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THR Butterfly Flutters Over

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Hi Butterfly .Im so glad to heare your doing well.Must have felt great walking down the aisle shopping.Proud moments when we enjoy such accomplishments.You have many many more to look forward to.Some things a lot of people take for granted are huge milestones for us hippies.To many to list.I also remember the 1st time I went food shopping after surgeries and I also used the cart for support and balance and the next time I went I was just pushing the cart like a regular shopper to the untrained eye.My how time flies Mili.Wasnt long ago when we were consoling each other for our upcoming surgeries and now we're at the good end of recovery.We made it Mili,congratulations.
Im on my 3rd week back to work,roofing of course.I wasnt planning to go back till Dec. 1st but my money tree died and I felt confident in my level of recovery and recognized my limitations so I figured I'd give it a shot with full intentions of taking more time off if needed.I gave it a go and one day turned into two,then a week passed,now Im on my 3rd week and no turning back.I do get sore but nothing bad.Just the kinda sore you would normally get from not doing manual labor for 11 weeks then going back to it.I get a little tired,especially early in the morning and toward the end of the week but these things will pass with time.Im being very careful not to push to hard and rest a lot at night and on weekends.Things are a million times better than they were 3 months ago.I really miss my recovery time.It was 11 weeks of fantasy island for me spending so much time with my family.Tired Mili,need sleep.I'll check back soon.Happy Thanksgiving.Peace.
 
Oh forgot to mention.You dont need PT.Just common sense and walking should do it for most.I had zero therapist intervention.Im not saying I didnt do physical therapy but everything I did can be found on youtube or google by searching "hip strengthening exercises" "quad hamstring and calf strengthening exercises" and "hip flexability exercises" "qhad hamstring and calf stretches" .Simple as that.Peace.
 
Roofmaster My money tree is looking kinda sickly, too. I retired from my job before my surgeries; I was old enough to get full social security and I was sick of that awful job and my awful boss. I think I'll be OK financially -- I just have to be careful.

Thanks for the kind words.

I'm still vey wobbly if I try to walk without the walker. The newest side is still sore and not quite "done." But still a HUGE amount better than last year this time. And I am so glad I went ahead with this.

How old was your newest hip when you went back to work? I don't know how you go up those ladders; I still struggle with more than 3 steps, especially if they are steep. I still haven't got all my energy/stamina back, either, and my sleep patterns are all screwed up. But I am getting there. Were all your co-workers surprised you were doing so well so soon?

I have a treadmill at home and I have been going on that for short periods to practice my walking. I'm increasing the time as I go along. I do have to use the treadmill frame for balance and some support, but I am getting better. It is too cold and miserable here to try to walk outside and we have had high winds that I worried might blow me right over. I'm a small person and I would have had to carry a large anchor so as not to blow right away like Mary Poppins.

I am going to look up those exercises you suggested. Doc says I am not supposed to do any abduction stuff (raising your leg out to the side or stepping far out to the side) yet due to my posterio-lateral approach and I still have the 90 degree thing. I see him again on Dec. 10 and I so hope he'll let me get rid of the walker and will release me to drive. I have a small Saturn car and it is a bit hard to get into and out of without breaking restrictions. And the stupid walker is messing up my shoulders and wrists and caused my carpal tunnel syndrome to come back. Bummer. I hate having to mooch rides from everyone, too.

Please stay in touch.

Peace and love to you.

Milli
 
Hi and Happy Turkey Day, Butterfly ... I saw a book at a book sale charity event recently and thought of you. Maybe you have heard of it. Comet's Tale: How the Dog I Rescued Saved My Life, by Steven Wolf. The blurb about it from Barnes & Noble says it's the true story of a guy who moves to Arizona and joins a local group that rescues abused racing greyhounds, despite barely being able to take care of himself (because of a spinal condition). I have no idea if it's good, but sounds like it could be.

I hope you are continuing to do well. You sound really good. And think of the $$ you saved on PT.
I do hope your carpal tunnel pain and all other pain related to the walker subside soon. Maybe the doc at your upcoming appointment can help with that. But of course if you are sprung from your walker, that will be the biggest help. Hang in there. I am amazed at you, Butterfly. You had both surgeries so soon, and you had such an ordeal for so long beforehand.

I decided not to travel to see friends near or family far this Thanksgiving. Not enough time off work to really travel too far, and though I do think the new hip could handle the travel, I know my back could not. That's okay. I like being home for the holidays sometimes. I am having dinner with friends out in a restaurant nearby later today and that will be nice. This time last year we went to a diner one block away because that was as far as I could walk. I had fallen down in the street from just being so weak from the pain and limping and not sure footed. It was the beginning of the really big decline and not long after that fall I made my appointment with OS number one (the jerk in the fancy suit I did not like at all, not even the suit) and then OS number two, who I felt I struck gold with. And the rest is history.

Do take care and I will look forward to your updates when you are able to type.
 
Josephine Just wanted to say thanks for the article you wrote on the post op blues. I had to go back and read it again today, as the blues fairy landed at my door. Nothing major wrong -- just being tired of being cooped up and not being able to drive (mooching rides) and per OS instructions having to still use the walker, which is clunky and cumbersome, and feeling like this will NEVER be over, and as I'm walking a bit more my knees are complaining a bit (tho doc says it is fairly common when your body is readjusting, especially since I've been pretty much flattened for months and my leg lengths have changed, etc.) etc. etc., etc. -- pretty much all the things you mentioned in the article.

I guess I'm just at a point where I want this to be DONE, though I know it will still be quite a while until I feel like my old self. I think I'll feel better when the driving restriction is lifted and I can at least drive myself up to the place I get my pedicure (can't even come close to cutting my own toenails yet and they get too long and hurt) or to get a hair trim.

It was comforting to read that all of this is pretty normal feelings, experienced by a lot of people. Then I sat down and said a big fat prayer of thanks that despite all my glumness today, that awful bone-on-bone pain is GONE and I have a future to look forward to.

Anyway, thanks for the article. I think I'll make a list of things I'm thankful for and post it on my refrigerator.

Peace, love, and thanks.

Milli
 
shrinkette I haven't heard from you for several days now -- are you OK??? Please drop me a note and let me know you are all right.

Love,

Milli
 
[Bonesmart.org] Butterfly Flutters Over
Butterfly, I just wanted to let you know how much I like and admire your posts to other members. You are so understanding and compassionate and helpful to them. Your care and concern are what makes this forum so wonderful for all of us. Thanks for all you do.
 
Butterfly hello sweet lass and forgive me for not being on here for awhile. I've been busy writing and other stuff but will explain more later. Wow, you are doing brilliantly !! :flwrysmile: and the time seems to have flown by. I'm sorry to hear about your hand, the walker probably not helping as your having to grip hard to walk. I'm down to one stick now and so relieved as it was causing me pain in my wrists, they were so heavy to walk with. How are you managing to sleep and are you still on your back? I think your so brave having the two done together, they just don't do it in my neck of the woods. It's been three months since my op and I'm about to give an update on my thread, I've been away from bonesmart far to long :kittykiss:
 
shrinkette How are you doing? I hope you are holding up. I remember that the waiting is the absolute worst part of all this. It made me very depressed and anxious.

I saw my OS Monday and he said hips are stable and dong fine. He OK'd me to go ahead and use one cane if I want, and to drive (but not very far, etc., not to try to carry in groceries, etc.), so that is a big relief. I'm not planning any big trips, I just want to be able to run my own little errands. I'm going tomorrow to get my hair trimmed -- it is driving me nuts. If my energy holds out, I'll go get my toenails done, too. I can't cut them myself, and they are starting to bug me. I hope it doesn't snow tonight, because I'm certainly not going to go drive in the snow!

I mentioned to him that my knees were complaining, and he said he hears that a lot, and not to get excited about it, and that it will probably pass as my body adjusts and muscles get stronger. After all, I didn't do much of anything for several months, so I will hope he is right about them getting better. For now, I am trying not to think about them. He told me he had to use a completely different cup in the second hip because the damage in there was such a mess, and I have four screws in this one. I can't really tell any difference, except that this one is a little slower to get better than the first one was. Funny that this one was so much worse, but actually hurt way less than the other one. I go back to see him in six weeks and he will probably release me then for nine months.

Let me know how you and your beautiful kitty are doing.

Love,

Milli
 
bottomshollow I just wanted to thank you for your kind words above. I am so grateful for how much you and the other members of this forum helped me to get off the ceiling and get through the surgery (sometimes I am still amazed that I could really go through with it, as scared as I was of surgery). I could not have done it without the support of this forum and all the kindness and understanding I received, even when I was frantic and irrational. Everyone just closed loving ranks around me and helped me to go on. It is truly a wonderful thiing and I am honored to be a part of it now.

Love,

Milli
 
Hi @Butterfly Just caught up on your thread, and read about the hand pain you had with the walker. Hope it is better with the cane? I really messed up my pre-existing thumb arthritis with the cane (I left the hospital with the cane-did not use a walker.) I'm now in hand PT and wanted to pass on an exercise I learned that helps, just in case you are still having trouble. Fill up a sink with warm water, and epsom salts if you have them, and then squeeze a sponge while your hand is in the warm (not hot) water. I protested at first, because I felt that I'd already washed enough dishes for a lifetime, (and the exercise felt like washing dishes!) but it really helps the pain and flexibility.

Hope you are continuing to improve, and not getting too much snow. We had some but it is now 66 degrees, Very weird.

Happy Holidays!
 
Does the hand PT help? I will try that dishwashing exercise -- like you, I've washed enough dishes for a lifetime! Thank God for my dishwasher.

Weird weather here, too. Colder and damper than usual, which does not help my arthritic joints. I still have pain/numbness in my right hand, though not as bad as when I was using that walker. I hold my cane in my left hand, so now there's less stress on the right. That walker did a number on my shoulders, too.

I'm doing well, just taking it slowly and progressing a bit every day. I walk around a lot in my house without the cane, but still use it outside.

I hope you are doing well and I hope your hand gets better.

Peace and love,

Milli
 
Hi @Butterfly how are you?Congratulations on ditching the walker and graduating to the cane.Way to go Milli,really proud of you and how far youve travelled on your journey.Keep up the good work and Merry Christmas to you and all bonesmarties.And thank you for being a friend.Peace.
 
Hi @Butterfly Congratulations on moving on to a cane.I found that my regular canes really aggregated my arthritic hands so I was issued with canes with palm grip handles and they seemed to help.
 
The dish washing exercise limbers up the joints and does help, especially in the morning. Otherwise I think the elastic hand braces I'm wearing help more than the PT stretches, which make my hands hurt. Maybe I'm building muscles???
We have been weirdly warm-71 yesterday, but that is ending tonight. I will be at 8 months on Thursday and realized yesterday that I finally feel normal, hip-wise. Hang in there! Happy Holidays, and take it easy.
 
I popped in to see how you're doing, @Butterfly and wish you a Merry Christmas. And I see this helpful tip about dish washing for hand problems. I am the only creature on the planet who actually kind of likes washing dishes. I have an appointment soon with a hand OS for my messed-up fingers and am now thinking THIS might be the only kind of PT I get along with if it means washing dishes. Anyway ... I hope you're doing okay, you bi-lateral wonder you. You are now using the cane outdoors but no longer indoors. That's a huge leap! Take care.
 
Hi @Butterfly Milli!

Just wanted to wish you a good evening and tell you thanks for your words of kindness on my thread and others. I do so appreciate your perspective! And you have my admiration, too-- my doc offered me bilateral replacements, and I declined. So I read your story and follow your adventures with a whole lot of cheering. Just thought you should know!

Have a good evening...

Sent from my HTC One X+ using Tapatalk
 
@Peaches I'm still using the cane a lot indoors and always outdoors. I'm rid of that awful walker, though!

Is it arthritis in your hand/fingers? Do you have numbness? I see you are going to see a hand OS. I just can't bring myself to do that quite yet -- if I had ortho surgery for every one of my bad joints (shoulder, back, knees, fingers, wrists and one ankle) I'd be dead of old age before I ever got out of recovery. I'm right now waiting to see how everything kind of sorts out in three months or so and then see what I must address. It's mostly just annoying right now, slows me down a bit, but nothing at all like my hips did. I'm doing pretty good with the hips -- OS says keep using the cane for a while so I lose the habit of limping, and while my pelvis adjusts to the leg length fixing. Once in a while I have a twinge in my scar on the right side (the newest hip) but I figure that's probably healing going on.

I wish you a great 2014!

Love,

Milli
 
@MountainGirl Thank you for your kind words. I didn't exactly have a bilateral (like all at once on the same day), mine were done a month apart. But for me that was the best way to do it -- mine were both so bad and I couldn't really ever get better without having them both done. I'd have probably opted for a true bilateral, but my OS doesn't do bilaterals unless you are in a car crash or something of an emergency nature. I just wanted this OVER WITH! I'm still doing well. I don't feel so cooped up since I can drive now. Still can't do everything I want to do, but that will come.

How are you doing? Your hip is newer than my newest one, but you are a lot younger. Are you zipping around yet?

Wishing you a wonderful 2014!

Peace and love to you,

Milli
 
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