THR 3 weeks post op and I have regrets

[Layla]

You’re welcome! I hope it helps.

 

[Scared one]

Well today is officially 4 weeks
I still have quadricep pain off and on and in different places.
I used a ADA bathroom at PT and I reached back to flush the toilet yesterday and felt a pull and some pain in my quadricep. The handle was a little farther back than I anticipated.

Today I saw someone from work and she started laughing at me and making fun of me for having a walker. She’s like
What a walker and started laughing

Granted she did not know I had THR but it still hurt my feelings. I cried after she left.

 

[Jaycey]

Today I saw someone from work and she started laughing at me and making fun of me for having a walker. She’s like
What a walker and started laughing

This is just disgusting! I don't care if she didn't know about your surgery. Does she laugh and point at someone in a wheel chair? Or someone with a visible disability?

@Scared one I am so sorry this happened! I would report this person to your line manager. That's is just not right!

 

[subie2021]

I'm sorry you had to experience that.
You're a bit gimpy for now because your hip got fixed, that's normal and you will heal and recover. But for the co-worker, poor her...you can't fix stupid.
Keep your chin up, it gets better.

 

[wessexmario]

Regarding overreaching too far and feeling a pain. Well, we all do that sometimes!
You can even look at pain in a positive way. It's your body telling you to take it easy.

Have confidence in the things that you know you can do, and stay within your limits.
The healing takes time, I'm at just four weeks too, and we have to be patient for muscles, tendons and ligaments to heal, it will take a few months, we can't rush the biology.
Count your milestones, write a log of them. The steps we take to heal are small ones, but they all add up and being able to look back at your ongoing improvements is a good morale booster.

 

[Scared one]

Yah that was not a fun moment for me

I do have a question I’m hoping someone can answer for me. Why does it hurt/why is it uncomfortable to sit in a regular chair such as a dining room chair and when does that pain or discomfort go away?

 

[Eman85]

There's a whole lot to why it hurts in the places it hurts post-op. I don't know if you ever looked at a video or an animated video of how they perform this surgery on us. They disassemble us, stretch the muscles/tendons, twist our legs and cut the bone, then reassemble us. If you think about it you have to be amazed at the low level of pain we have and that this is even possible.
When the pain goes away is different for each hip on each person. My left went away faster than my right. Most the common pain in the butt pain. Also ever seat/chair is different how it effects it. My wife's SUV was very uncomfortable yet my plain little car was fine.

 

[Layla]

You know..that comment was so ignorant, that I’d simply consider the source and not even allow it to bother me. Sadly, that woman is rude and insensitive. If anything, feel sorry for her obvious lack of compassion.

Why does it hurt/why is it uncomfortable to sit in a regular chair such as a dining room chair and when does that pain or discomfort go away?

Sitting and laying down in these early weeks / months can have you feeling like Goldilocks. This one is too hard, this one is too soft, this one is just right…for now.
All of this discomfort will ease with time. Patience is needed in this recovery for sure.
I hope you have a peaceful evening.

 

[Hopper]

The woman from work sounds very strange. Surely she realises you were using a walker for a reason?
What pity the silly woman couldn't have asked how you were.
Now you sound like you're making sound progress - out on your walker and off to PT.
Great news

 

[Scared one]

She never once asked me how I’m doing,
do you need anything etc
She did show any sign of compassion
She just kept shaking her head and laughing because I had a walker.
She said walkers are for old people.

I am trying to switch to a cane. I have been practicing in the house. PT right now is to help with the transition and to walk without a limp.

I do want to get back to cardio and exercise but I know my body is healing and needs to do that first.

 

[Layla]

PT right now is to help with the transition and to walk without a limp.

Don’t forget about heel-toe walking for the limp. It may feel strange at first, but it does help. Ask your PT about it and see what they have to say about it.

I do want to get back to cardio and exercise but I know my body is healing and needs to do that first.

That’s right and the day will come when you can get back to it, just not yet.
You seem to be doing better and taking it all in stride. Feeling better emotionally? I hope so.
Have a good one!

 

[djklaugh]

@Scared one I am so sorry the work person was so nasty to you! Sigh I just do not understand folks like that. Maybe some day Karma will visit her with the need for a hip replacement or two. IF I was of such a mind set and wanted to educate her (which I really am not) I might find a Youtube video of a hip replacement surgery and send her the link ( if one had her email).

AS for your question about chairs ... I used a big memory foam cushion(Lots of options on Amazon) on my favorite chairs at home when I had my hips replaced .... LOL and still do just because I find those more comfortable. But sitting on regular hard-ish chairs was very uncomfortable for me for several months after the surgery. It does get better though.

 

[Scared one]

I definitely had the post op blues but I didn’t even know there was such a thing until finding this forum. I do feel a lot better and it is from all of the wonderful people on this forum and their kind words, encouragement and feedback .

 

[Eman85]

Some people have no clue, just forget about people that say dumb things like that.
Here's my method for "learning how to walk", it worked well for me but I was in the time before Covid. I would drive to the big WM in town and park at the furthest cart corral that had carts in it. I'd get a cart and use it as a walker. I would walk inside the store slowly and practice posture and heel toe walking. If I got tired I could stop in an aisle and just lean on the cart. No one knew I was rehabbing since everyone pushes a cart. When leaving I'd just push the cart back to the corral where I got it and go home and rest.

 

[Coddfish]

Another positive view. I am 8 weeks on from THR and I feel pretty well back to normal. i appreciate everyone recovers at a different rate and my own recovery has been at the faster end of the spectrum, but over time, as things feel more normal, you will start to think about the new hip less and less, and the worries will recede.

THR has a very high success rate. Dislocations aren’t that common and those that do occur are either very early on, or are the result of falls / injuries. Your risk of dislocation is already much lower than it was the first time you walked on your new hip. If you haven’t had signs of an infection already, it’s not very likely to happen now as your wound will be fairly well healed by now. Mine took about 4 weeks before it was completely scab free and I got back in the swimming pool at 5 weeks.

I read an academic paper on precautions. Half the group in the study were given the standard precautions and the other half were just told to avoid anything that felt particularly uncomfortable. The rate of dislocation between the two groups wasn’t statistically different. Try to enjoy the life this new hip with give you.

 

[Scared one]

I really appreciate everyone on this forum for taking the time to respond and share your personal experiences.

it really is helpful to me.

 

[Layla]

I do feel a lot better

Music to our ears! So happy to read those words.
May it only get better!

 

[YogaLesley]

Like everyone else, I find the co-worker's response despicable. I can imagine how it made you feel(I hope she knows why you had the walker now). Here in the UK they use a walker initially in the hospital but most people are sent home with crutches with hand rests, very recognisable as NHS so most people guess you have had some hospital treatment! I have found people to be very kind and considerate when they see them. I am now 5+ weeks post--op now and have moved from crutches to my 2 flowery walking sticks (canes in US). I think it is better to transition to 2 then 1 for stability, you won't feel so wobbly. When my pre op pain started getting bad I was reluctant to use a stick at first as I felt it made me old but I soon noticed just how many people do use them and they can look quite smart! Also if it means you can walk upright without limping, you actually look and feel younger! But who cares anyway, you are doing great, take your time and use what you need!

 

[Mixii]

@Scared one
A few weeks out of surgery I thought that it might have been the biggest mistake I'd ever made in my life: irreversible, and I was SO BORED and frustrated, everything was exhausting, I couldn't concentrate on anything for a minute, blah blah blah. Then it turned around and I awoke one morning (3 weeks and 3 days) thinking: "I'm going to be okay" (as noted in my recovery thread).

Hang in there, and don't panic. I recently had brunch with an avid cyclist two weeks out of THR surgery and he was going through the same things I'd gone through. It's normal.

I'm now 10+ weeks post-op (surgery 8/25/21) and I'll be dancing in the park tomorrow with my folk dance group. I walk at least a mile daily. I have decades of compensation and guarding to undo, and I'm using my trekking poles to remind me to straighten up.

Note your progress. Put stars on your calendar. Feel the fear and breathe through it.

 

[Scared one]

I found a cane to be too wobbly so I purchased a four prong cane and that is working much better for me. I feel more stable and better balance. I am definitely not ready to go without a cane yet. I tried a few steps without it and I was limping.