Post Op Day 3

Today or tomorrow is supposed to be the worst day as far as pain. I have definitely noticed an increase in pain and acute awareness of the incision. Honestly, the primary sources of  pain and discomfort are my back and my left leg. I knew this was going to aggravate my messed up back, just didn't know how much. I think the major aggravation comes from sleeping with my leg raised (throwing off my hips) and just having to sit so much. The sciatic issues and herniated discs are totally different and aggravated by different things and it just happens I am doing things to aggravate both. I am also finding a great challenge relying on just my left leg, which is certainly exacerbated by being weakened by pain meds etc.

To manage the swelling inside the cast I am using an ice pack contraption purchased a couple of years ago for my back. It has two pockets for ice packs and wraps around and secures with velcro. I find that keeping the foot cooled, albeit only a bit sine the cold can only penetrate so much, helps keep the swelling down a bit and therefore minimizes pain from the incision touching the cast. 

Thanks to all the pre-planning and purchases form Amazon I have been able to shower no problem, which feels great. Being heavily dependent on Adam for so much is very frustrating, I am trying to do things as possible but tire very easily. I am taking the percocet every 3-4 hours to stay ahead of the pain and know that is contributing to feeling weak. 

Honestly, so far I feel I have been very lucky with the level of pain etc. I presume today and tomorrow will be the worst and hope it is all downhill after that, at least as far as pain. I typically do not want to take pain meds and believe staying ahead of the pain has been crucial. I am definitely considering how to submerge my whole foot in a bucket of ice to prevent swelling since that seems to be the biggest cause of pain other than my dang back :-) The times where I have been pushed to tears have been from back pain....perhaps that is a blessing in disguise....distracting from what could be significant foot pain.....