THR I've Got a New Attitude (OK, Hip)

[ladylorn]

Hi, everyone!!! It's gonna be hot here the next few days; @Layla, I'm thinking of you (and wishing I were by a lake somewhere, instead of working. ). I do hope jury duty doesn't actually last a MONTH - we've got so (too) many people here, and I generally wind up only being called for a few days (it might also be that, upon hearing that I used to be in "the business", they lose interest in putting me on a jury - I think they think that all performers assume it'll be like Law & Order ).

I just got tickled reading everyone's posts about "dis island gyel"; FWIW, @Alitm, I'm NOT Jamaican; but my father was from Antigua (no, I've never been and, given the size of my family and my antisocial misanthropic tendencies, I'm not sure I'll ever go) - dad came to the US to go to music school and wound up playing with various orchestras and bands before becoming a teacher, then principal (meeting my mom in the midst of all that).

Maybe that's why folks are hearing steel drums and whatnot....

I'm doing well; @BeBe, trust me when I say - I did everything in my power to keep from going down, but it was a done deal... against my wishes ! I agree with @Jaycey, though - I think the thing most bruised was my ego (aside from some scratches and things - did I mention that, in trying to keep from falling too badly, I fell face first into some bushes?? )! I had PT on Friday and again today. They added some exercises/reps to today's session, and I was able to complete them - no pain, just typical "workout soreness" (which may not have happened if I'd remembered to take some Tylenol before I left the house). I'll be seeing the OS and having x-rays done on Wednesday, and will then be able to say with absolute certainty that I'm still skipping along the healing path ('cuz that's my mindset, and I'm sticking to it ).

I admit to being frustrated; I'm still on the cane, although I walk around my apartment without it most of the time now. But outside, I find that I still fatigue so quickly (at least to me), that I'm afraid to leave home without it. My PT has told me the same thing that everyone else has - having been in undiagnosed pain for (I finally realized/accepted) more than a year before finding a doc who would listen has contributed to my muscles being contrary (seriously. They're just unruly in their not "snapping back" to what I believe should be "normal" ). But I'm still here, and I'm still going (ok, still stubborn); and I still have faith that I'm gonna dance (aka, win' West Indian-style - that one's for you @Mojo333 ) sooner rather than later.

Sending hugs to everyone!!

 

[Mojo333]

Hey mon, everything is gonna be right don't you know?

 

[Alitm]

Cool about your father coming from Antigua and meeting your Mum in the US. My Mum came to Bermuda on holiday and met my Dad! They had good friends in Antigua and my Dad actually passed away from a sudden heart attack in the home of their Antigua friends. My Mum-in-law came from BC Canada to Bda as a nurse and met my FIL! Fun to trace the ancestors!
Back to work for you tomorrow...take care and hope the week goes by quickly. Rest up when you can! You are truly up there with the ranks of Super Woman!

 

[Jaycey]

I admit to being frustrated; I'm still on the cane, although I walk around my apartment without it most of the time now.

There is no timeframe for coming off walking aids. If you limped around for years pre-op, it's going to take some time before you are feeling strong and confident. When you start leaving the cane behind you will know it is time to transition.

 

[Mojo333]

Friday
And long weekend

Hope you have extra time to take it easy.
I'm making jerk chicken in your honor!
Healing hugs @ladylorn !

 

[EL11]

Hi there, @ladylorn ! You seem to have a wonderful attitude and great energy. I look forward to checking in with your progress.

I'm just waking up and halfway through my coffee and when I first saw "90" under your avatar and at first thought you were 90. Not out of the question, I guess :D

 

[SurreyGirl]

Just seen the post about falling down. Eeek. Rather scarey. Hope everything is ok.

 

[ladylorn]

Hi, @EL11 and @SurreyGirl, I see you both had your hip replacements done recently; congratulations!!!

EL, you made me giggle - while I AM "a woman of a certain age" I've not yet achieved that level of "majority" (but with these hips, anything's possible, IMO!!! .

And @Mojo333 (who ALWAYS seems to make me giggle ), you'd be doing better than me - I've never made jerk chicken in my life!!! (Although I admit to having some Caribbean culinary skills, mostly developed as an adult through trial and error)

@Alitm, it's been interesting - I still haven't met the majority of my family, and am fascinated whenever I do meet one (the resemblances - or not - are often surprising. My father's sister and I resemble so strongly that people have mistaken HER for my parent! LOL). All very cool stuff.

Thanks for your words of encouragement, @Jaycey; it was probably only a day or two later that I was able to "release the cane" for good at home. But I do keep one nearby, as the aches that brought on the "hip melt" sometimes come back (today was a good example: I was SURE that I was going to walk into my PT facility without it for the first time; but the muscles were so wonky that I decided against it. When I told my PT, she said pretty much what you did, and also said that I'm making great strides ).

So here's da latest in the land of L: I had my doc appointment on Wednesday, and asked that they x-ray both hips (the idea of an injury radiating and possibly throwing the older replacement out of whack was a concern for me); everything's fine. My OS says my replacements are doing beautifully, as am I - my gait is getting better pretty steadily.

I'm finally walking around my apartment without my cane 98% of the time (although I still use it when I leave the house; even though I don't always need it, I know that my muscles spent far too long in a bad place for me to put them out too much - they already like to rebel!). My coworkers were thrilled when they saw me walking around my office without the cane - I even did a little shimmy (albeit with my shoulders) because I was that happy, too !

As I mentioned earlier, I had PT this morning and they got me on the bike for the first time (five minutes, and I warned them if I felt the least uncomfortable, I'd be stopping); I was concerned, but I was eventually pleased to realize that my leg strength is markedly improving.

But I'm REALLY glad that I can work from home after PT; the thought of dragging into the office and actually functioning (and I really needed to function to get through today's work load) gives me agita!!

Guess that's all for now; thanks for listening and supporting, guys. For those of you in the States, have a wonderful three-day weekend!!

 

[EL11]

Yeah, I was like, "She looks great for 90!"

That's very inspiring. The thought of getting on any piece of exercise equipment and feeling stronger, so cool.

 

[Mojo333]

Me either, I lied!
I've really got a heat 'em and eat 'em you stick in the nuke-a-wave Jerk Chicken and Rice!
But I will think of you when I eat it.
I want Dairy Queen ice cream...do you have that in NY, or is that a southern thing?

 

[ladylorn]

It'll happen for you, @EL11; when you get that second hip fixed, you'll be off to the races!!!

@Mojo333, there's a DQ in Manhattan - which would never have existed before (Manhattan was KNOWN for not allowing chain fast food places in - McDonald's was the only one, and there were only 2 or 3 of those for the longest time)! I knew DQ because had them out on Long Island (there's that island thing again) - living where I was in Queens, we were a hop, skip, and a jump away. But we had a Carvel (do you know Carvel?) right across the street from where I grew up, so who needed DQ?

Nowadays, when I really want to treat myself, I buy some premium vanilla ice cream from Trader Joe's, along with one of their bars of 72% chocolate (you know, the good stuff). Then I can make homemade "Magic Melt" (basically, melt some chocolate in the microwave with a little bit of coconut oil - no, you don't taste the oil); and pour that stuff over a scoop of ice cream - and enjoy!!!(when I'm really being "naughty", I'll toss some slivered almonds on before adding the chocolate). The Melt hardens just like that store-brand, chemical-filled, Magic Shell stuff; only I can justify "being good" cuz, well... coconut oil is good for you, right? RIGHT???

 

[Mojo333]

Just posted big deal about coconut oil today. On another thread.
Use it for moisturizer, hair conditioner...now chocalate shell for ice cream.
Thanks for the tip.
Yes, I know Carvel.
I vote for DQ...peanut buster parfait. Scrum!

 

[ladylorn]

Yep. I buy coconut oil in bulk for internal AND external use!

And, ummm, @Mojo333...? That peanut buster parfait...? DECADENT.

Me likee.... *Googling to see if there's a DQ anywhere closer than Manhattan*

 

[Lski]

Love DQ and all ice cream. It's my weakness. Do you know Friendly's? I spent a couple years working there and eating ice cream. Luckily I was young and burned it off during my waitressing shifts.
Glad you can work from home on PT days. My PT is located down the street from my office so on Tuesdays I plan to go into the office to attend a meeting that starts 15 min. after PT ends, but I'll head home after a couple hours for a nap then finish the day after.

Have a fantastic weekend!

 

[Layla]

Love your updates, LL. You're sweet, kind and fun all rolled into one!
Great news on the cane. I carried mine for a bit too once I felt I no longer needed it.
It's security but also great if you're in a crowd since most steer clear of someone with a cane,
Sounds like your doctor visit went well. It's nice to get the reassurance that the x-rays look as they should.
You're on your way!

Love DQ. My fave Peanut Buster Parfait also. But, I must try your idea of melting chocolate with the Coconut Oil.
I hope you have a lovely holiday weekend!
@ladylorn

 

[Apricot]

Big congratulations on the bike
.

 

[Layla]

We need our weekly, LL.
How are you doing?
Hope the work week went well and you're feeling stronger.
Drop us an update when you have time.
Just noticed it's Lefty's Six Month Anniversary on Sunday. Congrats!
Hope you have a great weekend!
@ladylorn

 

[ladylorn]

Hi, Guys! So after I posted about how great I was doing, the blues hit... hard. I think it was the realization of just how long I'd been suffering prior to finding docs who would listen. While I'd been thinking it was a year or so, my sis helped me realize that I'd really started dealing with this back in 2012 - the reminder of a 5K walk that I was supposed to participate in with my sis and a friend (that I had to cancel on because I knew I probably couldn't make 1K, much less 5) sent me to a rather dark place (which, I admit, might seem silly given how well I'm doing now). The realization that I could be doing better than I'm doing if someone had just listened to me all those years ago had me spiraling between anger, sorrow, and frustration. The sucky weather (it's been deluging here all weekend) didn't help things at ALL (while I'm not a born-and-raised "island gyel", I still require sun in a big way).

Antyhew, that's why I was so silent; I'd pretty much disconnected from everyone and everything other than work and PT (and those only because I "had" to). Still feeling sumkin'a way about everything (aka, blue); but trying to pull myself out of it. I'm sure that, given how perky my past posts have tended to be, this downer might be a surprise to some of you; I just consider it part of being a well-rounded woman.

So.... dese hips. They're doing pretty well, I must say; I'm still feeling creaky and achy (especially with this weather); but am able to go about my business pretty well - I even sped-walked (sans cane, of course) to my desk to catch a phone call at work last week. I also, however, realized the other day that I still can't stand up from a seated position without using my arms for support - guessing that's partially because of that 5+ year lag between the pain starting and me getting fixed...? I dunno). But the pool PT is awesome (the therapist was very pleased with how much better I'm able to handle the exercises); and my land PT is going well (we're working on building up my leg strength, so I'm guessing I'll be able to stand from sitting properly again eventually). The commute has gotten easier (well, as easy as sitting on a bus for what feels like hours on end can get), with less discomfort for me (have I mentioned the butt-ache that happens when I've been sitting too long? Does anyone else deal with this? A literal pain... in... the... butt. ).

I still have twinges where the incisions are (on both thighs, although moreso on the newer one); but I'd read that the inner healing takes much longer than the outer, so I'm guessing the twinges are all part of the process.

My focus now is on continuing to strengthen my legs, and get my eating back on track. You guys... ice cream... when one is blue... is very, very dangerous. . My justification has been that ice cream has calcium and protein - well, it does when you add some slivered almonds, right? RIGHT????

Hoping to wander through the forums and catch up on folks' progress this week; and definitely hoping that everyone is doing wonderfully well!!!

 

[Layla]

Hi LL,
It's always so nice to hear from you. I'm sorry you're feeling blue. Your body has been through so much trauma over the past 6 months. Two major surgeries! You've been in pain for a long time. You've ingested many medications and you've been stuck at home, away from work and any social network you've engaged in. I'm not sure how long it takes for the effects of anesthesia to fully leave our bodies but you've had a double dose. First in March, then again only three months later.

We're normally stressed and anxious to different degrees pre-op and that can carry over into recovery as well. You're still dealing with pain albeit different and question every pain, prickle and twinge, wondering if you're progressing normally etc. it's a trying time emotionally. The side effects of some of the meds we take can also cause anxiety and depression. Something to check into if you're still taking anything.

Then there's fatigue and energy drain. We want to get things done and simply don't have the energy. Interrupted / broken sleep patterns, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep can affect our mood negatively.

Also, cabin fever...if you're not getting out to smell the roses often enough. The sights and sounds of nature along with soaking in some sunshine usually help to lighten my mood.

Sitting for any length of time drove me nuts for a few months, at least. Especially in the car. After 30-40 minutes tops I wanted OUT! I ended up taking a gel ice pack with me and used it. It helped me somewhat. Wonder if you could do that for your commute? And bring and extra in one of those lightweight small soft sided coolers. It may help. It's a distraction of sorts if nothing else.

Here's an article on Piriformis. Does this describe your pain?
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/piriformis-syndrome-a-pain-in-the-butt.9837/

Big hugs and best wishes you feel better soon!
@ladylorn

 

[Layla]

Oops, one last thing. I had different weird sensations around my incision for quite some time.
Prickly, zappy twinges, usually fleeting.