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THR Are We There Yet?

Hey, good morning @SurreyGirl. Thanks for the morning salutations. I'm "up" although wouldn't consider myself "bouncing about" just yet! It's just shy of 9:00 AM here in the PNW as I'm starting this and, as usual, I'm still loafing around in my bathrobe and slippers. Feeling a wee bit cranky.

Yesterday was a day of running errands--watch batteries, new mailbox keys made, grocery shopping, etc.--all the usual array of running around that is part of my less than exciting life. Of course, I'm still not driving yet so my able chauffeur was the one driving me all around. One good thing about that is I think he has a better appreciation of all the boring minutia of small chores that make up a chunk of my daily life, all tasks that until now he's not been involved in doing. Until recently he's been working at his office and has no real idea what I do all day other than read and go to the gym (presumably otherwise just lying around and eating bonbons...).

I did push it again yesterday, and hit the gym with my husband for another slow 30 minute stroll on the treadmill. Didn't hurt afterwards, although this morning--big slap upside the head--my LEFT hip is aching again. I am icing it and resolve NOT to go with him to the gym today. Sticking to my mantra of not beating myself up when I've given in to foolish activity, choosing to see today as another day and another opportunity to behave myself. But, as so many other folks have commented, this is a tricky time for folks like me. I've had a pretty decent recovery overall so far. Being able to walk unassisted with relative ease means the urge to do more than I should is particularly challenging. The whole, "if it hurts, don't do it" isn't so much applicable, it's the "just slow down and take it easy" requirement that is difficult to abide by! For me, if the right hip was the one complaining about excess activity I'd be less concerned. But having my unoperated, "good" hip whining at me is of far more concern and may cause me to change my evil ways--I really and truly do NOT want to be facing a second hip replacement for a good chunk of time following the healing of this right hip. I am giving myself that stern "don't be a dope" lecture this morning.
 
Just a thought, and I am no medic. You say you are walking unaided. Could you be putting more pressure on your “good” hip because you are not quite putting enough on your operated one? Woukd going back to a stick and seeing if that made a difference help, albeit temporarily until things improve?
 
Good afternoon @Barbaraj, I get very tired running all those little errands even before the THR, especially my hubby is like Colombo, “there’s just one more thing” which generally adds another hour to my town trips. I am so glad that this hip was my left and I can drive, I live so far out of town that it was a real inconvenience for my chauffeurs.

I’m with @SurreyGirl, I am concerned that your walking unaided. My OS has gotten more conservative with unaided walking this time then he was last time. I do walk around the house and when I’m doing stuff, but I do use the cane to walk over rough ground, unfamiliar ground, curbs, and whenever I think about it. I have crappy ankles and I have this horror movie in my head of me twisting an ankle and falling down before everything is healed up tight.
 
Good evening, y'all. Thanks to @SurreyGirl and @Lmflora for weighing in on the unexpected grumpiness of my left hip. I am not sure walking with an assistive device would help, as even towards the end of the time I was using my walking stick I wasn't really using it to take pressure off my "good hip", just using it to ward off passers by and to lean on occasionally if I had to stand for a bit.

I do think, now it's the end of a long day spent reading and doing nothing, and a left hip which is feeling just fine, that the problem was perhaps trying to do too much bustling around the last two days even though it really didn't seem like that much at the time. I think I do just fine, a fairly even gait when I walk without assistance, but I just got overly tired and paid the price with both hips aching. I don't think trying to go back to using the walking pole, or certainly not the dreaded walker, would relieve any aches and pains--I'd just get frustrated all over again, on more thing to move around and think about instead of focusing on proper gait! But I do appreciate your concern! I just need to do less--argh, very frustrating and so boring. If I were to go out and traverse uneven ground or uphill, I think I probably would take my walking stick with me. But I live in suburbia where it's mostly flat so I'm not taking any real risks on those occasions when I'm out and about.

Tomorrow is another day, and I will be accompanying my husband to the gym, but again it will only be a slow walk at the lowest setting on cardio equipment. I may, just for sheer variety, try the elliptical tomorrow. Treadmills are so tedious, but at least you get a little upper body workout on the elliptical.
 
Wow, I could not even imagine a treadmill for 30 minutes 4 weeks out. Then again, I could imagine 30 minutes on a treadmill period... hate those things... but am used to be an outside trail runner. Seriously though, I think I managed about 800 meeters tops by week 4... so very impressed with how you are doing.

Cheers!
 
Hope you have a good day @Barbaraj
Stay safe in the treadmill and elliptical.
Let us know how it goes. You're doing your recovery right and I think it will pay off.
Sorry that other hip is bothering you so soon.
 
A midday check-in for me. My husband and I were up and out of the house fairly quickly this morning, heading--at my request--to the local Krispy Kreme doughnut shop and then the gym after that! Every couple of years I get a craving for a doughnut (WHY??!!), and last night I was reading some article on my phone's newsfeed comparing jelly doughnuts at various chains. KK's raspberry jelly doughnuts were the winner, according to the article's author. Anyway, that sparked a hankering for doughnuts although I very seldom have anything for breakfast other than a morning latte and sometimes a piece of buttered wheat toast. But what the heck--my husband was willing (as long as I assured him they do serve lattes) and we both got lattes and doughnuts. He sensibly only got one doughnut (although chocolate--who eats chocolate for breakfast?! Ugh...) while I got two doughnuts, a glazed and raspberry jelly stuffed doughnut. I regret to say I wolfed them both down (and, as always, anticipation is better than actual consumption when it comes to sugary food before 9:00 AM) but my vanilla latte was gaggingly sweet (way too much syrup) and I tossed half of it away.

At the gym, I did 30 very slow minutes, no resistance added, on the elliptical for the first time. It didn't feel too taxing, and was certainly more interesting than the boring treadmill. My left hip was whining towards the end, but as soon as I hopped off (very gingerly, of course) it relaxed and now that I'm home it's behaving. I think this afternoon will involve curling up in a big chair and reading, with an ice pack. I need to balance out activity with rest, I know, although as I noted before, this is really the hardest time for me--when I "feel" pretty good but clearly my stamina is still way down and I'm easily fatigued even with my slow paced life.

Today is the end of Week #4, so when do I start feel a bit more "peppy"? I know recovery can take up to a year, but sheesh, does this mean I've plateaued for now and just need to resign myself to weeks and weeks, not to mention months and months, of slow trudging? Seems like everything went relatively quickly early on, with small but significant improvements every few days. I feel as if I've stalled now, pretty much the same at the end of week four as I was at week three. Only "big" change is that the last of the steri-strips peeled off so it's just the scar now. I am really hoping all the promises I've heard that in a year it will settle down and become a thin white line are true--it looks pretty nasty to me in all its glory, a thick, raised ridge, a wiggly line from just below my hip socket down the top of my thigh. It doesn't hurt, although the skin around the scar is sort of numb and a bit uncomfortable when I push on it. But it is what it is--deal with it, I remind myself.

Hope everyone is having a decent midweek day here in Bonesmart land. One day closer to recovery for ALL of us!
 
Congratulations on our 1 month anniversary! @Barbaraj so glad to hear your doing 30 minutes at the gym. It seems to me that I didn’t start to have real stamina until about 2.5 to 3-months out. My surgery 4 years ago was on March 24, I remember I was teaching that fall and I felt fine. My daughter and I took a vacation and long hike in August and I was fine, I was finishing grad school in July, I was good then. I should have kept better notes.....

It takes a long time for the scar to thin out and disappear. Like a year or more it seems to me. Again I should have kept better notes....

I had a chiropractor/ massage therapy today. I was able to lay face down on the drop table so she was able to make my back feel a whole lot better. The massage around my incision was a little sore, it felt much better after. I’m going to step up to once a week until Christmas, come Christmas week, I will get on that horse. I fully admit I am one of the middle age women who bought a new horse for my mid life crisis... just read an article that says women who have horses live 15 years longer (@Alitm, @Jaycey) I’m going to test that...

I resolve to start spending my energy on PT, instead of everything else. I think I’m caught up for winter, and as soon as they fix my fridge (11-6) I can find what I’m looking for. Gees, you would think I’m my husband, with how confusing it is to find cold things between 3 small scattered refrigerators!
 
Hi,
You'll continue to feel more energized and lose the feeling that you need to rest.
Your mobility and flexibility will improve also. I found it to be a slow gradual process but continually moving forward. I felt one month post op seemed to be a turning point, but you are still in the very early days.
I think you're doing really well. Keep it up, you'll get there. Hope you have a good night and great Thursday!
@Barbaraj
 
Well, it's mid-morning and I am exhausted from basic household chores, to wit: made mini lemon bundt cakes this morning, for a neighborhood event late this afternoon, and now I'm beat! I hope you are right, @Layla, this energy drain is really a drag and I would like to be able to live my life without feeling exhausted a good portion of the time! Perhaps part of this is due to the fact I didn't sleep great last night. I woke up at 2:30, used the bathroom (got rid of that seat riser yesterday but remembered this, despite my foggy head, and sat down carefully and lower than I've been accustomed--worked fine), and I stumbled back to bed, only to be aware of generalized aching in both hips, at the top of each hip, right above the hip socket. I can't say I was in pain, but definitely "in ache" and couldn't get back to sleep easily. Last time I looked at my bedside clock it said 5:30, and then I must have finally fallen back to sleep for an hour or so before dragging myself out of bed around 7:15. Then immediately downstairs to have coffee, toss back a couple of Tylenol, and start baking and tidying up after myself.

Husband has taken off with our son this morning, off to get measured for a suit at a local department store, so I've got a few hours of peace and quiet before he returns. I'm thinking a long hot shower followed by a collapse into our recliner with an ice pack and junky old mystery novel. Today is the start of week five so I'm hoping by early next week I'll be feeling a bit more energy. It isn't as if I've got this incredibly busy or physical life, but I would like to be able to do the things I'd like (no marathons, no 100 mile bikes rides) without feeling so tired all the time. Doing laundry and baking cake should NOT feel this wearying!
 
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You'll get there. Truly you will. I'm sorry you're hurting today.

Looking back I see some possible culprits.
Sugary Krispy Kreme Donuts and sugary Latte will cause inflammation. Couple that with first time back on the elliptical, for 30 mins, albeit slow and I'm guessing that's why you're hurting today. Just an uneducated guess but I'm blaming the trifecta :heehee:
Hope with some ice and rest you feel better soon.
Hugs
@Barbaraj
 
Thanks to you both, @Jaycey and @Layla. I know I'm still early days yet, but it was so frustrating this morning to be so tired after I virtuously rested all afternoon yesterday and really doing so little this morning. But, I will take @Layla's wisdom to heart and blame it on all the sugar yesterday morning which I totally didn't need. I'd forgotten that I'd read that inflammation is often triggered by sugar, so maybe knocking off sugar for a bit (well, as much as one can--I'm only human!) might help. We'll see what happens.
 
The dreaded sugar @Barbaraj!! My total downfall, it’s a wonder that My hip is not swollen up,like a balloon, although my derrière is definitely ballooning up! Glad we don’t get Krispy Kreme around here, I’d be all over that! I hope you get to feeling more energetic. There are good days and bad days, seems like you mostly have good days, which probably amplified the bad days. All will be well my hip sister, your sailing through this effortlessly.

I was going to ask, do you have arthritis development in your left hip? Or do think the left hip pain is just compensatory reaction to the increased pressure on that side?

I made a crock pot roast, worked in the green house, and sat down to try and triage everything I have ignored for the last few months. Alas, my flitting around is catching up with me. It would be good if a huge nasty spell of cold weather would drop on us, then I would be more inclined to sit at the computer and get some work done, but the blue sky and sunshine is pretty hard to ignore, there are no bugs now after the freeze. I love this time of year. It’s not even windy! How can I pass up that trifecta of good fortune......

I’m going out to lunch with my cousin tomorrow, looking forward to that.

Cheers hip twin! Have a great evening
 
I like sugar too :yes: :wink:
 
@Barbaraj Sorry that you are sore. Do you think, along with the sugar and the elliptical, that maybe our PNW dampness is adding to things? The rain started here last night, and I've been a bit more stiff when getting up...AND I've been starting to have honey in my tea again.
My major complaint is tiredness, but it is early days for us, so it is no surprise. Don't lose heart :flwrysmile:
 
Happy one month hipversary, @Barbaraj :happydance:
This is prime time for cabin fever and the post op blues.
Keep the "is all temporary" mantra going and have a great weekend!:SUNsmile:
 
Good morning, all. Thank you to @Lmflora, @Layla, @Alitm and @Mojo333. As always, wisdom and kind concern in everyone's comments. I do, unfortunately, have osteoarthritis in my left hip, @Lmflora, so I'm not surprised it's acting up. My right hip was bone on bone, at the maximum "4" level, according to the X-rays, but the left which before surgery wasn't acting up at all, was at a "3" level, or "moderately severe" osteoarthritis. I've always known that sooner or later I'll probably be looking at a second hip replacement but my goal all along was to avoid that for at least awhile following the right hip replacement. I have great admiration for @Alitm, with her back to back operations for both of her hips, and certainly for @Mojo333 who got hers done both at the same time--yowza--but I was definitely hoping I'd have a "free period" in there for a few months (preferably years if I could swing it) when things would just be, well, normal! But who knows, I guess I just need to take an philosophical and accepting approach--what will be, will be. I can't predict the future, and need to get into a "go with the flow" frame of mind. Once this right hip is sufficiently healed, I hope to definitely get back to PT and perhaps Pilates as well, to see if I can strengthen the musculature around my left hip--glutes, abs and quads--to maybe push off a second replacement for a time. It is just scary to realize, after focusing on my right hip for the last six months, that my left hip is going to be demanding attention as well. It was hard enough to steel myself for the first surgery, although I've admittedly done well, but contemplating another one sooner than I'd like is a bit overwhelming. But, as my mama used to say, "don't borrow trouble" and continue to just focus on right hip healing.

Last night's neighborhood event was a lot of fun--wine, salad and soup for dinner, and my mini-bundt cakes for dessert, vastly improved with the last minute citrus sauce I made to soak up the somewhat dry texture of the cakes. More than anything, it was a chance to get out of the house with friends, lots of good conversation and laughter. As @Mojo333 noted, in addition to my increased anxiety about the ache in my left hip, I think I'm probably bored by this slow paced life I'm leading for the most part, and cabin fever and a bit of post op blues are affecting my mood. I think sometimes I definitely have too much time on my hands to think about how I'm feeling which isn't like me. I am not used to paying attention to (uh...obsessing about) my body in general so having "quality time" to be worried and endlessly perseverate is not healthy. I didn't think about my hips last night as I sat on our neighbor's couch and we gossiped cheerfully about husbands, kids, and life in a general. Note to self: get out more often, if you can!

Hope everyone has a great Friday!
 
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Getting out more is a great idea. I really appreciated the friends and family who visited me in the recovery home and took me out and about once I was home. I had to pace myself somewhat but it was lovely to have things to look forward to and people understood if I got tired. It was also worth the effort of wearing something nice and doing makeup as it was all too tempting to slob about at home. Because hubby works from home I didn't want to look too much like a patient so did bother to get dressed etc. The food and the "rescue remedy" for the bundt cakes sounds fab. Hopefully those neighbours will invite you out and about a bit. Have a good weekend!
 
Good afternoon @Barbaraj, I am so glad you had a great night out. Getting out does seem to help. We live out of town, love it out here, but it has made a difference that I can drive and have a lunch or coffee with friends and family. Sort of normalizes the whole thing. It seems like we are consumed with the surgery, especially leading up to it, at least I was and for the first few weeks, but now I’m just wanting to get it behind me.

Bummer that your left hip is waving a flag at you. I thought when I did the right side I had a perfectly good left hip. Only Got 9 months before I started having “the pain” in my left. But I made it 4 years!! I could have suffered through this for another year or perhaps more if I was willing to change my lifestyle , but I wasn’t willing to give up my active lifestyle and opted to get it over with and move on. Too much to go, do, see, be and experience. :fasthorse:

I admire you @Alitm for your double THR as well, I can’t imagine going through this, then feeling good, and realizing you got to go through it again so soon! Way to go @Alitm, I’m sure your motivation has four legs .
.:horseriding:

I hope you have a wonderful weekend @Barbaraj! :flwrysmile::upright:
 
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