It doesn't hurt!

Ten weeks post op and finally I can sleep on my left side!  Yahoo!!!!!

I hadn't tried laying on my left side since my physiotherapist had advised against it some weeks ago but last night I just had to.  My fatigue level is through the roof since the weekend and I needed to sleep.

Imagine my delighted surprise when it didn't hurt to go to sleep on my left side!

But I'm still exhausted today.  I truly feel like I've been run over by a dozen Mack trucks.

The demands of the weekend really have had an impact on me.  (It didn't help, of course, that this was right on the heels of the previous weekend's unexpected trip to attend my cousin's funeral.)

I mean, it was truly a pleasure to see John's enjoyment on Saturday but I really can't handle such crowds and noise levels in our small home.  Had we gone to an outside establishment, it would have taken the physical demands on me out of the equation.   The noise level would have been the same but dispersed over a larger area.  But, I wouldn't be suffering quite so much.  We didn't do that, so now I'm paying the price.

When I saw my physiotherapist yesterday, she said I looked like I could sleep for a month.  Which pretty well summed up how I was feeling.  But I was delighted to tell her that I had just that morning found out that I had passed another milestone in my recovery.  I was able to get my leg into and out of my car without having to use my hands to lift it -- my leg did it all by itself.  True progress!  She was nevertheless very concerned about my fatigue level and she chewed me out about allowing myself to hit these lows.  ("You have to pace yourself better than this.  These ups and downs are not good for your body.")

Tomorrow, I'm having Mohs surgery to remove the basal cell carcinoma on my nose.  It's going to be a very long day sitting in that clinic.

My physiotherapist agreed to tape my SI joint again to help me get through tomorrow and when she went to apply the tape, she noticed that both joints are swollen.  So she taped both sides.  The relief is phenomenal, but the tape can only stay on for four days.

I will see her one last time -- in two weeks.  At that visit, she will tape me again if the SI joint hasn't settled down.  (She is confident that acupuncture will take care of the remaining inflammation nicely but I won't have had any treatments in the intervening days.) She will give me a note to take to the surgeon, advising him that I am beyond her help now.  She said she would also teach me how to tape my SI joint myself so I could self-treat when necessary.

It's time for me to transition to my pain management therapist (who just happens to be away for three weeks in April!).  Right now, I'm on my own with just massage therapy to get me through.  Massage therapy helps tremendously but it alone is not enough.  I need my regular acupuncture treatments and it's especially necessary for my SI joints right now.  Unfortunately, I have to wait until May 1st to see her.

As it stands now, I will see my "hip" physiotherapist one last time in two weeks.  But she told me that if I get into real trouble next week, I should call and ask for an appointment so she can tape my SI joints again.  She won't leave me hanging!  Such a sweetheart.

My hip is fixed.

My SI joint problem will resolve itself, with time (and probably acupuncture treatments).

If only someone could fix fibromyalgia, end flare-ups, and allow me to live life like a normal person!