Sofa King
member
Hi All!
I've spoken to a few of you in the past week or so, I'm Dalton, "LawDawg's" husband; thought I'd go ahead and make my own user name and account.
Well, it's been 2 weeks today since my Left THR, and I wanted to post how I'm feeling and progressing, for the benefit of others who are about to have the same procedure, and those who are recovering too, for comparison.
Lets see... I'm still stuck in the recliner, but I am able to rise without assistance, (except the walker). I'm still very stiff, slightly swollen in the left ankle, knee, and especially the left buttock area. (The Wife says I've got a "Bedonk-a-donk"- LOL). For about 10 days after surgery, I had a clear yellow drainage from near the incision site, but it has since stopped X2 days ago. My OS put me on a week of Keflex and 20 days of Levaquin due to the discharge, just in case. My pain level has dropped to about a 3 or 4, but if I go more than 5 hours without my next Percocet 10's, it rises again to about a 6. I'm also taking 25mg of Phenergan for nausea from the Percs, and 10mg of Flexeril for muscle spasms, which are still quite active, especially while sleeping. I'm sorry to say I haven't been getting much PT; the Phisiotherapist whom I met last week has been out to the house once, and was supposed to pass me off to another PT while he was out of town, but I haven't heard from anyone else. I know, I know, I AM responsible for keeping up with the PT, but it's really hard to motivate myself without someone else making me do it. I have been getting up and walking with the walker 3-4 times a day, but 10 minutes is about the max before I'm exhaused. Oh yeah, for those of you who are wondering, I'm a 38 y/o male Deputy Sheriff, I was in fairly decent shape before the surgery, but do have hypertension, and about 40lbs overweight. (5' 11", 240lbs). No other medical problems. My surgery was from avascular necrosis due to extended deep compression dives as a commercial diver in the 90's, but I didn't have any symptoms until about 90 days prior to the diagnosis and operation. The Doc said my necrosis was quite advanced, and involved the total femoral head. I suspect I've also got "thrush"; a lack of good bacteria on my tongue that makes food taste bad or tasteless, probable from all the meds. I started drinking Dannon pro biotic yoghurt drinks yesterday on the advise of Josephine, and it seems to be helping; my taste buds are coming back slowly. Other than that, I seem to be doing fairly well. Based on my current progress, I estimate that I'll be able to drive and return to work light duty (seated only) by the middle or end of July. I know some of you, folks quite a bit older than me, have had less trouble recovering than I, but I guess it's different for everyone. I'm still very positive, and hope that I'll never have to replace this prosthetic or get the Right hip done! I surely don't want to go through this again! I'm really looking forward to sleeping in a bed again, and I've always slept in a fetal position, alternating sides throughout the night. Since the surgery I've had to sleep on my back in a recliner, and it's been difficult (especially on my buttbone. Yet, I've had some relief by sitting on an inflatable donut).
I met with my OS about 4 days ago, and he gave me paper copies of my post-op x-rays. I wasn't sure what exactly my prosthetic was composed of, and he said I have a cross-poly acetabulum cup, a ceramic ball, and a titanium post. What a combo! I was amazed at the x-ray too, the post is HUGE! It goes over 20 centimeters down into the femoral shaft, almost to my knee! I had seen a few post-op pix online, and none of them were as long as mine. I hope it lasts me... I don't plan on running or jogging regularly anymore, but DO intend to swim, bike, and lift weights again eventually.
Can anyone tell me if it's OK to sleep on my side(s), as long as I use the wedge pillow and don't cross my legs? Is that a hip precaution, or just based on the pain I feel when doing so? How long will it be before I can safely cross my legs or bend at the waist greater than 90 degrees? My incision is mostly healed, and the sutchers have been removed. Thanks for any replies, and I'll answer any questions I can, plus I'll post again/update when I'm 3 weeks out.
Thanks,
~Dalton~
I've spoken to a few of you in the past week or so, I'm Dalton, "LawDawg's" husband; thought I'd go ahead and make my own user name and account.
Well, it's been 2 weeks today since my Left THR, and I wanted to post how I'm feeling and progressing, for the benefit of others who are about to have the same procedure, and those who are recovering too, for comparison.
Lets see... I'm still stuck in the recliner, but I am able to rise without assistance, (except the walker). I'm still very stiff, slightly swollen in the left ankle, knee, and especially the left buttock area. (The Wife says I've got a "Bedonk-a-donk"- LOL). For about 10 days after surgery, I had a clear yellow drainage from near the incision site, but it has since stopped X2 days ago. My OS put me on a week of Keflex and 20 days of Levaquin due to the discharge, just in case. My pain level has dropped to about a 3 or 4, but if I go more than 5 hours without my next Percocet 10's, it rises again to about a 6. I'm also taking 25mg of Phenergan for nausea from the Percs, and 10mg of Flexeril for muscle spasms, which are still quite active, especially while sleeping. I'm sorry to say I haven't been getting much PT; the Phisiotherapist whom I met last week has been out to the house once, and was supposed to pass me off to another PT while he was out of town, but I haven't heard from anyone else. I know, I know, I AM responsible for keeping up with the PT, but it's really hard to motivate myself without someone else making me do it. I have been getting up and walking with the walker 3-4 times a day, but 10 minutes is about the max before I'm exhaused. Oh yeah, for those of you who are wondering, I'm a 38 y/o male Deputy Sheriff, I was in fairly decent shape before the surgery, but do have hypertension, and about 40lbs overweight. (5' 11", 240lbs). No other medical problems. My surgery was from avascular necrosis due to extended deep compression dives as a commercial diver in the 90's, but I didn't have any symptoms until about 90 days prior to the diagnosis and operation. The Doc said my necrosis was quite advanced, and involved the total femoral head. I suspect I've also got "thrush"; a lack of good bacteria on my tongue that makes food taste bad or tasteless, probable from all the meds. I started drinking Dannon pro biotic yoghurt drinks yesterday on the advise of Josephine, and it seems to be helping; my taste buds are coming back slowly. Other than that, I seem to be doing fairly well. Based on my current progress, I estimate that I'll be able to drive and return to work light duty (seated only) by the middle or end of July. I know some of you, folks quite a bit older than me, have had less trouble recovering than I, but I guess it's different for everyone. I'm still very positive, and hope that I'll never have to replace this prosthetic or get the Right hip done! I surely don't want to go through this again! I'm really looking forward to sleeping in a bed again, and I've always slept in a fetal position, alternating sides throughout the night. Since the surgery I've had to sleep on my back in a recliner, and it's been difficult (especially on my buttbone. Yet, I've had some relief by sitting on an inflatable donut).
I met with my OS about 4 days ago, and he gave me paper copies of my post-op x-rays. I wasn't sure what exactly my prosthetic was composed of, and he said I have a cross-poly acetabulum cup, a ceramic ball, and a titanium post. What a combo! I was amazed at the x-ray too, the post is HUGE! It goes over 20 centimeters down into the femoral shaft, almost to my knee! I had seen a few post-op pix online, and none of them were as long as mine. I hope it lasts me... I don't plan on running or jogging regularly anymore, but DO intend to swim, bike, and lift weights again eventually.
Can anyone tell me if it's OK to sleep on my side(s), as long as I use the wedge pillow and don't cross my legs? Is that a hip precaution, or just based on the pain I feel when doing so? How long will it be before I can safely cross my legs or bend at the waist greater than 90 degrees? My incision is mostly healed, and the sutchers have been removed. Thanks for any replies, and I'll answer any questions I can, plus I'll post again/update when I'm 3 weeks out.
Thanks,
~Dalton~