Tag Archives: total hip replacement

Recovery From Another Injury

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My left total-hip replacement surgery recovery was going great until January 1st. I was all pumped up to working back into walking for exercise and not just rehab, and then I slipped on the bottom tile floor at the base of my stairs and landed in a crazy hurdlers stretch with my left leg/ankle/foot folded under my left hip.

I’ve not had an ankle sprain that bad in my entire life. I do acknowledge that I’ve never been 52 years old and fallen like that either, so there’s that. I ended up with an inner and outter ankle sprain, pain and discoloration on top of my foot, and pain in my knee, and up into my hip flexors. My foot and cankle were all bruised up, my left knee had some swelling, my hip was sore, and I ended up back to using my cane for almost a week.

To say I was frustrated and discouraged is to put the emotions I was feeling mildly. I was angry that I slipped, angry that my progress back to normal activity and my own physical wellness was abruptly halted. And true to my usual “just push-through-it” self, I automatically shifted to what I could do, and started chair exercises. But that hurt my hip as well so my chair exercise career was short-lived.

I did have it in my mind to let my ankle heal. I stayed off it as much as I could, ice, Tylenol, etc. But 3 weeks later there was still swelling in my ankle and knee and my hip was still sore. So I brought it up to my orthopedic surgeon at my 16-week follow-up last week.

He looked at my x-rays and saw that my new hip was perfectly fine. No damage done there, and what I was feeling was inflammation from some soft tissue damage (sprains and strains). He felt the best course of action was to put me back on Meloxicam for 6 weeks to bring down the inflammation so I could get back to normal. I was bummed when I heard his suggestion. I was on Meloxicam since 2016 to manage the pain in my left hip before replacement. It felt good to come off of it before my surgery in October and know I wouldn’t need it anymore. So this felt like a big set-back. I kept telling myself that it was a short-term course of medication treatment and it was moving me towards full healing. But I still didn’t like it and it weighed heavily on my mind and affected my mood.

I do have to say that I’ve been on it for 6 days, and the swelling and pain in my ankle and knee are much lower. I was able to take my dogs for a walk 2 days this week and the ankle and knee felt good. So that’s a plus. But I’m feeling side effects of the Meloxicam this time around….I have felt tired since last Friday, 7 days now. Even with plenty of sleep, I feel tired. And my stomach is upset for most of the day, which impacts my appetite and what I feel like eating.

Meloxicam is the type of medication where it takes about 2 weeks to build up in your body and reach optimum therapeutic levels. So I have another week to go and I’m hoping I will be used to it and the side effects will go away. I enjoy feeling like moving. I’m able to take the stairs at work without twinges of pain in my ankle and knee and that feels really good. My sister sent me a link to a stretching video and that helped me feel good physically as well.

Sooooooo….I am hoping to write more to help process all this stuff. It’s hard. It’s frustrating. And I’m still learning how to identify what I’m feeling instead of covering it up with positivity or being busy doing stuff. There’s something in all this that is serving as a learning experience for me, about me. My higher power wants me to be healthy and well, physically, spiritually and mentally. Maybe if I’m still enough and don’t fight it, whatever I am to learn about myself will come to me.

Goodbye/Hello

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I’m not going to recap the huge gap in my writing, except to express the following.

I spent months experiencing anxiety, feeling all of the uncertainty, and just kind of wallowing in all that, in the midst of a pandemic.

I struggled to find a sense of normalcy. And I finally quit struggling and trying. and I just kind of….let myself be however I was going to be.

I did accomplish a few things. I completed a Mental Health and Psychopathology class that I needed to meet the requirements to sit for the LSCSW exam. Between my school therapist job and my side-hustle as an after-hours crisis screener, I was able to complete all my clinical hours towards my licensure. I had my first professional organizer gig. I was able to cash-flow a few short necessary trips, and build our emergency fund. And now that I put that in writing, that seems like a lot. Lol.

Some things I said “Good-bye” to in 2020.

I said goodbye to my mom. To be more frank, I felt like I had already said goodbye to her over the course of 2020. She had dementia and everything that made her my mom slowly, slowly left us following a brain bleed in November of 2019. She passed away due to Covid-19 on Sept. 17, 2020, 5 days following her positive test result in the memory care center where she was living.

I said goodbye to any mask-refusers, Covid-deniers, and people who don’t believe in public health.

I said goodbye to my Uncle Joe, my mom’s youngest brother, and left a piece of writing about him on my Facebook.

I said goodbye to restful sleep, and said hello to insomnia.

I said goodbye to my work style as I formerly knew it. My students are only in the building 2 days each week, those whose families decide to send them. Learning how to deliver mental health services online has been a challenge and I’m still not comfortable with it. But it is what it is.

The good thing I said goodbye to was my old, arthritic, bone-on-bone left hip joint!!!! I went for a re-check at the end of August to hopefully schedule my total hip replacement surgery for December during semester break. However, my hip looked bad. Like baaaaaaad, bad. There was a partial femoral head collapse which scared the heck out of me, as well as a couple of cysts. So rather than wait until December, I scheduled for as soon as they could get me in, which was October 7, 2020. Surgery went great, Dr. Scott Cook is the thee best surgeon ever.

I said goodbye to constant pain following my new hip being installed. I said goodbye to 2 different pain medications I had been using since 2017 to manage the hip pain. I said goodbye to the limited range of motion that made it difficult to tie my own shoe.

The things I said hello to……..

Hello to learning how to live in a world without my mom. Hello to crying once in awhile when I notice her influence in my daily life…..like when I pulled my recipe cards to bake some banana bread after she passed away, and I realized that 80% of my recipes were hers. When I see her personality or mannerisms in my kids and my sister. When I thought I had a minor dislocation in my new hip joint and I got scared….I just broke down crying and wanted my mom.

I said hello to learning how to sit in my feelings….and not try to be busy to bury them. This is a work in progress.

Hello to binge watching different series with Joe B. We went through all the seasons of “Last Chance U” rewatched “Grey’s Anatomy”, started “Outlander” but couldn’t make it past the first few episodes in Season 2, Cobra Kai, and made it to season 6 or 7 of “The Walking Dead”. When Denny from Grey’s/whatshisname in TWD came on, that was too much and we skipped ahead to when he finally got overthrown. Haven’t been back to watch it yet. Sara and I have started watching “The Twilight Zone” on CBS All-Access and that’s been something nice we can do together. And Joe B and I are currently on Season 2 of “The Crown” and watching the re-boot of “The Stand”.

So there’s that. My Goodbyes/Hellos.

Hopefully I will be saying “hello” to getting back to my blog, to document my journey back to shawl dancing. I always said “Wait until get my new hip.” So now that I have it, I need to use it.

It felt good to write this. Even if it was one of the things that made me cry.

No More Excuses

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I’ll be honest. I am an awesome, one of the best really, “excuse-makers”.

I can find a reason (read: excuse) for anything. I believe I honed this skill in my early college years where I earned a plethora of “W” (withdraw) and “I” (Incomplete) grades that still show on all my transcripts. I’ve used this skill to account for slacking on schoolwork, graduate papers, studying, housework, balancing my checkbook, sewing, beading, doctor’s visits (such as my annual mammogram), eating healthy, and working out. I’ve gotten by because I can usually pull something together at the last minute. I know my life is much simpler when I force myself out of my excuse-making tendencies, but that doesn’t keep me from making excuses consistently in order to enable my mindset. 🙂

This is a wellness blog. Yet my blogging is sporadic because I’ve come up with some of the best excuses for either not blogging consistently, or not practicing wellness habits consistently. Some of them were very valid at the time….I’ve had good honest reasons why I’ve fallen off the wellness wagon time and time again. But once those reasons or issues have been addressed and I still am not back on the wagon again…then they become an excuse.

So…in an effort to be brutally honest with myself….here are my best “reasons” for the past few years for not feeling like I was capable of practicing healthy habits. 2012 I remember as my last best year for wellness….I was running 5K races consistently and I felt great about myself. So let’s start there.

  1. Hip Osteoarthritis – this was a biggie. The OA diagnosis and the inevitable total hip replacement was huge. Mentally and emotionally it was tough…having to face the prospect on never shawl dancing again or running again. Then the actual hip pain made it hard to workout, and even harder to want to work out.
  2. Depression – this stemmed from the OA diagnosis, the unknown of total hip replacement surgery, not finding a good coping mechanism besides running, surgery recovery, marital issues, a pre-diabetes diagnosis, and job dissatisfaction. I often felt alone and lonely in my depression, which made motivation scarce and just about non-existent.
  3. Career Change – I wanted to get out of community health administration, and out of the 100 mile round-trip daily commute, and go back into clinical social work at a local agency. I needed to job search, study for my licensure exam, and get out of my comfort zone to follow my passion. That was all extremely stressful and daunting and I didn’t know if I could do it.

Those are the major ones. Every single one of them I allowed to take precious time away from me and what I wanted to do take care of me and my family. I was able to find a million excuses for not treating my body and my spirit well out of all of those 3 big categories. All 3 categories all fed off each other as well and just made things seem bigger and bigger and bigger, until I was overwhelmed on the regular.

So here is where I’m at now and where the excuses end.

  1. Hip OA – I’ve had one hip replaced and know exactly what to expect with my 2nd surgery. My recover was, upon reflection, fairly easy due to my age and my physical strength prior to surgery. My right hip has no more pain and normal range of motion. I got clearance to begin training to shawl dance last June, and I actually danced in a fancy shawl special at KU powwow last month. My left hip is still bad but I know with weight loss and supplements, and possibly a cortisone shot, I can put off surgery for another year or so. My arches hurt from the excess weight, but I have good shoes with arch supports for work and working out.
  2. Depression – I’ve been managing the symptoms with anti-depressant meds. I feel much more positive and self-sufficient than last year at this time. I am getting ready to start tapering off my meds now that things that overwhelmed me have settled down. We got a dog and he is the best thing for mental health. He is awesome and brings so much joy to us. My marriage is much better due to praying together daily. I am finding walking very enjoyable, especially with my big puppy. My sleep has improved and I don’t feel the food cravings often associated with a depressed mood. I went on a social media fast and that was an eye-opener…how the negativity on social media can permeate your brain and your mood. My now-elevated mood helps me feel motivated. I downloaded “The Secret Daily Teachings” app on my phone and it always has good positive words that I read every morning.
  3. Career Change – I successfully passed my master social worker licensure exam. I found an awesome job as a therapist at a local community mental health center. I work in a middle school so I work school hours. My job is 3.5 miles from my home. I love this work…the kids are awesome and so are the staff here. I worked through any internal difficulties I was having at my old job and I was able to leave on good terms….which felt amazing.

Yesterday was Mother’s Day and my husband and kids gave me gifts all designed to get me healthy and strong again….new runners, new running tops, phone armband. I can’t use time as an excuse because I am home shortly after my kids get home. So I have time to cook earlier, time to get housework done, and time to walk or do something with my kids. I truly have no more excuses. I’m sure I can find some, since I’ve gotten so good at it over the years. I need to use my powers for good and not idleness. Lol. I should turn it around and make excuses TO BE HEALTHY for once.


So TODAY is the day of “No More Excuses”. It’s Day 1. I got my baseline info for Day 1 in the form of weighing myself and taking a picture. 🙂 I overslept this morning and ALMOST caved and said “Day 1 can start tomorrow.” Hahahaha. But I didn’t. That’s a good sign. See, I could have easily used that as an excuse to delay Day 1 but I did not.

I made myself take a few minutes for breakfast instead of running out the door since I was running late. My vanilla strawberry smoothie with cashew milk, vanilla Weight Watchers smoothie mix and 1 cup of fresh strawberries was only 1 carbohydrate serving.  My plan today is either to walk Mickey or ride the new bike my dad got me for my birthday (lack of a bike was a prior excuse to not exercise when my joints were hurting). I have a place to workout at the Sports Pavilion if the weather is bad. They have a nice indoor track and good cardio equipment.

I need to make myself accountable, so I will do my best to jot something here each day. I want to document this new journey. This is more for me than for you, but if you get something positive out of it as well, then that’s a bonus.

Here we go. Day 1. I’ll write later how it goes. #Letsdoodis

 

8-Week Wellness Challenge

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First of all, I want to say right off the bat that I have succeeded at losing 17 lbs since my highest weight post-total hip replacement surgery!! That means I lost the 15 lbs I gained post-surgery, plus an additional 2 lbs. I have 5 more lbs to go to hit my 1st major goal. My youngest told me today, “Mom, you’re getting skinny.” Lol. Even though “skinny” isn’t my goal, regaining my health is, it was still nice to hear that someone noticed some progress.

My eating and workouts kind of went up and down over the summer, as those who powwow understand the disruption of routines, driving for hours, dancing all weekend, not always having access to the healthiest of foods, packing a cooler, etc. The healthy habits could have been better, they could have been much worse. I concentrated this summer on not beating myself up over slip-ups and just trying to get back on as soon as I can.

My sister got me in the habit of walking for 45 minutes every morning at work. When she isn’t at work, she texts me to ask me if I went out for my walk yet. Lol. That got me going on the consistent activity. But today I want to write about a wellness challenge that has really motivated me.

Tracy is a woman I went to graduate school with and we both earned our MSWs at the same time. Our kids go to the same school, have played on the same teams, and she is friends with one of my nieces. She encouraged me after learning about my hip osteoarthritis back in 2012 to take her cycling class (which, by the way, was a killer workout) to give my joints a break from running, and she has conquered her own health challenges and surgeries. She is inspiring.

My sister-in-law invited me to participate in an 8-week wellness challenge that Tracy was organizing. She had participated the 1st time Tracy did the challenge and encouraged me and my sister to join. The details of the challenge and the structure really intrigued me, which are explained below.

For 8-weeks, each person can earn a point per day in the following areas: 1) Journaling/tracking food intake and following a safe, healthy and nutritious eating plan of our choice, 2) drinking half your body weight in ounces of water, 3) exercising (and she leaves it to us to determine what we think is a workout, there is no minimum number of minutes required to earn this point) – and with exercise one can only earn a maximum of 5 points per week to encourage rest days, 4) getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night. We all took a picture of our scale with our starting weight and sent it to Tracy, and at the end of the 8 weeks we will take a picture of our scale with our ending weight. We can earn 1 point for each percentage of total body weight we lose. For example, if someone starts out weighing 200 lbs, they would earn 1 point for every 2 lbs they lost by the end of the challenge. We have sheets were we can record our points daily. One can earn a maximum of 26 points each week, and then additional points at the end with our final weigh-in. The people who did this challenge the first time don’t mess around. The previous winner didn’t miss ANY of their weekly points and lost weight. There is a $25 buy-in which is given to the winners at the end of 8 weeks. And she set up a FaceBook page for the members of the challenge so we always get little reminders, or encouragement, or ideas for meals and snacks.

I am used to keeping a food journal, and when properly motivated I can exercise 5 days per week. I was really intrigued with the sleep requirement. My sleep routine has been non-existent for almost a year and I’ve never given it much deliberate thought. I go to bed early when I am exhausted or I push myself and don’t get rest. There is no consistency.

We just finished up Week 2 of the challenge. I think I’ve missed only 1 sleep point each week so far when my schedule was a little off on that day. I have been tracking my food faithfully and paying attention to my calorie goals. I even track my “free days” or free meals. There is nothing like seeing that you ate a DQ Blizzard, or 4 slices of pizza from Rudy’s to make you more conscious of your food choices. I make my water intake daily. I’ve earned 5 exercise points per week. I started using MapMyWalk and synched it to my MyFitnessPal so it automatically posts my workouts and calorie expenditure to my food log. Although I began the challenge intending to do the Metabolism Miracle, my actual eating has turned into more of a carb counting routine. I keep my breakfasts and lunches to anywhere between 5-15 grams of carbs or less, I eat many vegetables, take my vitamins, and if I feel like eating some popcorn or a small handful of chips, or 2 soft tortillas in the evenings, I do it. I usually keep dinners to 2 carb servings or less. And guess what…..my weight seems to be just dropping off!! I believe it’s because the structure of this challenge encourages several healthy habits, not just food and exercise. I think it’s the sleep requirement that’s made the difference with me as well as being mindful of my carb intake and not restricting myself as much as before. My energy is evening out more each day…I don’t have as many dips and my energy lasts longer. And I feel smaller already.

So if you haven’t guessed it at this point, Tracy is amazing!!! This was so needed at this point and time and I’m having fun AND improving my health. Thank you again for organizing this!!

August Powwow Dance Challenge

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It’s been a busy and eventful summer. So I’m back with this short blog entry while I’m drafting a longer one.

I’ve been traditional dancing all summer and I’ve really enjoyed it! I didn’t think anything could come close to my love of shawl dancing, but I’ve discovered that as long as I’m in the arena and I can move, it’s a happy place. I’ve also developed a deep respect for traditional dancers because dancing this style is much harder than it looks. There is a whole technique involved that I had to learn, and I’m still learning. And those wool dresses are HOT!!

Although I miss shawl dancing, I am determined to get back to it safely, gradually building my strength and stamina. I will most likely dance traditional all fall, winter and spring (with the occasional participation in jingle dress), as I’ll need to be careful on what surfaces I shawl dance on when I first come back to it. No concrete floors until I the new hip becomes used to the high impact activity again.

With those plans in mind, yesterday evening marked my slow, gradual return to shawl dancing. The Swirlies and I and my sister are participating in Jr. Miss Indian Youth of Lawrence- Evelyn SpottedHorse’s August “Powwow Dance Challenge” where we dance for 30 minutes each day during the month of August. The girls were all excited to start and got me going as soon as I got home from work. We all went into our family room and put my iTunes on a bluetooth speaker and we all just danced. I did a mixture of jingle, traditional and fancy shawl. We all just kept moving for 30 minutes.Got a good little workout in, broke a sweat, and the new hip felt good with all the activity.

Such an awesome idea from this young lady. If you want to get in on the fun and fitness, here is the info to get started. We came in 2 days late due to our travels but we will catch up by this weekend.

16-Week Follow-Up Post-THR + Recovery Frustration

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Tuesday marked 16 weeks since I had total hip replacement on my right hip. This time I went to the appointment in workout pants that didn’t have any zippers so I wouldn’t have to change into the beautiful mesh shorts the doctor’s office provides to get the x-rays on my hip. The x-rays showed that my hip is healing nicely. There is no loosening of the device from the bone….he noted that my left hip looks bad (as it has since 2012) but he would leave it up to me as to when I wanted to get that hip replaced.

I was looking forward to having my non-impact exercise restrictions lifted and possibly be given the green light to get back to shawl dancing. He did reduce several of my restrictions. I can now squat or leg press up to 100% of my body weight (I was at 50% at my 6-week follow-up), I can pick up or deadlift up to 90 lbs (up from 40 lbs), and I can now do low-impact activity, such as Zumba or the modified T25 workouts, and continue with the walking, elliptical, stationary bike, swimming. I can also get back to pushing a prowler with weights, using my judgement on how my hip and muscles feel. But no attempts at returning to shawl dancing until I am 6-months post-surgery, which puts me at mid-June.

I’ll admit I was a little disappointed to hear that. But I’m realistic enough with myself to know that even in mid-June, had he given me the green light to return now, I wouldn’t be ready. I gained approximately 15 lbs since having my surgery. I feel like my muscle tone is zero. I’ve dealt with weight issues during my adult life, twice gaining and losing 30-36 lbs (NOT including pregnancy weight gain for my 2 daughters), and what feels different this time is that I always felt like I had a base to work from…even if I was overweight and out of shape, I still had a base of conditioning to build on. I don’t feel like I have that base in this instance.

I’ve said this to a few people…coming back after this surgery is harder than coming back after having 2 babies. After having both C-sections, I remember returning to the track to walk….and I couldn’t get my heart rate up enough for walking to feel like a workout, so I started walking the stairs. Not this time…even walking for distance is challenging. My muscles hurt. My arches hurt. None of the work clothes I bought last summer and fall fit me. I had to move my dance belt out when I danced traditional at KU powwow last weekend. And when I weighed and measured myself on Monday, I realized that I am the heaviest I have been in my adult life, not counting how much I weighed post-pregnancy.

This week was tough. I was beyond frustrated. I know now what people mean when they say they “raged inside”. Lol. That’s how I felt. I struggle with having patience, I want stuff to happen RIGHT NOW. So I started using my weight watchers app again on Monday, tracking my points, and my husband got all of us out for a walk after work. Wednesday I felt like I was coming unglued…my frustration with myself was hitting its peak, work stress piled up….I texted my adopted sister, letting her know how unglued I was becoming….lol. Then I grabbed my workout bag and headed for the rec center at my work. When I walked in I saw the recumbent step machine, just like the one they had at my physical therapy place. I used the 15-Minute Rule on myself, saying I would only get on that thing for 15 minutes then I was out of here. I listened to some Queen & David Bowie, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Steve Winwood while I pushed the pedals. Felt my nerves start to soothe. I did 20 minutes on the stepper and then set the machine for another 20. I felt so much better after. I felt like I got a good workout. I broke a sweat and I could tell my muscles did good work without anything else hurting. I felt calm. I felt optimistic. I was able to return to my work station and get a bunch of work done.

Yesterday I woke up not feeling much better than Wednesday. Some good talk about nutrition with MPH students and interns while working a career fair brightened my day. And then I got my family out for a walk while our dinner cooked. And once again, I returned feeling calm. Feeling optimistic. And I slept really good both nights.

Some people operate well by telling themselves “I HAVE to do this. I have no other choice.” I don’t do well with that type of self-talk. Telling myself that only increases frustration. I do believe I can do this now. I believe things are going to be ok. I’m getting back into the habit of tracking my food and generating ideas for healthy meals for my family. I feel like I’m finally ready to return to weight training, which always gave me good results. I am back to believing that walking will do me a world of good until I am ready to do more. I am looking forward to using that recumbent stepper more frequently until I feel like doing the elliptical. I have had several people tell me, “If anyone can come back from this strong, it’s you.”

I just need to keep telling myself that. Each and every day.

7 Weeks Post-THR

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on February 5, 2016

I am just a little over 7 weeks out of my hip replacement surgery and I’ve hit a wall. I’m still progressing, I just feel physically like I got run into a wall. Physical therapy is hard. The past 3 sessions have left me exhausted and sore. I feel fine while I’m doing it, I don’t feel like I’m overdoing it….I’m very careful about that. But when I leave, within an hour of my session ending, I feel like like crud. Yesterday was the worst. I almost didn’t go because I had muscle soreness from Tuesday’s session, but I thought I would feel better after I went. I did feel better for about 45 minutes. Lol. The joint feels fine, there isn’t any pain in the joint itself. It’s all muscle soreness. But it feels different than before my surgery…it feels achy….almost like when you are getting sick.

My kids have had a couple of viruses the past 2 weeks. Maybe I’m just fighting those off. Also I feel like I’ve been super busy at work ever since going back full-time last Wednesday. Maybe I’ve just run myself down. Either way, I’m home today and resting and recuperating and trying to get better.

After my friends saw my Facebook post, they answered with much encouragement, and a suggestion that I may not be eating enough protein to fuel the tissue growth that is occurring in the recovery from my surgery. I was already starting to look at my protein intake as one of the reasons for the muscle soreness and fatigue. So I started a protein shake…and if anyone knows me, they know how I hate having to default to a shake, I would much rather get it from real foods. But I needed to do something quick, and the shakes actually helped!

6 Weeks Post THR Follow-Up

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on January 26, 2016

I’m free!!!! No more compression tights!! I can drive, I can make my commute to work, I can start taking my Advil again, I can flex my hip beyond 90 degrees as long as my knee abducts out, and I can start walking, stationary biking, swimming and doing the elliptical for exercise!! (As my energy and muscle strength allows, of course.) He plucked that little string that was stuck in my incision scar right out with no problem. I guess it was some of the incision material they used to stitch me up that didn’t dissolve and made its way out of the scar tissue.

I was hoping to get clearance to start practicing to dance again. However, he said no impact exercising until after my next follow-up in 10 weeks. So I will be dancing traditional for my head dance gig at KU on April 2nd. I’ll be ready. And I can start getting my flexibility back so I can tie my own shoe!!

Overall he was very pleased with my progress. I can go back to iron supplement and my Omega-3 supplement. I got to see my first x-ray with my new hardware. Not quite ready to post any pictures like that however. It was cool though.

Short Blog Entry on Cooking

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Originally posted to my Facebook page on January 23, 2016

Since I can’t workout like I did pre-THR surgery, maintaining my health depends mostly on how I eat. I am not cleared to take my iron supplement yet, and I can’t take a multi-vitamin or any other type of supplements such as Omega-3 (doctor’s orders until my follow-up). I really have to try to get my nutrients from the food I eat.

Tonight I cooked hamburgers (lean grass fed beef from a local butcher) on whole wheat buns, baked sweet potato fries, and a green salad with diced apples, red onion, cucumber, celery, and I made my own apple vinaigrette dressing with local honey.

I’m finally getting the hang of making my own salad dressing. Sometimes I add Dijon mustard, or I change up the type of vinegar I use. It’s much easier than I ever imagined, and it’s fresh.

I didn’t really plan on making everything from scratch because this was just supposed to be a quickly prepared meal. I thought about grabbing a bag of frozen sweet potato fries, or a bag of pre-washed salad mix. But Sara wanted to try slicing and baking a sweet potato, and the head of lettuce was on sale. it worked out nicely because Joe B is a good sous chef. Everything tasted so good.

And I’m just thankful I have energy to cook more regularly now. That was really a killer, not feeling up to cooking. My family has missed my cooking and I’ve missed it as well. I enjoy it. It makes me even more thankful for all the meals that were delivered to us from friends because it kept us from living on fast-food or takeout in the weeks immediately following my surgery.

Post-THR Surgery: 5 Weeks & 4 Days

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Originally posted to my Facebook page January 22, 2016

Post-Hip Replacement Surgery: 5 Weeks and 4 days.

This week I finally got to do what resembled a workout in PT. I got to lift weights (hamstring curl, leg extensions, leg press, all double then single leg), some chair squats holding a weight, and climbing steps holding two 5-lb hand weights. In addition to my 10-14 minute warm-up on the recumbent step machine.

Today I got to ride a bike!! Even if it was only for 5-minutes, I pedaled like I was late for work. Hahahaha. And then I got to walk 5-minutes on a treadmill.

And now….I am really sore. Lol. It all kicks in at once. One minute I feel great. The next…I’m laying down for a nap.

I’ve been off all pain meds for 11 days. Those yucky meds are slowly working their way out of my system. It’s crazy how quickly your body can develop a dependence on Schedule 2 medications. I tapered for a week, then just stopped taking them last Monday night because I didn’t need anything for the pain (because I didn’t have any pain). Wednesday morning I had a withdrawal headache….just like the one I had the ONE time I tried to quit coffee. Lol. I’m lucky that’s the only withdrawal symptom I had, and that it only lasted for one day. By Thursday I felt fine. I know other people have far worse symptoms, so I feel lucky.

I discovered last week that someone, at some point, didn’t pull a little string out of my incision…like a string from a piece of gauze got stuck in the scab and never removed. So I have about a 1/8 inch piece of string stuck in the scar tissue of my incision. It freaked my physical therapist out. My doctor, not so much. He said as long as it’s not bothering me, they’ll deal with it at my follow-up appointment.

(Btw….If anyone wants to see a 10-second video clip of them removing my staples, let me know. Haha. I’m saving it on my phone. Maybe I’ll YouTube it. Ha.)

Speaking of my appointments, my 6-week follow-up is next Tuesday. I’m looking forward to driving again (freedom!!!). I’m REALLY looking forward to throwing these compression tights away. I’m looking forward to taking Advil again…and my iron supplement. I’m curious what restrictions might be lifted…like when will I be able to bend at the hip beyond 90 degrees? When can I start working out on a bike, elliptical, or water running or swimming? Or return to the weight room? Or the big question for me now…WHEN can I sleep on my right side again????

It feels weird and great at the same time…that my right hip joint feels so relaxed. I can take a full stride with no pain, no impingement. It’s been years since I felt like that. I get worried sometimes, thinking it’s going to give out on me, or start to hurt. But nothing yet. I can move it laterally with ease. I’ve not been able to do that since late 2011.

This has been an experience. A positive one. I feel much better going into my next surgery knowing what to expect, and knowing how to prepare.