Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

I have now had the second (of two) doses of the Shingrix vaccine. I had the pharmacist inject it into my left arm, which was sore enough last night that I wasn't comfortable sleeping on that side; since I'm right-handed, the left arm was definitely the better choice.

The Davis Square farmers market started (for 2019) yesterday. I went there after getting my Shingrix vaccine, and came home with a green leaf lettuce and a package of smoked trout pate. (I have made enough purchases to get one free package of fish of my choice from Boston Smoked Fish, but will have to go to the Public Market to claim it.)

I brought a pint of lemon saffron ice cream home from Ranc's yesterday; it is very good. They had pre-packed pints of that in the freezer, but none for single servings or to taste. I asked about ingredients, and after telling me that it had no nuts, the cashier told me that if I didn't like it, I could bring it back and get credit for a different pint. I told her I don't live near the store, and she said in that case, if I don't like it, I could bin it, tell her, and they'd give me a replacement. I won't be doing that with this flavor, but it's a generous offer.

I knew I might be over-exerting myself in going to the farmers market, but my hip started feeling worse as yesterday evening went on; this morning my left knee was also in pain. I have been shuffling around the apartment, moving as little as possible--cattitude has been very helpful in things like bringing me cups of tea with milk and sugar--and was feeling better by mid-afternoon. I hope this means that whatever it is, is healing quickly, but it may just mean I've found a suitable combination of painkillers.

The landlord of our current apartment has put a lockbox on the doorknob, so real estate agents can show the apartment if we're not home. They assured me we will get notice of showings--not only do I work at home, but I often don't put pants on unless I'm going out or expecting visitors. With luck, they'll find someone to rent this place after us quickly, with only a few showings. (I think the real estate agent showed the place we're hoping to move into to three groups of people, including us, all in the same evening.)

Yesterday's PT session mostly went well, though I wound up arguing with the therapist about how ot makes sense to start increasing the amount of walking I do: she was pushing for "walk until you're tired or it starts to hurt," even though I've made clear that having to keep going when the hip hurts a little is the likeliest thing to make it hurt sharply. So that was annoying, in terms of not being listened to, and wondering how clear I'd been about the problem she's treating me for.

I do want to get back to walking more: that's part of the point of this PT. So, given the above, if I am out and about because I want to go somewhere specific, or get something done, I'm likely to take transit to whatever, do stuff, and then walk at least partway home. That way, if I run out of energy I get on the bus or train sooner; I don't either abandon my plans, or push through even though it hurts. (Moving slowly with frequently rests because my hip hurts isn't my idea of recreational walking.)

The good news is that the therapist thinks I may only need one more session of physical therapy for the hips, because they're significantly stronger than when I started. No new exercises, but I should try to increase the number of sets on some of them (either from two sets to three, or from one set to two), for the short term. Once PT is done, which might be in another fortnight, I can start doing the exercises two or three times a week, instead of almost every day.

At the beginning of the PT session, the therapist looked at my sneakers, and commented that they were good shoes (by which I think she meant, flat and designed for walking in) and then that they were wearing out. I asked if she could recommend someplace to replace them, and she gave me both a recommendation and a discount coupon for Marathon Sports. I went there after lunch yesterday, and was quite pleased: the salesman asked sensible questions about what I wanted and what size I was wearing, and then brought me things to try. I tried four or five pairs of sneakers, finding two that fit; lacking any other obvious differentiation, I bought the New Balance because they were slightly less expensive than the Adidas. (I'm not sure exactly how old the shoes I was wearing yesterday are, but I bought them while we were living in Bellevue, so at least two years ago.)

I had my first appointment with the physical therapist this morning. She did some evaluation, then taught me some stretches and exercises: for the next few weeks I should do the exercises daily, and the stretches twice a day. I am also supposed to start using the foam roller to roll out my IT bands again. Ouch! (I managed five on each side after lunch, done quickly so it reduces the total time I'm pressing hard on that part of my body.) The goal of this program is to relax various things, strengthen my glutes and I think one other pair of muscles, and for balance. There's one exercise that's supposed to be specifically for the glutes, but the first time I tried it my quadriceps did the work, and when I carefully didn't use those, my abdominals took the job.

I suspect that I won't actually manage twice/day today or tomorrow, because I'll be staying over at adrian_turtle's, but I am going to try to come close to that schedule. The therapist said she wants me to come in once a week for four to six weeks, and that once/week is enough because she thinks I will do the exercises at home. Then maintenance indefinitely at 2-3 times a week. (There's no icing, massage, or electrostimulation this time, unlike the PT I've had for my rotator cuff.)

I was in the supermarket yesterday, on my way to adrian_turtle's, when my left hip started hurting badly. I had already selected lettuce, and (perhaps foolishly) went on to the back of the store, picked up a quart of milk, paid, and went to the bus stop (rather than putting the lettuce down and heading for the exit). By the time I'd made it to Adrian's apartment (up about a flight and a half of stairs, carefully, one step at a time, I sat down on the loveseat purely because it was closer to the door than the couch.

It was a slow and painful evening, despite pharmaceutical painkillers (naproxen and acetominophen), applying heat to the hip, and moving as little as possible. Adrian kindly did every bit of making our dinner, brought me tea, and so on, which helped physically and psychologically.

I was feeling somewhat better this morning, after a night's sleep, but took more painkillers after breakfast (rather than on an empty stomach). I spent the morning there, then called a Lyft to get me home after lunch. (Otherwise it's two buses plus a few-blocks walk, or bus to subway to bus, and I'm not sure how much walking would be involved within the Harvard or Alewife T station.)

I added a small dose of a muscle relaxant to the regimen, and am keeping track of how much I've taken when using a text file on the computer. (I'm most concerned about the amount of acetominophen, but also keeping an eye on the NSAIDs.) By dinnertime I was feeling enough better to stand up while carving a chicken, but I am still taking small steps and moving carefully.

It's Friday evening; if I am not feeling a lot better by Monday morning i will call my doctor's office. In the meantime, I am going to rest, skip my regular exercises (most of which I do standing) and even leg stretch, and apply more heat.

[this is mostly for my own later reference.]

cattitude and I had lunch with my mother today. Better, with my mother, my favorite aunt, and said aunt's husband and his mother. Smoked fish, bagels, cream cheese, tea, and conversation.

Then the three of us went for a walk, because it was a gorgeous afternoon, and Cattitude and I were both much in need of sunlight. We walked through Peter Cooper Village to the East River, where there's a narrow park called Stuyvesant Cove (mostly a paved walkway, with benches and some minimal plantings). My foot twinged while we were walking, so we turned back after a total of half a mile or so. We ambled back, detouring slightly to get a closer look at an impressive (and, I am told, new) fountain in Stuyvesant Town, which I noticed because it caught the sunlight. I was impressed as much that it was running in winter--even on a warm winter day--as by how high it leapt.

Unfortunately, when we were close to my aunt's again, my left hip started to hurt. Sitting down and resting--and drinking more tea--helped; I thought the muscle relaxant and painkiller had as well, until we got up to walk home. We actually took the crosstown bus (Cattitude doesn't like buses, so we would have walked if it had been comfortable for me). The walk back from the A train to my home was Not Fun. I am now sitting down. I am also reading LJ, posting this, and drinking hot chocolate, but mostly I am sitting still, and contemplating more Canadian painkillers.