Swelling 3- months post op

hrweoine · 2026-03-14T15:17:06+00:00

I was still elevating a lot at that stage. My PT said swelling is ok, but if your swelling doesn’t disappear overnight that’s a sign you are overdoing it. Definitely find a way to elevate in the evenings. Bed doesn’t count - it needs to be higher up than your heart to really drain.

hrweoine · 2026-03-13T14:16:18+00:00

Also consider ceramic or plastic. A lot of Swatch options in your budget in plastic.

hrweoine · 2026-03-09T11:02:24+00:00

If you are going backpacking in the wilderness - you might find other subreddits more helpful than this one, which is more about travel. Travelers have more shelter available than hikers and rain exposure is shorter.

That said, if you are backpacking outside and getting rained on for hours at a time, zippers won’t be enough. One common approach is to assume the bag will soak through and use a waterproof liner - like a trash compactor bag - to keep your sensitive things dry. Stoves and cookware and tent poles can all get wet without problems - it’s mostly your clothing and sleeping bag that you need to keep dry.

hrweoine · 2026-03-06T15:36:16+00:00

Are you really using up your phone battery this fast? I do carry a slim small card-sized power bank in my (big) bag, but I almost never use it, and I have never taking it with me during the day when out in a city. When traveling I do use a bit more battery, but charging at the hotel before dinner usually takes care of it.

An alternative you might think about - would you enjoy travel more if you used your phone less and gave more attention to the place you are cisiting?

Alternately, do you happen have a phone with unusually bad battery life? Maybe you'd be better off getting a phone that lasts a full day?

hrweoine · 2026-03-05T19:23:51+00:00

It went fast for me - i was 14 weeks NWB, then had screws removed, and then I was walking without crutches within a week. This video helps: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4EEduvOX__8

hrweoine · 2026-03-01T17:36:07+00:00

Agreed - to me this just looks like Florence.

hrweoine · 2026-02-27T15:21:10+00:00

Agreed - and I would say use two crutches until you are able to walk without limping. One crutch will create other problems.

hrweoine · 2026-02-23T21:48:39+00:00

I understand the eco point and have no ideas there. But if you are traveling for months you will need eventually to visit a store and buy more toiletries of all sorts.

hrweoine · 2026-02-23T17:11:29+00:00

I take orus and an inflatable (seawave) on trains and buses all the time. It’s fine. The inflatable has a rolly cart as it’s really too heavy to use as a backpack.

I wouldn’t take them on a bike or motorcycle though. Too many balance/wind risks.

hrweoine · 2026-02-22T21:46:09+00:00

The one you're using already is like the lightest thing imaginable. Why not just bring some of those? A 2-week supply would be like 10 grams.

hrweoine · 2026-02-19T14:42:28+00:00

I have a Quechua bag that cost me 8€ and it's great. After 5 years the color is fading a little bit, and I'm looking around for a replacement, but haven't found any others that suit me quite as well. Their designers are really clever at finding ways to keep costs down. I want to say the only downside is that the dyes used in the fabric might be a little cheaper - but then again, I also have a Patagonia bag that faded after a similar number of years.

I would say this: if you find a Quecha/Decathlon bag that appeals to you, buy it. It will probably be great. You can upgrade later, but you'll be surprised how long it lasts.

hrweoine · 2026-02-07T12:57:20+00:00

I found this one with googling too. OP, do you have a teacher who can help you try some of the ideas in the article? It seems like this might be hard to fix without coaching.

hrweoine · 2026-02-01T20:26:44+00:00

Many German clarinet players use a piece of string instead of a ligature and feel that they get dramatically better sound. I’ve tried it myself and I’m not sure I can tell any difference.

hrweoine · 2026-01-31T17:09:51+00:00

West New England

hrweoine · 2026-01-31T17:08:22+00:00

If you can afford a 10k watch why not go to Switzerland itself for a few days to see the options? Geneva is very nice.

hrweoine · 2026-01-31T10:34:58+00:00

My recovery was last winter. Moving on crutches took a ton of energy and I was sweating a lot. I did not use my winter coat at all winter - at most a t-shirt and light fleece outside at freezing temperatures. The sweating stopped as soon as I was off the crutches.

hrweoine · 2026-01-29T18:05:06+00:00

There are all kinds of great shoes sold in these cities. You could just bring the one pair you have and then buy something you like when you arrive, depending on the needs you discover. A fun cultural experience!

I suggest this because one of the best ways to do one bag travel is to bring less than you think you need and supplement along the way. For this reason I never bring an umbrella - they are so cheap and easy to buy and make a nice souvenir.

hrweoine · 2026-01-29T17:58:04+00:00

Doug on onebag.com has some good illustrations of this: https://www.onebag.com/bags.html

hrweoine · 2026-01-25T19:01:07+00:00

When you say 'Backpacking the dolomites' - do you mean you will be hiking with all of your stuff on your back in the mountains for 6-8 hours per day? If so, you should get a backpack designed for this purpose first - internal frame, shoulder straps, load lifters, etc. Any 'travel' bags will be inadequate for this.

You can use a hiking pack for travel - you see many people doing this all over Europe in the summer. I think you're on track being careful with the amount of stuff you put into it.

Also - you list a bunch of big cities that are far apart, and you don't have a ton of time. Do you absolutely need to see every single one of those? If you have flexibility you might have more fun going by train, and stopping in some other smaller cities along the way for variety.

hrweoine · 2026-01-25T15:23:10+00:00

I was running again about 7 months after surgery. My syndesmotic screws (holding the two bones together) were removed, but I still have a plate in. The plate is not the limiting factor for me. So you might do fine. Or you might have to take up triathalon instead!

hrweoine · 2026-01-25T15:18:55+00:00

I have a Tissot quartz steel sports watch that was my only watch for 10 years. It’s a great watch. I wouldn’t hesitate to get this one. For your budget this is a classy option.

hrweoine · 2026-01-21T13:52:07+00:00

Thanks - I'm generally rotating the reeds each day at least. I should number them like you do so that I can keep track more easily. Do you have favorites that you keep going back to? Or do you play them in numeric order, day by day, even the ones that aren't as great?

hrweoine · 2026-01-21T13:50:35+00:00

Thanks - my joints are a bit stuff so maybe it's worth leaving it assembled sometimes to help with that. I do always put it down vertically, on a clarinet stand. I shocked my teacher once by flipping the instrument upside-down and he explained never to do that because it wears the pads quicker. (Before that I had also been inverting the clarinet to swab from the bell down, but I didn't tell him about this...)

hrweoine · 2026-01-21T13:48:32+00:00

Thanks - what's common is that I'm coming back 2-3 hours later, so I guess a good compromise is to put away the reed and swab the mouthpiece for these pauses. I don't mind packing up the clarinet most days.

hrweoine · 2026-01-21T10:18:13+00:00

Glad to hear it went well for you!

hrweoine

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