THR Cstinchcomb's Right Hip Recovery

Has anyone had early dentistry?
One week before my LTHR I cracked a tooth. Talk about bad timing. But my dentist was great. Installed a temporary crown and put everything right with the goal to install the permanent crown 6 months post LTHR.

Here in the UK dentists have started to take patients needing urgent work. I think it will be awhile before they start scheduling regular cleaning visits.
 
@cstinchcomb I don't know exactly what your covid situation is at the micro level of geography there, but might you just go for broke and get the permanent fix? The dentist ought to offer options, but we don't want you winding up with an abscess in the winter when we'll also be dealing with the flu.

@Jaycey you kept a temporary crown for SIX MONTHS? Wow. My first temporary crown (I fell off my bike at age 20.... as bad as @Mojo333 :snork: ) was a block of plastic off the shelf. It's a good thing my cut-through bottom lip (strong teeth!) was still healing, because playing the flute was impossible. I needed a new crown about 5 years later, and I'm so afraid of a new one now! I have played almost my entire professional career with this one. It's top front, which is a "high use" area for the flute. I'm too old to learn how to play all over again!!:bawl:
 
Saw my surgeon yesterday. Xrays look like they are supposed to :happydance: He's very happy with my progress, and lifted my restrictions. Finally shaved my legs last night, yippee. I need to wait a month to start riding my bicycle, but I can swim now, starting off with a pull buoy. I think he's a swimmer too ... He and I agreed that the "chill out and let it heal up" plan was for the best. So thank you all for your counsel.

If anyone in the SF bay area needs an orthopedic surgeon, I recommend Dr. Hartford without reservation. I expect his mates at PAMF (Drs. Lannin and Graw) are excellent too. This is a good office. My experience at Sequoia Hospital was very good as well.

Few more notes on the visit. As I noted a month ago, a large cyst was left in the roof of my acetabulum. Dr. Hartford filled it with a bone graft during the surgery, and it's already starting to fill in. Another :yes:.

I am done with physical therapy, and will start extending my walks a bit further, some gentle hills etc. And I'll see about getting a swim lane; they are not so easy to get because capacity is about 20% of normal with the scheduling and one swimmer per lane, but the covid safety protocol looks safe to me.

On the dentist front, the response was: "just take the antibiotics and get it taken care of". My first choice in dentists is not taking new patients (surprise) ... so I'm moving on to further choices today. I am hoping that it's a filling and not a crown.
 
@cstinchcomb good news all around until the dentist didn't take you. I hope you will find someone excellent, soon!
I'd been thinking about a pull buoy but then couldn't remember who it went with, silly me! It will be exciting to get back in the water, eh? I'd think the heavy chlorine miasma above the water would kill anything that got breathed into it. My rec area pool is up to 3 per lane now, which is bad for DH because he is swimmin' blind with no contacts. And he's got an ugly case of shingles anyway so doesn't want to get in.
That leg-shaving milestone is a big one!! :heehee:
 
Got my dentist sorted out yesterday; all the covid precautions reduce capacity, so as of now, I'm scheduled for next Friday afternoon, which I think is OK. If something opens up, I might get in sooner.

I keep antibiotics on hand for this. Every time I use them, I get a new batch. I contacted my surgeon's office Friday morning for a new prescription and it was filled and ready for delivery 2 hours later (Costco). So I think I'm all set. I'll just pay special attention to keeping my mouth clean for the next week. Fingers crossed that a new filling will do the job.
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OMG I am so ready to get back in the pool.

I'd think the heavy chlorine miasma above the water would kill anything

One would hope ... and it's outside in the sunshine too .... but I'm glad that it's one swimmer per lane here -- for covid, and for taking my brand new hip for our first swim, hopefully sometime next week. I hope Mr. ZF's shingles are clearing up, that's ... uncomfortable, to put it mildly.

My kickboard is also a pull buoy; I haven't used it that way in some time, but shared equipment is a :bignono:.

For all you other anterior approach swimmers ... I wear "boy short" swim bottoms that don't intersect my new scar area the way a normal swimsuit might. :swim:
 
For all you other anterior approach swimmers ... I wear "boy short" swim bottoms that don't intersect my new scar area the way a normal swimsuit might. :swim:

Good news on dentist, antibx, pool! Mr ZF got to the dr in time (no thanks to himself lol) that the antiviral worked on the newer outbreaks. It looks AWFUL but getting much better, thank you!

You won't have to wear the boy shorts forever unless you want to! For my first hip, a number of women were really interested in satin boxers, and that went on to satin sheets for ease of maneuvering the posterior in the bed, which devolved to that hilarious (Steve Martin maybe?) movie scene of the guy leaping onto the bed and sliding right off....
 
The boy shorts are super cute, it's the only style of two piece swimsuit bottoms that work for me. But yes, I agree that a normal one piece swimsuit will work fine pretty soon. My scar will be red for a year IIRC ... that's my skin -- so some of it's ... vanity, I guess.

This goes with "shaving my legs" -- toenails! :giggle:These new hips, I tell ya, works excellent.

Re: Mr. ZF's antivirals -- we've all gotta keep an eye on each other :kittykiss:
 
Toenails!! Yes!! They were soooo painful pre-op. Now only painful if I make an oops with the clippers.

I'm not built for boy shorts styles. I go with the Lands End tankinis, the high-rise regular bottom. A two piece is so much handier in the bathroom!
 
Quick update. My tooth is kindof OK, no pain or infection; I see the dentist tomorrow afternoon, fingers crossed for a decent and not too invasive outcome. I sure won't need any additional painkillers; I think I have a lifetime supply .

I haven't tried to swim yet because I am nervous about the tooth, bacteria, etc, and it will take a concerted effort to get a swim lane. Maybe next week.

Walks :walking:are now 2-3 miles, still in my flat neighborhood, will try some parks soon. I don't need the poles but they are fun so I take them sometimes anyway. Hubby is liking his poles these days, so when we go together we both take them.

I'm finally getting my workouts sorted out by learning to use bodyweight training, the bands and dumbbells that we have to exercise the body parts that need work. I am doing all the upper body work seated or lying down. I now have three workouts to cycle between, but if I feel like skipping a day or an exercise, I just skip it.

One more thing. Folks talk about doing their PT exercises more than once a day. I think this works only for really simple movements like ankle circles. I try to walk twice a day, but I only do a workout once a day. Even without the surgery, I would not work the same body part more than once a day; my normal weight training schedule would not strongly work any area on back to back days.

And I think that this approach, which is way less gung ho than my first go round, is yielding better faster results; it's certainly not slower.
 
Dentist went well; I have a new filling; rest of the tooth looks fine. Face still a little numb. I'll probably wait until 6 months post surgery to get a full cleaning. I like my new dentist ...

My hip feels great. Next week: :swim:
 
Picturing @cstinchcomb drooling... a long time ago I had a dentist who would numb only that tooth. The modern technique has a Whole lot of collateral damage :snork: I'm really glad it's all well with just a filling!

I'm really liking your exercise philosophy! I had PT to do three times daily with my first hip. Nothing was major work; most of it was just imitations of ordinary movements. I skipped it all except the ankle pumps (circulation) and glute squeezes (felt good) for the second hip, and that one did just what you're finding-- better, sooner.

I feel like my barre classes are the ultimate in almost prop-free body-weight exercises. We are not looking to build bulk though, and my primary result (besides new muscles, go figure!) is functional strength. Our only props when in studio are light weights, a squishy ball, gliders, and sometimes bands or bootie bands. Streaming classes are more limited. But when you spend 25 min of a 45-min class in some sort of plank, often only two- or three-point plank, and generally while moving an extremity or two, that is making use of body weight in a most literal way!
 
Picturing @cstinchcomb drooling

:scary:made me laugh. I left my mask on in the car on the way home. My *ear* was numb. Took about 4 hours to wear off. But it went really well, actually, and today it looks and feels good.

@zauberflöte, I hope your abs are healing up well. I'll have to look at some barre videos for ideas; I've started doing a few pushups and some very simple sun salutations, and I've been doing bird dogs for several weeks. I'll add planks to the list and see how that goes, starting with just the regular kind. I have those slidey discs here somewhere ... thanks for the reminder.

And ... I got a swim lane! Tomorrow afternoon :SUNsmile:. Active swim time is only 35 min so that will enforce a level of discipline that I probably would not have been able to maintain otherwise.
 
@cstinchcomb hoorayy swim lane! Mr ZF still waiting for his ugly shingles to clear up, but they've way reduced lap hours because swim team practices twice a day. And they are holding what must be virtual meets! Only half the time a meet usually would take and only half the cars.
Judging from the barre examples I see on youtube, you are going to have to stream one of my classes to get the full impact. This teacher NEVER EVER only works one body part. Her classes have complicated choreography and are mostly impossible :rotfl: We rarely use the barre as a prop. Heh. Good for balance (or falling over if you're me... lol) But my balance has much improved. I feel more in charge of my vestibular moments.

Thanks for thinking of my healing-- I worked about 60%on abs last week and had great classes. Just trying to determine if the fatigue I feel is from being out of shape, or not quite ready for prime time abs. But no pain, so that's great. In fact, the only pain from barre is hips and T-spine. My hips just don't wanna do that stuff! Ah well.

I have a mask that really irritates my ears too. My hat is SO off to those nurses who wear one and don't take it off for 12 hours....
 
Thank you @Layla . Hard to believe it's been two months.

@zauberflöte , I sure hope that the shingles are ... going away. I wear a rashguard, to protect from the sun; I don't know if that would help Mr. ZF. They've started swim team here too, and it's not making the lanes any easier to get. They've reduced the time from an hour (50 min swim) to 45 min (35 min swim) in order to accommodate more swimmers.

So glad your abs are coming along. Out of shape ??? :rofsign::rotfl: Ya think? Just a little? I swear, how did those 10 lb weights get so heavy?

I normally like impossible classes ... but right now? hmm. That must be great to work with your regular instructor ... I should look to see if any of my fav yoga instructors are doing any zoom classes.

Ok now off to :swim:
 
How was the swim @cstinchcomb ? Mr ZF wouldn't wear a rash guard, and anyway the rule is no open yukkies in the pool. His is so very huge compared to a kid's skinned knee, which nobody would comment on, but half your torso covered with what everybody will believe is poison ivy... not so much! Also the heavy chlorine would really smart, eh?

We use an app called MindBody for the booking process. The ballet school which hosts the barre studio has the entire adult division on MindBody. It appears that you can take any streaming class you can find! You pays your money and takes your class.

I don't even consider yoga as a possibility. So much depends on flexibility. I think that if a person has tried hard to get flexible for over 60 years and has never succeeded, she should know when to quit, right? I come from a family that couldn't touch their toes.... I made it to painful-palms-flat-on-floor but doubt that can happen again...
 
Swim went great. :SUNsmile: :egypdance:No problem getting in and out at the end of the lane like normal. I used my pull buoy about half the time, most of the rest in a gentle flutter kick / freestyle. I tried out the breaststroke frog kick just a little; it didn't hurt but I am trying to be cautious with new activities. Backstroke was fine. Kinda out of shape, didn't want to really kick too much, so ... slow. Excellent first swim. Will continue to try to pick up swim lanes a couple times a week as schedule permits.

The whole way the pool is run seemed *very* covid-safe. :yes!: and peaceful ...

@zauberflöte , when I was in there, I thought of Mr. ZF, that the chlorine very well may sting, and that .. well, he's going to have to heal up before getting back in, for all the reasons mentioned.

I have MindBody ... the swim lanes get booked on it, among other things ...

Fundamentally, yoga is for the mind. Especially when starting out it's important to find a teacher with whom you resonate I used to be hypermobile, not so much anymore (age, hormones) -- just goes to show that flexibility doesn't prevent hip arthritis. But really, its just important for all of us to find some kinda movement that suits us. Barre sounds fun, we'll see how all this goes.
 
Thank you for posting this! My surgeon doesn't want me doing flutter kick until the 3 month mark (I had an anterior approach). I love that you posted all you did in the water so I can live vicariously through it. I can almost smell the chlorine. Aaaahhhhhh.
 

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