5 days post-op and doing good!

[Karen54]

Wow, I finally get to post in the After Hip Replacement section! I had my surgery last Wed. and got out of the hospital Sat. Everything went great, but some things changed at the last minute. I ended up having a spinal instead of general anesthesia, that after talking to two different anesthesiologists, and I have a metal (cobalt chromium) ball instead of ceramic, a decision my dr. made during surgery because of size limitations with the ceramic. But I still have the highly cross-linked poly cup. I'm curious if any of you who had spinals remember anything during the surgery. I distinctly remember hearing voices and loud noises (saws? hammers?), and I remember I kept pushing a mask off my face (my hand must have been placed by my head!) because it was bugging me and someone kept putting it back on! I did run a fever until about midnight Fri., and they think it was because I didn't require any narcotic pain killers after the surgery, so I didn't have that in my system to keep the fever down. I do have Darvocet here at home that I take sometimes, but the pain just is not what I thought it would be! (Still to come, maybe?) I still have a hard time sleeping, though, because I can only lay on my back for so long, about 4 hrs., before I have to get up and move a little. At least I'm finally on the other side of it, and hope that it's all downhill from here!

Karen

 

[mvo]

Hi Karen,

Glad all went well and that you are relativley pain free - am sure you will stay that way
All the best,
Monica

 

[YoungGuy]

Wow, I finally get to post in the After Hip Replacement section! I had my surgery last Wed. and got out of the hospital Sat. Everything went great, but some things changed at the last minute. I ended up having a spinal instead of general anesthesia, that after talking to two different anesthesiologists, and I have a metal (cobalt chromium) ball instead of ceramic, a decision my dr. made during surgery because of size limitations with the ceramic. But I still have the highly cross-linked poly cup. I'm curious if any of you who had spinals remember anything during the surgery. I distinctly remember hearing voices and loud noises (saws? hammers?), and I remember I kept pushing a mask off my face (my hand must have been placed by my head!) because it was bugging me and someone kept putting it back on! I did run a fever until about midnight Fri., and they think it was because I didn't require any narcotic pain killers after the surgery, so I didn't have that in my system to keep the fever down. I do have Darvocet here at home that I take sometimes, but the pain just is not what I thought it would be! (Still to come, maybe?) I still have a hard time sleeping, though, because I can only lay on my back for so long, about 4 hrs., before I have to get up and move a little. At least I'm finally on the other side of it, and hope that it's all downhill from here!

Karen

You were lucky to get out so early, i wasn't so lucky!

The sleep issues will continue for a while, be ready for them, but as soon as your doctor/physiotherapist allows you to sleep on the Incision with a pillow inbetween your legs it helps a great deal....Sleeping on your side anyways!

It is amazing you are not in much pain, that is a great deal...Stay away from the pain killers as much as you can possibly withstand. I was in tremendous pain during my recovery, but i never took 1 pill to deal with it, and i have no doubt that how i am right now is evidence of doing that.

It will be a long 2-3 Months for you, but trust me...When it is all said and done with, it will make out to be the best decision of your life, getting the replacement.

Make sure to see a Physiotherapist as soon as your doctor says it is fine, and as soon as your able to get into a pool...Go for a little paddle around.

Congradulations on the successful replacement, i hope everything goes great.

 

[Jamie]

Karen, what a great report. I'm so happy for you and it sounds like you are well on the road to recovery. Your positive experience will be of great help to others awaiting or contemplating surgery. Post when you can and let everyone know how you are getting along.

 

[aussie]

Hi Karen,

Congrats on your great result. Best wishes with your recovery, you will love having your life back once it all settles in.

Best wishes
Chris

 

[HopAlong]

Congratulations Karen!
I am scheduled for a THR next wednesday (Feb 18th). Glad to hear it went so well! Did you have minimally invasive? I am surprised you had no pain afterwards! You were able to do the physical therapy in the hospital with no pain pills? Thay must have given you a long-lasting nerve block. I hope it goes that smoothly for me. Any advice?

 

[Laurie]

Karen, So great to hear about your early recovery success. You may be fortunate and not need anything stronger then tylenol extra strength for pain. I didn't--in fact after I left the hospital after 3 days I avoided all narcotics as they were what made me sick and headachy.

The sleeping (or lack thereof) was the hardest part for me. If you are getting 4 hrs straight that is great. I remember not getting comfortable til about 4-5 wks out. This forum really helped during those sleepless hours. I couldn't get comfy on my incision for at least 6 wks. At the time was surprised how long that took.

Keep posting. You are on your way now.

Laurie (RTHR 8/26)

 

[Judles]

Karen,,,,,So happy you're on the other side. (Who coined that one,,,,,doesn't it sound like crossing over to heaven?),,,,,But actually, that's a good way of looking at it! The hell part is over, now your healing really begins! Best of good luck & keep us posted! You'll do great!

 

[Karen54]

Thanks for all the support, everyone!

HopAlong - the PT in the hospital wasn't very intense, mainly just learning how to get in and out of bed, chairs, bath, etc. And it wasn't that I had no pain, it just didn't seem to be bad enough to need narcotics (maybe because of some of the horror stories I've read here about the effects of them?). I start the real PT after my follow-up appt. next Monday. I didn't have a true minimally invasive, my incision is exactly 6". And no staples - just inside dissolvable stitches and glued on the outside with steri-strips over it.

Best wishes to you next week and may yours be as uneventful as mine was! Keep us posted!

Karen

 

[HopAlong]

I have been in screaming pain over the last few days because my instructions say no Motrin or Tylenol 2-weeks before surgery. I had no idea it helped so much! I cannot wait to be a post-op! Errrrrrrrr!!!

The OS told me his typical MI incision is 3" to 4", but since I am overweight, it will probably be 5" for me. But I think the main difference is that in MI, they don't cut through the muscles & tendons, they push them aside. Using a robot and a computer to assist. That takes away a lot of pain during recovery time to repair muscle and tendons.

When you heard the hammering & sawing, did it scare you? Or were you sleeping? I hope not to hear much. I am getting a spinal too. I am afraid of general anesthesia due to a traumatic past experience with it, so I thank God they can do it with a spinal.

 

[JudyS]

Karen what a wonderful post. So glad you are doing so well. I had the spinal with sedation and do not remember a thing. I did ask to be fully awake when I entered the OR so I could see everything. That was pretty cool.,

Congrats to you

Judy

 

[mvo]

Hi Hopalong,

After-surgery pain seems to vary a lot between people. I was one of the lucky ones, I didn't take any pain meds after leaving hospital and I consider myself a real cry-baby when it comes to pain. I had the standard, old-fashioned side incision with staples and have the longest, uglyist scar, but I don't care, I have my life back to an extent I didn't believe possible.

Karen, at just over 5 months out I still get a bit of swelling after a hard day, and my operated leg still has slightly weaker muscles, but a heap of walking and cycling (a 24 km ride at the weekend, my personal best, post-op) is definitely helping.

Monica

 

[HopAlong]

Normally, I am like you, only wanting pain meds if the pain is unbearable.....like now. But after all this suffering for years, and really intense pain now, I think I will gladly opt-in to take a virtual trip to Margarita-ville.
They give all the patients a script for Percocet, for after surgery, but now I am concerned because I have bradycardia (slow heartbeat), and Percocet slows the heartbeat. What would be a better alternative for me?

 

[Mr.T]

It was nice to hear your good report.After 5 days I believe that most of your worst pain is now behind you.My OS also used a spinal during both of my surgeries,but I have no other memories before I woke up in recovery.Hope things continue to go well for you.

 

[Ironside]

I'm glad things are going well for you. I had a spinal for both my 1st THR and my 2nd surgery to replace the worn out liner and new ball. I remember quite a bit from my first surgery. I remember the pounding of the hip into the bone. It was a strange feeling that I was moving but no pain. They actually gave me head phones with music as I was terrified of knowing too much about what was going on. They told me I wouldn't remember anything but I do. I even talked to the doctor when he was on his way out the door. The second surgery I do not remember much.

 

[Laurie]

Good morning, All this talk about remembering your surgeries reinforces why I went for the general even though most THR are done with spinals. I just couldn't get past the idea of needle in spine and old memories from friends about their bad experiences with spinals during child birth (totally understanding that these stories are from the "olden days" in the 70's). In any case, for me the general was just fine and I would do it again.

Nice to be given the choice.

Laurie

 

[Judles]

You and me, both, Laurie!! Just the mere sound of a drill sawing MY hip would have definitely put me over the edge!
My anesthesiologist asked me what I wanted,,,,,for me there was absolutely NO question! The last thing I remember was those HUGE lights!

 

[JudyS]

Hop along
I;ve got the heartbeat that started out being a 38. I have been taking percocet for a long time. I have not had any problems with lowering heart rate. Jo will surely tell us though, maybe
Judy

 

[Judles]

Hopalong,,,,,,,To ease your mind, why don't you havea talk with your anesthesiologist? He will allay your fears!

 

[Josephine]

Hop along
I;ve got the heartbeat that started out being a 38. I have been taking percocet for a long time. I have not had any problems with lowering heart rate. Jo will surely tell us though, maybe
Judy

Jo will tell you .... what?