THR Post Op Struggles

[Deni444]

Sound effects made me laugh too! I remember when my little granddaughter copied me getting up with added sound effects. I hadn't realised I always grunted when getting up from a chair until she did it

 

[Annekin]

Injections do take time.

That said, I do feel less pain otherwise. It's less effort to engage my muscles when I stand up. So less groaning

Hahaha!
Less groaning = less pain. Made me chuckle, Annekin. Thanks for the laugh.
That's a way to measure progress, forget that silly pain scale with the faces and let's go with sound effects instead. Wishing you a lovely (sound effect free) weekend!

Yeah. My other half says he's used to hearing me groaning and declaring ouch (when my back spasms). So one way of finding out if there's any improvement is to see how many groans & ouches he hears in the next few days!

 

[Annekin]

Sound effects made me laugh too! I remember when my little granddaughter copied me getting up with added sound effects. I hadn't realised I always grunted when getting up from a chair until she did it

I definitely started doing it when middle age hit, even before my back & hip pain started. But just not quite so often. Loading the dishwasher prompts quite a lot of groaning lol.

 

[Annekin]

Glad to hear that the pain is a bit less now and less groaning. I imagine injecting into an already inflamed area was painful. Sound effects to indicate pain levels sounds good!
A slightly funny story of my having a cortisone injection a few years ago when my pre-op knee was especially painful……. Dr prepares to give me the local anaesthetic, I say “oh I'm allergic to that particular one” he decides to go ahead without any numbing of the injection site, which really hurts, I scream, kick out and say words that shouldn’t be used in polite company and definitely not to your Dr. "Oh dear did that hurt?"

I did the same thing after my first hip replacement. I was lying on my back on the hospital bed & they asked me to turn onto my side so they could check the dressing. Obviously I engaged all the muscles around my hip which was so painful. I turned the air blue with my swearing, which obviously I then profusely apologised for. Fortunately they thought it was quite funny. I learned not do that with my second hip replacement!

 

[Annekin]

Good evening (in the UK)!
I thought I would update on my, just over a week since my cortisone injection, progress thus far...

I saw my physio on Monday for some pressure point therapy. I was pleased that I managed to walk the 20 minutes from the tram stop to the physio without too much effort (we are still without a car). So that was good.

She checked my back which is still stiff, particularly my QL muscles apparently. That may have been the walk! But I wasn't in any pain. I was given some tweaks to my cobra exercise & an additional exercise to try and activate my glutes more.

I then wandered through the botanical gardens, did a bit of shopping, & caught the bus home.

Yesterday I also managed a walk along the river. My hip pointer did hurt a bit, probably because the footpath is uneven, so I walked back along the pavement which was easier.

Fortunately today (which was the big test) I was in no greater pain because of my walk (unlike the last time when I suffered the consequences for a very long time). So I'm really pleased about that. It is also a lot less painful around the injection site, which is really good news.

So all in all I'm quite happy with my progress. I'm by no means pain free, but most of the time it's manageable, & I have so much more energy at the moment, which is likely because movement is easier.

I haven't ruled out seeing a neurologist for my back because the injection isn't going to deal with the disc compression. But I'm going to wait and see whether I can make further progress.

It's super hot in the UK over the next few days so I'm staying in. But once things cool down next week I may try another walk

(I've attached a photo of a Heron I met on my walk)

 

[benne68]

Wow! Great photo. It's amazing he just stood there and didn't fly off!

 

[Coddfish]

Lovely heron. I am guessing from some of your earlier posts that that is on one of the river valleys in Sheffield. My niece now lives in Loxley but was previously very close to the Rivelin valley. I have often walked (or run) through that, also the similar valley Porter Brook fanning out from Endcliffe park. Lovely part of the world (I live down south now but was born and brought up in South Yorkshire).

 

[myglasshalffull]

Great update (and pic), sounds like things are moving along.
As far as sound effects I sometimes wake up with a “Charlie horse” in one of my legs and I start with “ ow, ow ,ow, ow!” Like that’s going to make it better!

 

[Layla]

I haven't ruled out seeing a neurologist for my back because the injection isn't going to deal with the disc compression. But I'm going to wait and see whether I can make further progress.

Great news, Annekin, thanks for stopping by with an update. I am happy for you.
Stay cool in the heat and enjoy the weekend!

 

[Annekin]

Wow! Great photo. It's amazing he just stood there and didn't fly off!

I think it was so focused on the fish in the river it didn't notice me!

 

[Annekin]

Lovely heron. I am guessing from some of your earlier posts that that is on one of the river valleys in Sheffield. My niece now lives in Loxley but was previously very close to the Rivelin valley. I have often walked (or run) through that, also the similar valley Porter Brook fanning out from Endcliffe park. Lovely part of the world (I live down south now but was born and brought up in South Yorkshire).

I did the opposite. I lived down South most of my life & then moved to Sheffield about 6 years ago.

Yes; it's Beeley Woods on the way to Oughtibridge. I've also walked Rivelin, Loxley valley and Damflask. Loxley is beautiful! We use to live in Crookes and you could look over the Loxley valley from Bole Hills Park.

We're actually considering moving further up North. Staying in Yorkshire but somewhere slightly more rural. Probably one of the villages around Huddersfield.

 

[Deni444]

Come a bit further. Cumbria is lovely or Northumberland.

 

[Annekin]

Come a bit further. Cumbria is lovely or Northumberland.

I've never actually been to either I'm ashamed to say. Only passing through on my way to one of my favourite cities and festivals-Edinburgh. We're only renting until we can decide where next to buy a house. So who knows, maybe we'll become neighbours!

 

[Coddfish]

I know all those places in and around Sheffield @Annekin
Pity it’s over 200 miles away from where I live.

 

[Annekin]

We finally have a car. Hurrah! However my new found mobility means I'll be slightly less dependent on it for day to day activities.

To celebrate I booked a hydrotherapy session, which I had on Friday. It was sooooo hot, & the sessions to help build my core strength were very hard. Although they're meant to be (or so my physio told me when I pointed out how much I struggled with them). The main issue is as usual my inflexible back which prevents my pelvis moving from side to side with much ease. Its not painful as such, it just doesn't want to move!

I've got another physio session tomorrow (on dry land!) so I'll mention how stiff I still seem to be. I've also got a sports massage booked in for Wednesday. She is going to work on my QL muscles, so we'll see how that goes.

So back flexibility is still an issue, although there is less pain. I was planning on another walk this week. But having been too hot on Friday, it's been raining heavily every day since. So that's on hold (I'm a fair weather walker!)

So still feeling better and thus far managing to avoid going backwards. I would describe the injection as having taken the edge off (so to speak). So still aches and I'm not super speedy getting around - I thought I was doing really well the other day matching my partners pace going up a slope. Only to be told by him later that he was walking slowly to keep pace with me! Ah well. At least I did it. So I'll take that as a win lol.

 

[meecies]

At least I did it. So I'll take that as a win lol.

yes you did!! and you deserve to take it as a win and tsk tsk tsk to your partner for not waiting til some other time, perhaps, about going slower than usual for your sake.

good to give yourself credit for any accomplishment, esp for a journey as long and as hard as this can be

 

[Annekin]

At least I did it. So I'll take that as a win lol.

yes you did!! and you deserve to take it as a win and tsk tsk tsk to your partner for not waiting til some other time, perhaps, about going slower than usual for your sake.

good to give yourself credit for any accomplishment, esp for a journey as long and as hard as this can be

I think you may have misunderstood. My partner walks more slowly in order to keep pace with me. It was more of a funny anecdote than a criticism of him as he is nothing but supportive. Even if he wishes he could walk faster when he is with me!

 

[Deni444]

Glad you finally got your car! It sounds like you're making solid progress, which is lovely to hear. Hopefully as your core strengthens you'll find your flexibility improves.

 

[meecies]

I think you may have misunderstood. My partner walks more slowly in order to keep pace with me. It was more of a funny anecdote than a criticism of him as he is nothing but supportive. Even if he wishes he could walk faster when he is with me!

oh no, that's what I thought you meant and I was joking about him admitting to you that he was going slower to match your pace-
joking that it might have been kinder to wait til later to tell you that he slowed down for you, so that you would feel like you were truly keeping up with him.
Sorry it's hard to convey these things properly, I guess.

it was a little playful poke at him for not just letting you believe you were going faster than you were, to give you an extra ego boost, it wasn't meant to be critical of him just a joke

guess humor is not my strong suite, sorry!!

 

[Layla]

Great news there's less back pain! I hope your Physio session went well today.
Enjoy that massage on Wednesday and have a great week, Annekin!
@Annekin