THR Merrimay's on the other side now THR

[Merrimay]

Week 13! Two weeks since I quit PT because I grew tired of the injuries and overdoing.

Instead I do my exercises and stretches gently but diligently on my own. Result? No pain for a week and such improvement that I mowed my backyard this morning! It's 73 and sunny, and I found using a power mower a bit like using a power-walker. It stabilized me and didn't require much effort on my part to push.

Such a triumph for me because it was about a year ago that mowing and yard work became impossible for me!

Although PT ultimately required me to overdo and I couldn't in good conscience continue it, they did a great job in the early days with the Trigger Point Therapy and dry needling. I'd still be limping if they didn't play a big role in my recovery.

Now I'm icing and resting.

 

[Mojo333]

Good job, @Merrimay

Babying that hip after is exactly how I handled it
This Summer will be sweet!

 

[Layla]

This is wonderful! So happy to read this news, Merrimay!

I mowed my backyard this morning! It's 73 and sunny, and I found using a power mower a bit like using a power-walker. It stabilized me and didn't require much effort on my part to push.

Hey, this may give Eman's shopping cart therapy a run for the money, lol.
Thanks for sharing such a positive update!

 

[Charlie33]

Great progress and news! @Merrimay yeah on the fence with formal PT as well…Accupuncture working well like dry needling….used a snowblower same as lawnmower (lol!).

 

[Merrimay]

See where Shaquille O'Neal is now post-op THR. Doing well. A
He calls it his "Brazilian Butt Lift."

 

[lanstan]

I also saw the Adam Sandler was on a daytime show and said he has a new hip!!

 

[Merrimay]

So...let's say I'm finding out on Fri the 31st that I need hip 2 done. I hated my walker. Even with balls it scratched up my wooden floors and gave me terrible shoulder and elbow pain.

My friend (not a veteran of joint replacement) wonders if a rollator would work for the first week post op.

Feedback or advice would be most welcome, hippies!

 

[myglasshalffull]

Rollator probably be much easier to maneuver plus lots have seats.
Keep us posted on 2nd surgery.

 

[Merrimay]

Have you all noticed that while some veterans of joint replacement brag about how easy recovery was for them, others are reluctant to admit they had it at all?

Exhibit A: Jane Fonda. Just saw a video of her crediting her vitality to "staying active. You've got to keep moving," she said. I waited. And waited. No mention that she had both hips and knees replaced.

 

[myglasshalffull]

Re: Jane Fonda...and have lots of plastic surgery!

 

[Merrimay]

Been awhile since I updated you all about my fear that I needed hip #2 done.

Examined twice by my THR OS, and he remains firm: my post-op issues on the nonop side are spinal-sourced. My new hip is strong, my recovery excellent, and I am not yet ready for THR 2.

Got a second opinion and was told the same.

So...see spine specialist on April 19th.

Strange mental shift from researching everything about LTHR prep and recovery to focusing on right back and pelvis!

Happy Easter, Passover, and Spring to those who celebrate!

 

[Merrimay]

@Jaycey, trying to figure out if Bonesmart has a spine forum for those pursuing only non-surgical interventions at this point. Thank you!

 

[Jaycey]

There is an area to discuss spinal issues in the Other Joints forum. Feel free to start a thread there. Many of our members have had spinal issues (I for one).

 

[Mojo333]

@Merrimay
Glad to see all is Hip Happy and #2 isn't looming.
Hope your Easter Sunday is sweet!

 

[myglasshalffull]

Well I guess not needing another hip surgery right now is a good thing! Keep us posted on spine issue!
Happy Easter and/or Passover to all as well.

 

[Merrimay]

Here comes my 6-month update to the day!

Saw a spine physiatrist this morning for the first time. I will never be able to unsee that x-ray -- looked like a curled Octopus tentacle. Scoliosis!

I had no idea, no symptoms at all over the years until about 3 weeks after THR. Apparently, people with diagnosed or undiagnosed scoliosis can suffer real consequences from joint surgery. Live and learn.

His job is to help me avoid spinalsurgery, but he looked somber. MRI next week. He's hoping the results will suggest we can put off surgery and try epidurals and bracing, but, as I say, he looked somber.

I was grateful to him for reassuring me that I had "done nothing wrong," just lacked the knowledge that I had scoliosis and thus pursued a too-aggressive and injurious post THR therapy. Schroth exercises and gentle yoga or pilates, massage, bracing, that sort of thing was called for.

After seeing that x-ray, it's a miracle I can stand upright at all, I think. Live and learn.

At least I now have a diagnosis and an appropriate plan. Fingers crossed.

 

[Newhip_Pol]

Wow, I had no idea a person could live with scoliosis and not know! That must be a shock to your system and a bit of an emotional roller coaster. As you say, at least you now have a diagnosis and a plan. Wishing you all the best as you deal with this. Take care.

 

[CricketHip]

Oh my, yes. Many people have no idea that they have scoliosis and this shows you how our bodies can adapt and adjust our movements, etc. Being a Therapeutic Massage Therapist, I had to be extremely careful when I could see this on my table. We aren't able to diagnose so trying to gently lead them to the right doctor was tricky. I will say that the right kind of PT and therapeutic massage can be very beneficial, too.

You poor thing, what a way to find out about this, by having such pain. So sorry you've struggled so with this.

Do you have a C or S curve? I don't have scoliosis but have old compression fractures from when I was almost `17 and now over the years apparently my lumbar vertebrae are fusing themselves.. (saves me from surgery). I get epidurals when needed and credit them for keeping me going plus also allowing me to manage my busy practice, until I decided to retire.
Hopefully you will find a good back and spine facility to help you, too. They offer m uch more than just epidurals, too. You will find what works for you.
None of these diagnoses are the end of the road for us!!

 

[HollyNY]

I also have a mild amount of
s-shaped scoliosis in my lumbar spine

This is why my hip surgeon did not over correct my leg length.

I use a small heel lift to level out my hips

 

[Merrimay]

@CricketHip, you know, he didn't use the terms S or C. He lay the x-ray on the table and said, "You have a bad back. Scoliosis," then waited for me to respond.

I'm not sure when I've been as appalled by anything as I was by that image. It bulges out to the left (my operative side) not far above the pelvis. The discs have very little space between them. Above the bulge the spine looks pretty straight. I suppose that makes it a C?

I feel such sorrow for my spine. I've run on mountain trails for 30 years, hiked all over creation, kayaked, and shot archery. And in all that time, my spine didn't make a peep. Or if it did, I called it knee or hip or shoulder pain, sciatica, piraformis syndrome, bursitis, blah, blah, blah.

It's odd, but I feel as if I've stumbled upon a child I didn't know I had. If only I'd known about her, I'd have taken care of her.

So it does give me hope to hear from someone as knowledgeable as @CricketHip that this isn't the end of the road! @HollyNY , I'll definitely ask about a heel lift. He only mentioned bracing.

On another cheery note, I have to have an MRI next week. Which is about like informing you that I will buried alive next week.

I've attempted two MRIs in the past. The first failed after 2 or 3 minutes when I ejected myself from the Death Tube and ran from the room shouting, "That's not science! That's barbarism!" The second attempt failed after 4 minutes when I ejected myself shouting, "It's like something Poe dreamt up! You can't make me! You can't make me!"

I swore there would be no third time, but it looks like there has to be.

Any MRI survival tips out there in Bonesmart Land for those like me who surrender all dignity at the thought of one?