Here I am 6 months post op to the day. In many ways the 2nd of December 2013 seems like a lifetime a go, but in other it just seems like yesterday.
So to sum up how I feel today. I feel OK. Whilst I would be love to sitting here writing "yes everything is wonderful and I am pain free and I can do everything like a normal person. That would not be true. But I am glad I had the surgery? a catorgoric YES!
I think it would be foolish to think that this FAI surgery would cure me of pain completely, especially when I know I have on going pathology in both my left hip and my lower back. BUT what this surgery does seem to be enabling me to do is use my muscles (in particular the glute ones) in a more correct way which in turn is strengthening my back.
I am able to do all things that I wanted to do. I am riding my horse for up to an 40mins in walk, trot and canter. I am walking 4-5 miles a day. I am caring for all my animals , including our elderly pony in two weeks time I shall have my "big" horse Charlie Brown back on DIY livery at the farm. (he has been on full livery for 18 months as I could not care for him). I can do the garden (remembering to pace myself and switch activity often). I can go shopping with other people and not feel like a complete misery. I am going to the gym two mornings a week and Pilates once a week.
Whilst the exercises I am doing still seem quite basic compared to what I see other people doing at the gym, I do find them challenging , so I am happy that they are right for me. Just some of the exercises my gym instructor has me doing on a circuit type programme:
START warm at walk on treadmill, 4mph, gradient of 3 for 10 mins
FLOOR exercise: Clam Shells, side leg raises, sit up using the half balance ball type thing
STANDING Exercises : side walk with resistance band around ankles , and floor raises with band (hard to describe)
Weights for upper body
Squats, stilling using a bench to sit up and down from (when she first had me doing this, I literally could not do it without help. But I can now!)
END: warm down 5 mins on cross trainer (the first time I got on this I could not push the pedals fast enough to make the screen stop saying "sessions paused!")
I enjoy the Pilates but the one exercise that really bugs me is sitting from a lying down position, I just cannot do it, whilst other around me can.
With all this activity and exercise my op leg does get tired before the rest of me. I quite often have sore flexors, occasional tight IT band and also some groin pain but I can always put it down to what I did the previous day. No pain no gain!
My other hip gets quite pinchy and achy in the groin and it is interesting to feel how different the groin pain is in each hip. I deffinatly feel that my op hip is now taking some pressure of the other hip, which is great.
My back feels very achy a lot of the time but I have lost the feeling of it being "about to go" , which I felt it was in a permanent sate of in the 6 months prior to the surgery. I find I am still taking paracetmol and codeine for my back and other hip.
I am very aware of my screws in my trochanter giving me some pain and discomfort in that area at night as I really like to lie on that side, I also find a lot of the side lying gym exercises difficult because of them and have to modify my position. A lady on our Open SDD face book page had her screws taken out at the same time as having the other hip done so I hope that I will be able to do likewise, but for now I can manage with them.
So there you go, I hope this comes across positive as I am happy with how I am doing and I am happy that I had the surgery. I shall check in again at 8 months post op. Thanks for reading.
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| Me and My Boy at 6 months post op. |
