THR I am titanium!

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Hang in there calikat. It is normal to feel down but I agree with sharonslp that your meds probably aren't hight enough.

At 9 days out I was taking a slow release OxyContin 12 hrs apart and Celebrex at the same time and then pan adenine forts which is codeine and paracetamol (Tylenol ) for break through pain. Then aspirin for blood thinning and a laxative for the bowels :blush:

Hang in there and keep in touch for moral support
 
Hi calikat. Believe me,you made the right choice with the THR. As far as the issues your having, pain, discomfort, depression all sounds pretty normal to me. I'm not a doctor but I had my right hip replaced on August 26th and my left hip done 3 days before yours, Sept. 23rd, so I do have some experience. I wont even get into my right hip surgery and recovery as the surgery was simply awesome and the 5 weeks of recovery were in my view above average.

Now the left is a whole other story. After having been through it once you would think I'd have avoided the pitfalls of surgery like doubt and depression. I had both right out of surgery. My left hip bled a lot after surgery, for days it leaked fluid and it hurt way more than before surgery. The right leg suffered none of this. When I got home my left leg swelled the size of a basketball and the pain was excoriating for 3-4 days after, even my narcotics did little to alleviate this. With the right hip I was up walking with crutches from the day of surgery and never stopped. With the left hip I could not get to the bathroom 10 feet from my bedroom without enormous pain. So I fell into a mini depression and didn't get out of bed for 3 days after being released.

When I finally did get up on Saturday morning and start moving the hip and leg around I definitely felt movement inside my hip. Now I was like 'what the hell'! I didn't feel that with the first one. Ok enough with the negative. Here's the positive. A week ago today I could barely get to the bathroom, now I'm walking around the block in my neighborhood with one crutch several times a day. The pain is just a dull ache, mostly after exercise, and like right now at 3:30 in the morning. So I take a pill and come onto bonesmart till I nod off.

The movement that I felt for several days is gone while the muscles around the structure are getting stronger to hold things together. I'm not depressed any more as the left hip is finally starting to recover. I started a recovery journal with my right hip which helped a lot as it gave me in black and white evidence to refer to in the recovery process. Maybe you can start one. It really helped me a lot as I wrote down not just physical milestones but how I was feeling mentally also. Now I have a reference for my left leg and right side of my brain.

You will get better, I promise you that. You're just in a difficult spot at this moment. Start a journal, it helps. As far as your husband asking the OS if you were just a wimp, ha ha, forgive him for he knows not what he says. We are alone in our pain and short of stabbing him in the hip with a serrated steak knife he will never know.

For blood thinner I was on Lovelox injections for a week.That's another sight to see, me a severe needle phobic, giving himself a shot every day. Ha ha.

Listen, you will get better. Just make sure you eat to the point where you're getting a little pudgy. You want a calorie surplus to rebuild all that tissue and bone. Lots of protein. Rest is crucial, lots of sleep and naps. But be careful, as I found out, you can over rest also. Don't worry so much it's not helping.

If you do feel like you detect movement in your hip, I'm sure like me, it will dissipate as that muscular girdle that surrounds all that hardware settles back into place and gets bigger and stronger to push things together.

I'm starting to ramble. Goodnight,or morning now. Peace.
 
Hi calikat, so glad you joined us. Have you read this thread Jamie left for you Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it? Post op blues are very common. Just go with it for now. This too shall pass! It's partly due to abnormal sleeping patterns. Try to nap during the day if you can. We are here for you!
 
Great idea - all done!
 
You read that on here? I hope it wasn't as Jamie is right - it's a very sound company with a great history with medical devices.
Yes. I found it while googling info about Medacta a few days after I got omg. The title of the thread is "The MEDACTA AFIS method". It freaked me out a little I have to say. LOL
 
Calikat, the way you describe your pain, I have to think that you are simply under-medicated. It was MAJOR surgery, and it sounds like you have been trying to play catch-up from the very beginning.

Sharon you are probably right. I woke up in recovery in horrible, horrible pain...unlike anything I have ever experienced. Currently I am taking Norco 7.5 mg every 4 hours. It really has done little to help. I have leftover 10 mg Norco pills from before the surgery that I take before going to sleep. I also have started taking 600 mg of ibuprofen along with it at night to help me sleep. I have started taking the ibuprofen in the morning as well. The NSAIDS have always worked better for me than the narcotics, and they work even better when combined. But can we take the NSAIDS while taking blood thinners? I am taking Xarelto for 12 days.

I have a lot of ultracet (tramadol/Tylenol) left over from before surgery. Maybe I should add it. I have all kinds of pain medication from the past few years prescribed for me from my rheumatologist. The past two years for me have been pain ridden, and I have had every auto-immune test available to try and find what is going on with me. I have OA in multiple places and it all seemed to hit at once. My blood work is all normal. They say I am just hypermobile, and that is the cause of my problems. :scratch: I think it has to be something else. My rheumatologist says I may have something, but it has not been discovered yet. My hands and wrists are next on the list to fix once my hip gets better...or maybe my low back. I will have to see. It was agreed by the hand, spine, hip, and rheumatologist doctors that I should fix the hip first to see where that left me with the back. I am just a mess LOL. My big mistake was having my hip scoped this past May. Previous to the that surgery my pain was pretty bad, but I could walk. After the scope my pain became really sharp, and I could no longer walk properly.
 
Roofmaster ~Your second THR experience sounds a lot like my first. Thank you so much for posting.
 
calikat, what you found on that thread about Medacta was just one user's personal opinion. And that user didn't even have that implant. I would pay any attention to personal opinions - only experiences. I think inthebeginning has just had this implant. But your recovery is different from every other recovery. We all react differently to this surgery.

I took NSAIDs while on Xarelto and had problems. I wouldn't suggest it and most patients are required to stop taking NSAIDs while on blood thinners. I'll tag Josephine
 
Hi calikatAs far as your husband asking th OS if you were just a wimp,ha ha,forgive him for he know not what he say.We are alone in our pain and short of stabbing him in the hip with a serrated steak knife he will never know.

Well the surgeon who scoped my hip in May told him that it looked like a bomb went off inside my hip so you would think that would have been enough confirmation. I think that it's funny that he told me he asked the OS if I was being overly dramatic. He has no clue that it makes him look like a bit of a jerk...LOL. The OS who scoped my hip said I had two full thickness holes in my cartilage and a grade 4 defect in my femoral head that were hidden in the X-rays and MRIs because of the dysplasia. He said it was like a raw wound in side my hip joint...all bloody red and inflamed. He cleaned everything up and was cautiously optimistic that I would get another few years out of the hip...NOT. I just have no idea why he scoped my hip rather than send me straight to a joint replacement OS.

I wish I could have seen my femoral head like Vetgirl.
 
@Jacey I agree completely. I was just posting the thread because Josephine had asked me if I had read it on this site.

I have been reading inthebeginning's recovery thread. I am very envious of his journey, and I was happy to see that he has hardware from Medacta.

Thank you for the heads up about mixing Xerelto and NSAIDS. I guess I won't take them today. My doctor's office is not very good about giving much information or answering questions which I find hugely disappointing. I called with a question and request for different pain meds on Monday, and they did not get back to me until Thursday.
 
I have been hit with depression big time today and feeling afraid that the surgery is not going to work :cry: that I may have let my hip get too bad before giving into the replacement.
Honey, let me tell you this: I have been nursing patients with horrendously damaged hips for years. Such damage and difficulties where academic to the final outcome of the surgery. It's no barrier to a good outcome - that's the beauty of the procedure.
But can we take the NSAIDS while taking blood thinners?
No, you shouldn't take NSAIDs while on anticoagulants.
I have a lot of ultracet (tramadol/Tylenol) left over from before surgery. Maybe I should add it.
Well why didn't you say so before! This is wonderful.

I suggest you ditch the other meds and take Tramadol in this way
8 am: Tramadol 100mg + 1,000mg Tylenol
12md: Tramadol 50mg + 1,000mg Tylenol
4pm: Tramadol 50mg
8pm: Tramadol 50mg
12mn: Tramadol 100mg + 1,000mg Tylenol
4am: Tramadol 50mg + 1,000mg Tylenol

This is the routine I used for my knee and it was marvellous!
 
Josephine the pill dosage I have for the ultracet is 37.5/325 per pill so should I just take two every 4 hours?
 
sorry not trying to hijack the thread but Josephine how long would you recommend this cocktail? I am trying to find better mixes for the second hip so I don't deal with so much trial and error as with the first.
 
the pill dosage I have for the Ultracet is 37.5/325 per pill so should I just take two every 4 hours?
Okay .. that works out to a maximum of 450gms of Tramadol and 3,900mg Tylenol per 24hrs which is fine. I'm sure you will find that very effective.
Josephine how long would you recommend this cocktail?
As long as is necessary. For me it was 12 weeks.
 
Please do let us know how it goes with your new meds routine. Sometimes getting the cocktail right is the biggest recovery challenge!
 
Hi Vetgirl and Jaycey. had a hard night last night with just the ultracet. I woke up and had to add a 7.5 Norco. My rheumatologist told me I can take both as long as I don't take them together. I have this awful pain that runs from my groin down my inner thigh all the way to the instep of my foot when I lie on my back. When I lie on my side it goes away. I had this pain prior to the surgery, but it is much worse now. Does anyone else have this type of pain?

I know that if I could add NSAIDS to my pain cocktail I would feel so much better. I have had to take them for years due to multiple areas of pain/inflammation. I am counting the days until I can get off of these blood thinners. :thud:

You know two years ago I was an active happy person. Now I feel like a frail skeleton of myself. It has taken a toll on my family. My husband thinks I am mentally ill, (clinically depressed), and does not really understand how chronic pain changes you. For the past year he has complained that I moan all night long. He thinks I do this consciously for his benefit so he will feel sorry for me. But I am not. I have no recollections of moaning in my sleep. I have offered to sleep somewhere else, but he says no. I am not sure what else I can do. I am depressed. Who wouldn't be when you see your life slip away from you. I have merely been existing for the past year. Sorry to vent. On a positive note I took some steps in the kitchen this morning unaided. My hip still feels sore, but it felt like it could take my full weight. This is a new milestone for me.
 
Can you go to your GP and see if there is something else you can take for your pain. It's sounds like you are under medicated which results in lack of sleep and depression. You could also ask about the blood thinners. Maybe they could shorten the time you need to take them? So sorry you are suffering! :console2:
 
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