Hip-hop anonymous - a PAO journal

In April, my left hip turned 11. I'm happy to say I'm still doing great, and have even surpassed my own goal of making it more than 10 years (mostly) pain free. At this point, I think you could safely call me a success story. I've been having more pain than usual in my left hip, but it's usually caused by squats and lunges, which are a part of the weight lifting classes I take. May have to rethink those in the near future, but for now, I'll take the bit of pain. Always thankful. My hips are rock stars.

My first hip surgery was 3,652 days ago, which, coincidentally, is probably the number of doubts I had before going under the knife. My decision to have PAOs – and the decade that's followed – have been worth every question and every fear. My hips have been troopers, standing loyally by as I test them at the gym, on the trail, around the city and everywhere in between. If I push too hard, my left hip will let me know, but generally, I have very little pain. I haven't seen a hip doctor in years. I still have a numb patch about the size of a business card on each thigh. A few times a year, I will get that burning, itching nerve pain that irritates me to no end. When overworked, my left hip starts burning near my back, sciatic-style. The scars are still there, of course, but they rarely catch my eye.  All of this seems like a small price to pay for a ticket for admission into this life of mine. Plus, I have 13 screws inside my body that make me feel like a bad-ass. I'm g...

My sixth anniversary of my LPAO recently came ... and went, without much ado. While I'll always always be thankful for the surgery that changed my life, it's also one of those events that has taken a back seat in my daily affairs. Which is certainly something you can't ever imagine as soon as the acronym PAO becomes a part of your vocabulary, so I consider even this an accomplishment. Truth is, my hips are exactly the same as they were a year ago, so there's really not much to report. I'm still as active as ever, with some pain if I spend more than a couple of hours strenuously exercising. I still get some random pangs every once in a while, still have nerves that itch and burn, still have a nearly numb patch on my thigh. And I still wouldn't trade one second of my post-op self with my limpy, scared pre-op self. I went in for some hip x-rays a few months back at the local orthopedic center and just had the local hip doc look at them. Dr. Kindsfater is no...

Hip surgery remains − five years later − the smartest, bravest and most significant event of my life. Nothing can top the rewarding feeling of taking my health into my own hands, fighting tremendous fears and physical challenges, and coming through the other side a changed person. That's not to say it's all roses now. In dog years, my left hip is 35. It is starting to act its age, which I don't much like. Despite the increasing pain, I can't get mad at it. It has given me too much. I'm instead resigned, disheartened and even a little scared. The pain I have now is totally different than pre-surgery's. Not in my hip at all, but rather in my back− sciatic pain on the left side. Luckily, it only hurts after a full day's activity, but when it hurts, it's nearly debilitating. I often can't even take a step until I've sat it out for a half hour or so. My right hip gets a little achy sometimes, but it's behaving much better. I'm still su...

It's been four years since my left hip surgery, the day-long event that became a years-long cornucopia for which I am eternally thankful. My thanks does not wane, even though the periods of pain-free living have started to. Between anniversaries three and four, I have to admit that life has been a little tougher. My hips hurt more often and are less willing to take the beatings an active lifestyle evokes. My mind returns to dark places of my past, when pain ruled and I couldn't count on my body. The most challenging aspect is not letting fears and negative thoughts squash the positive feelings and abilities my new hips gave me. Post-surgery pains are completely different than pre-surgery's. Sporadic, unpredictable and in places I didn't think even counted as "hip pain." Post-surgery pains also have been easier to control, just harder to understand. I am considering a visit to a hip doc in my town, rather than a flight to Tacoma to see Dr. Mayo. I need to...

A surgery can change your body. Two surgeries can change everything. Today, on the third anniversary of my LPAO, I inevitably think back to my first operation and the years leading up to that day. Everything has changed. I am an outdoors enthusiast and exercise nut. I can stay on my feet all day. My new body has freed my soul, and my heart responds in kind. The breakdown is exactly the same as it was at two years post-op : zero pain with a couple of exceptions, great range of motion, same tingly patch and itching. The one difference is that my tailbone pain has waned considerably, which gives me much, much relief. I'm a different person today than I was on April 23, 2008, and I'll be forever thankful.

My left hip turned 2 today. Like a toddler, it asserts its independence more each day. It says "no" to sitting on the couch, "no" to giving up on ever-so-challenging squats and lunges and "no" to the life I led two years ago. I happily report: I have zero restrictions. I have zero pain when walking, working out, etc. Range of motion is about 95% of what it was before surgery. My "numb" patch is now a "tingly" patch. There now is sensation where there was none before. Because of this, I still get the deep itching, stabbing pain in my thigh on occasion. My only issue is when I work out too hard or lie in a certain position. Then I get a deep pain on my backside at the top of the pelvis. I also still feel the deep groin pain I've had since surgery when doing "clam shell" type movements or deep squats and lunges. Tailbone pain also turns 2 today. Boo. I couldn't be more proud of my 2-year-old!

My absence has been noted. Which is enough to guilt me into taking the extra minutes out of my day to report on my status. On May 12, I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Mayo. Two new sets of X-rays (and who knows how much radiation) later, I got two thumbs up for pelvic bone healing. As far as the other issues I'm having, I didn't get any concrete answers. Dr. Mayo was very clear, however in saying -- as he has in the past -- that I will never have completely pain free hips. I've learned to accept that fact, mostly because experience has proven he's right. This is what we talked about: Right hip burning in the "Captain Morgan" position. No progress has been made here, and Dr. Mayo said the culprit likely was the iliopsoas (ill-e-o-so-az) and the rectus femoris (one of the quad muscles). He put me on Celebrex for a month, with no change. Next step would be an injection into the muscle, but I'm not ready for that yet. Tailbone. T...

Happy anniversary to me! A year ago, I was lying in a hospital bed, numb from the waist down. Today, I feel so many things ... grateful, relieved, happy and normal. And let's not forget what I'm not feeling: pain. One year post op, my left hip feels better than it has in more than 1o years. Sometimes I'm amazed at what medical knowledge and technology has done for me. Seems crazy that cutting my hip apart in three places and screwing it back together has been so beneficial! At this point: Zero pain in my hip when walking, jogging and jumping. Deep groin pain when lying on my side and doing any external rotation (clam-shell type movement). Numb patches are gone, replaced by a tingly feeling on my scar and within a three-inch radius. (I still don't like touching my skin here.) Range of motion is about 90 percent of what it was prior to surgery. Clicking in the joint has increased considerably. I hear/feel it with almost every step, which does make my hip sore after about...

January 23 marked my nine month of progress from my left PAO. Has it gone by quickly? Slowly? The answer is both. I found the first few weeks to go by quickly, followed by a stagnant period, picking up again at the eight-week mark, slowing down at three months, and so on. My RPAO, which hit at seven months, took the focus off the first recovery. Here's how I feel at this point: Good : No pain in the joint. I can walk for hours and not feel anything! Good : My incision is flat and continues to pale. Good : Strength and balance have returned to pre-surgery levels. So-so : My range of motion is not as good as before surgery but not by too much. When I push it, I do feel some pain. So-so : Numbness has decreased following the initial recovery, but I still get a very strange tingling sensation when touching any part of my upper thigh. It creeps me out. Bad : Deep groin pain (which is muscular/tissue-related) upon external rotation. This means no clam-shell type movement sans pain. Bad :...

As I was lying awake last night, I had a bit of an "ah-ha" moment. See, while this recovery has been smoother physically than the last one, it's been tougher on my state of mind. Bored, blech and blah are the three "B's" that would summarize these past weeks. I've been comparing my two surgeries a lot lately (which was my first no-no) and finally realized that I'm not just recovering from my RPAO. I'm also still feeling the effects from my LPAO. By the time January rolls around, I will have been on crutches (full- and part-time) for four and a half months out of the past eight. For an additional month, I worked out muscle fatigue and soreness while learning how to walk again. I hate to complain, but simply put, it's been a long and challenging eight months. Of course, I still have a ton to celebrate. Both recoveries have gone wonderfully, and I have no surgeries scheduled in my future, which is such a relief. The benefits of having two surger...

The good news from my six-month LPAO follow-up: the osteotomies are completely healed and the hip joint looks very good. Yay! The bad news: Dr. Thomas has no idea why my tailbone is messed up and no idea why I have pain on the underside of my pelvis. The X-rays don't show any problem with the bone, so I guess that's good. There is some extra bone growing on the outside of the joint, but we didn't get around to addressing that. The encouraging news: Dr. Thomas isn't my only hope. The X-rays are on their way to Dr. Mayo's office, and I'm crossing my fingers and toes that he has some magic up his sleeve to make my pain go away. I try not to focus on these issues. I'm happy with the progress I've made and the wonderful new hip I've been given. But dang it, sometimes it just gets me down. Especially today, when there are no answers. When I'm physically tired because the pain wakes me up throughout the night and when I can't even sit on the couch a...

As I look ahead to my second PAO, I find myself thinking less and less about the first one. So it didn't surprise me that I almost forgot that today marks six months post-op progress. This was the amount of time that I had allowed myself to get back to normal. When people would ask me how long the recovery was, I always said between six and 12 months. And now, here I am. Am I fully recovered? Honestly, I have to say no. Close, but not fully. The stats: I have absolutely no pain when walking, even for long distances! Still working a bit on strength, mostly for straight-leg type activities. Range of motion is about 80 percent of what it was pre-op ... wonder if that will ever come back completely. Sure hope so; it'll make pedicures much easier! Feelings still returning to thigh area, and it still creeps me out to touch my leg. Two post-op complications are holding me back and testing my patience and pain threshold: First is the notorious tailbone. Getting worse by the month. I no...

Today marks my five-month post op mark. I'm doing a smidge, yes, a smidge better than I was a month ago, but no significant turn of events. The only issues I'm having: Tenderness on the outside of my hip. Is this ever going to go away? Pain deep in the joint only when doing certain things. Like getting in and out of bed, or trying to do my "clam shell" exercises (lying on my un-op side with knees together and bent a bit and then lifting my op leg at the knee), among others. The smallest bit of stiffness in the joint, especially after a hard workout. A couple of numb patches on my thigh. A very sore tailbone. A very sore Cassie! This is the thing that concerns me the most about my next surgery. I'm going to be on my butt a lot, and am cringing at the thought of all that pain!

If there's one blanket statement I could make about having a periacetabular osteotomy, I would say this: It's a long recovery. When friends, family, co-workers and strangers have comments or questions about the surgery, it's usually something like: "That sounds awful!" or "Was it really painful?" or "Scary." Truth is, while it was awful, painful and scary at times, this whole time, it simply has been long. At four months post-op, I still feel remnants of surgery in my hip. I still can't lie on my op side for longer than an hour or two without discomfort, and I still have to help my leg in and out of the car on occasion. My hip is still tender to the touch, and of course, that tailbone ... Don't get me wrong. I have SO much to celebrate, and I can't imagine myself happier with my left hip. I have recovered smoothly and quickly. I'm not asking for anything more. That being said, I have made the following progress in the pa...

I wanted to leave a quick update on my progress in the past two weeks. I pushed through the plateau and I feel even better than I did at three months post-op. Progress No limp! Very little stiffness remaining in my hip Scar has smoothed almost completely out, though it's still very pink/purpley (that could be a word) and tender. The area around the incision is also very tender still. Sensation getting stronger on majority of my thigh. This is causing some itchy stinging (or some stingy itching) feelings as the nerves start firing up again. Jogging, jumping do not hurt Range of motion increasing Getting in/out of cars or bed no longer difficult, unless I've worked my hip a lot already Walking any amount of distance not a problem (my right hip is holding me up, though) I've started to refer to the left (op) hip as my good one! Complaint Stupid, stupid tailbone While I still have many, many things to celebrate (like being on my feet all day with no pain toda...

To celebrate being three-months post-op, I made my return to Body Jam , a cardio dance class at my gym. While I wasn't able to do about half of the moves because they were high-impact, it was so wonderful to be back after so long! In the two weeks since I've written about post-op progress, I continue to get better. In fact, there are so few things that feel strange or hurt, that it will be easier to list those than all the things I can do now! At this point It only hurts (just barely) to walk when I've been sitting for a long time and then get moving again. My limp is hardly noticeable. I still feel a bit of stiffness in the joint, especially after inactivity. My hip still hurts to roll onto, like when sleeping or trying to do crunches on my side. Once I'm in position, though, it doesn't hurt anymore. The numbness continues to fade. I feel the sensation coming back in most of my thigh. There's a spot about the size of half a dollar bill that still ...

If any milestone is big enough to mark the two-month point, I guess it would have to be returning to work full time. Today I made the hour trip north, worked a full day and then made the hour trip back home, where I went to Target, the post office and my favorite local Mexican restaurant for chicken tacos. I'm tired, but not overly so. Tomorrow, I hope, is the day I hear from Dr. Mayo. I hope he tells me everything is healing fine and that I may start weight bearing (even if it's not 100 percent.) I'm terribly curious how it's going to feel to put my full weight on my leg for the first time in eight weeks. Eight weeks! I've been feeling good, though not much different than I did at seven weeks. I still have the nagging pain when I sit; my hip is still tender on the outside and a bit stiff on the inside. My scar looks about the same as well, but I think some of the numbness may be going away! (Four week and eight week comparison below.) I'm sleeping much be...

One. More. Week. It can't come soon enough. At seven weeks post-op, I just want to get off these crutches and start building up my leg again! I continue to make progress, and now that I'm back on my own again, I'm doing more and more, while still trying to mind my restrictions. Yesterday, I took my gym membership off hold and had a weight lifting session for my upper body. It felt very good to be back there -- my second home, really. I got a lot of strange looks as I crutched my way around the machines, but what do I expect? I've also gone to the grocery store and used a bag to carry around the groceries I picked up. Got my hair cut, car washed, errands run. Life is nearly back to normal. Still haven't taken any Tylenol in forever, and the only real pain I've had this past week is on the underside of my pelvis that hurts when I sit. A little worried about it, but I'll only have to wait till early next week to make sure everything is okay. One. More. Week.

At this point in my recovery, I'm definitely looking more toward the future than toward the past six weeks. I'm anxious to start walking again (two more weeks!!!), even though that brings on a whole new set of worries: Will it hurt? Will I limp? Will I need a cane? For how long? Is the physical therapy going to work? Is it going to hurt? Updates: I stopped needing the Tylenol at night, so I haven't taken any pain killers for more than a week. Last night, I stayed out until 1 in the morning, hopping from barstool to barstool and chatting with old friends at our hometown watering hole for the voting day festivities. I get in and out of bed easily by pulling my leg up and around. I can pick things up from the floor without trouble. I'm starting to sleep better, finally. Lying on my stomach and good side do not feel uncomfortable at all. Still : I still get random sharp or aching pains in my hip maybe once or twice a day, and those terrible shooting pains in my groin sneak...