THR zauberflöte's Magic New Hip!

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I had a thought it would it be a good idea for you to post in the library that gridded graphic you made of the hip front and back views, so that we members might copy it and use it in our posts about where we hurt or don't hurt?
What a brilliant idea!
 
zauberflöte I feel sorry for you if your summers are like what we are having now. We are usually in the low 80's upper 70's and sweater weather in the evenings instead it's hot and humid all day and night....and did I say we don't have air conditioning. Lots of people living here do but my husband can't tolerate air, he gets sick from it. Even in the car he can't have it on.
 
zauberflöte. 800 miles! You rock. All that lifting and moving your leg can't have helped the groin pain, but what can you do? There are certain life/family things that have to get done. Was one of the cars you drove the one with the uncomfortable seat?

I have done the ice-heat combo, but it really is time consuming. I overdid things last week, and have been using ice everywhere: hips and knees. I would think some rest would help you, but I find that if I rest too much I get very stiff.

Hope the groin pain subsides.
 
sandybeach ahh I have lived in places with summers like that-- but not for a long time. I remember in Montreal if the temp went above 85 we thought we were going to die! So then directly after 5 years in Canada I came to Virginia, and was apartment hunting on foot at exactly this time of year. Nearly 100*, soggy humidity, and my blood was all thick for cold winters. I rented an apartment in a building that had an ice cream shop in the basement:rotfl:

LeeApril26 well, yes, 200 miles in the most uncomfortable one. Another 200 in a rental Chevy Cruze, which showed me exactly where in the side of my op thigh I still have swelling, but it had Sirius radio so I listened to Classic Vinyl which made up for it! Another 200 in a borrowed Camry, and the Tuesday 200 was in the car which is heaven to actually sit in and drive, but the lifting action of the op leg was what did my groin in. Ice, ice ice! I rested all day yesterday and had a long sleep last night-- still pain but I will get on with things! :)

You were in the country last week, yes? Too easy to overdo when on "vacation time", I'm thinking. Are you recovering ok? We need to invent a truly wearable ice or heat pack thing, so we can go about our day all covered! I have been carrying ice in my right pocket, which comes close to being right where I need it, and going about my business. Perhaps the therapy would be, sit to ice, and move around for heat-- then we wouldn't get so stiff. How long does it take you to stiffen up?
 
zauberflöte Oh, what a good idea! A body suit that can switch from cold for resting to hot for moving. We need an inventor. I like the ice in the pocket idea. I wish my pants had a lower back pocket.
I am in the country now as of yesterday, but was in the city for the last two weeks. I move much more in the city, as we rarely use the car. If I do, I have to walk four blocks to pick it up, then another when I take it back. Otherwise it is the subway, and with the steps and the walks I really have to move. In the country I hop in the car to get to the pool, or yoga class, which I did this morning. I can already tell my ab muscles are going to be screaming.
I learned something interesting. The instructor said I am not yet putting my full weight on my left hip. I thought I was but when she pointed it out I realized she was right. This may explain all the pain on the non operated side. Now I have to be conscious of it, and it's hard to do.

Yesterday we drove 100 miles to the country, and the first ten involve getting out of NYC, which is always a challenge. We also had awful weather, so the trip took about 2 1/2 hours. We stopped half-way to walk around, and I was quite stiff getting out of the car. I find that if I get up every half hour or so I don't get stiff, but if I get absorbed in a movie, or go to a restaurant with friends and sit and chat, getting up is a slow process. This involves my wonky knees, too.

I can see that Classic Vinyl would make the miles go faster, but I am still wildly impressed by how long you spent driving.
 
Poppet I am still reeling about those kangaroos! I hope its okay to post this here, it sort of relates: My brother in law was driving home in his brand new, fresh from the dealer car one night years ago in the rural, heavily forested area of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. A deer ran out in front of his car and he hit it broadside, killing it and totaling his car. He and my sister were just newlywed kids fresh out of college so it was a tragedy for them. I just have frogs jumping out at me from everywhere :)
 
Poppet I am quite fascinated by your kangaroo adventures. I always had an idea they stayed way off in their kangaroo places or something -- not that they roamed around in cities. How big are they? Do they just hop up to you? Are they dangerous? Do they bring their baby kangaroos in their pouches? Wow, I bet they are a sight to see.
 
Hi, zauberflöte. I like those grid graphics, too, and I just "grabbed" them when I saw them in a post and plonked them right on my desktop and they have remained there. Maybe you can do the same thing on your computer. I saw one for the thighs and knees and for the hips.

That's a LOT of driving you did. I would think that the repetitive motion would indeed make your groin hurt. I hope it's better by now. I know what you mean about just wanting to jump in and enjoy life. I get greedy after I have a spell of low pain and I want to do more and more and more. I do still think that it's a matter of parceling out the activity, and that "activity" includes any movement. I can see how you'd want to "spend" your activity chits on doing things for and with your family. I just hope the right amount of resting, icing, heat, no heat, rabbit's feet has worked and you are up and about again.

I think I'd kill for a bottle of Predictability. That way, I'd know how to plan each day.

I love your inventiveness about ice packs.

Your upcoming vacation sounds wonderful. Can't wait to hear how you fare.
 
The amazing Driving zauberflöte wow! Most of the time I am just driving around town. The summer vacation time of riving to North Carolina and to Maine are over for the time being.
I love it, Peaches - a bottle of Predictability! If you find it, would you order me one, also?
And LeeApril26 what an observant instructor, to notice how you're putting weight on your leg or not! I know that I "can" whether or not I usually "do." But, great insight as to why the opposite leg hurts sometimes!
 
I figured I'd better visit my own thread once a week anyway...hey to everybody who's stopped by! I discovered what was causing the pain *that* time-- I'd been wearing my cheap classic beach flip-flops to air out my poor nasty toes, don't you know, and when I began to suspect that I went back to the supportive Keens, and ta-da!!!! The pain went away. That time. Now it's back and it's probably from adding a block to my bedtime walk, so I'm just saying the heck with it and ignoring it!

The instructor said I am not yet putting my full weight on my left hip. I thought I was but when she pointed it out I realized she was right. This may explain all the pain on the non operated side. Now I have to be conscious of it, and it's hard to do....snipsnip.....I can see that Classic Vinyl would make the miles go faster, but I am still wildly impressed by how long you spent driving.
LeeApril26 ok, what clues did she have? Was she specific about her diagnosis? I would swear I am putting full weight on the op leg-- but again I wasn't nearly so badly off as you were pre-hip, so my recovery isn't coming from so far behind. But this is fascinating to me, that she could tell that! As for the driving, remember it was spread out, with that 400 mile day being a real exception to anything at all!! (And we're going on vacation in a couple of weeks... 600 miles one day and 200+ the next-- but switching off drivers, thankfully!)

I do still think that it's a matter of parceling out the activity, and that "activity" includes any movement. I can see how you'd want to "spend" your activity chits on doing things for and with your family. I just hope the right amount of resting, icing, heat, no heat, rabbit's feet has worked and you are up and about again....snipsnip...I think I'd kill for a bottle of Predictability. That way, I'd know how to plan each day.
Peaches You are right on all counts, and whoever comes up with that bottled predictability will make a fortune overnight!

Runaround Sue awww what an awful story about your sister and her husband-- I'm glad they weren't hurt! :)

Off to feed the cats...

Some days I only get 45 min or an hour here, and many days the forum is running so slowly on my computer that it can take an hour to post on just three threads-- way to eat up my time LOL! Wish I knew how to speed things up.
 
She watched me walk and move around. I realize I never lead with my left foot, either walking or going down the stairs, and if I'm standing I tend to shift my weight to my right side. I'm trying to correct it.

Have fun on your trip. I guess I'm a confirmed NYer. When I have to drive thirteen miles to the Bronx I complain. We did drive to Florida once-never again.
 
zauberflöte where are you going on vacation? Will you be walking, swimming, dancing....? That's, I think, about the distance from our house to the in-laws', and that's about how we spread out the miles, also. Looong day, that first day! (Lots of foot pumps whenever possible helped me.)
I like to, um, air out my toes, also, so I change shoes a bunch of times each day. Flip flops around the house is I'm mostly sitting, sneakers or Keens if I'm doing any walking (grocery shopping, etc) and then if Songman and I do our after-supper constitutional, I change into whichever (Keens or sneakers) I have not already been wearing. Right now I'm back into computer-before-bedtime flip flops. (I wear thick, cushy Teva flip flops with nice arch supports. I love 'em.)
As long as I change shoes a few times a day my feet are ... well, if not "happy" they are "less unhappy!" My husband does not love the many pairs of shoes I leave in our laundry room/back entry closet all the time, but as often as I change them, I really don't want to be climbing the stairs that often! :heehee:
 
LeeApril26 I remember somebody saying that she always led with her op leg, because that means the non-op leg takes the weight first. I noticed that I was also doing that. When it became comfortable, I started deliberately leading with the non-op leg whenever feasible-- it's not pain-free by any means, but ( Peaches this is for you :) ) I can do it, so there! LOL The standing thing I noticed all by myself last week-- I was always shifting my weight to the left. So now I concentrate on that too-- we're a pair, aren't we?
You drive to your country house, right? This is just our equivalent. It's a family house that is on Cape Cod, right on the water, so it's worth every second of hassle it takes to get there, including the GW bridge! The generations that first used it lived there full time, but somehow lots of us ended up in Virginia.

Songlady these are Tevas, but the kind that are rubber/foam bottoms and leather/grosgrain straps? it's not the lack of support, it's the non-squishiness of the heel, I think, for me.
What will I do on vacation? Sit and read, and walk. I hope to be able to walk a mile, rest 15 minutes, and walk that same mile backwards. Otherwise I'm never going to get into town for ice cream or window shopping! Also a lot of stairs-- it's a three-story house... there is an Inclinator for old ladies [sic!!!], which I may have to fire up. If the weather is fine and the water temp not below, say, 52F/11.1C, I will give the kayak a try too.
So.... I am trying to up my walking! I do a mile every night with no problem. Need to get up to a mile at noon or whenever before Sept 17. Can she do it?

Now we shall see if this posts. I could not post a long post over on Kim22 's thread, "server error". Also the tags are not working a)the same and b) at all, mostly. Arg! What's wrong with my computer???
Nope, server error. Let's see if I will be able to stay logged in for a few hours. Good luck me!
 
It's not your computer. I was having the same problem this morning. I was receiving the same message, and felt badly as the person I was responding to was having a bad day.

Interesting that you discovered your uneven weight distribution on your own. I was clueless, but it makes sense, and now that I am aware of it I am trying to correct it. Have also discovered that if I am carrying anything even slightly heavy on my op (left) side, I get a corresponding pain on my right lower back/hip/side. Tried five library books today=pain. Will have to read more slowly!

Your country place sounds lovely, despite the long drive. Cape Cod is beautiful. I would do it, too, if I had a house there, especially on the water. We've rented there for a week a couple of times. And, mid-September is a perfect time. I laughed at the water temperature you mentioned. I did try going in the ocean there in early June once-ouch.
 
zauberflöte ... I only now discovered I have not received all my alert notices. I am having a very sleepless night due to work stuff, and sort of hip stuff. So I came on here. But half asleep and unable now to respond to all notices. I am stumped by this, though:


it's not pain-free by any means, but ( @Peaches this is for you :)) I can do it, so there! LOL

Please explain.

I'm also intrigued but confused by what you & LeeApril26 are discussing about which leg to lead with. I have been thinking a lot lately about not overusing my so-called good hip. So I have tried to put more weight on my op hip. Boy, the contrast between how pain-free that is and how the good hip has pain when I put my weight on it is a little scary. But anyway, I'm confused about which side is recommended to lead with...... Sometimes I lead with whichever side makes me feel more stable, and by that I don't mean in terms of the operated hip. It never occurred to me that by leading with the op hip I was putting more weight on the other hip.

I need to now try to a few minutes of shut-eye before I have to open my eyes. I am very glad your driving fallout was caused by footwear. Isn't it great when you can see a direct link to what causes pain and then remedy it??
I'm also intrigued about your walking backwards for a mile. I've heard walking backwards is a good exercise for us, but a mile seems like a long distance. Your upcoming trip sounds marvelous.
 
zauberflöte LeeApril26 Peaches I have missed out on a very interesting discussion on uneven weight distribution.It certainly makes sense. I will try to be more aware of which leg I am leading with and if I am still putting more weight on the unoperated side and if I am to try and rectify the situation. Your up and coming holiday sounds lovely especially if the water temperature allows you to get out on the kayak.The weather over here has gone back to being unpredictable ( a bit like our recoveries) It has been warm and sunny until yesterday and now its cold and wet.We are not complaining however as we have had the best summer in years.
 
@zauberflöte @LeeApril26 @Peaches @Kim22 Now I'm going to be thinking about which foot I lead with. Last time I worried about that I was trying to get a horse to canter on the "correct lead!"http://bonesmart.org/forum/members/peaches.10710/
Um, stupid question, but once one is walking, does it matter....? :what:

Chris, yes, Tevas with the grossgrain ribbon-type straps. What I've noticed... my old pair is a LOT thicker and cushier in the heel than the pretty new ones I bought. The new ones have slightly thinner soles and also have a logo (which is made of stuffer rubber) right where the heel falls. I'd bought new ones with the idea of tossing the old, but I can't bring myself to do it!

Go girl! I hope you can do your mile!
 
@zauberflöte ... I only now discovered I have not received all my alert notices. I am having a very sleepless night due to work stuff, and sort of hip stuff. So I came on here. But half asleep and unable now to respond to all notices. I am stumped by this, though:
it's not pain-free by any means, but ( @Peaches this is for you :)) I can do it, so there! LOL​
Please explain. Isn't it great when you can see a direct link to what causes pain and then remedy it?? I'm also intrigued about your walking backwards for a mile. I've heard walking backwards is a good exercise for us, but a mile seems like a long distance. Your upcoming trip sounds marvelous.
Peaches sorry for long quote! And I'm getting all my alerts, just don't have time to spend on here waiting for the forum to post LOL. I'm sorry you were having a worrisome and sleepless night then-- have you caught up over the weekend? know you're a great one for coffee, and work stuff worries makes the coffee's effects look puny in comparison. And hip stuff-- that's just as bad!

What I meant by that "this one's for you Peaches" was that somewhere else, you had mentioned about just wanting to know if you were able to do a thing--- am I remembering that correctly? And I was able to do my thing, whatever it was, so I wanted to bring you into my "pleased with myself" place :) My "so there!" was at myself or the hip, not at you!! Chris the poor communicator strikes again, and she's sorry :) . As to walking backwards a mile, I tried very hard to edit that!!! But all I kept getting was a blank field when I clicked "edit", not much use!.... I didn't mean backwards, I meant "back home again", as in walking the route "backwards".

This "which hip to lead with" stemmed from a random comment somebody (can't remember who!) made a month or more ago about leading with the op leg so as not to make the next few steps painful. This was earlier in the recovery period. I did that too, without thinking. I had found exactly the same thing. But now I try to think to keep the op leg on the ground and lead, if possible, with the other, "not good for much longer" leg.
You know, I think of you every day-- I am very sure that if you lived my little suburban life instead of your intensive city and work life, you'd find that you were way farther ahead in recovery than you feel now. If I had to be living your life, I'd be a puddle on the floor! My hat is off to you, my dear! (It can even be a purple hat if that tickles your fancy...)

Interesting that you discovered your uneven weight distribution on your own. I was clueless, but it makes sense, and now that I am aware of it I am trying to correct it. Have also discovered that if I am carrying anything even slightly heavy on my op (left) side, I get a corresponding pain on my right lower back/hip/side. Tried five library books today=pain. Will have to read more slowly!
@leeapr So I must have been leaning quite heavily. I know what you mean about carrying weight on the op side. For a long time it was my op side S-I joint that complained if I carried a tote of groceries on that side-- shifting the bag to the other side helped some. I'm better with it now, and find that if I balance the load ( a 10-lb bag of kitty litter in each arm, say) it's more comfortable. Again, remember that I am not coming from so far behind as you are-- I was never near having to use a wheelchair for anything-- so I don't ever want to sound like I'm gloating or showing off. People keep saying I'm doing great, and I am, but it's because I wasn't as damaged when I went into surgery!

Your up and coming holiday sounds lovely especially if the water temperature allows you to get out on the kayak.The weather over here has gone back to being unpredictable ( a bit like our recoveries) It has been warm and sunny until yesterday and now its cold and wet.We are not complaining however as we have had the best summer in years.
Kim22 I wrote you a long post Friday, I think it was, and it got lost in the server error. I saved it on a Paint thing-- this computer has no officeware! (like Microsoft Word or whatever)-- but it didn't save, or I forgot to actually save it. I don't remember a word I said, I'm sorry. You know, even if I can only look at the kayak as it sits in the garage, I'll be happy with the vacation! We just love it there, and I wish we lived about 650 miles closer LOL.

Chris, yes, Tevas with the grossgrain ribbon-type straps. What I've noticed... my old pair is a LOT thicker and cushier in the heel than the pretty new ones I bought. The new ones have slightly thinner soles and also have a logo (which is made of stuffer rubber) right where the heel falls. I'd bought new ones with the idea of tossing the old, but I can't bring myself to do it!
@songl I bought them to replace a 7-8-yr-old pair of no-name ones which were much cushier but worn out. But the old ones are still squishier! Sigh... planned obsolescence!
 
I want to apologize here to all the people (I was trying to catch up on 25+ alerts) that I didn't get to on that day the forum was misbehaving on me so I gave up. I will probably never catch up with anybody at this rate, and I feel badly about that.

Interesting story for my 16-week update which is tomorrow: I had to take an injured cat to the vet last Monday. She had something wrong with her hindquarters/walking/totally unable to jump. The vet could find nothing, and didn't feel the need for x-rays, thank goodne$$. (the cat is doing much better now!) I brought up congenital dysplasia, and she told me that "cats are phenomenal healers"-- she'd once seen x-rays of a cat with dysplasia which had grown new hip sockets for itself! Too bad we can't do that....
 
The forum was acting up for me too...thankfully I wasn't the one who broke it!

Back to walking backwards...with all the pre-op planning I did I never realized that I couldn't turn my walker around in the bathroom once I got all the way to the toilet...well I could but lifting the stupid thing over my head every time was not going to be an option. So I backed into the bathroom and when the PT saw me do that she said walking backwards is an excellent exercise for the gluts. Here is my question...if I did all this walking backwards and all those butt squeezes I should have buns of steel by now, right?!?!?!?
 
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