summertime,
15 days post op? I was still using narcotic pain meds at 15 days post op. I stopped them around day 17 and I noticed I needed to get right back on them (around the clock every 5.5 hours since Norco lasts only 6 hours). Around day 20 or 21 I was off and I went to basic 600mg of ibuprofen. During this time, you WILL take many many baby steps. I had posterior approach so I had to have the big wedge between my legs each night. I hated that wedge. I also had to do my exercises daily. Try to squeeze your butt together since you want to have tight glutes by 3 months post op. My glutes got tight around week 14-15. I wasn't doing my butt squeezes everyday and by week 12 post op I was only able to stand on my right foot for all of 1 or 2 seconds. By week 15 I was able to do much more including stand on right leg for 20-30 seconds.
I used my walker for all of 8 weeks. Some people ditch the walker at 2 weeks. I don't know how they do that. I was on it for 4 weeks and then went to a cane. For some reason I thought it was using the cane wrong and got scared. I was going to hospital for my PT and I remember not being able (at 4 weeks post op) to walk with my cane. Everyone was asking if I needed a wheelchair since I was so scared. I told them I needed a walker (since I left mine at home). So back on the walker I went for another 4 weeks. It took a long long time for me to trust my right hip.
Once I got to week 12, I ditched my cane! I thought I'd never get rid of that cane. It took a while for me to learn how to trust my cane. Since you are only (now) 1 month post op, I'm guessing that you still are not allowed to bend over forward and pick up something off the floor with your hands and still need to use a reacher. I had posterior and I wanted direct anterior, but what I had wasn't so bad. And I was able to do full weight bearing since I'm only 38.
Are you still on medication? If you are still using your walker - take note. Once you get off your walker you may feel deep groin pain when walking with a cane. This pain may worsen when you graduate from a cane to walking with no aids. The muscles in the legs in the groin is what helps us to take big steps instead of baby steps. I used to take baby steps too. After 12 weeks of taking baby steps (My PT said I was "guarding my hip") I had to take big steps to get that groin muscle working again. And it HURT to walk without a cane, but where it hurt was my right groin. I was given exercises to do to help stretch that muscle out.
As others have said you pain should be different from the pain you had before surgery. I still have pain around my 8 inch scar. I'm still numb on one of my scar right in the middle area. I still can't reach my right foot to put a sock on and I can't reach my toe nails to paint them or cut them. It sucks since I'm only 38. But I try to look at what I can do now. I don't have that deep bone on bone pain that I had for 25 years that resulted from a hip dislocation when I was 13. My pain is different (more like stiffness - and I still get very stiff if I sit for 30 mins). I'd say the worse of my recovery was in the first 3 weeks and it was still not all great until week 7. That is when my numb knee woke up since my entire leg from knee up was numb.
Just look toward 6 months and think of what you will be doing. I wouldn't think too much about the other hip right now. Some doctors wait 4 months, some wait 6 months or a year after the first surgery to do the next surgery. If I were you I'd wait a full YEAR to do the next surgery if the pain isn't that bad for you. It will take a while for you to fully heal. I'm told up to 18 months or 2 years. Everyone is different.
Canada
Sure hope I am walking well enough by June to walk on the beach..so looking forward to summertime. How are you doing?
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