Surgery w/ Dr. De Smet on June 6

[Shotohips]

Hello All,


Checking in after surgery 2-weeks ago. All is well and I am feeling pretty good about everything. Travels to Belgium were smooth and my entire experience with Dr. De Smet, the hospital, and hotel stay was really good. Everyone was professional and really kind. First 4-5 days really sucked because I had a fever, but after that everything has been really smooth. I was off the hard narcotics three days after surgery, and the strong paracetamol after 5 days. Right now, I am just taking my anti inflammatories as recommended, blood thinners, and vitamins.


Walking has improved everyday and so has the ROM. I transitioned from two crutches to one after the tenth day and I will use the one crutch until my 4-5 week mark as recommended from Dr. De Smet's PT. It would be really hard to not to use the one crutch anyways. I am doing quite a bit of walking and my simple PT exercises daily (including stationary bike), but also keeping in mind not to overdue it. I am wary of my hip flexors :)


Overall, I am very pleased and happy so far. I do have tightness and have inner groin pain (especially if I do too much), but I am trying to learn from my previous surgeries and not over think things. I know this is a long recovery process even though the mountains here in Chamonix are calling my name![size=78%] [/size]


One thing I found interesting was Dr. De Smet's no restriction protocol! He just says listen to your body, which is the best advise, but what about sports?? I am a paraglider amongst other things, and he thought after 3 months it would be ok! We will see about that one!


Anyhow, if anyone has any questions or comments, please don't hold back. If you want to know more about my background, you can see it in my previous posts:


http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php/topic,6071.0.html


http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php/topic,6054.0.html


Oh, most importantly, thank you Pat the Surface Hippy community. Everyone here has been instrumental through out this whole process! I will do my best to share and update appropriately. Talk Soon!


~Shoto

[Shotohips]

Hello All -


Just a quick 4 week update. Overall, I am still very pleased; I see improvement everyday, so the encouragement is still very high.


I have been doing doing my PT regimen 4-5 days a week up until now and the strength difference is still noticeable everyday. Up until now, I have done all the movements and exercises taught to me by Dr. De Smet's physio: Bridges, ROM movements w/ resistance band, mini lunges, side to side walking, and stationary bike (15 min., 10% resistance). Starting today, I will up the time on the bike and includes clams (which are difficult at this stage) in the routine. Not related to the PT, I also have been able to crunches and upper body exercises without much discomfort.


Pain wise, everything is manageable.  I stopped anti inflammatories after 20 days and I have been using ice and rest for pain management. Most of my pain is in psoas and inner thigh area in BOTH hips!


Walking is still on one crutch, but distance has improved greatly over the last week. I feel confident having long days out, but I definitely need the one crutch. I am even walking my one year old german shepherd for short walks, with supervision of course :) In my apartment, I am starting to walk with out the crutch, but the limp is noticeable and I keep on hearing the physio's words of asking to stay on one crutch regardless until week 5-6.


That's it for now!




Shoto

[Shotohips]

6 weeks! Time flies and I can not wait for the next six weeks!

Yesterday was first day walking around without the single crutch. I have to say, this has been the slowest thing to come back, the regular walking. I still plan on carrying the crutch with me as it is very obvious that both the operated leg and non-operated leg feel the stress when the distance increases after 1/2 mile.


Where I feel like I am doing well is the range of motion. Just this morning I cut my toe nails :) I have been able to put my socks on for about a week without any help.


Strength wise, I think I am doing ok. Yesterday at the gym I did 25 minutes on the stationary bike and did about 10 minutes of it at 150 watts. My routine at the gym is as follows: Stationary bike, resistance band work, bridges, clams (no resistance), side leg raises, crunches, planks on knees, and side-to-sides.


My general thoughts are very positive, but I do have a lot of doubts about my non-operated leg (right leg). I am feeling a lot of discomfort in the hip flexor and it does get tight. If I did not already have arthroscopic surgery on that side and the images didn't show slight narrowing, I wouldn't worry as much as I would say it is "picking up the slack". With that said, seeing how good my left leg feels after the surgery this soon, I keep on telling myself not to think about it too much, I always have options. Easier to say though, especially after going through 3 surgeries in the last year and a half..


Like I said, I am really looking forward to the next six weeks. I feel happy that the first six weeks have gone by uneventfully. Also, I feel happy my diet changes haven't made me gain any weight or take any pain medication (i think it's the diet :-)


Goals for the next six weeks are more discipline in the gym; creating a more systematic routine to allow me to get back to sports, walking more routinely to improve my gait, road biking outdoors, and easy climbing on top rope. Oh, I would also love to spend more time in the water since everyone tells me it would really help.


Hope everyone is feeling well! As always, thank you Pat and everyone who has contributed. I read through the stories on a daily basis, it really helps me feel like I am not alone.




Shoto