Dr. Conways Post-Op Guidelines

[Lernica]

Oh, like what I'm doing right now on the end of my couch!. Maybe it should be called "scouching"? lol

[Karyn]

What's "scooching"??

Oh, "scootching" is what I call modified bending. From the standing position, bend the knees a little bit to scootch down to reach .... whatever. Then I'll lean a little to the left or right, depending on what I need to reach. Yes, I do have a grabber, but that only goes so far.

[AliPasha1]

Dear Karyn,
It will improve with time.

Warmest of Regards,
Ali

[Karyn]

Dear Ali,
Thank you for your words of confidence and encouragement. I agree with you that I'll continue to improve with time! It's so nice to have someone who believes in you! You've been a blessing to me with your friendship, support, comfort and encouragement. Thank you, Ali!
Warmest of regards,
Karyn

[river133]

Well, I guess it is back to the couch for me.. I can not believe this. but it makes sense to me and I should have known better.. I do the glideing and Karyn, I will go back and check on your email where you talk about the sliding .. We put our dog to sleep bacause she just had too many issues being a rescue dog.. It was really hard , she was at least 11 or 12. We gave her the best two and a half years of her life, She was just too much to handle..
Back to square one.... Ellie

[Karyn]

Hi Ellie,
I'm so sorry you're still not feeling better. I sent you a personal email with the post op guidelines - please follow them!
I'm also very sorry about Molly. You were a great Mom to her and she was very lucky to have such a loving family. I'm sure you'll miss your walks together.
About the gliding exercises: I thought you explained to me that you lie on back and bring your knee up to your chest? Is this correct? That sounds more like lower back stretches to me, and if that's the case, please stop doing that right away, too. Not only are you stretching your lower back, but your pulling/stretching everything that's trying to heal in your butt.
If you're doing something other than what I described for the gliding exercises, please clarify for me!
Luv ya lots,
Karyn

[river133]

Pre op and post op my pain level upon waking in the am would be 2 to 3,, UNTIL, I go to the bathroom about 10 minutes later, and I jump right up to between 7 and 8 which is where I am right now at 8 am. I remember reading on here that one Dr. mentioned walk, walk, walk, it promotes healing.. Do any of you remember seeing that? I do not even want to go walking this am and just lie around,, I feel I have really hindered my progress... Well I can not go back but I can certainly behave myself from now on.. Now I am sad and angry at myself...Ellie

[Karyn]

Hi Ell,
You're breaking my heart - please cut yourself some slack! I didn't get those guidelines until my 6 week check up and was mildly wondering why my pain levels were increased at night, accompanied by burning that I didn't have prior to the surgery. I was one of those that had 8/9 pain all of the time; off the charts late afternoon/evenings. Prior to surgery, I never had decreased pain in the morning or afternoon. So, I was used to being in pain all of the time, worse at night. I really didn't think much about the elevated pain levels at night because I WAS USED TO IT. Doreen had an excellent suggestion: follow the guidelines to a "T" for a week, and see if that diminishes the evening pain. It was tough, but I did it and she was right.
My biggest problem is standing for hours on end. According to Dr. Conway, prolonged standing puts too much stress on the pelvis, hence aggravating the nerve and the surgical area. Personally, I have a hard time finding that perfect balance between standing and lying down. I try sitting from time to time but never force it.
You're right - walking is good, as long as it's not excessive. And if you don't feel like it, don't push yourself! Your body is telling you that you need to rest. Tomorrow is a new day!

Pre op and post op my pain level upon waking in the am would be 2 to 3,, UNTIL, I go to the bathroom about 10 minutes later, and I jump right up to between 7 and 8 which is where I am right now at 8 am.

Is this from moving your bowels?

[river133]

Yes and i am never constipated..In fact it is exactly the opposite. I usually go 4 or 5 times a day.. I think I may have to cut back of some of the fruit and veggies... I also take miralax.. I just went for a 15 min. walk. Any thing I do does not seem to make a difference, so I really need to pay attention to that nerve and do what it wants me to do.. Some days are better than others, but not many so I need to be thankful for that..
Thank you dear Karyn for the list of do nots..Love and thinking of you often. Ellie

[tig5]

Hi,
My name is Annmarie and I am new to this site. I had bilateral pain on pubic bones for twelve years. On July 3rd 2010 it got 100 times worse. I had a burning/tearing sensation that began on the left leg with the rectal pain being the worse and pain down the upper part of my back thigh; worse upon sitting and walking. The nerve pain became bilateral and also travel down leg to behind the ankles. Pain is constant 24/7 whether laying down, sitting, or walking for almost a year now. MR neurography read by Dr. Filler showed bilateral obturator muscle spasms hitting the pudendal nerve and well as piriformus muscle spasms hitting pudendal and sciatic nerve. I am thinking about having pudendal nerve surgery (the TG approach) with Dr. Conway in NH, but not sure if obturator nerve surgery is the surgery I need to have. Myself and Dr. Conway believe the pudendal nerve surgery is the one to try first, but scary to go through with such an invasive surgery and such a long recovery, if it is not the right surgery for me to have.

I would appreciate anyone thoughts on this. I am very scared and some days feel like I would love to have someone to cut me open ASAP, but then as I read post-op guidelines about not being able to squat or lift anything heavy for a year plus after surgery scares me so much! Again, any thoughts I would appreciate.
Thank you!!!!
Sincerely,
Annmarie
West Roxbury, MA