THR Anniepops THR Recovery

[Poppet]

Way to go Anne... So you should be feeling very proud of yourself... You are doing great .... and your Mama is very right

LOL xxxxx

 

[Anniepops]

Thanks Diane, Sandy and Alex for your support.xxx

Alex,yes that's what Cardie suggested so I'm going to have a go today. The phone book is a good idea thanks.

I cant do it in bed either as I can't move my operated leg much if at all but I remember a tip about using a carrier bag to help to slide. Will have a look at some other posts to try and find it. I am really up for some home PT now.

Thanks

Ann.x.

 

[C Mac]

Hi Ann,

I would encourage you to ask for physio when you return for your 8 week follow-up with the surgeon. My OS doesn't routinely prescribe it after THR surgery but he was more than happy to give me a prescription for it when I asked and I found it very helpful!! I did wait a few additional weeks after my follow-up appointment with the OS to start my physio so that I could have time for additional healing to occur before I started more rigorous activity. I also chose to have sessions twice a week (instead of the 3xs prescribed) because I knew my level of activity in the rest of my life was going to be a big increase as well with driving and real world errands and running about.

On the side leg lifts -- I progressed from doing them in the bed to doing them standing up and holding on to the counter. You could probably choose one version of them instead of feeling you need to do both. Yes, a plastic bag or something slippery in the bed for the lying ones will help your leg move more easily.

Take care,
Cardie

 

[Anniepops]

Thanks Cardie.x.I am going to ask about getting PT. Walking may be enough but I would also like a bit of extra help building the muscles up.

I tried the side leg lift on the bed yesterday using a carrier bag. I had no problem moving it outwards but not a hope of moving it back in, it was like a lump of lead and just not shifting. So I am just going to concentrate on the standing up ones for now.

 

[dianemarie]

Sounds like a plan. You will get there! You're not even 2 months yet. It all takes time. That is still difficult for me to do after all this time. Standing, no problem, lying down, not so good. But little by little...Have a great weekend, Ann.

 

[C Mac]

Hi Ann,

That's ok about the lying leg lifts, come back to them in a few weeks and see if anything has changed. Sometimes it takes a while for muscles to wake up more after surgery, especially when we've gotten that additional length added and things are a bit stretched. Good idea to work on the standing ones, just try not to let your leg flop back to the midline after you've lifted it out -- see if you can control it slowly since gravity will be having some effect when you are upright vs. lying in the bed.

Did you see Charlie and I were chatting about hooking you up with his physio gal, from whom he's received a great amount of torture, er uh, I mean help... :th_heehee:I'm glad that you are going to ask about PT at your follow up appointment and I'm sure there will be someone good for you to see in your area!!

Take care,
Cardie

 

[Anniepops]

Thanks Diane, I'm sorry to hear you still have a problem with it lying down but it's reassuring to know it is something which can take quite a lot of time to be able to do so I am normal.I shall be patient just like you are being. Hope we both have some luck with it eventually.

Hope you have a great weekend too. Don't they come round so fast these weekends!

Ann.x.

 

[Anniepops]

Thanks Cardie, I will follow your advice with the standing ones, I can see how it is easy to just let it flop. I think I have been doing that somewhat so thanks fir pointing that out. You are a great help.

Yes i did see your suggestion on Charlies thread. I think I am quite relieved that I do live too far away from his torturous PT. i would be quite scared of her.lol. Hope I manage to be referred to a slghtly more soft PT.:th_heehee:

Take care

Ann.x.

 

[Anniepops]

Had my 6 week check today. Well, it's actually 8 weeks since my op. went for an Xray then didn't even get to see a Doctor...and there was me thinking I was special :biggrin:

I seen an Arthroscopy Nurse who was lovely. She said to keep to all restrictions until 12 weeks. She said most dislocations happen between 8 and 12 weeks as people feel okay so start to ignore restrictions...I am seriously gonna keep that in mind as I can see how it's easily done.

Xrays looked fine. I took a photo of my before and after one on the screen with my phone as I don't think getting a copy of them is an option. It's good to be able to show them to people.

She said they don't usually do PT as a rule, walking is the best thing ( just what Jo told me) but when she checked out my ROM and also me standing ( very shakily) on my operated leg she decided to have a word with my OS and he agreed to PT......but it would probs take 8 weeks until the appt came through!!!!

Then she said, right, we will see you again in 12 months....WHAT....I couldn't believe it. Our NHS is a great thing but they certainly don't believe in mollycoddling you at all.lol.

I asked what about if I have a LLD, she asked if I had one I said I don't know, I can't walk without crutches yet so how could I tell. She then fortunately decided I should go back in 3 months to check it out and refer me to Biomechanic s if necessary.

I am so pleased I found all you lovely peeps as I knew what to ask and understood what she was talking about better after being so well educated on here so many many thanks to all, you are fab. :grouphug2:

Oh I also asked what type of hip I have, it is(please excuse if I don't get this right, I am just repeating what she said very quickly and I put it in my phone)
Delta motion exeter. Then she said ceramic on ceramic cemented exeter as back up. Sounds a bit double dutch to me but I am gonna google it.

Ann

 

[VThereandnow]

It is funny that different parts of the country and then even different parts of a single country have different feelings on the PT. I am glad here in Vermont they said I could go (but who knows, maybey that is part of why our health care costs are out of control . I had my first PT in the water today and it was glorious. The water is so supportive and assists the movements so very gently.

Glad you had a good medical visit and hope the 8 wks flies. I am also going to keep in mind what the nurse told you about most dislocations happening 8-12, though have not seen many on this site, some, but in the scheme of it all, not many. I just got my restrictions, except for internal rotation, lifted last week at 6 wks, but it is not like a switch you can turn on and off anyway. It is still a gradual process. Reading the posts, there is so much the same yet everybody and every BODY is so different at the same time. I agree, I am so glad to have found this site. Have a good day. -Cathy

 

[welshjane]

Had my 6 week check today. Well, it's actually 8 weeks since my op. went for an Xray then didn't even get to see a Doctor...and there was me thinking I was special :biggrin:

She said they don't usually do PT as a rule, walking is the best thing ( just what Jo told me) but when she checked out my ROM and also me standing ( very shakily) on my operated leg she decided to have a word with my OS and he agreed to PT......but it would probs take 8 weeks until the appt came through!!!!

Then she said, right, we will see you again in 12 months....WHAT....I couldn't believe it. Our NHS is a great thing but they certainly don't believe in mollycoddling you at all.lol.
Ann

Hi Ann, just had to check up on your thread. Sounds like we have similar experiences of our beloved NHS. First time around I had my 6 week check up at 8 weeks, but that was only because I rang the hospital and demanded it. This time, again, I've not heard from them about when I may expect one - I'd better chase it up - again. And the appt, when I did get it, was with the chief physio, not with the OS (though actually he did pop in). Oh, and no PT either. I did book a couple or 3 sessions with the local physio privately, but I honestly don't think he gave me any exercises I hadn't already read about on BS. I believe that 6-8 weeks waiting list is pretty normal for physio on the NHS - I had to wait that long before seeing my physio before the first THR, when I was lucky enough to get 6 sessions for piriformis pain. And yes, 12 months also seems to be normal for one's next checkup. Glad to hear that yours will be sooner than that though, as you're not a cut-and-dried case like I am, what with the congenital hip dysplasia and not being allowed to weight-bear for 6 weeks. So I'm glad they're paying you a bit more attention now!

 

[C Mac]

Hi Ann,

Don't panic -- if you are at 8 weeks post-op now and you get PT in 8 more weeks you'll still just be at 16 weeks out, your hip will just be four months new and that is a great time to start. Plenty of healing will have occurred, you'll continue with some of your very simple exercises at home, doing some more resting & some more walking practice with your crutch(es) and you will be ready to go!!!!

It may seem like a bit of a let down after all the work-up for the surgery, but once the hardware is installed and it's verified to be in the right place and healing properly you don't really need the OS any more..... Now is when you develop your support network of people to help you stretch/strengthen & utilize your new leg. Great to go back for a visit at 3 months and see how your LLD is shaping up but hopefully you'll be on your merry way with getting used to the added length & soft tissue changes that come about after the surgery.

Take care,
Cardie

 

[Anniepops]

Jane, I guess I was lucky that I got my outpatients appt the day I left hospital. Seems like your hospital is pretty useless, how shocking that you had to chase up your check appt!!! I hope you manage to get it sorted soon. All the post op patients at our hospital have very early appts so they can rush us in before the normal appts begin.

Cardie, thanks for the reassurance, I now realise it is normal for us post ops not to see a doctor but I don't think ir's right.Se la vie eh!


I need to print off the exercises on here so I do them properly. I am so pleased I have them available otherwise I would be stuck just walking until I see the PT.

Thanks

Ann

 

[charlie cyborg]

Hi Annie (and Jane)

It does seem to be one of those postcode lottery things or perhaps it's different Surgeons or NHS regions doing things differently. I think I was lucky in a way to get really good and immediate Physio after both my ops and the Surgeons follow up has been text book, mainly I think down to broken bones, but I think I'm right in saying that The Royal Berkshire follow up would have been 6 weeks, 6 months and then a year as routine.
It does seem odd that the NHS isn't run the same all over the country but we know that some lucky people (Jane?) don't have to pay for prescriptions for instance. So I guess it is a lottery after all!
I'm not sure that I wouldn't be banging on doors tho' Ann if I felt I was being neglected in any way, but then again I've always been a trouble maker!

Love Charlie x

 

[Anniepops]

Hi Charlie,

I think I am just surprised that the aftercare isn't more involved and not what I expected. I am so appreciative of the care I received before and immediately after my op. i think my consultant is absolutely wonderful, and truly brilliant surgeon for what he has done for me, the nurses and staff while I was in hospital were kind, encouraging and very supportive and the nurse yesterday was helpful,informative and patient and they are all one of the brilliant parts of our NHS.

It does depend a lot on geography and that's just the way it is and I'm not going to whinge about it ever again.lol.

Ann

 

[welshjane]

Well, Ann, fired by reading the last few posts, I phoned Gobowen (which by the way is a specialist orthopoedic hospital), and after being kept hanging around for ages while the booking clerk checked up, finally got my follow-up (with the physio, as before) for 30th May, 8 weeks after the THR (as before). So no change there, but at least I've got the appointment now. I don't really blame the NHS, it's so overburdened, you just have to take your turn, and as you say we shouldn't whinge. But Charlie's right, squeaking wheels do get the most oil. I just emitted a tiny little squeak today, and it worked.

And Charlie's also right in that we don't pay prescriptions in Wales (and yet here on the border our GP is in England and so are the hospitals we go to, so we get the best of both worlds).

 

[Anniepops]

Brilliant Jane, good on you for squeaking:biggrin: at least you have a date to prepare for now.

I wonder if they were ever going to offer you an appt. Perhaps your letter was just waiting to be typed up!!!! We should give them the benefit of the doubt because after all....we are not whingers are we :th_heehee:

Great that you get the best of both worlds with the GP and hospital in England. Seems like you live in a perfect spot.

Take care

Ann

 

[C Mac]

I think I am just surprised that the aftercare isn't more involved and not what I expected.

Hi Ann,

I think this is related to what @Josephine: means when she says that "hips have a way of looking after themselves" in regards to the healing process after our surgeries. Some of us folks with the CDH & Perthes issues just need a little additional support on the soft tissue piece as follow-up.

Be on the look-out for a large trailer carrying any type of skulling boats in your neighborhood -- could be our @charlie cyborg: coming to take you out for some rowing physio... :th_heehee:

Take care,
Cardie

 

[Anniepops]

Hi Cardie,

Yes, I think because of the CDH and the lack of muscle to start with, PT would perhaps be of benefit to my recovery and I would really like to be assured that I am doing the exercises correctly and not in danger of causing damage through making mistakes. I'm not very confidant when I look at some of them in case I could do them wrong or do them too early. I am tending to be over-cautious as far as rotating my hips at all at his stage.

If I happened to see cheeky Charlie and his boats I would be out of there as fast as my crutches could take me. He would be a hard taskmaster methinks, much worse than his delightful Debbie.:hysterical:

Take care

Ann.x.

 

[charlie cyborg]

Hi Ann,

I had to look up CDH on Wikipedia ...I wondered what "Campbell's Dwarf Hamster" had to do with hips until I read on and found out you were talking about "Chronic Daily Headache" ....hmmm I thought when did she meet my wife??? :hysterical:
Sorry can't resist it!
I saw the Demonically Delightful Dominatrix Debbie today and asked her about the differing approaches to Physio by the various NHS authorities. Basically it's as expected ie cost based, but she said that if you ASK for physio help you should get it. If you don't ask some authorities don't give it and some wait until after your first Surgeons follow up before scheduling it.
So maybe if you ask you may receive....finger's crossed.

Charlie