3rd times a charm

Haven't written in a while and usually that means good things but honestly I just haven't had much time. Pain is still here, limited movement and all that stuff. Today I started PT for the third time, and this time is for me to prepare for surgery. Upper and lower strength so I will have an "easier" time moving muscles and getting my body around. Today she did lots of physical tests on my strength and we devised a plan for the next 2 weeks. all things do not hurt me at all, and if it does we will change it. About 5 exercises total. And we also talked about exercises with walker, crutches and canes to prepare for using those so my muscles are ready. I definitely think this is a great idea because I do not want to be weak and trying to stumble around and since I am prone to falling and and very clumsy I need all the help and preparation I can get.  :)

Bridge: laying on back with knees bent. Lift butt off ground and hold. 3x10
Plantar flexing: On left left with right foot off ground or toes resting, stand on tippie toes. 3x10
Resistance: tubing around ankles. Laying on back swing leg straight out. Both sides 3x10
Thigh master: lol pillow between knees and squeeze for 5 seconds. 3x10
Chair-ups: 5or 6 3 times a day. Have some weakness in my wrist from a carpal tunnel so that is tricky. Hope to get stronger soon to get that up.

My PT Carolyn is pretty funny. She said my "reward" in PT is more and harder exercises LOL Lucky me. She is super nice and made me feel safe and comfortable. The last 2 times i went to a therapist I did not feel comfortable with them. Both of them made me feel like an outsider or like my therapy was wasted time. I don't know why but the relationship was not there. I truly feel having a good relationship with honesty on both parts is great and helps me open up a little bit more and even try harder. I see her again in 2 weeks.

So, counting down the days til I see Dr. John Clark, Surgeon. I am looking forward to it and finding out a little more info. I know right know I need a PAO but that doesn't give specifics. Like his technique or what he likes to see. That is on July 29th. 3 weeks and 2 days. GAH So long. Anyway I will keep posted on my PT progress and if anything comes up.

Appt #2 Down

So today i went to a Surgeon assistant who did some physical exams and after many questions i need to have PAO surgery which is what i was guessing so i know now whats ahead of me and that is a real relief. I am starting PT on 6/28 to strengthen my upper and lower body to prepare for surgery and we are on a weight loss plan to lose 40 lbs by November 1st which is the earliest time i can take the time off. I'm waiting for the surgeon now to call me back on when to come and see him. Overall good news because now i have an answer. Surgery will fix it. My surgeon, John Clark, has been doing this surgery for 30 years and is regarded as the best in this area. Which is also a relief. I also now have sacroiliac joint pain caused by my walking because of pain in my hip so now i have grinding and impingement along with sciatic pain. SI joint and sciatic pain will ease with movement and getting stronger and also i am joining a pool nearby because that is the only exercise i can do right now and the only one i haven't tried yet. Hopefully the weightless movement will help a lot. Whew so many words for what seemed like not too much time lol

Now its time to read some more blogs and get all the best ideas and keep track so I can have all the tips and pointers. I now have the name of the surgery I will  be having, the name of the surgeon who will be doing it. Now I need to do the preparation for the surgery. I will post any helpful info i find and anything else that comes up :D

Appt #1 Down

Saw the Doc today. She was helpful. All in all the appointment was good. We went over my things about pain management. One medication was non-narcotic called nortripylene. Basically blocks some pain receptors in the brain to minimalize pain the brain thinks I'm having. It also helps me sleep better. Well I hope so anyway. We will see how the next few week go and if it helps then thats great. If not, She also got me onto a three month supply of narc pain meds to take if i really need it. And if not we will try something else. One thing we found is I may have another new issue now on the backside of my hip. I have issues already with sciatic pain and have to do stretching to keep in check but this one is new. It feels like a grinding and the stretching I am doing for sciatic nerve pain is not helping and actually hurts. The new pain, my DR said most likely has something to do with SI joint, or Sacroiliac joint. Basically cartilage breaks down for whatever reson, mine probably being the severe changes in my walking to try to alleviate pain in my hip is causing this. So the bones start to grind and can turn into osteoarthritis. That is a very small summary of it. Great more and exciting pain YAY!
Well Tomorrow is Appt #2 this week and this one will be with a Surgery Assistant in Orthopedics and we will be doing exams, possibly an MRI and talking about what may be best for me. I will fill you in on what happens...TOTALLY freaked!!!
Off to bed and hopefully tomorrow i have low emotions rolling and can handle it with minimal crying :)

Appointment #1: Pain management care plan

So tomorrow I go to my Dr about developing a pain management care plan. I am expecting her to be pretty stingy with the help. What I mean is the previous times i have seen her, her attitude has been that the narcotic pain meds don't work and I should go to PT and lose weight. Simple answer. RIGHT! Well, I am hoping now that another doctor has suggested that I see her to develop this plan maybe she will be more helpful? I don't know but if not I will probably change doctors because i don't need her to talk to me like I am an addict. I make a 3 day prescription last over a month. Please tell me I'm addictive! Anyway, I will bring my cane so hopefully she can teach me the right way to use it because yes it seems to help about 50% of each step. So basically half of each step i feel relief and pain. So I'm not sure i am using it right. I guess I can look it up online again but "hands on" training might help lol. So I am staying up late because I am kind of "stalling" the appt. I am just dreading the Dr's attitude. She is a really nice person and has helped in the past for other issues, but for this (THE BIGGEST ONE) she just has been a little less than helpful.
I am curios of other pain management options she will have and since I don't really like the fact that my only option is narcotic pain meds I would like to hear what else there could be including more healthy options for my body. I am also going to bring a disability placard form for her to sign so I can get a disabled parking placard for my cars. That will give me an easier time trying to walk into places especially since typically my pain begins right as my "trek" begins. Like as soon as I enter the mall, or get out of the car to go grocery shopping in a huge store. Lots of walking and maybe that will lessen the length of pain. It will definitely help in cases like today where as soon I got to work today i was on a call sitting down for an hour. When I got up to work the floor (I am a Restaurant Manager for fast food, not sure if i said that) i took about 10 steps and was in pain that lasted all day and still is going strong now. Well when I went out to do an admin task the parking lot I pulled into was completely uneven and i tripped a couple times. Walking up steps and across the lot was terrible. It would be so much help if I could park by the door and get out, walk a short distance, and return. Well I probably should get to bed. WAH! I will post what the doc says after my visit. TTYS :)

Ouch, ouch and more ouch!

So, My hip basically went out a week ago. Lots of pain and, this is weird, in more and different areas than usual. I am not sure exactly what caused it, all I know is I was and still am in pain. It is a deep, middle of the hip ache when I move, when I sit still and stand up and walk. It also hurts on the back part of my hip right above my butt and deep in the groin area. It feels closely like if I stretch it just enough, something might break, which I'm guessing is not what I want?  So basically for a few days I was just hanging out and decided to buy a cane to help ease some of it when I'm walking around. The doctor should have given me a lesson with an actual cane when he was telling me I needed to use one. Because dang that was awkward! It just didn't, and still doesn't, feel right...He said use it as a third leg opposite of the pain side. And to step with pain side and use the cane (opposite side) to support. Well that seemed to make it hurt more LOL I tried every which way I could think of but still don't think I have it down. Plus, I was very embarrassed to use it. :( I am finding it very hard to use it in public. I am embarrassed and it is humiliating actually. I'm not thirty and I'm walking with a cane (well not really, bought it and finding it hard to use). It is a little hard to deal with, believe me. This older man with a cane walked by me in the cane section at Walgreen's and he did a double take, which made me feel even more awkward than I was already. So I bought the pink one with roses. I think I would almost like to use crutches, since it might be a little less out of place than a youngin with a cane. Pain medicine, Ibuprofen and stretching has done little to ease it, but it is going away slowly, or maybe I'm becoming used to it? Something about a pain threshold maybe? IDK but this hurts awful!! Work is extremely hard. I am a restaurant manager of a fast food business and I am moving and sitting about fifty-fifty. Both induce pain. Have to move fast and make short, quick movements. Bending or squatting, carrying things. Sitting For long periods of time makes the joint stiffen and causes pain, and also I can feel what I'm guessing to be bone touching bone in a few different areas, depending on how I'm sitting. This week has been very stressful and depressing but I am hopeful that there will soon be an answer :)


I have 9 days till I see the surgeon and I am hoping they have loads of info about my individual issues and more help and ideas. First appt with a surgeon is very scary. I have little idea as to the next few months of docs visits, but from the other blogs I have been reading, there will be lots of exams maybe needles and tests too? When I saw a Dr. with my insurance co., his referral was not if I need surgery, but "operate now, or wait." I did appreciate him and what he said. He was the first Dr. who actually seemed to care about my issue and was sympathetic toward my weight. He explained to me that it is extremely difficult for someone to lose a large amount of weight without exercise at all. (DUH!) And that many people fail if left to restricting diet only (YES I KNOW lol) But it was nice for a change to have a Dr. "on my side." I am so anxious, nervous, excited to hear what the surgeon has to say. Oh I hope this appt will help ease some anxiety. Though I am feeling relief in the fact that we are closer to a solution. IT has been LONG enough and I'm ready to know what the road ahead is going to be. Can't it be 6/16 yet!!!!

Rain Rain, go away

WEDS 6/1

Today is a wonderful rainy day in Seattle, WA and it pretty much fits my mood. Today I need to call and make an appointment to get more pain meds. Every time they treat me like an addict and tell me that it doesn't really help. Um, Hello? It takes my pain down enough so that I can move and work and do daily life things. So I'm pretty sure it helps. And besides, its my right to have pain medicine if I am in pain. I am thinking though I may try to set up pain management instead of just asking for more pain pills. If I have to live with the pain I might as well manage it. I don't really know what there is to offer, but hopefully the doctor wont be so stingy and help me.

.......
THURS 6/2

Last night started with so much stiffness and pain I couldn't believe it. Yesterday I emailed my DR and asked for medication refill and got a response from another doctor suggesting I set up an appointment with my DR to start a pain management care plan. This probably would have been great for them to suggest like last year! LOL But I am curious what types of care plans are available. I definitely do not want to keep taking narcotic pain medication if there are better and safer ways to manage my pain. They did however refill my request for pain medicine and I am waiting for the pharmacist to fill it.

I think this may be the worst day of pain I have felt. I am going to actually look into getting a walking cane because The stiffness and clicking and loss of strength is terrible. The pain medicine is not taking it away and that is not a good sign. I'm a little more scared now. I do not want to have to depend on a cane and it is a pretty big blow to the ego that before I am even 30 I need help to walk. What will that say for me when I am older? I can only hope that this surgery (don't know which one or anything about it yet) will help tremendously.  I tried stretching, laying flat on my stomach, all the tricks I know, but to no avail. Basically...this just freaking sucks! I am so tired of being my hip and my life revolving on whether my hip is not feeling it today. Ok enough pity party for me...If I find a good cane I will post it :)