The Feed

After hearing about my surprise overnight scar improvement , my grandma tried my scar combo this morning. Now, I'm not taking care of her wounds, so I'm being told that now that she's started on my daily collagen and electrolytes regimen, her wounds have healed, and she's working on scar management now. Turns out, she was dealing with scabbing that was refusing to come off, and that she thought she'd have to go to wound care to have removed for her. I'm told the minute my moi

A few days ago, I saw a YouTube dermatologist say that topical Vitamin E doesn't do anything. Now, I recognize that this is anecdotal evidence and no scientific study, but I have to disagree... To be fair, there's the question of synthetic vs. natural, and percentage in the formula, and etc etc. Now, most naturally sourced Vitamin E is a soy derivative, so I have to be careful which Vitamin E products I use, and I generally stick to CocoJojo's Full Spectrum Vitamin E Oil (no

I may not have an audience, but damn it, I have words and memes! I logged on with one more post-op update - I used my favorite cane for the first time since surgery yesterday, a single-point offset-handle aluminum model that's engraved so it looks like it's covered in shiny dragon scales. When my hip joint is fully functional, my left leg is my "strong leg" thanks to my balance issues and the foot drop in my right leg caused by the spinal cord injury. Which means that when I'

I had my last post-op appointment with my surgeon today, and I am free and clear! The little wounds on the incision are apparently very normal, and pop up at 6 weeks, when the internal sutures dissolve. Once they heal up, in about five days, I'm clear for hot tubbing again! Now I have to re-learn using my cane for my drop foot in my right leg again 😅😅 I went to the local Indian supermarket while I was out to stock up my spice cabinet and grain stores in my pantry, and could

How to know you're an 80's baby... my mom would make going to see the doctor less scary by playing this on the drive over and singing "let's get a physical!" and encouraging my brother and I to join in. TW: weight loss, with numbers. Obesity & BMI. Surgery & recovery. I had my six month check-up with my PCP today (you get semi-annuals when you have enough wrong with you), which of course means a weigh-in. I'm at 205lbs, which is 12lbs lighter than the 217lbs I was on surgery

Okay, this is a bit of a story: I have a set of "magic skirts," double-layer, reversible wrap skirts made with recycled silk sarees from India that I live in in the summer months, but move to the back of the closet in the snow and the cold. So, I didn't notice for awhile that Penelope had pulled down the purple one for Penelope's Purple Princess Palace in my closet. That's not Penelope in the picture. That's Hamish, my biggest, burliest, boy cat going I WANNA BE A PRINCESS TO

Well, just about, that's tomorrow. But I made an unsettling discovery yesterday. Brace yourself, I'm going to say it again - recent 50lb weight loss! Part of the "spare tire" fat distribution I had on my hips/FUPA since puberty gave me an overhang over the top of my thighs. The fat is gone, but the skin still hangs there a bit. Now, the incision goes to exactly where my thigh meets my pelvis, so that skin overhang covers maybe an inch and a half of the incision. Complication

How long should I be doing these recovery count-outs, anyway? Final post-op appointment is the 20th, so likely to week 7... which is pretty impressive, spine all took 12 weeks for full recovery. I would have assumed it would take about that long to heal bone around a titanium implant, but this is going lickety-split. I mean, January, as January tends to do, seemed to drag on forever, but as time spent on opioids also tends to do seemed to go by in a blink. I'm honestly kind o

I'm to the point where I was before my hip went south in October. I can get around my house without a mobility aid, and I'm back to just a cane when I go out (unless it's to a place where I need to bring my own seat, then I use a rollator walker or a manual wheelchair, that was pre-bionica thanks to the spinal cord injury). I can even get my own socks and shoes on! This feels like a big life complication resolved, so I'm in high spirits today. I saw my new podiatrist today, a

Funny story... They used Dermabond to close spine surgery 4, and it gave me the worst rash. Like, itching at an 11, it was terrible. So, I had my doctor put Dermabond on my medical allergy list. I pointed this out before surgery, and right before I went under, in the OR, the surgeon's assistant told me that they usually use Dermabond to close the incision based on where it is, and could they spot-test the Dermabond before making the decision on how to close the incision? And

Guess who hasn't been to PT now in nearly two weeks? Thankfully, I'm doing all my home exercises every day, and healing just fine, but this whole stuck at home while I have a bunch of medical appointments thing is pretty infuriating to someone who takes commitments seriously and hates being unreliable. With a chronically ill body, you'd think I'd be used to being unreliable af and give myself more grace, but I do not. But this is what it looks like outside my bedroom window,

Tomorrow is three weeks post-op, and I have two updates, finally: "Winter Storm Fern" (as a person named Katrina, I hate the practice of naming storms, but shared meaning and all that...) had me miss two PT sessions and my first post-op last week, so all of that has been pushed into this coming week. Since that was when I was supposed to be graduated from my walker back to my cane... I graduated myself. tbh, I've been walking around smaller rooms in my house unassisted. I fee

Today, at two weeks and one day post-op, is where this blog will likely stop having daily post-op reports. Why? I don't really have anything new to report. Today is day 2 of a 6 day blizzard, and considering I can't get into the boosted truck with the 4 wheel drive, and the Kia Soul is... not quite as good on the roads in these conditions, and also considering I have a history of fucking up fresh surgery in a freak accident.... today's PT was cancelled, Thursday's will be res

I took my walker into the kitchen last night to take my bedtime meds, and got halfway back to my bedroom before realizing my walker was still parked in the kitchen 😅😅 Guess I'm feeling better! That one muscle is still prone to tightening up, but frequent, gentle stretching and Robaxin loosen it up again pretty quickly. And, I'm off the Oxy! Down to just my usual pre-surgery pain combo, hooray!! Thankfully, at-home PT exercises are going well, because we're in the middle of

Pain levels in that muscle are a lot better today, so I took that shower, did a steam treatment on my hair with chebe butter, changed my clothes… Speaking of clothes, if you have that mesh incision covering kind of “suture” holding your incision together while it heals, the smooth polyester “Adidas” style track pants are best for both being able to slide your butt over clingier fabrics like cotton blankets or upholstery as you’re getting in and out of furniture pieces, and f

The cats are getting to the point where they insist I get back to my mom duties. Including having a fully functioning lap. Which, it is, as long as there’s quite a lot of pillow or blanket cushion. One of the muscles in my thigh, around the implant, is very stiff and sore today, so I’ve been doing my PT stretches and taking Robaxin to keep it from clamping down, and otherwise resting. STILL no shower, lol! But I did get to my manicure just now: I remember doing my fingernails

I’m not saying I had any grand plans for the day, here. PT yesterday wore me out a bit more than expected, so I passed on the shower for an early bedtime and planned to shower today. At 11am, after I drank my giant breakfast smoothie and took my meds, my body wanted a nap. A six hour nap. Again, I’m not about to force myself out of bed for an unnecessary shower if I need the sleep. We’ll try again tomorrow. And if you’re wondering if that nap will keep me up all night… by how

Woke up with this playing in my head... Complete TMI: The Activated Charcoal from Monday cleared out of my system last night before bed. I am now at the point where I am the least bloated I have been at any point since my most recent weight loss. It's... wild. I haven't been anywhere near this size since my spine went bad in 2020. I need to re-take my measurements. Today is PT, then a shower and hair treatment. It's a beautiful, sunny day, I'm in a great mood, and I'm honestl

My “I didn’t pass out!” face. The surgical dressing has been removed (forgot to do that Saturday, whoops), and the first shower has been taken! I even got a good scalp oiling and chebe in! I’m recouping from what I forgot was the most exhausting shower ever with a one hour steam treatment in bed. I’ve also kept down all food and meds all day, and cancelled my urology follow-up, because correcting my pelvic tilt cleared that problem up right away. I still have a little bit of

Y’all. I might actually shower today. FOUR doses of activated charcoal every two hours yesterday finally quelled the Mentos & Pepsi reaction in my guts, and completely soaking through my nightgown twice while getting that 15 hours of sleep on top of that got the rest out… Today, I’ve so far kept down two “sports drinks,” two mugs of electrolyte-spiked bone broth, and about five saltines with a little hummus. I’m about to try the white rice and cod I couldn’t hold down yesterd