THR Tom’s surprise<

[jfm1968]

ok, wow lucky man... The rods & broken rod, then sudden hip surgery is just crazy. I'm so sorry. I can tell you with my own experience, I too went into this with no time, and key word, no desire...to know EXACTLY what the logistics were. I have already had two back procedures (diskectomy & decompression surgeries). Ive also had a c-section & gall bladder removal. Then recently my right hip replaced (i had anterior approach and the Corin Mini Hip put in), and by choice I did not want to know what exactly was going to happen out of sheer fear & anxiety.

Two nights ago I decided to google my exact surgery and watched the video of my surgeon performing what I got on a patient. At the time I thought it might have been a bad idea since my left will be done soon, but after I got through it I was glad I watched it. I had to laugh at how many medical tools they use that look like ones straight out of my own shed! lol !

Anyway, I found sleep positions very VERY difficult as well until just recently. I am a side sleeper or a stomach sleeper with one leg hiked up flat on the bed. I also have sleep issues in general, so i suffered greatly for a while there. There was one sleep position I finally found that worked for me on my back. I found that I could sleep if my right surgery leg was knee-up and leaned against the wall, or something else stable on mynright side that would keep it upright. Because i still have lower back pain after 2 back procedures, a pillow under my legs, knee(s) etc with both legs down together on the bed only pulled on my lower back more.

Im also able to sleep on my left side, but the amount of time I can tolerate that is very limited, as my right surgery leg starts to ache mostly down the outer side. My surgery date was March 1st and I still cannot sleep on my surgery leg side. I also still get firing pains suddenly down my outer IT band radiating into my center knee, mostly once i lay down in my rt surgery leg.

I hope by the time you are reading this you have found a workable solution. It's tough for sure, but try & hang in there. A weird thing for me recently was instead of the wall, I laid my surgery leg on 3 stacked pillows instead of the wall, and woke up some hours later & two pf the pillows had slid away...and my leg was almost 'open' and flat to the bed. I was not able to do this for YEARS....so it scared me at first...and i kinda freaked out, but Im still coming to the realization that there is a new part in there! A part that is going to allow me to sit "indian style" again after many years of not. Hang in Lucky!

Jennifer - Magnolia, TX

 

[Mojo333]

Ow AND Wow for pics...however scars from surgery look wicked, but clean and happily healing I think!
Those electric zingers and tremors sound alot like what I experienced while healing. Nerves and things waking up and getting sorted I think.
Very disconcerting and i am not sure I was able to do much about them with the exception of icing all I possibly could.
They hung around for many months, lessening and dissipating as time went on.
Do discuss with your OS...know some members have treated with medications when severe.
Mine did eventually ease and as I had a lot of numbness in quads the first month, the pains and zaps were a little comforting as I likened it to things waking back up?
Hope your week is healing and peaceful!

 

[Lucky man]

When I walk (with the walker), it seems that the muscle that goes from my lower back around to my hip goes into intense spasm very quickly. That spasm seems to suck the energy right out of me, and I have to lay down. By the time I lay down and get settled, I’m breathing hard and my heart is pounding. That passes quickly, and ice settles the spasm down. Is all that normal?

 

[Eman85]

Hard to say what's normal when your body has been traumatized like ours have been, and in your case 2x in a short period of time. I'd say it's just the muscle protesting put it will learn to behave again.
Back to the Lucky Man statement, we're all lucky! What we're going through might be painful and taxing mentally but generally not life threatening.
I don't know what your OS suggested but tightening and relaxing of the muscles while you lie in bed is what mine had me doing. I'd ask your OS before doing anything.

 

[Layla]

Hi there @Lucky man
What you've described sounds exhausting. I'm sorry you're struggling.
Lets have @Josephine weigh in. She's had 50+ yrs experience in orthopedics.
I've tagged her for you. She's in the U.K. Please check back in case she has questions.
Hope this eases soon....

 

[Lucky man]

I have my follow up with the surgeon in a few hours. I should have some answers. I think I’m my own worst enemy, worrying about what is normal and what isn’t. I don’t want to do anything to cause the need for a 3rd surgery.

 

[confused newb]

@Lucky man, good luck with the follow up appointment today. Your body has taken a beating between the original fracture, and then the two surgeries. Your body has gone through more trauma than most of ours have, so I expect that your early healing will take a bit longer maybe. It's incredible how our bodies can come back from this though. Give it a few weeks... the pains will go and you're going to find that you feel better every day.

 

[Jaycey]

Does this article describe what you are feeling (and where)? If so, you can't do the stretches suggested in the article while under THR restrictions. However I found that gentle hamstring stretches from a seated positioned eased this after my LTHR.

 

[Lucky man]

Kind of. What complicates all this, is that I had quite serious spasm issues prior to breaking my femur. I had been doing a lot of research, and the piriformis was one of the potential causes, along with the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. The location of the pain itself seems to fit the gluteus minimus location. Too much sitting in a desk job, combined with a severely arthritic right hip has probably left all of those muscles out of balance.

I had just started some stretching routines to alleviate those issues, and then I broke my femur. Most of the stretches are now off limits.

 

[Lucky man]

Just got back from 11 day follow up with surgeon. All looks good. All the things I’ve been worried about above, I shouldn’t be. The spasms I need to deal with and they will subside. I’m putting to much pressure on myself to improve.

Here’s what they did. In addition to the hip replacement, they added another rod outside the femur and secured with wires to stabilize the break.

 

[Layla]

Hi again, @Lucky man
Wow....You have some stuff going on there.
Great news all of your concerns were addressed.
I hope you're able to relax and move forward.
Wishing you all the best! Stay in touch. We'd love to follow your recovery journey.

 

[Layla]

Wondering if a Magnesium supplement would help with your spasms.
It may be worth a try...
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/magnesium-is-a-star.20301/

 

[Lucky man]

Thanks, I’ll give that a try. I normally take a Magnesium supplement, but have gotten away from it lately.

 

[Lucky man]

The trip to the hospital yesterday for my follow up with the OS wore me out. Very tired, achy all over today. It seems I used muscles in my core much more than I do typically. My core is screaming at me today.

In spite of that, feeling pretty positive. Looking forward to those first few pain free steps in my future.

 

[Layla]

Still such very early days of recovery for you @Lucky man
Use the opportunity to take some naps. Our bodies do the best healing while we're sleeping.
That poor injured leg needs some of this >
Your positive outlook is great Slowly but surely you'll get there.
Hope the rest of your week is good!

 

[confused newb]

That is an impressive x-ray! There may be more metal in your leg than in my car at this point... it's no wonder that you're feeling a bit beat up. You're healing at a good time of the year, as you progress the weather outside will get warmer and nicer. Once you're ready to get out and walk, you'll be able to enjoy the spring temperatures, head down to the lake and walk the paths.

 

[Josephine]

they added another rod outside the femur and secured with wires to stabilize the break.

Yep, that's what they do! Though it's not actually a rod, it's a plate and designed to be used with screws as you can see from the oblong holes along its length. Not that it matters, of course!

the muscle that goes from my lower back around to my hip goes into intense spasm very quickly

Would you like to show me where your pain is using this chart?

I'd really like to offer you some structured advice but in order to do that, I also need to ask you some questions. Are you willing for me to do that?

 

[Lucky man]

@Josephine

Yes of course. I’ll mark that up and post.

One other thing that I think is causing me problems is the blood thinner Rivaroxaban (Xarelto). The other medications I’m on for pain I’ve used in the past with no issues. I’ve done a lot of reading about side effects of Rivaroxaban, and the ones that I found that I have are as follows: pain in joints (I have new soreness in elbows and shoulders), short of breath, lightheaded, muscle spasms, and generally just feeling crummy. At times, when I’m up moving around, my shortness of breath is intense, at the same time as the severe spasm in my right lower back/upper hip. I feel like I could pass out. As soon as I lay down, it passes very quickly.

I’ve been on it for 2 weeks. Surgeon wanted 3 weeks. So far I have no bruising, just a lot of pain, and those other side effects.

Found this new study comparing Rivaroxaban to aspirin following hip and knee replacements.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1712746?query=featured_home&

I am thinking of switching to aspirin for the last week.

 

[Lucky man]

@Josephine

Here’s the pain chart. This is depicting the intense spasm when I walk. There is much less severe pain in other places.

Prior to any of this, I suffered from back spasms in the same place, on both sides. I have degenerated discs at L4/L5 and L5/S1. The spasms now are much more intense than before the surgery. Much more intense on the right side where hip was replaced.

 

[Lucky man]

My RTHR surgery was 2 weeks ago today. Feeling very frustrated. I still have no energy to do much of anything. I read the energy drain post, and I understand that for the first two weeks, almost all my energy goes to healing, but I had really hoped to be able to do a little more. I suppose that because I was almost 6 weeks out of my first surgery, I’m just sick of being cooped up in the house.

Also very frustrating that when I’m so exhausted, I still can’t get a decent sleep. I’m lucky if I can get 2 hrs before waking.

Trying so hard to be positive, but struggling today.