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Hip Infection 2 stage revision, hip infection

@dinsmaum, yes I do know what you mean, when you say you kind of want to cry at the thought of yet another surgery! I was so miserable my first time around that the thought of another hip surgery had me stating for many months that, no, I would never do that again. Your situation is so much more difficult. Have you spoken with your doctor about how you can get more help?

I believe that you can still get referred to a rehab center, if you are within 30 days of your hospitalization. If you cannot manage on your own and live in your own home, and you don't have really good, reliable, constant help at home, then that may be what you need. This is not a recovery from a normal THR, but the spacer thing, which is more painful and more debilitating. You can call your insurance company and ask what the rehab center benefit is, and how to get it. You would need your OS to sign an order for it, I believe. My heart goes out to you in your need!
 
So sorry you are dealing with all this. Sending healing thoughts and prayers!


RTHR 1/15/2016. Posterior approach. Due to AVN. LTHR in my future.
 
@dinsmaum My heart aches for you after reading your post. If it helps at all, I know exactly how you feel as I went through everything you are now experiencing. But, rest assured, it's temporary! :yes: You will get through this.

Try to keep an eye towards that small spark of light at the end of the tunnel. It is there! It's important to keep yourself healthy and safe. That light will widened as time goes on! :SUNsmile: I know you can't think about the next surgery but try to look at it as a big jump in the recovery stages. The one you are in now takes you nowhere and that's the hard part. There is no moving on, no improvement, you're in limbo. Physically you can get worse if you don't work to keep yourself healthy. I found this to be a time of deep reflection laced with highs and lows, some days feeling stronger and content but most days miserable and anxious.

You should check with your Dr. if you are not feeling well. However, you might want to readjust your medication. This can be a problem and can affect people in different ways. Did you have home care for a few weeks? I think this is pretty standard, too. I had a nurse come in once a week to check on me and if I had any concerns, they would address them. They were also able to contact my surgeon's office and speak to a nurse on staff if it was necessary.

I know I had to be careful how and when I took my pain meds, especially in the morning and evening. I was getting physically sick because I was taking the pain meds before bed but pretty much on an empty stomach. In the morning, I was in such pain, it would be the first thing I'd reach for. I had to adjust that, get myself out of bed and downstairs to breakfast first. Then, take my medications. It became an 11 week routine. I've never been an evening snacker but had to change that as well. I would have crackers, a little cheese (protein) before bed and before the meds.

Everything became an adjustment. I can understand that your appetite has decreased yet, your body needs the nourishment for recovery. I really had to force myself to eat and eat well. One thing that helped was to identify easy foods to prepare like yogurt and eggs. The hospital gave me Fage greek yogurt and Ensure nutritional drinks which I continued when I got home and still enjoy now!

I'm sorry to hear about your son's work situation but perhaps this is a silver lining for you. If rehab is an option for you, perhaps you could consider this. You simply will do better with help by your side.

I also had a private room when I had the infection - first with my debridement, which lasted only 18 months, and then with the spacer operation. Sadly, the nursing staff is ill-equipped to deal with people with spacers. My hospital stay with the spacer was pretty sad...:sad:

I know this is long, but just want you to feel less alone. :friends: Stay focused on the light, this is temporary, be healthy, secure help especially during this time, and look at the next surgery as your ticket back to a happy and healthy life you deserve to enjoy!

Blessings,
 
@dinsmaum
I'm sorry your not feeling well! I totally know the feeling for sure. Some days are definitely harder than others but pay close attention to your body and rest when your tired and take it easy.
Yesterday was a challenging day for myself because I overdid it the day before. I didn't get up and dressed till late afternoon and my body just ached. Today is a better day, I was able to help my daughter with her school project and do some tidying up around the house.
You will get through this:) it's hard for me sometimes when I think my kiddos are out of school this week and a lot of activities like swimming and such will be put on hold. I had my first surgery last July so my summer was tough. Thinking about another summer not doing stuff and being tied to this sometimes brings me down. It's natural to get down but I have to tell myself I have to go thorough this and take care of myself for me and my family. I'm such an active person who is a body builder, hiker and likes to be active for my kids this is one of the toughest journeys by far I've ever endured.
I do know I need to be fixed for al off those things to happen again. So for you my friend, hang in here:) I'm here on the journey with you since our surgeries are days apart.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend :)



Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
Having internet problems, could get bumped off at any moment. Ups and downs , and I really want to fill you in, but that will have to wait until I have solid connection again. Quick version: no PT,they won't do one or two sessions, it is all or nothing however, from your good descriptions of how you managed stairs, @keepmovin, @Krista ,and @glynis , I think I can give it a try once railing is tightened up. am trying to eat before meds and drink more water. But, continue to feel quite ill much of the time. The nausea is becoming problematic because I am not able to eat much. Liquid supplement drinks like Ensure and Boost are out because they have ingredients I am sensitive to, but when I get home I can make some good nutrient dense smoothies; maybe I will tolerate those better.
Didn't think I could get this much written even, but it is starting to gee whonky with internet server,,so more later!
 
Glad to hear from you, @dinsmaum! I am so concerned about you. Hope that outside railing gets made more solid so that you can manage it. Perhaps when you are inside, you have have things arranged so you don't need to go upstairs at all. Have your relatives bring down everything you will need from up there. That is worrying about you still feeling so ill and not being able to eat enough. You need good nutrition to stay as healthy as you can during this transition time. Perhaps until you get home, you could get some relatives to make some great smoothies for you with ingredients that you specify. Take good care...❤︎❤︎❤︎.
 
Hey everyone, I am back! I have internet again because....

I AM HOME!!!!!!!
So happy, happy, happy!

And, slept in my very own bed for the first time in over a month; that was so sweet!

The week was quite eventful, and very up and down. The worst down came when I got a call from physical therapy , saying they would NOT come out and help me figure out stairs. They are an all or nothing deal. You get the full intake and the full 6 weeks of PT or you get nothing! An outrageous policy, I think.
So, that was the low point for sure.
But then I got to thinking, went back and reread the descriptions given by @glynis , @keepmovin, @Krista , and suggestions by @Cynthia777 and others, and really worked on going through the process in my mind, really visualizing it and finally felt like I could try it, if I was strong enough.
Practiced on the stairs at the condo, with help; they were so much easier than a week and a half ago.
Got the railing on the outside steps tightened up, it no longer wobbles.
So with my son and another friend, gave it a go yesterday evening and it went well. I used my 4 footed cane and the railing and my friend went behind and my son ahead. I only needed help from the top step to the porch, where the railing ran out. I do believe I could manage alone, but won't be trying that, in order to spare my kids heart attacks, lol!
The inside stairs were harder, but doable until I ran out of railing. Then I used my son for the railing ( new resume item? Lol) and while that is not ideal, it worked well enough and seemed safe. I doubt I will be able to manage these stairs on my own until I am healing from the next surgery. It isn't even on my goal list, lol.
The stair process isn't exactly comfortable, but it is doable, so I am good.

It is going to be harder here, in some ways. The dog is trying to establish our respective ranks in the pack, via lots of whining, so I am having to try to ignore that. The bathrooms are a little challenging to manage due to size or layout, and I have to remember to leave extra time for that! Barely made it a couple of times! My muscles are so used to the one chair I could sit in at the condo that they are protesting a bit about a new chair with new contours and angles and firmness.

More than worth it though!

Another good thing: this is helping me to figure out what I will need after the next surgery, to make it work here at home. I am more acutely aware of the problem areas, being here with a lot of recovery having happened, but not all of it. The condo goes on the market tomorrow, and so won't be an option. I definitely learned I need more help than I thought I would. This time friends and family really stepped up, and it worked out; this time I know what I will need better and can plan accordingly. I am pretty sure I can get the help I will need, and then my son is just here when not at work or out and about. I am going to rent a hospital bed for downstairs for as long as I need it. With the 2 "regular" replacements I only stayed downstairs a week, but I am not going to assume it will be that quick this time, with having 2 surgeries so close together, with the same muscles being cut again. Just thinking it all through!
Other updates: it is a little hard to do the saline and heparin lock pushes, and the diffusion is taking a good half an hour or more that it did, so I suspect a trip to the infusion clinic may be in my future. Appointment with infectious disease doctor on Wednesday, don't expect anything exciting there. He did prescribe something for the nausea finally, but I have had a better couple of days and haven't needed it. Next Saturday, I am supposed to be in a wedding and I am going to try my best to at least be there!
 
Home sweet home! Wonderful news! On the bathroom front, have you considered a bedside or chair side commode for those "Got to go RIGHT THIS MINUTE" times? Just a thought. Regarding the hospital bed, will your insurance pay for it? They can be quite costly renting them. If not, I found a really nice one on craigslist for $200 (I figure I can resell it for the $200 when I'm done using it). I also purchased a new mattress for $79 and a fabulous high density memory foam topper that is quite firm, yet pleasant to sleep on for $95. My bed setup is so convenient and comfortable that I'm dreading moving back to my king sized bed with hubby!

Sending you lots of prayers and hugs! :friends:
 
Too bad about PT being so rigid, but glad you figured out the stairs with help. It's very nice that you are at home! So is your bedroom upstairs in your home? Do you have to go up and down those stairs now, or can you stay all on one level? One level is MUCH easier. I'm sure you have learned a lot about how to make it easier for the next surgery. I'll bet you are getting very tired of surgeries! Good luck being in that wedding!
 
@Cynthia777 , it is highly unlikely insurance will pay for it. :-( A medical supply place here will rent one, with mattress, for $200 a month, which is remarkable I think. I was expecting much more. However, I like your idea, and will take a look at what is available used. Could be worthwhile. How long do you anticipate using your hospital bed altogether? I had to laugh about it being so comfortable you are in no hurry to get back to your own bed,lol! I can understand!
@Krista , my bedroom and the bath with the tub and shower are upstairs, tiny half bath downstairs. I am ordering a tub bench for upstairs, rather than just a seat, as suggested by the occupational therapist. It is going to be starting from scratch as far as getting in, compared to the step in shower at the condo.
Yes, it is easier having everything on one floor, it really is. But I think the coming down once the morning and going up once at night will work out pretty well. It will also help to keep my good leg strong.
I will let you know how the wedding goes! It may end up I am not able to be in the wedding, but can still attend. We will see!
 
$200 a month can add up quick should you need it for a couple of months, not to mention you won't be recouping any of the $200 you'll have paid even if you use it for one month. Let me know if you would like the online links where I purchased the mattress and topper. As far as leaving my much adored hospital bed, I'm sad to say it shouldn't be too much longer. If I'm remembering correctly, my frequent nightly bathroom trips ended somewhere around the 30 day mark (next Tuesday). I'm hanging my hat on the fact that I don't want to wake hubby up with these trips (even though he could sleep through a blaring trumpet once he's fallen asleep). He has thanked me profusely! :heehee:
 
@dinsmaum, I have a tub transfer bench since I have an over the tub shower. I used it for 6 full weeks and loved it! It was so great to feel 100% comfortable and secure while getting in and out of the shower and showering. I just sat there, happily soaping up and shampooing with nary a care! I will definitely be using it again after the next surgery. Glad you can manage once up and once down those stairs! Sounds like things are looking up a bit for you these days.
 
Hello @dinsmaum
I’ve been off the site for a while and come back to see you are safely home! Wonderful news! :yes!: I see you have some challenges to overcome like sleeping arrangements and getting up and down the stairs but hope everything has been figured out.

I thought about purchasing a bed to keep downstairs so I wouldn’t have to do the stairs and family thought that was a perfect solution but in the end, I wanted to master the stairs. It was a matter of taking control over my situation and not to have the situation take control over me. In the beginning I made the trip up once in the evening and down once in the morning. That was it. As time went on, I was able to increase the number of times I made the trip up and down. Once I had my second surgery, I didn’t have to learn it all over and it became an effortless trip up and down throughout the day.

As far as getting through tight places, like my bathroom downstairs, I would park the walker outside the bathroom and then use my crutches to get through the narrow doorway. I mainly used my walker downstairs and crutches upstairs. I did have an extra walker upstairs as well.

I’m glad to see you do have help by your side now. I couldn’t imagine how you would make out by yourself and this concerned me.

How many weeks has it been now? Has your next surgery been scheduled yet?

I will be thinking of you as you go forward the next few months. Just remember the time with the spacer will pass and once the new hip is in place, you will feel so much better!:)
 
It has been a few days since I posted, mostly because the meds have been kicking my behind this week!:swoon: Not sure why it increased now, some improvement. Today I am in a wedding, which makes me chuckle, because who expects to be a "bridesmaid" again in your late 50's? Cool though, right? I will be in a wheelchair; if we waiting for me to walk down the aisle with my walker, the wedding would be long over by the time I got there, lol! I started my infusion a little earlier today, in hopes that if the nausea and fatigue are bad today, I will be at least starting to head out of it by then. :fingersx:

I did indeed have to have the special treatment to unclog the picc line, but surprisingly, I was able to do it at home! The regular nurse came, put in the special infusion, we waited a half an hour, he tried it, it worked, and off he went. Piece of cake! When it doesn't work the first time, they infuse more and then you wait 90 minutes.

Saw the ID dr Wednesday and it was a good checkup. Liver and kidney functions, the biggest concerns, are fine, WBC is normal, hemoglobin is in the normal range( the very low end but that is still a huge improvement from a few weeks ago) and SED rate is normal...for the first time in a year!!!! :yes!: That was exciting! He was very confident we are conquering the infection. Now, I know sometimes doctors present in very confident ways, to encourage patients, so I take it with a little tiny grain of salt, but, he is making decisions based on that. At any rate, it was good to hear.

@Krista: I am ordering a shower bench today. Kind of delayed, right? Someone said they were going to order one to surprise me, but I came home too soon. I had the impression they were still going to do it, but apparently not. :shrug: I am putting a rush on it, so hopefully by Monday I can have a real shower again!:bath:

@Cynthia777 : I have been looking for hospital beds on line, just to get a feel, and around here used ones are pretty expensive. I have found few under $500. :nah:I am going to keep looking and sorting through options.

@keepmovin : As I said on your thread, so great to hear you are doing well!!! I noted you did some yoga, which is wonderful. What asanas or positions can you do, with the many hip precautions? I am so curious. Of course, the first time my hip dislocate, in 2013, it happened when I was doing yoga, so I am skittish.

I am 5 1/2 weeks out from the initial surgery. This Tuesday I have my preadmission testing appointment (again) where they will draw blood ( a few hours after the nurse draws at home. Different agency; they don't share :no-fin: ), take a urine sample, do the mrsa swab, and ask the some 40 questions they have asked me a bazillion times this year!
Wednesday is appointment with OS, just to update and go over the next surgery. Friday the antibiotic is discontinued :happydance: and picc line removed :yes!:. In all honesty, picc line has not been a real problem at all, just an occasional nuisance, but it still will feel great to have it gone.

June 9 is the aspiration, and if all is well, June 14 is the next surgery. :fingersx:

So it feels like I am really moving now, which helps with mood so much. I still have some ups and downs, but more positive than not. I keep reminding myself "only so many more days" with the antibiotic, for example, when I am sick. I have been feeling melancholy about some of the events I have missed and will miss this spring/summer; you know, that kind of "life is passing me by" feeling. I haven't been able to use this down time in the ways I thought I might, watching movies,reading a lot, being introspective, maybe trying my hand at a craft. Dealing with family and condo issues, and just making it through the days, has taken all I have. Hoping for better once the next surgery is over.

This is long, but now we are all caught up! :dancy:
 
youre moving forward and that's a wonderful thing! I'm very happy for you. :-)
Have you been checking Craigslist for the hospital bed? You can set automatic alerts that will notify you when new listings are posted. Hopefully you will find one soon. Sending you hugs and prayers!
 
Love your positive update, @dinsmaum! You will enjoy that shower while sitting safely on your tub bench. It almost sounds silly, but I have such positive memories of that. Will be doing it again in late August. Congrats on your normal sed rate, how cheering that must be! And nice to hear that the PICC line hasn't been that bad. Best wishes for the aspiration and good results from that. June 14 is coming up fast!
 
Big Step....Backward! :bricks:

Things were going quite well. I felt like I was really moving forward. I was able to be at my friend's wedding; it was hard, but so lovely and so worth it. Labs were good, I was able to go off of the antibiotic 3 days early, and the picc line was removed with no issues.

While all of this good stuff was going on, I did notice a slow but steady increase in pain over the last little while, and it was kind of different. Sharper, and more specifically located, and more specific to certain movements. Stairs were actually starting to get harder to do, after a while of getting easier. It was puzzling. :what:

I had my appointment with the OS this Wednesday, and this issue was on my list of questions. But the x ray provided the answer before I even had a chance to ask it.

The temporary spacer is broken! :bawl:

It is broken, and bent at quite the angle, thus explaining the increase in pain and why it is so specific to certain movements or positions.

Pain, I am not happy about. Nor am I happy with the increased fall risk. But the worst part is it is going to complicate the next surgery. Instead of the spacer being pulled out in one piece, the OS is going to have to figure out a way to get the bottom piece out, which is way down the bone.

I am appalled.

The issue seems to have been miscommunication from the hospital staff and home health care. The OS resident said minimal weight bearing, but the discharge orders said "as tolerated." PT in the hospital and nursing staff all told me "as tolerated," watched me walk, encouraged getting up and walking as much as possible, and knew I was putting weight on the foot. I asked at discharge what "as tolerated" with a spacer meant, and the nurse said, whatever is comfortable. This was reinforced by the PT and OT at home, too.

I didn't even put full weight, always, always had weight in my arms with the walker. But I did put far more weight than "just for balance!" And apparently that did it. :boohoo:

I am back on partial bed rest, minimal weight bearing for real now, increased pain meds which are fogging my brain back up a bit :sigh:, and trying to stay positive.

But this was really quite a blow!

But. Only 11 more days until the next surgery. I am trying to get things taken care of so I can just move downstairs asap, instead of waiting until after the surgery, since stairs are more painful and scary than ever. Will just go up and down for showers every couple of days. Need to get the "den" downstairs cleared out to make room for bed, and get the bed.

This too shall pass.

@Josephine , any input? @keepmovin ,@Krista ,@Cynthia777 ,@glynis . @KcSweet1975 : I thought you all might be interested!
 
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