Chiropractic Update

I had another chiropractic appointment this evening. My last one was a month ago, and my next one won't be until mid-June, so we are really spreading them out now. I am still utterly amazed at how much better both my shoulder and my hip feel. It's like a miracle. I can even sleep on my right side again!

The chiropractic appointments had helped my hip a lot, but it was still bothering me. It always felt so stiff, especially after exercising. The doctor had recommended pilates (which was why I took that free class), and I was using Johanna's DVD once or twice a week before the Ohio trip. After we got back, however, I really ramped up my whole exercising routine. Someone on the Well-Trained Mind board had posted that to lose post-partum weight, she had to start exercising an hour a day. I had been averaging 30 minutes 5 times a week, and I just didn't think I could swing 60 minutes, but I started averaging 50 minutes on the treadmill almost every day. I also added pilates pretty much every afternoon, instead of just 1-2 times a week. I don't think the pounds or inches are just flying off, unfortunately (although I can't tell for sure because our scale broke last week and I haven't yet replaced it, LOL), but I have really been able to tell a difference in my hip. It is so much less stiff and painful!

I have 3 DVDs that I am primarily using right now. The one from Johanna has 5 segments of 10 minutes each, and I do that one when I am pressed for time. Usually I do the abs segment and the hips and thighs segment. I have a pilates for dummies DVD from the library, which I recommend if you have never done pilates before. It is just like that class I went to, where the lady tells you very specifically what to do and what not to do for each position. Then I have this pilates/yoga blend DVD also from the library that is more of a workout and is almost 45 minutes long--I do that one when I haven't been able to walk as long in the morning. I think the yoga stretching moves on there have been particularily effective in stretching out my hip muscles.

As I am sure you can imagine, with this regimen I have no free time, and I am becoming backlogged on things like laundry, so I simply can not foresee this being a long-term routine! I'm trying to do it until we leave on our big trip in mid-May. Maybe it will help me firm up a bit before the weddings, and the whole hip thing has been a most pleasant surprise. I really can't overstate how much better I feel that I did in January! Then I felt like such a crooked, achy, old woman, and now I feel like a totally different person!

Chiropractic Update

This evening I had my fifth chiropractic treatment. All I can say is--wow! What a difference! My shoulder is so much looser and less tense. It's absolutely amazing. The doctor has given me several different exercises to strengthen the shoulder/back muscles to keep the shoulder from rolling forward. I've been doing them, and I have been so surprised at how weak that area is when isolated. No wonder I've had so many problems!

My hip is improving as well. Apparently my pelvis just got really twisted in this last pregnancy, and after I delivered, it stayed out of place. I could tell it was really off because I couldn't even comfortably cross my right leg over my left one anymore--it was so painful. Sometimes it hurt even just to walk. I was sure my hip was going to go into arthritis at the ripe old age of 34.

I really feel the Lord led me to the right chiropractor, one who specializes in skeletal-muscular issues. I can't believe I am feeling so much better! It feels like a miracle to me, because I really just thought I would have to live like this for the rest of my life.

Today the doctor was talking to me about what I do to exercise my abs. I told him I do sit-ups, crunches, etc. He asked how effective I thought they were, and I told him not at all, LOL. I always tell Bob that I feel like I could do sit-ups faithfully forever and still have the same saggy, poochy tummy! He told me I was exactly right, and that my weak stomach muscles are the ones underneath the outer "6-pack" layer". Those ones are pretty much shot after all these pregnancies. So the doctor told me he wanted me to go to one of their pilates classes (for free!) so I can learn those exercises and do them at home. He thought I was "self-disciplined enough" to do them at home. Well, hopefully so, especially if there is a chance that they might help my tummy, as well as helping my hip and shoulder stay in the correct alignment! So I am signed up for a pilates class next Thursday from 11:45-12:45. I must say this is incredibly out of my comfort zone. I am definitely an "exercise on the treadmill or bike in the privacy of my own bedroom" kind of gal, not one who does anything in front of strangers. I need to get a video out of the library or something so I'll at least know what to expect. (This is the exact sort of situation where I am reminded how very much I am like Luke, LOL.) I need to line up baby-sitting as well. I tell you, if this class wasn't going to be free, I would definitely just never get around to signing up for it!

Rest and Relaxation

Well, I must say that I am feeling rested and refreshed. It all started Friday afternoon, when I went for my first chiropractic appointment. I have had chronic pain in my right shoulder ever since May 95, when I had surgery to remove my right first rib after all my blood clot problems. We moved almost immediately after the surgery, and I never had any kind of follow-up with physical therapy or anything, and I have had such problems with that shoulder--hot, burning pain when it is stressed, and just sort of a dull ache most other times. Things that set it off include nursing, carrying a baby around, etc., so obviously things that don't impact my daily life. LOL!! You may wonder why I never got help before, but frankly, I think I have a high tolerance level for pain, and also I didn't know that anyone could really help me. I just thought it was my cross to bear, so to speak. Also, the military doesn't cover any sort of chiropractic care, so that never even really option. When we were in Colorado, I did get massages frequently from a massage therapy school, and those did help manage the pain.

What tipped me over to really look into chiropractic care was that last March, when I was 7 months pregnant with Grace, I started having real problems with my right hip. It felt like I had pulled something, but I just figured it was pregnancy-related and would go away after I had the baby. But it didn't. In fact, the pain got worse, and I felt like I was sort of hobbling around. Well, at this point I thought I was well on my way to becoming a crooked little old woman, and I was pretty desperate for relief. Also, this all came to a head in December, when I wasn't getting any sleep, and I thought I was going to have some kind of whole-body breakdown! I started asking around for chiropractor recommendations, since I was pretty worried about getting some crazy neck-cracker. I dithered around for awhile, but eventually I settled on a man that several people in our homeschool co-op go to. His website talked about the technique he specializes in, and it was for soft-tissue injuries such as chronic muscle problems. Hey! That's me!

When I found out my parents were coming, I sprang into action and scheduled my first appointment for Friday afternoon so they could watch the kids. The appointment went really well, and I finally have hope that I will be able to find relief from all this pain. He did a lot of stretching and muscle manipulation, as well as electric stimulation of the muscles, both in my shoulder and my hip. He did some adjusting, but nothing violent. I really felt a difference after he finished, although the problems are not completely gone. He said that after maybe 2 or 3 weeks, I should be straightened out enough that he can give me exercises to do to strengthen my shoulder muscles so they don't roll forward like they have been. Also, he said that it is very common for your pelvis to rotate and shift during especially the last trimester of pregnancy, and that is what happened to mine. It just never shifted back.

So I was feeling pretty relaxed and happy by the time Bob came home. The only fly in my ointment was that our dishwasher had chosen Friday morning to give up the ghost. What timing, although is there ever a convenient time for a dishwasher to go out?! We went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner, where Bob and I split a salad so that we would have room for us to each get a piece of cheesecake for dessert. As Bob said, "This is not the 'Chinese Chicken Salad Factory'; it's the Cheesecake Factory!" So we both thoroughly enjoyed cheesecake: caramel pecan turtle cheesecake for me, and chocolate coconut creme for Bob.

After dinner, we checked out dishwashers at Best Buy. Then we came home so I could nurse one last time, and when we set out again, we looked at Home Depot and Lowes. Hey, that might not seem very romantic to you, but let me tell you, anything that keeps us from having to bring all 6 kids to several different stores, just for us to look around and get an idea of prices and features is VERY romantic in my book! Then we had a very restful night of sleep--from 11:00 to after 7:00 with no interruptions!! I will cherish this memory . . . sigh . . .

Meanwhile, the kids reprised their night-time restlessness for Grandma and Grandma. First Anna and Grace fussed around off and on for quite a while. Then Jonathan was up to his old early morning stand-by-the-bed-for-attention potty routine. Caleb got up a little while later feeling wheezy. After an unsuccessful search for his inhaler, Grandma sent him back to bed. Obviously he must not have been too bad off because he did go right back to sleep. The other boys took turns coughing through the night as well. At least Grace (who had gotten shots Friday morning) did not wake up in the middle of the night wanting to be nursed! She did very well with a sippy cup.

After Bob and I had a nice big breakfast at the hotel, we were off again, this time to Sears for more dishwashers. The good news is I think we have narrowed down our choices. The bad news is, if we get one from Sears, then we will probably wait until Feb. 15 to get one, since the salesman told me they were having a 15% off sale starting then. Mom and Dad will be gone by then (and Dad happens to have experience installing dishwashers!), and I am not looking forward to another week without a dishwasher. Even with paper plates, 8 people use up a lot of dishes! But I am looking forward to a nice, new dishwasher. Ironically, a new dishwasher has been on our list for quite a while already. Our old one, a GE, has been recalled for some kind of electrical problem, and we also were having some problems with the seal. New ones are so much bigger and quieter. Almost anything we get will be a real step up! Of course, as long as the old one was still working, replacing it just didn't have the same sense of urgency that it does now, LOL. Hopefully I will have something concrete to report to you within the next week. In the meantime, I am hoping for another restful night sleep, this time in my own bed. We'll see . . .