Become an Insider

THR Arizona Dreamin'

Status
Not open for further replies.
Another horse person chiming in. I had my first hip replaced in 2012, posterior approach. I had to stop riding a month before the surgery because the pain was horrendous. I finally broke down in my driveway one day and just cried because I couldn't stand the pain any more. I had put off surgery for 4 years, and rode in pain every single day. It took me 12 weeks to get back in the saddle, mostly because I couldn't get my right leg over the saddle. Dismounting was ugly, but if I wiggled hard enough I could work that right leg off the saddle and onto his back and then wiggle off. Not pretty, but I was determined! I live alone so I was a bit nervous about my first time but there is no stopping someone who has got to ride! I had my second hip replaced July 29, 2014 anterior approach. This time I scheduled the surgery before the crippling pain could start. I was able to ride up till the day before my surgery. Recovery was a lot faster and I was back in the saddle in 10 weeks. I mount off a picnic table so getting on wasn't a problem, and getting off was just a reflex kind of move. I did not do much pt and never walked more than a few hundred feet during my recovery so I am amazed at your activity level. Please take it slow! I was desperate to get on at 8 weeks because I knew Sheryl had started riding at 8 weeks after her first replacement, but I listened to my body and did not do something stupid for me. I was so anxious to ride again! And here I am today, 99% pain free in my hips, and not thinking about pain when I ride. It is a truly a glorious feeling to sit in the saddle and not have that terrible groin pain.
 
Me2 said:
Saw this on Debbie's thread but . . . after my hip surgeries, my son started treating his arthritic 20 year old horse with something and, WOW, he moves like he was three again. For years, it was painful to watch him move with such bad hips. About four months of treating and you can really see his hips move again as he walks, and he very willingly canter, and even kicks up his heels in the paddock once again. A joy I can easily share with him!
Click to expand...
 
Interesting read about you horsey hippies. I would have thought the biggest fear would be falling off and dislocating.
Anyhow my question is about what the horses were given that worked wonders. Was it hyaluronic acid? We are giving it to our aging Chesapeake Bay Retriever dog (not a horse) and it has helped him keep his back legs working. It is is some arthritic medicines (Instaflex) but people can't take it orally in liquid form like animals can and I wonder why. I know they give it to horses.
All the best to you all in your recovery!
 
Hi all, I too am a horse person, albeit an inexperienced one. My surgeon told me to wait the three month mark before getting back in the saddle, maybe because I had posterior approach. Its kind of funny, but when I started riding some a few years ago (after not riding at all for 25 odd years), I couldn't swing my leg over my horse correctly. I had to kind of lay over horn and swing my leg over back of horse. I just figured it was because I was so out of shape. This was way before I knew about the arthritis in my hips. Now I am looking forward to actually getting in the saddle the correct way. I'm sure my horse would like that too.
 
Four weeks today! And feeling good but tired.
Spent the last two days with a friend having her TKR. Things went well til she had a post-anesthesia reaction. Not an issue had she still been in recovery but on the floor took forever to get warm blankets and pain med's. I was not her nurse's favorite person. Her pain med's were all given in "catch up" mode after that which resulted in being over sedated a good part of yesterday. I think she's going to do so much better when she gets home with her very capable son - I armed him with this site (on the TKR side) and I'm on call for nursing and shopping.
We had a huge storm rip through - golf ball size hail and sideways rain. Ponies OK, no major damage but a huge mess to figure out how to clean up plus some of the electric in the house is shorted out. Have PT and dentist in town so will deal with later.
My hip must be getting better as I keep forgetting to take pain med's. :giggle:
 
Hi @Me2. Yes, that is my Dreamer in my avatar. AKA Ragtime Sunkissed, Morgan with Western Working Morgan lines (much like the older Government type Morgan's). She is such a go-go girl that she definitely won't be my first ride - that will be on an older "been there, done that" fellow who was sent to me for rehab last year and somehow became part of my herd.
@Granny Di I do worry a bit about being tossed and landing on the implant but not near as much as I'd worry about drowning if I tried to paddle a kayak.
@Midchild54 I had a long stretch of not riding - mainly because I seemed to be always rehabbing one horse or another, so when I finally got Dreamer I considered myself a "returning" rider. Then the hip went but it was some time before I could get the (expensive) dental work done before any surgeon would accept me for hip surgery. But I'm finally here now!
I will probably take more time than I need to as I want to make sure the bone-implant bond is strong. A lot of my joy with my horses has always been in simply being there with them, the chores, the feeding and grooming, watching them play. If I could never ride they would still be my reason for greeting the sun each day. Though I guess puppies would be a bit easier :doggie:

Patti in Vail AZ
 
Well - finding the "don't over do" part a bit challenging...
My friend is doing well with her more than capable son there to help. I dropped off some healthy yummies for her fridge and freezer as have several other friends and had a nice visit.

But - we unintentionally "acquired" two dogs last night. Temporary, they belong to another friend, and one's a digger.
So I was shoveling dirt, rock and whatever else I could find to fill in where Dali dug under the run to escape :bricks: (as he comes trotting up to me to say "aren't I special :puppysmooze:") and putting wire, cement blocks and wood skids in to seal up holes.

I would not have been doing this myself if I had had someone available to do it for me or if it could have waited but it was necessary. I was thinking OMG, I am going to pay for this... then realized I haven't felt this good in a week. I think it may be because my body is used to doing a lot of heavy physical labor - up to and including the morning of surgery, even though I couldn't walk very well.
I don't advise this for everyone but I'm starting to think this is the reset my body needed today. Now to see if I can figure out how to unload hay bales while protecting my new hip. Horsewomen learn to work smarter instead of harder.

Patti in Vail AZ
 
@DesertHorses I wonder about this too. I was not used to laying down 15 hours a day. I think it has really contributed to my back pain. I know necessary but still my body wasn't used to it. Pls be careful slinging bales of hay!
 
MWow @DesertHorses and I thought unloading my dishwasher was an accomplishment! You go girl! ( as long as it doesn't hurt~ and remember ice!)
Hmm moving hay bales~ can you outsource that one? May Dali's owner owes you one?!:scare::dogwalk:
 
Time for an update - at five weeks my hip is doing awesome but I am oh, so tired. Something about trying to do too much?
No pain for the most part - taking a Tylenol here and there - incision swelling almost totally gone, getting comfortable with the idea of "that metal thing stuck in my leg". Gait is good, working on "straight and tall" when I walk.
Still farming out most of the heavy work for a while and when I must do something trying to work smart, not hard. Found a gem of a girl to help at the barn - she's smart, hard worker, funny, cute and makes me wish I was seventeen again. She's going to give my Dreamer a bath today (on my list of high risk horse chores to be avoided for another couple of weeks). I'm debating trimming some feet - but as three of the four are doing a decent job of "self-trimming" think I'll wait another week. Or check the budget and maybe have someone come in to do it a time or two.
Milestone - was able to climb between the fence rails! I haven't been able to do this for over a year and did it without thinking the other day. Now I really need to find a barrel to put an old saddle on to work on those riding muscles.
My friend with the knee replacement is doing well now that she stopped the morphine and isn't as stoned. I'll probably stay there a few nights as she isn't quite ready (IMO) to spend overnight alone yet as she still gets confused with the pain med's she is still taking. She can get in and out of bed and to the bathroom fine so mainly need to just be a safety standby - if she should fall I can call her son to help get her up. Tried to get her to join the knee forum here - at least I think she and her son have read some of the articles.
Which makes me realize I have not tried getting up from the floor myself yet - think I will do that at PT tomorrow.
It's becoming difficult to recall just how miserable I felt the first week or two :catdance:

Patti in Vail AZ
 
Ooohhhh... Golf carts too?!?! It's like a fun vacation there!!!!! I'll figure out a way to drive that golf cart, circle around barrels, feed the horses! I'm in!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
Another milestone - I tied the laces on my tennies yesterday! :dancy:

Still trying to do too much me thinks - I think it comes from feeling like I've lost a couple of years of my life waiting for this surgery and now I'm feeling better I want to get it all back - right now! I need to work on doing a better job of figuring out what's really important and prioritizing but it's so hard to pick and choose. But I feel like bucket by bucket, I'll eventually get my barn back in shape and my ponies working again - just not all at once. :yes:

Got a late night call from my friend who just had her knee done. Seems she was "following orders" and taking her pain meds as prescribed - 10 mg of oxy every three hours - and had the expected consequences. :sick: So of course I drove right over, after stopping at the drugstore for everything I could think of which might help, and hoping it wouldn't mean a trip to the ER for her. We both had a bit of a sleepless night but by morning she was more like her "normal" self. Of course now she's scared to take any pain med except Tylenol. I've been sending her links to the TKR info here but I can't make her read them :sad: so I'll just keep checking on her and staying available. (And I did suggest a smaller dose and spreading out the time.)
This is a dear friend :friends: who got out of bed in the middle of the night to help me drive two hours to the hospital when my son was attacked by a knife-wielding nutcase.
So all in all ~ LIFE IS GOOD! :flwrysmile:
 
@DesertHorses
What a wonderful accomplishment! My laces are tied by whomever is home with me or I slip the shoes on pre~tied!
You are doing great! I hear the joy in your writing as you reflect on your progress~ if you over do then remember to baby yourself and take a rest.
Wow~ you indeed have a friend for life. I have found that those wth whom we survive tragedy are truly our "family". I cheer you on! Keep healing! :yay:
 
Wow!!! Good for you!!! Laced up the shoes with no help!!!! Awesome!!!

And yes, you can give her the links and be available, but she's got to do it herself. Frustrating but lead by example. Sounds like you are doing great! As for the knife wielded son, holy cow!!!! Did your son recover fully?


RTHR, posterior, 15JUN2015
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@beachgal I think my first word was "horsie". If I couldn't ride there would still be horses (and maybe a donkey or two) in my barn - it's always been the reason I get up in the morning.
@Tweefishy My son recovered (he's alive because of some quick acting police and wonderful emergency medics, nurses and doctors) but we're so aware now that life can be changed in a heartbeat when we least expect it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

  • Layla
    Layla
    Staff member since November 20, 2017

Members online

Total: 2,542 (members: 5, guests: 2,537)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom