Well, the scar on my shoulder has been quite sore. It's felt like a graze and the skin feels as if it's stretching every time I move my arm, which is pretty uncomfortable. I was advised by my practise nurse to use bio oil which would help to soften the skin. I used twice daily for about a week and I felt it made it worse. I used bio oil when I had my knee replaced and the same thing happened so I should have known not to use it but I gave it a good go any way.
This all resulted in me going too see the Dr on Wednesday of last week. He said it was an unusual complaint but gave me some hydrocortisone cream to try. It made the skin feel better straight away and by Friday I was able to wear a proper bra again. Up until now I've been wearing strapless bras therefore wearing a proper bra for the first time in two months has been awesome.
Physio is going slowly and is difficult. I saw the physio again on 28th February and she's really pleased with me. I have to start lifting a light weight such as a half filled bottle of water to build up my strength. My arm has been completely useless for so long that I need to build my muscles up to help regain the use. Physio is progressing quickly and I'm finding I can do more and more for myself each day.
Dressing myself is still difficult for me and I'm still requiring help in the mornings. I'm told that a shoulder resurfacing is a massive operation, far more invasive than any other operation I've ever had before. I was also told that it is a long operation so I suppose it takes longer to recover from.
I feel fine in myself, I've been back driving for about 7 weeks. I don't drive if I don't feel well enough so I must feel ok.
In other news my left elbow keeps swelling up. I've have had problems with it since last summer and the pain in it is pretty intense. I have to be careful how much I'm using my arm when using it so it doesn't swell up. I've been having a few problems with my hands too, they are swollen again and I'm struggling to use them. I'm trying to keep them moving with my knitting but I can't do too much of that either at the moment.
Anyway, it's not all bad news as I had my tocilizumab infusion last Friday and so my bones should be feeling better soon.
On Sunday I was turning to pick some knitting up and I felt my hip twist out of it's joint. It wasn't too painful but I knew that if I didn't do anything about it that it could be serious. I straightened myself up and heard a large click and felt my hip go back into place. It felt rather uncomfortable and the pain was quite bad over Sunday night and Monday. I decided, with a little push from my nurse friend, that I would ring the surgeons secretary and she gave me a an appointment for Wednesday morning.
My dad came to the hospital with me where I had an X-ray to check it was all ok and I'm very pleased to report that everything is fine. He said that it sounded like it had dislocated but that it's gone back in and that I haven't done any damage to it. My dad and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
This just reminds me that I have to be really careful of my hip and that I must look after it as it has to last me quite a long time.
