These photos were taken on Thursday but I could almost use them for today as well as things will not change much from what you see here. There they are at 4:39am talking me into feeding them breakfast that early. It didn't work and eventually they walked back to the bedroom and computer room to sleep.
Picking up from where I left you in yesterday morning's post I thought between the hours of 5am to 11am yesterday that I might have returned to normal. I was feeling that good and walking inside the house without support and cane in hand. I had only taken one 5 minute walk outside around the fence line in back and felt good after that walk. Things seemed to be moving back to "normal". I felt very optimistic.
A little past 8:30am I called my surgeon's office as I remembered him telling me numerous times to "call anytime if something comes up" .... well I figured with the minor changes and more pain it was time to call. I don't like muscle relaxers but I was to the point that my lower back muscles were almost in spasm mode a few times standing up out of a chair. I had or have no doubt that back tightness was playing a major role in my hip pain.
I always get the "nurse staff" when I call his office which is understandable since he is a busy surgeon. They took my name, date of birth, number of days post op, what I was feeling, what I was wanting ... "I'll pass this information on to the doctor and he will call you back."
I was feeling pretty good as my friend put the mountain bike on the trainer. I was walking around the garage and out in the driveway as he worked. I had the cane with me but all my walking was on my own and the hip and back felt more normal than sore.
That all changed around 12:30pm ... big time.
I was heading out to the backyard to take my second 5 minute walk of the day with plans of cutting way back on walking. Yet, like I said in yesterday's post ... the hip and lower back feel better with just a short walk. I would have a shocking bit of information hit me not 30' off the patio as I started my first lap.
Here it's a few minutes before 7am and I let them know that breakfast is being served. Thanks to "the grabber" I could do that job without bending over at all.
This was and is my view as I walk along the fence every lap. Of course the sun changes positions and based on where it is determines which direction I walk around the yard. It's a slow walk and my Activity app that comes with every iPhone and iWatch tells me I am at a pace of walking a mile in 38 minutes. So it's not stressful or setting any Olympic records and that is fine with me.
Breakfast is finished for the hounds and Stella is still trying to adjust to a morning with no 1/2 mile walk around her vet office. That seems like a lifetime ago but between my hip surgery and her growth surgery time has gone really fast since August 25th, her last morning walk.
She loves sleeping in the sunshine.
To clear up some confusion, I did not have the bike mounted so I could ride it this week, tomorrow, or minutes after he left. I mentioned to him on Tuesday when I was in his bike shop that I would start riding indoors when I got back on the bike but that would be a while. It definitely WOULD NOT be before the surgeon giving me his approval and my next appointment isn't until the 22nd of this month.
My friend said he could come over the next day to set it up. I chose that because it was offered by him and for all I knew it might have been the only time he had available to do it. So that is why the bike is ready for me to ride WHEN I AM READY ... and based on yesterday that might not be for another couple of months ... yes, it's that bad.
So where was I ... oh yeah ... I was feeling close to normal while he put the bike on the trainer. We chose the mountain bike because I would be sitting more upright than a road bike and more comfortable. He did something I would not have thought about ... notice he put the back of that trainer in the crease of the concrete floor for more stability. He is taller and bigger than I am but he tested it out and the trainer never moved while he rode harder than I ever will.
By 12:30pm I am starting my second slow walk when I am about to the corner of the fence when I felt a twinge in my upper thigh and for the first time ever, "weakness" in my right leg. I did not hesitate turning around and getting back inside with the cane as my main support. I grabbed two of the ice packs and headed for bed. One for my lower back which was not that sore or tight and one for the upper thigh/groin area.
When I take an afternoon siesta, especially since returning from the hospital ... Stella sleeps right next to the bed. Sometimes I have to ask her to move so I have the room to put my feet on the floor before standing up. EVERY TIME I have stood up from the first day I got home, I ALWAYS stand for a minute or so to let the muscles adjust and let my right leg get use to the weight on it. I have ALWAYS used first the walker and later the cane as I stand from the bed or the chair.
I thought about calling the doctors office again but if I hadn't had a call back yet after almost 4 hours and a lunch break then why bother calling again? Besides, Stella kept a close eye on me everywhere I went yesterday. :)
I admit I was a little concerned about this latest development. It was the first time I had felt anything like that. I KNEW this wasn't caused by what I did on Tuesday but something I did while my friend was putting the bike on the frame and I was walking around while I talked. That seemed to fit the timeline for this to happen. In fact I was pretty sure what the cause of this new development was. I did something I shouldn't have ... no ... I did NOT try to get on the bike. (it's classified) :)
The hounds will be happy that Amazon Prime is delivering their dog treats today. They really got use to having more than one per afternoon when the pet sitter was feeding them. So Heidi never lets me forget that although she has had lunch, there is always room for a dog treat.
The ice/heat treatment helped a lot. I felt well enough that I felt into a 2 hour siesta. That was probably from starting me day so early rather than being tired. The sleep app I have shows I sleep pretty soundly between the trips to the bathroom at night.
I had a couple of baseball games to watch later in the afternoon, one after another. Both winner take all and move on games. I knew that sitting in a chair longer than 30 minutes bothered my hip making it tight and sore. I made an effort to watch my watch and make sure I didn't sit for longer than 30 minutes. I have done the same thing this morning writing this post. I get up and walk around.
You will not believe what Stella is wanting me to share with her ... my pieces of fresh cantaloupe. She thinks that all food is hers and if I am eating it then at a minimum I should share it with her. Typical Bloodhound. :)
When it's the end of the day and you don't hear back from your doctor, that doesn't leave me much choice but to get on the internet and search ... "groin pain after hip replacement surgery"
The list of websites for that exact question was long, pages long but I had my answer on the second website listed, confirmed again by websites number three and four. Groin Pain After Hip Surgery I was able to do her two exercises to see which problem I had. In fact I did both of those about an hour after I came inside around 12:30pm. I did those with no problem and felt no pain anywhere.
I could tell last night when I got up to walk to the kitchen or bathroom and later the bedroom, I was not feeling as strong and confident as I did before noon. I was using the walker everywhere I went and took no chances trying to walk on my own as a test.
I took my second dose of the day of Xtra Strength Tylenol and Advil. That combo is what I told the surgeon I would take the day I left the hospital and that I would not be taking the Oxycodone he prescribed. He was fine with that and of course warned me not to take them together.
I took the two ice packs again placing them in the same place as I did seven hours earlier. I slept solid until 1:30am when Heidi's metal tags woke me up as she did her full body shake. That is her first step before heading to the back door. I was up and following her down the hallway whether I wanted to or not.
I felt no pain, no soreness and no twinges during that walk to let her out at 1:30am.
I was happy to see in three different articles that the tendon in question will heal with rest. Based on it doesn't hurt constantly and not every time I take a step I don't think it will take three to four weeks to heal BUT I will say that I am not going to do much from now until I walk into the doctor's office on October 22nd. You would be surprised how many steps or miles you walk just inside the house getting up and down during the day ... bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom and computer room ... always over a mile or two.
As we started our day again at 4:30am because Stella's whining was loud enough that it could not be ignored, I felt like I was starting my rehab over as I rolled my walker down the tiled hallway. I had no problem walking, I felt no pain or soreness and that was a good sign ... but I wasn't going to set the walker off to the side and start walking on my own. I am going to take it very easy and walk only when I have to inside the house.
Then it happened again. I took one small step to the side while making coffee and I felt a slight 'twinge' in the upper thigh/groin area. Ever so slight. Not a pain so intense it would put me on the floor but very short in duration and just enough to let me know it was still hanging around. It wasn't the way I wanted to start my day.
I'll repeat the ice/heat treatment today. I'll NOT sit up in bed reading a book like last weekend but will take more time laying flat and I will have at least one siesta.
As I post this ... my lower back is more sore than my hip.
The sun will be bright today in the Wild West and that is a good thing. I'll keep you posted.
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