Dharlee
junior member
- Joined
- May 14, 2022
- Messages
- 34
- Gender
- Female
- Country
-
United States
I went in for a THR on Wednesday, November 2, 2022. I had seen several videos ahead of time concerning THR and what to expect, what to do, and what not to do and quite frankly those videos had me quite anxious as to what could happen. Some of the videos talked about how easy it was to dislocate the hip after surgery. A couple PTs mentioned how you could just barely turn the wrong way and it would happen, so I was pretty nervous. The people on this forum, and my Dr both put me at ease about it and I’ve been quite surprised at how well things went and how (for me at least) easy this whole thing has been.
I had an anterior hip replacement. I don’t know if that makes a big difference or not, but my surgeon seems to think it does. I had to have several procedures this year so by the time I was able to get my hip replacement, I was more than ready for it. The pain beforehand was absolutely excruciating. In all honesty I do not believe I would have been able to walk another day even with the help of a walker because of it. I am 68 years old and I have had exactly two painful events in my life that were worse. One was childbirth and the other was encephalitis at the age of 13. The headaches when your brain is swelling are quite maddening and I was delirious half the time. This hip came quite close to those pains. My knee was replaced in the spring and while it was bad, it was nothing next to the hip pain. My Dr said it was in absolutely terrible shape.
They set up my IV that morning, took me to the prep/recovery area and gave me a drug to relax me, then wheeled me into the surgery room. They took vitals and told me they’d see me soon and the next thing I knew I was in recovery. I went back to my room soon enough. The only pain I had was a sharp sting in my thigh, down below the surgery sight. It was quite sharp but didn’t last. I had it when transferring to my bed (I was to stay overnight). That pain revisited every time I stood up that day. I found if I held my hand and pressed over that site it would help a lot. My Dr later told me that was where the “spike” was driven into the bone.
My Dr. did not put any restrictions on me other than 1) I was not allowed to lift anything with much weight and 2) I wasn’t allowed to lift my right leg back into the air behind me. Otherwise, I could do many things I’d been told I probably wouldn’t be allowed to do. I could cross my legs. Unlike with knee surgery, I could have a pillow under my legs. I could even sleep on my side provided I could get on my side.(I couldn’t lol.)
The only complication I had was a bit of excess bleeding. There was enough bleeding that I had to lay on the surgery side against an ice pack to slow it down. My bandage was totally saturated which was supposed to be one of the reasons to call the Dr. immediately according to my instructions, and I had a drainage tube with a device a little smaller and a little thicker than a cell phone attached by a long tube that was drawing blood from the surgery site. I was told I had to wear that until I went for my post op appointment the next week. The nurses were worried about the amount of blood I had on the bandage, but the Dr was not. He said if it got thick and squishy he would see me, but as it was, it was hard and flat and doing its job. I got the tube out a week later and he told me my scar looks perfectly great as do my X-Rays.
It’s been only 10 days and I am now able to walk with a cane inside and only use my walker outdoors. I think I’ll only need the walker another week at most. Almost all the real pain is gone and I refused any more pain medication. I have some soreness naturally, but nothing like before. All in all, this was a cake walk for me and I feel very blessed. I hope others will have a similarly easy experience. I feel like this surgery is one of the best things I've ever done for myself.
I had an anterior hip replacement. I don’t know if that makes a big difference or not, but my surgeon seems to think it does. I had to have several procedures this year so by the time I was able to get my hip replacement, I was more than ready for it. The pain beforehand was absolutely excruciating. In all honesty I do not believe I would have been able to walk another day even with the help of a walker because of it. I am 68 years old and I have had exactly two painful events in my life that were worse. One was childbirth and the other was encephalitis at the age of 13. The headaches when your brain is swelling are quite maddening and I was delirious half the time. This hip came quite close to those pains. My knee was replaced in the spring and while it was bad, it was nothing next to the hip pain. My Dr said it was in absolutely terrible shape.
They set up my IV that morning, took me to the prep/recovery area and gave me a drug to relax me, then wheeled me into the surgery room. They took vitals and told me they’d see me soon and the next thing I knew I was in recovery. I went back to my room soon enough. The only pain I had was a sharp sting in my thigh, down below the surgery sight. It was quite sharp but didn’t last. I had it when transferring to my bed (I was to stay overnight). That pain revisited every time I stood up that day. I found if I held my hand and pressed over that site it would help a lot. My Dr later told me that was where the “spike” was driven into the bone.
My Dr. did not put any restrictions on me other than 1) I was not allowed to lift anything with much weight and 2) I wasn’t allowed to lift my right leg back into the air behind me. Otherwise, I could do many things I’d been told I probably wouldn’t be allowed to do. I could cross my legs. Unlike with knee surgery, I could have a pillow under my legs. I could even sleep on my side provided I could get on my side.(I couldn’t lol.)
The only complication I had was a bit of excess bleeding. There was enough bleeding that I had to lay on the surgery side against an ice pack to slow it down. My bandage was totally saturated which was supposed to be one of the reasons to call the Dr. immediately according to my instructions, and I had a drainage tube with a device a little smaller and a little thicker than a cell phone attached by a long tube that was drawing blood from the surgery site. I was told I had to wear that until I went for my post op appointment the next week. The nurses were worried about the amount of blood I had on the bandage, but the Dr was not. He said if it got thick and squishy he would see me, but as it was, it was hard and flat and doing its job. I got the tube out a week later and he told me my scar looks perfectly great as do my X-Rays.
It’s been only 10 days and I am now able to walk with a cane inside and only use my walker outdoors. I think I’ll only need the walker another week at most. Almost all the real pain is gone and I refused any more pain medication. I have some soreness naturally, but nothing like before. All in all, this was a cake walk for me and I feel very blessed. I hope others will have a similarly easy experience. I feel like this surgery is one of the best things I've ever done for myself.
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