Feeling good !

Tomorrow will be 3 months since my surgery to debride my labrum and to shave 3 bone spurs from my hip. Time flies so fast. It was a decision I will absolutely never regret.
I feel great today for a change. I am definitely feeling so much better and the pain is tolerable and even absent in places it recently had been. The tightness is beginning to settle in my hamstring and the pain is gone from my butt (today anyway). It's amazing the difference physical therapy has made in my life. The stretches I have been doing have helped tremendously and I hope to be done with everything soon and get back to planning for my right hip to get done.

They finally fixed the floors here at work yesterday and filled the gap with concrete and stretched the carpets. I am so thankful to not have to walk to my desk looking at the floor for the x's we placed to not roll into it again. Kevin left Friday but so far this week I am holding my own just fine. It is still extremely stressful not having someone to have your back when you need it, but like any other time I am a strong broad and I will muddle through the best I can.

My 38th birthday is coming up in a few days and I can't believe this is where I am in my life. No one really expects to be looking at hip surgery this early and I should really be out there still training for marathon's and playing baseball with my kids. I guess the whole experience for nearly a year now has made me strong but somewhat bitter. I did everything right. I stayed healthy, I played sports, I exercised and I tried to stay active ... in the end the result was the same. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. And like Louisa, my FAI buddy has shared, this has been the hardest year by far. I would like to think that giving up 2 years of my life to fix my hips will reward me with 30 of having a chance to be active and pain free again.

MRI results

I had the imaging place fax me the results over and I can post what it says.
Borderline joint effusion
Mild synovitis and edematous capsular thickening of the left anterior/inferior joint capsule

It looks like I didn't really hurt anything major so that's good news, but I will need them to explain the rest to me !

Definitions -
Joint Effusion - increased fluid in synovial cavity of a joint. It's a sign of arthritis. ( I am not sure if this is due to the Debridement)
Arthritis involves the breakdown of cartilage. Cartilage normally protects the joint, allowing for smooth movement. Cartilage also absorbs shock when pressure is placed on the joint, like when you walk. Without the usual amount of cartilage, the bones rub together, causing pain, swelling (inflammation), and stiffness.

You may have joint inflammation for a variety of reasons, including:

* An autoimmune disease (the body attacks itself because the immune system believes a body part is foreign)
* Broken bone
* General "wear and tear" on joints
* Infection (usually caused by bacteria or viruses)

Often, the inflammation goes away after the injury has healed, the disease is treated, or the infection has been cleared.

Synovitis - An inflammatory condition of the synovial membrane of a joint as the result of an aseptic wound or a traumatic injury, such as a sprain or severe strain.

I lived .... again

MRI's are evil.
I of course got sick during the beginning of mine Friday and had the worse sense of panic. I ended up crying and having to take 2 different shots at it. Finally after the scan started I fell asleep from the Valium and was able to finish it without even remembering. I swear it is being strapped down that does it to me. For an hour or 2 afterward I shake uncontrollably. I am anxiously awaiting my scan report to see if everything is going ok.
Physical Therapy was a little rough this morning. I did the presses, ball rotations and he had me doing 3/3's of the leg lifts. My leg is still really shaky and it was only painful on the lifts. The horrible part was when he worked on the IT band. The pain is to the point I am ready to jump off the table, but now I just remember to breathe through it and to swear (sh!t is my favorite right now). He worked again on my glutes and my lower back which was great, still hurts extremely bad but he does the deep tissue now on both sides and I can finish it straight through. I kinda miss the ultrasound but it honestly isn't helping enough to make a difference. I think that's why I like Michael so much because he is great at the process of elimination and finding what really works for me. I can't believe the difference in the right crest now, it is getting to the point I barely even notice it anymore. It starts to get sore again after maybe 3 or 4 days but at least now it's tolerable. Today though the heating pad had to come out.
I am also concerned about my need for pain meds. Saturday night I was 2 hours late on my meds and I could feel it. The limp started and my back ached so badly. I was with the girls at the mall getting their homecoming dresses and I was almost in tears just trying to get around. This bothers me. To know if for whatever reason I can't refill a prescription or something similar (no access to them) that I may very well go through some serious withdrawal and pain. I need to get this figured out and soon so I can finally just stop taking it. I did start taking the vitamin D this weekend so that may help with some areas of being exhausted, but at this point I will take absolutely anything that will help me naturally feel better. Guess I will see. The most natural feel good stuff I am getting right now is emotional support, which has been missing for a little bit. It feels wonderful to have it again.

Happy Friday !

This week is over already, wow it went quick.
I got up at 5:30 and went to breakfast with my son as usual and I feel wiped out. I was out of the 15mg oxycontin and had to take a 20mg so it makes me tired. I have to pick up the new prescription today and get that done.
Physical therapy was great this morning again. I let Michael know that the massage along the right side seem to work wonders and asked if he could possibly do it again to see if that was the key for me. He had absolutely no problem with it considering his job is to slowly try new things to pinpoint where the pain is coming from. I can honestly say I feel excellent right now. My hamstring is still being a pain but it always feels less tight after I see him. I did some stretching before he did the massage, but again on the gluteus minimus I was almost crying it hurt so much. I figured I can cope with that level of pain long enough to feel better for days afterward. When he started on the IT band I was almost jumping off the table it hurt so bad.
I am feeling some pain in my butt cheek again and a slight pinching, guessing it is still the piriformis. One thing I can say though is that I am healing. I can feel the difference everyday and I am excited about it. The MRI is this afternoon and Dr. Weinghart's office just called and let me know that they are going to give me the Valium. Oh happy day !
I had the most wonderful evening and I feel very content today and calm. Everything seems to be coming together with both the emotional and physical aspects of my life and it feels phenomenal.

The Noisy White Monster ...

I will be having my MRI tomorrow afternoon and I am not happy ! I left a message with Dr. Weinghart to hopefully get a prescription for Valium before I go, I know I can't get through it without them. I even told the nurse to make sure they have 2. I now refer to the MRI machine as the noisy white monster, the terror I feel the minute I see it fits the name just fine.
I decided today to walk to Target to get the Vitamin D but that was a huge mistake. There was a pinch maybe halfway there in my butt cheek again. I am sick to death of hurting there. I see Michael in the morning and I am hoping he can continue to make me feel better. It's going to be a long busy day tomorrow that's for sure.
I will be hitting the shopping areas with my daughter this weekend to find her homecoming dress and if PT goes good it shouldn't be too much of an issue. It would be nice to be able to spend more than an hour out before being wiped for the entire weekend.

Humpday ...

The week is flying by so fast and I continue to be feeling pretty good. I only feel a small amount of tugging and I do feel really tight in my hamstring. It's definitely a great change from the last few weeks and how I have been feeling. I don't see Michael again until Friday and boy am I anxious ! I am also feeling slightly better along the crest on my right side which is surprising me. This has hurt for well over 8 months, and if the solution is working that muscle I am all for it.
I got a call from Dr. Sorenson's office as well and my test results came back a little lower than the last so I have to do another 24 collection, which was horrible. My calcium was elevated as well as my vitamin D being extremely low, 16. So they suggest I go ahead and start the vitamin D supplements and see how they want to move forward with scheduling the scan of my parathyroid. The nurse did say the rest of my numbers looked pretty decent so finally a little good news.
Emotionally I am pretty happy. I swear it helps my recovery to feel like this. Probably should mention Rob and I are talking again and it has certainly helped me.

Happy Tuesday !

I am feeling pretty good today for a change. Thought I would mix it up and actually have a good day.
After seeing Michael yesterday I am coming to the conclusion that my right hip may actually be contributing to my pain. He did the massage on the right side yesterday and I woke up feeling pretty damn good on both sides. Of course I am still stiff when I walk but it isn't nearly as bad as it had been the last few times. My back is aching a very small bit and my hamstring is tight but those I can deal with. Even the right side crest area is in less pain and it feels so nice. I may ask him to do that again on Friday and see if I can keep progressing. I am getting so ready to have this hip done.
Emotionally I am extremely content today. After posting about my needs yesterday I finally got the break I so badly needed and wanted last night. My emotions have been all over the place and I can't really put my finger on why. I don't know if I can blame the medication, the frustration of always being in pain or that I am just messed up sometimes. I can't believe it's been almost 10 months since my original injury. It plays on my mind like it was yesterday and I can't believe I have lived with this degree of pain for so long. I am looking forward to the day I can say I am completely healed and move on with my life. I knew this was going to be a long journey but I had no idea that I would be this messed up!

Needs ...

I was just thinking I need just one good thing to happen in my life ... and soon !!!!! I can't seem to catch a break.

My New Medication !

After a long weekend I can truly say I loved PT this morning. My legs have ached to the point of me making these weird grunting sort of sounds just to walk up the stairs. I was almost in tears after doing laundry and then walking around to get groceries. I am not sure if I am dehydrated or what, but I ate a banana this morning and took some potassium and magnesium. The new time release muscle relaxer is the devil ! I couldn't function at all on it and would find myself falling asleep at my desk. I had to leave my desk and go to my car and take a nap. I speant my lunch break also sleeping in the back of my car. Never again ! Right now I have a water bottle filled and trying to get it down with my coffee. Michael got deep into my Gludeus Minimus this morning and while it hurt like hell (had me almost crying) it feels so good right now. He even did my right side since I have been feeling horrible pain along the crest again. I also did my presses and the balance ball. He said the hamstring didn't feel quite as tight today as it usually does which to me is finally something positive. He has a way with the massages too that really make my muscles relax. It is still mostly the hamstring insertion point that hurts like a (insert expletive here) but I just breath through it and know I will feel much better when he is done. He also had a student in today, Matt, who took over my stretches and he wasn't nearly as rough as Michael is.
I tried the treadmill on Saturday night and that was a huge mistake. I made it 8 minutes before I had to stop. Michael really suggests an elliptical instead due to the motion but I can't afford one right now. Maybe I can sell the treadmill and then put that towards it. I am getting desperate to get this weight gain under control, but I am also coming to terms with it being a normal part of the process, even with the medicine since it is listed as a side effect on both.
Nate is home and extremely ill. Hope my baby feels better and gets over this nasty cough !

Second Appointment

So I just came back from seeing Dr. Erickson. I finally broke down and actually cried. Living in this pain every single day is really starting to get to me. After I was done showing him what motions actually hurt me the most and where I am feeling the pain he believes it may be my adductor that was strained too. The more I read about it the more it really does make sense. I am going to mention this to Michael when I got to PT in the morning.
As I thought, he is going to try and get an MRI scheduled through Workman's Comp but they are pretty hard to get approved. Either way I can now try and do a few stretches and see if I can get any relief. With them messing around with my hip and pelvis today I am finding myself faced with the most horrible backache !

First appointment

I am back from my first appointment today with the Workman's Comp doctor and he isn't really sure what is going on. Since I am seeing Dr. Erickson this afternoon he said we will wait to see what he says and send the referral over to him for my care. He also gave me a new type of muscle relaxer that is time release and supposedly doesn't make you feel tired. I will most likely wait until I get home to try it just in case. I learned the hard way to not always trust them when they say it won't make you sleepy.

Busy doctor day

Today I will be running all over seeing my doctors. I see the Workman's comp doctor at 11:40 and then Dr. Eirckson at 4:30. I am almost looking forward to it.
There has been no improvement in my hip/groin area. I felt it so badly this morning when I sat down and tried to let my knee fall out to put my shoes on. I felt it immediately in my butt and my groin, a very sharp pain that ended when I brought my knee back in. As I sit here typing this now I can feel a burning ache in the lower butt cheek and my ahem ... "lady area". I am so discouraged especially since it now feels like I did prior to the surgery. I can't even begin to imagine what could be hurting since they removed the labrum that was torn and removed the bone spurs. Sure it could definitely be muscle but why does it feel so familiar ? I can't even sit on the floor now without my leg falling asleep within a few minutes.
I have been really easy on my entire body for the last 2 weeks and I am starting to feel weak and fluffy. I feel like my weight is coming back under control but I feel like I am definitely losing my muscle mass. I miss the pool and I definitely miss getting out and running around with the boys. Nate asked me if I could take him to the park last night and I had to tell him no because I was in so much pain. All I wanted to do was lay down, but of course I stood in the kitchen for an hour cooking dinner. I sat in the chair at the dining room table but they are the raised kind and sitting on the edge of one actually hurt !
I really want to swear, scream ... something right now. I am sick of pain and I am most certainly sick of waiting constantly to find out what's wrong with my body ! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH ! There now, I feel a little better.
Emotionally I am confused and hurting like no ones business. I really think there is a link between your emotional and physical states and how it all fits in to your recovery. When I was happy and getting good exercise my recovery was fast and extremely productive. Now that I am sad and not exercising I feel, hmmmm what's a good word .... blah.

Snooooooozefest

I am so tired ! My brain is not willing to function today and my body is not playing nice either. I went to bed at 10:30 last night and didn't crawl out of bed until 8'ish and feel like I slept 20 minutes ! Nate and Brandon are both sick, Nate even stayed home from school with a fever today. I wonder if I am catching something.
My hip and back are aching like they did before my surgery and I am extremely frustrated. Following PT yesterday I could barely walk and the exercises were nearly impossible. I was fine with the lifts but letting it go back down shot pain through my hip and into my groin that eventually after the 4th one I was crying. Michael did pin point the location for my pain and said it was at the insertion point of the hamstring and helped a lot by hitting it with the ultrasound and massaged it pretty good. I think what feels the best for me is when he pulls my ankle to him as I am laying on my back. That minor stretching feels fantastic and relieves so much pressure from my back.
I have stopped taking the muscle relaxers and I am sure that hasn't helped me the last couple of days, but it is seriously affecting me being able to get anything done during the day. I may start taking half of one during the night, I haven't really decided yet. The pain meds are useless lately and I am taking the Lyrica as I normally would without even knowing if they are really working. I feel exhausted either way and just want to crawl back in bed today. With Kevin leaving next week though I really need to stay at work to make sure I can get every bit of knowledge from him to help me transition easier when he leaves. I am so stressed out.

Sore Again

I had PT again this morning and we started using some of the machines. He eventually will have me on the elliptical and said no more treadmill for me, ever ! My body can't handle that motion anymore so he is showing me some great exercises to strengthen not only my hip and thigh but also the muscles that run along my knee for support. We are using no weight right now, just my body and it definitely hurt when doing the lifts and balancing exercises. He thinks I may have hurt something more because I am feeling pain where the exercises shouldn't be causing pain. He did the ultrasound again this morning and a soft tissue massage .. my favorite parts ! I go back to Dr. Erickson for my hip follow-up on Thursday so we will see then, possibly he will order the MRI to take a look.
I am still pretty groggy from the medications and hope eventually to ween myself off of them. I am really sick of being tired and I just want to have some energy. I see Dr. Sorenson for all my retests of the parathyroid next week so hopefully we can move forward with all that too.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz ....

Wow am I tired this morning ! All I can think about is going back to bed. I don't know if it's the muscle relaxers he gave me, but since I started taking them I feel very groggy and disoriented. I had to sneak and take 2 naps in the car on my breaks yesterday ....shhhhhhhh. This is really starting to affect me at work. With Kevin leaving in 2 weeks I really can't afford to miss anything he would be passing off to me before he leaves. I am so stressed trying to figure out how to carry the work of 4 people feeling the way I do.
Today the pain is incredible. I would say it is even almost worse than from before my surgery. The burning is so deep into my butt cheek that it even hurts to rub it now. My hamstring is tight today too and the stretching exercises made me tear up and now my IT Band is throbbing. I am assuming that is from the "massage" it got yesterday. Since this has never been stretched or massaged for that matter I am guessing it isn't very happy with me.
So, back to limping, which I am so sad I am having to do at this stage in my recovery. I was doing so well on my own before this injury and now I see it setting me back at least 2 months while I do PT. I am depressed over it that's for sure. I had the positive vibe going, knowing I was getting better.
Back to square one.

Soft Tissue Massage

Those are my most favorite 3 words in the english language today. I saw Michael this morning at My Physical Therapist and he used the Ultrasound again and then followed up with a soft tissue massage. It felt wonderful ! It did hurt initially and it took quite a while to where it wasn't sore, but man was it nice after he was done. He also massaged my Iliotibial Band (IT Band) which was extremely painful too. He rubbed both sides to show me a comparison of how it was related to my injury and you can definitely tell the difference in tightness. He also rubbed my lower back on the left side because the sciatic nerve runs inside/along the piriformis. It was tender and quite hard to breathe through the pain but once I relax and get into my zone I can usually relax enough to benefit from what he is doing. He showed me a new stretch that I will be trying through the weekend using my pelvic floor, which of course hurt ! The last ones he gave me certainly helped me though and I didn't feel as tight, and he noticed as well. I am sure the muscle relaxer I took earlier that morning probably helped a little too.
After speaking with the doctor this morning they have agreed to let me keep using Michael for my physical therapy since he takes the Workman's Comp insurance. He is close to my house and accomodates my early schedule. You just can't beat that. He is extremely pleasant and treats me like a real person, unlike a lot of places where I am just another claim. Amazing how some of these little hidden charms make their way into your life. I am seeing his assistant again on Friday morning.

It feels like Monday ...

The weekend was soooo long. I got hit with the flu Heather had last week and spent nearly the entire weekend in bed. My body needed the rest but now my hip and thigh are so sore and tight from the inactivity.
I saw the doctor this morning for Workman's comp and he also saw that the strain/pull was my piriformis and hamstring. He prescribed a muscle relaxer to help loosen my hamstring up a little bit, it was extremely tight. He has also ordered physical therapy 3 times a week for 4 weeks and then we will see where we are at. It's not a bad facility but I would much prefer Michael, but I can't because they won't pay for it. I will see him tomorrow for the soft tissue massage and pay the copay out of pocket because this new one can't see me until next Wednesday. The only restriction I have been given is light duty and to be able to change position and walk whenever I feel the need. I already have this ability. I will push again to have these spots marked on the floor since I have already talked to several women who have experienced the same things with heels.
I am feeling super sleepy today and I have no clue why. Maybe too much sleep yesterday. I think I was awake maybe 8 hours total the whole day and then slept all the way through last night. I still feel a little bit hanging on but I am definitely better.

The evil floor pics !

This is the top view. It's kinda hard to see coming from a distance and I swear I hit it a few times before I learned to take the long way lol. It's a concrete floor covered by thin carpeting.



This is a side view. It isn't big by any means but imagine walking in heels and hitting it just right and rolling out with a newly fixed hip ! I almost biffed it this time and hurt myself catching my body falling in the opposite direction of the hip.

PT

After sitting in pain for 2 days I finally called Dr. Erickson and let him know what had happened. They had me come in immediately so he could take a look. He said that from my pain and seeing a small bruise that I in fact have a piriformis and hamstring strain. I could see the concern on his face right away too. I can tell you that this morning it is so tight it feels like my whole thigh is on fire ! He sent me to Michael at My Physical Therapy and he did the initial check of my hamstring and such and then proceeded to do some stretches. I could feel the spasms all the way to my toes. He found me a pair of gym shorts because he didn't want to leave me the whole weekend with just that stretch and then did ultrasound on it. He used the type with the anti-inflammatory because I remember him asking me if I had any allergies.

"This treatment involves the application of a topical anti-inflammatory. The anti-inflammatory medication can be mixed with the ultrasound gel and applied to the area using the probe. The ultrasonic sound waves force the medication to migrate into the tissues reducing inflammation."

It felt so weird. Like little pricklies all over, sliding around. He did place a heat pad of some kind on my lower back right before he started. It didn't hurt at all though so I focused on the conversation we were having at the time. When I got up it felt much better, it felt relaxed. Soon after though I could feel the tightening and he said that was completely normal and it would continue to tighten more. At this point he showed me 3 stretches to do at home. With it being a holiday weekend he can't see me again until Wednesday morning at 7am, but at that time he will start doing a soft tissue massage on the area. My ortho ordered this for 3 times a week for 4 weeks. My only concern is that now my back hurts again. It is now irritated and it had finally started to feel better. The hamstring is super tight today so I am going to try the stretches he showed me and see if I can get any relief. I really thought I was doing great on recovery and thought I was close to healed ... this injury woke me up fast.
My follow-up with Dr. Erickson will be in 2 weeks. Welcome to the world of Workman's Comp headaches !

Ouchie !

Well I finally got to feel some pain since the surgery. There is a separation in the floor at work and I rolled in to it with my heels yesterday. It pulled something and now today it aches so badly. This isn't the first time I did it but normally I am wearing flat soled shoes but I just happened to be wearing my favorite pair of black heels. I did ask them to mark it so I didn't do it again but it's still not today .. and of course rolled again in my boots. Now I need to just walk the long way to the bathroom ! It doesn't feel very swollen but it does feel like I pulled it. I guess I will call tomorrow if I am still feeling pain.
Other than that the day has been uneventful. I am patiently waiting for my results from my 24 collection, which I probably will not get until I see Dr. Sorenson on the 18th. They are doing all of my retests that day too so a few more weeks of waiting around !

Let the sun shine in !

What a beautiful day out today is. The sun is shining and I plan to get my butt outside and do some walking today. My hip feels fantastic. I at first thought I was feeling some pulling but it looks like my back is acting up a little so it's more referred than anything. I have been doing some hefty stretching and can now straighten my leg well up over my head with no problems at all. I am also trying to see how far out and inward I can move it before it hurts a little but I don't see really anything there either except I can't quite get it to rest on the floor yet. I am guessing that is due to not stretching quite enough. I was told that my recovery is more at stage 6 months and not 2 months as we would expect.
I have started eating better so I can get back to my pre-surgery weight at least before we tackle the other hip. I am realistic in knowing that hip is in much worse shape and my recovery may not be so easy. To this point it has been an absolute breeze. I worry about my fellow FAI'ers and can't figure out why my recovery has been so easy when we basically had the same surgeries done. I hope others keep in mind as well that I have been on daily pain therapy and it most likely masks some of the pain I would have felt otherwise and helped me push harder to move my hip more.
I am so worried about all the other test results for myself as well, because if I am not absorbing calcium as I should be it may not be the recovery I think it is ! Now ... time to go have a nice lunch in the grass in the nearby park.