5 Month and 9 Month Hip Updates

I haven't mentioned my hips in a while as other things have taken precedence lately. But here we go:

I am back to normal, or as normal as I will get with scoped hips. I will not use the treadmill, I think it is too hard on them and I really want to keep "these" hips for as long as possible.
I am getting more aches and pains now than I did before the knee thing (BTKT) began, so I totally attribute it to compensation. Previously, I had almost no achiness. Now I occasionally get achiness, right more than left (right was scoped twice), my adductors still get spasmy occasionally, more now than BTKT. I also now have a alot of clunking and clicking in both, I think left more than right. It is painless but loud. I have gotten into he habit of "cracking" my back, so I use various techniques, adopted from what I would use in the clinic. I always say that whatever needs to crack will crack with a manipulation, so at time, I will be focusing on my low back/ SI joint and will get a nice crack in a hip. I still hold onto the theory that it is scar tissue, and I don't worry one drop about it because it is painless, there is no FAI in either hip anymore so I won't tear my labrum again, plus, a good chunk of labrum was debrided so even less likely to tear (bc it is gone), and it is important to stay positive.

My IT bands get tight and tender sometimes, but I think they always were, even before the hip shit started. My "invisible bruise" on the right is still there, believe it or not. It does not interfere with my life anymore and the box of lidocaine patches sits on my desk, untouched. The area does consistently get smaller but the pain level is about the same, just in a smaller area.

I can push my stroller with no hip pain, I spin with no hip pain, I work with no hip pain, what more can I ask for :-)
A big part of healing, and healing well, is staying positive, focusing your energies and returning to life and moving past this messy chapter, and always remembering, things could always be worse!

I Got Denied

By my insurance company on my second level appeal for the CPM and Gameready :-(
The billing people in my office had told me that if it got denied I could attempt a grievance appeal or something like that.

I thought is was a great letter. I will include it below since I have been asked for copies if it by readers.

To Whom It May Concern:
Please be advised that I have received a bill for a Game Ready TM Vasopneumatic Compression and Cold Therapy device, as well a Continuous Passive Motion Machine (CPM). These 2 pieces of equipment were prescribed to me by Dr. Bryan Kelly, the bill is from Biodynamic Technologies.

I went to see Dr. Kelly for disabling hip pain secondary to a torn labrum, which Dr. Kelly was able to repair via arthroscopy. Dr. Kelly prescribed the equipment mentioned above to maintain and increase range of motion (ROM) as well as to decrease inflammation and decrease pain, and prevent the build-up of scar tissue. At this point in time, there does not exist a CPM primarily for hips, therefore, a knee CPM must be used for all hip surgery. I would imagine that you do not deny charges for CPMs for patients that are status post knee surgery.

The Game Ready is unique because it supplies a combination of continuous cold therapy and intermittent pneumatic compression. RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) is the universally accepted method of treating acute musculoskeletal injury and post-surgical trauma. The Game Ready device combines the two most difficult to manage aspects of the RICE regimen (ice and compression) in one easy to use system.

I am shocked to know that if an in-network physician prescribes a product to a patient, which in turn will help relieve their pain and reduce the possibility of further injury that you, a credible insurance company, would not pay for that product. I was under the impression that anything prescribed by my doctor would be covered. I believe that this decision was made unfairly, and would hope that you will rectify this matter immediately.

I have included a copy of bills from Biodynamic, Information on the Game Ready and a select list of clinical studies on cold and compression.

Respectfully,

Susie


I thought it was a great letter!!! I don't have the "select list of clinical studies" since I forgot to make a copy before mailing the letter. I obtained it by calling Gameready directly and explaining the situation to them. I will keep you posted on the progress!

Dejavu AGAIN

I feel like someone has put me in a time machine, taken me back to 15 months ago, and moved my hips about 18 inches down. All of my "am I crazy" thoughts have returned, along with INTERMITTENT PAIN.

Ok, so really, I should be happy that my knee doesn't hurt all the time, but what happens is I get excited, like the problem has gone away. But then, without warning, it comes back. It is not even activiy dependent anymore, sometimes certain things will bother me, and then the next day I do the same exact activity and I am fine. Go figure! Then, my other knee will get cranky, further pushing me into a state of psychosis!

OMG, I think I may have plagiarized that entire posting....from my hips!!!!!

Someone is Watching Over Me...Why Did I Blow It???

As I was ordered, I have stayed away from my spinning bike, I remained compliant for a total of 5 days, but today, the urge was too intense to resist so I rushed through the kid's bedtime, jumped into my workout gear and mounted my bike. I clipped in and attempted a pedal stroke and heard a loud crash/clunk/metal grindy noise that scared the crap out of me. I then lost all resistance on the pedals, and further freaked out as I thought the pedal had fallen off (mind you this whole scenario lasted about half a second). I looked down and saw a piece of the chain hanging down.

Hmmm, maybe this is a sign that I shouldn't be spinning right now, "baloney" I said to myself (actually, it was more like "WTF, I need to ride"), so I emailed the company I had bought it from and the owner got back to me within the hour (on Sunday, on Easter). Obviously, I had to put J on the phone since I had no idea what he was talking about. But between J and our friend and neighbor Dave, the bike was fixed and I got my 'fix'!

I never learn! Need I say more!

Good People Really do Exist in This World

Warning- not orthopedically related but I really had to share

On Wednesday morning, I put my ipod and phone in my coat pocket and proceeded out the door to my car. We live in NY, so my parking lot is about a block away, a HUGE luxury (seriously). I started the car, stuck my hand in my pocket, and there was no ipod. Shit. Where is it. I assumed I had just thought that I had out it in my pocket but really left it in the kitchen since I have been borderline crazy this week again. When I got to work, I called J and asked him to check the kitchen for me. He forgot, but I assumed all was well. I got home and there was no ipod. My nanny hadn't seen it and L and Jk swore they hadn't touched it. To add insult to injury, my first ipod had been stolen about 1 year ago when I found a super parking spot in front of my building and chose not to park in the lot. Stupidly, I left the ipod in plain site, someone smashed my window and snatched the ipod and the thingy to listen to it through the radio. Buying ipods cannot become a yearly event.

By Friday I had decided it was gone, J was being nice and had loaned me his ipod, probably for fear that I would just go out and buy myself a new one without first truly searching every inch of the apartment. Last night, J went out and called me from the car. 'There is a note on the car " he said, "Did you lose something pink? Call me". Holy shit, it was my parking neighbor. "What did you lose that is pink?" J asked "MY IPOD". Hurray! I am totally shocked. How nice are my parking neighbors?I don't even know them, if I have seen them 1x it is a lot. They live across the street so I will go retrieve it today.

Just in time for me to resume Spinning, as I was 'ordered' to "modify my activities and NOT spin". It is not working bc I am stil in a motherload of pain, so why not do what makes me happy, it is not making a difference!!!

Purim 2008

Today we are celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim. All the children dress up and have a blast. Can you guess what L dressed up as? Jk was a dog but refused to wear his ears!

L and Jk making Purim art projects

And Reality Begins to Set In

This is not going away. I am slowly starting to get over my denial! I made an appointment with Dr.Kelly today, then I emailed his PA. She said to do 8 weeks of PT and then see where I am.

Have I mentioned that I HATE PT. Not PT's, but PT. I have had it. To make matters worse, I began strengthening my quad tonight with some simple, old lady style quad sets, AND THEY HURT. I didn't spin bc I worked an 11 hour day and basically passed out when I got home. It is probably a good thing since it totally killed me last night. I was compliant and iced for a long time tonight. For some reason, I am more inclined to ice my knee than I ever was my hip. Maybe it is due to the superficiality of the knee structures, I can palpate tender spots on it, I never was bale to touch anything on the hip.

My So Called Life (Part 2)

Left knee has been bad, right hip is yelling at me to fix left knee so it can go back to optimal function. J is being a complete ass about the whole thing, as if I wished this upon myself. I wish men in general were more understanding about the way women work, think and act. He asked me what body part will be next, since it seems like a pattern going on, this time a zig-zag, since we went right hip,left hip, right hip and now left knee.Maybe next will be right ankle? J, I hope you never have to experience any ortho issues bc heaven knows I won't be as supportive as I could be, or should be. As the husband of a PT, you could receive optimal treatment from diagnosis to recovery, but you will be on your own.

Ok, I am (sort of) done venting. Am I the only one with a partner who is totally clueless?

I had pain for the first 20 minutes of my spin tonight, then 10 minutes of "OK" then I had to stop. I iced and now I feel swollen and tight (there is no obvious visible swelling). I am tempted to make an appt with Dr Kelly to figure this out, but am mentally exhausted from all of this. I know, I should, but it is a lot to process right now. There is a lot going on in my life these days. Maybe he can offer a quick fix, like cortisone, I love cortisone!!!! I am in no way shape or form accepting surgery as an option right now, which is why I sort of feel a visit with him is a waste, ah, the beauty of having to make simple decisions. And, nothing says I can't cancel the appointment once it is made. But once I make an appointment, it makes this more real, or in J's eyes, makes me more crazy and neurotic, and needy too. J, maybe you should post a comment in your defense, if you have one. If not, stay tuned to more husband bashing to come in the future.

Still Dealing With Crap From Hip Arthroscopy numer's 1 and 2

My wonderful (not being sarcastic) insurance company covered all cost of surgery, hospitalization, anesthesia, rehab (sort of), basically everything associated with the surgery, except the Gameready and CPM, which I was later told by someone in my OS office that these are "luxury items", and "I told you they may not be covered".

Me, being me, initially ignored the bills, which totaled around $700 but were knocked down to $500 for me. After a while, I decided I should stop ignoring them and do something. Again, me being me, I had no idea what to do.Luckily, one of the people in the billing department of my office used to work for one of the companies that rent these same machines, and get this, her job was taking care of denials. So she gave me a huge stack of appeal letters to pick and choose from. I also called Gameready and they sent me literature and journal articles supporting their products. So I wrote a great letter and sent it in, in January.

I then forgot about the letter, until another bill arrived. So I called my insurance and they agreed to "expedite" the claim. Today, I received a letter from them. Excitedly, expecting a check, I opened the letter, which was informing me that they received my letter and will let me know of their decision within 30 days. I can't imagine having to have gone through this for the surgery itself. sigh!

Weekend Update

I think I must make a vow to myself that this will not in any way shape or form become a 'knee blog'. No sir. This is going to have to go away. I do not want to deal with this. But yet I find myslef in a deja vu of how my hip issues started. I go through the day saying "I can ignore this, this is not a big deal, oh, now there is no pain, oh shit, now it is back, what am I going to do". Literally, this is what happens. But I really want this to go away.

An update to the taping: Shortly after I blogged, the joint pain came back, the pes and MCL pain stayed away. The tape began to irritate my thigh (I had recently seen a terrible skin reaction on one of my patients from the tape so I got nervous) so off it came. My MCL and pes anserine are ok, but the joint pain comes and goes. Yesterday, I was in a lot of pain again. Today, I did less and felt better. I am not quite sure what to do at this point.

I feel like I am "one of those people", there is always something wrong.I just want to feel normal again, no aches, no pains, no numbness and tingling. Believe it or not, until 15 months ago, I was normal!

I Am Not Dead

So I am still in pain!! Actually, now, I may headed into a state of unconsciousness thanks to P's grand ideas! My knee was hell today and yesterday. Today, I was limping, I could not jump down from treatment tables onto it, I could not squat. I was wearing my good shoes with orthotics. I was not a happy camper.

I have tenderness right at the medial joint line, on the meniscus, as well as the MCL and pes anserine. P taped my tibia into internal rotation to better align my knee and de-stress the pes and MCL, and miraculously, the joint pain went away too. Now, the key will be how to maintain this, I can't be taped forever, it is pretty ugly!

Back to PT, Back to Working Out

I saw P today since my hip has been tight and my knee is a mess. I am pretty convinced the 2 are related, when the knee pain got bad, the hip started acting up. He did a great job on my hip, working the iliacus/psoas area (painful but it has been much worse), doing some anterior hip mobs and stretching my psoas. Then on to the knee. The meniscus is tender, but so is my MCL and my pes anserine. So...for now, I have been ordered to wear more supportive shoes and if necessary tape my foot before I exercise. I pronate...a lot, and this seems to add to my problems. I had a negative Mcmurray's test, a positive Apley's Compression and a positive "knee scour", the evidence shows that these tests are not all that great though.

I skipped all lower extremity work on the bosu today and focused on my abs. I will know in the morning if it was a good workout if I wake up sore.

I plan on wearing good shoes tomorrow to see if that helps! AHHHHHHHH!!!

Fun and Games on the Bosu Ball

Whoa, where is your mind wandering off to? J is out of town anyway!
I bought a Bosu ball a long time ago, the kids loved coming to my office and jumping on the mini trampoline but I didn't think it was safe to have in the house since the springs made me nervous. So I took them back to my office to try the Bosu and they loved it, they call it the "jumping toy". It has been in my living room forever and I just decided to try the video it came with.

First off, my abs are shot. Beyond shot, they are just about non-existent. I had to modify some of the exercises ALOT bc of my weakness. There was also one exercise where you lie sideways across the bosu and hold your legs up off of the floor, my adductors were too weak to keep the bottom leg off of the floor.

All I can say is thank goodness I was in the privacy of my living room and not at the gym, I would have been mortified!

I did squats, lunges, balancing....the hips did pretty well, the right one did give some indication that the bouncing was not a good idea by throwing in some occasional groin pain. The knee was not happy at all with the squats and step ups, and I didn't even attempt any of the twisting exercises.
It was a short, condensed video but I am going to look into finding some more, with mainly ab work.

I can't believe my abs have come to this, I knew they were weaker but this is bad. Time to kick up the workouts a notch!

I Think That If I Ever Wake Up Painfree I May Actually be Dead

So where do I begin the tale of this beautifully hideous Monday. Maybe with the continued knee pain, or with the fact that I am no longer a PT drop out. Yes, you heard correctly. P will have the pleasure of seeing me again (as a patient) on Wed.

Why? Why is this happening? Should I look at this logically, scientifically? Or more in the "why do bad things happen to good people" way? So....the knee pain is there, it is not constant but it can get pretty bad at times. Luckily, it goes just as quickly as it came. But....I must be somehow compensating (ahhhhh....I hate that word) since my right hip (left knee is troublesome) started acting up yesterday. I have been stretching and FABERing and doing all sorts of fun things but I think it is out of my hands now and needs some 'more' professional help. Hence my crawling back to P to work on it and also have a quick look at my knee since I think this is all due to that adductor exercise way back when.

I am pretty sure the hip thing is the adductor insertion point onto the pubis becoming tight and painful, I am also having trouble getting into a full FABER position. Honestly though, I am not very good about stretching on my own and Spinning is all I do for exercise with a (really) quick stretch at the end. Maybe I need to practice what I preach a little bit more.

I will see what P has to say but the thought of even an MRI at this point makes me want to live in pain for the rest of my life. Also, I don't know how much I want to know what is going on in this knee, in grad school I had it x-rayed for similar issues and it showed decreased joint space and an MRI showed a joint effusion. I never followed up bc I had custom orthotics made which helped 99.9% and then I got pregnant with L, finished school, got pregnant with Jk, had 3 hip arthroscopies...so I have been sort of busy. I am seriously hoping that if I am diligent about wearing my orthotics (cut back on the cute Tory Burch's) and start strengthening and stretching the right muscles, things will get better!

Ok, Its Really Not Funny Anymore

BODY....STOP! I am just besides myself at this point. A while back I did some stupid stuff in PT at the insistence of P, who was looking out for my best interests. I was too weak and I knew it, but tried the exercise anyway. Now, 3 months later, I am pretty sure I tore my meniscus. Cute right! Unfortunately (or fortunately), this is going to be ignored to the fullest bc I am not even interested in knowing the extent of he damage to my knee or what my options are to correct it. I think 3 surgeries in 8 months is plenty for now. The knee is tolerable and only hurts when (what I am assuming to be the ) torn piece gets in the way of the joint. Also, if I wear good shoes with orthotics I feel better. So what's one more injury at this point? I am I 27 or 72? Sometimes I forget.

ITB, WTF????

So I did overdo it yesterday, but there was a Tory Burch outlet! Yes, I went shopping, but not just any shopping, outlet shopping. Which includes walking and walking and walking. Right hip was on strike yesterday, I guess it read my previous post and said "hahaha, I'll show you how happy you can be" and acted up all day. My ITB was sore during the mall trek and my adductors once again began firing little spasms. I am having a ton of company this weekend so I spent some time in the kitchen last night, plus, I am on the committee of a big event on Sat. night so I spent time setting that up. By the time I got home to make my Moroccan meat turnovers, I could barely stand. Add to the picture that J was actually home and wanted to (gasp) help in the kitchen, I made turnovers for about 30 minutes (could have been done in half the time had it been a solo job, but its the thought that counts!)

Fast forward to this morning, 6AM alarm clock goes off and ITB is KILLING me. I mean REALLY killing. Like, call P and beg him to squeeze me in today killing. But I didn't. If things don't shape up by tonight I have a foam roller at home I can roll over the ITB. Or, if J is still in a good mood I will teach him how to stretch it!

One Year Anniversary

Today marks exactly 1 year from my first ever hip arthroscopy. This was supposed to be the ONLY surgery but as luck would have it, it opened the flood gates and resulted in 2 more surgeries, bringing me to a whopping 3 hip arthroscopies in only 8 months. Its like winning the lottery! hahaha!

1 year ago today, at this time, I was most likely downing a Vicodin and in a ton of pain. I actually remember very well that I decided (stupidly) to sleep through the night and went 8 hours with NO pain meds. When I woke up in the morning, I lunged for the bottle and took 2. That began the vomiting with hipscope #1. I learned after that and never went more than 4-6 hours without drugs. I even went to to PT the next morning (absolutely barbaric) and lunch, but that was where the fun ended. It was back to praying to the porcelain god for me!!

I ended up getting Compazine (pretty light weight for me) and Ultram because my pain was so bad, I stayed on the Ultram for 2 weeks. I was in a lot of pain after the first scope. I imagine that it was due to the f---ing impingement remaining in my hip. I noticed a huge difference immediately following scope #2, even from day 1. Its a shame that my left hip didn't become painful first.It would have saved me a lot of time, pain and a hell of a lot of aggravation.

One year later, the results speak for themselves. Yes, there were a few extra (not so) minor bumps in the road, but the important thing is the end result, and my hips rock (for the most part)!

Too bad I didn't begin my blog 1 year ago, but like I have said, I didn't think there would be anything to blog about!

Ride On!

The weather was beautiful today so I piled the kids into the double stroller and went to the park. For those of you who do not remember, pushing the double stroller was what eventually landed me in Dr Kelly's OR 3 times.

Just to recap, I drive this:
And I push

and

This is one of the first times since my revision scope that I remember pushing the double stroller all the way to the park, so it felt like an accomplishment, plus, I like having the experience and knowing that I can do it. My right hip felt weak while pushing. Then again, I am pushing 35lbs of stroller and about 70lbs of kids. I also had discomfort in my trouble spot. The area along the front of my thigh along all of the scope sites, where I have supposed nerve damage. It didn't hurt but I could feel that it was an area that was not done healing.

As for my arm, the tingling has diminished.I have decided to see my acupuncturist this week, I will let you know what happens.The good news is that I don't think it is too serious and the tingling has centralized to my elbow. The bad thing is that my elbow hurts now. I think it may be the way I am doing a manipulation at work so I will have to be careful.

In an unrelated story, have you been following Carlos Delgado's story, from the NY Mets? He was flown from Florida to NY to have an MRI at HSS, the findings were that it is not serious, it is just an impingement in his hip.

WTF???? Not serious? How many of you have been sidelined bc of a simple "hip impingement"?

Why Can't My Body Just BEHAVE????

Just as things are hip world as as close to perfect as I could have dreamed, I have developed numbness and tingling in my left hand/arm. All I can say is SHIT. I think it has started to improve, but I have no idea what to do, who to see (other than NOT a surgeon). Initially my fingers were going numb but now it has moved into my hand and elbow, so it is centralizing, a good sign.

We went to a party last night, I wore high heeled boots from 8:00-1:30, not a peep from my hips!
52 Sundays ago, I was home, having my closets redone, begging the guy installing them to finish quickly bc I was having surgery in the morning and would not be able to finish organizing them past today. Boy have we come a long way!

Many Thanks to J for all of his Disney and Miami updates. It was really needed as I was really sick during our trip (Jk was too).
Disney was great. We were there 1 year ago, it was immediately after my first injection so my hip held up pretty well for the trip. I think without the injection it would have been a nightmare. I ended up having surgery about a month later. This time, it held up beautifully without the help of steroids! YAY!! It did it all on its own merit.

We drove back to Miami on Thursday night. When we got home, I had a horrific headache. By morning, I couldn't move at all, I thought it was a migraine but then realized it was an awful sinus headache. I ended up taking a combination of Sudafed, Robitussin, Claritin-D, Tylenol, Darvocet and Aleve. All over the course of 4 days, much more than recommended dose, but I was dying. We woke up early on Tuesday to go home and again, I couldn't move. I somehow managed to get out of the house and on the plane. As soon as I got home, I hit my stash of antibiotics and felt better by the next day. What was interesting was that I developed all over muscular pains from excessive coughing (it was bad). At one point, every time I coughed my adductors would tighten up (I think only on the right)

So I am back now! I am now officially, forever, a PT dropout. It has been at least 3 weeks, maybe more. We are SO over!

I am also extremely upset with most of my colleagues. Actually, they don't know. They also don't know that I had a mini melt-down yesterday. Tell me if I am way off base. They all want to institute a "uniform" at work, we would all have polo shirts with the company name on it. I flipped out about this and was REALLY upset for a good portion of the day. There are many reasons I am against it, some personal, some professional. But this topic seemed to hit hard bc I was a wreck. J probably thinks I need to get a grip, but I can't help it.
Ok, I vented a little more, I feel better!
So we are home and getting back into the swing of things!

FUN IN THE SUN PART DEUX

Pictures from the grandparents boat

FUN IN THE SUN

While NY was getting hit with snow we enjoyed a nice day at the grandparents pool.

DISNEY DAY 3 (so sorry for the delay...)

Last day at Disney is always such a bummer. We are all depressed.

L and JK outside the Magic Kingdom

L and Susie's back on Thunder Mountain. L LOVED it!!! She went 2x!

What a face. JK on the caroussel before he puked (runs in the family...on the mom's side)

I promised I would show you JKs Crocs.

DISNEY DAY 2

Sue - who cares about the hip update? We're in Disney World. Thats what people want to hear about!!!

I am exhausted.

See you tomorrow for Day 3 update.

Breakfast with the characters. JK's favorite character.

And the little princess with her new best friend. Background - we went to Disney about a year ago and has breakfast with the characters. L wouldnt go near them. JK on the other hand did but was much more hesitent this trip. Anyway, this AM L wouldnt go near (in order) Goofy, Donald and Mickey. When Minnie came to our table she broke out of her shyness and ran into her arms!

JK had to entertain himself in other ways besides taking pictures with the characters.

JK still being JK

Epcott - On our way out of the Universe Energy ride, we stopped off for a frozen coffee drink.

And of course, those thingys you put in your crocs. L got 2 Minnie's (of course) and JK got 1 Goofy and 1 Pluto.

And The Verdict Is....

So far, 1 1/2 days of continous walking, standing, pushing a double stroller and.....my hips are doing pretty well. I won't lie, we had our moments today, especially the right (scoped 11/12/07). It wasn't so much the groin pain, rather, my ITB really acted up at times. Also, those lovely ass spasms came back for short periods of time. The left side (scoped 7/2/07) decided to tighten up adductors.

All in all, not bad. Especially if we are still going on the premise of 6-12 months for a full recovery.
I will probably let J post some more pics later tonight! I am ready to pass out!

THE MOST MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH

You have not heard from me in a long time, the wonderful husband.

Thought i would share some pics from Disney Day 1.

JBL

More Happy Times To Come

To keep with the spirit of things in hipville, we are on our way to Disney World, the happiest place on earth. Should be interesting to 'put my money where my mouth is' and see how I hold up with all the walking!
Pictures to follow!!!!

Evil Influences

After Amy and I left Dr. K's office, she insisted we go to the most incredible cupcake shop EVER, Crumbs. The following is what happenned that afternoon, in chronological order.

Just some background info, it is no coincidence that amy and I have the same OS. We actually met through labralicious (a yahoo group for people with labral tears). She had posted about her own experience and mentioned that dr. K was her OS. I decided to take the liberty of emailing her off-list. My first email ever stated: "I am seeing Dr. K in a few weeks, I think I have a labral tear. I am a PT and all day long my patients complain about thier doctors. Is he an a$$hole?"

She obviously answered no and we ended up emailing eachother for a few months until we finally met in person last March. My kids adore her, you can clearly see why!

Fun and Laughter at Dr. K's office

A Guest Post By Amy

The day started out terribly... my flight out of Pittsburgh in the morning was three hours late leaving.. I was an hour late for my appointment with Dr. Kelly. I still had to wait forever when I got there, but this time, it was worth the wait. The plan was for me to see him, run out and get a few things at one of the dog stores and meet Susie back at Dr. Kelly's office to see Elie demonstrate all of the bones for him. I had a great visit with Dr. Kelly. Of course, he was concerned about my bleeding/oozing episode, and when I told him that when I finally had the CT scan that the seroma was 2x4 cm. He laughed and said "that's it? that's nothing!" I laughed right back at him and told him that was after I bled to death for three days. I talked to him about the "idiot resident in the ER", and asked if he was an idiot as a resident, to which he answered "no, I was perfect." I won't repeat what I said next... this is a G rated blog : ) He had me walk for him since I was begging to get off my crutches. I would take a few steps and vogue.. a few more.. pose again... Then I said "OOPS Fashion Week was last week!" He looked at my left hip and was really happy with it. I am almost 11 months out from the revision on that hip. It was really great to be able to laugh and be happy about where my hips are. He is happy as well with the progress on the right hip and told me that the surgery was pretty extensive, but there was no way he wanted to go back in there.. EVER! He loved the pictures of my dog, Kooza in her Plaxico Burress jersey and my Giants t-shirt. He did get on my case about wearing a Steelers' sweatshirt, but I told him that he should have snagged me a shirt in the locker room.. what the hell was he thinking, leaving me out like that?!? I go back up to see him in 10 weeks. So, I got out of there just to meet Susie coming in for her appointment. Elie was very happy to go over her bones for me. She is such a smart child. I think he was shocked to see me there... he kept shaking his head... he accused his PA, Arianna of purposely being somewhere else and setting him up for the torture of being in a room with the two of us! L got very shy when Dr. Kelly came into the room though. It was such a shame that she was shy, because Dr. Kelly was very excited to show her anything that she wanted. We had some fun with the pictures of Susie's psoas. He looked directly at me and said these are for the lawyers.. of course, this was a dig at my earlier visit with him when I told him that he would be hearing from the insurance company and that he needed to be clear that I am in the same boat with this hip so that I can settle. Susie's hips are great! She is not lying or misleading on this blog.. I saw it myself. I think that Dr. Kelly was relieved that she is doing so well. I asked him how she was able to get three surgeries in the course of a year, and he said I like her better. I told him that I thought it took me 18 months to get my second surgery because he liked seeing me so much. Of course, he kept shaking his head as Susie and I were double teaming him. He did offer Susie his condolences on the Patriot's Super Bowl loss as well, Susie confronted him about calling her "Crazy." He said "I did not say that about you... I have said it about her (meaning me) many times. We took a few pictures in the office. The best one is the one below of me and Dr. Kelly. It was too funny because I handed Susie the camera and said "there is one picture I want". Dr. Kelly said "It is you stangleing me!" I think it is going to be my new screen saver!! I know that most people could not get away with this with him, but he really does have a very funny and sarcastic side that comes out when he gets to know patients a little better. I am naturally sarcastic and aloof at times, so we are a perfect match.





It was such a fun visit with a lot of laughter and levity and a celebration of 4 hips getting better and two very happy patients who are forever joined at the hip! I missed my flight home, as Susie and I misinterpreted the airline's website, so we had a slumber party.

The Start of Something Great

Yesterday was my 3 month follow-up with Dr. Kelly. For the first time ever, I left happy, satisfied, elated, thrilled...... We actually didn't discuss another surgery. I have never left his office without having a sinking feeling that this disaster was not ending. I think I had a smile on my face for the rest of the day. I know in the past I have said I was really happy and this is over, but this office visit gave me closure! We barely even discussed my hip, I told him it was great, and I am REALLY happy! Really really really happy!

The visit was even more fun bc I had entertainment! I brought L along, since she is OBSESSED with bones, as well as Amy, who had an earlier appointment and ended up hanging out with us. L really wanted to see x-rays, and she has been talking about seeing them and meeting Dr. Kelly for a while. She is such a funny kid. She even got to leave school early for it. But when the 3 of us got into a room, she became timid, and when he came in the room, she buried her head in my lap and wouldn't look up!

He was excited to show her x-rays, he was even going to get her some MRI's if she wanted to!

He started by showing us my scope pics, especially my "intact" (and absolutely beautiful and perfect) psoas. Lots and lots of shots of my psoas, (for the lawyers, of course, he joked). He told me I was very scary when I "threatened" him during out psoas conversations and the pre-cursor to the psoas conversation. He let L have a sheet of scope pics! She was still buried in my leg but when we got home she was so excited to show J and Jk.

He checked my hips, and found the right to have more ROM (right was scoped 2x), he said it was because he had taken down a lot more bone in the right. I think this explains why I was having a lot of muscular issues there. I now have the ability to move more, but my muscles needed to be retrained in this new range. Kind of like what happened during my continuing ed course.

Of course the conversation turned to football (I will let Amy tell you about that part of the visit as well as the rest of the day, plus the best pic of the day)

But...he kept saying "she was right, she was right", (meaning, there was bony impingement in my hip the whole time) see, I knew I was not making this up August-November. And to think of all the times I nearly lost it during those months!
So things went super, I asked if he wanted to see me again....he laughed! I need an x-ray at 1 year out, I can handle that!!

As I was finishing up with the receptionist, he came back out and told me to come back and bring my chart. He had the Chief Resident there, he took out my scope pics and said "this is why you need to listen to your patients"!!

3 Months Post-op Hip Arthroscopy Revision

I was on the phone with hipster Amy tonight. We have a 'date' tomorrow at Dr. Kelly's office, for her 2 week follow-up and my 3 month follow-up. The topic of conversation turned to successful surgeries! Finally, someone who can understand my joy and elation, and smiles when no one else knows why. Joining us on our date will be 'L', who loves bones. I promised her she could see my x-rays, she is ecstatic.

Since my life has returned to pre-hip issue status for the most part, my old knee issues have returned. Way back in college and PT school, I had such bad knee pain, I had to ice after each ride. I am approaching this again. I really can't handle another orthopaedic issue right now, or ever! The good thing is the knee pain doesn't make me crazy, or do crazy things! I need to ice and get a grip on this, before it gets out of control.

J has been away on business, he was in Mexico last week. He decided to come home early tonight, conveniently missing bath and bed time for the kids, but early enough to want to know what I had made for dinner. His bright idea of the night came as he was watching a Tivo'd episode of The Biggest Loser. "Why don't you gain a ton of weight so that we can go on the 'couples' version together". For those of you not familiar with The Biggest Loser, it is a reality TV show featuring heavy contestants who battle to lose the most weight in the season. He is obsessed with it, and wants to go on it, but not alone. So, his idea is for me to join him! Fat chance!

Highlights from tomorrow's visit to follow!

What My Readers Symptoms of FAI or Labral Tear Were

Ok, so this is not a scholarly peer reviwed journal or anything, but I have found it helpful to know what other people have experienced, and I assume you do too, or you wouldn't be reading this. In the past, I have polled my readers to find out what their symptoms of FAI and or labral tear were, here is what they have shared. Feel free to add your own in the comments section, or email them to me and I can edit this post.
Here were my pre-op symptoms: Groin pain, deep deep groin pain, not always excruciating, but so annoying I felt like cutting off my leg, tight hip flexors, pain with sitting, pain with walking uphill, pain with pushing my stroller. I did not have radiating pain down my legs, all the hip pain was anterior medial.
This is what my readers had to say:
-At original onset of pain, I had acute, sharp pain along with a deeper pain in the anterior (non-PT term - front) hip. Once the acute pain subsided, I was left with a persistent but not 100% constant deep ache (only way I can describe it is comprable to early labor pains, or really bad menstrual cramps, or, in other words, not bad enough to put me in bed, but bad enough to ruin my day - but deep in my hip joint) along with the occasional "catching" of my hip. I would be walking and suddenly it would pinch and hurt too much to walk normally. I would usually stretch or range my hip and that would sometimes work. Otherwise I'd just have to wait it out, and later that day, the ache would be particularly bad. Now (3 + years post op) I'm at the achy stage, with occasional catching and occasional pain that is bad enough to keep me from sleeping, ie: can't find comfortable position, even with pillow between legs, must get up and take 600-800 mg Advil and wait. Those have been my symptoms to date. Hope this helps. I am eager to read about other people's symptoms - knowledge is power. (This reader had a scope a few years ago for a labral tear, her symptoms came back, she ended up being diagnosed with FAI and had an open surgery to address it)

-Clicking, catching (especially when changing direction when walking or getting in and out of car), deep aching. Now post op (scope with labral debridement of fibrillated labral tear) and still have aching (especially with sitting for long periods), nerve pain in thigh and butt, episodes of the hip giving way (though less frequent now). Pain is better with rest and worse with increased activity. Am now six months post op. Wish I had just broke it lol

-My symptoms started with groin pain, which seemed both deep and also superficial, and sometimes radiated up to my lower right pelvic/abdominal area. After awhile, I developed pain over my greater trochanter and in my piriformis muscle. Before my first scope I had SI joint discomfort as well, and also IT band tightness and soreness down my thigh to my knee. At first my pain was intermittent, but over time it became constant; it would get better or worse, but there was always a baseline amount of pain. Driving was horrible. Groin pain was always the worst symptom. Yuck!

Just a Light Note

I am still plugging along, still happy, and have not forgotten about my loyal readers. A funny thing happened in PT a few weeks ago. I have discovered Avon products, they are really great. One of my favorites is the Skin So Soft Spray Oil. I had sprayed it on one early morning before dragging myself to pre-work PT. It made the table slippery and P kept slipping off my leg. As he was working, he sniffed, and said "is that skin so soft?" I burst out laughing "How do you know what skin so soft is?" He replied "It is used as bug repellent". Ok, but it is still good moisturizer. I have since switched to Skin So Soft Whipped oil in Soft ad Sensual!

While I am on the topic of beauty products, I have to make a recommendation, I am in love with Cover Girl Lash Exact Mascara, but the one with the purple brush. I find no need to spend a lot of money on expensive mascara when this one does a great job.

I have recently come to the realization that have developed lines under my eyes. I purchased a wrinkle cream, but having on prior experience with this, I have been told that it is 'too heavy' and can make my lines worse, great! Does anyone have a recommendation for a good eye cream? I guess a year of hip bullshit took its toll on me!

Why Do I Open My Big Fat Mouth???

Just when I thought things were peachy, reality hit once again. Lets regroup and look at the big picture, if hip arthroscopy is supposed to have a full recovery time of 6-12 months, why I am bragging at 3 that I'm perfect. Someone please say "shut up Susie", you know you imagined those 12 seconds of painfree bliss, there is NO FRIGGIN WAY you are done with your grizzling (thanks Jess, I've been waiting for a good opportunity to use your word). So, if it makes everyone happy again, I had a wild dose of reality yesterday.

Normally, I work a 5 hour day, at which point I am beat, exhausted, and ready for cup of coffee #4 (or 5). My office is a bit understaffed this week because of vacation time as well as people at continuing education courses (see, its not just me who is a huge dork), so I volunteered to work 11 hours yesterday. 8 hours in, my legs both hurt so much, I was soooo sore, my piriformis threatened to go into spasm, my adductors tightened up again as did sartorius. Truthfully, I think many of my colleagues felt the same way at the 8 and 9 hour mark, it is an exhausting day. I can't wait to revert back to part time status!

(sigh) The Party's Over

I can't believe this. It once again goes to show that hips are soooooo unpredictable. I stayed in bed for most of the day yesterday, not because of my hips (remember, yesterday was sheer perfection) but rather because I was unbelievably sick, probably the flu or something. Today, I dragged myself out of bed and was struck with hip soreness. Not bad and debilitating in any way shape or form, but surprising after yesterday. It is actually mostly greater trochanter pain as I am sitting here. I am annoyed!

12 Weeks post Revision

As I was walking home from taking L to school this morning, a great thought crossed my mind. I have no pain, no discomfort, and no tightness. I don't feel a thing in my hips (both sides), it feels as if I did not have surgery! Whoohoo!!! I have been waiting for this day for over a year, to be completely pain and discomfort free! I know that this is probably not permanent, and there will still be periods of discomfort down the road, but what a great milestone to hit! I am back on the spinning DL for the moment, this may be why I am feeling so great. Battling yet another sinus infection, which leaves me feeling completely drained and exhausted. But I can't just stay off the bike forever, eventually, it will stop making things tighten up, and I do think that each ride is better than the previous one!

SuperBowl Sunday

Turning the Bend

I think tomorrow is 12 weeks post-op, wow, how time flies when you are having fun! I can't believe I have had the privilege of experiencing 3 hip arthroscopies, how did I ever get so lucky!
Thankfully, everything went super this last time! I attended PT a whopping 3 times this week, I guess that takes care of the dropout status, for now anyway. J is traveling this week so I won't be making it in early to have P work on me, so this week I revert to drop-out status once again. The only thing is, I may really need P tomorrow. My SI joint is giving me grief this week. It was giving him grief as well Friday, I asked him to manipulate it, which is a high velocity, low amplitude thrust that if done correctly, will generally result in a "pop". I am generally a great "popper" but it would not go for him. I was so sore all day Friday and Saturday as well. Today it feels better but I am keeping my fingers crossed that it remains like this. SI pain stinks, I develop a deep achiness right along my PSIS. It is definitely not my first bout of SI pain though, at one pint in time, I had taught J how to fix it for me, the only trouble this time is that I am not sure what type of dysfunction I am having so cannot instruct him in correcting it. I find that in the past, I am always developing 'issues' on the weekend, when I have no access to 'help'! SI joint issues are a small price to pay for hip relief, and I will take this any time over groin pain, losing my mind, and another surgery!

A New Culprit

SARTORIUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I waltzed into PT yesterday 40 minutes late and begged P to take me! He did luckily bc the tightness is making me insane. I aksed him to figure out something new, tear some tissue, break scar tissue, jump on my leg, surgically release it.......I was desperate and annoyed! After he calmed me down, he got to work. He palpated sartorius on each side and found it was more prominent on the right, more tight and more tender. Aha! So off he went to ART it and do his magic. He also continued with the PA mobs in prone with some ER followed by a serious hip flexor stretch with a dose of contract-relax. I felt amamzing when I finally had to get up and see patients. Best I have felt in a while!

Unfortunately, I worked a REALLY long day yesterday to cover someones vacation, and I am working today to cover as well, so after 8 hours straight on my feet, I was in pain and (gasp) limping a little. I am better this morning and getting ready for another long day in the office.

Interestingly, as P was working, he was feeling around my scope sites on my 'tender' area and it has become a little bit numb. Par for the course I guess. It still burns at times as well, and I keep forgetting to try the Lidocaine patches. Lets see if today I can remember!

Thank You To the Wonderful People in My Billing Department

I just received this letter in the mail:

Informational copy only. Original letter addressed to MSPT (my office)
Dear Billing Department:

We're responding to your 011708 inquiry about our processing Susie on 12/26/07.
We determined that we processed this claim accurately and no further payment is due. The reason (s) is listed at the bottom of this letter.

Network physicians/ other health care professionals/ facilities: Please refer to your administrative guide for further review options.
Non network physicians: Please refer to the PRA for any review rights that may be available to you.

If you have questions about this letter please call customer care.

Under the plan, notification was required but not received. Therefore, we have declined payment for the service because requirements of the plan were not met.

Let me explain the absurdity of this. First of all, I have been in PT for 10 months now (and counting). My plan only allows for 30 PT visits/ year, in or out of network. My office is in network, but my therapist is out of network (it is a big game we play with the insurance companies). To access my in-network benefits, authorization is needed by an outsourced PT company who will read P's notes and 'approve' x number of visits. Then he requests more, and it becomes a pile up of paperwork and a losing battle with the insurance company. I have out of network benefits too. These do not require authorization (i.e prior notification), and get billed at a higher rate and paid at a higher rate. So the billing department has been billing out of network. It is great for everyone. I get my deductible taken care of (they obviously don't charge me), P has no paperwork, and the office gets paid more. These out of network visits are also capped at 30, but no one seemed to notice, or someone in the billing department appealed them...who knows. All I know is that PT has been paid for, very well I might add, for the last 10 months. And I have definitely exceeded 30 visits (I think I exceeded 30 visits with one surgery alone! Dr.Kelly's PT protocol is for 1x/week x 1st month, 2x/week 2nd month, 3x/week 3rd month) At some point in time, it became more difficult to bill out of network so the billing people started billing in network. They have done so for a while, and now, United Healthcare realized there was no authorization. Oops!
I keep forgetting to count the total # of visits I have had, it is scary though! I have an appintment tomorrow that I am keeping!

I am finally feeling less tight in the capsule. Ironically, I have not been on my bike since Thursday bc of all the family outings. Tonight I am finally in bed, alone, and ready to sleep ALOT!

Thank Goodness Tomorrow is Monday

I think this has been the longest weekend of my life. Let me explain.....My parents have had a trip planned to NY for a while, they were going to stay with us and my aunt and uncle decided to tag along too to see the kiddies. As luck would have it, my sister in law gave birth to twins this week, which has turned things completely upside down. See, Jewish people don't just have babies, they have babies then have parties and celebrations galore. So to join in the celebration, J's older sister plus hubby and 3 kids came to NY....and stayed with us. My parents ended up at a hotel. I hosted Friday night dinner and Saturday lunch here for 11. Plus a Tupperware party tonight (planned ages ago). So.....after cooking, serving, cleaning, dealing with family 'politics' and wearing heels ALOT, I think I am ready to cut off my right leg. We are having a huge issue bc it does not like when I wear heels, and, well, at this point, I am soooooo wearing heels. We are 2 1/2 months out from my revision scope, this is ridiculous. Even my ITB is screaming at me today, pleading with me to retire my high heeled boots (they are so cute, with a little flower on the side!)

Friday night, I wore wedges to the baby party. I had so much pain, I wanted to cry. I left the party early, using the excuse that Jk had to go to bed, and was fine in the AM. But I really had groin pain, I don't think it was like pre-op pain, more adductors, psoas pain and of course capsule pain too. Saturday, I wore those shoes again, hell is all I can think to describe the state of my hip. Today I donned the cute boots, hell, changed into Uggs for an outing to the zoo, better, but not great, and then high heeled boots again for my party! I am in bed with so much soreness now, not so much pain anymore, but soreness. Adductors, ITB, TFL, all a mess.

To add to the fun and excitement, my numb/tender areas are burning again. If I can get it together enough, I will try a lidocaine patch tomorrow for work. But I am so tired, I dont know if I will remember! As I type, my eyes are closing....so, you get the picture, I overdid it this weekend in a housewife type of way!

Iceskating, Cold weather and the Expected Aftermath

We all ice skated yesterday. Amy gave L a 'lesson', although L was more interested in seeing the ice on her mitten after each fall, and Jk dragged me around the ice on his miniature ice skates! A good time was had my all (except Amy's ankle and my IT band).

Truth be told, my hip held up amazingly well, I had the tender spot issues last night and of course the capsule tightened up again. It also clicks, did I ever mention that? Not snapping or popping, but clicking, but not like the labral tear clicking. Scar tissue maybe? Who knows?

Very interesting (and quite painful actually)- I went out this afternoon to pick up L from school and right as I got into the cold, my joint tightened up and became painful. It did loosen as I continued to walk, but it was so weird that it just tightened like that.

At this point, my only issues seem to be the joint capsule tightening issue and the nerve damage/ tender area issue. It is a fair trade-off for being able to have my life back!

As Tight as a.....

I can't think of a simile, but my hip is TIGHT. As I was riding tonight, I got into some standing sprints for the first time, but it felt as if there was a cord wrapping tighter and tighter around around my hip with each revolution, until I couldn't take it anymore. I kept saying to myself, 'it is not your problem, P will deal with it tomorrow...' but hell no, it is my problem now! Especially since Jk is asleep and I have no one to sit on my leg and stretch me!

Interestingly, I had a pretty shitty day on Sunday and Monday. Ironically, those 2 days were really really cold, the kind of days where you don't want to go outside unless absolutely necessary, the days where you drive down a street in Manhattan and there are no people on the sidewalk. Why is the cold bothering me so much???? I was between Tylenol and Darvocet, I was going to start with Tylenol and then take a Darvocet if it didn't help but it must have bc I never went for the stronger stuff!

I am going ice skating again tomorrow with hipster Amy, who has been banned from the ice by Dr. Kelly, but L really wants to learn how to skate! I am more nervous about freezing my ass off than breaking something since we are going to the Wollman Rink in Central Park, the indoor rinks are closed tomorrow or don't have public hours, I already started packing a bag with extra socks and sweaters! You can take the girl out of Miami, but you can't take Miami out the girl (did I ever mention I was from Miami, and have been 'stuck' in NY since college???)

On a positive note, I think I had the best ride tonight since my revision scope! YAY!!!
Just curious....should I still call scope#1 a 'failed hip arthroscopy' or 'part 1 of the job for my right hip'!
Also, I think I have to change my profile since I mention the 'twisting/popping' incident and really, it has nothing to do with anything, other than sending everyone down the wrong path on the ever so fun investigation of 'why does my hip hurt AFTER my arthroscopy?"
(I have to stop exercising at night, I have way too much energy)

The Importance of PT (blah blah blah)

I returned to PT, again. I am going to stop being such a hotshot and STOP dropping out. I even made another appointment for Wednesday. See, I am having some joint capsule issues, yes, after hip arthroscopy, even 9 weeks later (or am I at 10....I have lost track) you can still have these ridiculous issues. It is a joke at this point, I am fixed, yet still having issues.

My capsule is so tight, P did work hard (thanks P) and is surprised at how tight I get. The mobility within the joint is poor (not my ROM, but the joint accessory motion), I am stiff. Since we are having so much fun already, m gait becomes stiff and I begin to lose extension, again. So I walk slightly 'off', and now my back hurts AHHHHHHHHH.

Luckily, it is stiffness in my back, and luckily, the people I work with are amazing and can quickly help me. Interestingly, the pain travels along my vertebrae. Yesterday, I pointed to where it hurt and P said it was L3-4. He did a manipulation on it, and it was better. Then my thoracic spine hurt, so I recruited another PT (I was too embarrassed to tell P something else hurt) so he manipulated my T-spine. I think every vertebrae 'popped' with one quick manip! When I got home, my lumbar spine hurt again and I really needed to 'crack it'. Clearly, J is not skilled or trained in this, so I have been doing this twisty rotation thing hoping to elicit a pop, I have not been all that successful.I did go on my foam roller for a while and it helped, but I need some PT too!

Back pain is worse than hip pain bc I can find few positions that alleviate it, other than lying on my stomach with a pillow under me.
And the fun continues! When will this end?
I do plan on ice skating this week though, back pain or no back pain.I had grand plans to go rock climbing this weekend but the gym I chose is closed for a competition, so it will have to wait! But I am so excited to do it again!!

I am in Adductor Hell

Poor P, he just doesn't get it. He is going to be shocked tomorrow at how things have deteriorated in the 'PT addressable area' tomorrow (as opposed to the 'surgeon addressable area'). My muscles and joint capsule are so tight, it hurts so much. I contemplated taking a Darvocet today the adductor was so bad. I ended up lying on the floor in a FABER position and having Jk sit on my knee to stretch it out. I want it to 'pop', or something, I think I am developing scar tissue in there and it is contributing to my problem. So it has been a rough day!

To top things off, I took the kids to CVS, which for some reason unbeknown to me, makes them wild. So we finally got out of there in one piece and Jk needed a diaper change. It was snowing and cold, but we had no choice. So I started doing it in the passenger seat of my car, but then realized I ran out of wipes. "Shit', I said. To which L replied 'Mommy, that is not a nice word.'

Someone actually asked me today if I can 'feel the cold' in my hips. I am not sure if any of this is weather related. I like to think it is not, since I reserve thatfor 90 year old little old ladies with arthritic hips (so I fit 50% of that description). Hmmmmmm, maybe I can!

Everyone is in bed, I am also getting ready to get in bed soon and watch Gossip Girl on Tivo.

An Update to Last Night's Post

My adductor is in a knot, causing me to believe I am having joint pain. Due to the close proximity of the insertion of the adductors, I have been on the verge of losing it (again). Luckily, I decided to stretch last night, and low and behold, adductor was the culprit. It REALLY hurts though, to the point that I am considering a Darvocet to get through today, until I see P tomorrow and he can 'make nice' with my adductor!
*********My Joint is fine**************

Just To Keep everyone on the Edge of Their Seats...

My hip hurts. I am pretty sure the muscles are acting up, but I am f___ing annoyed. See, we are past this. It is like a relationship, we should be done with the awkward, getting to know you part, and be on to the 'romantic walks on the beach', or rock climbing and spinning together. I have yet to 'poke around' the area to figure it out. Yes, instead of sitting my lazy butt in front of the computer, I should be stretching, but I had such a great ride tonight I want to relax a little.

Maybe it is wishful thinking (I am rambling again...I know), but before the FAI was bulldozed out, I could literally take my index finger and point to where the pain was. This pain is readily identified with the entire pinky side of my hand, from the tip of my finger to my wrist, right in the joint crease.

Also, pesky adductor is acting up again. I need to get off of the computer and stretch....I did make an appointment to see P on Friday morning, which means I am, once again, not a PT dropout. Lets keep me at PT PRN status. I actually received a prescription from a doctor today which said PT at 'my discretion'! So I am doing the same....but for myself.

I play this game called 'what if I was my own patient', to see how I would handle this muscle issue. Firstly, I would not approve of rock climbing or ice skating yet. Maybe spinning, but low-level. Definitely not what I have been doing some nights, like tonight. Did I mention I hurt more now that I am off of the bike than I did before I got on? Oops, I left out some important details. I also had a crazy day at work plus I cooked dinner for 2 other families tonight. Ok, so maybe I don't practice what I would otherwise preach. But this hip shit is getting really old.