Yesterday afternoon my back was itching. As I reached back to scratch it I noticed more bumps than I had previously noticed. A couple of days ago I felt like I had a couple of small pimples. I had my wife look at them and that's what they looked like. Okay, no big deal.
Well, when I scratched yesterday and felt more of them my stomach knotted up a bit. I went to the bath room and pulled up my shirt and looked at my back the best I could. Sure enough, probably 20 or so little dots. They were really small, not inflamed or red in color but they itched like hell. Crap! I'm officially freaking out at this point.
Of course my incision starts itching at this very moment. It's kind of like when you see a spider then a little later you feel invisible spiders crawling around on you. Maybe it's a sympathy itch. Whatever it is I scratched it, careful not to hit the staples. There were no little dots anywhere around my incision so I figured it was still okay.
I checked on it a couple more times and around my incision had developed clusters of pink spots. Double crap! I'm really freaking out at this point, because I figure I've got an infection and my implant is in trouble! Yeah, sometimes I overreact. I calmly called the nurse and left a message. A short while later the doctor's office called and told me I had an appointment for Wednesday (today).
I called my wife to bring home some Benadryl. After reading and asking some questions on bonesmart.org it seemed to be a prudent thing to do and shouldn't cause any trouble. I didn't scratch the rest of the day. After some calming messages from the folks on bonesmart and my wife, I was in good shape and not as worried anymore.
Last night I had the best sleep I've had since the surgery. Bella didn't need out during the night and I was able to sleep the entire night in the bed (vs having to move to the couch at some point due to sleeplessness). It felt great!
Quick start to the day. Some coffee. Catch up on news and message boards. At some Kashi Go Lean cereal - great stuff!
Oh yeah, also checked my weight. 154. Sweet! Right where I've been for the past couple of months. I figured I had gained some weight since I haven't been able to be active lately. I can't wait to get healed. I can't stand being sedentary for very long. My appetite is way down from when I was running, though, which is a good thing, because I was eating a LOT.
Worked until my dad came over to take me to the doctor. I can't drive yet.
Didn't have to wait long to see the doctor. I really like it there. People are friendly. My doctor and his nurse are just wonderful. They always answer all my questions even when I know they are super busy.
The surgeon checked out my rash and thought it might be heat rash but he didn't know for sure. Wasn't concerned as it relates to my hip. He wants me to use cortisone cream and see if it gets better.
He checked my incision area to look at the pink spots. He definitely was not concerned. He said it looked like abrasions from either where I scratched it or something the tape caused. Said my incision area looked good and he was happy with it. It has developed a nasty looking bruise though. Man, is it ugly! He was not surprised, though, and I really didn't figure he would be.
He was slightly concerned that I've had a low-grade fever every night. He wasn't really worried since it's been low, but just to be safe he ordered a chest x-ray and lab work. Yes, I had to get stuck with a needle again and pee in a cup again. Oh, well. I had that done immediately upon leaving his office. They will call me as soon as they get the results. Hopefully that will be by tomorrow.
My hip is actually feeling pretty darn good. I only use one crutch around the house for the most part. It's totally sufficient and I can carry things easier that way. I've been working on walking without a limp to train my muscles correctly. The pain meds must really be working or I'm used to pain.
My PT finally starts tomorrow and I'll see the OS again next week to get the staples removed, so he'll be able to check things again soon.
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