So as the title says I had the surgery and am going for the 4-6 week follow up with the neurosurgeon, and well its already been a long road with a few complications. About 3 days after getting to come home I came down with a low grade fever would only go to 100 each time and then go down so they thought nothing really of it. I went in after 3 days of low grade fevers and a newly developed rash on my arm where the blood pressure cuff is/was usually put to monitor it while I was at the hospital; I see my GM doctor and they told me I was likely allergic to the strong pain medicine oxycodone I had received and give me an ointment for the rash and tell me stop taking the oxy. Over the next few days I use the ointment and to my relief it looks like it might work…well I was wrong it helped for the first 3 days then it just got itchier and more inflamed meanwhile the fever went away. I call my Dr. and they tell me to come in again I go in again and a nurse sees me and tells me she thinks and is almost certain its not an allergic reaction it is most likely something I caught from something that wasn’t sanitized well and sends a script for antibiotics and tells me take that and use anti itch cream and come back the following week. Following visit I am much better thankfully.
Now a few days after all of this and having received a new prescription for another pain medicine since they didn’t want me back on the oxy just in case; and I was in a lot of pain because the only thing I could take for a while was tylenol which only barely dulled the pain. I have started to notice in the past week that on my right hand my thumb seems to twitch whether I am doing anything or just relaxing. Any ideas on what might be causing this? I will update you guys when I find out or what I’m told as I have the follow-up with neurosurgeon on Monday.
The best advice I could tell you is, just make sure whoever is changing your bandages has clean hands and is patient when taking off the bandage. Fever can sometimes be a sign of infection. My husband would always clean the kitchen table good, then lay out all of the supplies and he would make sure his hands were clean. He would make sure the kids were occupied because it is nerve racking when that bandage comes off. It least for me anyways.
I am sorry you are having a bad reaction to the oxycodone.
My pain killer was morphine. It is obviously hard enough to stay upbeat while recovering. Try to stay off the hard painkillers as much as possible. When I took that morphine, it somewhat helped the pain, but triggered some bad depression with crying spouts. I know it’s hard, but Tylenol and Ibuprofin can do wonders. Also, try to use the hospital soaps and shampoos you came home with. Most over the counter ones have too much alcohol that can dry your decompression stitches, which leads to itching, bleeding, infection, etc.
Also, drink, drink, drink water. It will flush the toxins of the anesthesia, all the drugs you have been given, ect. Also, you will want to stay on a light fiber or vegetable laxative. I know this sounds crazy, but, if you get blocked up, it will increase the pressure on your head, stitches, etc. Also, the medications from your surgery are still in your system and don’t always allow for food to flow through the intestines properly.
The twitching is caused from nerve damage from the surgery. Nerves were cut to access the area, spasms are likely during this time. This will repair but takes a great deal of time. My surgery was in 2013 and I can tell you to this day, I still can not sleep on the back of my head. My doctor used a metal plate, as I am aware there are other ways of closure. It is a small luxury I miss. This might not be the same for everyone, however it is with me. Hope you have a smoother recovery 
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Thank you for this information catlover…I went to my follow-up appointment today and he did say he thinks the twitching is due to nerve damage but should get better in time. He said the site of surgery looks good and that part of me having more pain lately is due to even though i’m not doing physical therapy yet he had told me to start moving my head a little and the muscles being tight and sore plus the stitches inside have not dissolved yet more than likely. I also can’t sleep on the back of my head but previously I couldn’t do that much either due to other issues and back pain from another surgery. The itching is sometimes tough as I am used to being able to scratch and have been tempted but then have to remind myself. I force myself to drink more water as that does seem to help, I also have started to decrease the intake of the tramadol as the pain is becoming a little more manageable with tylenol or simply resting a while. Again thank you best wishes to you.
I saw the concern regarding itching. I found out the tramadol causes itching. I constantly thought I had a vaginal infection. My test results were negative. I also have
odd twitches in my body at various times. Chiari effects just about all your body systems. I hope for good things for you.
Thanks I was still not on tramadol when the itching started I had been taking oxycodone…the neurosurgeon said it was a delayed reaction due to having blood pressure cuff on for 2 days straight. I had it on during surgery and they didn’t take it off until night time the next day.