THR Trailrunner's recovery

[raylo]

It's also sad when we drop our canes on the floor and the grabber is nowhere to be found. I have mastered a technique where I use my foot to step on the rubber tip and then roll the cane up off the floor like stepping on a rake. It's a little tricky and doesn't always work the first time but probably would make a funny video. ;-)

It seemed like I dropped everything on the floor after my surgery, it became a joke after awhile.

Yep...I agree and could only laugh at how pathetic I felt trying to hook the grabber I dropped...with the cane.

 

[myglasshalffull]

Raylo
You know what they say "necessity if the mother of invention!" We find all kinds of ways to handle everyday life after hip surgery.
When I wanted to do laundry I placed it all in a plastic trash bag, tied it up & threw it downstairs! My washer/dryer is in apartment downstairs, we have raised ranch style house with 6 steps down to landing then another 6 to apartment downstairs. I could get down the stairs ok but not with a hamper full of laundry.
Oh the list goes on & on!

 

[raylo]

I do similar tossing down, but without the bag. I live in a 3 level townhouse and the laundry is on the bottom floor. Needing a cane or even just the handrails makes carrying stuff a real challenge. Too bad we can't toss this stuff back up! Just have to figure a way to carry it in small batches.

Raylo
You know what they say "necessity if the mother of invention!" We find all kinds of ways to handle everyday life after hip surgery.
When I wanted to do laundry I placed it all in a plastic trash bag, tied it up & threw it downstairs! My washer/dryer is in apartment downstairs, we have raised ranch style house with 6 steps down to landing then another 6 to apartment downstairs. I could get down the stairs ok but not with a hamper full of laundry.
Oh the list goes on & on!

 

[myglasshalffull]

Just reverse process, bring a trash bag down & place laundry in bag and drag back up the stairs!
Just be sure to take it right out of the bag once back on main floor cause everything will wrinkle otherwise!

 

[trailrunner]

D+10

The last few days have been better. I've slept through the night a few times. Pain is manageable. I've started using the cane for some of my walking. I walked 0.35 miles this morning.

I took the bandage off today. Geez that's an incision, but it's impressive that the doctor was able to get into my hip and do everything he needed to do with that small of an opening. I can also visualize the manipulation to my leg that he had to do. Otherwise, it looks like it's healing well. It is already starting to itch.

I still have a yellow streak of a bruise from the incision inward to my crotch. I also noticed that the front of my thigh is numb. I understand that that can happen with the anterior approach. No big deal - it will either resolve, or it won't.

 

[trailrunner]

I'm at two weeks post-op today.

I took my longest walk outside - just under a half-mile, and I did it with my cane. I started out feeling great, but faded a bit walking up the hill towards the end. Nothing serious. My hip just got sore and tight. I am walking around the house without a cane every now and then. The most pain comes when I get up in the morning, or if I start moving after sitting for too long.

I took my first real shower today. It was the first time I felt confident stepping over the tub and into the shower. The shower felt great.

I cut down on the acetaminophen to 1.5 grams a day. I think it's messing up my stomach. I'm still taking celebrex and aspirin.

I'm doing the at-home exercises. I got two sets of exercises - one from the surgery center, and one from the semi-automated app that my doctor uses. They are not consistent with each other but I do what seems to make sense. I asked the doctor's team if I could ride an indoor exercise bike at a very low resistance for maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I have one of my bikes setup to do resistance training (Zwift, if you know what that is), but I just wanted to go to a gym and spin lightly on one of those devices. I know it would be a good thing for me to do now. But the doctor's team said not yet. I tend to follow rules so I will do what they say. Patience for now: my time will come. Funny how they don't provide any guidelines for how much walking I should do, but I know myself well enough and will do what seems right.

The incision is healing well. No issues there.

I will see the doctor in two weeks for the first time after the surgery. I assume that he will take an x-ray to make sure everything looks good. I'm not sure how I'm going to react when I see what they did to me.

 

[djklaugh]

@trailrunner It sounds like you are doing well with your recuperation! Yes patience is needed at this stage = at 2 weeks post op there is still a lot of healing that needs to happen. And don't worry about the x-ray - it will look gruesome and to the surgeon probably will look "perfect". When I saw my xrays after having both hips replaced at once the surgeon called them "beautiful" -- to me they looked like something that might have been put into Dr. Frankenstein's monster. And now, 12 years on, I rarely even think about the "new" equipment .... until I sign in here

 

[raylo]

I am a TrainerRoad guy, myself. I watch TV or movies on the big screen with the app running on an ipad next to my bike. So far I have been riding my old MTB with dropper post on a dumb trainer but today I switched over to my road bike on the TACX Neo2 for the cool down. The new hip went over the high seat easily... old hip struggled with that... and had no difficulty pedaling with the different geometry. So, I am graduating myself to that setup from here on, but still doing relatively easy spins for now, even though the new hip feels completely normal pedaling. Hope they let you do some spinning soon. I find it to be very therapeutic.

Oh, I saw my x-ray for the first time yesterday and it looks pretty cool. Parts is parts! As long as they work. Also, my doc reiterarted that I shouldn't ride outdoors until week 12 or so, no matter how good it feels. That is gonna be a tough rule for me to follow, but I will try.

I have one of my bikes setup to do resistance training (Zwift, if you know what that is),

 

[trailrunner]

I am a TrainerRoad guy, myself. I watch TV or movies on the big screen with the app running on an ipad next to my bike. So far I have been riding my old MTB with dropper post on a dumb trainer but today I switched over to my road bike on the TACX Neo2 for the cool down.

I have a Litespeed Blade on a Wahoo. It doesn't seem right to have such a nice frame as a trainer bike. However, I have 9 bikes (maybe more - I lose count), and before I had hip problems I rotated them pretty frequently, except my Blade since it was set up for triathlons. I pretty much only rode that bike during races, and I'm not planning on any more triathlons, so onto the trainer it goes.

I also cue up some videos on my big TV and watch my ride on Zwift on my iPad next to my bike.

The new hip went over the high seat easily... old hip struggled with that... and had no difficulty pedaling with the different geometry.

My very first indication of my hip problem was when I couldn't swing my leg over my bike, although I didn't know what my problem was. I thought I was just tight or out of shape. Being able to mount my bike normally is something I'm really looking forward to.

So, I am graduating myself to that setup from here on, but still doing relatively easy spins for now, even though the new hip feels completely normal pedaling. Hope they let you do some spinning soon. I find it to be very therapeutic.

Oh, I saw my x-ray for the first time yesterday and it looks pretty cool. Parts is parts! As long as they work. Also, my doc reiterarted that I shouldn't ride outdoors until week 12 or so, no matter how good it feels. That is gonna be a tough rule for me to follow, but I will try.

I have one of my bikes setup to do resistance training (Zwift, if you know what that is),

 

[raylo]

I think I am down to about 6 or 7 bikes... LOL. Among them a Litespeed Tuscany road bike and a Lynskey gravel bike, MTBs and a couple of home converted e-bikes. The Litespeed has many many miles and has been through several sets of upgrade components. I got rid of my TT bike awhile back, not doing that anymore. I have an ancient non road worthy Trek 2300 as my TACX trainer mule. It never comes off the trainer and the only things that work on it are the shifters and crank. No worries about getting sweat all over it.

 

[cold_brew]

My very first indication of my hip problem was when I couldn't swing my leg over my bike

Whoa, this is eerie. Same moment happened to me—at the time I regularly rode my bike to work, and it just kept getting worse until a day I nearly had a mental breakdown when it was time to saddle up and ride home.


Also, if you’d timed your surgery a little later, you could have spent the first few cabin fever weeks in your recliner watching the Tour de France. In retrospect that’s something I definitely did right: planning major surgery around the TV schedule (just kidding, the timing was a fortunate accident)

Hope you’re back out on the road soon!

 

[raylo]

That wasn't the first symptom of my hip going off but was the most annoying since I was riding 5 days a week back then. Then the last couple of years I started riding my bikes with dropper posts mostly so I could mount and dismount more easily. And I did plan to watch the Giro whilst riding my trainer indoors this May... except it is behind a paywall on a channel (Max) that I don't get! What a PITA.

My very first indication of my hip problem was when I couldn't swing my leg over my bike

Whoa, this is eerie. Same moment happened to me—at the time I regularly rode my bike to work, and it just kept getting worse until a day I nearly had a mental breakdown when it was time to saddle up and ride home.


Also, if you’d timed your surgery a little later, you could have spent the first few cabin fever weeks in your recliner watching the Tour de France. In retrospect that’s something I definitely did right: planning major surgery around the TV schedule (just kidding, the timing was a fortunate accident)

Hope you’re back out on the road soon!

 

[trailrunner]

I'm about 2.5 weeks post op. Things are going well, except for my excursion in the ODIC yesterday.

I had been slowly extending my walks from my house, walking around my neighborhood with my cane. I have been walking pretty comfortably, and made it up to a half mile. Yesterday I thought I'd extend my walk just a bit. Towards the end, my upper thigh and groin started aching. It wasn't too bad and I figured that I had smartly added just enough distance to make it a bit challenging. Usually if I'm sore at the end of my walk, it will get better later in the day, but yesterday it kept aching and getting worse. I don't know if that was caused by the additional distance I added, or if I was breaking up some scar tissue, or re-activated some muscle that was damaged in the procedure, or whatever, but by the time I went to bed I was in so much pain that I was barely shuffling even with my cane. OK, I got it. Take it easy. I told my wife that it hurt but I wasn't worried about it. Just a dip in the roller coaster of recovery.

Good news is that today it feels much better. I learned my lesson from yesterday and will take it easy. No walk for me today. Stress plus rest equals success.

Coincidentally, I got an (automated) message from the recovery app that my doctor uses that reminded me that I should still expect a lot of swelling, and that healing is still ongoing. That was timely. When I was feeling good at two weeks post-op, I started thinking that I'm feeling great and let's be done with this thing and let me plan my first 8 mile hike. Ha! I've just started this journey, and I still have a long way to go.

 

[benne68]

I learned my lesson from yesterday and will take it easy. No walk for me today.

That's the correct response! It's hard to identify the fine line between enough and too much -- but when you find yourself on the ODIC bench, it's important to take a day off and allow your body to recover. Ice and elevate!

 

[trailrunner]

Today is the 3 week anniversary of my surgery. Hard to believe that at this time 3 weeks ago, I was in a surgical gown getting ready for a spinal and the rest of the procedure.

Last week, I briefly joined the ODIC. I took a day of rest, and have been doing well since then. I'm walking around the house without a cane. The first few steps after I stand up are the hardest because my hip is stiff, but after that I'm able to walk more or less naturally. Each day that initial stiffness seems to get a little better. I'm still using my cane when I walk outside or when I go up or down or steps. I'm walking twice a day, and doing exercises once a day. I was able to put my sock on my injured side this morning, and that's a big milestone for me.

I have a follow-up visit next week. It looks like I won't see the surgeon, but one of his physician assistants. I expect that this will be a routine appointment. My incision is healing well, and my legs seem to be the same length. I assume that they will take an x-ray to make sure everything is where it's supposed to be. At my follow-up visit, I think I will have the option for PT, and I am likely to take advantage of that even though I think I'm progressing well.

I weaning myself off the acetaminophen. I'm still taking celebrex and aspirin for another week, per the doctor's orders.

I haven't left my house for 3 weeks, other than the walks around my neighborhood. My wife suggested we go to a small local cafe for breakfast later this week, and that sounds wonderful.

 

[Layla]

Hello and Happy Tuesday!
Thanks for the update, it sounds like you're doing well.

My wife suggested we go to a small local cafe for breakfast later this week, and that sounds wonderful.

Yes...please do consider that, you need to get out and smell the roses, as the saying goes.
I believe you'll enjoy it. You can get dropped off at the door if you feel like it and go at a less busy time.
It's nice to feel part of the world again.

Best Wishes for your post op appt. next week. Let us know how it goes.
Until then...all the best!

 

[CricketHip]

Your wife has a good idea there! Breakfast in a small cafe sounds lovely and will do you good. Just be careful of low seating. That was difficult for me in the beginning.

You mentioned some stiffness- for me that was the last symptom to ease up. It wasn't a big deal but sometimes I felt awkward when with other people. Then "poof" one day the stiffness wasn't there any longer.

I am on 9 years for my LTHR and 5 years for my RTHR. I love them. They remind me that they are there occasionally, but nothing even remotely compared to my post op symptoms.

 

[trailrunner]

@CricketHip - The stiffness doesn't concern me. It was pretty bad that one day last week but each day it gets better. Sometimes it moves around to a different area. I just figure that a different part of my hip is getting cranky, or reactivated, or something. I also agree that this is probably the last phase of healing. I do expect that sometime in the future I'll regress a bit, but as long as my general upward trend continues, I'll roll with it.

@CricketHip @Layla - It will indeed be nice to get out for a morning. I haven't really minded the downtime while I've been home. This is the longest break I have had from work in something like 35 years. It has caused me to start thinking more seriously about retirement.

 

[Eman85]

This is the longest break I have had from work in something like 35 years. It has caused me to start thinking more seriously about retirement.

I had my first hip replaced and never went back, haven't missed it either.

 

[shibbard]

Hi @trailrunner! We had our surgery on the same day! I'm also apparently a member of the ODIC although I thought I was being pretty careful not to do that. Last week this time I was basically pain free and gradually upping my activity level. After walking outside for about 15 minutes on Sunday, I had been having pretty unremitting pain in my hip joint and down my thigh. So it's back to resting, even more icing, and fingers crossed that this improves soon. I am limping pretty much all the time, so I'm asking my husband to pick me up a cane today.

I'm a very active person and this forced inactivity is not fun!