I'm Trying, Really I Am !

Believe it or not, I really am trying to be positive about this but it's difficult.

During the course of this past week, I went into Ottawa on two different days, Tuesday and again on Thursday.

• On Tuesday, I had a physio appointment and then we joined my daughter and her family at a local restaurant for my grandson's birthday celebration. Then we came home via a few stops (naturally, if we go into town, there must be errands). I managed 15 minutes on the exercise bicycle in the early evening.
• On Wednesday, I had my "rest day" which is so necessary for me after a trip to Ottawa.
• On Thursday, we again had to go into Ottawa for John's follow-up appointment for his hearing aids (now that was an appointment worth keeping!) I had had a massage prior to making that trip. By the time we got home, I couldn't convince my legs to co-operate with me -- they were like lead weights. I decided to forego the exercise bicycle since my physiotherapist has impressed upon me the importance of not "aggravating" my hips and countering the benefits of the new meds. She said I can do the bicycle as long as there is no pain.
• Yesterday, Friday, my legs continued to feel like lead weights and they were extremely painful. Plus, my "get up and go" just "got up and went" -- I was lethargic beyond measure. I am truly hoping that the lethargy was due to the heat and not a result of this medication.
• Today, I awoke feeling quite rested and my legs felt more normal. I'm back to the "I have no pain" status that I have been enjoying of late when I am at home. So I made John his favourite "big breakfast" which I do most Saturdays and it was a pleasure to be able to do so without struggling through excruciating pain.

So early this afternoon, I thought I would get back to the exercise bicycle. I lasted all of three minutes -- the pain in both hips became absolutely unbearable and I remembered my physiotherapist cautioning me about pushing the envelope. She told me that it is one thing to keep going when you are tired; it is quite another to keep going through pain. She said that if you still have serious pain a half hour after you stop the exercise, you shouldn't be doing that exercise. I continue to have pain all night long if my hips get aggravated too much! In the case of trips into Ottawa, I continue to have pain for 24-36 hours, but there are some exercises you simply cannot eliminate.

Obviously, the new medication is affording me significant pain relief. I am now essentially pain free when I am at home (other than when I am in recovery mode from an outing). The challenge becomes when I have to leave my home since getting to/from Ottawa is hard on me and shopping is always a pain in the ass (OK in the hips). I'm learning how to deal with restaurants (my ever present personal cushion sure makes seating a lot more comfortable!) In a perfect world, I guess the medical community would find something that would give me relief while I'm at home and would continue to work in those circumstances when I leave my home.

I'm having difficulty getting used to my body's new clock though. I always was an "up and at 'em" kind of person but of late, I seem to be a real slow starter -- very foreign for me. Has to be the medication, right? Can medication do that to someone? Or is that just a natural progression of age? I must admit, when I was retiring a few years ago, I do recall mentioning that I was in training for slow starts in the mornings. So perhaps I've just learned how to do it.