THR LABabyMama's Recovery Thread

So glad to hear your mom is feeling better
It never rains but it pours sometimes doesnt it.
Was looking for you today,wondering how your weekend went.
Funny you would use the word tight.
My PT was stretching me today and the feeling is more tightness than pain and just stiffness. When stiff the cane is welcome. Every day I feel a little more normal. A long road to be sure but one inch at a time.
I'm determined to get a pedicure sometime this week, though my toes aren't showing much in my constant sensible shoes with good treads....
I went to a meeting at church tonight and someone there said she remembered with her hip surgery recovery as she would just get so tired so fast.
And just think tomorrow we are 4 weeks out! Congrats -- we got thru that much!:yahoo:
 
Congrats on 4 weeks @ahipgma! And oh what a 4 weeks it’s been. Tonight for the first time I totally forgot about using my cane. Guess that means I’m making progress. Of course after a day on my feet doing a lot of cooking for the family, I’m definitely feeling more swollen and sore. Looking forward to putting my feet up and icing tonight. You should definitely get that pedicure - you deserve it! I’m dying for a haircut but I’m too afraid of sitting in the chair for that long. Maybe after six weeks... Hope we both have a little more energy tomorrow.
 
It's easy to say listen to your body but somewhere along the way you need to put your brain into action too.

Now that IS WISDOM!!! Just catching up on everyone's threads....I totally agree...Next week, I see a very busy week coming up including travel and travel and travel....so I am doing nothing but minimum this week....I will even put that TEDs stocking on again!!!

Congrats on your upcoming 4 week anniversary, @LAbabymama! Looking good!
 
I have been reading your thread, @LAbabymama !! You are a true soldier! But you are doing a fine job of rolling with the punches.. I am sitting here hoping and praying that you aren't getting sick, too.
Hang in there, you got this! :flwrysmile: Your poor mom... I know it's hard but please try to ignore the little things that can be overlooked. Those are the things that tend to trip me up in the end.
 
@LAbabymama :wave:I haven't seen you on here since Tuesday..........I hope your Mom is much better and all of you are staying away from any other "bugs"! Let us know how you are doing when you're able! :flwrysmile:
 
Hi @SE Florida and @JennyLynne - thanks for checking up on me. I’ll admit I have been spending less time online both because things have been pretty quiet and because I’ve been trying to spend more time focusing on work. I find it’s too easy to get distracted by all the wonderful updates on this forum.

My mother recovered from her pneumonia and headed home on Sunday. Thankfully we had a few good days before she left. She comes back again in a month and I hope she doesn’t catch another illness from the kids.

Today marks five weeks since my surgery. I’m feeling pretty good, but still have a lot of stiffness and soreness around the incision. I’m not using any walking aids anymore and I’ve been gradually increasing the lengths of my daily walk around the neighborhood. I’m only on Tylenol 1000mg 3x day. Today I saw my rheumatologist and will be starting back on plaquenil and Celebrex daily. There’s still a lot of things I can’t do, but every week I feel stronger. I’m not driving yet (doctor’s orders despite having a LTHR). I’m practicing carrying the baby and trying to pick her up off the floor (very carefully). I feel steady, but still fearful of hurting myself. But I find myself sometimes forgetting that I ever had surgery. A good sign, I think.

On that note, I’m wondering about these hip precautions. Coming up on six weeks, I’m curious about why the precautions just suddenly go away? Are there certain movements I will never be able to do with my new posterior hip? Yoga comes to mind. As does crouching down on the ground. And of course, certain sexual positions. The internet isn’t clear on whether some hip precautions are permanent. I’d love to hear from those of you who are further down the road. Will I ever stop worrying about dislocation?
 
There she is! Good to see you pop in! I am not around as much either, being back at the office.

My take on the precaution timing is that it is padded to say, "hey, you can probably do these things earlier... but definitely by this date." And it seems to vary by doctor - anywhere from zero to 12 weeks, I have heard. Since mine have lifted, I find that muscles and stiffness keep me in check - in other words, I can't just move quickly into a position, and I feel that protects me from hurting myself.
 
Since mine have lifted, I find that muscles and stiffness keep me in check - in other words, I can't just move quickly into a position, and I feel that protects me from hurting myself.
Yes, yes, yes! The switch was turned off on the mind, but your body will remind you that it’s a new hip! Going up the stairs is my biggest reminder. No pain, but Boy is that psoas tight!
 
Hi @LAbabymama (happy 5 weeks to us!)not any further along than you on time but I asked the same question of PT and heres what they said.
During approx 4-6 weeks the muscles heal
And the joint capsule that protected the old hip form a pseudo capsule around the new hip.
I think it's a matter of the supporting system's healing around that new hip so to make the precautions not as necessary
I know lately I have bent beyond 90 degrees and am side sleeping with a pillow between my legs and dont get the warning twinges like I used to, so maybe all is stronger in there?.
I dont think there is a magic line of demarcation-- just when each surgeon feels its healed up enough in there to ease up.
I believe there is a section here on bonesmart or somewhere on line that I have seen that has a very detailed chart about what sex positions are safe after you get the OK from your doc.
It IS confusing for sure. Glad to hear your mom is better and your doing some normal things!!
 
Happy 5 weeks @ahipgma! Sounds like you’re way ahead of me recovery-wise. Maybe I’m being too cautious. I’m still afraid to side sleep, mainly because I’ve always been someone who likes to internally rotate when I sleep. I can’t wait until I can sleep on my operative side so I don’t have to worry about that. I have seen that chart of which you speak — the one with ridiculous stick figures. My doctor gave me something similar, but didn’t make it clear whether the restrictions on certain positions were lifelong. I’ve read that we can relax about dislocation around the 3 month mark - but there’s always the possibility it could happen. Still, I was hoping to get some insight from people much further down the road. Anyway, hip buddy, I’m glad that we are both doing so well so early in our recovery. Onwards and upwards!
 
I went to surgeon 6 weeks & he lifted all precautions... I’m now 11 weeks post op & am doing almost everything I want to.

My surgeon said risk of dislocation minimal & it really is when you twist & turn at an awkward angle.. so more an unfortunate accident than doing everyday stuff.. hope that helps xxx


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Have seen on you tube quite a few folks pretty far out doing yoga, roughhousing with their kids /grandkids in the backyard, getting back to sports they loved, except high impact sports like football or hockey. The PA who saw me at my 2 week sort of hinted that dislocation is rare. There is a series called "Talking with Docs " on YouTube where 2 OS
Cover a number of subjects related to after hip replacement and do a good job including the sex stuff.:wink:
 
Thanks @ahipgma and @Hoppy Nanny. Your words are reassuring and remind me that there are plenty of athletic people who have hip replacements and go back to doing the activities they love. I’m not even that athletic, so I can’t imagine I’d be putting myself in too many compromising positions. I’ve seen those guys on You Tube - I’ll check out what they have to say about sex. I think part of the problem with all this is that there is no true definitive guide. Studies about hip dislocation aren’t exact and recommendations are different for every person based on age, health and activity level. I guess I’ll just have to take it slow and see how my body responds. Right now I’m not getting any PT and I feel like my strength and ROM have plateaued. Looking forward to working with a professional who can help me relearn how to do all my daily activities.
 
@LAbabymama restrictions post THR are normally lifted at anywhere between 6 and 12 weeks. Rarely surgeons will try to impose life long restrictions. But to be honest, that's just not possible. THR is supposed to give you your life back not sentence you to limitations.

I had posterior the first THR. Restrictions for 6 weeks and then only 2 life long restrictions - bungee jumping and parachuting. Since I am not the least bit interested in either activity - I have no restrictions. My RTHR surgeon imposed no restrictions except "if it hurts don't do it".

You won't find any definitive guide to restrictions. Surgeons are all over the place with this. Just listen to your hip and it will guide you. If it hurts try again another day.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone! I am now six weeks post-op, and as of tomorrow all my restrictions are lifted and I can drive again! I’m starting outside PT tomorrow and looking forward to building strength and ROM. Over the last week I’ve felt like I’ve either plateaued or backslid - my leg has been more painful and stiff and my limp has even returned. I don’t think I’m overdoing it, but I have been sitting for longer periods at my desk. Nothing to be done about that - I have to work and work has to be done at my desk. I’m trying to ice at least once a day and still taking Tylenol. Still sleeping on my back - I try to sleep on my side with a pillow between my legs, but my incision starts to ache after a few minutes. That’s the basic update - hard to find the time these days to check in, but I wanted to let you all know that I’m doing fine. Recovery is slow, but I’m trying to be patient. It’s still fairly early days and I know I have a lot of healing to do still. Hope you’re all doing well!
 
Returning to work had the same impact on me, but it was temporary! Definitely a setback but you will bounce back quickly! I am now fairly comfortable at the office for full days, and not using any assistive device either. Give your body a little time and it will adjust. Just be sure to get up as frequently as you can, even if only to stand for a minute.
 
I drove myself to PT today and it was easy. Very little discomfort. Silly that I had to wait so long with a LTHR. Feels good to have my freedom back. @JennyLynne sitting for long periods is definitely hard, but the pain doesn’t always go away when I stand and walk around. I’m not sure if it’s just deep incision healing or if my muscles need to be used more. I’m hoping PT can help me sort all that out. Really hoping I can strengthen my back and abdominal muscles to compensate for some of this leg weakness.
 

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