Bilateral THR Anteriors 15th June 2015 - my recovery

[donor]

@Suzette oh you don't want that image in your brain. But just think of the elderly gent on the table next to me.....He now has WONDERFUL range of motion in his neck. Whiplash.

 

[sunbunny]

Sending hugs and healing thoughts your way. You have had a time of it. Lol on hubby cutting toenails more like toes in my case. Ten weeks out with posterior and my best advice is to ice, take pain meds, and if it hurts don't do it. You will be amazed at how much better you do when you don't overdo. Having said that yes stretches and walking will make you feel better. You have a wonderful outlook on this even though all you have been through. I have had both knees replaced as well so three bionic parts and each one has had different recovery obstacles. So it does not surprise me that each hip of yours has it's own personality as well. I too am dealing with lumbar disc problems so be careful with exercises that might aggravate the back...for me exercises I do in bed cause me the most problems. Luckily most of the exercises can be done standing up! Keep posting!

 

[Michegon]

@Suzette Hi, Bilateral Jim here. When i had my surgery 1 year ago today i had the same feelings you had. My night nurse needed me to ring her every 4 hrs for meds (i learned that here) and we got along well as long as she complied to my pain needs. You are getting better every day. Try not to push yourself as your body just had a double dose of whack, chop saw and sliced and sewed. Your son is correct on the protein for repairing tissues. Just do life stuff and rest. Don't worry about yesterday, look forward to the next day. First month, 3 months ect. Good luck.

 

[Tweefishy]

Yes! What's ever it takes, put signs up around the house, something, but don't bend way forward, twist and stand up after sitting on the toilet fighting with constipation for too long. It's a recipe for a nearly 2week setback and lotsa pain! Then you get to reexamine how you did it to bunch of hot doctors. Not right! Not right at all!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[Suzette]

@donor that is just another image that is just so funny.
@sunbunny @Michegon and @Tweefishy thank you so much for your supportive words. I still have to remind myself...and others...of the sawing, chopping, sewing that went on just 18 days ago. I feel things are going well, the first 9 days were awful. But that's the past. I will be telling the surgeon, at my 6 week review, that the possible pain should be discussed in a bit more detail than it was, rather than being brushed over with the ' anterior approach is less painful and a quicker recovery' If I had been prepared with the knowledge I could have dealt with it better instead of feeling a total failure and scared something was wrong.

Just so thankful for bonesmart forum with honest and personal journeys from its members and some funny stories too.

I did manage to get to sleep, with various images in my head and THR stories I had read. In the end I managed to avoid the hip knee flop by trying pillows to the sides etc, but my hips felt like they were cramping after about 5 minutes. So reverted back to lying on back, but to stop the back pain, put a pillow under my knees, then realised that having 2 pillows puts my knees nearly into the position they keep moving into when asleep! The pillows also stopped me bending my knees even further up towards my bum and also it was impossible to flop the knees out, as the pillow was in the way

So woke up with little hip ache and also little back ache , phew !!

Today is a sunny day, so relaxing in the garden on my new sunlounger is on the agenda and more healing is to be done. My appetite seems to be coming back too so increasing my protein intake will be a must.

Have a good day/ night everyone
xx

 

[sunbunny]

@Suzette pillows are they not wonderful? Hubby has learned to leave my six lol alone! Going away this weekend and hmmm how many to take? One for the back, one for the knees, and one for little ole me. Hugs

 

[Suzette]

@sunbunny i just realised that I am lying in my garden in the sun with my bunnies around me. It's quite relaxing.

I have just had 4 more pillows delivered and they are all mine.

I hope you gave great weekend away. I have just booked a week in Rhodes, with hubby, for the end of September so I am going to focus on getting healed just a bit more before then.

Hugs to you too x x

 

[agileHippie]

So woke up with little hip ache and also little back ache , phew !

Brilliant @Suzette ! So glad you were able to find a good position for sleep! Before my op I gathered up almost every pillow in the house so I'd have a range to choose from. Now they are piled not-so-neatly around my bed and sofa.

I'm finding the little novelty pillows filled with tiny Styrofoam beads to be quite handy in various situations.

Hoping your new-found sleep will pay off for you during the day!! Cheers!

 

[Suzette]

Thanks @agileHippie I think maybe I should look for those type of pillows too. Although I do seem to be spending a lot on amazon these last few weeks, but I see it as a necessity and because sometimes spending some money is good therapy...also no one knows what I am up to when I am on the tablet. xx

 

[Suzette]

I meant the samsung tablet not necessarily medicinal tablets...but hey help!!

 

[donor]

@Suzette hey...pillows.....pills..
tablets....whatever it takes! I have 6 pillows on my bed and hubby sleeps down the hall so I'm buried in poof. I also have a very tasteful old dusty rolled up sleeping bag I elevate with. There is no room in this bed for him anyway. Oh yes and my little furry nurse is usually here too. I'm happy you got some good sleep! Omg spending is great therapy! And while I totally agree that a better picture of what we were to expect would have helped I'm not sure I'd be any better than I am now. here is my nurse.

Xoxo.

 

[agileHippie]

Re: Amazon, I fear my browsing and purchases prior to surgery have forever damaged their suggestion engine. Now every time I log in, it seems to think I want to see canes, sock-aids and Depends undergarments!!!!

 

[Suzette]

@donor Here's my nurse I too have a bed covered in all my pillows and bits and pieces...but my hubby still insists on squeezing in it !! Then the nurse gets on too !

@agileHippie amazon ideas for me are now also very confused..I am still getting suggestions for wynciette nighties and pjammas, oh and crutches and bum bags. The one I did get; bum bag not a new crutch! is very handy indeed, but I have one and dont need anymore x

 

[donor]

OMG that face!!!! What a cute nurse! xoxo Happy to provide the thought provoking images for your pleasure. GEEZ, if I didn't laugh all along this process I would have gone bonkers more than once in the first two days alone. BEST!!!!

 

[copsham]

Hi suzette,
Got some "Sleepy time tea" today. Used to find it helpful years ago. Hope it works - will let you know. I would love to be next to your HR person when they saw graphic hip pictures or Youtube hip op video. I am sure it would stop him/her in their tracks LOL.

It certainly is cooler tonight. MY problem is that hubby went out at lunch time when it was quite warm leaving all of the windows wide open. It is now getting cooler and feels like a storm brewing and i cannot safely close any of them. On Weds when we had the hottest day for 10 years we never thought it would be chilly within 48 hours!

I need "sleep hygiene" i.e. a routine, no laptop after 11pm, natural sleep remedy, making sure bedroom is cool enough etc. I have had phases like this before and they do go but it is not good to be not sleeping.

I just thought , at least I am not in hip recovery like you are and then remembered that I have got a broken bone that is keeping me inactive and non weight bearing. Different for sure!

 

[DesertHorses]

Hope all of you got some sleep and the flops were conquered!

I still get a little creeped with the xray image of my implant - and I'm a nurse who has been involved in a lot of procedures...

Patti in Vail AZ

 

[Suzette]

Hi all too

I managed 5 hours sleep, then got up and went back for 2 more hours. used the pillows again so no flop but woke up with stiff joints instead. Bit hip throbby today on both sides, was also told off for walking about with my crutches but not using them , well they get on my nerves, so now I walk funny, which maybe why my hips throb!!

I was told off by my son, thought it should be the other way round!!

@DesertHorses I have yet to see an Xray of my hips, but I am still freaked out at what is actually in my bones and how they got them in there through a 3 inch incision ! no wonder the muscles and tendons are seriously stretched !! I see the surgeon the end of july, but bet I won't be able to keep a copy of my metal hips

xx

 

[Suzette]

Hi I have a little question I wonder if you could advise @Josephine @Jaycey

Today i am getting pains in another place, not worried about that really as the pains keep moving about anyway. The sides of both hips, i suppose you could say, where the ends of the femurs are, are quite achy and throbby at same time as front thigh muscle ache. Although I am thankful I have now lost the inner groin pain.

I am not sure about pain relief as I actually feel I need a bit extra control. Pain levels around a 6 in right leg, 5 in left. I assume this is the healing process moving on a bit?

I take every 6 hours 2 paracetamol and 2 dihydrocodeine. I do have some tramadol left from pre op and have taken 2 of these inbetween the other pain meds. Am I ok to do this?

I do have oromorph but that makes me a little doolally but if this should be taken instead of tramadol then change the routine to oromorph.

I am icing.

I would be grateful for any tips.

Did anyone else get this sort of bone ache? Which is probable considering whats happened to our bones.
Thanking you xx

 

[Suzette]

Ooh I forgot. I also have 300mg gabapentin I take at night and amitriptyline when desperate to sleep.
x

 

[donor]

Well....I had some awful aches and pains early on. I thought I'd lose it a few times. I hope you get sone good answers here. But when I had days like this I increased my meds. I never really took full doses anyway....most days, but bad days were another story. Hang in.