Lounge Doctor

THR Here We Go Again!

Sorry to hear you're hurting a bit. But isn't it great wiggling into your exercise gear again? Love the Spandex effect :snork:My knee problems yesterday resolved with the magic threesome mantra: elevation, ice and paracetamol. Hope yours goes away soon. Perhaps your new PT will have some insight. A new perspective can go a long way. Have a good week and stay warm! Brrr!
 
Glad you enjoyed the Pilates, even though a little sore today, hopefully taking it easy will take care of that. Hope the new PT is good, really miss the one I originally had but such is life.

I'm right there with you on the 30s being cold, we're in the low 40s right now with drizzle, no sun shine and some wind so I think wind chills are in the 30s. Have our first freeze warning tonight into tomorrow morning, lows in the 20s and low 30s. Just a bit too early for our area, at least it seems that way to me. I'm chilling out doing laundry, have a pot of Italian Wedding Soup on the stove and trying to work up the energy to vacuum.

Happy Hump Day, hope you enjoy the rest of the week!
 
Your Pilates class might make me cry. Stepping away from the computer.

Seriously, glad you are able to get back to something you love and that you aren’t paying for it with pain today. I was proud when I managed to pull on my leggings. Lol, all in your perspective I guess.
 
Well, back from my PT session with new therapist. I know I sound cranky when I say that but I don't think the therapist is as old as either of my daughters! She seemed very nice, listened well to my variety of complaints and gave me one new exercise to add. Plus she taped both knees again (I don't mind it, but find after two days that the tape is hanging in tatters on my leg, the adhesion sticking to my bed sheets at night and not doing all that much as far as I can tell. They always ask, "does it feel better?" when they do taping but I confess that while I don't mind it I don't find it's some miraculous result. It doesn't hurt but I am not sure I'm cognizant of any startling benefits. So, she opined that I should schedule three more sessions and we'll see how things are doing. I'm game for that. As I've said before, I do like PT--very easily adapt to structured routines and like having a weekly check in and assessment. If insurance were willing to cough up payment, I am sure I'd opt for it year around!

Still feeling some mild effects from Tuesday's Pilates class, a soreness in my left quad which I am assuming is attributable to those exercises. They key is to keep doing something, I think, understanding that I will be sore at first, but not doing so much that the soreness and aching lingers too long. It is very hard to know exactly how much is enough and how much is overdoing it. I felt as if I didn't really work out very hard at all in the Pilates class (glad I was in the back row, although two young women next to me were putting me to shame when I looked over at them occasionally) so discouraging in some regard to have any soreness based on my lame performance. I like to think I was in reasonably good shape before surgery but clearly, assessing my fitness right now, I feel like I am a weak, unfit and grouchy old lady! But, I know that just keep moving along is really the only way to go. There will be setbacks, I will get weird pains and aches and only time and consistent low levels of exercise, both PT and cardio, will help me along the road. Still sticking to my belief that 2020 is going to be a fabulous year.
 
Barbaraj said:
There will be setbacks, I will get weird pains and aches and only time and consistent low levels of exercise, both PT and cardio, will help me along the road.
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You got this! It's so frustrating to be in the long recovery plateau we're both in....but we're better than we were before op, right? Time is on our side still.

Barbaraj said:
sticking to my belief that 2020 is going to be a fabulous year.
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Absolutely!! Keep the faith my friend.
 
You've got this hands down @Barbaraj! Don't worry about the younguns at Pilates they haven't had a fraction of our aches, pains, ups and downs (at least most of them) at this point in their life. As has been said on here before you really learn a new appreciation for folks that have disabilities and what they face daily. I have a pretty good feeling that you're in great shape, especially if you compare to me! :snork: I

One day heading in to the gym and a gentleman, probably a bit older than me, looks at me with my cane and asks what the cane is for. I tell him hip replacement, he asks how long, etc and then shows me the scar from his recent knee surgery. We wished each other a good recovery, till the next time we bump into each other. Kindred souls!
 
Key is to keep doing something. With guilt I have now to get myself to the stationary bike inside. I biked outside for several miles on dirt roads yesterday and it was a reminder that it's high time to keep going doing something.. It felt wonderful. The hip was wonderful. The lungs complained..
But the weather says its book weather. Tomorrow I have to remind hubby ( who is outside in the workshop in the dank and dour weather) that we must go swimming for a while.. He is cutting up a beech that was felled last year and says he will mill boards by himself to make snack tables ( requested as a Christmas present by out kids). I hope it works and he does not have to turn tail and run to an actual sawmill next month to make a Christmas deadline.
He eschews big box lumber stores..
 
Catching up on your thread @Barbaraj .
We actually moved Halloween to Saturday because of rain, flooding temps in the 30s and high winds here in Western PA tonight.
Ugh.
If it helps any, I've had this stealth knee pain that pops up just long enough to scare me then it goes away, in both legs.
My PT uses an app that he plugs my exercises in on his end and I can do them at home. The app shows how they're done and counts the reps and times them out for you.
Really cool. They take well over 1/2 hr but they do help. I am back on the elliptical for 20 minutes at a time but with lower resistance. For the first time in 3 years today I took nothing for pain, no NSAIDs no Tylenol, and did OK. I have arthritis other places besides hips that those meds help, but so much better than before the surgery.
My PT guy says " movement is medicine"
so the fact that you are so committed and determined will carry you through! We all have those setback days but think about how far you've come....
 
Calgal said:
Keep the faith my friend.
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Awww, so sweet of you, @Calgal. I mostly "keep the faith" but like everyone, I suspect, there are moments when I falter and doubt. But overall you are right, I have to keep believing that this old and unwieldy body IS going to cooperate in the end and full recovery will be happening. And, yes, @Elf1 I tried to ignore those "young'uns" in class and I was mostly successful. But, oh, when I'd catch sight of them easily segueing from one movement to another with none of my grunts and groans, I confess to hideous jealousy. I clearly need to run into someone like your knee replacement guy to give me a sense of perspective.

Good grief, @mainegirl1 you were outside biking on uneven terrain? I can't imagine doing this! Sounds so uncomfortable and unpleasant, but I have no outdoor exercising tendencies. I am big wimp that way. If I'd had to go west on the Oregon Trail, I'd have died 20 miles from the start, I'm sure. I am an indoor exerciser all the way, but marvel at those hearty souls like you who get out there and hike and bike around outside.

And thank you, @VSlowLife and @ahipgma, for your words of encouragement. I am not sure how committed and determined I actually am, but I will keep plugging away. I know I am quite lucky that despite setbacks I probably am having an easy recovery in that I am able to get through my daily life usually without any problems. Of course, this begs the question as to whether I have that energetic of a life! I do my PT exercises, hit the gym every other day for fairly short and low impact cardio, going to structured PT weekly and now Pilates. And with all that my daily step count usually never hits about 3000 steps! I spend far too much time plopped in a chair reading during the day when I should be out doing something.

Feeling okay this morning. Stupid taping from yesterday is already falling off and increasingly feeling like it is doing absolutely nothing positive. Sure, it doesn't hurt but still, WHY?! I may tell her next time not to bother with it. Plus, because it is all around my knees it squishes the skin into this wrinkled weird area, highlighted by bright purple tape--a vastly unattractive look in addition to not exactly helping as far as I can tell. Up at 6:15 this morning, marveling at how grimly dark it was outside, the light not even creeping up on the horizon until after 7:30. I know that with the return of PST this Sunday it will be a wee bit lighter in the morning, and light is a positive factor in my mental well being. But the flip side is that by 4:30 the light will be fading rapidly. Heavy sigh--these short days of winter are just the pits, aren't they?

Okay, enough grousing. Time to get up and tackle Friday chores--changing out bed and bath linens, a series of laundry loads. Carpe diem! And, OMG, it's November today--the holidays are right around the corner!
 
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Sunset will be at three pm. Officially at four but a mountain is to the west. Today at five it is dark.

Time to decorate for the holidays. We decorate for us. No one else ever drives by. SADD is a real problem here. It will actually be better in Dec when there is snow on the ground to reflect moonlight.

Sunrise is actually blocked by another mountainish hill to the east and its light by seven. It will be nice to have light by six.

Went swimming and water walking for 45 min followed by hot tub. Worked on ROM and in the water was pleasantly surprised to be able to bring my foot up to mid thigh. Now in the air is different! Biking was on a granny fat tire bike and on dirt roads. I used my seven speed bike designed for the flats but easy to mount. Ugh. Its not geared for hills. We have hills. Next time I will use my mountain bike. 21 speeds. Nevertheless I was not sore.

It's fun to be able to bake and cook and not worry about the hips isn't it. Craft Fair Mania starts tomorrow and it will be wonderful not to have to plan sit downs and icings.
 
You do as much reading "plopped in a chair" as you like ! Stop worrying about what others are doing! I'd rather die than go to a gym so my 5000 steps (often just round the house) are a happy alternative for me. As long as we're moving in a way we like and strengthening those muscles it doesn't matter. :spin:
I've never heard of this taping thing. How does it help? Is there any science behind it? It sounds remarkably irritating!
 
Another nice day out there this morning, and as we returned to PST last night at 2:00, so we "fell back" and gained an hour, it was kind-sorta hinting at light outside when I tottered out of bed at 6:15. The weather gurus are saying there will be clouds this morning and filtered sunlight this afternoon. I need to enjoy it as storms are predicted to return by the end of the week, probably leading to dreary days and days of rain and heavily overcast skies.

Was quite virtuous yesterday and did my PT exercises early, followed by a short trip to the gym and then came home to bake a dessert for a neighborhood gathering that night. I'd confidently told myself that this would be a breeze as I was sure I'd made this dessert (blueberry praline tart) before. But, uh, no--once I got into the weeds of the instructions it became clear I hadn't made it before and, because I am a careless although enthusiastic baker, I skipped or messed up two critical steps. When I finally took it out of the oven, I was so worried that the custard in the tart hadn't set properly so I drove up to the grocery store for ice cream bars to bring as a back-up. Good news is that despite my fears, the custard did set up and the tart was quite tasty. And best of all, I was able to leave it with our hosts who have a son living at home who will eat the big chunk that was leftover so it won't be sitting in my house shrieking, "eat me, eat me".

We were home by 10:30 and reset all the clocks an hour back, and then I stayed up and read until 10:30 (11:30) before turning lights out. Up at 6:15 this morning but it was really 7:15 DST so seems like I've adjusted to the time change without a problem. And I was up this early because I got a horrid cramp in my left leg--argh--and I know that once up and walking around to get rid of the cramp, it is often very hard to crawl back into bed in the morning unless it's earlier than 5:00 AM. I know many folks whine about the change from PST to DST and vice versa, but I've never found it that problematic. I think having sunset at 3:00 would be a tough one, however, @mainegirl.

Hip is still stiff and stubborn this morning but I intend to do my PT exercises shortly and while I complain irritably all during the various movements, I admit I generally feel better for having stretched and worked out these aching muscles. And I am not sure of the science behind taping, @bickypeg, but I am sure there must be some. As I said, I am not sure it really helps but it doesn't hurt. It's mostly annoying when, at least for me, within 24 hours the adhesive properties of the tape start to loosen up and I have little strips hanging down my legs. But the tape comes in all sorts of colors and patterns--I had black tape decorated with skulls and cross bones once which my grandson thought was pretty darn cool! Happy Sunday!
 
Lovely morning to start the day, sunshine highlighting all the beautiful colors on various deciduous trees, very pretty and cheerful. I'm off to my second Pilates class late this morning and alternately looking forward to it and dreading it as well. Although I am a committed exerciser, I don't "love" exercise, it's just something I know I need to do if I've a prayer of fixing this flabby, weak and aching body of mine. And, yes, I do know and appreciate that this means exercise--but not too much--always a delicate balance. If I could insure an instant return to my former self (which was still flabby and weak but nowhere near as bad as now) without exercise and a better diet, of course I'd do that. But experience tells me that this is wishful thinking and so, within the next hour, it's off to ease on those sausage leggings and a snug top which won't roll down and expose my wrinkled belly to my classmates. I do intend to swing by the grocery store on the way home and pick up some oatmeal as I've an unaccountable craving for chewy oatmeal cookies. I have a friend coming over for lunch on Thursday so I can't wolf down all the cookies, but one or two with a glass of cold milk sounds very appealing today.

Hip/leg/knee feeling a wee bit better this morning. It is still a struggle to get up in the morning from my bed, a slow, careful process where the first few steps are tentative and unbalanced, but continuing to find that by midday it's much better and I can walk confidently and briskly around on my daily round of activities. And, much as I dread the daily 40+ minutes of PT exercises, I do find that they are effective in stretching me out and making me move more easily. And so I just keep chugging along, feeling hopeful things really are getting better and these aches and pains are actually subsiding, although much more slowly than I'd like. It's a process, but there is an end in sight. Happy Tuesday!
 
Hey @Barbaraj just popping in to say hi! Sorry you are still getting aches but I am sure the exercises are benefitting you. I find the worst thing is to do nothing. Also its hard to see progress in ourselves until we look way back. Keep up the good work. I bet when you review your posts next year you will see a huge difference
 
O Golly @Fiona444 and @Barbaraj if we stopped moving we would fossilize in place!

I am aching a little too after an hour of bike and an hour of swim yesterday but dragging my hubby to walk around a craft fair ought to take those aches away. Tis the season!
 
Well, finally--rain is back. After days on end of sunny, mild weather--very weird but delightful for November--I trotted out to the driveway to get our morning paper and there was a soft drizzle on my face. We need the rain (my husband, an avid skier, is anxiously hoping for TONS of rain which means snow in the mountains) so trying to stay positive.

Went to PT yesterday in the afternoon, and as I walked in I remembered why I seldom schedule any form of exercise after noon--I am definitely a morning person (I'd been up since 5:30) and in the afternoons my energy level slowly drains away. But, I was able to do the exercises requested and tried to improve my form when she pointed out things I could be focusing on and improving. I've extended PT through the end of November, so a month further than originally planned, but that will be it, I hope. Even if I wanted to continue PT and insurance would pay for it, December is always a horribly busy month and even an hour a week committed to PT feels a bit overwhelming. I've asked that at our final session she take some time to discuss a home plan going forward, not just for the foreseeable future but--heavy sigh--for as long as I'm able. While I can't stave off the effects of aging forever, I can do my best to slow them down and that means staying active. I wish I were able to enjoy walking the way that so many do, but I don't, so for me a structured exercise plan is really the best.

Hips really are feeling much better these days. I have fairly decent range of motion and with continued work I will strengthen and stretch out all this musculature from hips to knees. Still stiff and awkward first thing in the morning and certainly at night as I'm winding down my day, but mostly feeling pretty good during the bulk of the day. The goal is to NOT think about my hips/lower body really at all. I am certainly not there yet and know I've got several more months at the bare minimum to perhaps achieve this goal. I don't know whether I can do it, but I won't know unless I try and time passes and we'll see how things are next year. For now it's the slow, determined trudge along the recovery path, doing what I can to balance rest and activity.

We have an event tonight where the theme is "70's attire"--ha! It will be a cold day in hell before I put on that kind of attire! Sure, I was young back then and looking at younger people now, even when they wear something silly, they are still young and fresh faced and can get away with foolish clothing choices. At my age, 70's attire (I vaguely remember short skirts and--shudder--platform shoes) would be uncomfortable and ridiculous. I think I'll stick with some nice slacks and a top. I don't think anyone will really notice or care as one of the benefits of being older is that you are increasingly invisible which is rather nice on occasion.

Morning latte almost gone; time to get dressed and hoof it off to the gym. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.
 
@Barbaraj, I'm sure your pt will give you some good suggestions for a home program. You know, I think one issue I've had recently is that I wasn't doing my home program ... I was just exercising ... I think some muscles started to get weak again. Today I did some of my PT exercises and really enjoyed doing that.

On "not thinking about" the joint. I'm sure you can get there or close to there. I'm still quite aware of my joint ... not necessarily because I always feel it ... but because ... well ... I'm here writing on BS on the topic of hip joints! Also I'm aware because part of me is still amazed that I went forward with the surgery. I had agonized over it for so long! Sometimes I have this inner monologue of "Wow, I have this metal device in me. Isn't that wild?!"

And then I'm aware when I go to the gym to exercise ... because I couldn't do that a year ago.

I imagine you mean you don't want any pain reminders or stiffness reminders of the joint. I'm sure you'll get there.
 
You're doing fine @Barbaraj! Look back to some of your old entries on here and you'll amaze yourself at how far you've come! And you're tall, slim and gorgeous with a handsome husband! You'll be noticed! Ah the 70s! The decade that taste forgot! I still have a swollen ankle from all the times I fell off my platform shoes!
Another couple of months and you'll have forgotten why you were worrying. Enjoy your party!
 
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