Alright, it's time to ditch the technical talk, and get down to the interesting stuff.
1. FOOD
I am normally a pretty healthy eater, at least I would like to think that. I am vegetarian, and eat vegan meals around 80% of the time, and always try and get it my veggies/greens. Except for right now. Immediately after the operation, I had a serious craving for a burrito...not just any burrito, a burrito from a place called Abelardo's. It's authentic mexican drive-thru, and it's open 24 hours. Hell. Yes. Unfortunately, the nurse talked me into just toast with PB&J, which I am always cool with.
Even now, 1 full week after the surgery, I have no desire for the usual healthy meals that I eat. We have soda in the fridge for the first time in at least 2 years (in my defense, Sprite feels good when you don't). We made brownies from a boxm (I ate 3/4 of the batch). I just have these cravings and desires for junk food! It's super weird.
I think I am slowly transitioning back to my normal way of eating...last night we had a huge salad with mexican rice, refried beans, and sauteed veggies. It hit the spot.
2. BM's
Nope, I'm not talking about bloody mary's (although that sounds reeeeally good). It's the good 'ol Bowel Movement.
Now, I knew going in that with all of the anesthesia, pain pills, antibiotics, etc. that I would be a little constipated...boy did I underestimate that. I went 5 full days without having a BM. Yes, 5. I even had been taking a stool softener for 3 of those days, with no luck. So, I made an executive decision. I had the wife buy me an enema.
I guess you could call it "payback" for the times I have (and will have to) buy tampons when I go to the store...but she was a sport and didn't even complain. She just asked what kind, and she was off! (By the way, having a support team like I have had with my mother and wife makes a HUGE difference in your outlook and spirits through the process...they have been amazing, and I couldn't ask for a better family).
Back to the enema...it was a saline solution enema. Not fun. Being that we have only been married for 1 month, I didn't want to put my wife in the position of "Enema Applicator," so I did it myself..which was a task. Within 3-5 minutes, I was on the toilet. It wasn't quite the "relief" I was anticipating, but anything helped at that point.
Now, 3 days later, I am back to having regular BM's now that I am not taking as much medication, I am up and moving more, and the anesthesia has fully worn off.
So, in closing, I highly recommend a quality support team with you, and saline enemas! Trust me...as uncomfortable as they sound (and they are), it's worth it.
See...I told you we'd talk about poop.
Cheers,
-D
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
5 Days Post-Op
It is now 5 days after my surgery, and I am back at work (although still on some quality meds).
I took the day after surgery off, and worked the following day from home, which was a struggle, but I made it work. I then had the weekend to look forward to, which consisted of a LOT of nothing.
I made my permanent spot on an old Lay-Z-Boy that my in-law's brought specifically for me to use during recovery. We just got netflix (and cancelled cable), so I was zoned in on 2 shows: Out of the Wild (a group of average joes try to make it out of Venezuela alive) and Friday Night Lights (actually enjoy this show a lot more than I thought I would...thanks for the recommendation Greels).
I also quickly discovered that playing detailed video games while "under the influence" (specifically MLB: The Show) was EXTEMELY difficult. Trying to decide whether the pitch coming was a change-up or a fastball was harder than it is in real life!
Anyways, what I'm getting at is that I was a B.U.M. But, I'm okay with that. I'm usually constantly busy with something, so honestly, it was kind of nice just laying around for 4 days. The pain would come and go, and even at it's worst was very bareable...especially with Percocet :)
Now to the dirty part. I hadn't taken a dump since Tuesday morning. Yes, Tuesday. So I went Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday without having a "BM". This. Sucked. I was taking Miralax and trying to eat a lot of fiber, which I usually do anyways, and nothing was happening.
So I bit the bullet. I had the wife buy a 2-pack of saline enemas. Yep. Enemas.
I've never had one before, and 4 weeks into our marriage, I was damn sure Melissa wasn't going to be the one doing the dirty work. So, I assumed the position, "used" the enema, and within 5 minutes I was on the toilet.
Not much happened, but enough to feel some relief, and for that, I'm putting the "Enema Experience" in the win column.
So, here I am today, 5 days post-op, feeling pretty good about everything. Sitting in a desk chair sucks, but next to me is my trusty bottle of percocet, so all is well!
-D
I took the day after surgery off, and worked the following day from home, which was a struggle, but I made it work. I then had the weekend to look forward to, which consisted of a LOT of nothing.
I made my permanent spot on an old Lay-Z-Boy that my in-law's brought specifically for me to use during recovery. We just got netflix (and cancelled cable), so I was zoned in on 2 shows: Out of the Wild (a group of average joes try to make it out of Venezuela alive) and Friday Night Lights (actually enjoy this show a lot more than I thought I would...thanks for the recommendation Greels).
I also quickly discovered that playing detailed video games while "under the influence" (specifically MLB: The Show) was EXTEMELY difficult. Trying to decide whether the pitch coming was a change-up or a fastball was harder than it is in real life!
Anyways, what I'm getting at is that I was a B.U.M. But, I'm okay with that. I'm usually constantly busy with something, so honestly, it was kind of nice just laying around for 4 days. The pain would come and go, and even at it's worst was very bareable...especially with Percocet :)
Now to the dirty part. I hadn't taken a dump since Tuesday morning. Yes, Tuesday. So I went Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday without having a "BM". This. Sucked. I was taking Miralax and trying to eat a lot of fiber, which I usually do anyways, and nothing was happening.
So I bit the bullet. I had the wife buy a 2-pack of saline enemas. Yep. Enemas.
I've never had one before, and 4 weeks into our marriage, I was damn sure Melissa wasn't going to be the one doing the dirty work. So, I assumed the position, "used" the enema, and within 5 minutes I was on the toilet.
Not much happened, but enough to feel some relief, and for that, I'm putting the "Enema Experience" in the win column.
So, here I am today, 5 days post-op, feeling pretty good about everything. Sitting in a desk chair sucks, but next to me is my trusty bottle of percocet, so all is well!
-D
1 Down, 1 To Go
Surgery number 1 is officially in the books.
Wednesday, June 19, I officially underwent left hip arthroscopy. It went about as well as I expected. Here's a little run-down of how the day went.
The night before I was not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight (technically it's 8 hours before the procedure, which would have been 2:30 am, but midnight was easier). I also had to shower using specific soap given to me by the hospital, and was not allowed to apply any deodorant, lotion, etc.
I woke up on Wednesday feeling good...not really nervous at all, but more excited, knowing that I was taking a step in the direction of a pain-free life. I had to shower with the "special soap" again, and got dressed in some comfortable clothes, as I knew I would need to be as comfy as possible after the surgery.
I got checked in 2 hours before the procedure was scheduled to start, and was immediately taken back to get prepped. My wife and mom were able to come back to the pre-op room and chill with me after I had changed into the gown and got my IV hooked up. We were there for a couple of hours, while nurses, anesthesiologists and docs came through, explaining how this whole thing was going to go down. I was still pretty relaxed, and honestly, happy to not be at work!
After some time passed, they wheeled me to the OR, hooked me up to some monitors, and in went the "happy juice." That's the last thing I remember, before waking up in the recovery room. I'm not going to lie, I was in some decent pain at this point. All I wanted to do was sleep, but the pain was super intense, as well as the nausea. After the nurses gave me some more drugs, I started to feel better, and was transferred to the post-op recovery area where my wife and mom could see me again.
We hung out there for a while, I had some toast with PB&J (makes everything better), and got some more information and instructions from the doc and nurses, and was eventually allowed to leave.
The rest of the night consisted of me popping Percocet and fading in and out of sleep, which I'm sure was sooo fun for my family.
All in all, I thought the day of surgery went really well. Everyone at the hospital was awesome, they drugged me up whenever it was necessary, and explained things very clearly to both me and my wife and mom.
Bring on the next one!
-D
Wednesday, June 19, I officially underwent left hip arthroscopy. It went about as well as I expected. Here's a little run-down of how the day went.
The night before I was not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight (technically it's 8 hours before the procedure, which would have been 2:30 am, but midnight was easier). I also had to shower using specific soap given to me by the hospital, and was not allowed to apply any deodorant, lotion, etc.
I woke up on Wednesday feeling good...not really nervous at all, but more excited, knowing that I was taking a step in the direction of a pain-free life. I had to shower with the "special soap" again, and got dressed in some comfortable clothes, as I knew I would need to be as comfy as possible after the surgery.
I got checked in 2 hours before the procedure was scheduled to start, and was immediately taken back to get prepped. My wife and mom were able to come back to the pre-op room and chill with me after I had changed into the gown and got my IV hooked up. We were there for a couple of hours, while nurses, anesthesiologists and docs came through, explaining how this whole thing was going to go down. I was still pretty relaxed, and honestly, happy to not be at work!
After some time passed, they wheeled me to the OR, hooked me up to some monitors, and in went the "happy juice." That's the last thing I remember, before waking up in the recovery room. I'm not going to lie, I was in some decent pain at this point. All I wanted to do was sleep, but the pain was super intense, as well as the nausea. After the nurses gave me some more drugs, I started to feel better, and was transferred to the post-op recovery area where my wife and mom could see me again.
We hung out there for a while, I had some toast with PB&J (makes everything better), and got some more information and instructions from the doc and nurses, and was eventually allowed to leave.
The rest of the night consisted of me popping Percocet and fading in and out of sleep, which I'm sure was sooo fun for my family.
All in all, I thought the day of surgery went really well. Everyone at the hospital was awesome, they drugged me up whenever it was necessary, and explained things very clearly to both me and my wife and mom.
Bring on the next one!
-D
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
What is FAI?
FAI (Femoral Acetabular Impingement) is a hip condition in which there is abnormal bone growth on either the femur portion of the hip (CAM impingement) or the acetabulum portion of the hip (PINCER impingement). When the hip is flexed in certain ways (typically with the leg bent 90 degrees or more, and internally rotated), the extra bone "digs" into the labrum and cartilage and causes significant soft tissue damage, resulting in pain and limited mobility.
From what I have read/researched, doctors aren't quite sure if FAI is a genetic disorder, or if it is brought about by certain movements during younger years, such as squats, running, etc. Either way, it's not fun, and hopefully by catching it early before the cartilage is really torn up, I'll be able to delay (or hopefully prevent) eventual hip replacements, and get back to living the active lifestyle that I love.
Tomorrow is the big day.
It is kind of weird knowing that by tomorrow evening, my quality of life will be significantly diminished, but will eventually be greater than I have known for some time. Bittersweet, for the lack of a better word.
My next post will most likely be from a drug-induced state, therefore much more entertaining and exciting.
-D
From what I have read/researched, doctors aren't quite sure if FAI is a genetic disorder, or if it is brought about by certain movements during younger years, such as squats, running, etc. Either way, it's not fun, and hopefully by catching it early before the cartilage is really torn up, I'll be able to delay (or hopefully prevent) eventual hip replacements, and get back to living the active lifestyle that I love.
Tomorrow is the big day.
It is kind of weird knowing that by tomorrow evening, my quality of life will be significantly diminished, but will eventually be greater than I have known for some time. Bittersweet, for the lack of a better word.
My next post will most likely be from a drug-induced state, therefore much more entertaining and exciting.
-D
Friday, June 14, 2013
Welcome!
Hey folks! Glad you stopped by.
Let's get this blog started by giving a little background knowledge about myself and my situation:
My name is Derek. I am 25 years old, happily (and recently) married to my gorgeous high school sweetheart Melissa. My entire life I have had a passion for sports and being active. I grew up in a fairly small town in Central Iowa, where I played football, baseball and basketball all through high school (except for qutting basketball after my junior year). The athlete lifestyle was all I knew. Every day, every week, there was some sort of practice, game, training, meeting, gathering, etc. for any given sport.
After high school, I struggled to decide where to go for school, and ended up going to the University of Iowa (go hawks!) and hang up the cleats. Once school started, I knew immediately that something was off. I am the type of person who needs to be part of something bigger than myself and needs to be held accountable, so going to a huge party school, where classes were a 45-minute walk away, did not jive with me. So I made the second-best decision of my life (first was obviously marrying the woman of my dreams), and I transferred to Central College in Pella, Iowa to play some football again.
Life was grand until the summer between Sophomore and Junior year, when I was living in Pella, training with the team and Strength staff for the upcoming season. One day while squatting, I felt some pain the groin/low back area, and immediately stopped. My back has been an issue since. I was originally diagnosed with multiple bulging discs, had an epidural cortisone injection, and finished up that season, albeit in some pain. I decided to give it up after the season, as I felt that I needed about 6 months off from football and heavy lifting to feel better.
Fast forward to Spring of 2013. My wife and I now live in Omaha, Nebraska, and my back still has issues every once in a while, but the real problem now was my hips (I have read that hip impingement can be diagnosed as back pain for some time). I had lost a lot of range of motion, and just getting to parallel while squatting was difficult/painful, which was not good for my new athletic endeavor/passion: Crossfit. Almost every morning when I woke up, my right hip would feel "locked" until I bent my knee 90 degrees, and pushed my leg outward until a loud "pop" would "free up" my leg. This was when I realized that I needed to get this thing checked out.
After seeing my primary care doc, he referred me to an Orthopedic surgeon. I had x-rays and an MRI, and the ortho immediately noticed something was off. He noticed that I had bone spurs on the femur portion of the hip (both hips), and some mild degeneration of the cartilage/soft tissue in the hip socket. He basically diagnosed Bilateral Femoralacetabular Impingement on the spot, and set me up to have an MR-A, where they inject dye into the hip socket and take pictures, which helps determine if there is labral damage. After this, I was referred to a hip specialist, Dr. Dietrich, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Dr. Dietrich also comfirmed the diagnosis of FAI and labral damage, so we schedule surgery #1 on my left hip for Wednesday, June 19, 2013. That is currently 5 days from today. Yay.
So with that news, I decided to start this blog for 2 reasons:
1. To act as a resource for those people who are thinking about having this surgery, and those that are having the surgery. You can see what rehab is like, and I will be attempting to keep what (little) strength/endurance I currently have, as well as keeping body fat under control, since my activity level will obviously be quite diminished. I will also lay out my transition from surgery, back to Crossfitting 100%.
2. To act as a resource for myself. I am sure rehab and recovery will get frustrating, so it will be nice to have something to look back on to see how far I really have come, and that it is a process, and to stay positive and motivated to get back to my current level of fitness, and exceed it. I want to be a good Crossfitter...and I will.
So, what can you expect to see on this blog? For one, I am planning on being very open in showing/explaining the process and what I do throughout recovery. I will not sugar-coat anything, hold back, or try to hide how I am feeling. I will be brutally honest (hopefully without being too obnoxious). I will show how I am eating, moving, rehabing, living, sleeping, pooping, etc. Okay, maybe not pooping, but I guarantee the topic of bowel movements will come up at least one time.....or twelve.
With that being said, I am open to any questions, and look forward to sharing my journey from Hip Snaps, back to AMRAPs!
Cheers!
-D
Let's get this blog started by giving a little background knowledge about myself and my situation:
My name is Derek. I am 25 years old, happily (and recently) married to my gorgeous high school sweetheart Melissa. My entire life I have had a passion for sports and being active. I grew up in a fairly small town in Central Iowa, where I played football, baseball and basketball all through high school (except for qutting basketball after my junior year). The athlete lifestyle was all I knew. Every day, every week, there was some sort of practice, game, training, meeting, gathering, etc. for any given sport.
After high school, I struggled to decide where to go for school, and ended up going to the University of Iowa (go hawks!) and hang up the cleats. Once school started, I knew immediately that something was off. I am the type of person who needs to be part of something bigger than myself and needs to be held accountable, so going to a huge party school, where classes were a 45-minute walk away, did not jive with me. So I made the second-best decision of my life (first was obviously marrying the woman of my dreams), and I transferred to Central College in Pella, Iowa to play some football again.
 |
| Me and the little sis after a Central game |
Life was grand until the summer between Sophomore and Junior year, when I was living in Pella, training with the team and Strength staff for the upcoming season. One day while squatting, I felt some pain the groin/low back area, and immediately stopped. My back has been an issue since. I was originally diagnosed with multiple bulging discs, had an epidural cortisone injection, and finished up that season, albeit in some pain. I decided to give it up after the season, as I felt that I needed about 6 months off from football and heavy lifting to feel better.
Fast forward to Spring of 2013. My wife and I now live in Omaha, Nebraska, and my back still has issues every once in a while, but the real problem now was my hips (I have read that hip impingement can be diagnosed as back pain for some time). I had lost a lot of range of motion, and just getting to parallel while squatting was difficult/painful, which was not good for my new athletic endeavor/passion: Crossfit. Almost every morning when I woke up, my right hip would feel "locked" until I bent my knee 90 degrees, and pushed my leg outward until a loud "pop" would "free up" my leg. This was when I realized that I needed to get this thing checked out.
After seeing my primary care doc, he referred me to an Orthopedic surgeon. I had x-rays and an MRI, and the ortho immediately noticed something was off. He noticed that I had bone spurs on the femur portion of the hip (both hips), and some mild degeneration of the cartilage/soft tissue in the hip socket. He basically diagnosed Bilateral Femoralacetabular Impingement on the spot, and set me up to have an MR-A, where they inject dye into the hip socket and take pictures, which helps determine if there is labral damage. After this, I was referred to a hip specialist, Dr. Dietrich, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Dr. Dietrich also comfirmed the diagnosis of FAI and labral damage, so we schedule surgery #1 on my left hip for Wednesday, June 19, 2013. That is currently 5 days from today. Yay.
So with that news, I decided to start this blog for 2 reasons:
1. To act as a resource for those people who are thinking about having this surgery, and those that are having the surgery. You can see what rehab is like, and I will be attempting to keep what (little) strength/endurance I currently have, as well as keeping body fat under control, since my activity level will obviously be quite diminished. I will also lay out my transition from surgery, back to Crossfitting 100%.
2. To act as a resource for myself. I am sure rehab and recovery will get frustrating, so it will be nice to have something to look back on to see how far I really have come, and that it is a process, and to stay positive and motivated to get back to my current level of fitness, and exceed it. I want to be a good Crossfitter...and I will.
 |
| Honeymoon - Ambergris Caye, Belize - May 2013 |
So, what can you expect to see on this blog? For one, I am planning on being very open in showing/explaining the process and what I do throughout recovery. I will not sugar-coat anything, hold back, or try to hide how I am feeling. I will be brutally honest (hopefully without being too obnoxious). I will show how I am eating, moving, rehabing, living, sleeping, pooping, etc. Okay, maybe not pooping, but I guarantee the topic of bowel movements will come up at least one time.....or twelve.
With that being said, I am open to any questions, and look forward to sharing my journey from Hip Snaps, back to AMRAPs!
Cheers!
-D
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