THR Are We There Yet?

[Barbaraj]

Thanks @MrDIY and @SurreyGirl! Nice to know folks think I'm doing a good job so far, particularly as I was really stupid last night and completely overtaxed myself. Bad night's sleep and now cranky and sore this morning. But, I also know everyone gives into the illusion, "hey, I'm doing so great--I think I will do X" and then regrets it afterwards. Argh! Still hanging out in my night clothes this morning and trying to do extra ice and rest. Given poor sleep last night, I am definitely thinking a nap this afternoon is in the cards. A comment about the walking poles: I am not sure they'd work for everyone but they do provide (well, the one in my case) the stability I want while forcing me to walk more erect and with a better gait. I hated that walker and was so ready to ditch for almost anything. I preferred a wobbly walk unaided (yeah, I know--dumb) rather than the walker. But we're all different and all feel differently about what assistive aids work best for our individual situations and when it's appropriate to try something new. The only thing in common is we will all be on this recovery journey and we'll all make it to the end somehow. Here's to all of us!

 

[Jaycey]

I was really stupid last night and completely overtaxed myself

Well, recovery is all about finding your limits, scaling back and trying again another day. Still very early days for you. I think you have made great progress in a very short space of time. Rest today. Another adventure will be waiting for you when you are ready.

 

[Alitm]

@Barbaraj @Jaycey is spot on with her post... You are making great progress . It is fine to have a PJ and rest day! Recovery is all about finding your limits. Maybe I should put those on stickies and attach to my bathroom mirror!! Remember the zig zag of recovery.....not a straight trajectory Hope you had a nap this afternoon and caught some .
Tomorrow is another day, thank goodness right?!!

 

[Barbaraj]

Thanks, @Jaycey, for the timely reminder that we ALL have to find a balance for ourselves and we all struggle occasionally with overextending ourselves and then needing to back off. That's exactly what I did today, @Alitm. I stayed in my jammies all day (although I washed my face, brushed my teeth and ran a comb through my hair). I only got up to use the bathroom and basically watched old black-and-white movies on TMC all day long. By 5:30 I was very done with this, so walked downstairs to chat with my husband who was tidying up the kitchen. He was great today, supporting my decision to be a complete slug and cheerfully bringing up my morning coffee, lunch and dinner. Tomorrow I think I'll venture out with my husband to Costco in the morning--oh, those wide aisles are perfect for walking--and maybe we'll even stop at our local Starbucks for coffee beforehand. The excitement mounts!

 

[Barbaraj]

Thanks, @Jaycey, for the timely reminder that we ALL have to find a balance for ourselves and we all struggle occasionally with overextending ourselves and then needing to back off. That's exactly what I did today, @Alitm. I stayed in my jammies all day (although I washed my face, brushed my teeth and ran a comb through my hair). I only got up to use the bathroom and basically watched old black-and-white movies on TMC all day long. By 5:30 I was very done with this, so walked downstairs to chat with my husband who was tidying up the kitchen. He was great today, supporting my decision to be a complete slug and cheerfully bringing up my morning coffee, lunch and dinner. Tomorrow I think I'll venture out with my husband to Costco in the morning--oh, those wide aisles are perfect for walking--and maybe we'll even stop at our local Starbucks for coffee beforehand. The excitement mounts!

 

[SurreyGirl]

Hi @Barbaraj definitely count that trip to Costco as exercise! The first time I did a trip to a supermarket I was on two crutches and it was fun but surprisingly tiring. When I thought about it afterwards I realised that the car journey was 30 mins each way and then 45 mins on my feet either walking or standing. That was quite a bit.

The last visit I did it all on one crutch and really feeling it afterwards. No problem, ice and rest afterwards sorted me out. . However I did notice that people would give me a wide berth when I was on two crutches but somehow did not “see” me when on one so there were a few near misses re small children bumping into me etc.
Doing the major shop post op does contribute to the feeeling of independence though. Have fun!

 

[Barbaraj]

Well, I am up, showered, dressed and ready to go! Feeling much more energetic this morning, after a day of slothful loafing around. Of course, after all that sitting around in bed I've got a muscle ache in my upper back (always something, isn't it?!) so I smoothed on my muscle gel and hope that being more active today will help with that. We're off for our fun morning of Starbucks coffee followed by a Costco run. Glad to hear that your first supermarket trip was fun, @SurreyGirl, although tiring. I suspect the trip this morning will also be tiring, but I've got all afternoon to veg out and recover. Unfortunately, I've got a fairly lengthy list of items so we'll be there for awhile, I know, but I can always retire to the food court and rest while my husband finishes up if I get too tired. Leg/thigh feel pretty good this morning, still stiff and somewhat sore, but I don't have the fatigue that I was experiencing yesterday that wasn't so much about my leg but just about being really, really exhausted--the energy drain that I've read about on this site.

I am starting to get frustrated a bit with my inability to pull on socks and really lean over on my right side. I can bring my left knee up, heel at hip, and easily put on a sock on that side. But my husband is having to help me put on socks (not to mention those compression stockings which are impossible for me to get on initially over my foot where the most compression is apparently) which means I still need help in getting dressed. Yes, I could purchase all those clever little aids that I've read about, but I am continuing to hope that the ability to completely dress myself WILL be restored sooner rather than later. I can lift my right leg up when I'm sitting, but certainly not high enough to allow for socks. But, yes, I know--less than two weeks out so my impatience, while understandable on one level, is completely unreasonable on another. I'll just keep plugging away.

 

[Alitm]

Hi @Barbaraj You are probably waltzing around Costco as I type! Hope you are having a better day today and have iced out all the aches and pains from the sitting on hard wood and the cheering squad activities! My excursion out last week at the gourmet pizza place....I sat on a high wooden chairs at a bar height table. It was OK for about an hour and a half, and then I had to get up and move around. I was a little achy the next day, or maybe later that day of, I think, but just kept up with the icing. Another friend asked me to go for coffee this week, and I am really leery of the right sitting environment for me...but I want to get out!! UGH!! I find with each new activity, there is always a little bit of a soreness afterwards, not so much over doing it, but soft tissue realigning and stretching or something.

I hope you enjoyed your time at Costco and were able to use the aisles for walking practice!

Thinking of you and wishing you a comfortable day

 

[Alitm]

@Barbaraj I missed your morning post about being ready to head out, and about the socks!

I was having a terrible time putting on socks pre-op, and needed them to wear under my hiking boots in the barn. I purchased a "hip kit" that had the reacher, the dresser (which I love as it is really multipurpose and stronger than the reacher), the long handled shoe horn, elastic laces and the sock aid. I wished I'd bought the sock aid six months prior to assist me with my socks! Now that I'm a lady of luxury and am not lifting a finger in the barn, stay clean all day etc. I'm avoiding socks at all costs! I have managed to go sockless when out and about as it isn't that cold here yet, but it is coming, and I'll have to bring out the wretched sock aid! Weird how I feel about it post op. However, with the other hip surgery coming up next month, I think I need to get over it!! LOL!!

How much longer do you have to wear the compression socks? I wonder with the second surgery, if my surgeon will make me wear them, as I might not be moving around as fast post op after number two?!

Hoping you are having a great day, and enjoying getting out and about. You are so sensible to think about sitting in the food court if necessary!

 

[Layla]

You're doing so well! Socks will come, hang in there.
I hope you enjoy your Starbucks / Costco outing.
The trip may very well tire you out, thankfully you'll be able to rest afterward.
Hope your day feels fulfilling!
@Barbaraj

 

[Barbaraj]

Thanks @Alitm and @Layla, happy to say I survived Costco this morning, although it was weird how after only a short while, say 20 minutes or so, I found myself actually HUFFING along, panting almost! Wow, it is amazing to me how out of shape I feel in some regards--no way would walking at Costco have exhausted me pre-surgery. But, I realize a lot of my available energy, appropriately so, is going towards healing and not a lot left over for much of anything else. It felt good to get out there and walk (as I've said before, walking doesn't seem to exhaust me as much as sitting on hard chairs) despite the heavy breathing. We got home shortly before 11:30, and a friend came by for lunch, bringing homemade bread and soup, and I indulged with a small glass of tasty Voignier. My husband escaped to the gym for a workout when my friend arrived. I tidied up the kitchen and am now preparing to flop on my bed and ice for an hour or two--ah, the slug life.

PS Not sure how long I have to wear these compression hose. The literature from the hospital said FOUR WEEKS which seems ridiculously long--I'll be asking about that at next week's appointment. But other than the annoyance of taking them off and on for showers (for which I absolutely need my husband's help) I kind of like them in this cooler weather we're having, warm and cozy on my legs. Only irritating thing is they are thigh highs but the elastic on top is clearly designed for someone with MUCH bigger thighs than mine. I don't have small thighs but it's ridiculously loose on top and, of course, they keep scrunching down by my knees, making for a an attractive, bunched look under my jeans!

 

[Alitm]

@Barbaraj It is kinda crazy that this surgery robs all our energies to focus on healing...but that is exactly what is happening, and we have to go with it for the time it takes to heal!

What a seemingly normal day, Costcos and then a friend over for lunch Wonderful!

You are moving around so much, and have said there isn't much swelling. I bet by next weeks appointment you'll be free of the compression socks. I bet the the "bunched look" under your jeans is most becoming NOT!

 

[SurreyGirl]

Sounds like the shopping trip went really well. Interesting about your comment about sitting on hard chairs instead of walking. Have a restful day!

 

[Jaycey]

But, I realize a lot of my available energy, appropriately so, is going towards healing and not a lot left over for much of anything else.

Yup! Well done for acknowledging this. Many try and push through it and pay the price.

Are you taking any blood thinning medication? I found that caused huffing and puffing just post op as well.

 

[Barbaraj]

Good morning, Bonesmart World! Waking up this morning feeling much the same--stiff and a bit sore, but nothing out of the ordinary. Quickly popped my Tylenol with my morning latte. My husband is off to renew his driver's license, then heading to his office for a flu shot and a lawyer lunch (which I'm sure he'll enjoy after all the food prep he's been doing these days) and then he'll hit the gym at his office or head towards home and go to our local gym for a workout. I don't expect him home until late this afternoon, so it will be my first day completely on my own. He'll take his cell phone with him so I can be in touch if needed, but I think I'll do fine. I am able to ambulate around the house fairly well, and several leftovers in the fridge that I can microwave for lunch. It will be a lazy (and boring, sigh...) day but I'll manage fine, I'm sure.

I am only taking 2 baby aspirin daily, @Jaycey, which I think constitutes my sole blood thinning medication. But interesting if that might be causing some of the huffing and puffing. It was really odd yesterday to feel myself out of breath after only walking slowly and deliberately for such a relatively short period of time. But, as I noted yesterday, I think (hoping) that the explanation is that my energy is concentrated on healing and not a whole lot left for doing anything else. I was in reasonably good shape pre-surgery and I don't think I would have gotten so dramatically out of shape in under two weeks!

Oh, @Alitm, I do hope I'll be allowed to ditch the compression hose at next week's appointment. While I don't mind them terribly, I do hate the bunching effect (and, yes, you are right--they are NOT attractive under a more snug pant, like jeans) and I also get tired of hitching them up so many times during the day. If they are going to have you wear these things, you'd think they'd put better elastic on top, or just make them knee highs!

And, @SurreyGirl, after yesterday's walk didn't really make me ache more (just the weird huffing and puffing) I am convinced that it is good to do some walking, as exhausted as I felt afterwards (not overly so, just amazed at how out of breath it made me) it was nowhere near as uncomfortable as sitting for long periods of time.

 

[Jaycey]

I think (hoping) that the explanation is that my energy is concentrated on healing and not a whole lot left for doing anything else.

If you are only on aspirin then yes, this huffing and puffing is your body trying to move while in big time healing mode. Take things slow and steady - pushing through won't get you anywhere. Still early days!

 

[Layla]

The huffing and puffing must be because you're in recovery and haven't been engaging as you did pre-op.
I know it's frustrating when the energy just doesn't seem to be there. I decided to view it as a positive. To me it was a sign that my body was doing exactly what it was designed to do, heal itself. And if that meant I felt less energetic because all my energy was going toward healing the assault of THR, then so be it. I'd help it along by resting when I was able.

You're doing great for only two weeks post op, you really are. I'd just keep on keeping on. Your energy will increase as your body allows. You'll be back to a better version of yourself in no time!
Hope today is a peaceful one for you.
@Barbaraj

 

[Barbaraj]

Thanks @Jaycey and @Layla, although I had to chuckle at Layla's somehow "positive" spin on my feebleness! I know accepting this "out of shape, ten years older than I really am, little old lady syndrome" is the only thing I can do, but I'm not so much frustrated (well, maybe a little...) as just amazed! Even pre-surgery, I kept in shape with daily workouts, both exercises for core/glutes/quads, but also regular cardio--at a much lower level than previously but still something. I often took the stairs two at a time and never huffed! It's just a relief to know I've not backslid this rapidly in two weeks, and it truly is just my body devoting 80% or more of its energy towards the healing process. That being said, message to body: snap it up, buster, I am bored with this! But I will be sensible, I promise, I don't really have the energy to do otherwise.

 

[SurreyGirl]

Funny, I don’t get out of breath walking and really enjoy it but limited by muscle strain coming in so have to stop. Reckon between work and deliberate small walks I am knocking up a mile a day and that is enough for now!

 

[Barbaraj]

Spoiler alert: not a cheery post! But it had to happen eventually--and today's the day. I am in a bad mood this morning, feeling depressed and sorry for myself, but also mad at myself for feeling this way! I woke up this morning at 7:00 AM, unaccountably, with a slammer of a headache. I tottered into the bathroom, threw back my extra strength Tylenol and came into our study. I grabbed my husband's birthday card and stuck it on the bathroom counter, and then collapsed into the small recliner to sulk and suffer.

I know rationally that I should be delighted with my post-surgical recovery—off narcotic medication, walking around mostly unaided in the house and with the walking pole when I’m outside, no significant pain (just the stiffness and dull ache) and I’m probably “way ahead of the game”. All that is true and yet I’m feeling sorry for myself this morning. I am just so tired of gimping along, tired of not being able to do much of anything without the overwhelming fatigue all the time, and tired of being dependent upon my darling husband who never complains and is so patient, but must be heartily sick of waiting on me.

To make matters worse, today is my husband's birthday—fun way to spend the big day with your disabled and cranky wife with nothing much to look forward to on your special day, no? Because it’s his birthday he gets a free drink at Starbucks, so he’s up there now, departing about 10 minutes ago with the morning newspaper. I tried lying back down again to ease my headache and achy body, but it didn’t work and I got up again within a few minutes. And so the day stretches out in front of me, first day of my third recovery week—heavy sigh.

Okay, I will try to stop whining. I know it’s unproductive and nobody is interested in a crabby posts (kudos to anyone reading this), and I need to get my mood under control before my husband returns home. Since I completely forgot about his birthday before surgery (not even on my radar screen, I’m sorry to say) I didn’t get him a gift or make any arrangements for his special day. I did text our kids and my siblings, and asked them to text him “happy birthday” today, and he did note right before he left that his phone had been barraged with birthday greetings this morning so at least that’s something. I know that he understands why this isn’t going to be an outstanding birthday but I still feel badly about this. And I am feeling especially bad about this because he’s having to do so much for me and doesn’t really even get a day off from “tending to my wife” chores.

At least yesterday I was semi-productive. I have an indoor garden, an aerogarden, and I cut back the last of the dying basil I'd been growing and made pesto. Then I cleaned up the kitchen, washed out the aerogarden thoroughly so my husband could stash it in our garage until next spring, and washed, dried and folded a load of laundry. Although this was done slowly and deliberately I was, of course, exhausted, and collapsed onto the couch to watch mindless TV for a few hours. Argh...I am so sick of this.

But I will try to end on a cheerier note. I hope everyone is doing better today, another day along in this wearying recovery journey. My job for today is to stop whining and to be nice to my husband. Cheers, all.