I am now two weeks post-surgery on my arthritic thumb and thought I would share some thoughts I have had during early recovery:
- First off, do your research to be clear the expected surgical outcome outweighs leaving things as they are. I plan to live a long time in retirement enjoying my various hobbies that involve use of my hands so with a 96 percent success rate for this particular procedure, I felt good about my surgery decision.
- Choose a surgeon who has done your particular procedure hundreds of times with good outcomes. Beyond asking lots of questions, check online reviews and talk to former patients who have had the procedure.
- For the speediest recovery, go into the surgery in the best possible health (i.e. good diet, hydrated, well-rested, supplements, strong immune system, etc.).
- Prepare ahead of time so your focus is only on recovery after the surgery. You don’t want to be worrying about getting groceries, cooking, doing laundry, paying bills, etc. when you are physically compromised and on pain meds.
- Make sure you have a good caretaker to assist with recovery. Paul was great at making sure my food and drink needs were taken care of but not so good at keeping up with my pain medication schedule which I ended up doing myself and documenting throughout the day and night.
- Stay ahead of the pain as there is nothing worse than chasing it. I didn’t take the pain medication long enough as I had a lot of break through pain for the first several weeks.
- Factor in some self-care routines to counter the boredom and frustration associated with laying/sitting around due to immobilization and pain. I made sure I had plenty of reading materials at the ready, installed Discovery + and listened to some classical music CD’s. For better or worse, I spent more time online the past several weeks which kept me entertained.
- Follow all the post-surgery guidance including physical therapy which expedites healing and function. Although my stamina was compromised, I kept up with PT twice a week for my back/leg/hip problem
- Surgery is tough on your physical, mental and emotional health so go easy on yourself; don’t rush back to your regular routine or you will prolong your recovery.
This surgery has a three month recovery period after which I can resume normal activities as tolerated. My spring planting may go a little slower this year but that’s probably good given my efforts to “slow the mustang down.” After that, I will hopefully resume weaving and other activities with more function and less pain. Then I just have to keep the right thumb happy until next winter when I will have the same surgery on it.