I decided my labrum need a blog of its own - you can follow my surgery and recovery at http://fixmylabrum.wordpress.com/.
I'm just over a week away from surgery, so this blog will be going on hiatus a bit while I sacrifice my fitness in the short term for a pain-free hip in the long term.
In the meantime, if you're looking for a worthwhile cause, head over to Rurally Screwed and donate to bring Solha the dog home from Afghanistan!
And, if you love gross medical stuff, IronMo is recently post-op and has posted really awesome pictures her surgeon took of her ankle all filleted open.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
One hip mama, part 4
In the previous post, I'd visited with Dr. D, the orthopedic surgeon.
At every step along the way, I keep expecting that somebody will say, "yeaaaaah, so, you're really fine. Quit whining." It's great to have a diagnosis and a treatment plan. But what I really want is for ice, Advil, and a reality check to cure me.
Because as Dr. D explained the surgery, the next logical step was to start asking questions about the recovery. The good news is that I can expect a full recovery. Better than full - I've had pain for so long, I've forgotten what it is to be pain free. I can't imagine not compensating for this. I am truly lopsided now. My right glute area is just a mess - it's almost constantly in spasm, and yet terrifically weak compared to my left side. My water bottle sloshes like crazy when I hold it in one hand, and not the other. Both Dr. K and Dr. D have done range of motion tests that just blow my mind. Having full ROM and no pain is going to be fantastic! But there's a price.
Two weeks on crutches. And since it's my right hip, two weeks of no driving as well. I have two little kids and a full time job. The Supportive Husband is, in fact, quite supportive, but he's a busy, self-employed professional. And is having surgery of his own two weeks before me. So I'll be calling in a lot of favors. I'm lucky that my parents are nearby, however, they'll be going out of the country just before I'm off crutches.
And being off crutches doesn't mean I'm home free. I have four more weeks of restricted activity. I'm supposed to avoid more than 90 degrees of flexion, so all the bending down to tie little shoes and zip little zippers is out. Once those initial six weeks are up, I'll start physical therapy. It looks like recovery will be a marathon, and not a sprint.
In actual running news, I've had a rough time keeping up with my 10 Miler buddies. With surgery looming, I'll admit to waning motivation. I won't be running the race, so without that carrot, I have a hard time getting out the door. I was felled by a stomach bug just after Christmas, and had a week where I couldn't eat and couldn't run. I'm still trying to get the mileage back up from that. But it behooves me to be in good physical shape going in to the surgery, so I'm doing my best to slog it out.
Speaking of surgery, Iron Mo had surgery yesterday, and is blogging postoperatively. She had a big tear in a tendon that has vexed her for a couple of years now. Lucky her, she gets crutches for eight weeks! Best wishes to her for a speedy recovery.
Monday, January 02, 2012
One hip mama, part 3
In the previous post, I had been referred by Dr. K to an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. D.
On the advice of Dr. K, I stopped by the hospital to get a copy of my MRI. I had my laptop in the car, and took a quick peek before hitting the interstate. Despite the radiologist's report, I couldn't really tell what the tear looked like. But I could tell that I was not pregnant, but apparently I really had to pee!
I made my way to Richmond to meet with Dr. D, the orthopedic surgeon. I had a brief freakout the morning before, as a quick perusal of the practice's website made no mention of Dr. D doing arthroscopic surgery. Open surgery, for a torn labrum like mine, is not an option. Arthroscopic is the only way to go. And ideally, your surgeon has done hundreds of these procedures. There's a learning curve.
And waiting in the waiting room didn't exactly get my hopes up. There were a lot of pretty decrepit people in there, pre- and post-hip replacement. I want to repair the labrum to avoid hip replacement! I'm in my 30's for pete's sake!
My confidence was not bolstered by the office person doing my intake. She asked me a little bit about my injury, which I really didn't care to discuss with the office assistant. She asked when my pain had gotten worse, and I said it hadn't. Then she had the nerve to ask, "then why are you here?" Um, like chronic pain isn't a good enough reason? Really? Nice. I clammed up and told her I'd discuss my diagnosis with a nurse or doctor.
I went back to the waiting room for the aged, and fidgeted. Finally, I was called back. And what a relief - the exam room was wallpapered with autographed posters of famous athletes thanking the practice for helping them. Yeah! As expected, they had not received a copy of my MRI, so I was happy to have brought my own. They also wanted an X-ray, which I hadn't brought, but this being an ortho practice, they had an X-ray machine in office, and my eggs got another healthy dose of radiation.
And finally, the long-awaited Dr. D! He was not the dumb jock I was dreading, but very personable and well-spoken. He gave me another quick hip anatomy lesson, confirmed that I have a tear, and that surgery is the only way to fix it for good.
I asked a ton of questions - I'm sure he was not expecting such an interrogation late on a Friday afternoon, but I had one shot to check him out before trusting him with my health and well-being, and I was going to get my money's worth out of my copay. I come from a medical family, so I was armed with lingo, jargon, and my natural distrust of orthopedic surgeons.
Long story short, the good Dr. D has done thousands of these procedures, and has had great results. His approach is not to just excise the torn part, but to actually reattach it to the underlying cartilage with little plastic anchors into my bone. Sign me up.
Only one problem - when can a busy working mom of two fit hip surgery into her schedule? And did I mention that The Supportive Husband needs to have two hernias repaired as well?
More to come...
On the advice of Dr. K, I stopped by the hospital to get a copy of my MRI. I had my laptop in the car, and took a quick peek before hitting the interstate. Despite the radiologist's report, I couldn't really tell what the tear looked like. But I could tell that I was not pregnant, but apparently I really had to pee!
I made my way to Richmond to meet with Dr. D, the orthopedic surgeon. I had a brief freakout the morning before, as a quick perusal of the practice's website made no mention of Dr. D doing arthroscopic surgery. Open surgery, for a torn labrum like mine, is not an option. Arthroscopic is the only way to go. And ideally, your surgeon has done hundreds of these procedures. There's a learning curve.
And waiting in the waiting room didn't exactly get my hopes up. There were a lot of pretty decrepit people in there, pre- and post-hip replacement. I want to repair the labrum to avoid hip replacement! I'm in my 30's for pete's sake!
My confidence was not bolstered by the office person doing my intake. She asked me a little bit about my injury, which I really didn't care to discuss with the office assistant. She asked when my pain had gotten worse, and I said it hadn't. Then she had the nerve to ask, "then why are you here?" Um, like chronic pain isn't a good enough reason? Really? Nice. I clammed up and told her I'd discuss my diagnosis with a nurse or doctor.
I went back to the waiting room for the aged, and fidgeted. Finally, I was called back. And what a relief - the exam room was wallpapered with autographed posters of famous athletes thanking the practice for helping them. Yeah! As expected, they had not received a copy of my MRI, so I was happy to have brought my own. They also wanted an X-ray, which I hadn't brought, but this being an ortho practice, they had an X-ray machine in office, and my eggs got another healthy dose of radiation.
And finally, the long-awaited Dr. D! He was not the dumb jock I was dreading, but very personable and well-spoken. He gave me another quick hip anatomy lesson, confirmed that I have a tear, and that surgery is the only way to fix it for good.
I asked a ton of questions - I'm sure he was not expecting such an interrogation late on a Friday afternoon, but I had one shot to check him out before trusting him with my health and well-being, and I was going to get my money's worth out of my copay. I come from a medical family, so I was armed with lingo, jargon, and my natural distrust of orthopedic surgeons.
Long story short, the good Dr. D has done thousands of these procedures, and has had great results. His approach is not to just excise the torn part, but to actually reattach it to the underlying cartilage with little plastic anchors into my bone. Sign me up.
Only one problem - when can a busy working mom of two fit hip surgery into her schedule? And did I mention that The Supportive Husband needs to have two hernias repaired as well?
More to come...
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