THR JoeKnows Recovery Thread - Round 2

is a mild to moderate bruise at the top of my calf normal around 3 weeks?
I had a rather large yellowish bruise appear in the area around my knee at about 17 days post op. Initially, it kind of freaked me out, thought I did something to cause it, and I did! I let someone slice into my flesh and cut out my natural hip! :heehee: Yep, bruises can show up later than we expect.
 
@Layla why would you ever let someone do that?! Crazy lady.

I honestly forgot about the bruise again until I came on here. Things are nuts at work, in a kinda sorta good but also pretty stressful way. I miss taking afternoon naps, but those are gone for the foreseeable future.

Physically, I'm still doing waaaay better than I remember from last time (yes, I just knocked on wood). I can briefly sleep on my operated side now, though I discovered that unintentionally - just woke up that way. I keep forgetting my cane, and can walk with a minimal limp if I try (I'm not tossing the cane yet though, because my IT band will complain if I do, and it's also convenient for whacking unruly children [I'm kidding, I only hit adults with it]).

I cannot for the life of me lift my leg up when laying on my side, unless I give it a little help. Nowhere near log leg, but those muscles are still on vacation apparently. Not a motion I need to make very often, so... Meh.

I can take the dressings off tomorrow, though there's still the mesh stuff underneath. Pretty excited to get a look at the incisions (plural because of the robot guide pin or whatever it was above my beltline). Still swollen when I compare one side to the other, but nothing that concerns me.

I am very happy that I can get rid of the elevated toilet seat without discomfort. I am NOT, however, looking forward to losing my excuse for wearing sandals everywhere, but I think it's getting close to that point.
 
Took the dressings off today - the incisions look pretty gross, but in the same way any incision would. The mesh stuff spreads the scabs around, or so it seems. No redness or anything worrying. My wife wanted to see, then immediately regretted it, but I'm happy with how it looks (I mean, as happy as I can be with where somebody cut me open).
 
@JoeKnows
Ok.... my double hippy compadre...
What have you been doing?
Been looking for your update for a day or two, and glean you are off and running...
Hope you aren't busy renewing your membership in that Club?:heehee:
 
Haha @Mojo333 no, just working and stuff. I'm on my way to a lake trip for the weekend, but Mrs. Knows (and our family friends who are coming with us) have already lectured me about letting them do all the work. Nor will I be getting in the lake itself, unfortunately... No tubing for me, I'll just drive the boat!

I'm doing well otherwise. Still plenty of soreness. My IT band was bad for a couple days, but is on the mend. When I first ditched the cane, that and one of my non-op hip flexors started complaining (presumably from compensating for my operative side glute weakness), but the strength is slowly coming back.

I still can't sleep well, but I don't blame the hip alone - just stress levels from work!
 
Glad to know there appears to be the normal annoyances at 1 month out.
But I know in my heart that by this time next year you will be Jam up and Jelly tight!
Well worth the recovery struggles....
We go through a lot to get ourselves back to Good,
so don't screw it up!
(said we the utmost respect and love:loveshwr:)
 
Got to the lake yesterday - the drive (about 3 hours) was fine, it was the getting up that was a problem, haha. We scouted out a good spot for today, which involved walking on some trails - I was very, very careful not to mis-step, and I think my wife nearly had a heart attack! But no issue.

Side note, this is one of the few rentals I've stayed in where the mattress is as comfortable as my own, so that worked out well!
 
I hope you and your family have a great time, Joe. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit the thought of you tripping on a trail, or stepping into a small hole makes me cringe.
Stay safe! That means - go home, do not pass go, do not collect $200. :wink:
@JoeKnows
 
Day 1 was without issue, other than over-tired kids and sunburn. My legs and low back are definitely sore this morning, but it's workout sore, not "uh oh" sore. I'm typically the workhorse for these trips, so it's kind of nice to let someone else do the heavy lifting (literally and metaphorically).

Today is the boat rental day, so it'll be a beautiful morning on a pontoon boat, then pizza and just walking around town. I may opt out of town, depending on how I'm feeling. It's a very small town, so it shouldn't be an issue... But I mentioned the over-tired kids, and I'm betting at least one of them will prefer to relax at the cabin rather than walk around anyway.

My only new (but not surprising) complaint is that the nerves around the incision are waking up. I remember this from last time, but that shooting / stinging skin sensation is not my favorite. Most of the mesh has come off so I can see both incisions well - no red flags, just part of healing. I do have to say, the main incision looks like a kid's attempt to draw a straight line with their off hand and their eyes closed, haha. I'm sure it's just swelling in the surrounding tissue pushing the incision around, but I was expecting it to be, you know, straight.
 
It makes you wonder about those incisions. My left one is perfectly straight with tidy little stitches. My right hip is all puckered, like they pulled too tight. It’s also a bit jaggedly. My right thigh was definitely more swollen of the two.

You’re camping trip sounds great.
 
:wave:Happy One Month Anniversary…a day late!
It sounds like you’re having fun. Enjoy the boat ride and pizza today, Joe. :SUNsmile:
@JoeKnows
 
It makes you wonder about those incisions. My left one is perfectly straight with tidy little stitches. My right hip is all puckered, like they pulled too tight. It’s also a bit jaggedly. My right thigh was definitely more swollen of the two.

You’re camping trip sounds great.
I actually looked at it again after my post, this time in a mirror as opposed to twisting my torso, and it's not nearly as bad as I thought
 
It makes you wonder about those incisions. My left one is perfectly straight with tidy little stitches. My right hip is all puckered, like they pulled too tight. It’s also a bit jaggedly. My right thigh was definitely more swollen of the two.

You’re camping trip sounds great.
I actually looked at it again after my post, this time in a mirror as opposed to twisting my torso, and it's not nearly as bad as I thought
Mine is dimpled as the OS said. He did say it’s temporary and to gentle massage for the nerves.
Enjoy your trip!
 
@Lyla I appreciate that. When I mentioned it to my wife, she pointed out that I have pictures from the first hip and a current scar I can compare to... Turns out, everything looks basically the same and my old scar looks fine (probably not going to audition for any rear-end photo modeling roles, but that wasn't really in the plan anyway).

The first day back from the lake was rough - from my back to my calves, I was pretty stiff and had that shaky muscle exhaustion. Which was frustrating because last year I was able to basically serve as a pack animal without any issue and this year I hardly did anything physical. I don't know if you've heard, but it turns out having a hip replaced kind of limits your physical ability for a while - I know it's shocking.

However, today is my best day post-surgery. It's bedtime where I am, and I'm icing out of tradition / an abundance of caution, but the only time I thought about my hip at all was when I absent-mindedly plopped my youngest kiddo right onto my shorter incision. I even put on actual pants and shoes to go to the office, haha (my physical therapist neighbor lectured me for that when I saw her and mentioned it, so oh darn, guess I should go back to shorts and sandals). Still, big mental win.

I don't know if this is over-optimism, or just knowing first hand what to expect, or the robot assistance this time, or (most likely) the fact that I caught the AVN early, but this recovery is so much better than last time (yes, I just knocked on wood). I noticed that, from a standing position, it's already easier to lift the knee on my one-month old hip than it is on my four-year old hip side. Not that I'm trying to do box jumps anytime soon, and my old hip is just fine, it's just weird how different it is.

I hope that's not discouraging to anyone struggling - I intend that comment to give hope to those reading this who are worried about their recoveries. Last time I ended up with a femoral fracture, bursitis and psoas issues, a second surgery to remove the cerclage wire, and it took at least a year to feel "normal" despite / because of my pushing so hard to get back to life. This time it's been relatively easy. In neither case do I have any regrets.
 
@JoeKnows Wonderful update! Congrats on getting back into long pants and shoes. It's great to hear you had a fun time at the lake.

"I don't know if you've heard, but it turns out having a hip replaced kind of limits your physical ability for a while - I know it's shocking." :heehee: Yup it do do that ... and as you know this too shall pass.

It is interesting to compare the recovery story when you have that history. And you sure did have a much more fraught journey with the first one. Even doing 2 at once I too found one hip/leg lagged a bit behind the other though the surgeries were practically identical.
 
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I’m glad all is going well for you, Joe. Don’t hesitate to share the good along with the bad. I can only speak for, myself, but when I was lurking here pre-op, I was encouraged by reading how well people were doing in a relatively short period of time.
You are a perfect example of the phrase we often use here “no two recoveries are alike, even with the same person“. It’s ideal to have the rougher of the two recoveries over with first. I believe the collective reasons you gave for finding it easier all make sense. Stay safe and have a great holiday weekend!
@JoeKnows
 
@djklaugh I belatedly realized that I could have kept the shorts and flip flops going for a while longer, and now I've ruined my excuse (at a terrible time, since it's triple digits all week).

I'm still good - I still haven't called about PT because I got consumed trying to catch up on work after the long weekend, but I'm looking forward to it now. I don't think it's super necessary, but for all the negative discussion of American healthcare, I've hit my minimal out of pocket for the year so I might as well, haha. I have an excellent plan though, no delusions it's like that for everyone.
 
Happy Two Month Anniversary, Joe!
I hope all is going well for you as you settle back into work and life.
Enjoy the rest of the Summer! :SUNsmile:
@JoeKnows
 
Two months already? Jeez.

Doing well with the hip, though it acts up if I forget to actually use my standing desk. Yesterday I was stuck in a conference room for quite a while, and it's pretty stiff today. The incision still bugs me with what I believe to be nerve pain if I lay on it. Overall, this is way better than I could have expected at two months.
 

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