THR Gloveguy’s Recovery Thread

Hey there, fellow Hippies,
Day 12 is upon me!
I’ve been laying low for the past few days and thought I’d share an update.
I last posted 4 days ago where I found my body just wanted me to sleep. Sunday was more of the same. I’ve basically just been listening to my body and giving only what it’s asking for; After all, it’s only day 12!
Sunday night I was pretty restless, which I attributed to just having so much sleep over the weekend. Normally I’d curtail daytime sleeping/napping and save that for the overnight hours, but since my life will be much different for the next 3 months, or so, I sleep when I want and watch movies, etc, when my body doesn’t want to sleep.
Monday was pretty normal with less napping and Monday night I got less sleep than I would have liked, but, oh well!
Tuesday I went out for approximately 5 hours. I got a prescription renewed as well as rode around with my wife while she ran errands, etc. Tuesday was pretty amazing when I was out of the vehicle, walking around, etc. I had virtually no pain the whole time. I felt like I could have gone with 1 crutch, but I stayed with 2. The only discomfort was while riding in my wife’s vehicle, most road bumps caused my muscle spasms to reappear and punish me, but I kind of expected that.
Last night sleep was okay @ approx. 4-5 hours.
Today I have pretty decent energy but I’m not doing a whole lot considering I was out and about for quite a while yesterday.
The one thing I’m finding is that when I go to sleep flat on my back, my OpLeg won’t quite comfortably lie straight as I get a tightness deep in my groin area and my lower back, just about the surgical area. It definitely feels muscular. At this point, is this something I should concern myself with? The pain meds don’t completely deal with this discomfort, either. I’m not quite sure what to make of this, so, any suggestions/feedback is more than welcome!
 
Further to yesterday’s entry, I was doing some walking around the house, this morning, and things were feeling pretty limber so I went with in crutch for a few minutes to see how it felt, and was pleasantly surprised.
Deciding to further test my limits, I thought I’d take my cane for a test drive, for the first time. That, too, felt pretty good, at this point in the game. I then went back to 2 crutches as I didn’t want to over-extend myself.
Lying flat on my back, with my OpLeg completely flat still evades me, however. I’d say once my knee gets to within 4” of being flat on the sofa or bed, it gets tight enough in my groin and quad muscle that I don’t want to push it any further.
Is this something I should be focused on, as an area of weakness that needs to be “stretched” or is it something I should just chalk it up to my hip continuing to heal and this too shall pass?
 
You might try gently massaging the tight areas with something like a tennis ball to see if you can get the muscles to relax a bit. It's probably all just healing process related and temporary until you're a little farther along. Good job on the experimentation with the cane!
 
Hey @jaydub63, that’s a good idea! I’m familiar with trigger point release techniques with large muscle groups, so this gentler approach makes sense to me. I’ll talk to my Jack Russell Terrier, Lily, to see if I can borrow one of her tennis balls. :heehee:
Thanks for the kudos with the trial use of the cane. There’s definitely a limp, but I’d be more surprised if there wasn’t one.
 
I’ll talk to my Jack Russell Terrier, Lily, to see if I can borrow one of her tennis balls. :heehee:
Offer Lily a bone first, then have the convo. :puppysmooze: A little bribery might get you what you need :wink:
I hope the trigger point massage brings you relief. Let us know...
@gloveguy
 
Hi @Layla, never a bad idea as Lily’s addicted to her ball collection!
Thanks for checking in. I’m hoping just more walking, perhaps with a pronounced stride, will create a little more room for things to move around, too.
I’m wondering if I introduced some heat into the area, in between icing stints, might help. Or might the ice do the trick, still, or, is heat a bad idea at this point, given the fact that there’s still a bit of swelling in the incision area?
 
Hi @gloveguy, you are doing really well! Thats the way, to try the different walking aids and see what works, without pushing too hard. I found that lots of muscles were too tight in some areas, not tight enough in others. It takes a while to shake out. With this second hip I have tightness up around the top of my thigh. I'm going to my RMT on Monday to see what she has to say about where I'm tight or not.

I take magnesium at night for restless leg, but a friend stopped by for a visit last week and brought me some coconut oil infused with oil of magnesium. I put it on all the areas that felt tight last night, and it works really well. Others on the forum have talked about a magnesium spray. It might be worth checking out your local health food store for magnesium spray/cream or the like, so you can target specific spots, along with the trigger point massage? Let us know how the trigger point massage works!

Have a great day!
 
I'd say ice only at this point. The forum Nurse, Josephine, recommends icing for no less than 40-60 mins per session. I'd target 4x daily, more often if you're able. I iced whenever I was sitting or laying down.
Icing is great for pain and swelling. Keep in touch!
@gloveguy
 
@Alitm, thanks for mentioning the different forms of magnesium. I’ve been taking magnesium capsules, and I think my wife mentioned the magnesium spray, which tells me she may have some, so I’ll ask her when she gets home.
The magnesium oil infused coconut oil sounds intriguing, for sure. Was this a health store product or a recipe your friend came up with? I’d be interested to know! Thanks again. :) :-) (:
 
Hi @gloveguy the magnesium/oil product was from a little store near me in the Cowichan Valley....a general store, with food and some specialty items and a little deli.
 
Thanks for the reply, &Alitm.
I went online, this afternoon, to a site/blog where I’ve gotten recipes for all-natural cleaners, etc, in the past, and incredibly I found a recipe for “Magnesium Body Butter.”
I messaged my wife and she picked up the ingredients from a local health food store. If I’m feeling up to it, I’m going to make it tomorrow.
I’m pretty excited to try a new approach.
Thanks, again, for the tip. I’ll keep everyone posted on how it goes!
 
Not necessary for your leg to lie flat at this point.
Put small pillow under your leg when sleeping on back to keep it from pulling on your groin.
Protect that straining...all normal, and very early days.
Ice it up as all your BS buddies advise.
Don't worry...all normal, all temporary...
Hope today is a good day!
 
Hey, @Mojo333, informative and supportive, all at the same time, as usual! :) :-) (:
Thanks for the vote of confidence. I think sometimes I read too many online articles from case studies that are born out of people’s past experiences where there were complications with their prosthetics that ended up causing similar symptoms to what I’m experiencing. :snork: Too much time on my hands, perhaps? :shrug:
I’ll know more in 4 weeks when I see my OS for my 6 week follow-up, but, I think he may have corrected, at least somewhat, a pelvic tilt that had developed to my right side, as a result of the advanced OA in my old hip. That would probably explain some tightness in the hip flexors, in these early stages of recovery... at least that’s how I’m processing things at this point, anyway. Am I making any sense? :what:
 
That would probably explain some tightness in the hip flexors, in these early stages of recovery... at least that’s how I’m processing things at this point, anyway. Am I making any sense? :what:

Oh yes you are! I'm 5 weeks out and still fighting that battle. I am seeing signs of improvement every week though. Hang in there :)
 
Thanks for the feedback, @SwampHiker! I’m trying my best!! :tada:

B6EBEE76-1288-44B5-9933-57E7DF0EE162.jpeg
 
Try not to read some of that stuff. I'm like you...I'd read something scary and my mind would start wandering to the "bad place". You're still such early days that you're going to experience some discomfort and strange sensations. Unless it's something unrelenting or escalating, I'd try to ignore it. I recall it seemed one strange pain, or sensation, was soon replaced by another. I got tired of it and gave up :heehee: I found gauging progress by weekends only worked best. You'll notice change from week to week more than from day to day. It's always easier to recall what you were able to do, or not, the weekend before than any given Tuesday. You're doing great...keep it up!
@gloveguy
 
@ Alitm I have a question about the coconut oil infused with oil of magnesium you use. I am not sure if this is where to ask this or in a pm as I am new on here. I am from Vancouver but live in the states and notice you are from the Cowichan Valley. Beautiful area! I am wondering which store you bought this at if you don't mind telling me and if that is allowed to share as I'd love to get some and maybe they would send it to Victoria or Vancouver and Ill pick it up there. Thanks lotusbuds.

I take magnesium at night for restless leg, but a friend stopped by for a visit last week and brought me some coconut oil infused with oil of magnesium. I put it on all the areas that felt tight last night, and it works really well. Others on the forum have talked about a magnesium spray. It might be worth checking out your local health food store for magnesium spray/cream or the like, so you can target specific spots, along with the trigger point massage?
 
Hope you're doing well @gloveguy
Leave us an update when you have time. We'd love to hear of your progress.
Wishing you a wonderful Christmas with those you hold dear!

:merry christmas:
 

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