A Tad Discouraged At This Stage...5.5 weeks

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Cfourhorses

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1: How long will my feet feel as heavy as cinder blocks when I walk?

2: Still cannot do the leg raise w/ the left leg.

3: Left leg is so weak.

4: Have pain in both front thighs just below the pubic crease in leg...below pelvic area, upper most thigh, left leg being much worse.

5. Have discomfort/pressure when standing in the lower back to each side of the back...the area where the hips are, where I had the arthritic hip pain pre surgery...back x-rays clean...no arthritis.

6. PT says I walk hunched over some, I must consentrate on being tall and staright, feels so awkward and hard, uncomfortable. She says my shoulders are so stiff and tight and when I bring the stronger right leg forward I use my upper body and my shoulder swings forward....I am using my upper body on right side to help get the leg forward.

7: really feel left side has made little to no progress.

8: My scar area feels tight deep inside and big, there is no swelling or heat, scars are healing just fine. Could this be scar tissue forming and being restrictive??

9: Will this get a whole lot better or is this basically it, heavy legged, stiff, weakness? Will I
ever go up and down stairs with a carefree spring in my step again? Or will these hips always be on my mind 24/7 & feel some what crippled?

10: I was under the impression all would be good and I would not even notice I had fake hips! This is better than the arthritis because I have some relief when I am not moving around and it is different pain/discomfort.

11: Sitting in a chair for extended periods is not comfortable.



C4:pzld:
 
Yes, Cfour...things will continue to improve. You are just expecting too much too soon. It takes time. You were in terrible shape before your surgery and this impacts how long it takes for recovery. Plus...everyone is different.

Try to think about all the things that are better now than when you first came home from rehab. There are many things you're doing that you could not do before.

Keep working. Don't be so hard on yourself. Try not to overdo things in an effort to be "normal" quicker...it doesn't work that way. You must give your body time to heal. Five weeks is NOT enough!!
 
C4, This is much bigger than we expected isn't it? I'm a lot further along than you and I just hope and pray the outpatient PT is going to be a lot more helpful than just the home exercises we are both doing. I am not heavy footed as you put it, so I guess this is different than bilats. It IS a very BIG surgery, as is the recovery...And now we have to deal with getting thru it and accepting that it is what it is right now.
 
Is "heavy footed" unusual? Has anyone experienced it? The PT is letting on she is somewhat concerned about my left leg and I am getting scared.

C4
 
Janet, yes it is BIG...I want to know if what I am "feeling" is abnormal or not...Fri. The PT gave me some things she wants me to ask the PA at the OS's 8/9.
I may be feeling more encouraged if the left leg were not so dead.

Seems my customers that had THR's did not limp or seem impaired...but then most people that had the treatment my husband had last summer do not end up like he did with nueropathy...so I know things do not always go as planned.


C4
 
A lot of hip replacement patients have that "heavy" feeling after surgery, so that is normal, Cfour. It will be a good idea to talk with your surgeon's assistant about the left leg. Why wait until your appointment? You can call them and discuss it over the phone and that might ease your mind.
 
C4 my thoughts here don't answer your questions, but maybe will add a little comparison food for thought?

I have been constantly warring with myself, there might be a small chance I could have this done bilaterally. Your experience, and that of a fellow I have talked with tell me that is not a viable option for my situation, his experience was almost textbook perfect, but still a lot to recover from, I'm reading more detail of yours, and some aspects sure not textbook perfect! (that rehab experience is off the wall!)

The thought of being like this for another 2 years, well, I am really trying to figure how can I possibly get this done at once - even knowing what you are going through. Of course sitting back here, I can read your accounts of where you were before surgery, and I can read about your steps forward now. Would I be willing to go through what you have in order to be where you are now? I think so! Well, you have made some serious gains in ability! You did set a really high set of expectations for yourself - being able to work with the horses and dogs, and deal with the woman who lives with you.

There are some questions you need to ask your surgeon about, but you have come so far already, even if you aren't seeing that.

I'm always reading, just not having the energy to respond all the time....

Chris
 
C4...patience is hard to practice when we have all kinds of expectations set before us--both those of ourselves and those of others. You are still SO early in the recovery process! I try to remember that I was "degrading" for many years prior to surgery, so even once I had the replacement, I've still needed TIME to regain strength, endurance, mobility, lack of discomfort---to catch up to where I was years before the surgery. Do follow up on the advice here and call your OS's assistant soon. Many of your concerns will likely be put at ease. All of us are so different in our recovery journies, so try not to compare yourself to others. You are out of that arthritic pain, and THAT is an amazing gift! Please try not to lose your hope and your drive to recuperate.
Warmly,
Patrikya
 
Hi C4,

I just spent the morning cooking, cleaning, paying billed, doing laundry and my feet and legs feel like they have concrete hanging off them. Then I sit down and read your post. Yes, the heavy legs/feet feeling is totally normal. Yes, we get aches and pains in the back as things struggle to settle. But the difference between you and me is that I am 11 weeks out from surgery and only had one hip replaced!

C4 - all you are feeling is totally normal. Why do you think you will regain strength in your legs instantly when you already had the weakness pre-op? It takes time to get the strength back Sometimes it happens faster for others.

Just keep doing your PT. Keep trying the leg raises. One day you will realise that things are much easier than the where before. And yes, there will come the day when your new hips feel like they are yours!

Recovery takes so much energy. Please don't spend the energy focusing on the negative. Baby steps now will get you to that "carefree stepping" up the stairs soon!
 
Remember how bad your legs were before the op? You have all that to recover from as well as the surgery. So yes, it's perfectly normal. I think I have said to you before (more than once!) that the shape you were in pre-op and the bilateral is going to take months to get over. You are perfectly on track so don't worry.
 
C4,

It is 3.5 years since I had my BHR and had very simlar issues to yourself. It took nearly 2 months before I could raise the leg. Give it time, it is a great healer.

My hips and back ached and sitting in a car seat was very uncomfortable as though the leg seemed too big and the seat was pressing into scar area. Again, this gradually eased. However, there were still times when sitting in a car seat was uncomfortable.

The one piece of advice I was given was do not look at progress day by day; but look at progress week by week or even on a monthly basis. You will see great progress.

Be patient and you will gradually lose the aches and pains and your concerns will fade away.

Good luck.

Stefan
 
Thank you EVERYONE for your thoughtful replies!!:dogkiss:

I almost think I felt better on the Tramadol VS. the Oxycodone....

the OS's office said I must wait 24 hours before switching one to another.
Since I have been back on the Oxycodone I have been headachey and just hurt more.

I do not know if the hurting is because I have been doing a little more or the Tramadol just was better at dealing w/the pain...I would think the Oxycodone would be the drug of choice:pzld:

Since Friday have cut down on my excercises.(Fri. afternoon the PT worked me hard!!) Should I stay home and not go for the daily car ride to the stable?

Should I stop walking for a while?

Should I be MORE sedentary?

Laying on my back is not exactly comfortable...then I have that hideous abscess on my tail bone which does not lend to comfort.....

Joesephine says I am on track.....

Other than my left leg concerns the PT thinks my right leg is doing great....she will skip a week and come back the week of the 9th.

C4
 
Hi C4... it seems both you and I want time to fly... you to get your leg strength back and me to get my call for surgery..

Hopefully soon we'll both be posting great recovery stories :thmb:

You are progressing.. it's easy to see that from your posts.. even though it seems slow to you.. you are strong.. you'll soon be there.. those baby steps do add up...
 
So true Sylvia,

I pray your call comes soon!!

I hope some day the aches and pains are gone and both legs are strong and work normally agian....just having some doubts now. Actually hurting more lately. I wonder about the tramadol VS. the Oxycodone...or is it that I have done a few more things?

I just do not understand since I had the bilaterals does that mean I will feel normal in 4 months VS. two months to a single THR.....

Confused....:sigh:

Hugs:dogkiss:

C4

 
Only you can judge what your body can do at any particular time. You must listen to your body and respond accordingly. It will change from day to day and week to week.

If you feel like riding to the stable, then go. If you are achy or tired, that's the time to rest, ice and elevate. Be prepared that you may not be able to do the same level of activity every day for a while.

Taking your pain meds on schedule will help even things out some, though...so don't stop that!!

And don't stop walking. No one is telling you to become a couch potato. But there is a lot of room between that level of activity and some of the things you put yourself through in a 24-hour period. Moderate activity each day is better than being a Tasmanian Devil one day and hurting the next.
 
Cfour...no one can tell you exactly when you will feel normal again....only that it will come with time. That's what we mean when we say everyone's recovery is different. It's not an automatic TWICE the recovery time for two hips versus one, but it will take a little longer. But, as Jo said, you have to also factor in the sorry state your hips were in prior to surgery. Your muscles lost a lot of their tone and strength as you went through that.

You'll do better mentally if you try to focus on what you have accomplished rather than where you will or should be at some date in the future. No one can tell you that!
 
"I just do not understand since I had the bilaterals does that mean I will feel normal in 4 months VS. two months to a single THR....."

C4 where did you read that you would "feel normal" after two months having a single hip replacement? I am sure it was not on this site.

You will feel normal when your body is healed and you need to give it time to do that. Don't ever doubt that this will happen. Just have a bit of patience and rest regularly. As Jamie says you will not always feel like doing the same activities daily. Let your body tell you what you can do on that day. If you need to slow down, give your body a day and get active the next day.

You are really doing well considering all you have been through. Take care!
 
You speak truth.....the only thing close to this was child birth for me. The OS said my hips were bad and fusing, no cartledge. However, I was working until the week prior to surgery, pet grooming, and still doing farm work just weeks prior, so do not think I was in too bad a shape physically.

Hubby is another story...after his horrid car accident in 89'...he recoverd quickly...broken ribs (all) right side..punctured lung...traction 1 mo. broken hip, other leg broken...in 4 mos. he was as if he'd never been near death, playing touch football w/son!

When he broke his neck, in a riding accident, and collar bone,(pinned), and a few broken ribs...he recovered within 5 mos. that was in 01'.

Again the THR folks I know seem fine 2 months out, 1 hip!

Just walked caneless and emptied commode, on 2 Oxycodone. Maybe I will do my excercises shortly, I don't know what to do or not do. My hubby thinks Iam doing great...it is what he sees...not how I "feel" doing it!

C4
 
C4, Is there any way the OS would switch you back to Tramadol if that worked better? I know the Vicodin isn't working for me like the Oxy did and the Oxy didn't work as well as the Dilaudid did. But I know I must tolerate some pain (more like discomfort) or I won't get out of my chair! I honestly don't like taking the Vicodin as it makes me sleepy but it does help for exercising which I am trying to be religious about. BUT, I spread the exercise out. I do the bed exercises after I go back upstairs and get dressed etc., I do the standing at another time either in the kitchen or out on the deck and the sitting whenever I am near a chair/bed that is the best height. I have added some that were suggested on here as well. I would collapse if I tried doing them all together. I also practice stairs now but I don't push the going up as a normal person. That is still difficult but I do come dowm as normal. I know that practice makes progress (no such thing as perfect for me) and it is happening by taking baby steps...
 
1. A friend of mine who had a THR warned me to begin PT exercises BEFORE the surgery to the extent I could. I believe that helped make rehab go a little faster; but I still had struggles and a few setbacks.

2. 5.5 weeks is a VERY short period of time to expect your body to heal from all the surgery trauma; patience is a virtue.

3. I am at 21 months and I still get stiff if I sit upright too long (love my Lazy-Boy), and there is still a bit of a struggle to get things going again, but not really painful. Sort of like getting up from a long deep sleep and getting the body use to working again.

4. I massage the surgery area myself almost every night. That I feel has beneficial effects in keeping me as limber as I can and sort of feels like scratching an itch. I believe it has helped with my healing as I had a knot along the incision line and pain in the butt that disappeared almost over night after a couple of professional massage sessions at around 10 weeks.
 
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