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THR Deep Breath Reporting for Recovery Duty

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@Hip Hip Hooray! on really active days I do plan on taking a break from at least one of my exercise sessions, or modifying them to my favorite stretches. Yesterday I noticed that the area around my incision felt tight. I'm not sure what that indicates so I'll be asking my PT when I go in tomorrow. I want to make sure it's not signaling something flaring up!
I hope you had a nice weekend. :)
 
Hey there @DeepBreath! Thought I'd pop in and say hi and give you kudos on your PT and recovery. Great news all the way around! And what a difference a caring PT makes. Happy to hear this time around is a much better experience for you. I know 2016 will be a banner year for you, my dear!
:cheers2::dancy:
 
DeepBreath said:
@Hip Hip Hooray! on really active days I do plan on taking a break from at least one of my exercise sessions, or modifying them to my favorite stretches. Yesterday I noticed that the area around my incision felt tight. I'm not sure what that indicates so I'll be asking my PT when I go in tomorrow. I want to make sure it's not signaling something flaring up!
I hope you had a nice weekend. :)
Click to expand...

I felt the same thing when I did the basic PT exercises at home. I think the muscle was building under the skin. It stretched the skin and the surrounding tissue. ( I think.)

It sounds like it's going well. It feels good to be moving, doesn't it? I walked the dogs and did yoga today, and really enjoyed both activities. Take care...
 
@Nana757, thank you so much, friend. It's great to see you here. :) It sounds like you are doing great as well and I am very happy to hear that!
I am glad to be starting this next phase of the process. I'm hoping that I can be walking, aid and limp free, some time in the near future. I'm trying to be patient. :)

@Hip Hip Hooray! it does feel good to be moving. The out patient PT has loomed large in my mind as another big part of this whole experience. It's nice to have therapists who I feel really listen and are qualified to help me assess the situation going forward.
I hope you're doing good and are continuing to enjoy the yoga! :)
 
I had another PT session yesterday and it went really great. I wasn't able to see my regular PT gal last Thursday (the session with the recumbent bike) but got to work with her yesterday. I told her about the experience with the bike and she immediately said, "Nope, no more of that for a while" and had me try another machine instead. It looks like a bit like a recumbent bike, but instead of the peddles going around, the peddles just go up and down as you push them (not sure if that makes sense).
That was SO much better. My PT stayed by me the whole time and made sure to ask if it was feeling okay and to tell her if anything felt painful or 'off'.
She added some stair step exercises to my routine and those went just fine as well.
I love the massage part of the therapy sessions. She gets in there and tweaks those tight quads and the muscles on the outer part of the hip area. It feels great and I can tell a difference when she's done.
I feel like I've landed at a really great PT place and with a person who is very helpful and receptive. :)

I'm thinking of all my BoneSmart friends as we near the end of 2015 and head into the New Year! Wishing you all wonderful days of healing and happiness. :cheers2:
 
That's wonderful news, @DeepBreath! It sounds like you've found a healthy, nurturing place. You must be getting stronger. Is it easier to walk now? I just did the machines at the gym today. I really enjoy it. Glad to hear the stair step exercises went well. I use the stair master. It's one of my favorites. Keep up the great work!
 
So glad you are having a positive PT experience. I had a great PT and loved going. It was great to have a routine and get out of the house. It felt so good to get moving again.
Wishing you a happy healthy new year!
 
@Hip Hip Hooray! yes, it is getting easier to walk. I still have a way to go, so I use my cane or walker so I'm not limping around too much, but after just two weeks I can tell a difference. :)

@Doodles51, it does feel good to get out and do something that really shows forward progress! It sounds like you're doing great. I hope the coming year is wonderful for you, friend. :)

Happy New Year, BoneSmart Buddies! :)
 
Hi @DeepBreath glad to hear there was a workaround in the form of a different machine. I think I know which one you are talking about where the peddles just go up & down and I can see how that would work much better. I haven't started my outpatient PT yet but after reading your posts, I sure hope they will include some massage therapy as part of the sessions. My muscles are very tight and that would be so beneficial. I am just thrilled with all the progress you are making and how the PT seems to be helping quite a bit.

Happy New Year and I wish everyone a happy, healthy and "hippy" 2016! :)
 
@Hipster Girl, I hope your New Year is wonderful and that your healing continues at its current great pace! :)
Yes, that second machine was great. It also had handles that you pushed back and forth and that really made my shoulders hurt, but it was good that I was working those stagnant muscles. :)
My PT mentioned the muscle that is affected by the 'going over' motion on the recumbent bike. I couldn't tell you the name of it, but she said it would be okay in time and that obviously I just need some more healing to take place. She's such a sweetie.
I hope that you are able to get the massage therapy. It sure would be worth asking about when you start. It's interesting because I have some really tight muscles and one that is pretty knotted up on my newest op side. When she starts the massage it does twinge a bit and she always tells me to let her know if it's too much, but I can really feel her working the muscles and the slight twinge is worth the relaxed feeling when she's done.


Man, am I glad BoneSmart is back online. I got really worried the past couple of days wondering if financial problems had shut it down!
 
Happy New Year @DeepBreath , so glad to see the website back up! I sure hope it is not a sign that it will be shutting down since this site is so valuable to so many people. I agree with you that I was worried about those who had upcoming surgeries who were not able to come on here for support. I also missed my fellow hipsters.

The massage therapy sounds like it is a big help and working in tandem with the healing process. You have really come a long way and it is great to hear all the progress you are making. How many times per week do you have PT? Do you know how many weeks you will be doing it or is it kind of open-ended depending on how things go?

That is interesting about the recumbent bike. I tried the stairclimber yesterday and could only manage 5 minutes before I had to get off which was a little disheartening because that is my favorite machine, but I know it will come in time. I managed the elliptical with pedals I could step right onto from behind. Some of the ellipticals have these enormous pedals and I wasn't even able to get on, I stood there for a few minutes trying to figure out how to get up there without breaking any restrictions and then decided just to go off in search for a machine that I could get on easily. I have lost a lot of my aerobic fitness these past couple months and was huffing and puffing on a low level but it felt so good to get my heart rate up and blood pumping again. I am going to go back to the gym today and just do 15 minutes on the elliptical or treadmill, nothing else.
 
It sounds like the PT is going really well, @DeepBreath. I missed the forum when it was down, too. I'm going to make a donation today. It's really helped me through this surgery. I think I would have totally overworked myself if I had not read the articles and threads here.

@Hipster Girl, I think five mins. on the stair master is excellent, at this stage of the game. That's how I started, after my surgery.
 
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@Hipster Girl, my aerobic stamina is shot. It doesn't take long at all for me to get winded and tired. I agree with Hip Hip that 5 minutes is a good starting point. It'll increase. You're making the effort and it will pay off. :)
You mentioned the pedal issue. I have to have my PT person put my feet into the pedals for the new machine I'm working on. Things like that make me impatient, but I try to remind myself that it's a process and next month will look different than right now and so on...
Right now I am scheduled for 90 PT sessions and then an evaluation by both my OS and PT to see if more is needed. My OS prescribed 3 times per week, but twice per week works well for me right now. I go Tuesdays and Thursdays. I do my basic exercises twice per day at home except on Wednesdays. I give myself that day off completely to rest between my PT sessions.
I have my 6 week appointment with my OS tomorrow. Fingers crossed that everything looks good! :)

@Hip Hip Hooray! I completely agree. I think I would have listened to the first PT person and very possibly would have suffered a setback had I not read the great information here about listening to your body and allowing that valuable healing to take place.
I'm donating as well. So many people are helped because of this site and all the great people here.


I went to see the new Star Wars movie with my husband today and really enjoyed it. I think JJ Abrams did a tremendous job with it.
It was a lovely, crisp evening and as we walked back to the car I was thinking how fabulous it is to be able to walk without pain. I'm mostly using my cane now and it just feels so good to feel the improvements that are taking place. :)
 
@DeepBreath, How fun that you saw Star Wars! I'm so glad that you got away from that first PT. This situation sounds so healthy and balanced. Wow! 90 sessions! That's a lot. Good for you.

It sounds to me like I do a lot of the same work you do at PT when I go to the gym. They must have some of the same machines.

So glad that you enjoyed your evening and that you're walking without pain. I went to my knitting group today. I pretty much feel like I'm in my twenties again. It's great....
 
@Hip Hip Hooray! how wonderful to read that you feel like you're in your 20's! That's just magnificent. :)
Kudos to you for the wise way you've approached your recovery and for remembering that the mind and heart are every bit as important as the body itself. Way to go!
Yes, 90 sessions is a lot, but I will likely need them. I've basically had a lifetime of dysplasia and its effects (which I knew nothing about until this summer) to undo. I've already lost 10 lbs since my surgery and am looking forward to losing more and getting into optimal health. It's exciting to think of. :)
I really do like the machines they have at my PT place. It is also an aquatic center so I'm hoping to get in on some of that as well!

@Cynthia777, YES! I am very happy with the 60 day interim between surgeries. I feel like it gave me enough time for the initial healing from my first surgery, and yet not so much time that I got out of the 'surgical mindset'.
My OS really wanted to do it this way so that my hips could heal in tandem more or less. I'm in PT now and I can definitely see the wisdom in this. While my newest op hip feels the PT a bit more, I can already tell that it is gaining strength and I think this will be great in the long run.
You're in my thoughts! :) I hope the Meloxicam and Oxy are treating you well and that your pain is at least bearable.


Tomorrow marks 6 weeks since my last THR. I saw my OS today for a checkup. They took x-rays, which my OS said look "Perfect". He said that he is very pleased and feels that all his goals for the repair of my developmental dysplasia and the entire THRs have been accomplished. He tested my ROM, watched me walk, and was impressed with my progress even though I've only been in PT for two weeks. He reminded me to be patient with myself and the process since he has said from the beginning that it would take some work for me to get back to my best self. BoneSmart has been such a wonderful place for learning to listen to my body and to keep in mind that this is a marathon and not a sprint. I feel my strength building week by week and the walking is becoming more and more easy. I am so grateful.
He showed me my 'before and after' pictures and all I can say is WOW. Those poor little old hips. I am honestly surprised that they held out for as long as they did. I'm grateful that they did.
The fully bionic ones are pretty darned cool. My OS pointed out the various differences where the dysplasia was most evident against my new x-rays. It's simply mind boggling. I'm no surgeon, but even I could see what a huge difference it was.
So, on we go. I will begin to taper off of Tramadol slowly. He has given me a prescription for Meloxicam to help with pain as I go forward with PT. He wants to see me back in 2 months to evaluate how the PT is going and also to consult about the allergist referral he's setting up for me. I have the entire list of meds I was given post op and he is compiling the op and anesthesia list. I am very grateful for his help in hopefully pinpointing what caused my erythema multiforme. One step at a time....but those steps are now pain free. My cup runneth over. :loveshwr:
 
Wow! What a great update. Your surgeon sounds so caring. I know what you mean about the before and after photos. I was shocked at mine. It makes me wonder what people did before this surgery.

Keep up the great work, @DeepBreath. I'm glad you are doing so well. You deserve it.
 
Oh my gosh, @Hip Hip Hooray! I had the exact same thought today. What if I lived in a time before THR? I looked at those poor ruined hips and thought that I'd just be wheelchair bound with no hope.
I was choked up and told my OS that I didn't know how to properly say 'thank you' for giving me back my life. He said me living a good life was thanks enough.
It was an emotional day.
Thank you for the kind words. :yes:
 
Today's PT session saw me start my gait assessment and treatment. For warm up, I did a few minutes on a treadmill whose screen shows the particulars of your gait and gives instructions on smoothing it out.
Afterwards, my PT and her assistant worked with me walking both with and without my cane while looking into a full length mirror. The view was not as bad as I had feared! Still a ways to go, but definitely getting better. :)
 
I want to come right over and have a cup of coffee with you! Your avatar is so inviting! I just love the progress you're making! You're quite the inspiration! :-)
 
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