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LeeApril26: How is your "strange new symptom" that you tagged Josephine about? Any better.
Are you still able to keep off of the pain med? My OS also thinks people should not take them for long. I was on Norco. What about you? I'm still relying on Tylenol, though.

Elsewhere on BS you and I were comparing notes about living in the city with this hip mess. I agree it is strange to be living in the land o' plenty o' stuff to do and just have your nose pressed up against the glass, watching. Haven't been to any theater since last summer, when I went to a movie in Times Square with some friends. Lagged behind and slowed them down a lot. Getting up and down the stairs was hard. Always fearful about getting theater tickets. As someone posted elsewhere, without a cane or walker or wheelchair, we don't "look" like we have difficulties, so it's hard to be given handicapped seating or consideration. You're also right that I am lucky to have busses to take, including one right by my apt. bldg. Sadly, I can't visiti anyone in the other boroughs for a while. And you can't either until you take the train. I never thought I'd view the city as a problem for when I get older, but now I am rethinking it all. And I really hate all the bikers, skateboarders, and skooter riders who zip around me, or go against traffic and up onto the sidewalks to cut corners. Little kids, too, are not trained by parents to look out for others, so they are always veering toward me. I am not someone who "hates people" by any stretch. But I have come to hate "warm bodies always around me" and love having space more than I ever dreamed.

Hope your PT continues to stay in that honeymoon phase. You are right to stop any of them from being too overzealous. Ankle weights indeed! Mine suggested that too, but for later.
 
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LeeApril26, Lenora, I am responding to your post concerning the pillow between your legs for sleeping at night in your thread. Didn't want to hijack ipromise1's thread.

Maybe the pillow is too big. The whole purpose is to keep you from having the leg on your operated side cross the body's center line while you are sleeping. Which of course isn't a problem because who's sleeping?


I propped my self up a bit and put a small pillow under my knees to keep my back happy. I never accidentally rolled over from that position. I was a side sleeper and found sleeping on my back difficult. Now I sleep on my sides and my back.

I also found in the first month that I could not stay in bed more than three hours, so I just got up and camped out in my recliner with the TV and the cats. I did a lot of catnapping during the day. It took about two months post op before I could sleep 4 or 5 hours in a row. I just rolled with the flow---because there's not much else you can do.

These first couple of weeks will be the toughest---you just have to be patient. The secret to recovering from joint replacement is TIME & PATIENCE. We have to have (or find) the patience to give the hip or knee TIME to heal. And improvements should be measured by the week, NOT the day. It's going to be at least 3 months before you begin to feel almost "normal". But YOU WILL GET THERE----but it's going to take TIME & PATIENCE.

Take care and keep us posted. We care. [Bonesmart.org] All Done
 
bottomshollow thank you. I did not know I could put something under my knees. Thought that might encourage blood clots. I am also a side sleeper, but I am afraid my leg will roll forward, as I frequently kick the top leg out. We don't have a recliner, or room for one, and the couch is low, so I just prowl the house, sit in a chair and read. How do we recover with all the sleep disturbances? I have my five and a half week check up on Monday 6/3, and I am hoping I can ditch the pillow. I even tried Ambien-no luck. Still get up. Enough ranting.
Thank you so much for following up, and for your support and suggestions. I will try the pillow under my legs tonight. Yeah!
 
Peaches. I don't know if it is getting worse or if I am just so stressed and sleep deprived that it feels that way.
Bottomshollow had some suggestions that I will try tonight. The PT thinks I am compressing my spine. I have my second appointment with him on Wednesday so we will see if he turns into a drill sergeant.

I think that it would be perfect to be older and live in a Midtown Manhattan doorman building in terms of mobility and convenience, but it is really expensive, and not as pretty as the tree-lined streets of the outer boroughs. I loved being able to get to Manhattan, enjoy the bustle, people watch, and then return to a more tranquil place. I am fortunate that some friends have visited because right now all that tranquility is driving me nuts, as is the lack of accessible transportation. And, some of the 6000 new bikes made available by the city today are now parked for borrowing right around the corner. Just what we need -6000 inexperienced,temporary riders who are going to hop on the sidewalk to avoid traffic. Never thought I'd be a grouch.
And yet, I can't imagine living anywhere else. Even if I have nothing much to do, seeing all the people energizes me, and I fear being in a suburb and not being able to drive.that could really be isolating for someone used to this madness we live in. Hardto know what to do.

I am hopeful that we will return to mobility and can stop peering through the glass.
 
LeeApril26 I'm guessing that the hip will let you get back to normal. Hoping. If I can't hope for you, how can I hope for me, right? :)
and Peaches wow, hustle and bustle as life's blood, I've heard of people who thrive on it :) You must be two more! I lived in Montreal for 4 years, and the only thing that kept me going was being able to walk up the mountain in the park. I was a country girl and small towner, and have been suburban since 1983 after a few short years of "tree-lined-urban", and just can't live without the trees and the birds. One gets used to having to drive anywhere, and a shopping "district" 5 minutes away (that's groceries, bank, pharmacy, gas, pizza/subs, and for me even a couple of doctors-- that's not bad considering I live one block from waterfront views!
PT here gotta go :) :)
 
LeeApril26: I'm so sorry about the compression problem. I hope you get some answers and relief soon.
I concur completely with you about the dang pillow between the legs, sleep problems, not ever finding a chair to sit in that's comfortable. No room at all for a recliner! Ha ha. If I had a recliner, it would be like having a roommate, that's how much room it would take up. Would kill for one, now, though. No chair is comfy for long. I wonder if we wake up a lot because of worry about the dang pillow falling out from between our legs? I sometimes think I am afraid to completely let myself fall asleep ... that maybe I subconsciously feel the need to wake up and check that I'm not in a wrong position. I am grasping at straws here. If that PT turns into a drill sergeant, put a hand up and tell him, "Hold it, buster!"

I too would hate to live in Midtown. I hate all bicycles in Manhattan. There. I said it. So sue me. I don't think the city is the right place for anyone except people walking. I know, I know. No one agrees with me. I understand. But I am so sick of bicycles (see wheel rant below) taking over. Like you, I fear being stranded without a car or transportation, so that is a huge factor in figuring out where to live if not here. Freeway driving isn't my thing, either.

zauberflöte ... I am probably the only New Yorker who actually hates the hustle and bustle. My idea of a wonderful summer weekend is being in the city (which I always am) in neighborhoods where it is empty. Just a handful of residents, no large tourist groups. The city has turned into a theme park and it's not as resident-friendly as it used to be. I still love many things about the city, but hate the constant presence of someone on my tail: people walking too hard and fast and furiously; kids on those skooters; bicycles (yes, they ride them on the sidewalk); roller skates and blades. Mothers bearing down on double-wide strollers like bats out of hell--meaning, they do it really fast and loook out if you are in the way. Ditto for people with shopping carts, unless they are too old or incapacitated to move fast. Oh, and now those electric chair things! I almost got hit by one of those. They are like mini cars on the sidewalk. My cane is my shield of protection. Except for little kids who are not taught to look out for other people, the magic cane is like a force field of protection; people veer a little out of my way. If not for that, I would be a miserable old crone kvetching as I avoid getting hit by all of these people and their WHEELS. In fact, when I hear the sound of any WHEEL, I tense up and get worried. It used to be when I jaywalked (which is mandatory if you live in the city), I only looked for oncoming cars. Now I look for someone on wheels zipping the wrong way or through nooks and crannies, some of them fixated on their smart phones at the same time.

Don't get me started. Oh...too late. Sorry for the rant. But all of the above has been heightened because of being so wobbly on my feet pre-op and now, still, post-op.

Having said that ... a small but good milestone is that when I walked outside yesterday, with cane of course, I felt much steadier. My feet felt more firmly planted and in control. Legs too. So that is a big deal to me.
 
Well done Peaches. I watch your thread and admire your gutsy approach to this recovery. Go girl I say.
We spent some time in NYC in 2001. In fact 5 days before the towers came down. ABSOLUTELY loved it and would visit again in a heartbeat if funds were no problem! We are so far away in Oz!
Have a trip to Europe on 20 August and working so hard at my physio so I can handle the 8 weeks of travel! Still on a cane at 7 weeks though but hopefully caneless soon!
 
Hi, Maeve. Thank you for your nice words, but I sadly do not feel gutsy too often. In fact, I have frequently wished I could have a dual avatar and screen name for some of the bad days: It would be BOB (Big Ol' Baby) and the avatar would be
something like this (and please note the BOB is sleeping on her back).


[Bonesmart.org] All Done


I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip to NYC and glad you were here prior to 9-11. How poignant, though.

Your upcoming trip sounds fabulous and I don't blame you for working as hard as you can so you can enjoy every minute of it. By then you should be ready, I would think. It sounds like you have come very far already, and progress seems to be measured more by weeks than days. Which is way we sometimes don't see the progress.
Take care and have a good day!
 
Peaches. I share your wishes for a recliner. I am constantly moving from place to place. Last night I had four hours sleep. I am glad it's raining today because I am afraid to go out. As for bicycles in the city, I would not object if the laws were enforced, but they're not. My neighborhood is full of bikes, kids and 40 year-olds on skate boards, skooters, and as you said, Moms with huge double strollers who stop to have conversations with other moms with strollers, requiring me to climb around them while I try not to fall into street tree pits. It is recovery by obstacle course. I don't actually worry much about auto traffic, cause you can usually see them coming. If there's a drunk driver out there waiting for me there is nothing I can do, but otherwise I can wait for lights and cross. The bikes come from the wrong direction and pop onto the sidewalk. You may read about me being arrested for pushing my cane into the spokes of the next one that comes close. Sorry! They do make me rant.

I think you're right about the anxiety. Last night I tried bottomshollow 's idea and put a flat pillow under my knees. I was worried about my leg turning inward and had a bad time sleeping, although the tingling was much, much less frequent. So I didn't have to walk around to make it stop.

Maeve. Your trip sounds fabulous! Have you tried one of those collapsing canes? I just bought one, and am thinking that having one with you in case you get tired might be helpful.
 
[Bonesmart.org] All Done FYI: at the bottom of your post is a line which includes the word "Edit". If you click this, you will be allowed back into your post to make corrections and/or additions.
 
LeeApril26: Hi, Lenora. I read your post on another thread about all of the PT exercises you've been given and my jaw just dropped. My PT must not be as good as I thought she was; she hasn't suggested anything remotely like that. I wonder if she thinks I can't handle it. I know you said your surgeon is pro-PT, and mine is, too, but even so, I thought we had the luck of the draw in terms of how much or how little the preselected PT gives us? Did you tell your PT you wanted lots of exercises?

Sleep any better? I still wake up frequently in the night, but am not alert enough to get up and read. Used to think the TV on would lull me to sleep, and it does, but when I wake up and it's on, I turn it off. Afraid to go to the computer as I fear it will wake me up further. I might be a little more passive or accepting of the sleep problem than I should be since I am so used to it, anyway. Have never tried any sleep aides at all.

I didn't notice any typos earlier, but I wasn't looking for them. I edit my posts all the time for typos I notice too late, but I don't find and fix all of them. I figure everyone gives one another a wide berth for stuff like that....
 
Peaches. All the exercises were given by the at home PT. if I do them daily as she directed I am exhausted so I use the weights on alternated days and walk on the no weight days. I left the hospital on a cane and by the time she came the next day was showering alone and doing steps, so she started me on a bunch of exercises. I had no problem with them until she added the weights. I had one screening app't with the new PT and return today. I am I the rested in what he has to say as he seems less gung ho. Your PT may be less pushy, and you seem to be walking, taking buses, etc. the only exercises I requested were to resume the knee exercises to reduce the pain. They seem to be working as my knees are less painful. Too bad the other hip is hurting now.
Sleep is still an issue, but like you I have had them before. It is the getting out of bed to stop the tingling that really worries me, as when I do fall asleep this weird tingling wakes me up.
I think it is better not to stress over sleep if you can avoid it. I think it makes it worse.
Are you still seeing your home PT?
 
PT today was interesting. It was the first real outpatient session as last week's appointment was an evaluation. Today's consisted of 8 minutes on a stationary bike, and two sets of ten seated leg lifts and seated knee raises with two pound weights; ten wall squats; and leg lifts-7 on the operated side and ten on the other. Then ten minutes of ice and stim. Much, much less strenuous that what the home PT assigned. He said to continue the home exercises but never really asked me what they were. I return on Friday.
 
I wanted to jump in on the sleeping issue. I, too, am not sleeping more than 2 consecutive hours at night. I am sleeping in a recliner (reclining couch) as I tried one night in bed last week and just cannot lie flat on my back. Some of what wakes me up is the night sweats. The waking up was bothering me but then I realized it should be no big deal. I will nap in the daytime. I had to remember it's not like I have to go to work in the morning. It will pass, just don't know when.
 
Upstater. I have kept a fan blowing on me, which helps. Poor husband is freezing. But this strange tingling in my legs only stops if I get up and walk. Same thing happens if I nap. Everyone seems to find a recliner more comfortable, but I don't have room for one. This back sleeping stinks. How long are your restrictions?
 
LeeApril26 The main reason I have to sleep in the recliner and not in bed is due to the fact that my gait had gotten so bad from the hip that my spine has developed excessive lordosis and the thigh muscle in the surgery leg is not wating to stretch. So when I lie flat........my back wants to arch...it hurts. I would be okay to sleep in bed if not for that and I will try again soon. I may have tried to early in my recovery. I chuckle about the fan because I sleep with one on all winter, I have to be cold and sleep better if it's cold in the room. Husband got used to it. What kind of tingling is it? My brace straps put pressure on a nerve near my knee that makes my foot tingle, oh the fun! My brace restriction is til July 9, I imagine the 90 degree thing will continue due to my risk. I'm probably over cautious due to my surgeon's warning. And I tend to be a rule follower. I just love having the grabber to pick things up, although once in a while I drop the grabber, now that's a challenge!
 
Upstater. It is nerve pain, probably caused by spine compression because of the dratted pillow between my legs and lying on my back. It feels like fireworks going off on my thigh. But, no big thing compared to wearing a brace until July 9th! I am also a rule follower; twelve years of Catholic school tends to do that. When I drop the grabber I try to lift it with the cane. It works sometimes.

Stay cool.
 
LeeApril26 That's funny about the cane! I do the same thing. I'm hoping to graduate from this walker to a cane, regardless of the brace. Hopefully that will come soon.
 
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