Dog walking is dangerous!

I asked my GP for an extension of my fit note until 31st December. I am hoping that I will feel more energetic by then. I had a long phone appt with him and have actually felt rather better today. I have certainly been moving around more.

Then the frame nurse rang me, unexpectedly but I was able to talk to her about the fact that 2 of the pins are still exuding 'straw-coloured liquid'. She suggested changing the dressings more frequently if they get 'soggy' and also arranged to send me some clips to keep the rubber whatsits in place better, as they do tend to drop off, when I am mobile. They obviously have to be replaced then but otherwise I have been following the standard advice and leaving them alone for the week. She explained that if a pin goes into a muscle it can cause this liquid to be exuded and it is nothing to worry about.

Yesterday was my weekly shower and pin cleanse day, as I have wondered if the problems have been caused by an allergic reaction to the antiseptic liquid, I used saline instead and it immediately felt more comfortable - no sting. I didn't sleep particularly well, which tends to be a usual feature of Sunday nights but I think that is sometimes because I find it difficult to change position in bed and wake myself up trying to do so. I am hoping that it will all settle down again as the week goes on.

Thanks for asking
 
MrsMozart said:
Do you have a frame to keep your bedding off the leg frame? I'm wondering if that would make it easier for you.
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No, I don't think it would make much difference, tbh. I do have a pillow over the uninjured leg so that if I do turn in my sleep I don't chop that leg into slices. I also have a long cat-shaped cushion under the frame leg, the cat's head fits under my knee and helps to keep everything comfortable, with the help of 2 wheat-bags.
I slept better last night, with not so many trips to the bathroom. In fact I am wondering if all the weeing was a side effect of the anti-biotics, on top of everything else.
An electric bed like the one I had in hospital, although in double size, so that I could raise the leg would be fabulous but rather a large investment and not so easy to get upstairs, I suspect.
 
Good that you slept better.

Consider the electric bed if you can. They make a whole world of difference! The bases aren't the lightest, but we've manage to get ours moved a few times, including up and down a narrow top flight of stairs in an Edwardian house. We have two large singles that join to make a superking.
 
GSD Woman said:
PaS, Can you rent one of those beds?
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I don't know, probably but tbh, I don't think I could stand the disruption, getting furniture through our doors has been known to cause logistical problems in the past. Sorry that sounds terribly negative - I am very tired and cross with myself this morning.

My leg was painful last night, so I took extra pain killers, which helped me to sleep, and rather more liquid Piriteze than is advised. I think the pain and problem was caused by my eating some dried pineapple, which I bought specifically to test whether I am actually allergic to pineapple, or was just reacting to the concentrated fruit juice/sugar which most forms of non-fresh pineapple come with. It probably wasn't the best time:oops:, although I do now have my answer.o_O. Maybe when this is all over, I might try the experiment again.
 
MrsMozartletoe said:
Yikes lass! No testing of foods and a steady hand with the drugs...
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:D:D:D:D:D:D
This made me laugh! I am feeling much better now, having slept for part of the afternoon, the leg has settled down and I have been upstairs twice today with only the one crutch. It's much easier to just collect it from the bottom of the stairs on the way back.
Now who would have thought I'd have been saying that 4 weeks ago? Or even a few days ago!


ETA, rest assured that I didn't overdose on the meds. I can take up to 8 tablets per day but usually only have 4, yesterday, I had 5 in 24 hours. All is well:)
 
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Glad you're feeling better than this morning. Poor sleep is so disruptive. And I'm sure you've figured out by now that pain meds can cause other problems.
 
Next update:

The infection in one of my pins has flared up again. I spoke to my GP on Monday and mentioned that it hadn't settled down as expected, although there was some improvement he suggested that as I had had a lot of antibiotics recently, I keep an eye on it. Then on Thursday, I realised that the 'ooze' was thicker than it had been, so I emailed some pics to the Frame Nurse ( a facility she had mentioned on Monday) after leaving her a voicemail message. She did not get back to me, so I rang the surgery this morning and was prescribed some more powerful antibs. Poor sister spent all morning driving around in the snow to collect a pathology swab, helping me to get the sample and driving the swab back to GP surgery for collection. Then the receptionist rang me to say that someone had given me the wrong tube, could sister do it all again within 30 mins. The answer was a firm 'No!'
I was so cross that I emailed the practice manager immediately. She rang me back and said that a member of staff had volunteered to drop the swab off after work, so at least sister only needs to go to the surgery once on Monday. The good news is that I have started the course of antibiotics and feel much better, already.
The not so good news is that I have somehow twisted my knee and am struggling somewhat to get about.
 
PaS, Yikes! That's a lot of poop that your sister and you have gone through. I'm glad that the antibiotic is already helping.

There must be something in the air world wide causing people in human and veterinary medicine to make some annoying boo boos. Yesterday I managed to send a dog home with only half of his codeine tablets. Today I put the right EKC lead on the left and left on the right. Might explain my weird tracings.
 
ycbm said:
Sorry things are a struggle for the both of you PaS. More infection doesn't sound good :(
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At least now we might get to the bottom of what is causing the infection (although it took a week to get the results back from a urine test. Good job it was negative). I am feeling considerably better this morning and the knee is moving more easily. I am going to spend a large part of he day in bed, taking it easy. And the sun has just come out!
 
View said:
You are wise enough to listen to what your body is telling you.

Your progress is astonishing - in a good way, but there will be the odd setback along the way
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Thanks for the vote of confidence V. I have spent the day in bed, the meds are obviously doing their work, and I have caught up on some much needed sleep. The knee is still not quite right but the rest has done it good. I think tomorrow's trip out to use friend's walk-in shower has to be cancelled but we can improvise here and change the dressings.
 
I think you are amazing and would be moaning a lot more and not doing nearly so well. I really hope everything settles more for you so you can just soldier on for the next few months. It must be frustrating to have these setbacks but I am still in awe of your progress.
 
misst said:
I think you are amazing and would be moaning a lot more and not doing nearly so well. I really hope everything settles more for you so you can just soldier on for the next few months. It must be frustrating to have these setbacks but I am still in awe of your progress.
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Thank you!

I caught up on loads of sleep yesterday/last night and woke up this morning with a bad backo_O. Only to be expected I suppose as I can't turn over in bed very well, so had been in pretty much the same position for 36 hrs, except for the number of pillows. I decided that was a strong sign that I needed to get up today:D.

So, I got dressed, put a heat patch on my back, got all my necessary stuff (meds, tissues, etc) together and tentatively set off on my crutches towards the top of the stairs. When my escort was ready, I put my rubberised gloves on, gathered my confidence together and made it to the bottom in one piece. I have to confess that I have only moved out of my seat to go to the loo and will be having an early night.

We have changed the dressings and cleaned the pinsites this afternoon and found that more of them had been showing signs of infection than I had realised.:eek: No wonder I had a raised temp on Thursday/Friday. Anyway, everything looks to be going the right way and responding to the new antibiotic, thank goodness.

I shall be interested to find out what the specific infection is and if possible, where it came from - not that I am holding out much hope for that, really. I do wonder if the number of dog hairs that have been stuck to my leg is significant:oops:
 
I was told 4 - 6 months, originally. Then I found out that I will have an x-ray at the end of Feb, when the frame will be 'loosened' if all is going as expected, so that I can get used to walking around on the leg without quite as much support for the bone.

ETA, feeling somewhat better again today, although not back up to the same level of mobility and I think (hope) that the new antibiotics are affecting the taste of my food/ drink (especially drink)
 
ChristmasCinnamonCookie said:
I’m appalled it’s going to take so long. I dread to think how awful the break was. ?
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When I was talking to the consultant in the local hospital, he was talking about bone fragments, which made me think they were going to have to take some chips out but no; he meant that there were several pieces that could be held in place with the fixation.
After the 2nd operation, the Leeds consultant told me that the x-ray was 'beautiful', so I assume everything is where it is meant to be. I didn't see an x-ray though. The length of time is standard, I believe. The decision will be made at the end of Feb, whether I need an extended time in the frame or not, which I assume depends on how the bone is healing.

I am onto the next problem now, tbh. I have just been reading the bumf that comes with the blood thinner that I have been prescribed as the hospital picked up that I have atrial fibrillation, which obviously developed some time in the last 5 years, since I had my MOT at GP surgery. GP says it might be as a result of the 1st op.
I am taking riveroxaban and it suggests not taking part in contact sports, such as rugby, 'or horse-riding'. My cob is sensible but green. If I had still had the Draft mare I wouldn't have cared because she was super-safe, now I am not sure what to do. Not that it is relevant now.

The infection seems to be responding to the latest a-bs but the course finishes tomorrow and I'm not sure that it will have been long enough.
 
Rivaroxaban is what caused the bleed into my skull, gave me the world’s worst headache. You want to be very careful on any blood thinner. February seems so far away!
 
ChristmasCinnamonCookie said:
Rivaroxaban is what caused the bleed into my skull, gave me the world’s worst headache. You want to be very careful on any blood thinner. February seems so far away!
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OMG, I shall keep a very careful eye on that, especially as it is possible that I will be on it for life. Apparently AF gives a tendency to stroke, which obviously I do not want. My paternal grandma died of a stroke aged 58 and although I don't think I have inherited much from her, she was petite and I am NOT, I certainly don't want that to be her legacy
 
I have AF and I am taking Edoxaban. I was surprised by the severity of possible side effects for Rivaroxaban as the risks with Edoxaban are very low. From a quick google, it seems that Rivaroxaban is mainly prescribed to avoid deep vein thrombosis. It may be that your broken leg is the main reason for its use in your case and you can be prescribed a less risky anti coagulant when your leg has healed?
 
planete said:
I have AF and I am taking Edoxaban. I was surprised by the severity of possible side effects for Rivaroxaban as the risks with Edoxaban are very low. From a quick google, it seems that Rivaroxaban is mainly prescribed to avoid deep vein thrombosis. It may be that your broken leg is the main reason for its use in your case and you can be prescribed a less risky anti coagulant when your leg has healed?
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Thank you so much for this reply (you were up so early that I missed it). I shall speak to my GP about it but part of the reason, I think, is that I am allergic to maize which is a constituent in many tablets. I was surprised when I opened the Riveroxaban to find that it is in tablet form, as when I spoke to GP he asked if I was ok with gelatine, as the meds he was thinking of come in capsule form.
 
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