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Bilateral THR A thank-you and an introduction

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OK, Newly, you sound very much like me. Can't waste another day, gotta go get things done. I know you are hearing it from plenty of friends and family, but sitting around doing very little has its benefits at this stage of recovery. I believe my left hip feels so good due in part to my right hip hurts so bad I could only limp into a pool for some exercise, so take your time. You may still be in the elevate and rest stage, so you take it easy and don't mess up a beautiful thing you have going there...
 
Wow @NewlyHip...you are an adventurous sort...or just plain mad!! At 11 days post op I took great pleasure in making the walk to my nearest beach..about half a mile...!! That was adventurous enough for me..and I only had one hip done!! I would urge you not to overdo it though, seriously....it can come back and bite you on the bum and you really do want those hips to recover nicely.
You will be able to do everything...all in good time though........I did try and overdo things myself early in my recovery and my hip certainly let me know and grumbled like mad for days....take care xxx







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@waterman1, thanks for the wisdom my friend and best wishes to you for tomorrow! The hardest thing for me has been the culture shock of going from running, yoga, free weights every week to being a virtual invalid. I have a tendency to be an impatient sort of fellow and need to know how to reign in this proclivity. That loss-of-balance issue on the mower was a bit of a wake-up call and made me realize how fast you can screw up a good thing while in recovery. Once again, GOOD LUCK tomorrow!
 
@Hoppy Nanny, thanks for the caution with encouragement! Indeed there is a bit of a madness (stir-craziness) in me while sitting around the house on beautiful days, and I have to be careful not to give in to urges to be fully functional before my time. Time is really an ally in this journey of recovery and rushing things could ironically backfire and make the recovery LONGER than it should be. Be well!!
 
Hi there @NewlyHip - yes, it is a bit of a jolt back to reality when we realize our body is really in control of our recovery - it was and still is for me.. Slow and steady :)

You might like to read these articles..

The following is a link to an article which provides the current science regarding the healing beneath and around the implant and approximate timeframes for the healing phases and processes and the relevant nutritional information for each phase.

Healing Phases & Nutrition

This second link is to other nutritional articles which you may find interesting, including one relating to bone health.

Nutritional advice for pre op and recovery
 
I can really relate to your question as I am always going kind of girl. Yoga, running, tennis and just high energy. I took the first two weeks to really just kind of chill and enjoy some of the quiet time I never let myself have. Watching movies, reading are things that I rarely get time for.. Now almost 5 weeks my activity level is increasing and I am getting back to myself.. I am happy I took some quiet time and have to continually slow myself up. I am cycling 4 miles a day and I could easily do way more.. I have to stop myself.. Rest, ice and let my body heal..listen to your own body.. Everyone is different.


LTHR Direct Anterior May 19, 2014
 
@Poppet, Thanks for the links!

My present status has me on warfarin and this limits my intake of many of the vitamins and dietary choices I would otherwise be ingesting. Hopefully this blood-thinning protocol can be done away with soon and I can get back to a more familiar diet.

Be well!
 
You go Psych! Sounds awesome after remembering the fun we had with you in those pre-op threads, right?
Hey, Newly you hit the nail on the head: Due to the lifestyle we create of activity and enjoying life, it is damn near impossible to just sit around when you really have very little pain. You just gotta visualize all that stuff is joining forces in your hips and titanium must have some serious time, right? Elevate, relax, watch movies for a couple more weeks and you will be stronger. My background is very similar to yours, running, swimming, freediving, tennis, all the outdoors, I know it is very hard for you...
 
Newly do you have any swelling left in either leg? Thats amazing if you are still on warfarin with no swelling...
 
@psychteach, you seem to be a kindred spirit and I really appreciate the kind words and wise advice!

A lot of what is going on with me during this early-stage recovery involves my watching too much world cup soccer and watching both of my very athletic daughters (home from college over the summer) being...well...athletic. I just sort of want to “come off the bench” and participate in life a bit more than I am able. It has to be okay to just take a short walk with my kids now and then instead of worrying about not being able to join them on a run or a bike ride.

Best wishes for a continued successful recovery!
 
@waterman1, indeed I do have swelling in both legs, with the right worse than the left. It does seem to be subsiding a bit every day or two, and my wife said she could actually see the outline of my right calf muscle a couple of days ago.

The real dilemma for me is that I have an arthritic right ankle (old basketball injuries) that is ironically more painful while walking than either of my hips and is probably slowing my recovery a bit. I think the ankle pain is a concomitant of the swelling in that ankle area.

Actually, a lot of my desire to move around (more than I should probably) was to combat the swelling in the legs. The only thing that really seems to work on swelling however is lying down and elevating, but this is exactly what makes me the most stir crazy.

Recovery is certainly a delicate balancing act and I am learning every day how to be more balanced; it is just not that easy for me.
 
Good grief @NewlyHip on the tractor !!
I see my DH hanging on at times, so that is a bit risky isn't it?
Perhaps sit back and have a cold one!
 
NewlyHip said:
@waterman1, indeed I do have swelling in both legs, with the right worse than the left. It does seem to be subsiding a bit every day or two, and my wife said she could actually see the outline of my right calf muscle a couple of days ago.

The real dilemma for me is that I have an arthritic right ankle (old basketball injuries) that is ironically more painful while walking than either of my hips and is probably slowing my recovery a bit. I think the ankle pain is a concomitant of the swelling in that ankle area.

Actually, a lot of my desire to move around (more than I should probably) was to combat the swelling in the legs. The only thing that really seems to work on swelling however is lying down and elevating, but this is exactly what makes me the most stir crazy.

Recovery is certainly a delicate balancing act and I am learning every day how to be more balanced; it is just not that easy for me.
Click to expand...

The probable reason for the right side swelling more than the left is that your surgeon did the right side first then flipped you over to do the left - so right side was down and squashed while left side was being fixed - blood and fluids pool when you're forced to lay in one position without moving for a relatively long time... I had the same situation after my BTHR. Elevating the legs plus ICE! does help the swelling as does walking around a bit ... but too much exercise at this point can make swelling get worse for a while. For me it took several weeks for all the swelling to go away - and it would come back if I sat upright for too long. Even though muscles are not cut during this surgery there is a lot of tissue trauma and that too brings on swelling.

And yes the ankle swelling probably is related to the general leg swelling.
 
@MajorHeidi, I really like the idea of a cold one! Not the wisest of things to do today with the mowing. I had a really a close call just bouncing around a bit on the mower. Normally my balance is not an issue but I really could have tumbled off at one point!

Be well!
 
@djklaugh, you are very correct about my OS doing the right leg first. We agreed that it would be the best one to have done if something prevented both being done.

I am experiencing the exact same things you did and I am trying to elevate the legs as much as possible when sedentary. The one thing I have not really done since the hospital is use ice — thanks for mentioning it!

Also, my home PT person made if clear the other day that too much walking around would increase my swelling and actually compromise my rehab. She told me that, even though I don’t really have a need for it, the walker would allow me to be mobile without stressing my body as much, thereby exacerbating the edema issue.

Be well!
 
@NewlyHip, my hubby chimed in that it was your plan to do this mowing after your wife and daughter had left! I caught him on the roof once, trimming tree limbs, after he promised to call our lawn guy.

I must say, too, that this is a generous and loving forum not to be chastising you for a bad judgement call. Stay off the tractor and start using your ice, please! On behalf of your wife and two girls, they want you healed and happy and are more than willing to wait for you to recover.


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@beachgal, truthfully this mowing thing was not so much a plan per se, but I went for a short walk by a plot of land we own across the street from my house and noticed that it really needed to be mowed; AND my neighbor looked a bit forlorn over the situation. So, my plan only hatched on a moment’s notice — and my wife and our kids just happened to be away!

Thanks for the wise words! I have taken to heart the comments of the kind folks here and reevaluated my need to assuage my neighbor’s angst over landscaping lapses on my family’s part. The kids have agreed to stay on top of the mowing for a few weeks and so I will defer to them.

All the best as you get closer to getting things repaired on 7/25!
 
Newly, well we have the basketball right ankle arthritis in common, also. My right ankle fused itself together many years ago, and has little pain now if you can believe that, it is true. Man, go lay down and watch all the red box movies they make, with your legs elevated for hours at a time if at all possible. I am headed to the hospital on Monday to give my surgeon his second hip surgery on me, and let him make some more money, and while I'm gone for the next few days I'm counting on you to lay still at least for two more weeks, OK? I'll check in with you when I'm back home, so you take care and think long term, LOL...
 
@waterman1, Thanks again my friend and best wishes for tomorrow! As per your wise suggestion, I am at the moment keeping my feet up and watching women’s beach volleyball — feeling invigorated while just camping out!

Let me know how things are going when are feeling up to it!
 
@NewlyHip, glad you are taking it a bit easier now. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to feel like you can tackle a chore but remind yourself that the healing is still ongoing inside -- and that is the critical part! After my hysterectomy several years ago, I thought I'd be ready to "work from home" after a couple of weeks...
WRONG! I laid low for an entire six weeks but haven't had any of the problems some women have after such surgery. Learned my lesson well then, will remember it in about a month, for sure!
 
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