thank you for pointing this out. this is definitely something that Kevin and I discussed. it would be a great adjunct and continuation of the therapy. 
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It speaks well of him that he is amenable to you doing them at home. Some of those PT guys tell you that you need to come in 3 times a week to do the exercises because they want to make more money.
The large exercise balls are very good for a ton of exercises. And some stretchy bands would be useful too.
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CAN MASSAGE AID IN RECOVERY?
at the PT center, (although my insurance won’t cover it) they offer deep tissue massage for $40 for 1 hour of massage. Many clients seem to benefit from this, and it was offered to me if I cared to pay for it OOP. I can only have it done on days that I do NOT have my PT, though.
Has anyone done this themselves, known someone who has, and IF SO, have they found it to be helpful/useful? Or is this just a money pit?
My mother-in-law did and she found it beneficial. I think the therapist came two-three times a week. I don’t know what the cost was or if it was covered by insurance though.
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It could be helpful or not, depending on the injury and the location. Yours is hard to get to.
For what you are going through, it might not help as much. But it won’t hurt.
But it will feel good so you should treat yourself and try it.
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my thoughts exactly!! 
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Yes, and $40/hr is a fantastic price, too! I’d do it!
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thats what I thought. An, its being done my a PT professional.
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THE LATEST IN AOTHER PT SESSION:
so, as I am certain you will have assumed, I walked to my PT session again today. I had taken some ibuprofen after bfast this morning, so I thought that it might buffer the pain. No go. It hurt.
we did some different exercises today with stretchy rubber band-type things. and then we did some flexing exercises in which I would push down my hips in one direction while pushing up with my toes in the opposite direction. Sounds easy, but it was anything but.
The therapist also used a new type of machine on my hip and but and my thigh which buzzed very very strongly while it vibrated; kind of like a deep tissue massage but very loud and kind of painful. Then he massaged my thigh and my foot and my lower leg, and then he finished off with those electrodes again and a giant ice pack for about 20 minutes.
I limped home. I ate and took some more Ibuprofen . now I am just resting up. I see him again after the weekend. ugh.
has anyone else out there in FUD-LAND gone through PT?
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Check with your PT guy about doing this. He may not want you to mask the pain, because it might cause him to push you harder than he would otherwise.
Like if you are numbed up and it does not hurt, versus it hurting and you stopping a little sooner.
Pain is a useful thing. How else would you know to put the hot pan down quickly if it did not hurt?!? If it did not hurt, you would end up burning your hand much more because you held on to the pan!
So please ask your PT guy about ibuprofen before your session. It is fine after (on occasion, but not all the time!).
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Will do. I hadn’t thought of the idea that I would be masking the pain. All I was thinking was, “God, I am in so much pain and I don’t want it to hurt even more! Take some Ibuprofen !”
Now when I go bk next week, I won’t take anything and I will talk to him about it.
Thanks Eric!
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I think this is a good idea for one session to make sure he isn’t pushing you too far and so you can get his opinion. BUT if you are in a ton of pain, then yes - take the advil or ibuprofen. They not only relieve pain by blocking pain signals from going through but they also help with decreasing swelling (which can promote healing and also will relieve the pain in turn.)
I’ve had lots of PT before and after my 3 knee surgeries. The exercises, stimulation, massaging definitely helps but can also be very painful. 
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PLEASE TAKE THE IBUPROFEN:
So I had my PT this afternoon, and I asked the therapist about taking the ibuprofen before our sessions. He said that by all means to take it; and take it about 1 hour prior to the session. This way, he will be more able to manipulate the muscles and joints without causing too much pain. The Ibuprofen is anti-inflammatory, so it will also aid in the recovery from the manipulations.
Today was quite painful for me. I did a lot more exercises for my core and I was extremely surprised at how unfit I felt. I really had to push myself to do the most basic exercises.
But the therapist, Kevin, did a lot of massaging afterwards, and although some of this hurt quite a bit, overall it felt much better afterwards. I felt more loosened up and flexible. He also did the electrode thing on me for about 25 minutes afterwards.
Even still, I felt like I was limping out of the office on my way home. Only difference today: GOT MY HUSBAND TO DRIVE ME THERE AND BACK. HUGE HELP!!!
So now I am home with an icepack wrapped around my hip and groin area. 10 minutes on, 10 minutes off. Took an Ibuprofen after lunch and hoping that it will help me feel more comfortable. I see him in another 2 days (every Tuesday and Thursday).
PS: I asked him about sleeping positions. I should be sleeping on the opposite side of the injured hip and put a pillow between my knees to act as a cushion and relieve pressure.
signing out,
DM
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Super glad you are working through the PT like this! Keep it up!
As your doctor about getting a prescription for Meloxicam. It is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), like Ibuprofen.
It is a little better at reducing inflammation and swelling than Ibuprofen. Stronger than anything you can get over-the-counter!
And it is pretty well-tolerated.
I have some I save for special occasions.
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Originally my doctor prescribed Meloxicam, but my insurance wouldn’t cover it and OOP is was astronomically and prohibitively expensive. 
EDIT: My mistake (above). I was not prescribed Meloxicam, but another drug. as it turns out, my husband had Meloxicam in the medicine cabinet left over from his hip replacement surgery and I will try taking it this evening and see how well it works for me. Fingers crossed. sorry for the previous error.
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AFTER TWO DAYS OF USING MELOXICAM:
unfortunately after taking the higher dosage (15mg) of the once daily Meloxicam for two days, I found absolutely no relief from my pain. I spent most of my day icing my hip, groin and tushy areas. I sat with one icepack wrapped around my hip and upper thigh, sat on top of another one, and rested one right inside my groin area. The ice produced momentary relief.
My BGs have been becoming increasingly stubborn and elevated (pain and stress), and I have been having to use IM injections to bring my sugars down into TR. I think I might have to do a TB on top of that. I’ll make that decision later tonight to c how my body responds to my dinner bolus.
Basically, the IM bolus brings my BG down, only to find that hours later my BG rises and rises (despite NOT having eaten anything at all.) I have changed out my pump and reservoir twice, thinking that I might have an absorption issue or bubbles in my pump tubing, but that has not seemed to have any positive effect at all.
I’ll figure it out. I’m certain. Just gotta keep on plugging through. 
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Wow that really sounds terrible DM. Sorry. It is never fun to be less than 100%.
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ANOTHER DAY OF PT AND PAIN:
So I had my 6th PT session this afternoon. An hour before I left my home, I took 800mg of prescription Ibuprofen so that I might find some modicum of pain relief while the therapist walked me through my exercises and physical manipulations. I think that it may have helped a little bit, bc the exercises were challenging but not excruciating today (maybe all of yesterdays ice packs helped)
It was the usual slow warm up on the bicycle, the core strengthening exercises, the exercises with the plastic squishy ball between my knees, the exercises with the thick rubber bands, stretching, massaging, and pressure into my hip and groin area by the therapist, as well as some stretching, also by the therapist.
when I left my home for my appointment, my BG was 80. And after all of the exercises, my BGs climbed up to 118, which I now attribute that to pain stress and not a pump malfunction 
I was prepared for my BG to start climbing or even spiking (as it did two weeks ago ) so I had my back-up plan (ready to do an elevated TB and an IM injection for correction if necessary)…so I kept a close watch on my CGM.
However, by the time I returned home, my BGs had returned to normal (94) without having done any correction.
Currently, I am icing the area and hoping that I will feel some recovery till I go back for my next session after the Holiday weekend.
I treated myself to 2 large grilled cheese sandwiches with 4 slices of extra cheese and grilled tomatoes on Rye bread with tons of buttery grease for a late afternoon lunch. They were possibly the best grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever eaten 
. I savored every slowly eaten bite. And I’m going right back to that diner tomorrow for another round (maybe just one sandwich though). I definitely deserved the billion calorie, completely non-nutritious meal. It was well worth a future clogged artery 
( I used a 40/60 split dual bolus over 2 1/2 hours accounting for 120gms of carbs. We’ll see how I do. Will most likely have to do an elevated TB for a couple of overnight hours beginning at 10pm before bedtime) fingers crossed 
still licking my lips, signing out,
DM
PS: if I am not finding relief after my 6 weeks of therapy, I will discuss with my rheumatologist having another MRI and CT scan to see if there has been further damage since my last years dx. If, by any chance surgery is discussed, I am prepared to get another opinion but I will go to Hospital for Special Surgery (which is where my husband had his very successful hip replacement done); they are tops in their field. An RN friend suggested this to me, and mentioned that sometimes with things like Osteophytes they can just be shaven down to relieve the pain pressure within the joints. But this is all up in the air for the moment. I see this doctor tomorrow morning. I am trying very hard not to live in future calamities that have yet to happen.
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THE DAY AFTER PT AND GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES:
So, after ice packs all afternoon and evening, my pain was tolerable with just 1 Ibuprofen and 2 Tylenol.I was able to sleep without much discomfort.
As far as the effects of the grilled cheese sandwiches went, I remained a total flat line throughout the evening and during the overnight I went low several times. I did not need any TB nor any insulin corrections. So, I would say that I nailed my lunch bolus on the head 
However, this morning, upon waking for bfast, my BG was 50. I don’t usually bolus unless my BG is 70, but I was not sleeping well and I was hungry, so I risked the bolus in order to eat. All I did was subtract the amount of carbs that would have brought my sugars up to 70, and then I bolused for that amount( I was eating 32gms of carbs and 4gms usually brings up my BG by 20 points, so I bolused for 27gms instead.) 2.5 hours later, when I did my finger stick, my BG was 68 (8:30am) I think I just might have nailed it! 
Today is a recovery day from PT. Still, I am planning on going back for another grilled cheese sandwich Hopefully, I will use the same formula and get similar results as yesterday. (the highest I went was 75 BG with a low of 54)
signing out,
DM
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Sounds delicious and you deserve it!! You are the best at bolusing! 
A high of 75 after ANY sandwich is super! I really appreciate you sharing with us all the details. I am sure your details help others!!! You know already how much they helped me! Thank you!!
Enjoy the Labor Day weekend and I hope the pain continues to subside!!
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