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Hip Infection Anterior THR Recovery by KCDawg34

@KCDawg34 , when I was between THRs I developed terrible thigh muscle pain.. side, top and groin. Went to OS who sent me to PT, turns out it was tendinitis. Best thing was to stop all activity, rest on your back, ice and elevate. Felt like the early days of thr but it worked. Took almost three weeks to finally get better. Likely cause was overactivity and healing on a second bad hip, new hip adjusted muscles in both legs which aggravated them. Recovering from the second hip with a good first hip was a dream compared to the first.
 
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That really gives me hope, Horseshoe. I only have just over a week until my next surgery, so I know I can make it that far, especially if there is relief on the other side. Appreciate the heads up!
 
Horseshoe said:
@KCDawg34 , when I was between THRs I developed terrible thigh muscle pain.. side, top and groin. Went to OS who sent me to PT, turns out it was tendinitis. Best thing was to stop all activity, rest on your back, ice and elevate. Felt like the early days of thr but it worked. Took almost three weeks to finally get better. Likely cause was overactivity and healing on a second bad hip, new hip adjusted muscles in both legs which aggravated them. Recovering from the second hip with a good first hip was a dream compared to the first.
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Horseshoe thanks for that update too as I'm 9 1/2 weeks post LTHR and 9 1/2 weeks to go before I get the other side done. I'm halfway there I can't wait !! My new hip is fabulous but the old non-operated one is in agony I can barely sleep. Same type pain as you have using the cane for the other hip not the new one.

I can't wait to have the second one done and heal with the good one as the baseline. That comment you made makes me happy to hear regarding healing 2nd time being easier! I'm using heat and some Tylenol and oxy at night. Anything else I should /can do ?! I've been very active I need to scale back my activity too that should help.

Thanks for the advice this is SO hard can't wait till summer I wanna feel better ASAP !!

Chuckster
 
So, I want to give another update before I go back in for Surgery #2. That's right, I am back at it again this Thursday, March 2 at 7:30 AM for a Left THR that will match my right. I'm alternately nervous and excited, if that makes sense.

Here's the bulleted, quick and easy version:
- I'm coming to the end of week 8 and it's been a mixed bag...basically two steps forward and one step back.
- I still struggle with the random thigh spasm/Charlie horse in the middle of the night. Sometimes I will go a couple of days without one and think I am on the other side, and then they come back in full force. I can handle one side ok, but when both thighs do it at the same time, I pretty much come unglued. It certainly adds some excitement to my sleeping schedule.
- Both thighs are suffering from some nerve issues. They are alternately numb to prickly/tingly (almost like they fell asleep) to hot (when I lie down). I'm just hopeful that they get back to normal as I get further away from the trauma of both surgeries.
- Last weekend (2/18 & 19), our son came home from college and I totally overdid it. Thought I had dodged a bullet on Monday, but by Tuesday I could hardly walk. It was painful every step I took. I was actually at the point where I had decided to call the surgeon and postpone surgery #2, or at least call for another X-ray before I went under the knife, just to be sure I hadn't damaged something.
- But then this Saturday, just when I had given up hope, BOOM, all was right with the world. I woke up Saturday morning with very minimal pain, actually to the point that I didn't take any pain medication throughout the day (though I did take something to help me sleep). Didn't take any on Sunday either, and still felt darn good.
- And what do you know, I'm feeling ok as I type this at work on Monday. I'm still walking with a cane, and I still have a limp, but it is significantly decreased from where it was literally three days ago. Of course the first three or four steps of any venture look similar to the Tin Man before he got oiled, but even that is getting better.
- As for the cane, I actually purchased a nice wooden one online since I will be using it for a good while once I get my second hip done. The original one was metal that you could lengthen according to your height. It made a click-clack sound every time it touched the floor. I decided I needed to get something else when I was walking toward our bedroom, click-clacking along and I heard my wife exclaim to the cat "Run, kitty, run. It's coming!" She likened its sound to the beating heart in Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart.
- Tomorrow's my last day at work and then I plan to take Wednesday off to get a couple of things together before I depart to the hospital on Thursday morning. I went back to work 18 days after my first THR and while it was not too bad overall, there were a couple of days I probably should have been elsewhere. I have the same time frame scheduled for this one, but I won't hesitate to kick my work return back a week if necessary.

I will update this ongoing history once I get back home from the hospital. I hope everyone is doing well and that all get better each and every day.

KCDawg34
 
That's funny and so true about the tapping of the cane.. tick, tick, tick. Your big day is almost here, very exciting to be done with it all. That's great your OS scheduled your second one ahead of time. My OS would only schedule #2 until he deemed I'd recovered enough from #1 which ended up being mos, bah!

In-home nurse suggested gatorade for leg cramps and it works! I got calf cramps before and after second thr, also took magnesium which works. Still have the tingles on sides of both legs but it doesn't hurt, just a weird feeling.

Congrats on #2!
 
Thanks, Horseshoe. I think I saw you or someone else post something about Gatorade/electrolytes earlier. Now, I can't drink Gatorade as I am a University of Georgia Bulldawg, but I have been chugging Powerade on a regular basis. The last few days have been better, but I'm not certain it was the Powerade. Of course, I plan to continue, but I also plan to force my surgeon to start me out with some muscle relaxers as well.

My surgeon's protocol is to schedule the second surgery -if needed - at the six week mark. Mine is only at eight weeks as I knew there were some meetings and work things that I needed to get done, so I pushed it off a couple. Of course, hindsight being 20/20, I wish I had done it at 6 weeks and gotten it taken care of that much sooner.
 
KCDawg34 said:
I went back to work 18 days after my first THR and while it was not too bad overall, there were a couple of days I probably should have been elsewhere. I have the same time frame scheduled for this one, but I won't hesitate to kick my work return back a week if necessary.
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That\s a very early return to work @KCDawg34 ! Don't forget every THR is different even on the same person. Plus you will have had 2 major surgeries in a short space of time. Easy does it!
 
Well, surgery Part II is in the books. A quick run down.

- Got to the hospital and went into surgery at 8 AM CST for an Anterior Left THR. Doc told my wife everything went well and that I have extremely hard bones...which I assume is good, not really sure.
- I was in my room by 11:30 AM. Overall felt pretty good. I can remember a lot more this time around, for some reason.
- PT came at 2 PM and I got out of bed, stood up and walked around the room a bit. I was battling a bit of nausea so we didn't do anymore. However, I did sit in a chair next to the bed for more than six hours.
- Overall the pain hasn't been too bad and they've done a great job of helping me stay on top of it. They've also been very attentive whenever I call. Really nice hospital and staff.
- I have PT scheduled in the morning. Assuming I can walk 55 ft, I should be able to get out of here tomorrow afternoon.
- My wife stayed with me all day, so I didn't get too lonely. She left at 9 PM to feed the card and get some sleep herself.
- I talked to Doc about the thigh pain and he prescribed my flexorall. That wil be interesting to see if it has an impact.

That's about it for now. My eyes are crossing, so I am hopeful that this makes sense.

Good night to all and best to you all.
 
Welcome to the other side again and to the double hippie club! Get some rest and stay ahead of the pain. We are here for you as before!
 
Well Done K C.
I'm on the lookout for your posts.
Joe.......
 
Congratulations KC. Rest and relax now and enjoy being waited on back at home!
 
Way to go KC!!!!!' Praying for the day April 27 to join you with two new hips !! Your update sounds great ....continue to keep us updated.... I can't wait to be pain free again it's gonna be a long 8 weeks but my eye is on the prize. Congrats to you! Hopefully this summer it will all be just a distant memory for both of us ! [emoji3]

Chuckster
 
Glad you are on the other side with surgery #2. Congratulations! I read through your posts with curiosity since I've been experiencing muscle spasms since my RTHR on 2/13. From what my husband said I was in recovery longer than anticipated because of muscle spasms. So they started right away. I can say they have gotten better, but have seemed to flare up again this past 3 days.

I hope your recovery is without them this time.

I had my surgery in KC as well!
 
Thanks Chuckster and KsKid. The day started out great, but I'm positive my PT took me way too far (250 ft) and I am toast now. I will try and make it through the night and write more tomorrow.

KsKid, here did you have your surgery? I was at North Kansas City hospital. The staff is excellent.
 
@KCDawg34 Sometimes PT need to be reined in a bit. They get on a role and start treating everyone as if they are training for a marathon. Be firm and tell them when you have had enough.

Hope you get some rest!
 
Thanks, Jaycey. No doubt on that point and I wil have no problem doing so going forward.

Just a few more notes following surgery:
- First off, the Drs, nurses and technicians who helped me out were amazing. I highly recommend North Kansas City hospital if you are near here and need treatment.
- I felt really good when we started PT around 11 am Friday morning. I stood up with no problem and headed out the door with the PT in tow as I needed to walk just over 50 ft before I could think about going home. There was also a gym where I showed how I would get in/out of a car and steps to show how to handle them with a grab bar.
- When we got to the gym, there was logjam of people waiting, so my PT had me do another lap before going in. Neither the car or the steps were any problems. At that point I as exhausted and she got a wheelchair to take me back to the room where we did bed exercises.
- Is that distance 250 feet standard? I'm pretty sure I didn't do nearly as far the first time around on my right hip. Whatever the case, I've been pretty exhausted since then and have told them that I don't plan to do home therapy today as I need the rest more. I am getting out of bed to move around and go to the restroom, but beyond that, I am down for the count today.
- My wife has been very supportive. She is taking good care of me and, as an OT herself, helping me to do the right things without exasperating the pain.
- So far no cramps, but I'm taking the flexoral at night just to be sure. If I can avoid those, I think my recovery will be much better.
- Finally, so far this hip has been a lot more pain than the first one. I really wish I had done the left hip in January.

Thanks to everyone who is keeping up on my journey. It is very much appreciated.
 
One final note - actually a pretty big one - that I forgot above.

My OS told me prior to both surgeries that he would do everything he could do to make sure my legs were the same length. However, he also said that he would always take hip stability over perfect length. After the first surgery, he said they matched, so no problem.

However, on this one, he said that my legs were off 3 millimeters, or approximately .12 of an inch. He noted that when he got them 100% matched up, when he tested them there was some movement. So, I will see what that .12 means going forward. Hopefully it's not a big deal but I will report more once I get off the walker and actually really start to walk.
 
@KCDawg34, I don't know if 250 feet that early is standard. What I do know is that when I was in the hospital after my THR (4 nights), I couldn't even get to the bathroom for the first two days. Had a catheter for day 1, and then used a bedside commode for a day. They used some contraption to wheel me to the bathroom (only about 15 feet away) for day 3. Day 4 I finally could get there myself, using a walker with difficulty. 250 feet was not in my playbook until weeks later. I know that many people recover faster than I did, but that's my story.

Leg length differential is probably best evaluated a couple of months into recovery, since it takes awhile for things to even out and for swelling to go down. All the best to you as you recover!
 
KCDawg34 said:
So, I will see what that .12 means going forward.
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Wait 3-4 months post op before doing anything. Don't use any lift in your shoe until you are measured by a professional. The LLD in your case is fairly small. I'll bet once everything settles post op you won't notice any LLD.

Here's an article from our Library that talks about getting measured: Leg length differential - LLD
 
Krista said:
@KCDawg34, I don't know if 250 feet that early is standard. What I do know is that when I was in the hospital after my THR (4 nights), I couldn't even get to the bathroom for the first two days. Had a catheter for day 1, and then used a bedside commode for a day. They used some contraption to wheel me to the bathroom (only about 15 feet away) for day 3. Day 4 I finally could get there myself, using a walker with difficulty. 250 feet was not in my playbook until weeks later. I know that many people recover faster than I did, but that's my story.
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It's amazing the varying protocols. You said you were in the hospital for 4 days. I assumed I would be there for 2, but was literally in the hospital for 30 hours total (from check to check out.) Also, no catheter with either surgery. They had me up on the side of the bed by noon on day one and I walked to the toilet in my room with a walker later that day. And I will tell you that if I could get that 250 feet back, I would. It was way too much that early and I am paying the price for it today. But, I will learn from it and do better as I move along.

And I'm not too worried about the LLD. That really doesn't seem like a lot, but I will talk to my OS about it at my 2 week checkin.

Thanks for sharing your story.
 
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