Greetings and Happy Valentine's Day to all. Today marks the 6th week since my hip surgery on January 3. It's been a very long six weeks. Some days good, most not so good.
I continue to be in moderate to severe pain in my leg and lower back. I saw my surgeon last week. He and my Physical Therapist believe much of this pain is caused from the stenosis in my lower back and issues with the sciatic nerve. So while it appears my hip is recovering as he expected, I am not out of the woods yet. The Dr. believes due to my hip precautions, my pain is aggravated even greater. So the prognosis is to continue PT and see if there are improvements in the next 2-3 weeks. If no significant improvements, we will begin a regime of pain management (cortisone injections) to attempt relief.
In summary, I continue to perform my daily exercises prescribed by my PT. I'm just not used to this thing one calls "exercise". However, I have seen small but significant improvements in my strength, etc. in the last few weeks. Things I could not do then are no longer impossible to achieve. My exercises are worse than going to a gym. I have PT 3 times a week, and take pain meds around the clock. Speaking of pain meds, most of you are probably aware that a side effect of pain medicine is depression. Well let me tell you something, I'm not depressed. However, I just can't seem to explain things like, If I'm watching a TV show and a dog runs away from home, I cry; If I drop my cane, I cry; If Chuck looks at me crossed eyed, I cry. It's MELTDOWN at it's finest. But I'm NOT depressed. LOL!!!! Fortunately, my Dr. tells me this is a side effect, that will go away once I'm off the meds.
Again, thank you to all the well wishes I have received throughout this struggling time period. Your support and friendship is of extreme value in my recovery. Very much appreciated.
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