THR AJinNH’s recovery RTHR

[anny]

Happy Anniversary 42 years?! you must have been a child bride

 

[Layla]

Wonderful update @AJinNH you're doing so well!
Happy Anniversary! Hubs does sound like a keeper. Safe travels as you head out on your getaway together.
Hope you have a lovely time!

 

[AJinNH]

8 weeks postop today. Our getaway last week was wonderful and I very much enjoyed the spa, especially the pool. I did laps (back stroke) for about 25 minutes, then did some pool walking and stretching in the water. I was a little sore the next day but it felt good to be in the water again.

So the eight week run down goes like this: I’m going up stairs normally 99% of the time, but that’s not saying that it’s easy. Sometimes I go up with little difficulty, other times I have to work at it.

I’m still in PT and we’re working on elongating my stride and stretching the front of my hip, it still wants to pull me forward, although the groin pain is much improved.

I feel like I’ve hit a wall this week and it’s getting me a bit down. I had been seeing a lot of improvement week to week, but suddenly feel stalled. Not sleeping well and not being able to sleep on my side is a big part of it too. The other thing that’s depressing me is that I had to start supplementing Advil with the Tylenol despite the fact that I have GERD that was caused by NSAID use. I definitely still have some inflammation, sometimes my hip feels warm to the touch and the Tylenol doesn’t help with that. Even though I went swimming last week and have PT twice a week I’m not really doing too much, I don’t think. I try to go out for a walk regularly but I’m not doing too much else daily. I’m not icing as much, so that can be improved. I’ll work on that this week.

I just wish I could sleep comfortably.

 

[anny]

Hi @AJinNH .....sorry you've hit the wall, I'm feeling a bit like that too....perhaps we can hold hands and jump over it (lol chance would be a fine thing, wall-jumping was never my thing even as a teenager! ) The backsleeping gets very boring very quickly (sleep for an hour, wake up, rearrange everything, sleep another hour, now pretty stiff so a walk to the bathroom, now I'm really awake, read book for an hour, sleep for oh.....only half an hour, rearrange bed, twiddle thumbs and count backwards, nooooo......that's the alarm going and I've hardly slept.......but on the other hand, it is a relief to get off my back!) Sound familiar?

You're doing more activity than I am.....I do the usual household stuff, most of my walking is doing the shopping, and my 'PT' consists of occasionally running thro some stretches to check my RoM is still ok. I went for a 30 min walk with my dad a couple of days ago on top of my usual stuff, and am still paying the price (if the pain in the glutes is the same as having done 100 squats I will have 'buns of steel' ) So, I'm taking it as a warning to increase things more slowly, it's not worth coming to a full stop for several days because you've ODI. Like you I've noticed I'm icing less often....now got to the stage where it seems a little self-indulgent to take time out to recline with an icepack and a cuppa.

Your getaway sounds lovely (must leave this out for my husband ) do you think your difficulty this week could be a bit of reaction to having been away? Maybe you were doing more than you realised because you were having a good time and not so aware of the hip? Whatever the reason, I'm sure ice and a dollop of patience will sort us out.....I look back on those first few days and think look how far I've come, lots of baby steps get you further than a few giant strides. Fingers crossed we sleep the sleep of the just soon, I'll be thinking of you

 

[BeBe]

@AJinNH
Sounds like you had a fun anniversary getaway! Maybe the swimming used some muscles differently than walking on dry land? Not so much ODIC but just different muscle groups used?
I can commiserate on the stalled feeling and I agree the sleep issues can be a huge part of it. Everything is just more uphill when you feel unrested. Plus the ongoing inflammation issues.
Remember to be kind to yourself and know the healing continues even when we don't see measurable milestones.
Hoping you can get to a more rested place this week.

 

[BeBe]

Oh my @anny you just say things so nicely! Just read your nice post above.
This forum is great! What would we do without each other!

 

[AJinNH]

@anny you can’t possibly be all the way in New Zealand, you must be close enough to peek in my window at night because you described my nighttime routine precisely. The only thing that you missed is the mountain of pillows I have stashed here and there in the off chance that one of them will suddenly be my magic pillow and bestow the much needed sleep. My husband is a saint, he wakes up with pillows everywhere in the bed and never complains.

Maybe I’m not resting enough, and you hit on it once again, it does feel a bit self indulgent. And by the time I’m feeling like that cuppa I figure it’s just going to add to my trips to the bathroom during the night.

My schedule has been filling up each week. Tomorrow I have to drive into Boston for a couple of appointments, I will bring a cooler and ice packs. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday are also busy days for me. Maybe I need to take a step back, reassess and slow down a bit.

We’ll get there!

 

[AJinNH]

You might be right about the swimming @BeBe , I was so excited to get back into the pool that I didn’t take into account all of the other things I would be doing while away. I will try to be kind to myself this week. Thank you!

 

[Mojo333]

Hope all is going well with you AJ.
Hopefully things are going well as you near two months.
It was almost 4 months into my recovery before my poor thighs quit being so sore and sensitive.
Hope things are going well with you.

 

[Mojo333]

Maybe I need to take a step back, reassess and slow down a bit

It's hard to do when you are back in it...but you probably do need to scale things back.
Just because we can, doesn't mean we should.

 

[anny]

Haha @BeBe and @AJinNH ........ orders for all Musketeers say minimum activity, maximum rest and a freezerful of icing! Take it easy this week girls

 

[Layla]

Hi @AJinNH
I'm sorry you're struggling a bit but it's still really early into your recovery.
Fast forward 5 yrs and you'd definitely realize how early into recovery 8 weeks post op really is.
I do think there a growth spurts in recovery then times when it feels like you've stalled out.
Maybe just use this time to rest a bit more. Continue to move forward but only at a pace that's comfortable for now. I hope you have a good day!

 

[AJinNH]

2 months today! I’ve started sleeping better this week, I even napped twice, something I haven’t done for a while. I slept longer on my non-op side after following a suggestion by my massage therapist. Also been doing the stretch off of the side of the bed more often, that psoas really likes to pull me forward if I give it half a chance.

I don’t know if it’s related to my surgery, but I’ve been battling a sudden increase in my appetite. I know that hunger is often tied to my energy level, the more tired I am the hungrier I am, so maybe it’s just a cumulative reaction to not sleeping well for so long. Whatever the reason I have to watch it or else I’ll gain weight.

Icing regularly can be a challenge, I forget frequently during the day unless I’m in the car, so mostly I’ve been icing at night. It always feels so good and I wonder why I didn’t ice earlier in the day, then I do the same thing the next day!

I did overdo it on Wednesday and it took a while to recover, then I napped the next two days. I’m going to try to take it easy this week and see how it goes.

 

[hikejunkie]

Congrats on 2 months! Time flies when you’re having fun, eh? That stretch off the bed is my absolute favorite.

 

[hipster333]

Congrats on two months! I’m having the same problem with the icing. I bring it with me and then don’t use it. :( so glad you are able to get some side sleeping in now!!

 

[Mojo333]

two months down...AJ!

 

[Layla]

Congrats on two months! You are one that I never worry about.
Always taking a sensible approach....and recognizing when to scale back.
Happy to hear you're sleeping well and continue to move forward.
I hope you have a great week!
@AJinNH

 

[AJinNH]

Did the dry run of getting in and out of the tub with hubby supervising. Came up with a good option for getting out on my own. Then I filled up the tub and had a glorious bath with a good book. Got out without a hitch. Fortunately when we renovated that bath a few years back I put in a couple of decorative grab bars, one small one on the side wall, and a long one on the back wall. I found that if I got on my knees facing the back wall and grabbed the long grab bar, then bent the knee of my non-op leg I could stand up easy peasy while holding onto the grab bar.
Relaxing baths are now back into the routine, woohoo! Feeling a little more normal every day.

 

[Cassidy]

I can't believe It's two months since your op - I've been following your recovery whilst I wait for my own op (hopefully in June) because I find your experience quite calming. Thank you for your inspiration! I've got my joint school today and pre-assessment on Wednesday. I can't deny that I still have days when I question whether I should struggle on a bit longer (a bit of sentimentality about losing my bit of bone and having a foreign body implanted!), but mostly realise that limping around much of the time isn't a good look for a 62 year old! So thanks again for your very calm approach, which has given me hope, and congratulations on your two month anniversary.

 

[anny]

Hi @Cassidy....glad to hear you're still on track, You'll do fine, and you've got all of us to shout encouragement and share our experiences. Hope you get a proper date soon, seems funny you having your preop before you know your date....are you waiting for a cancellation?