Major Frustrations

I was going to write last week, that's how frustrated I felt about it all!

It's taken me nearly a week to shake myself out of a major hippy frustration. Even my lovely physio couldn't say anything to help! I wasn't being mardy, just fed-up-cannot-be-arsed-when-am-I-gonna-walk-properly bleurgh. If there was a pram, the dummy would have been chucked.

I've obviously reached that point. You know 'that point', where you're training for a marathon, writing a thesis, or re-learning to walk (as you do; 3 times over in my case to date) .... and you hit that brick wall, or worse, you think you're going backwards! As Homer Simpson said "Everytime I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain" and it appears to be the same with my ass!! The more I work on it, the less it functions lol

All my muscles ached with the exercise and I think I irritated a tendon which was making the scar tender. All in all, I was officially frustrated. My physio was really nice and he was trying to tell me that I'd improved, I was hearing the words and smiling, but not feeling it. He's given me some new exercises to do and I'm a little happier about that - bit more variety.

This week has been much better, I can actually feel the muscles getting stronger. I still limp. I am not in pain, which honestly, I'd rather limp than be in pain anyday. I think it would be really hard for anyone to expect me to be 100% frustration-free with this situation.

I'll be seeing Mr.O next week too, hopefully it'll be just as unremarkable as last time! :o)))

Backwards?

Saw my physio today and whilst he said some of the exercises I've been doing have improved, I still need to work hard on the same ones, no new ones added to the regime - and I've to start seeing him every 2 weeks, not 3-4! I'm confused. Usually, one gets better at exercises and the time between appointments increases....

I'm sure it's not because I've plateaued on the exercise-front. I'm sure it'll become apparent, I have enough to worry about. I did have a bit of a blip at the weekend. I must have overdone stuff (although, it was only sightseeing and out on the town saturday night? not exactly hard-core work out) and it was painful to walk on sunday. It resolved itself by tues so couldn't have been anything more than a pulled muscle. I suppose after the failed osteotomy I worry that the resurfacing might fail...an understandable anxiety, but something I need to work on.

I showed him the x-ray/CT pictures taken last November at my first consultation that resulted in my hip resurfacing. His eyes just about bugged out at the size of the osteophytes on the CT scan - he said "how were you able to walk! Your femoral head had collapsed and those osteophytes..". He didn't say it insensitively, he was just amazed at how much damage had occurred and I was still walking around and not in hideous pain (last august-september; by january it was a different matter, I was on one crutch by then). And that it explains all the bad unruley muscles we're working so hard on at the moment to get me walking tall again!

It was mentioned that from the next physio session we're going to start working oblique ab's....mmm

Eeeeeeee-xcited

I managed to do a pelvic bridge extension - 3 times!!!! Then I collapsed as my right butt muscles were fasiculating (shaking) lol. Last week I was working hard on just getting the foot off the ground whilst holding the bridge through my right (operated) leg....I collapsed over on one side every time just doing that. Eeeeeeee......perseverance pays off!!

I might add, it wasn't the most graceful, but hey c'mon, happy days!

I had to share.... :o)))))

Rangers & Celtic Therabands!

lol

I'm sure they don't market them that way, but having grown up in Glasgow and now in proud possession of a green (little resistance) and blue (stronger resistance, woo hoo!) physiotherapy therabands, the thought goes through your head! Maybe you have to grow up in Scotland to understand that.....tee hee. I might add that I'm not a footie fan and I don't subscribe to either team, and the strength of theraband is not predictive of club seasonal outcome!

Okay, enough silly's! Physiotherapy is going well (note the increase from green to blue theraband) :o)

This is never going to sound right whichever way you try to say it, so - my arse is looking so much better! lol My gluteus maximus that is, is bulking out quite nicely. I had lost a lot of muscle there on the right side that I don't think I even got back after the osteotomy. It, and the lack of core strength, is the root cause of my 'hippy limp'. So in addition to eliminating the limp, my arse is not so lop-sided!

I love my physio, he's quite good fun and is very good at targetting specific little muscle groups prior to moving onto others. I saw him on thursday and it had been 4 weeks. At the previous session I could barely do side lifts lying on my side (ankles together, pelvis stable and not rotating) and it was great going back on thursday and showing him that I can get the lift to 50% of my ROM - in a month, that's great!! I had also reached the target of 30 rep's of getting into the bridge position (http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-form-the-pilates-bridge-position.html), staying there and stretching theraband that's been tied around my knees. Not small feat eh? Now, suddenly, I have to do 50 rep's (pesky physio goal-post shifter!).

A lot of the exercises I do are based on pilates, which is great cos I was an avid practicer prior to the pain stopping me doing, well anything. He's not cleared me to go back to pilates full-time though, just what we're working on. To be fair, the routine I have takes about 30-45mins a day to do, so I'm lucky to get the recommended two times a day in (between you and me, that only happens a few times a week! mostly once a day). But it's working so I'm happy. I feel SO much stronger.

I do honestly forget that this hip is bionic! I have random moments (like in Tesco) where I think "ooh, it's metal, my hip's metal!".

Right, time for physio! Now.....will it be Celtic with increased rep's, or Ranger's with decreased rep's ?! Oooh, who will the Red band be when I get there? lol

Linoleum diving

So I fell today for the first time since the resurfacing, or nearly fell....

Pootling down the corridor at work, sole of my left foot just sorta caught the linoleum at a funny angle propelling me face first towards the floor at high speed - and out of instinct I put out my right leg in a lunge to catch me! Then I panicked, sorta twirled and ended up with my back against the wall, standing up. Quick anatomical sweep of what's still in place and in pain - NOTHING!! Thank goodness....

If I did that pre-op, well I'd probably have face dived the floor because my right leg would not have responded at all. If I had lunged to keep my balance, I'd have been paying for it instantly and for days.

I just stood there waiting for something to happen (other than my heart rate to go down!), like my hip spontaneously dislocating, or sharp pains attacking my knee. One, I was amazed that I effectively corrected myself (then let myself go!), and two, nothing happened, AT ALL to the joint. Mr. O has a point there about me doing whatever I like physically huh?

I'm so chuffed my muscles are getting so much stronger and they are responding correctly. They are still weak but I'm working on those physio exercises and by the end of any one week I can tell a difference (it's small, but that's just the way it's going to be!). Slowly slowly catchy monkey.....

Orthopod 3mth check-up

Okay so I have no new x-rays to put up today. Mainly because it was identical to my last x-ray taken 4 days after surgery! Really, mr. orthopod put them up on the screen and I initially said "no that's the one from March", he said "check the date", today! Side-by-side identical. Excellent news!! No movement of implant, just as it's supposed to be. No collapsed femoral head or extra bone growth where it shouldn't - you know, it goes through your head...

Now here's something I suspected, forgot to ask and wasn't told last time. There was bone grafting in the socket. I don't think every resurfaced hip has this and was probably done because of the dysplasia. Mr. O was pointing out how well it's all knitted together, so well in fact that he could barely see the original outline of the socket before it was filled. Apparently the original outline is slightly higher than where the metal cup sits in the socket because it had to be reamed back due to osteophyte formation (knobbly bone spurs) and that the socket was shallow and mis-shapen etc. Bottom line, it was wonky, now its not!

He was also very pleased with my general progress and said I was doing remarkably well considering it was only 3 months post-op. He was pleased I could get my knees to my chest and hold certain leg movements. So it's all good! He did want me pass on a message to my physio - see how far you can push it. Mmmm, scary thought from my point of view! Shall we pass that on....

3 months post-op

.....and it's my birthday!

Okay, I'm back online at home finally. I have since moved, started my new job and have a new car!! Exciting times :o)

Three months post-op, wow, I cannot believe how time flies. I am still using that pesky crutch on a daily basis, but not necessarily all day. I just move faster with it, so the crutch is officially becoming a psychological 'crutch' too. Interestly, a week or so ago on a couple of occaisions I walked out of the house, locked the front door and only once I got out into the fresh air did I realise that I'd forgotten the crutch! That's got to be a good sign right? The muscles just seem to be getting stronger every day, but unfortunately, I'm at a standstill in the battle against the limp *sigh*.

Tomorrow though I'm going to the QMC in Nottingham to meet with my physiotherapist for the first time. He is very used to handling hip resurfacing patients and I was referred to him by Mr. O directly. You often find that hip resurfacing patients get lumped in with hip replacement patients, which is bad, because there are restrictions with most replacements, and none on resurfacings, and most physios treat you as the former!! I had the same problem after my PAO, the physio had never had a PAO patient, so she treated me like a hip replacement too - so frustrating! Mr. O told me that he gets well annoyed about this and that's why he chose this physio for me. So the really specific work will begin from tomorrow. Meanwhile, I've been swimming and gymming as per doc's orders. There's a great swimming pool and gym at the local hotel here in Kegworth, right on my doorstep, fabulous!

The other major event for me in the last couple of weeks has been driving. I have been so worried about getting into a car and being able to drive safely due to the surgery (on my right leg!). Bear in mind that I also hadn't driven for about 5-6yrs prior to the surgery due to pain. Mr. O told me at 5 weeks that I was cleared for driving based on my progress and movements, but I've just been too nervous about it all. I decided to have a refresher lesson before I picked the car up, just for peace of mind - plus I wouldn't be in the car alone, there would be dual brakes, and .... it wouldn't be my car if I wrote it off!! No, seriously.... I just needed to boost my confidence. The driving instructor was so curious as to why I'd pay for a lesson when I could just go out with a friend or relative. Well, family would be nervous for me and I'd never relax, and friends....well, they'd be miles away right now as I've moved to a new area and currently know no-one! Anyways, I went out in the driving instructor's car for a full hour driving around the place and it was fab....I had no real problem with controlling my leg movements within the car, no muscle spasms and no muscle aches during or after the ride. So I was pleasantly pleased and more confident about picking up my new car! Oh my new car, I love it! VW Polo, so nice to drive and it just feels safe too. It's a good choice for me.

If it wasn't for the crutch, I could honestly forget I had this surgery or that I'm now part bionic (Oh, the brand of machines in the gym are called Cybex - har de har har! Cyborg-Bex!). I still have a lot of work to do in eliminating the limp, but honestly, my life is a million times better already! I can even get my socks on now, sort of..... lol