Guest viewing is limited

Bilateral THR ByGosh ByGolly ByLateral

Status
Not open for further replies.
Ohhhhh atmosphere Songlady - maybe you'll even get your back spasm massaged, too.....:heehee:


I seemed to do ok with the little pool trip. :) I even ventured forth again today and so far, no worse than usual, thank goodness. I'm afraid to say anything, because it's like a roller coaster here - good one day, bad the next.

I know where your Songboy works. My husband was frequenting that store quite a bit when he restarted guitar a few years back. His interest is dying out now, though.
Boy, I read about your poor Mom's seemingly mismanaged medication on zauberflote's thread. It's unbelievable, isn't it? Sounds pretty simple - if her BP has been so low, why is she on the BP meds? And if she's dehydrating, why is she on diuretics? And is she's dehydrated, that'll make the BP lower, because less blood volume. Gee, it's a good thing you're there to catch these things! Every patient needs an advocate, I say. It's scarey!
I also read about your tummy troubles. It sounds very annoying, but you obviously have it controlled and are doing all of the right things. The Metamucil is really helpful for that - it gives the irritable intestine something to contract onto, so it doesn't feel so crampy, and it bulks things up, just like you said. My son's girlfriend sounds like she has that a bit, but I'm not going to give her advice on it. Don't want to step on any toes, if you know what I mean.

Well, it's supposed to let up on the rain here by tomorrow. My daughter's senior class trip is to Disney. They leave at 3am tonight (tomorrow)! Yikes, then they take a bus to Westchester Airport to fly out. There's going to be a lot of tired Seniors at Disney tomorrow! It'll be fun, though. And of course, I'll worry the whole time. I told her to keep texting me, so I know when she's on the plane, when she lands, etc., etc. It's hard to cut those apron strings.
 
ByGosh I have a pool question-do you have difficulty with your gait in the pool? I have tried walking in the water at both chest and waist height, and have trouble maintaining proper gait. No problem doing the "bicycle". jogging or exercising in the water.

Hope your daughter has a wonderful time at Disney. Sounds like a great trip.
 
Hi ByGosh - It sure is tough to cut those strings! Songboy just texted to say he was visiting some friends to jam after work this evening, and all I can think of is the flooded hydro-plane-y Parkway as he comes home.
(He's in the band instrument/sheet music department.)
Apparently the BP meds have been prescribed to Mom because they also regulate heartbeat. But, I am pretty sure the reason she had irregular heartbeat was because they'd put her on megadoses of steroids to clear out the lungs when she had pneumonia. (She had never had need for a cardiologist before.) I am not convinced she needs the regulating meds now, and sure as heck, not the diuretic! And as I said the the rehab nurses, she wants quality of life NOW, not to be trying to be in good shape 10 years down the road! (She's almost 87.) I think the rehab nurses understood, and we're likely shopping for a different cardiologist if she needs one again.
Because she was admitted to hosp. a week after I got home from the hip surgery, I was not there advocating as I usually do. So I'm doing catch-up.
I understand the boundaries and such with almost grownup kids and their friends - lol! For the record, I have ulcerative colitis, pancolitis, and was on steroids for 2+ years, 25+ years ago - which might have impacted my hip joints. I am not bitter or angry about that; it was the best that anyone could do, back then. The gut has been in remission for almost 3 years (<<KNOCK ON WOOD!!>>)
I am SOO glad to hear that your little pool trip seemed to do no harm - and who knows, a year from now, maybe you'll see that it was good! Your story is so poignant; as someone in your profession, you trusted and did what was asked, for instance, in PT - (when my PT asked me to do those knee lifts, I thought, "no, honey, I'll hurt myself!" and only minimally tried - simply because I had a rare and wonderful PT person last time and knew better) - clearly, there are things in communication between doctors and PTs and etc, etc that are broken.....
At the risk of going off on some weird tangent, I bid you a good evening and a good launch to GoshGirl on the trip tomorrow!! :friends:
 
Hello LeeApril26 Yes, it is a little tricky walking. I try really hard to walk heel-toe, and I find it easier if I stay in the most shallow part - which is about waist high. I've tried using my arms in the water to help move me along, or holding onto the side of the pool. I just can't seem to maintain a good gait, though, no matter what. It's harder for me the deeper I am, though, to move through the water without losing my footing. I wonder if water shoes would help? I've never used them. This pool has a nice smooth bottom. In the past some pools I've been to are rough and would scrape my toes.
How do you bicycle? I'm still not moving my legs much now. I walk a little, then paddle back and forth with a buoyant barbell between my legs to keep them afloat. I'm not using them to move me through the water just yet. But I want to, I'm just afraid that it'll hurt me, so I'm going slowly. Do you do your PT exercises in the water? I only do a couple. It feels great, especially since I've been on 'couch arrest' for so long! I hope I can continue. Are you swimming in N.Y? or at your friends'?
 
Songlady Thanks for the well-wishes for my daughter's trip! I hope she gets a little sleep before they leave - she has a girlfriend sleeping over who lives farther away and whose parents didn't want to get up and drive her to the bus at 2am. So they'll probably get NO sleep. Oh well.
My son went to a little part-time job he has at an establishment in New Haven that was flooded out - so no work! I didn't realize it had rained so much today. He's quite happy, gets to spend Fri. night with girlfriend instead...
Ulcerative colitis - wow that's pretty rough. Glad it's in remission now! You've got enough on your plate, with your hip, you hubby's neck/back, your growing up son at home (he sounds like a good guy), and your Mom, who you're doing a great job overseeing. Not to mention your job. Jeepers, you're doing it all!
 
ByGosh Okay, sounds like we are having the same problem. We are in the country until tomorrow, unless the house floats down the hill in this storm. I belong to a gym in NYC, but had suspended my membership as the subway trip that is required was too much pre-op, and I still don't feel safe doing the stairs.

I have this book, Heal Your Hips, and it suggests sitting on a step in the pool and imitating the moves your legs make on a stationary bike. Since I am doing that in PT I figured it was okay to try it in the pool. The PT said to do side leg lifts, the back lift (not too high) the bending the knee back and up lift, and the heel raises. (Sorry, don't know the names) and I also do quad and hamstring stretches for my knees. I tried swimming, but it felt weird, so I stopped.

Thanks for mentioning water shoes. I do have them at home, so will try them next time I have access to a pool.
 
LeeApril26, Thanks for the exercise info. When I'm sure that I'm a lot better, I'll give them a try. I do a few leg out front and side and back, but no lifting, it's toe-pointing as in ballet. I don't want to flex yet. I can't quite picture sitting on a stair and doing bicycle movement - don't your legs/feet hit the step? Or are you leaning back with the legs under the water? Sorry, it's eluding me.
Swimming does feel wierd. The legs don't seem right to me, that's partly why I have them buoyed. I didn't buoy them at first, when I first went back to the pool at 4 weeks (my OS said I could and PT didn't object) That wasn't good for me, as I felt a hanging or pulling feeling in one groin - probably added to the problem I have now. It was the same week that I had so many MD appointments that turned out to be for nothing...
But now, they feel ok, especially with the buoy and minimal leg movement. (fingers crossed)
 
ByGosh I do sit on a step and lean far back, because I use a reclining bike at the PT and am trying to duplicate the position. But here are the directions from the book:
Bicycling. Braced in a corner of the pool, on a side or on the side of the pool, bend the knees to perform a bicycling movement. As patients advance, ask them to lift the knee and then the entire leg and foot out of the water so they can gain speed as well as add gravity to their work.

If you'd like to see the exercises from the book, here is the link:
broken link removed: https://www.hiphelp.com/pages/exercises.html

Have not tried a buoy cause they only have hand weights here, and that feels awkward too. The hip motion didn't feel smooth during the crawl.
 
Hi ByGosh I'm so glad you pool trips are going well and that this time you don't have the same discomfort, that's real progress! :) When I did excersise in the pool with my physio he gave me a couple that I haven't seen you quote, so they might be helpful? He had me walking forward but to return I walked backwards, also he had me side walking. Do you have any buoyancy aids, I'd put one on my foot and do straight leg lifts, to the front and to the side, also did lunges. Obviously be very careful and don't do anything that hurts and don't do too many to start off, I hope this helps? :SUNsmile:
 
ByGosh -- I hope you are sleeping in this morning after seeing your daughter off at 3AM. Why do all those trips seem to start as such a weird hour? I am glad to read that you did okay with your latest trip to the pool. I hope that you do not have to wait too long for your second opinion and that you get answers soon.

You, me and zauberflöte need to take another kayak trip soon, provided that zauberflöte can behave.
 
Kylesh, zauberflöte and ByGosh, can I come, too? I'm sure I can borrow my friend's kayak for the occasion....! :angel:
So... what's the report, ByGosh? Goodness, Songboy said he barely missed TWO trees that had fallen across the parkway on his way home from work last night, and my friend's son hydroplaned and crashed on I-95 where there's bridge construction over the Housatonic. (Amazingly, he's OK!!!!!)
I don't know if any of you have felt this, but I think I am feeling more overprotective of others right now when I'm feeling vulnerable myself. Songboy had originally had social plans for the evening after work last night, and I am SO glad they were cancelled - I would have been a wreck!
 
Hi, ByGosh. I am so glad you had some better experiences in the water. Hope you got some sleep. Good wishes for GoshGirl (love that name, Songlady!)'s venture; and it sounds like GoshBoy is making the most of his job being flooded. How is Connecticut faring with this weather??
So your trip to the next OS for another opinion is coming up ... next week, is it?
I hope between now and then you can still manage to get some water therapy for your spirits that is gentle on your groins and rest of your body. You are getting some really helpful hints from the other water babies here.
I am sending all good wishes your way. And I wish somehow I could help in a better way.
:)
 
sheesh, just time to say hi everybody, now that i've read almost all of it i have to go do the family thing... by the time I'm back, there'll be another two pages. I dn't understand, how does everybody keep UP??????? :)
 
[Bonesmart.org] ByGosh ByGolly ByLateral zauberflöte, if you think trying to keep up with this forum is tough---I have both this one and the knee forum---my tongue is frequently dragging the ground :heehee: .
 
In the time I've been here, the forum has gotten busier and busier. It's been years since I've been able to keep up.
 
alexthecat well, if you stopped riding your Big Wheels once in a while and came over to visit us, you wouldn't miss so much.....LOL :)

Songlady GoshGirl!!! I love it, too, Peaches. :) And now we have GoshBoy, as well. What's my husband to be called? I'll leave that up to you clever ladies. After all, Peaches did coin the phrase BoneSmartonians and one other very clever one I can't quite remember now......oh, those brain cells of mine, I can hear them dying one by one....What other cute thing did you come up with Peaches --there's been so many!

Well Songlady, the rain poured and poured and poured, didn't it? I woke when GoshGirl left, and I wondered how in heavens' name they'd be able to a) drive to the airport in Westchester b) fly out on time with torrential down pours. But miraculously, all went as planned and she arrived in Florida as scheduled! Thank goodness.

Yes, I hear you about being overly protective now - even more so than usual, which is a lot. And it is because we feel so vulnerable now, you're absolutely right about that. I worry that if something happens to one of them, I won't be able to get to them in time, or manage it as well as usual. (isn't that awful to think?) Especially when they're far away - like when GoshBoy was in Mexico last week with GoshGirlfriend (hahaha, that's catchy). And now with GoshDaughter at Disney.....I've been a wreck about my 16 1/2 year old dog, praying she won't take ill until I'm able to take care of her. Not to mention GoshHubby, (or Mr. ByGosh, or whatever name you very clever ladies come up with.) They'd all better just sit tight until I'm well and up and running again.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that I can make it to GoshGirl's graduation next week. That I cannot miss!

Kylesh Hello kayak friend - How have you been? Thank you for your well-wishes about the pool. I was able to go without dying of pain a few times this past week. It makes all the difference. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...
I was going to run over to your place and catch up today, so it's good to hear from you. How is you IT band and your PT going? I hope it's improved. Yes, we do have to go on another kayak adventure, right zauberflöte ? And Songlady would be a good one to take along. She'll behave, won't you Songlady? I've always said, the more the merrier. Really there's so many fun people here that should joine us in our kayak adventure. I think it will just have to be a general invitation and whoever shows up with a virtual kayak, is good to go! :) I'm ready when you are, Kylesh!
 
Hi Littlejem Yes, I do the walk forwards and walk backwards one, too. And the side stepping. Very little, very gently, but I do them. Not the leg lifts now or lunges. I'm trying not to flex my hips, as that's when it hurts. But I will hopefully be working my way up to them before too long, if things don't take a nose dive the other way again. I'm hoping that if I go very easily, I'll be ok and can at least go a couple of times a week and build up a little.

I'm glad that you've had fun tasting the different ciders at your local pub! Or was it beer? Either way, I'm sure it was great fun and just delicious. We have a fondness for a good, tasty beer. My son is always on the lookout for something new and flavorful. I only give them a little taste now, but when I'm more recovered, and off some of these meds, I'll enjoy a glass with him. We've enjoyed visiting a favorite brewery in the state of Vermont where we go on vacation. They have little samplers to try of their specialty brews. Yum, always delicious and always fun.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Staff online

Members online

Back
Top Bottom