If I Could Turn Back Time

Well I'm not sure what would happen.  I'd roll the clock back to the fall of 2008 and not take the riding lesson that ruined my hip.   That fall I had a lesson with my trainer's wife.  It was a lunge lesson.  For the non-horse people that read this blog that means I sat on the horse without reins and stirrups.  The horse was attached to a line held by the trainer and went in a circle around her.  I then work on myself and do all kinds of funny things with my body at all three gaits.   


This horse was wide. . . way wider than my skinny thoroughbred.   Just sitting on this horse really stretched my legs. When you are riding a horse without stirrups your legs really stretch down and your muscles really elongate.   It can be quite surprising what muscles get worked in your inner thighs when you do this.  You can really feel the burn!   Part of the lesson includes some stretching on the horse that you just can't mimic on the ground due to how you are straddling the horse.  At least I haven't found a way to duplicate it.  An exercise ball does NOT mimic a horse.  Trust me! :)   


The trainer wanted me to raise my legs up and off (away from) the horse.   The only way I can describe it is similar to how you would do the splits.  The legs come out and away from the body.  I found this very difficult at the time.  The horse alone was stretching my legs enough in my opinion.  He was just so WIDE!  I couldn't get my legs but like an inch from the horse.   "More!" she said.  I tried. I said "I can't".  I said "this horse is stretching me simply by sitting on him".  "More!" she said.  So I kept trying.  Thinking surely I can just do a bit more and we can move on.  And we did move on. . . 


A few hours after that lesson my right hip burned.  And if I remember right it basically burned every day for two weeks.  I think it subsided at night, but it's been so long I don't remember.  I remember seeing the trainer shortly after and she said "good that means we stretched something".  I wasn't so sure "good" was the word to use.   Over the course of the next few weeks/month my hip would hurt when riding that wide horse.  And sometimes my own horse.  Then it would hurt if I had days of lots of walking.  I sit at a desk all day.  So let's say on the weekend I did some serious mall shopping.  Or a day at the zoo.  I'd hurt so bad on those days!  Static standing also annoyed my hip. 


I went to my dr.  I had xrays.  I went to a chiropractor.  I went to a massage therapist.  I did physical therapy.  I had the stupid electrical tens machine (or whatever they call it) hooked to my hip after every therapy session.  I never had a diagnosis.  I did get my hip bursa injected at one point.  That helped for a while.  Drugs did not help.   At least not over the counter drugs.  When I found a new doc for my thyroid problem she gave me Celebrex and Tylenol with Codeine when we went to Europe in 2010.  The Celebrex had to be started a few weeks prior.  The Tylenol was for days if I over did it.  Both actually did relieve the pain for me.   


Recently the pain has been more noticeable.  Sleeping has been a challenge.  If there is one thing in the world I love and cherish dearly it is sleep!   This past weekend I really struggled and I woke up multiple times through the night in pain.  I took a Tylenol with Codeine one night, but it didn't help. Maybe they are a bit old? lol   We have a sleep number bed and I played around with that.  When we were on a trip in 09 I realized that the hard ass bed at the hotel really helped my hip the next day even though I woke up in back pain.  The good thing about that is my back relaxes as I move and feels better (the hip rarely feels better if I wake up in pain) and I went a whole day (with lots of walking) with NO hip pain.  WOW!   So I upped the number on my bed this weekend.  It didn't really help this time. I lowered it again Sunday night and the past two nights have been better. . . . but there are still some aches in that hip.  What scares me is that my other hip is aching at times too!  Compensation?  Maybe, but it worries me.   


I finally took the advice of my new Dr and I made an appt with an Orthopedic center.  I didn't use her referral but that of a friend that had hip surgery last year.  I'm going to Washington University Orthopedic center in St Louis.  A bit of a drive for me, but I think they are good at what they do.  The bad thing is the appt isn't until June 12th.  On that day I see a physiatrist first.  He will do range of movement tests (which I will pass!) as well as just an overall history and probably some poking, prodding (ouch!) and xrays.   Then at another appt (tick tock - this takes a lot of time!) I think I will have a CAT scan or MRI with some dye injected in my hip.  At least this is what my friend had done.  THEN depending on what that shows I can finally meet with a surgeon.  That's the worrisome part.  I'm not sure I want surgery.  My friend told me all the stuff you CAN'T do for weeks following.  Holy crap!   I'm already thinking of how much weight I will gain. Blah!   She told me her surgeon said if she hadn't come in when she did she would have had to have a hip replacement eventually.  Double Holy Crap!  That scared me into making the appt.  I'm 33.  I do NOT want a hip replacement.  EVER.  It's bad enough I feel like I'm 60 some days when I get out of bed.   


Anyways, I've never really talked about this issue to this extent.  My appointment is just over a month away and while I can't wait, I'm nervous as heck.  And of course it's in the middle of the day and this just eats away at my PTO.  Ugh.  


So before I go I will say I'm down 2.6 lbs this morning and weighed in at 183!  Whew.  But still that's too high for me.  So I will repeat how I ate yesterday and see what happens tomorrow.  I was really proud of how well I ate.  I didn't have a single bite of chocolate till after dinner!  go me! 


Here is a motivational blog for you all to read - I quite enjoyed it.  Very true: http://www.lifesimages.com/fit-ographer/what-do-you-deserve/