My hip hurts

Really you'd think I'd have a lot more posts with that title. :)

I don't know what it is lately, but the pain in my left hip has shifted and intensified the past couple weeks. I still have stretches of time where I'm fine, but when I'm not I'm REALLY not, and end up wincing and limping around for awhile. Heat definitely helps, though I gave myself a nice high-thigh steam burn with my beloved therabelt the other day - perhaps a bit too ambitious with the microwaving! It's weird, though, when I can get my hip to really relax, I feel it all the way up to my neck - similar to how when I walk I can often feel/hear a clicking at the base of my skull in time with my left leg's movements. Freaky!

I had a really good adjustment with Dr. Hoo yesterday, though, and feel like I've reached a new level of understanding with/of my spine (dear god that sounds new-agey!) - it's interesting how the process makes you so hyperaware of your body, similar to (though surely not as constricting as) an MRI. Hoo forewent the psoas adjustment(s) yesterday because she was "finding some new tension" - I suspect the combined result of my semi-murderous rage towards a coworker and my ever-increasing awareness of the impending reality of surgery. I really was pretty fine with it for the first 4 months or so, but for some reason it's been hitting me hard lately - probably because I need to start the funtimes insurance dance on the matter and get my pre-op stuff set up with Annette, Dr. Kim's very kind scheduler.

I saw Janice, my nutritionist, for probably the last time yesterday - she was blown away by my cholesterol results and we talked goal weight for surgery, all the good stuff I can eat to get my blood good and strong pre-op and the good stuff I can eat post-op to get my bone and tissue healing and my body back on track. And we talked about poop - you'd be surprised how much I talk to relative strangers about poop these days. We also talked meal plans, both in the hospital and at my folks house when I get out - a piece that's a little scary for me since every time I go home I dig through their kitchen and wonder "What the hell do you EAT?!" I'm going to get grocery lists and meal plans together for my mama to (hopefully) follow and start cooking extra soups and such to freeze for when I finally do make it back to my apartment... not that I feel I'll be strongly moved to eat soup in July, but what can you do?!

Oh yeah, and Hoo thinks I might heal my infirmity with yoga. She's really not too keen on the surgical option. So next week I'm going to try to see the massage therapist she recommended, who can also advise me on poses that are (and aren't) good for me. My master plan is to have a mini-spa day for myself Monday, going to the pool in the morning, then up to Burlington to see the masseuse, the finally to Hoo for an adjustment. Ah, I can't wait for break!

My mom's also floated the idea of a "dry run" to Boston next Friday, I guess to see if she can navigate the city and to assess her rooming options while I'm in hospital. I am frankly terrified to be in car driven by her in or even near Boston, but hopefully she'll assent to maybe going the T route for this first outing. Which of course would necessitate a goodly bit of walking, so... we shall see. I doubt she'll want to come drool with me over the new Shepard Fairey exhibit in town. :)

BOW BEFORE ME CHOLESTEROL!

Went in this morning to get the results from my labs. My good cholesterol is up from 54 to 74 and bad down from 146 to 108! OH BURN, CHOLESTEROL!!! Additionally, my menacing triglycerides are down from 190 to 83, and I'm feeling pretty... pretty... pretty good! Definitely not too shabby for over the crazy holidays, and I'm sure I would have done even better if I'd been able to stick to my pool regimen over the past couple months. Pretty much impossible, though, between school and holidays - I'll be glad to get back into the regular swing of things.

The pool yesterday was great (and HOT!), though it was hard not to stretch out my shoulder, if only through the regular motions of my exercises. It's feeling a lot looser than it has in months, though, so I'm very interested to see what Dr. Hoo has to say about the state of things this evening. I also have what I presume to be a junkie's tingling anticipation of the relief of cracking the damn thing already!

T-minus 7 months (and counting)

Yes indeedy, 7 months from this moment I will likely still be unconcious on an operating table at Beth Israel. Oh, how time flies when one is anxiously counting down to highly-invasive surgery! haha That said, I am feeling (to quote Larry David) prettttty... prettttttty... pretty good! I've been off the cane for over a week now, have reduced my ibuprofen intake by half (to a paltry 1200mg/day!) and worked my Saturday shift at the store like a normal employee. My legs were definitely tired by the end of the day, but I didn't have the shooting hip pain I've grown accustomed to - it really just was muscle fatigue, which is actually quite pleasant when you've been mostly unable to use your muscles for some time.

I feel so good I keep having to remind myself to slow down, but thankfully my body reminds me pretty quickly regardless. But I don't stop and hesitate at stairs or curbs like I've been doing for months now - I just focus on the muscles I know DO work to get me up (down's not really a problem). The proof is really in the pudding in the pool (nice image there), where I keep having moments of "Whoa! That doesn't hurt!", mostly about my lower back while I'm doing balance and midsection-strengthening things. Getting my lower back sorted has been an incredible boost in my endurance doing those exercises, such that I've increased reps steadily over the past couple weeks. Being strong is pretty cool! And I finally understand the phenomenon of exercise junkies... not that I suspect I'll be turning into one of them for real anytime soon.

Sadly for me (and much of Vermont), I'm more of a cheese junkie, something I need to work on in my new low-cholesterol lifestyle. Can I get a sarcastic WOOHOO?! :) Janice, my trusty nutritionist, and I had a nice long visit last week where she outlined my best plan of attack for diminishing my nasty LDL levels and praised my progress thus far. It was nice to get that unabashed reinforcement (unlike the reinforcement I give myself, which has all sorts of caveats - why do we do that to ourselves?!) and I don't feel like lowering my cholesterol will have too negative an impact on my diet. Aside from my beloved cheese. :(

I also sent in my form today for Dr. Crose to recommend me for a temporary handicapped parking permit. With snow (and Montpelier's absurd automatic winter night parking ban) fast approaching, I need all the parking help I can get. Otherwise, though, I'm chugging right along, drizzle and drear aside. This afternoon, to the pool!