3 Months Pre-Op

Happy American Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is the 28th, which means that I am exactly 3 months until my LPAO on February 28th.  Woot woot and eek eek.

Today I bought a new shower chair, one that has two of it's legs that are on the outside of the tub and two that are inside of the tub.  We have an existing chair but it's just a chair that is inside and sitting down with legs on the outside of the tub ledge will be dangerous post op.  I managed (with a lot of help) after my scopes, but being super careful to not fall is essential after a PAO.  I ain't risking nothing.  I also got two grab bars to put up in our bathroom as well.  The shower is a dangerous place to begin with and I am terrified of falling after my PAO.  I think the above will be worthwhile investments since I will most likely end up needing more than just this one PAO (fingers crossed the right settles a bit after I get the left all fixed up).

I'll put up pics of the shower chair and railings once they are made/installed.

Pre-Op Package

I received a lovely pre-operative package in the mail this past week.  Only 4+ months early, but hey, I couldn't be left alone to forget that I'll be having major surgery in just shy of four months.  No!  They need to remind me.  Ah well.  I've got pre-op appointment two weeks prior and then my post-op appointment two weeks after.  I am glad it is organized.  The entirety of the package was not extremely helpful as I know the drill before surgery. 

I will not be getting the GameReady or the CPM this time around.  The package says that my recovery will not be hindered and good golly the rental is expensive and inconvenient since I live in another country.  So, I will be forgoing these DME and I hope that I do not regret it. 

As far as how I am feeling, it is the same old same old for the left hip.  The right one is acting up lately, about as much as the left. This is so uncool since I was hoping to not need more surgery on this right side of mine.  Maybe once I get the pressure off of it by getting the left hip fixed?  It could be a possibility, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my surgeon will want to PAO the right side as well.

I also had the lovely experience of weighing myself for the first time in months and months today.  That also is uncool.  I have gained 9 pounds since May!  I attribute this to lack of activity outside of work and my eating habits not changing.  I literally lie around with ice packs after coming home from the hospital/clinic for the day and don't move all weekend off the couch in hopes of regaining some energy and rest for the hips so I can tackle the week.  This leaves me munching lots and not burning many calories.  I am starting Myfitnesspal with a friend and we are going to try to get some weight off.  I do it in hopes of relieving a wee bit of stress of the hips before surgery.  My goal: lose one pound a week.  It says that I need to eat 1400 calories a day.  I am unsure if this is accurate, but it seems like very little calories to me.  And BOY do I love to eat!  This will be a challenge but maybe I will feel better about how I feel and maybe a little less hip pain?  Every pound off will help reduce some stress off the joints.  Since I have never been this fluffy and my pain is at its worst, I think it's time to put my big girl pants on and eat clean and lose some weight.  Goal: 12 pounds.

Lets DO this!!!!

Same Old

So nothing tremendously exciting has been happening on the hip front lately.  I have had a fairly decent previous three weeks of relatively tolerable pain levels.  Which is extremely welcomed.  In fact, any reduction in pain is extremely welcomed!  The weekend has been tougher with increasing nerve pain (LFCN has decided to freak out bilaterally these past few days), but I am managing the best I can.  I was able to rest a lot today--essentially I laid on the couch like a sloth for the entire afternoon and evening and I loved every second of it!

I only have 130 days left of school and the same number of days until I am able to get my next surgery.  I really have absolutely no idea how I am managing to get through with school feeling the way I do. But then when I think about it, I know, it's only through the strength that God gives me to get up out of bed every morning, get dressed, and go to the hospital/clinic and learn as much as I can by working with attendings, residents, nurses, technicians, and patients.  I want more than anything to become the best physician I can possible become and throwing myself into my school is how I am going to do this.  I will most certainly not allow my hips to stop me from continuing through medical school.  No way.  No how.  I AM finishing this last stretch and will do it regardless of how much I hurt.  I have become extremely good at suppressing my pain and feelings.  It is natural for one with constant pain to become depressed, down, and sad.  And I do experience all of these from time to time.  And despite my constant tiredness, I feel like I am handling this pretty darn good.  The Lord is testing me to see how strong I can be, and man, I never thought that doing medical school in this shape would have been possible. If you had told me during my undergrad that I would have to do medical school and have six hip surgeries during this time, and do the entirety of my clinical rotations having constant pain, I would have laughed at you thinking that it would not be possible.  But it IS possible.

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."  Matthew 19:26

So alas, I press on through school and life with so many different things for which to be thankful.  I could ramble on and on about how this and that hurts and how much things suck.  And yes, things suck sometimes, not gonna lie.  But I have to try and look at the bright side of things too: I am finishing up my school for something that I have always dreamed of doing, I am getting many interviews for my upcoming residency next year, I have found an amazing field of medicine in which I will be very happy practicing the rest of my professional life, I have an amazing family, and amazing friends (especially those certain hip gals who have texted me thousands of times....I'll forever cherish the shared experiences and conversations we have and will have in the future), and I have God who helps me through absolutely everything!!!

Surgery: Scheduled.

February 28th, 2014.

The date I get my left Periacetabular Osteotomy with first look arthroscopy.

Lets hope the hip is in good enough condition to have the PAO, if in surgery he feels it will not be good enough for the reconstruction, he'll close up and I'll see his colleague for a replacement a couple of weeks later.

I'm officially getting the left baby fixed:

Official countdown:  150 days.

The Lump

I believe I have herniated fat and or muscle through some fascia.  Last weekend I woke up on Sunday with a small, well defined lump on the lateral aspect of my hip.  I thought WOW it sure is swollen but didn't think much of it.  I iced more and thought it would resolve.  It remained stable until Thursday when I got home from the hospital it was huge. 

It is soft, well defined, and slightly tender.  I asked my residents if herniation was a possibility and it most certainly is a very likely possibility.  They told me to call my surgeon to notify him.  I think that I should let him know, but really, what is he going to do for me now?  He'll look at it and say, yes, you've herniated, maybe we will fix it during the surgery next year, collect his money, and move on his merry way.  And I'll end up with $25 co-pay and not any more information than I have now.  So, I didn't call. But I will be in contact with him if it changes in any way.  I would imagine strangulation of the tissue is a concern, so if it gets red, hot, bigger, I'll ABSOLUTELY call and get it taken care of ASAP.  Why must this dang hip remain so interesting?  I'm over it.

I was going to put up a picture of the lump, but I'll spare any posting of my butt online....it would be traumatizing for all involved.

159 days until school ends (and hopefully surgery day....will schedule it later on this month early next month).

Stomach Pangs

Ha!  I started a new rotation today. This new rotation is a great program to which I plan to apply for residency.  It was a good day, although hard to tell my first day how great of a program it is.  Stupid thing though, to leave the hospital I have to walk through the Children's Surgical Center.  I felt sick by the time I got to my car at the end of the day because in less than six months, I will be at this surgical center getting my hip fixed.  It's just weird to see the place where such a life changing surgery will take place.

Things I've Tried

There are several different things I have tried to help manage the pain since this all started.  I thought I'd make a list to see if I can't think of anything else I could be doing:

• Rest
• Medications (oral and topical)
• Ice
• Heat
• PT
• Chiropractor
• Massage Therapy
• TENS machine
• Acupuncture
• Steroid injections (I want one of these now but am not allowed....surgeon's orders)
• Surgery

Forgetting anything?


< 6 months now before I land me-self a full hip socket.