Recovery Day 40
I had a busy week. My #2 hip sugery is scheduled for Mar. 8th. I had pre-op visit at hospital for that. They have me down as opiate intolerant now in my med records due to my reaction after hip #1. I am doing a lot of research online and talking to people to see what my other options are for pain relief and anti-nausea meds. I am more afraid of nausea, vomiting and dehydration than I am of the pain.
I also had my post-op meeting with OS for Hip #1. He said the x-rays looked perfect. He encouraged me to really insist on help from PT with what I specifically might need. He knows I am not a runner, but cautioned me anyway to really protect the new hip(s). Don't run, unless the house is on fire. Don't force positions like sitting Indian style, let it either come naturally or not at all. Said he has had patients who were addicted to running and continued to do so after THR, then needed revision a few years later.
Also had assessment at outpatient PT place. I wanted to play with all that fun equipment in there but it was just an assessment. When I was leaving I asked her how I was doing and she said my ROM was "fantastic". That was nice to hear. She eliminated some earlier PT exercises I was doing but upped the reps to 2 sets of 10. It sounded like a bit much, but I've given it a try since then. Don't know if it's because I've been very busy this week, walking more, etc., but I got that whollop of energy drain at the end of the day yesterday and had to NAP!
My legs are a bit more stiff so I am taking it easy and not doing any PT today.
We had a ton of snow. My avatar is a photo of our backyard after the first storm. There's more snow now after the 2nd storm. Daughter had 2 snow days off from school. Snow is kind of cozy and cuddly when you don't have to scrape it off the car and go to work!
Another reason I'm glad I am having a winter recovery! I saw 3 deer in our yard in the storm. They were so beautiful. I felt bad for them, looking for food in a blizzard. For some reason they tend to come near to our house when it's snowing a lot. I wanted to invite them in for coffee. Or carrots.
Our new health insurance covers acupuncture. Acupuncture has always worked really well for me. But I always paid out of pocket. I've seen this new (in network) acupuncturist twice and she's good. She's also an RN. She picked up on my anxiety about upcoming surgery #2 yesterday. As well as regular treatment, she gave me tiny needles in my ear that stay there until they fall out. Forget what they're called. Supposed to help calm me down. Hey - maybe that's why I fell asleep yesterday when I got home!
My brother and his wife and their (former shelter dog) Siberian Huskie are visiting this weekend from NY. She is a chef from Denmark. (Been here many years.) She is bringing us tons of frozen soups and stews she made us to enjoy during recovery time(s)! She works so hard, cooking for private clients and catering companies in New York City - I am so touched that she would also cook up a whole batch of yummy food for us as well. We've been clearing out the freezer in anticipation. They're staying in a dog friendly hotel. We have 3 cats and a small house! The dog tries to play with our cats (she's such a sweetie pie) but they aren't into it, of course. We'll all have Valentine's Day dinner together. Haven't seen them since the summer. Can't wait!
Enough babbling..... I hope everyone pre-op and post-op have a wonderful Valentine's weekend! Stay warm if you're in the Northeast US! We're supposed to get record breaking frigid temps.
Just want to say how much I enjoy reading about everyone's hip journeys, all the different struggles and dilemmas, and mostly about the courage and progress!
United States
--julie
And did he do that yet? Actually, I bet that soup would feel good on his sore throat right now. I do hope he feels better very soon! 
I'm quite satisfied with my 8 week turn around. 
I figured a Slurpee was a good compromise.
and 
.
