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THR Almostready is Ready! :-)

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Hey Mission Accomplished (that will be our inside joke, as it seems Almost is going to stick as a name), Glad to hear that you are well on your way to being home - perhaps be now you are already there. I'm sure you will handle the 50 steps just fine - and what elegant surroundings you will have for your recuperation in a 3 story Victorian home. Sending you warm wishes for a continuing swift recovery.
 
Hi everyone,

Maybe I will keep my screen name until after the whole Mission is Accomplished--I still have the other side to contend with!

Here are the photos of my L femur head. The brown part is where the cartilage had completely worn away to "bone on bone." Keep in mind that I have dysplasia (about Grade 1), so the whole head was not wearing away--just that spot.

Update for today (post-op day 4). Woke up and used one crutch to get to the bathroom. I can't really lift my leg on my own yet, but I've been schooching with my heel off the side of the bed. Pain and swelling feel slightly improved today. Got on the scale, and I have put on 5 lbs since the surgery. I haven't had much of an appetite, so I'm guessing a lot of it is swelling. I'm exhausted and could probably fall asleep anywhere at anytime at this point. I'm just embracing it.

It is really nice to be home. I love our apartment and will be happy not going down the stairs for a few days. BTW, I wish we had this whole place ot ourselves, but we live on the 3rd story of a 6-unit building. Our cutie pie doggie Tom will be coming home tomorrow. We'll see what he has to say about all this! :doggieshmooze: My fiance, Scott has been an angel throughout this whole process. Right now, he is installing a new shower head and putting black-out shades on the bedroom window. From his perspective, my recovery is going much more smoothly than he imagined.
 

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You're doing great, AR :) It is so nice to be home isn't it? Blessings to you and wishing you a very smooth and uneventful recuperation .... I be having your little dogger home will make things even more wonderful - and you are blessed to have a supportive and helpful SO :thumb:
 
Thanks, almost - those are perfect! How'd you feel about them being immortalized in a book?
 
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to check in again about the leg length thinks b/c I'm starting to get kinda worried. When I stand fully on the operated leg, my other leg is at least one inch off the ground. It's not just a sensation of difference. It's hard to imagine this correcting over time. I'm scared I may end up with a permanent limp and all sorts of weird compensations in my body. Not what I wanted! I know I should be patient. I also feel a lot of pulling in my groin area making me wonder if theiscles are being stretched by the new length...
 
almost - you are very early in the healing process. What happens pre-op is the muscles atrophy (shrink) a bit as you try and avoid putting weight on the bad hip. The muscles were stretched during the procedure and are being stretched now as you walk with the new hip.

I felt the same way for months. Wait at least 3-4 months before deciding if this is a permanent problem. It takes that long for this to settle.

Are you doing any leg raises or strengthening exercises. They might help.
 
Ok thanks. The groin pain seems to be limiting what I can do in terms of leg raises. I can do heel slides, and I can lift my heel off the bed with a pillow under my knee.
 
Hi, Almost......welcome to the wonderful world of recovery! It sounds like you are doing just fine. Jaycey is right....don't be alarmed by that feeling of leg length discrepancy. Remember that your surgeon corrected years of your body's compensation for a bad hip in one quick moment. It will take time for the muscles and ligaments to slowly adjust to that, but they will!!! The body is an amazing thing.

I like your idea of "embracing" the tiredness you're feeling right now. That's called listening to your body and it's the smart thing to do. Your body is telling you it needs that rest in order to heal. So...snooze away!!
 
Hi almost...

You sound so well it's great isn't it!

Sleep away and don't feel guilty at the end of the day this is the most natural way for the body to heal itself. That's also why I'm a big advocate for the pain Meds another way to help you chill out and relax and not fight with pain.

Glad your doing really well. Loved Jamie and Jaycey's answer I had read about this and the message is very consistent on the leg length. On the muscle thing, I've got a few years worth of catching up to do with my bum muscles which right now are creating a limp, unless I focus hard and use the cane. Baby steps to help fix a long time issue. Pus depending how long you had the PRE surgery hip issue for this definitely makes sense that when they put the new part in and it's all aligned properly the rest of your body has to adjust from the old way. Oyyyyyy bad wording probably hope I made some sort of sense hahahahaha!

Happy Healing!

Sarah

xxooxx
 
Post-op day 8 Update:
Hi everyone! Happy New Year!

I wanted to post about some achievements that have come in the last few days.

I was able to feel pretty steady in this morning with NO crutches walking around the apartment. I couldn't believe it.

I stood at the counter for about 20 min making a smoothie (most of the weight on my other leg primarily b/c of the length diff at this point instead of pain).

I walked two blocks outside with one crutch!

I slept on my side for about an hour last night.

I "accidentally" took some regular foot over foot steps down on the stairs in all of my fervor and then did a couple more!

My pain meds are down to every 6 hours without a problem.

Each day, I've been surprised by something new that I can do that just comes naturally. I really debated b/w having anterior vs. mini-posterior. I ended up getting mini-posterior but have no restrictions and the progress has been great (at least, that's my perspective on a good day). Makes me agree with Jo about finding the right surgeon for your particular situation.

In other news, I had the most disappointing in-home PT session ever yesterday. The guy watched me do a few things, gave me a handout and left after 15 min. He didn't even ask me to show him the exercises I've been doing or touch my leg! I think I'll just wait for outpatient PT to start next weeks, thanks.

How long did it take for your legs to start feeling even?
 
Oh you are doing splendidly! I can see 2012 is going to be your year!

btw, would you be a dear and put your surgery date in your signature like the rest of us do?
You can find the instructions here How to create a signature.
 
almostready? said:
How long did it take for your legs to start feeling even?
Click to expand...

It can take 3-4 months almostready. Give it time. Most hippies see this disappear once the muscles have strengthened and can easily stretch.
 
What a ding-dong the PT guy was. I had a rough first week not with the PT with the home nurses ohhh they were terrible.

I don't know the answer about the legs, sorry! I've read other threads where this had been a concern and some of the advice given was a variety of times frames, I don't remember which threads, this was months ago I read. I'm sure Josephine, Jamie or Jaycey will come along and help.

You sound well. Nice accomplishments, you will see each week it gets better, I did have a couple of off days, nothing major I call them my lazy, teary, sleepy days....it's all the part of the emotional roller coaster but it does go quickly!

Night,

xxooxx
 
Hi everyone! It's now post-op day 14 for me. Wow, that actually kind of flew by. I feel like I have really turned a corner. My major progress items are: got sutures out which = shower any time without Saran wrap!, stopped Lovenox which = get to use ibuprofen which has been sooo helpful for swelling, only one tab of oxycodone at bedtime which = no more stool softeners.

I've been getting out of the house for some walks which has been great. I'm pretty independent with most things around the house. I'm contemplating trying to drive (with a copilot) this weekend. I start outpatient PT on Monday.

There has been such a big difference between week 1 and week 2.

Bad news: still worried about leg length. Trying not to let it get to me. And by boss is saying "wonderful you are feeling better. So when are you coming back?" grrrrr, I don't want to feel pressure to CME back before my planned date of 2/12.

Okay, thanks for listening!
 
almost, give the leg length thing at least 3 months - maybe 4! Things are still settling and it does take time. Most hippies find this goes away by itself. Please don't worry!
 
I know, it's just so weird to me to see my knee sticking out farther than the other one. I'm trying not to think about it. Thx for telling me again--I can get stuck on things like that.
 
I felt a LLD for the first four weeks, but as I got stronger and concentrating on walking and my gait, the feeling disappeared, so hang in there, it has a way of working out. :)
 
I had major LLD right after op - I'm now almost 6 months and I still have a little difference but its not too bad - mine has improved slowly over TIME - give it TIME :)
xoxoxo,
Linda.
 
Morning Almost!

You sound well this is great news!

Heres my thought today about going back to work and time off. If I knew what I know now before my surgery I would have taken the full 8 weeks, kept my mouth shut on my amazing recovery and gone into cruise control and worried about myself and healing and getting back to a normal routine. Wow that's a lot of "Ands" sorry not in a proofing mood this morning.....Im happy this morning just have tired brains from returning to work this week!

I do know some have to return because of financial reason. Apart from that I will now become a huge advocate for taking full time out. I relate to you saying how your boss is joking about when are you coming back, and I know deep down there is no harm in them saying that my boss is fabulous, but also made those comments along with some revenue stress she was having to cover for while i was out and those comments do put a mental strain on us returning. It's almost a guilty vibe. Hope I'm not sounding to wussy this morning?!?!

I have had a good week, thank goodness it was short. I've been very sore and stiff from sitting at desk, learning to stretch! This time last week all I worried about was my fun dog walks and I felt so good.....this week has been different. Next week will balance out my week and merge my dog walks into my job so I get the benefits of both :)

Happy Healing!

xxooxx
 
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