Helloooo Bonesmarties!
I've had a lovely afternoon in the Peak District, Derbyshire today, and for no other reason than I have already bored my OH to death with intricate details of my recovery, I decided to share my progress so far. Including Good Things and Bad Things. Apologies in advance.....
Good Things: walked half a mile today on my crutches, good path but on a slope. Very slow, concentrating on heel to toe walking, and for first time I had no pain at all. Result!
On the whole I'm sleeping well, still mainly on my back, just occasionally on the non operated side but can't do the pillow between the legs malarkey.
Using one crutch round the house but defo 2 crutches outdoors.
Nutrition....eating for England , bowels fine, blah di blah... I had sincerely hoped my appetite would be affected so I would lose a highly resistant 10 lbs I put on last Christmas. No such luck (I think this should be in the Bad Things come to think of it)
OH has learnt how to cook English breakfast, bacon sarnie, chicken curry and meat pie....curiously these are his favourite foods
Bad Things: My surgeon told me my thigh muscle tendons were very raggedy and only semi attached to the bone. He said "I wasn't touching those", which was not 100% what I wanted to hear. He also said I would probably always have a limp. I wasn't dead keen on this either.
NB surgeon may not have said raggedy but its what he meant. I was heavily drugged at the time....
I never got rid of the limp in my left leg after LTHR in 2019, despite hours of recommended exercises, physio, those coloured rubber bands and other tortures, and miles of walking. I just could never get rid of the cane.
Has anyone else experienced residual limp 5 years after THR, or been told that their muscle tendons are weak and raggedy and will result in ANOTHER limp? It's just if I end up limping on both sides I'm gonna look like Captain Pugwash on a stormy sea.
Other Bad Thing: I'm doing some of the recommended exercises from the hospital physio dept, hip abductions, adductions, lifting knees to just under 90 degrees (with varying degrees of pain and/or success), but I can't do the blooming back bridge thingy or the squats, spine can't stand former and knees can't stand latter.
Next Big Thing in my life..... squeezing glutes for at least 5 seconds at all times of day and night. Apparently this is more effective than the back bridge thingy. I obtained this info from an unimpeachable source...yup t'internet, the home of all sound medical advice.
I'm going now. Hope u r still awake.