6 Month Anniversary...Cheers! (ps the cheers was sarcastic ;) )

So I had my official 6 month post surgery apt. Lets just say I didn't feel like celebrating afterwords...I marked the occasion by taking my first pain pill in months and laid down in bed and cried! Well as they say it's my party and I can cry if I want to ;) Unfortunately Dr. Fabulous didn't give me the "anniversary news" I wanted to hear...ugh!

So the 6 month report breakdown:

1.Psoas Tendon is in full spasm and will not "chillax" no matter what I do or what they do in physical therapy due to the fact my body has been protecting an injured hip for almost 3 years. so I have a apt on Friday to meet w/ another Dr. to set up a procedure where they will put me under and administer 3 cortisone type injections into different areas of my psoas tendon to try to make it chill out for a bit. A big source of my pain comes from the psoas tendon (the psaos tendon problem is a result from 2 hip surgeries/ a hip w/ a big piece of missing cartilage).

2. Dr Fabulous is sending me for an MRI because my right foot is still numb since surgery..so they want to take a look at my back and sciatic nerve and see if being out of alignment for the past 3 years is causing back problems/nerve problems...

We can't even get to my actual hip to see if it is actual healing/feeling better until we can calm down the surrounding issues..it"s a vicious cycle that seems never ending...these are the things they DID NOT tell me before having my first surgery.
If I wasn't in pain every day I think I could handle this news better but the pain is definitely getting to me and since I have been doing so much more I guess it is making everything worse but I can't just lie around and do nothing...it is a hard fine line to walk on..plus I hate feeling like I am missing out on life due to my freakin hip! Well my 6 month anniversary has taken a turn for the worse and became a full on pity party....:(

So on a brighter note I hope this next procedure works... really how hard can it be to fix a 34 year old woman's hip...seriously!

Ok I hate writing such a depressing blog entry so let me end this blog w/ some happier updates..

My physical therapy has been a huge source of pain relief..especially the trigger point acupressure they do on me...it does provide me w/ pain relief while I am there. Thank You so much T and V!

I went to another concert last week..Regina Spektor..My bro hooked me up w/ AMAZING seats and my hip actually behaved that night so I rocked out and had an amazing time (Regina was absolutely incredible..I recommend that if you get the chance to see her live you need to do it!!!!)..and since we were in the front section..and on the aisle seat..I could stretch my hipster too!

"Hipster in the City"

I spent three days in the city that never sleeps and actually I followed that motto for night one..had to spend the other two nights catching up from that first night ;)

Do people w/ hip issues do well tackling the Big Apple...Well I decide to pursue that question w/ my own "hipster in the city experiment" I am officially 6 months post surgery (yay) so I thought it was time to see how my hip does in NYC..(plus I really wanted to visit my sister and brother in-law)

So I went for a ride w/ my friend to the city..it's nice to be in a car over a bus, because you can stop to stretch and not be restrained to sitting the whole time. My friend did all the driving..so my hipster got to relax..I just took over DJ duties just so I could be of some service while I was sitting there. Car ride was roughly 4 1/2 hours and we stopped twice so..

Verdict: hip survived long car ride as a passenger.

Night one/Experiment one: "Heels Test" (ok I know I said I wasn't going to do this again, but it was NYC and I was wearing a dress..and they looked cute..ok that's all I got for this lack in judgement..oh well..lesson learned...again ;) Heels and Hips just do not mix if you plan on walking around in them for any length of time..if you just want to sit and wear heels then I would give it a thumbs up...but man I am still paying a price for wearing those damn heals 4 days later....ugh. So now I am resorting to my slouchy suede boots..goodbye heels..I will miss you so :(

Verdict: Alcohol / Heels/ NYC not the smartest mix..the alcohol makes you think you can walk NYC on heels. Not good for the "hipster"

Day 2:

Roaming the city: Union Square and Soho. Small strolls is fine for me..but fast walking across busy streets, looooooong blocks, in and out of stores (all things I love to do) my hip didn't love so much...it could have been punishing me for the night before, but by the end of the day I was limping..not good..haven't limped since before surgery. Limping always raises alarms for me so I took it easy back at my sister's house that night.

Verdict: Fast walking: not there yet Chillaxin in an NYC apt..awesome on hip :)

Day 3: Strolls in NYC w/ Proper shoes (natural sport walking shoes w/ Dr Scholls massage gel insoles) and relaxing in the park people watching. Today my sister and I took a nice stroll and chillaxed in a park to have a salad and people watch and relax..with the proper shoes, the non-fast paced walking, the night before of relaxation, and chillaxin in the park= Great for the Hip.

So If your Hip is recovering/ in pain/ or suffering degenerative issues and you head off to NYC just make sure you wear proper shoes, take time to sit and relax, go to a park, limit your shopping and long walking time, and leave your heels at home..you should have a FABULOUS time!

Side note: Tues PT session..psoas tendon SUPER tight and sciatic nerve acting up from overdoing it...ouch ouch ouch....so you just need to pace yourself and be careful in the big city:) On another note I can't wait to go back again :)

I fought the insurance company and I WON!

Soooooooo..unfortunately I had to go 3 weeks w/out any physical therapy..this was not good for my hipster! My insurance company informed me that I only was allowed a certain amount of PT time a calender year . PT is very very important for me, because #1 It is where I get my major source of pain relief from the stretching, the pressure point massage and the traction..this helps me get through the week and #2 This is where I also learned how to strengthen the areas around my hip to protect it from further damage. I am still in the pain management part and just started the strengthening so having it taken away was not good for me and my hip..not good at all! With the help of my PT guy, Dr.Fabulous (wrote a letter of medical necessity), my many phone call to my insurance company (they just love me there) , and the receptionist at my PT place being very persisitent we finally got a 60 day extension for PT..(yay-go team!)!

It is so ridiculous that they pay for my surgery, but not the preventive component..would they rather pay for pain meds and a hip replacement, because I didn't get adequate post care...seriously this was scary for a moment...I am so glad it worked out in my favor, but since I pay for health insurance I really shouldn't even have had to fight for it in the first place!