THR Chessie checking in!
- Thread starter Chessie
- Start date
- Status
grnplatebrd
senior
grnplatebrd
senior
Wonderful way to reward yourself.
GabsJL
junior member
Great report @Chessie! You are doing so very well after such a relatively short time. You're absolutely right about not waiting too long to have surgery. Too long means more deformity and greater bone loss. Fidn't wait too long either although 1.5 years of pain and 7 months of limping sounds long lol. Keep on going!
Chessie
senior
6 weeks today!
So, the time has really flown. I've been back at work for almost 4 weeks and most people here have no idea that I even had surgery. I never did use a cane here at the office, so I guess I succeeded in "flying under the radar".
Every week I have noticed specific changes/improvements. These last couple of weeks have brought some very welcome ones. I thought I would list them here to celebrate my 6 weeks.
1) I have started getting out of the car with my left leg first...fully supporting the rest of me while moving out of the seat.
That is a big one for me, as this was one of the most noticeable and frustrating changes (having to swing both legs out of the car together to get out) back when this hip really started being a PITA!
2) I can now shave my legs completely normally...no weird stretching or switching hands with the razor. I shaved this morning and it was after I finished that I went..."HEY! That was just like the old days!!"
Thank goodness! I've been waiting for this!
3) I am walking at normal speed now with absolutely no limp. My last walk on the treadmill at the gym was 3 miles at 3.1 to 3.4 mph. 3 mph was as fast as I could manage just prior to surgery, and it was both uncomfortable and with a limp. This has been such a gradual thing - I have done a lot of walking, both outside and on the treadmill, trying to make sure that I don't retain a limp. I took great care to walk no faster than I could manage without limping. So I did walk somewhat slowly for those first few weeks, and if I wanted to walk outside, faster (like my 3 mile walks at lunchtime) I took the cane with me and used it when I felt that I needed the support. Other than at home (just getting around the house), I did not allow myself to limp...I either slowed down, or I used my cane. I have not used the cane for over 2 weeks now. Very glad to be rid of it, but it certainly is a useful aid and a great recovery tool.
4) I am going up stairs without using the handrail. This is great, because now I feel comfortable getting back on the ol' stepmill at the gym. I thought I would miss it, but I guess I will just have to learn to love it again
. I did 20 minutes, at my old level of 9, last Friday. Big big win for me. This means I can get back to some decent intense 30 min cardio workouts at lunch!! FINALLY! 
5) I am increasing my bike mileage every week. I did 24 miles on the stationary bike last Monday and 15 on Friday, and rode my mountain bike on our normal trail (mostly flat, but some long gradual inclines) for 10.5 on Sunday. I could easily have done 15 but my BF was running and he was done. Very VERY happy with my biking. I have always been "able" to ride a bike, and always had one, but I really got more serious about in the months leading up to my surgery as it was pretty much the only cardio workout I could get in that didn't cause me too much pain (and my surgeon recommended it highly!). I will be staying with it, and plan to do some long rides/races in the not-to-distant future. It helps that my BF built me an awesome custom bike just before surgery, and it feels just amazing to ride.
6) I have cut the grass TWICE now! Yay! Did a lot of pruning and some serious yard-work this past weekend, so I am back good-to-go in that area. Thank goodness...as my son is back at college and not here to help!
7) Getting dressed is SO much easier now. I can actually put on my panties (sorry a little TMI maybe?) without holding on to anything at all...fully supporting on each leg. That really took a while, but finally I am there. I can also put on shoes and socks pretty easily now, but most importantly - I can sit and hug my knees again!!!!
I can't tell you how much I have missed being able to do this!!! It feels SO good!!!
I think those are most of the things I have really gone "Aha!" and the last couple of weeks. It is such a good feeling to get all this stuff back. I am just beyond pleased!
I also wanted to add...it's so interesting that on those days (not often, but once in a while) where I feel a little achy maybe (after yardwork on Sunday, for example!) and I want to take something, that Tylenol takes care of it. For all those months I was in pain, I was downing NSAIDS twice a day as Tylenol did NOTHING for me. But now, it works great for the little aches and pains that I occasionally have. Just so interesting how differently these two kinds of drugs work.
Oh - these are the things that I still can't do yet, and want to!
1) Do leg extensions at my full weight. This has to be due to the incision tissues still healing (it's not my quad muscle that hurts). I could do both legs at 90 lbs prior to surgery, and right now, I can do my right leg at 45, and my left at only 15. Yeesh! I am hoping for improvement on that, tonight at the gym.
2) Leg press - the one where I am laying down - not the sitting one (that one is fine). I can't say definitively that I can't do it, because I haven't tried it. But it has been YEARS since I could use this machine without pain, and I completely quit using it at least 2 years ago, maybe longer. I think I am just chicken to try it! I think my first attempt will be with no weights...whenever I get the cahones to try. LOL.
3) Lunges....with weights. Again, just haven't tried it yet. Been many years since I could move my leg like that, with weight on it. Will be trying that soon.
4) Jumping rope. Still afraid to try any impact stuff...but I did go out this past weekend to hear a great band, and was on the dance floor all night..and there was a lot of "bouncing" - was trying so hard not to full-out jump! Woo hoo! (Gotta admit my ankles were SORE when I got home!!)
5) Running. Just not there yet. That will be the last thing I ramp up on, and it will be slow and gradual!!
Okay - that's it! Going to be a beautiful day here, and I hope you all have a great week!!
So, the time has really flown. I've been back at work for almost 4 weeks and most people here have no idea that I even had surgery. I never did use a cane here at the office, so I guess I succeeded in "flying under the radar".
Every week I have noticed specific changes/improvements. These last couple of weeks have brought some very welcome ones. I thought I would list them here to celebrate my 6 weeks.
1) I have started getting out of the car with my left leg first...fully supporting the rest of me while moving out of the seat.
That is a big one for me, as this was one of the most noticeable and frustrating changes (having to swing both legs out of the car together to get out) back when this hip really started being a PITA!2) I can now shave my legs completely normally...no weird stretching or switching hands with the razor. I shaved this morning and it was after I finished that I went..."HEY! That was just like the old days!!"
Thank goodness! I've been waiting for this!3) I am walking at normal speed now with absolutely no limp. My last walk on the treadmill at the gym was 3 miles at 3.1 to 3.4 mph. 3 mph was as fast as I could manage just prior to surgery, and it was both uncomfortable and with a limp. This has been such a gradual thing - I have done a lot of walking, both outside and on the treadmill, trying to make sure that I don't retain a limp. I took great care to walk no faster than I could manage without limping. So I did walk somewhat slowly for those first few weeks, and if I wanted to walk outside, faster (like my 3 mile walks at lunchtime) I took the cane with me and used it when I felt that I needed the support. Other than at home (just getting around the house), I did not allow myself to limp...I either slowed down, or I used my cane. I have not used the cane for over 2 weeks now. Very glad to be rid of it, but it certainly is a useful aid and a great recovery tool.
4) I am going up stairs without using the handrail. This is great, because now I feel comfortable getting back on the ol' stepmill at the gym. I thought I would miss it, but I guess I will just have to learn to love it again
. I did 20 minutes, at my old level of 9, last Friday. Big big win for me. This means I can get back to some decent intense 30 min cardio workouts at lunch!! FINALLY! 5) I am increasing my bike mileage every week. I did 24 miles on the stationary bike last Monday and 15 on Friday, and rode my mountain bike on our normal trail (mostly flat, but some long gradual inclines) for 10.5 on Sunday. I could easily have done 15 but my BF was running and he was done. Very VERY happy with my biking. I have always been "able" to ride a bike, and always had one, but I really got more serious about in the months leading up to my surgery as it was pretty much the only cardio workout I could get in that didn't cause me too much pain (and my surgeon recommended it highly!). I will be staying with it, and plan to do some long rides/races in the not-to-distant future. It helps that my BF built me an awesome custom bike just before surgery, and it feels just amazing to ride.
6) I have cut the grass TWICE now! Yay! Did a lot of pruning and some serious yard-work this past weekend, so I am back good-to-go in that area. Thank goodness...as my son is back at college and not here to help!
7) Getting dressed is SO much easier now. I can actually put on my panties (sorry a little TMI maybe?) without holding on to anything at all...fully supporting on each leg. That really took a while, but finally I am there. I can also put on shoes and socks pretty easily now, but most importantly - I can sit and hug my knees again!!!!
I can't tell you how much I have missed being able to do this!!! It feels SO good!!!I think those are most of the things I have really gone "Aha!" and the last couple of weeks. It is such a good feeling to get all this stuff back. I am just beyond pleased!
I also wanted to add...it's so interesting that on those days (not often, but once in a while) where I feel a little achy maybe (after yardwork on Sunday, for example!) and I want to take something, that Tylenol takes care of it. For all those months I was in pain, I was downing NSAIDS twice a day as Tylenol did NOTHING for me. But now, it works great for the little aches and pains that I occasionally have. Just so interesting how differently these two kinds of drugs work.
Oh - these are the things that I still can't do yet, and want to!
1) Do leg extensions at my full weight. This has to be due to the incision tissues still healing (it's not my quad muscle that hurts). I could do both legs at 90 lbs prior to surgery, and right now, I can do my right leg at 45, and my left at only 15. Yeesh! I am hoping for improvement on that, tonight at the gym.
2) Leg press - the one where I am laying down - not the sitting one (that one is fine). I can't say definitively that I can't do it, because I haven't tried it. But it has been YEARS since I could use this machine without pain, and I completely quit using it at least 2 years ago, maybe longer. I think I am just chicken to try it! I think my first attempt will be with no weights...whenever I get the cahones to try. LOL.
3) Lunges....with weights. Again, just haven't tried it yet. Been many years since I could move my leg like that, with weight on it. Will be trying that soon.
4) Jumping rope. Still afraid to try any impact stuff...but I did go out this past weekend to hear a great band, and was on the dance floor all night..and there was a lot of "bouncing" - was trying so hard not to full-out jump! Woo hoo! (Gotta admit my ankles were SORE when I got home!!)
5) Running. Just not there yet. That will be the last thing I ramp up on, and it will be slow and gradual!!
Okay - that's it! Going to be a beautiful day here, and I hope you all have a great week!!
Last edited by a moderator:
Chessie
senior
Thanks @Jaycey. I think the most amazing thing about all this is seeing how much we improve, day by day. It's really been such a fantastic experience for me....I hope your next surgery goes just as well!
*Update* I was able to do 75lbs total last night on the leg extension, so that is a significant improvement in less than a week.
*Update* I was able to do 75lbs total last night on the leg extension, so that is a significant improvement in less than a week.
Last edited by a moderator:
Chessie
senior
Well yesterday was 7 weeks for me. We went camping this weekend and I did both mountain bike trails and kayaking. The trails were the most challenging biking that I have done so far- I was standing on my pedals on many of the hills, and it felt great. But what felt even better was being able to climb in and out of my kayak without any problem whatsoever!! 
Yay!! Also, I went for a walk Sunday and pretty sure I was doing a 4mph pace - which is fast enough to outrun the dang deer flies! And today I did 32 minutes on the stepmill at my lunch workout, and climbed 135 flights of stairs. Not quite my usual 152, but I'll take it!!
I have my final post-op next week and after that, I will probably give myself another month before I try running. Slowly, for sure! I definitely feel that I am walking completely normal now, and last night, I went to bed and never moved a muscle the entire night - stayed on my back in the exact same position all night long and slept the entire 8 hours. Heaven!!
Yay!! Also, I went for a walk Sunday and pretty sure I was doing a 4mph pace - which is fast enough to outrun the dang deer flies! And today I did 32 minutes on the stepmill at my lunch workout, and climbed 135 flights of stairs. Not quite my usual 152, but I'll take it!! I have my final post-op next week and after that, I will probably give myself another month before I try running. Slowly, for sure! I definitely feel that I am walking completely normal now, and last night, I went to bed and never moved a muscle the entire night - stayed on my back in the exact same position all night long and slept the entire 8 hours. Heaven!!
Stan H
junior member
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2014
- Messages
- 50
- Age
- 61
- Gender
- Male
- Country
United States
Great job Chessie.
Looking back on my recovery...I feel that cycling helped me more then anything else. Some of the research I did said not to try running until 12 weeks had gone by. I tried at 12 weeks. 1/2 mile, then 3 miles, and even ran a flat dirt trail 10k. I need that in my life. And it seems like it'll make you happy also. Just remember short and slow at first. I want to be able to do it in the future not just today.
Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®
Looking back on my recovery...I feel that cycling helped me more then anything else. Some of the research I did said not to try running until 12 weeks had gone by. I tried at 12 weeks. 1/2 mile, then 3 miles, and even ran a flat dirt trail 10k. I need that in my life. And it seems like it'll make you happy also. Just remember short and slow at first. I want to be able to do it in the future not just today.
Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®
Chessie
senior
Yep, @Stan H, my doc advised me to wait 3 months, and that sounds right to me as well. I have read of many people that started at 6 weeks, a couple even earlier:rolleyes: , but that isn't right for me. Like you, running is something that greatly enhances my physical and emotional well-being, and I want to be able to do it as long as I can breathe!
Chessie
senior
Chessie
senior
Just a brief update. It has been 9 1/2 weeks (hmmm reminds of a movie ). I am biking at the same levels/speed I was at before surgery. I have added back all of the machines to my workout that I previously had to drop due to pain - including the leg press!! Not quite back up to the same weights, but I will get there.
I was out walking at lunch a couple of days ago, and was listening to some awesome new tunes, and I just couldn't resist the temptation. I broke out into a run, and ran two miles without even a pause. Oh my gosh I cannot express in words how wonderful that felt. I actually cried when I got back inside the gym. I was just so overcome. I had not intended to run at all until 3 months, but I've been cleared for it, so I might allow myself just one short run a week, until I pass that self-imposed 3 month mark.
Really really happy with my new hip!!
). I am biking at the same levels/speed I was at before surgery. I have added back all of the machines to my workout that I previously had to drop due to pain - including the leg press!! Not quite back up to the same weights, but I will get there.I was out walking at lunch a couple of days ago, and was listening to some awesome new tunes, and I just couldn't resist the temptation. I broke out into a run, and ran two miles without even a pause. Oh my gosh I cannot express in words how wonderful that felt. I actually cried when I got back inside the gym. I was just so overcome. I had not intended to run at all until 3 months, but I've been cleared for it, so I might allow myself just one short run a week, until I pass that self-imposed 3 month mark.
Really really happy with my new hip!!
Hoppy Nanny
big-cheese
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2013
- Messages
- 3,846
- Age
- 74
- Location
- Bognor Regis
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United Kingdom
Chessie
senior
Hi everyone. I passed the 3 month mark a week and a half ago. Thought I would post one last update for this thread.
I have been working hard at the gym and am back at my normal weights for everything, other than the big leg press (the traditional one, the one where I am almost laying down and my feet are way above me). I had not been able to use that machine in probably...I dunno...couple of years maybe. I had been able to continue using the one where there is no weight on the hips, it's much easier and does not compress anything at the hip - but the traditional press distributes weight very differently. I am just doing 70 pounds on it, I add a bit each week or two. And boy does it feel good! Almost like a fantastic good stretch. Everything else is at my normal weights now - yay! I am also running a couple of times a week - 3 miles. Nothing too dramatic. VERY happy to be running again. Went to Busch Gardens and a car show this weekend and put over 20,000 steps on my Fitbit in one day - and it feels SO good to be able to do that without even the slightest discomfort.
Sleep is WONDERFUL again. I really didn't know how much of my sleep disturbance was due to my hip pain and how much was due to maybe just getting old. I am happy to say that it was all the hip.
I have read where a lot of people say that they reach 3 months and never think about their hip anymore. That is definitely not the case for me. I think about it often, usually in wonderment that something isn't hurting. I do have quite a bit of numbness still, around the scar area. Pretty sure that is normal and will fade with time. Scar hasn't faded as much as I would like, but I suppose time will take care of that as well. Hasn't stopped me from wearing my bikini though. As far as any tenderness, it's not 100% gone, but I no longer have to watch myself swinging weights (only had to smack my thigh with a dumbbell ONE time to learn that lesson!). Now I can bump into things with no worries! Maybe just a teeny weensy bit of tenderness left. Really not so much that I even think about it. Also, I know that my gait that had been changed, due to the hip pain, but my right hip/knee had been feeling a wee bit "off" the last few weeks leading up to surgery, and even a couple of months after. Like there was something going on maybe...a little pain where I had not been having any. But in the last couple of weeks, that has pretty much dissipated - both my legs feel completely 100% now. Also, I had been thinking that the left leg might be a wee tiny bit shorter...but even that feeling now is gone. Everything just feels....RIGHT.
I feel like shouting from the rooftops - DON'T WAIT TO HAVE THIS DONE!!!
Hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather!!
I have been working hard at the gym and am back at my normal weights for everything, other than the big leg press (the traditional one, the one where I am almost laying down and my feet are way above me). I had not been able to use that machine in probably...I dunno...couple of years maybe. I had been able to continue using the one where there is no weight on the hips, it's much easier and does not compress anything at the hip - but the traditional press distributes weight very differently. I am just doing 70 pounds on it, I add a bit each week or two. And boy does it feel good! Almost like a fantastic good stretch. Everything else is at my normal weights now - yay! I am also running a couple of times a week - 3 miles. Nothing too dramatic.
VERY happy to be running again. Went to Busch Gardens and a car show this weekend and put over 20,000 steps on my Fitbit in one day - and it feels SO good to be able to do that without even the slightest discomfort.Sleep is WONDERFUL again. I really didn't know how much of my sleep disturbance was due to my hip pain and how much was due to maybe just getting old. I am happy to say that it was all the hip.
I have read where a lot of people say that they reach 3 months and never think about their hip anymore. That is definitely not the case for me. I think about it often, usually in wonderment that something isn't hurting. I do have quite a bit of numbness still, around the scar area. Pretty sure that is normal and will fade with time. Scar hasn't faded as much as I would like, but I suppose time will take care of that as well. Hasn't stopped me from wearing my bikini though.
As far as any tenderness, it's not 100% gone, but I no longer have to watch myself swinging weights (only had to smack my thigh with a dumbbell ONE time to learn that lesson!). Now I can bump into things with no worries! Maybe just a teeny weensy bit of tenderness left. Really not so much that I even think about it. Also, I know that my gait that had been changed, due to the hip pain, but my right hip/knee had been feeling a wee bit "off" the last few weeks leading up to surgery, and even a couple of months after. Like there was something going on maybe...a little pain where I had not been having any. But in the last couple of weeks, that has pretty much dissipated - both my legs feel completely 100% now. Also, I had been thinking that the left leg might be a wee tiny bit shorter...but even that feeling now is gone. Everything just feels....RIGHT. I feel like shouting from the rooftops - DON'T WAIT TO HAVE THIS DONE!!!
Hope everyone is enjoying the fall weather!!
- Status
