5 weeks post LTHR

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nannyshoo

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I have posted before asking when it is possible to do things.
It is now five weeks, can't sleep because I am still having to lay on my back. When is it possible to lie on side?
Also have pain in my knee, which I had before and was told it was referred pain from my hip, will this get better?
My review with my surgeon isn't until 11 weeks post op.
Feel frustrated and bored.:hissy:
 
Knee pain is quite frequently reported during recovery from hip surgery. It usually goes away.

Interesting enough....people who have knee replacements often report hip pain during their recovery. It's a case of the "knee bone connected to the hip bone" ..... all of your joints are inter-related and tend to compensate for each other when needed. Sometimes that compensation results in pain.

As your hip and leg muscles get stronger, I think you'll find your knee pain disappears.
 
I am sorry to hear you are still in discomfort. I had lots of knee pain prior to my THR and was relieved to have it gone. However in the last few weeks (I'll be 8 weeks post op on Monday) I have been experiencing some pain where my quad muscles at the bottom of my thigh insert into my knee. I think its just from increasing activity but frustrating none the less...any pain is frustrating! And we've all been through too much pain already! :hissy:

As for sleeping...have you tried sleeping with a big body pillow? Around 4 weeks or so I started trying to sleep small amounts at a time with my operated leg on the body pillow (so it wouldn't cross the midline). It was uncomfortable at first as my body adjusted to it but slowly got easier. About a week ago I took the body pillows away completely.

I'm surprised you don't see your surgeon until 11 weeks. I saw mine at 5 and am scheduled to go back in a few weeks again. I think at that point he releases me to a 6 month check up. I think that if you still have questions you should feel more than comfortable to give him a ring and ask them! :thmb:
 
I shall definitely try the pillow. Anything is worth a try.
I feel so much happier when I can ask other people about what is happening to me.
Thank you
 
I was told that I could lie on my side only if I was assisted in and out of the position - but was not to sleep like that in case I turned over in my sleep and caused a dislocation.
My wife used to put me on my side when I woke up in the morning and I would doze (actually the best deep sleep) for an hour during which she would check on me.This side sleeping restriction was lifted at 6 weeks - and I obeyed instruction up until then even though I was miserable like you. So if I do the math you should only have a week of back sleeping left! Why aren't you seeing your OS for 6 week check up - where you can discuss? I agree with Shuga - call him!

The skin under my kneecap had become numb to the touch before the operation - and if the tendon / muscle under that skin was pushed hard it reacted like a funny bone. I am now 9 weeks post op and it still hasn't gone away completely, although getting better. Like Shuga I also now have quad pain above the knee post op - due to increased working of that muscle now that my activity level is up.
Hang in there - it gets better every day!
Gavin
 
Hi Nancy.......i had the depression as well.....its gets better if you can atleast stroll outside and sit or talk to neighbors thats what i did to let me know the world was still moving even though i was cooped up.....Really at about 6 weeks things changed for me for the better i hope the same happens to you......post anytime we are here for ya.......)
 
That's mostly the way it goes in the UK, shuga. We're expected to be pretty much independent.

As for the boring bit, nanny - you're right - recovery is boring! No way around that.

Most any hip or knee replacement patient can't sleep for quite a few weeks. No way getting round that much either. We just have to put up with it. Same as lying on the back - it's for your own good so you don't end up getting a dislocation. It's not forever, so again - just grin and bear it. "This too shall pass"!!
 
Just thought of something I would like to ask. What healing has taken place at six weeks to make some things possible?
What healing has taken place at 3 months to make more things possible?
Thank you all.
 
I am 6 weeks post-op and I also can not sleep in my bed. I had a hospital bed for the first 4 weeks, which was nice, because I could adjust the head and knee for some comfort. I actually sleep better in my reclinor chair than I do my bed. Any average length of time before a total hip can sleep in a flat bed? Any suggestions are more than welcomed. I do ly on both sides, but I get groin pain. Is groin pain normal with hip replacement?
 
FWIW, I've slept in a flat bed since leaving the hospital three days after RTHR. Certainly not sleeping well, but sleeping some; off and on for short periods. Piles of pillows are useful for adjusting body position.
 
I have been able to sleep on non-operated side for a few weeks now (I am >7 weeks in). I use a normal but thin pillow between my legs most of the time just for support. Have tried to lie on the op'd side but it is just too uncomfortable. I seem to spend all night switching between my left side and my back, which is a nuisance. I like a high pillow for the back and a low pillow for the side so I tend to shuffle around a lot. I often get a bad night's sleep...and so does the wife.

Still, the recovery is going very well. I just walked the best part of a mile without a stick and am pretty much off them altogether. I even went to London last week for a job interview and was able to deal with numerous flights of stairs in railway and underground stations...plus all the walking. I knew about it the next day, though.

The main pain I get now is in the muscles of my thigh just above the knee, like HipOpDJ.

I can't wait to be able to do normal things like put my own socks on and have a nice long bath! Roll on 3 months.
 
Just thought of something I would like to ask. What healing has taken place at six weeks to make some things possible?
What healing has taken place at 3 months to make more things possible?
Thank you all.

It's really impossible to say. Different people heal in different ways.
 
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