample clothes near where you are sleeping so you can change out of pajamas when you wake up. It just makes you feel more human to have on real clothes!

My first in-home physical therapy is this afternoon, so I'll let you know how that goes. I also get a Lovenox (blood thinner) shot this afternoon and my daughter-in-law will change the dressing on my knee in addition to giving me a shot. Fun times!