THR 2nd time around

[Twice the fun]

So, I had my RTH 1/29/24 and am 9 weeks into recovery. I am scheduled for a LTHR April 30th. I only recently ( 10/31/23) found out my difficulty walking was due to bone on bone severe osteoarthritis in both hips and not because I was overweight. I have some visual difficulties (RP and retinal damage ) so I attributed my slow gait to that, ignoring/ minimizing the hip pain to just being fat. I originally asked for X-rays as I had taken some hard falls onto my r hip tripping over things.
Anyway, recovery has gone well although I have not quite tossed my cane away totally as the bone on bone situation lingers in my left hip. I very thankfully found your forum about 4 weeks postoperative and realized your philosophy of healing first made total sense. My OS ‘s instructions were “do whatever you can do, ice, walk, take pain meds on schedule”.
My question is: We live in a trilevel home without bedroom/bathroom on the main floor but 7 steps with 7” rise up to them. I have been walking up and down them 5-6 x day since day of surgery. I cannot find much info on doing stairs and going forward to round 2, I need to know if I need to camp out upstairs for a couple weeks? A hospital bed with commode setup is not an option Have I made recovery harder by doing this much stepping?
Thanks,

 

[Freyagirl]

@Twice the fun I’m 76. I had left hip done 1/30/24 and right hip 3/26/24. I feel stronger and more able to walk and do stairs after the second surgery than before. So for me the second hip improved my mobility not making it worse. Maybe plan to spend most of the day on bedroom/bathroom level for first couple days.

 

[Twice the fun]

@Twice the fun I’m 76. I had left hip done 1/30/24 and right hip 3/26/24. I feel stronger and more able to walk and do stairs after the second surgery than before. So for me the second hip improved my mobility not making it worse. Maybe plan to spend most of the day on bedroom/bathroom level for first couple days.

Hi, Freyagirl! Thank you for your reply. I have lurked here on the hip recovery forum for a couple of weeks and Harvey read your entire thread, following it for guidance as you were also having 2 thr within a relatively short time period. I am glad to hear steps are easier this time around. I hope it is all easier this time around. Before surgery I bought into the whole 3 week out dancing and felt like I had failed THR 101. Which is why finding Bonesmart was such a blessing. I plan on staying on level floors for the 1st week. I guess I am looking for reassurance that if I am not doing stairs 5-6 times a day, my pain will be lessened

 

[benne68]

Welcome to BoneSmart, @Twice the fun! I'm glad you've found the forum helpful.

Generally, we are taught to handle stairs by leading "up with the good leg, and down with the bad leg" post-surgery. You say you've are doing the stairs 5-6 times a day. Are you able to lead with your left leg climbing stairs now?

If not, why not give it a try and see if you are able to do it. At two months post-op, it might not be a problem. You also still have a couple of weeks to work on it before your second surgery.

Experimenting with it is really the best way to decide whether you should plan on nesting upstairs for the first week or so.

 

[Twice the fun]

thanks so much for your reply
I have not explained myself well. I have been independent with handrail without (much) pain coming down the stairs since about 3+ weeks post op and upstairs with handrail at 5+ weeks. My concern is for my coming LTHR at the end of April. I will obviously have to climb the stairs to my bedroom/bathroom postoperatively on arriving home. How long should I wait to rest and heal before I attempt to do the stairs on a regular basis or is that open to experimentation? I do not want to interfere with initial healing by aggravating the joint capsule and soft tissues. I purposefully pushed out my 2nd hip replacement to maximize healing in the r replacement as it will have to bear my weight for rehab.
Thanks for any guidance

Welcome to BoneSmart, @Twice the fun! I'm glad you've found the forum helpful.

Generally, we are taught to handle stairs by leading "up with the good leg, and down with the bad leg" post-surgery. You say you've are doing the stairs 5-6 times a day. Are you able to lead with your left leg climbing stairs now?

If not, why not give it a try and see if you are able to do it. At two months post-op, it might not be a problem. You also still have a couple of weeks to work on it before your second surgery.

Experimenting with it is really the best way to decide whether you should plan on nesting upstairs for the first week or so.

 

[Twice the fun]

My mantra is for healing is”First do no harm”.. I am a retired RN (40 years) if that explains anything

 

[benne68]

how long should I wait to rest and heal before I attempt to do the stairs on a regular basis or is that open to experimentation

I would discuss this with your surgical team. Everyone's situation is different depending upon the surgical approach and the surgeon's instructions.

 

[Twice the fun]

Ok, thanks , . I appreciate your time. I have asked and only received vague responses from the OS ‘s people and PTs post op “ we'll teach you to do stairs before you go home”. no frequency or duration given. I guess we’ll experiment

 

[Layla]

Best Wishes tomorrow, Twice the fun!
Please join us on the Hip Recovery forum once you're feeling up to it.
We will have some Recovery Guidelines to share along with all the support and encouragement you need.
Hope to see you there soon!
@Twice the fun