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THR 2 weeks post op and miserable

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@dianehelen I just wanted to send you some virtual hugs (((Diane))) and let you know that you are in my thoughts & prayers. Keep us posted on what you hear from your OS and know that we're all here for you :yes:
 
Diane:

I was 59 when I had my accident in Peru on New Year's Eve, 2009. On Jan 8 2010 I had my 60 birthday in hospital in Lima. Instead of the beautiful lunch party for 12 in a lovely hotel near our home here in Cheshire, UK, which was booked before we left to go on holiday, I had a crusty bread roll and cheese, which my husband had managed to find in a supermarket (crusty bread - my favourite - being almost unheard of in S America), a box of Ferrero Rocher, and a bottle of champagne. One of the most memorable meals of my life.

I was nearly 62 when I had the revision, and I'm 64 now. I'm 5 foot 8, and my weight hovers around 10 stone, sometimes more. It's difficult to quantify your level of fitness. I certainly never went to a gym, or trained for a marathon, that sort of stuff. But I've always walked a lot. I have a pretty healthy diet, and have never smoked. I do like wine, however, and probably drink too much of that. I was just average fitness, I suppose.

Don't agonise too much about that side of things. I'm sure you'd soon get used to crutches, if it does come to that. You have to learn a few techniques, that's for sure, but it is truly no big deal. Crutches rule!

Finding your way through the maze of trying to understand which test is more important than the last one is (I felt anyway), more or less impossible, unless you started off with some medical knowledge. I did ask a lot of questions, and tried to appear engaged and intelligent, but in reality I just did what they told me. I was at a very good hospital, under a top class surgeon. Quite honestly, who cared what I thought? (Though people were too polite to say that, of course.)

Try to go with the flow a bit. After all, "the flow" is going to go with you, whether you like it or not, so you might as well try and beat it at its own game. Your situation is, as we say in the UK, "all part of life's rich pageant". (Proving, if proof were needed, that we say a great many silly things over here.)

All the best.

Glynis
 
Thinking of you @dianehelen and hoping you get some good news from your OS....it's time that you had something positive after all of your problems..... Keeping everything crossed for you... Chrissie xxx


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dianehelen said:
But when he did the debridement, taking a culture from the wound,,he noticed some of the dye coming thru the wound. This makes no sense to me,, as the wound has been healing bottom up and getting smaller.
Click to expand...
It makes perfect sense to me. A sinus (a tract from one space to another) can be almost microscopic and yet allow drainage of fluid. In my young day we saw heaps of these 'draining sinuses' from an operation site right through to the skin. Often as not they were so fine, we couldn't pass a nylon thread along them but inject some dye that was visible on an xray into the sinus at skin level and lo and behold, it would show up at the site if infection. I hasten to point out these were not on joint replacements as they were virtually unknown of in those days - mostly they were from tuberculosis bone abscesses and such ancient maladies.

But Diane, please don't despair about this. It's actually a positive step forward and getting on the with two-stage revision right now is what's needed. Hundreds of people have had this done before and it's worked really well.
 
WElllll! we finally maybe have some good news. Saw the surgeon tonight, tho he is also a bit puzzled
The final cultures (72 hours) show no organisms growing in the joint. He is thinking now, the blue dye he thought he saw leaking into the wound, was actually a drip from the aspiration needle and not really a connection from the joint to the wound. He is gonna let the culture sit over one more night to make sure, but said when the original ecoli cultures grew from the absessed tissue,, they were positve and very identifiable in 24 hours.
He is gonna consult with a wound care expert about possible tips, with my skin issues, as well as the infectious dr re what if any antibiotic to send me home with, but for now he feels the joint is ok. I cried hysterically when he told me this. I may get the vac back on and go home tomorrow. I sure hope so.
I so appreciate everyone here who have been so supportive, helpful, and just downright loving towards me and my ongoing ordeal.

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Well, let me be the first to say -- optimistically -- YIPPEE!!! I would've cried tears of relief, too. I think I probably speak for many of us who've been following your recovery journey, when I say I hope you've now turned a corner... I do hope the positive news continues & that you're home in your own bed tomorrow. Please accept a collective sigh of relief from your anxious fellow posters. ❤
 
Hi @dianehelen my very sincere apologies for not being here to support you and having missed your surgery and subsequent worrying news. I have been struggling and found I had to take a step back from the forum and look after myself....I needed to out me first. You have been in my thoughts everyday and I'm sorry as I said I wasn't here.

A few things worry me about some of the Information you are receiving in that it is different from mine but with your recent good news I don't want to be Debbie Downer so I'll leave it up to you if you want me to elaborate.

You asked on my thread about the timeline of my revision so I thought I'd post it here.

Initial THR in Sept 2013.....very tired but no reason to think this isn't normal

Dec 2013.....small what we thought stitch irritation comes up as a pimple. ABX of verging kinds and monitioring.
Unwell during all of this time and eventually end up in hospital with pneumonia, high temps, vomiting etc and diagnosed with a deep pocket of infection with a sinus track to the pimple on the surface of my skin.

ABX eventually found to control the infection and I'm sent home after a week (days before Christmas) and told to stay on these till end of Jan when we have revisit with OS (hard time due to holidays for appts etc). Weekly blood tests.

Jan visit told I could be on ABX for 6 months and still need a revision. Super depressing.

February Professor Microbiology visit. Chooses to take me off ABX as I'm in danger of my Achilles' tendon rupturing and bloods have started to rise. OS visit schedules an aspiration after 2 weeks off ABX to allow abx to get out of my system so culture can grow.

Early march bug identified as Staph lugdunogenis and 2 stage revision scheduled for March 19th.

Hope that helps.

I just want you to know that I'm here and I'm so glad @glynis has been able to help.

Sending hugs and prayers your way

Talk soon

Xxxx
 
Oh dear dear Sally never need to apologize. You sure have plenty of your own stuff to tend to. I think of you often and look forward to your "new" new hip being the beginning of all good things for you :-)

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Thanks @dianehelen I wish for this to be over for you too. Although our stories are different they both suck!!!

Think about what I said.....I'm happy to elaborate
 
I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through all this. But I am encouraged by your news and the fact that your surgeon is consulting with other specialists. That's very critical!!! My prayers for you will be ongoing.
 
Diane, I am so glad to hear from you some positive news! You deserve this!
I hope you get to go home tomorrow and continue on the wound vac direction to get that cleared out.
 
@dianehelen , you are in our thoughts my friend. Hang in there - praying for more good news!
 
Hoping that this is just the start of a good news cycle, Diane.......it must be so good to Be able to be even slightly optimistic....hope you get home soon and to be able to get on with your new hip recovery...Chrissie xxx


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Oh Sally, @Vetgirl , please do elaborate. Your words and thoughts mean more to me then you can know.

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Ok @dianehelen not to rain on your good news but these are the couple of things that I would be asking for more information on....

If you have been on ABX I was told you need to be off them for 2 weeks before they could grow anything from your infection. We're you off ABX for that long? Is that possibly why your sample didn't grow anything?

Could you get an MRI to actually confirm there isn't a sinus track from your joint to your wound. That is how my track was discovered. The fact that the Dr initially thought there was a track and now thinks there isn't wouldn't be good enough for me.

Also your blood inflammatory markers rising prior to surgery (they usually rise after surgery) would worry me too as this is how I was monitored from week to week. If your levels went up after the course of ABX finished this would really alarm me.

These are just the few things I picked up that from my own journey that I personally would be asking questions about. Lets tag @Josephine and see what she says.

I would rather get this sorted properly than find out in 2 yrs like @glynis that they missed something.

Hope your ok

Xxx
 
Wow. Food for thought for sure. I was off all abx for about 11 days prior to the new cultures. Also when they changed my dressing yesterday the dr asked to look for any blue in the fluid, they reported none, just healthy red new tissue. He did mention the markers are a bit elevated because there is some common staph superficially, which is very common on everybody. The markers are not sky high, just slightly elevated, and the sed rate, is generally higher in people my age. I'll touch base with him on some of your concerns, but am trying to stay hopeful of all be had said so far. Only bummer for the day, is I'm not going home. He wants to consult with a wound care expert and the infectious dr, to see what if any abx to send me home with.

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For what it's worth, and just to set the record straight, in my case there was no question of anyone "missing anything" for 2 years. I had absolutely no symptoms for 18 months, and therefore did not present myself for investigation during that time. As soon as I mentioned my first concern, at 18 months, many tests were carried out.

The fact that they all came back "normal" or at the very worst "borderline" is hardly the fault of my medical team. In fact, it is to their credit that they persevered in the face of these many brick walls.

If you have a part-intuitive, part-rational, but very realistic trust in your surgical team, your best bet really is to go with their advice and recommendations. Don't worry about spending more time in hospital. It is probably the best place for you just at the moment.

This too shall pass.
 
Sorry @glynis I didn't mean to imply you missed out on anything. I was meaning if a revision had to be done better now whilst Diane is going through this than for her to go through this and be healed And for the infection to reappear.

Does that make sense?

Either way it's terrible and I agree that you have to go with what your surgeon says or find another surgeon if you aren't happy with what they are telling you
 
Not to worry, @Vetgirl

It's impossible to remember the ins and outs of everyone's story on the forum.

Whilst I would be the first to criticise less than excellent treatment from any medical professional, I feel that in my case the infection pretty much held the upper hand, concealing itself so cleverly, as it did.

Although we seem only to be offering Diane cool - if not downright cold - comfort, I think that we are agreed that it is better that her possible infection is being addressed sooner rather than later.

All the best to you both.
 
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