On Monday I will be 10 weeks post op. Its really hard to believe considering originally I was not suppose to even have surgery until this month (April). The past two weeks have been amazing! My hip feels so good, I don't even have words to express how excited I am. This week I walked my dog, about 1/4 of a mile, 4 times, as well as climbing some snow banks out at Lake Superior to watch the stars. The snow was giving out underneath my leg as I was walking and I had no pain! Plus the physical therapy that I have been doing has stepped up intensity each time we are adding strengthening exercises without any pain! I have not had this happen in years. This week we even added wall squats! Full wall squats! Its crazy how wonderful it feels. I feel like I actually have hope for the future, something that I have not felt in a long time.
I am so grateful to Dr. Philippon. I really believe that he is the best surgeon in the world to do these kinds of things. Without him and his team, I know that I would still be feeling helpless and frustrated. I read stories of other people struggling with the same things I was (continued pain, frustration, etc.) and I just want to recommend to everyone to see Dr. P. After years of struggling with this and seeing many different doctors, the best advice I give everyone I talk to is to get a lot of opinions from at least one local doctor (if available) and an opinion form one of the top doctors (of course its my personal opinion that Dr. P is the best). Checking out who your doctor trained with is another really important thing. Before I had a first hip surgery failure I thought that I would not be one of those who had to have multiple surgeries, that those things happened to other people, but this whole experience has been very humbling and taught me a lot about hips. There are a lot of underlying factors that go into whether someone is a good candidate for a scope surgery and many untrained doctors do not know how to look for these things. Looking back on my experience, I wish no one would ever have surgery with a surgeon who has not trained under the best doctors in the world as it seems their success rates are much, much less and people suffer needlessly.
So this week the only downside that I have been experiencing is that my left hip has really started to increase in pain. Its bothered me on and off ever since after my first surgery in 2010 but was brushed off by the surgeon as compensation pain. With my second MRA I was diagnosed with a CAM impingement on the left, but I was hoping that once the right was fixed that it would become asymptomatic again. So far, no luck with that, but I really don't want to think about the possibility of needing another surgery, so unless it really starts effecting my every day activity, I most likely will not pursue anything with it.
Thats the deal this week :) Feeling really great about life and the hip situation. I feel like my fears of needing the surgery to fix my anteversion are reduced daily and that this might be the end of the road for the hip pain in the right. Thanks for reading!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
9 weeks!
So today is 9 weeks post op! Its crazy to think about how far out from surgery I am now. This past week I have been feeling better and better each day. My pain has been minimal and my range of motion is better as well. On Saturday I walked my dog with no problems and no pain (other than I slipped and fell in my driveway, luckily nothing serious!). I am very excited about all this! But of course when one thing is going well, something else falls apart. I have been experiencing intense stomach pains for a few months now and on Saturday night my stomach started giving me intense stomach pains. It was horrible. Nothing was taking the pain away. So today I made an appointment with my primary care physician to see if he could help me figure out what the problem was. I had a feeling that it was an ulcer because of my high use of NSAID's for the past few years. So today I went to see my doctor and the end result is that tomorrow at 8 am I have an appointment at the hospital for an ultrasound of my stomach area as well as blood work. The doctor is concerned that I may have a gallstone as when he did the physical exam on me, I was really tender more toward my gallbladder than anything else. So, worst case scenario I need my gallbladder removed, best case scenario, I have an ulcer and will be taking lots of Prilosec! I have had to stop all NSAID's though, which in the past few days has made my hip ache a little more and give me bad headaches.
Physical therapy has really picked thing up a lot this past week. I started doing the elliptical, which has felt good as well as adding some 2 lb weights to some of the exercises that I had been doing that have gotten pretty easy for me. It feels good to start strengthening things and see some progress and things get easier and easier with each physical therapy appointment. The best part is the pain afterwards has been minimal (except in the past few days, when I have had to stop taking NSAID's).
Hope everyone else is doing well and pain free :)
EDIT (3/28/13): So I wanted to edit this to update the results of my ultrasound and blood work. Everything came back normal so the likely culprit of my intense stomach pains is an ulcer. I am on Prilosec, 40 mg's for 2 weeks and then I go back to the doctor to reevaluate to see if its working. Its really early in the morning here but I cannot sleep because of my stomach pains so I hope that this regimen of Prilosec works fast! Most likely the ulcer is from my NSAID use all these years in dealing with the hip problems. I was taking about 600 mg every 4-6 hours for about 2 years straight so its no wonder I developed an ulcer. I would recommend talking to your primary care physician if you have been or will be on NSAID's for any long length of time and see if you can get one a Prilosec as preventative measures for ulcers.
Physical therapy has really picked thing up a lot this past week. I started doing the elliptical, which has felt good as well as adding some 2 lb weights to some of the exercises that I had been doing that have gotten pretty easy for me. It feels good to start strengthening things and see some progress and things get easier and easier with each physical therapy appointment. The best part is the pain afterwards has been minimal (except in the past few days, when I have had to stop taking NSAID's).
Hope everyone else is doing well and pain free :)
EDIT (3/28/13): So I wanted to edit this to update the results of my ultrasound and blood work. Everything came back normal so the likely culprit of my intense stomach pains is an ulcer. I am on Prilosec, 40 mg's for 2 weeks and then I go back to the doctor to reevaluate to see if its working. Its really early in the morning here but I cannot sleep because of my stomach pains so I hope that this regimen of Prilosec works fast! Most likely the ulcer is from my NSAID use all these years in dealing with the hip problems. I was taking about 600 mg every 4-6 hours for about 2 years straight so its no wonder I developed an ulcer. I would recommend talking to your primary care physician if you have been or will be on NSAID's for any long length of time and see if you can get one a Prilosec as preventative measures for ulcers.
Monday, March 18, 2013
8 weeks today
Sorry its been a while since I have updated my recovery. Last week my husband and I had to go back to our home town for a week for some family things. I was suppose to have my 6-8 week follow up with Dr. Philippon but had to cancel to be able to go home this week. Currently my appointment got rescheduled for April 21st. Today its 8 weeks out from surgery and I wish I could report that things are going really well, but I can't. My hip has been really painful and sore for the last 2 weeks. I am having increased groin pain, pinching in the front of my hip when bending, and the infamous deep ache that is relentless. I am having a hard time walking up stairs, doing stretches that had not been a problem, and in general, a feeling of instability. I keep getting a feeling like my femur is slipping in the socket and all my muscles and tendons are sliding around and snapping when it does this. Its happened a few times and each time its really painful. I am afraid to walk far as I feel like I my leg will give way.
All of these things have me really concerned but I am trying to keep a positive outlook and not assume the worst, but thats becoming harder and harder to do with each surgery that fails. I am assuming that part of my pain is from sleeping on a pull out couch and over doing it last week while at home, plus not having any PT, but part of me keeps thinking, its 8 weeks out and I cannot go a week without PT? My mind keeps screaming that its the femoral anteversion causing these problems, but I don't know for sure and I am trying really hard not to assume the worst. I have PT today for the first time in a week so I will let them know of these problems and see what they say. This is becoming harder and harder to accept that things may never be right and I will always be in pain, but I am hoping thats not the case.
Well, I wish I had a better, more optimistic outlook for this post, but maybe that will be next time.
Edit 3/20/13: So I just wanted to edit this post quickly because I called Dr. P's physicians assistant yesterday about the pain I have been having. He recommended that I change up the physical therapy protocol to focus more on the outer hip muscles and glutes. He said that once your off crutches, the muscles in the front of the hip are baring the brunt of the weight load and don't really need the focus of strengthening this far out from surgery. So I am going to start using the elliptical before PT for 10 minutes instead of the bike, focus on strengthening the side and back of the hip muscles (which I started on Monday as my PT is great and on top of this stuff), and I am going to start trying to make it to the pool 5 times a week. Getting to the pool that often will probably be difficult, but I love to swim! So as soon as the weather cooperates (we are getting a snow storm at the moment) I will be heading to the pool much more often.
I had a rough night sleeping last night, but mostly because of pain in my left hip. Its becoming more and more concerning, but I really hope that with time and strengthening it will settle down. I am also going to look into some ART massage therapy to see if it can help break up some of the scar tissue that I have. More updates to come!
All of these things have me really concerned but I am trying to keep a positive outlook and not assume the worst, but thats becoming harder and harder to do with each surgery that fails. I am assuming that part of my pain is from sleeping on a pull out couch and over doing it last week while at home, plus not having any PT, but part of me keeps thinking, its 8 weeks out and I cannot go a week without PT? My mind keeps screaming that its the femoral anteversion causing these problems, but I don't know for sure and I am trying really hard not to assume the worst. I have PT today for the first time in a week so I will let them know of these problems and see what they say. This is becoming harder and harder to accept that things may never be right and I will always be in pain, but I am hoping thats not the case.
Well, I wish I had a better, more optimistic outlook for this post, but maybe that will be next time.
Edit 3/20/13: So I just wanted to edit this post quickly because I called Dr. P's physicians assistant yesterday about the pain I have been having. He recommended that I change up the physical therapy protocol to focus more on the outer hip muscles and glutes. He said that once your off crutches, the muscles in the front of the hip are baring the brunt of the weight load and don't really need the focus of strengthening this far out from surgery. So I am going to start using the elliptical before PT for 10 minutes instead of the bike, focus on strengthening the side and back of the hip muscles (which I started on Monday as my PT is great and on top of this stuff), and I am going to start trying to make it to the pool 5 times a week. Getting to the pool that often will probably be difficult, but I love to swim! So as soon as the weather cooperates (we are getting a snow storm at the moment) I will be heading to the pool much more often.
I had a rough night sleeping last night, but mostly because of pain in my left hip. Its becoming more and more concerning, but I really hope that with time and strengthening it will settle down. I am also going to look into some ART massage therapy to see if it can help break up some of the scar tissue that I have. More updates to come!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
5 weeks post op
So today I am 5 weeks post op. Last week was really hard, I was having increasing pain with each day that passed and I was trying to work myself off of crutches. I felt like I was falling behind in my rehab as even the basic PT exercises were becoming more difficult instead of easier. BUT...on Friday, I woke up and felt a ton better, I was able to do my therapy exercises in the morning without any trouble at all. I was so happy and surprised! It finally felt amazing! So for the past few days I have been continually feeling better and better, doing my therapy exercises 2 times a day without any issues. Yesterday and today I walked without crutches at all, all day. My back today is sore though as I am twisting my pelvis as I have a slight limp, so I am working a lot harder at stabilizing my pelvis with my core, which means I really have to think about every step I take, but it will be worth it as my leg needs this to get stronger. I also went to the pool today for the first time. It felt good, albeit different. I didn't realize how much and quickly I adapted to the feeling of walking in the water without so much weight on my hips until I got out of the pool and the limp was back. So I think I am going to try and get to the pool on the days that I am not in PT.
In PT I have been working on a few new things, like external rotation, which feels weird as my capsule is really tight, but each day, my range of motion gets better and better and its always nice to see results! I have started doing abduction exercises with my left leg, which means I have to stand on my right (operated leg) to start some more strengthening. I was really afraid to do these exercises but they turned out ok, as I did not fall over! We have also upped the resistance on the bike, so I feel like I am getting a slight cardio workout, which is something new. In the pool I can start doing some aqua jogging and laps, as well as the normal exercises which just use the resistance of the water to help strengthen.
My pain has been minimal the past 3 days or so, after I got over the awful flare up that I had. I am already on less drugs than I was before, which is promising! I am suppose to have a follow up appointment with Dr. Philippon on March 11th, but I have some family issues that need attending too so I will be cancelling this appointment and rescheduling. I also want to push it out a little so that I can try and fly out there myself and save some money on plane tickets as its starting to get a little too pricey flying out there every 6 weeks! So, thats about all for now. This week in PT we will be adding some new exercises, so we will see how the hip does without crutches and some more strengthening! Each week brings something new, its exciting to see the changes happening!!
Stay pain free and have a great week everyone!!
In PT I have been working on a few new things, like external rotation, which feels weird as my capsule is really tight, but each day, my range of motion gets better and better and its always nice to see results! I have started doing abduction exercises with my left leg, which means I have to stand on my right (operated leg) to start some more strengthening. I was really afraid to do these exercises but they turned out ok, as I did not fall over! We have also upped the resistance on the bike, so I feel like I am getting a slight cardio workout, which is something new. In the pool I can start doing some aqua jogging and laps, as well as the normal exercises which just use the resistance of the water to help strengthen.
My pain has been minimal the past 3 days or so, after I got over the awful flare up that I had. I am already on less drugs than I was before, which is promising! I am suppose to have a follow up appointment with Dr. Philippon on March 11th, but I have some family issues that need attending too so I will be cancelling this appointment and rescheduling. I also want to push it out a little so that I can try and fly out there myself and save some money on plane tickets as its starting to get a little too pricey flying out there every 6 weeks! So, thats about all for now. This week in PT we will be adding some new exercises, so we will see how the hip does without crutches and some more strengthening! Each week brings something new, its exciting to see the changes happening!!
Stay pain free and have a great week everyone!!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Two weeks post op
Good Morning all,
Its a cold, snowy day in northern Michigan today (again!). We have been home a whole week now and its been great. My mom left about 3 days ago to go back home and since then its just been me and my husband, plus my giant baby, which is some might confuse with a German Shepherd. I went to physical therapy every day last week and its been going really well. My hip has been feeling great. I feel like my range of motion is really good, although I still can't do any external rotation. I am able to sleep on either side, if only for a short period of time, without much pain. There is still some swelling that I can see and feel, but overall, its not bad. My incision sites are looking really good, I have an appointment to see my primary care physician next week to get my stitches out. The pain that I am having I believe is left over from traction. My IT band is really tight and the area that PT has been working on the most. I keep getting pain around my knee and ankle quiet a bit. I am still having to take one Norco every 4-6 hours as well as a muscle relaxant. Yesterday was Saturday and I since I didn't have PT I went to the gym and rode the bike for 20 minutes and it felt great. Overall I feel pretty good, I have been able to sleep well the last few nights which has been amazing! I am a little worried about pain management because Dr. P's office only does pain management for the first 10 days, then they want me to make an appointment with the pain clinic again. Its a little frustrating, but not much I can do about it.
Below are some pictures from the surgery :)
Its a cold, snowy day in northern Michigan today (again!). We have been home a whole week now and its been great. My mom left about 3 days ago to go back home and since then its just been me and my husband, plus my giant baby, which is some might confuse with a German Shepherd. I went to physical therapy every day last week and its been going really well. My hip has been feeling great. I feel like my range of motion is really good, although I still can't do any external rotation. I am able to sleep on either side, if only for a short period of time, without much pain. There is still some swelling that I can see and feel, but overall, its not bad. My incision sites are looking really good, I have an appointment to see my primary care physician next week to get my stitches out. The pain that I am having I believe is left over from traction. My IT band is really tight and the area that PT has been working on the most. I keep getting pain around my knee and ankle quiet a bit. I am still having to take one Norco every 4-6 hours as well as a muscle relaxant. Yesterday was Saturday and I since I didn't have PT I went to the gym and rode the bike for 20 minutes and it felt great. Overall I feel pretty good, I have been able to sleep well the last few nights which has been amazing! I am a little worried about pain management because Dr. P's office only does pain management for the first 10 days, then they want me to make an appointment with the pain clinic again. Its a little frustrating, but not much I can do about it.
Below are some pictures from the surgery :)
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Post OP
Well, it actually happened, surgery really happened! Today I am 9 days post op and overall feeling pretty good. I actually got to go home the day after surgery, after the epidural wore off. I came out of surgery around 2:30PM and was feeling pretty good. I was told that I could go home after I got on the bike in physical therapy but the epidural was taking a very long time to wear off and I could not move my feet until about 6PM, which was after physical therapy closed, so no bike for me. I was in some pain once home and walking was difficult at first but I was happy to go back to our condo instead of having to stay in the hospital.
As for surgery, I was told that things went well. They did a lot of work. I had a labral reconstruction with a cadavar, an osteoplasty with rim trimming for combined FAI, thermal chondroplasty on the femur, chondroplasty on the acetabulum, plication of iliofemoral ligament, thermal treatment of the ligamentum teres, a synovectomy, and the removal of a lot of scar tissue. I was in traction for 127 minues.
The physical therapy protocol is very intense starting the day after surgery. I had to be at physical therapy first thing in the morning. I rode the bike for 20 minutes then one of Dr. Philippon's fellows came down and explained to me a little bit about what they did, showed me pictures and then the nurse changed my dressing. Each day I had physical therapy twice a day which includes 20 minutes on the bike, some simple movements and exercises and some soft tissue work, and then 20 minutes of icing. Also, each day I have to use the CPM machine for 4-6 hours, wear my brace while walking around, use the DVT preventative boots while sitting for more than 20 minutes, use the anti-rotational boots whenever I am sitting or sleeping, and of course crutches. It a lot to keep track of, but so far, I have been feeling great.
The plane ride home I was very worried about, but went well. Both of our flights were on time, which I was very grateful for as I was worried about getting delayed in Chicago.
We got home 4 days ago and its been wonderful being back. I was so happy to sleep in my own bed, even though sleeping has been difficult for me. I have been going to physical therapy here at home once a day this week and its been going well. There has been a small problem with getting the CPM machine home to Michigan, seems as though UPS mixed some things up, but hopefully we it will come tomorrow.
Overall, things have been going well. I am feeling good and able to get around pretty easy. I get tired easily, but that's about it. I am looking forward to this rehab process as I can't wait to see how things progress!!
As for surgery, I was told that things went well. They did a lot of work. I had a labral reconstruction with a cadavar, an osteoplasty with rim trimming for combined FAI, thermal chondroplasty on the femur, chondroplasty on the acetabulum, plication of iliofemoral ligament, thermal treatment of the ligamentum teres, a synovectomy, and the removal of a lot of scar tissue. I was in traction for 127 minues.
The physical therapy protocol is very intense starting the day after surgery. I had to be at physical therapy first thing in the morning. I rode the bike for 20 minutes then one of Dr. Philippon's fellows came down and explained to me a little bit about what they did, showed me pictures and then the nurse changed my dressing. Each day I had physical therapy twice a day which includes 20 minutes on the bike, some simple movements and exercises and some soft tissue work, and then 20 minutes of icing. Also, each day I have to use the CPM machine for 4-6 hours, wear my brace while walking around, use the DVT preventative boots while sitting for more than 20 minutes, use the anti-rotational boots whenever I am sitting or sleeping, and of course crutches. It a lot to keep track of, but so far, I have been feeling great.
The plane ride home I was very worried about, but went well. Both of our flights were on time, which I was very grateful for as I was worried about getting delayed in Chicago.
We got home 4 days ago and its been wonderful being back. I was so happy to sleep in my own bed, even though sleeping has been difficult for me. I have been going to physical therapy here at home once a day this week and its been going well. There has been a small problem with getting the CPM machine home to Michigan, seems as though UPS mixed some things up, but hopefully we it will come tomorrow.
Overall, things have been going well. I am feeling good and able to get around pretty easy. I get tired easily, but that's about it. I am looking forward to this rehab process as I can't wait to see how things progress!!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
The day before surgery with Dr. Philippon
Its the day before my hip surgery with Dr. Marc Philippon and I am getting pretty nervous. Its odd to be here again since my debacle of a trip last time, it almost seems surreal. I won't actually believe surgery is happening this time until I wake up in recovery. Seems like any little thing will cancel surgery, which before I never had any issues with. I have been wishing for this day for weeks and weeks now, but now that its tomorrow, part of me just wants to be home, cuddling with my dog, watching the snow fall. But I know that this is the first step to getting my life back as I knew it before. I have struggled for a long time now, coming to peace with the fact that I cannot do many things in life that seemed so easy before. How many people have to think about how long and when is the best time to do laundry to create the least amount of pain as possible. I want to ride my horse again, I want to take my dog for a walk and not worry that I will hurt to much to walk the next day, and I want to run. I want to work on being a fit person, as person who is proud of how they look and feel. So in some ways I am excited, hoping that this is a turning point in my life, putting the days of chronic pain behind me. It will be interesting to see how this recovery goes compared to my previous ones, but I know no matter what, I need to keep my spirits high and listen to my body.
So pre-op instructions so far have been pretty minimal, really only consisting of making sure I drink a lot of water or Gatorade. I have also had to wash for the past 2 days with Hibiclens, which is this awful pre-op soap that they make you wash with. I say that its awful because its not like normal soap, it has no soap like qualities. Its pink, makes you smell funny, and does not even suds like soap should. I have to shower tonight and tomorrow morning with it as well (EWWW).
Our travel this trip was overall very smooth. We were able to actually fly out of Houghton/Hancock airport yesterday on time, which I really did not think was going to happen, because we were getting some intense lake effect snow so the inbound flight from Chicago had been cancelled, but somehow, by the grace of God, they had just fixed a plane and we were still able to leave. We got to Chicago on time, had dinner, walked around then boarded our flight to Denver. Once in Denver we got our rental car and we were off to Vail. We got in late last night, about 11 PM MST only to find that our condo we were renting was missing the key to get in. So we decided to get a hotel room for the night until we could get a hold of the condo owner the next day, but ALL the hotels were booked, I mean, there was not a single room in all of Vail. So we had to go to the next town over and stay in a hotel there. We finally got to bed about 12:30 AM MST. Luckily this morning we worked things out with the condo owner and were able to finally get into the condo and unpack. I love this condo though, its really nice because it has 1 1/2 baths, which I know will come in handy after surgery. The bed is huge and it has a nice fireplace. So this afternoon me and my husband are just relaxing, watching some football.
So, tomorrows the big day! In some ways I feel like it has not even really hit me yet, but in others I feel like its happening too fast! Here's to new and improved hips!!! See you all on the other side!
So pre-op instructions so far have been pretty minimal, really only consisting of making sure I drink a lot of water or Gatorade. I have also had to wash for the past 2 days with Hibiclens, which is this awful pre-op soap that they make you wash with. I say that its awful because its not like normal soap, it has no soap like qualities. Its pink, makes you smell funny, and does not even suds like soap should. I have to shower tonight and tomorrow morning with it as well (EWWW).
Our travel this trip was overall very smooth. We were able to actually fly out of Houghton/Hancock airport yesterday on time, which I really did not think was going to happen, because we were getting some intense lake effect snow so the inbound flight from Chicago had been cancelled, but somehow, by the grace of God, they had just fixed a plane and we were still able to leave. We got to Chicago on time, had dinner, walked around then boarded our flight to Denver. Once in Denver we got our rental car and we were off to Vail. We got in late last night, about 11 PM MST only to find that our condo we were renting was missing the key to get in. So we decided to get a hotel room for the night until we could get a hold of the condo owner the next day, but ALL the hotels were booked, I mean, there was not a single room in all of Vail. So we had to go to the next town over and stay in a hotel there. We finally got to bed about 12:30 AM MST. Luckily this morning we worked things out with the condo owner and were able to finally get into the condo and unpack. I love this condo though, its really nice because it has 1 1/2 baths, which I know will come in handy after surgery. The bed is huge and it has a nice fireplace. So this afternoon me and my husband are just relaxing, watching some football.
So, tomorrows the big day! In some ways I feel like it has not even really hit me yet, but in others I feel like its happening too fast! Here's to new and improved hips!!! See you all on the other side!
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