THR 10 weeks post op getting depressed

Cattis

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Oct 18, 2021
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17
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First of all, excuse my bad english. It is not my native language. I had a THR the 9th of August and I am 10 weeks post op. During my recovery I have had a couple of setbacks. The first one in week 4 when I got an inflammation in an articular capsule in the op leg (rest-ice-and medication for ten days)- due to too much actitivity and walking (with 2 crutches), the second 2,5 weeks ago when I did the mistake to take an unfortunately step in a stair with a puppy of 3 kg in my arms (the dr and PT think this might have caused a small burst in the soft tissues in the). Still “in recovery” after this.
During all those weeks, except week 6-7 (when I began to feel stronger in my op leg and could walk at least some steps without my crutches) I have had the feeling that my leg does not bear me. Now I am starting to get really worried and depressed because of the situation I find myself in. I am 48 years old, in really good shape and had prepared the operation doing excersises to strengthen my hip during 1 year before the op. I have never heard of anyone who still needs 2 crutches (outside, inside it works with one) after so long time, who has the feeling of weakness in the leg and can not even take 5 steps without crutches) and I really do not know how to handle the situation. Feel like a failure and worried to death that something is wrong because the weakness of my op leg. I am also still swollen in my op leg. It is lika s tender bump just below my scar. I believe this bump was higher up in the leg before (I had a vighet bottom, but now its more like a bigger riding breeches. Never heard of anyone who has been swollen and tender for such a long time either. Everything feels quite worrying and depressing and I really do not know how to cope with this.
 
Hi @Cattis and :welome:to BoneSmart.
If you would be so kind as to say which hip was replaced, we would like to add it to your signature and add you to the August Recovery group so you can check out how fellow August hippys are doing.
We caution not to compare recoveries as our bodies and recoveries are all different, however I assure you I've seen many members still on assistive devices months after hip replacement especially when they have unfortunately joined the dreaded Over Did It Club.:console2:

I'm so sorry you are worried and the setbacks and angering healing soft tissue can certainly take time (and babying that hip) to get back on track.
Icing and resting will be most helpful.:ice:
Boring:bored:but helpful.

You may want to check with your surgeon on the bump... possibly a hematoma that often resolves on its own.

Below, I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines with links to helpful articles.
Check out the one on Post Op Blues.
Feeling depressed is also common even without setbacks.

I just had to remind myself often -
Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue is healing... If a long full step right now is causing pain and limping, don't take long full steps. Take smaller steps. Take a short walk several times a day, instead of longer walks. Use your cane. Use ice. Rest a lot.

This isn't the time to do anything to excess. Baby steps now, and lots of patience, pays off big time later. Recovering from self-induced tendinitis can end up taking weeks or months. Consider yourself as still recovering from surgery and structure your return to your life as a slow, gradual process where you introduce very small increments in activity, and then give yourself time to see how you react to it.
All temporary, and worth the patience. I am certainly glad I am able to get back to a full happy life.
 
Here are our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary​
2. Control discomfort
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT​
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

6. Access to these pages on the website
Here it is...:friends:


BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Last edited:
Hi @Cattis and :welome:to BoneSmart.
If you would be so kind as to say which hip was replaced, we would like to add it to your signature and add you to the August Recovery group so you can check out how fellow August hippys are doing.
We caution not to compare recoveries as our bodies and recoveries are all different, however I assure you I've seen many members still on assistive devices months after hip replacement especially when they have unfortunately joined the dreaded Over Did It Club.:console2:

I'm so sorry you are worried and the setbacks and angering healing soft tissue can certainly take time (and babying that hip) to get back on track.
Icing and resting will be most helpful.:ice:
Boring:bored:but helpful.

You may want to check with your surgeon on the bump... possibly a hematoma that often resolves on its own.

Below, I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines with links to helpful articles.
Check out the one on Post Op Blues.
Feeling depressed is also common even without setbacks.

I just had to remind myself often -
Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue is healing... If a long full step right now is causing pain and limping, don't take long full steps. Take smaller steps. Take a short walk several times a day, instead of longer walks. Use your cane. Use ice. Rest a lot.

This isn't the time to do anything to excess. Baby steps now, and lots of patience, pays off big time later. Recovering from self-induced tendinitis can end up taking weeks or months. Consider yourself as still recovering from surgery and structure your return to your life as a slow, gradual process where you introduce very small increments in activity, and then give yourself time to see how you react to it.
All temporary, and worth the patience. I am certainly glad I am able to get back to a full happy life.
 
Hi again! Thanks for your fast and encouraging reply. My right hip is the operated one. I hate to admit that I am definitely in the dreadful club you mention. Or I hope that I can say I was until now. I will read all the treads you posted carefully-thanks and try to keep the spirit and hope up with the words “baby steps” (and this experience) in mind. I will also start to rest and ice more again . I suspect it is a hematoma I have as you mention. Is there anything I can do too speed up the process to get rid of it‍♀️? Does ice help? How can it do that? I really do not understand how it works. Once again thanks for your support. Invaluable for me .
 
Hello and Welcome! Thanks for joining us. I think you’ll enjoy the support and encouragement you find here, so stick with us.

As for general icing, ice any / all areas that are causing you pain or discomfort. Many use frozen ice packs that you can purchase at any pharmacy. Some use ice machines, which you will gain a better understanding of under the article ICE in the Recovery Guidelines above. You can ice as often as you’re comfortable, taking care to always place fabric between your skin and the ice source.

You really should visit your surgeon regarding the suspected hematoma. They can perform an ultra sound to diagnosis. I have read that they can be drained surgically in some cases and depending upon their size and location can take longer to reabsorb. This process can take a month, or even a few months. The preferential treatment is often “watch and wait, but you really should address this with your surgeon.
Wishing you lots of comfort as you begin the journey. Stay in touch! :)
@Cattis
 
Thank you so much for all the information and article about ice. I have lifted my concerns during my hematoma with my dr and ”the wait and see” approach was suggested (it can be water or blood). I will se him again the 17 th of November. Then I will talk about it again if it still has not disappeared (which I doubt) and ask him to do an ultrasound as you suggest! this has been quite a different Journey than I expected. Everybody told me how fast and fantastic everything would go since I was so “young”. No talking about hematomas or crutches for week after week. I will try to keep in mind that everybody’s journey is different and follow all your good advices! Thanks once again!
 
Hi Cattis! So nice to meet you!! I am so sorry you are feeling blue. You are definitely in the right place for support. This forum has taught me that we don't all heal the same way or at the same speed. I am 7 weeks post op and definitely get inpatient with the healing process. I still take ibuprofen and acetaminophen around the clock and use ice for pain management as well. I use my cane faithfully on stairs and uneven ground. I don't carry anything heavy. Even a laundry basket of clothes is to much for more than a couple steps. Talking to your surgeon is definitely a good idea. Being a nurse myself, I tell people all the time to advocate for themselves with their doctors. If you have to be pushy, be pushy. Doctors are not God, they are people just like you and me. If you feel like something is wrong, it is ok to be pushy with your doctor. I also went through the post op blues with anxiety. I found doing things to get out of my head really helped. Watching a funny tv show, working on a crossword puzzle, calling a friend.....also if you can get outside at least once a day to get some fresh air that really helps.
 
Meant to address this, but forgot…
Never heard of anyone who has been swollen and tender for such a long time either
This can go on for six months, even longer for some. So try not to worry, but keep moving forward. I specifically recall the area around my incision being tender for months. And that was more than a couple months for sure. It will gradually ease over time.
 
Setbacks due to overdoing really are depressing. With my first THR I thought I was all healed at 12 weeks. I had set myself back a couple of times before that and I'm a slow learner so I had a really big setback. At 12 weeks I found myself sitting with ice and set myself back about 3 or 4 weeks from over activity.
I really wonder how much youth and muscle tone matter considering what they have to do to us to dislocate the joint enough to do the work they do. It's almost as if the stronger the muscles the more it hurts them.
 
Hope you are feeling better. I am in the same boat as you. Surgery about the same time and am very slow to heal. I have total empathy for you. It is odd how people can be so different. My wife walked two miles after two weeks. After 10 weeks I can walk a few blocks.
 
Yes it is so strange! One of my bf had the same surgery some months before me. After 6 weeks sve could do almost anything. Even my father and mother in law who where 60 and 85 years old (and who did not train before the operation at all) when they got operated have had easier recoveries than me. I still have one crutch all the time inside the house and two outside. Sometimes I wonder if it will always be like this. I wish you the best of luck for your recovery and hope both of our boats will speed up somehow.
 
Eman85. Actually the PT at the orthopedic (they “have taken me back”, no more private pt for a while since they think I really need to slow everything down) said the same thing. Her experience was that younger and well-trained people more often got set backs.
 
Layla: Ok! This was encouraging to hear. Since I see my swolleness has moved down and got less big maybe it will also eventually get down….
 
I have an appointment at my orthopedic department tomorrow (the pt there has almost daily contact with my nurse and the dr) and in three weeks I have an appointment scheduled for MR and with the dr. I will do as you suggest, really tell him how I feel. I hope it will be a little bit more stable by then. Your advice to get out of one’s head is good. I try to find a way to do something not-hip related today.
feeling sorry for my kids. We told them it would be some tough weeks for mummy but then everything would be so good. And here we are with a mom more sad than ever.
 
feeling sorry for my kids. We told them it would be some tough weeks for mummy but then everything would be so good. And here we are with a mom more sad than ever.

Please try not to be sad. Hopefully your surgeon will offer you some reassurance, so I wish you the best with your appointment. You’re only a little over two months into a recovery that can last a full year and even longer for some. I’m sure brighter days are on the way for you and the kids. It will take a little more patience for all. I hope you have a peaceful late afternoon and evening.
 
feeling sorry for my kids. We told them it would be some tough weeks for mummy but then everything would be so good. And here we are with a mom more sad than ever.

Please try not to be sad. Hopefully your surgeon will offer you some reassurance, so I wish you the best with your appointment. You’re only a little over two months into a recovery that can last a full year and even longer for some. I’m sure brighter days are on the way for you and the kids. It will take a little more patience for all. I hope you have a peaceful late afternoon and evening.
 
Thank you! Today everything feels a little bit better thanks to the support yesterday. Now a walk to get my mind on something else…
I wish you a fine day as well :)!
 
Happy Three Month Anniversary!
We’d love to hear how it’s been going for you since you last posted. Hopefully things are looking up and you’re feeling stronger / steadier week by week. Please let us know as time allows. Until next time…wishing you all the best.:SUNsmile:
@Cattis
 

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