THR Let's make it a matched set!
- Thread starter gertie
- Start date
OP
OP
gertie
post-grad
@VSlowLife I'm sleepy today after waking at 4:30 and not being able to fall back asleep. Otherwise all is well. How are you? Any luck finding trekking poles?
I continue to like them for exercise walking at this stage of my recovery. They really help me feel balanced and take enough strain off that some of the wandering aches and pains seem to be diminishing. Foliage is at its peak here this weekend so I and a couple of friends went farmstand food shopping and leaf gawking yesterday ending with a brief woodsy walk.
I continue to like them for exercise walking at this stage of my recovery. They really help me feel balanced and take enough strain off that some of the wandering aches and pains seem to be diminishing. Foliage is at its peak here this weekend so I and a couple of friends went farmstand food shopping and leaf gawking yesterday ending with a brief woodsy walk.
VSlowLife
post-grad
@gertie sorry about waking at 4:30 am. I know what that feels like, And it makes the whole day miserable. Glad all is well, otherwise.
Yes I found a pair like yours, with foam cushioning, online and they are coming in the mail. I figured the foam would be best in cold weather. I was able to get an online discount. The sporting goods store closest to me does not carry trekking poles. I let my fingers do the walking with the phone.
I had enough bean bucks to get a pair from Austria from LLBean, but they do not come with the covers to walk on asphalt driveways. They are meant more for protection during storage.
I live near the beach and most folks walk on the beach. We do have trails, but the ticks with the alpha gal that make one allergic to meat, has many folks avoiding trails. In my own yard I always wear tall old rain boots with cedar spray, or something with Deet, if I go near the forest edges, and I wear white and shower promptly. The deer sleep about 75’ from my home and walk all around my yard where I do not have fencing at night. It’s been a learning experience on what they will and will not eat, and if it is a rare, long snowy winter, they will eat new things, like the rhododendrons.
I can walk at the dog park with the poles ( it’s quite large and flat, near the grocery store), and other local parks. I have a long flat driveway and a flat yard. Also my town has an indoor 1/4 mile walking track.
This week I have an appointment with my allergist. My OS wants to make sure I have a true allergy to vancomycin, in the event I was just infused too quickly during pre-op from my last major surgery, and double check my other antibiotic allergies, before he will give me a surgical date.
It’s a good thing, because I looked at the nurses notes, from that surgery, and that spine surgeon had called while I was in recovery, a few hours later and asked the nurses to check me. I had been scratching my sides and they were all red. It was a different class of mycin or micin, so now I have to add that to the list. I had no memory of the nurses applying the Benadryl cream, and they put something in my IV that I can’t read. Unfortunately, another antibiotic to add to my allergy list.
I am also going to get the gloves you used from your first hip surgery, provided my OA is okay with my allergy testing results. I have OA in my hands, and wrist, and I think they will benefit me with the walker.
Thank you so much for putting in the link in your thread!
Yes I found a pair like yours, with foam cushioning, online and they are coming in the mail. I figured the foam would be best in cold weather. I was able to get an online discount. The sporting goods store closest to me does not carry trekking poles. I let my fingers do the walking with the phone.
I had enough bean bucks to get a pair from Austria from LLBean, but they do not come with the covers to walk on asphalt driveways. They are meant more for protection during storage.
I live near the beach and most folks walk on the beach. We do have trails, but the ticks with the alpha gal that make one allergic to meat, has many folks avoiding trails. In my own yard I always wear tall old rain boots with cedar spray, or something with Deet, if I go near the forest edges, and I wear white and shower promptly. The deer sleep about 75’ from my home and walk all around my yard where I do not have fencing at night. It’s been a learning experience on what they will and will not eat, and if it is a rare, long snowy winter, they will eat new things, like the rhododendrons.
I can walk at the dog park with the poles ( it’s quite large and flat, near the grocery store), and other local parks. I have a long flat driveway and a flat yard. Also my town has an indoor 1/4 mile walking track.
This week I have an appointment with my allergist. My OS wants to make sure I have a true allergy to vancomycin, in the event I was just infused too quickly during pre-op from my last major surgery, and double check my other antibiotic allergies, before he will give me a surgical date.
It’s a good thing, because I looked at the nurses notes, from that surgery, and that spine surgeon had called while I was in recovery, a few hours later and asked the nurses to check me. I had been scratching my sides and they were all red. It was a different class of mycin or micin, so now I have to add that to the list. I had no memory of the nurses applying the Benadryl cream, and they put something in my IV that I can’t read. Unfortunately, another antibiotic to add to my allergy list.
I am also going to get the gloves you used from your first hip surgery, provided my OA is okay with my allergy testing results. I have OA in my hands, and wrist, and I think they will benefit me with the walker.
Thank you so much for putting in the link in your thread!
OP
OP
gertie
post-grad
@VSlowLife It sounds like a lot to pay attention to with the antibiotic allergies--and also sounds like the medical team is on top of things. Re: the gloves: I lost those lovely gloves when I did a big furniture rearrangement project last fall--I put them someplace but who knows where! In any case, this time around I bought some bike gloves from Dick's Sporting Goods--not as padded as the ones I gave you the link for but they worked well for my brief time on a walker. I think I bought those super padded gloves after I'd broken an ankle and was non weight bearing, so putting a LOT of pressure on hands and wrists. But with the hip, I was fully weight bearing and didn't bear down very hard on the walker.
Today makes 16 weeks since surgery. There's not much news to report. I continue to put in 6 to 7k steps a day most days, walks are pretty consistently at the 1 mile point and this week I'm going to try pushing a bit beyond that, I am half-hearted about the PT exercises but need to persevere so I can regain leg strength--walking helps but it doesn't seem to be enough. I take acetaminophen most days but often just one dose a day. I'm aware of being really de-conditioned aerobically--felt the same way post TKRs and did regain conditioning eventually. Still have muscle soreness and stiffness if I sit or lie in one position for too long but it quickly goes away when I get up and move around. The process of regaining flexibility inches forward slowly--both the OS and the PT say not to push beyond my body's resistance but I suspect I'm being too cautious. Something to chat with Jen about.
Today makes 16 weeks since surgery. There's not much news to report. I continue to put in 6 to 7k steps a day most days, walks are pretty consistently at the 1 mile point and this week I'm going to try pushing a bit beyond that, I am half-hearted about the PT exercises but need to persevere so I can regain leg strength--walking helps but it doesn't seem to be enough. I take acetaminophen most days but often just one dose a day. I'm aware of being really de-conditioned aerobically--felt the same way post TKRs and did regain conditioning eventually. Still have muscle soreness and stiffness if I sit or lie in one position for too long but it quickly goes away when I get up and move around. The process of regaining flexibility inches forward slowly--both the OS and the PT say not to push beyond my body's resistance but I suspect I'm being too cautious. Something to chat with Jen about.
VSlowLife
post-grad
@gertie You sound like you are doing well with one dose of Tylenol in 24 hours and walking a mile at 4 months. I am happy to hear you are doing well, despite a few things that need to be tweaked.
Normally when I get deconditioned from a surgery or a broken bone, I notice three weeks, of working three times a week, to gain strength, starts to make a noticeable improvement, but with a hip replacement it’s a whole new ball game, and much slower.
You have great determination and I know you will get to where you want to be.
The trekking poles arrived today, so I will start using them tomorrow to get accustomed to them.
Yes, my OS said because of my multiple antibiotic allergies, and bad side effects, that is a risk factor, for surgery. So it is crucial to know what for sure are true allergies. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I was just infused too fast, because the OS likes to close with vancomycin. It’s their department protocol.
I hope you come across those wonderful gloves some day. They are not cheap to replace!
Normally when I get deconditioned from a surgery or a broken bone, I notice three weeks, of working three times a week, to gain strength, starts to make a noticeable improvement, but with a hip replacement it’s a whole new ball game, and much slower.
You have great determination and I know you will get to where you want to be.
The trekking poles arrived today, so I will start using them tomorrow to get accustomed to them.
Yes, my OS said because of my multiple antibiotic allergies, and bad side effects, that is a risk factor, for surgery. So it is crucial to know what for sure are true allergies. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I was just infused too fast, because the OS likes to close with vancomycin. It’s their department protocol.
I hope you come across those wonderful gloves some day. They are not cheap to replace!
OP
OP
gertie
post-grad
Indeed! That's where Dick's came in handy. It will be a nice treat when I clean out a closet and find them--or not--it's always possible they ended up in the trash heap pile somehow. I hope you enjoy your poles.
VSlowLife
post-grad
Barbaraj
supremo
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2018
- Messages
- 2,391
- Age
- 76
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United States
OP
OP
gertie
post-grad
For those of us living in the northeast/New England area, here's meteorologist confirmation of why you might have felt/still feel a bit more achy during the storm (from an article in the NYT this morning):
"...atmospheric pressure dropped from 1000 millibars to 974 millibars, said Benjamin Sipprell, a meteorologist based in Boston for the National Weather Service.
A pressure drop of that kind can even affect the human body, causing headaches or flare-ups in pre-existing injuries, he said."
"...atmospheric pressure dropped from 1000 millibars to 974 millibars, said Benjamin Sipprell, a meteorologist based in Boston for the National Weather Service.
A pressure drop of that kind can even affect the human body, causing headaches or flare-ups in pre-existing injuries, he said."
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2017
- Messages
- 47,910
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
Good Morning!Interesting bit of info, isn't it? Thanks for sharing.
Weather changes can also cause pain and stiffness for some which can last for one to two years post op. The bone adapts and grows around the metal prosthesis, and this bone activity probably leads to sensitivity to weather and pressure changes.
I hope you're not feeling too stiff and achy, gertie.
Stay safe and stay warm. The weather doesn't sound favorable in your neck of the woods today.
@gertie
OP
OP
gertie
post-grad
@Layla The low pressure hits me with a headache rather than joint pain--and the headache has lifted, thankfully. Overcast, drizzly, a bit windy but nothing extreme in western MA today. Last night though! Not a lot of sleep.
I was talking to a friend recently about replaced joints and cold weather. She has a really bad knee but is reluctant to go for replacement. She said she'd heard from lots of other people that cold weather made their new joints ache--but this is not something I've had trouble with.
I was talking to a friend recently about replaced joints and cold weather. She has a really bad knee but is reluctant to go for replacement. She said she'd heard from lots of other people that cold weather made their new joints ache--but this is not something I've had trouble with.
I got the headache, also. My face is puffy, too. Maybe a co-incidence? The hips feel great, though.. go figure.
Maybe I need a total face replacement.
Maybe I need a total face replacement.
VSlowLife
post-grad
@gertie Yes, it went down to 29.07, psi (another barometric measurement) which is the lowest I have seen for barometric pressure since I have been watching it.
My hips and knees reacted yesterday and I took mobic, which helps me get through 50 point drops in 24 hours, on the wunderground weather graph. I had forgotten to look at the graph in the morning, because not all rain storms bother my joints, but this one was extreme. Fortunately mobic helps to counteract it , for me, within a few hours. If I am smart, I start taking mobic the day before the drop.
My hips and knees reacted yesterday and I took mobic, which helps me get through 50 point drops in 24 hours, on the wunderground weather graph. I had forgotten to look at the graph in the morning, because not all rain storms bother my joints, but this one was extreme. Fortunately mobic helps to counteract it , for me, within a few hours. If I am smart, I start taking mobic the day before the drop.
My replaced joints no longer care about pressure changes but my hip that is waiting to be replaced always knows something is coming and even more so my thumbs that have OA.
VSlowLife
post-grad
OP
OP
gertie
post-grad
A quick report at 17 weeks out. Overall, much the same as last week. But it's always nice to notice and appreciate the ways in which we return to normal life with these new hips. Yesterday, I started the day with breakfast out, then came home to tidy up the messy house because I had friends coming for supper. I did some grocery shopping, cooking, socializing, and post dinner clean up. A fair amount of stooping/bending to empty and then fill the dishwasher, get things out of the oven, etc. By the end of the evening I noted that my mid back had protested a bit while I was cooking (my kitchen counters are a smidge low for my tall self) and my knees felt a bit stiff after standing at the counter/stove chopping veggies but my hips were golden! Pre-op, if I'd tried something like that, I'd have been collapsed on the couch in pain by the end of the evening.
That's a very good update! It sounds like you put your body through a big test with having guests over. Good for you @gertie !
The various aches and twinges sounds about right, but how nice that the hips weren't chiming in.
I'm guessing you slept well last night, though.. Which leads me to ask, how was it waking up this morning? Any extra stiffness in the hips and legs?
The various aches and twinges sounds about right, but how nice that the hips weren't chiming in.
I'm guessing you slept well last night, though.. Which leads me to ask, how was it waking up this morning? Any extra stiffness in the hips and legs?
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2017
- Messages
- 47,910
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
How encouraging is that! Wonderful accomplishment and update.
Only three days shy of your four month anniversary.
Having the ability to grocery shop again was huge for me. At my worst I was limping into the store, leaning heavily on the cart, rapidly snatching only what I needed so I could quickly return to the respite of my vehicle, sometimes in tears. Feeling old and decrepit before my time.
Grocery shopping, cooking and being in the mindset to socialize is wonderful. Then clean up to top it all off and no pain?!! Yay, gertie....you're on your way!
I'll bet you are enjoying a beautiful Autumn and squeezing in some nature walks. Pouring rain here today, hopefully you're seeing sunshine.
Happy Monday to you!
@gertie
Only three days shy of your four month anniversary.
Having the ability to grocery shop again was huge for me. At my worst I was limping into the store, leaning heavily on the cart, rapidly snatching only what I needed so I could quickly return to the respite of my vehicle, sometimes in tears. Feeling old and decrepit before my time.
Grocery shopping, cooking and being in the mindset to socialize is wonderful. Then clean up to top it all off and no pain?!! Yay, gertie....you're on your way!
I'll bet you are enjoying a beautiful Autumn and squeezing in some nature walks. Pouring rain here today, hopefully you're seeing sunshine.
Happy Monday to you!
@gertie
VSlowLife
post-grad
That sounds like a wonderful 17 week update after doing so much! So happy it is going well for you.
OP
OP
gertie
post-grad
Just the usual soreness/stiffness that goes away fairly quickly.
