In pain, confusion and uncertainty after 4 months

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Sylvia, I have been wanting to respond to you and ask you if you have control of the pups in your picture, or have they ganged up to protect you against the wall?
This is coming from my need for protection. One of the grandkids tried to ride my big black lab yesterday and both fell on me. My leg/hip got a jolt, and I'm feeling it this morning.

I do hope you get some progress in P.T. I understand it's rarely "easy". I haven't seen much progress in two attempts. I hope your stiffeness and soreness is just the pain of progress.

Thanks for your well wishes, Jim

Hi Jim,
I'm just holding them for the picture..:hehe: The only one I can deal with at the moment on walks is the little Jack Russell as she's a quiet Jack..unusual people tell me.. she's the only Jack Russell I've ever had and inherited her 4 years ago when my Dad passed away..

They are all good around the house and I've haven't had any problems with them jumping up on me.

As for PT, I do better walking, still with my walker mind you outdoors and find I'm slowly being able to put more weight on my operated side. I've had to back off on the PT exercises for now.. they make me too sore.. last session took 4 days to recover from :shk:

I hope you are well today..
 
:doh:
As for PT, I do better walking, still with my walker mind you outdoors and find I'm slowly being able to put more weight on my operated side. I've had to back off on the PT exercises for now.. they make me too sore.. last session took 4 days to recover from :shk:

Sylvia, I appreciate your message today. I got up this morning to make it to the P.T. at 8:30 am, and I am too sore to get there. I can hardly put weight on the leg at this moment. I lean on myself to make it-I question my motivation, but I feel like I'd do better to stay at home today, sit on some heat and try to move around "a bit". So there is something about self acceptance at hand here again. I appreciate hearing your experience, which at this moment is affirming,though I do hope your setback is only a rest on the road to recovery.

I will pile in the car later (I think now) and get to my sitting job where I will encourage other people to accept where they are at in their moment and work from there to improve their lives.

-just called the P.T. to cancel, and he was accepting, approving and encouraging with my game plan. Of course he is close to my age, so he may be a bit more understanding than some of the younger, Marine-trained P.T.'s. I'll try to take another run at it (P.T.) on Thrusday. Good God, Jim, don't say "run"!:doh:

I never met a calm Jack Russel that wasn't on drugs, so I'm glad to you have the exception. I like that rumble seat you have on the walker. Are the dogs able to pull to the store in that thing? A Psychologist friend of mine leashes his two dogs to an adult tricyle and they pull him through his neighborhood. He says the secret is to tie them to the rear wheel where they come even to him and he still has control of the bike. -sounds like an good opportunity for more injury to me...

-just had to throw the ball a bit from my chair through the house for Pete :dogkiss:. I have a pretty good throwing arm (I used to pitch baseball) and only rarely hit a lamp. Pete expects a treat about every 6th throw. I think he would experience the real retreiving of hunting as too demeaning.

I'm rambling, I know, but it occurs to me that beyond the shared experience, that the sharing with you all on this site as an only child has been more than helpful to me even when answers are not avialable. They say we (only children) are spoiled, and maybe that's so, but I think we also have an inclination to think on our own. That's great for entertaining ourselves (I used to be able to throw a ball to, and for myself), but it's not so good when we are distressed or we just...well, come up with a hair-brained idea, which I am entirely capable of doing. So it can leave us in an internal isolation. Sometimes counselors are the worst at this-assessing the world, but not themselves. Maybe younger only children are utilizing the social network much more. But for me, the personal sharing here has been a real blessing. I hear that this morning in spite of the my pain and frustration.

I hope that my long, exposed, internal dialogue is not irrelevant here. Perhaps we just need to share acceptance and approval for our "backing off" :cnsl: -that, and my desire to express my condolances with your losing your Dad.

I do hope you-we can find a new, active start tomorrow.
Jim
 
Hi, Jim....sorry you woke up hurting today. I didn't realize we shared that common bond of "only-childedness." Every once in a while I wonder what it would have been like with a brother or sister. Probably wouldn't have cared for it much as a child and young adult, but now....with parents gone, it might be nice.

But I shake that off pretty quickly and realize that I enjoyed my spoiled upbringing. My parents were wonderful to me and I am forever greatful for their attention and love.

I do agree with you that only children tend to grow up more comfortable being with themselves and maybe a bit more independent. Of course, that would come from the necessity of having to entertain yourself a good bit of the time as a child. I suppose things would be different now, what with the many mind-numbing technologies available to kids so they don't have to work at entertainment. But back in the olden days with no or little television, we had to dream up entertainment ourselves, didn't we!

Speaking of dreaming, I do hope you haven't given up on the possibility of making that big drive to see someone else. Don't ever lose the dream of this getting fixed!!! I still believe and I hope you do too. Then maybe Pete can throw a few balls for YOU to retrieve!
 
Hi, Jamie!
No, I haven't given up the dream of recovering. Maybe it's part of being the spoiled only to want the best, but I'm still wanting to get in a better place. I'm going in next week for x-rays to things look at the year point and go from there. I'll have something current to take to Houston. Surgeon #1 may want to do a revision here, and if he does I'll give that some consideration. But I'm ready to ramp things up toward a solution.

I was in hopes that P.T. would improve things, but I'm lamer, I think, since I started.
I'm really struggling this morning to get around, losen up and get on with the day.

Pete :dogkiss: just dropped a ball in my lap here at the computer. He has no qualms about being proactive (right now he is an only dog). Only with a good deal of training has he been able to tolerate, in the least bit, a small degree of patience.

Thanks, Jamie, for your continued support and encouragement.
Jim
 
Hang in there, Jim!
As I've learned recently, even the "easiest" recovery can have surprises and pain,
so, I've learned that bumps in the road are the norm. You sure have had much, much more than your allotment of "bumps" - that's for sure!
I think the patience you have shown throughout this whole thing is amazing, and I hope the current pain is but a mere blip in that slow but hopefully sure incline of progress!
 
After reading the most recent posts, I have to jump in again and say, WOW! I'm an only child, too! I did not have a spoiled childhood either; I grew up quite independent and, as Jamie explained, content with being alone for periods of time. I think those qualities have helped me throughout life and have probably contributed to my attitude toward healing.

We also have dogs-2 Chocolate Labs and 2 Lab-Shepherd mixes. They all share our home with us. I was a bit nervous about coming home to them after surgery...but they have been fantastic! They were kenneled when I came in the door from the hospital, and my husband got me settled in an arm chair with my walker in front of my legs before he let them out to see me. They ran down the stairs and bounded over; then stopped and sniffed the walker--and I swear they KNEW, from that moment, that Momma needed extra care. They have never jumped up on me; they follow me from room to room, going at my pace. I'm never alone-LOL!

Our one choc. Lab, Hunter, is my boy-my special friend. I never needed a grabber after surgery-Hunter was my grabber! If I dropped something, all I had to say was, "Hunter, bring it to Mom," and he'd have it back in my hands in no time! He was/is always there!

We all go for outside walks together, but we are fortunate in that we walk on our land and they are not on leashes. So, they get their exercise chasing leaves and squirrels and each other while I get mine putting one foot in front of the other! :D

Jimbo, I'm sorry to read about your continued pain & hope you find someone who can help you soon. You deserve a much better quality of life.

Hope everyone has a great day/evening.




 
Hi Jimbo, so sad to read you last post :cry:! Sounds like you are really having a tough time. Please take care and keep us updated. I do so hope you find a solution to your pain soon.

All the best!
 
Hi wipurplechick!
You're right-my pup has generally been accepting of my condition too. He's very big for a Lab, and he's usually laying in the middle of the foot path when I come through, the house, but he very respectfully, I think, moves out of the way and moves to another napping place (he's 50 in dog years now and just beginning to think about retirement).

But I haven't got him to pick up for me other than picking up his own toys and chewing bones. He is a bit mercenary, expecting a tidbit of a treat every time he does something for me. And whereas he will play dead, speak and a good number of other tricks he is a member of the actors union, I'm sure, and his antics come with a cost.

I'm glad you are able to go out and walk, even in the dainty dance of heel and toe! I'm still confined to crutches outside and to work, using a walker in the house. I live in the city and to leash walk the pup just now would put me in contention to be dragged iat least part way up a tree after a squirrel.

Well, it's off to the P.T. this morning. I'm doing a little better this morning and I'm araid I'll be laid up a number of days after I see him but maybe he'll be easy on me (I will sing the blues to him). If nothing else it will confirm my un-PTable condition.

Best regard to you. Glad you are on board. Jim
 
Hey Jim,
I sure am glad your feeling a little better and hope your pt does take it easy on ya!!! Sometimes I wonder about how good pain is???? But then it goes away and sometimes we feel better after!
I nver got my dog to pick up things for me either except food droppings:hehe: oh and his ball of course! He always loved his little yellow rubber squeaky duck!! He used to be so gentle with it like it was real! Picture this huge german shepherd with a ducky!:hehe:
 
Now that would be a cute photo, Sunshine!!!
 
Hi Jimbo. Think of you often. Just curious about your pain...has anyone mentioned bursitis to you? I have read your whole thread so forgive me if it's in there somewhere. I just couldn't remember. Just a thought as that seems to be what's wrong with me and it is EXTREMELY painful. Have you had an MRI? I had the CAT scan which showed the bone being ok, but nothing was found until they finally did an MRI.
 
Yes, I did, quite early on. I don't think there was any definitive answer on it. Besides which, his pain isn't really characteristic of trochanteric or iliospoas. BTW, I found some dandy pics of trochanteric bursitis you might find interesting! I'll put them on your MRI thread.
 
Josephine,
After I went to P.T. on Thursday morning the pain in my joint increased to the point that on Friday night I couldn't move. I have been confined to laying down through the weekend, and I just now decided to do a quick sit at the computer.

The P.T. massaged where he said the bursa was, but I felt nothing. And the pain is more specifically in the joint now and is just plain excrutiating with any movement of the femur. So the symptoms feel like those described in some of the recall bulletins where they describe the loose cup or parts "grinding against the bone". Even passive, assisted movement is very painful.

I'm going in for x-rays on Tuesday afternoon (I'm going to forego P.T.) and hopefully move on toward revision. I really need to get on with this...with something.

Thanks all for your concerns. Jim
 
Jim, I woke up thinking about you this morning and wondering how you are. It's been so long you've been coping with this issue. Guess we're just going to have to get down to some really intensive prayer!
 
Josephine,
My prayer this morning is one of gratitude for all the expressions of concern, well-wishes and support by all the folks on this site. I have received much more than I have given. I need a lap top that I can take to bed with me and involve more with other threads. I spent the weekend drawing- drawing Pete :dogkiss: (I just tried to scan a drawing of Pete for you all but the scanner is down-like me), drawing magazine pictures, drawing my big toe.

I'm going in to work this morning. I can take most of the weight off the joint with the crutches, and I'll sit in a cushy chair. The getting up and down will be the hard part.
But I'll bail out and come home if I can't handle it.

I should be greatful, I think, for the diagnostic month I have had. It just seems like the joint itself is a mess. It would take a lot now to think that it was just muscles, etc. I may have it wrong, but at least I am certain. Somehow even the thought of being certain, even if I am wrong, is better than the long term uncertainty that I have been experiencing. Well, I am willing to exchange one certain diagnosis for another. I can understand now why some people want to believe that the moon is made of cheese. At least it's something that they can deam as manageable-they can envision keeping elements of it in the refridgerator, it will go with most any meal, and it's not as mysterious and uncertain as fruit cake.

I do appreciate your prayers and your awareness of my condition.

Jim
 
Jim
This is great news that you feel you are ready for some conclusion. I wish you good luck for your Xray and for the sake of certainty, hope that you can in fact see definite signs pointing to revision. I was revised 5 months ago and am pain free except for a little tendinitis. But mentally I am in a much better place ... Feels great to laugh properly again.
I have my fingers crossed for your next installment!
 
Jim, I know this next step is one you hoped you might not have to take, but I think your assessment is on target. It is time to move on down the road (literally) and allow a revision to take place. You have so much more living to do and it is not fair for you to be in such pain!

Sometimes when a person hurts as much as you are, it is more difficult to see that things could be better. I believe it and I have believed all along that you would be okay if you could just get to the right revision specialist.

I'm sending a barrel full of (((((HUGS)))) to get you through the next steps. I know the answer is out there for you!!!
 
Jamie, Josephine and All,
What a week this has been! I went to the surgeon to get x-rays on Thursday of this week (10/21). My pain had been increasing with participation in P.T. and I canceled a session that morning. I also canceled work for the day. In the afternoon surgeon #1 pulled, rotated and pressed my leg into my pelvis and determined, largely from my yelling, I think, that something was definitely wrong with the replacement, though once again, nothing showed up on the x-rays. He scheduled revision surgery for November 24.

After that visit to the surgeon my pain increased to the point that by that night I couldn't move. I was in excrutiating pain and had sharp spasms. I decided to take an ambulance ride to the hospital and I spent a night and a day there. A surgeon on call (surgeon #1 disappeared and was attending his son's wedding in Colorado) put me on some VALIUM at a low dose to relax the muscles. I came home Friday evening and got to sleep in a hospital bed that my sister-in-law loaned to us.

This morning I am doing better. I'm slowed down by the valium but relaxed and experiencing much less pain. I also have HYDORCHODONE if I need it. A psychiatrist friend of mine told me just to avoid alcohol with the medications. I'm experimenting moving around to see what I can/can't do.

I decided to go ahead with revision surgery with the sugeon here as he can get me in within the month (it will take 3 to 4 months to schedule in Houston). He might get me in sooner when he learns what I have been through since I saw him. No one is likely to be able to be any more definite about the joint in that we have exhausted all possible testing.

I am just now trying to sit in a regular chair and post on the computer. I have some back work to do so I hope I can tolerate sitting here.

Thanks all for your well-wishes and prayers. I guess it's about time to open a thread on the pre-op side of the ledger.
Jim
 
Well, about time, Jim! At last you got to a surgeon with some common sense! I shall be praying that this answers your problems.
 
I'm happy to hear SOMEONE is finally taking notice, Jim. Sharpen up that pre-op pencil now...this is the start of something good...I'm praying for it! I'll be looking for that new thread. It will be a lot happier because you'll finally be looking FORWARD to good things!!
 
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