THR BoneSmart = best recovery!

[Elf1]

@ceezee great 6week check up and great that the magnesium is helping with the sleep. I've been taking a low dose last couple of days as I was having some cramping in my feet and this usually helps. Don't want to get too much now with the upcoming surgery so will wait to take it more regularly then

 

[ceezee]

@Elf1 Your Doctor might not agree but today mine said I could take magnesium until day of surgery. If it’s helping you may want to give them a call.

 

[linette333]

@Elf1 I took magnesium right up until my surgery after being told that it was fine.

 

[ceezee]

I can see now that without consciously trying I have been babying my left hip for probably years. So it’s not as strong as I thought it was. And now after the first surgery I have to get it better so I can rely on it after the surgery on the right. I’m hoping these 4 weeks will get me closer.

I have nothing but wonder and amazement at the strength and determination shown by those you who had the bilateral.

I have luxury of this time to make improvements.

 

[CricketHip]

Hi @ceezee ! I just read through your thread.. look at you and your healing! And another one coming up quickly.
So, I had the dreaded IT band tightness and soreness with my first THR and found a wonderful way to gently ( and moderately when needed) ease the tightness and pain. Do you have a rolling pin? try that first but if you love it then you can buy a handy tool that is very effective. I was able to stand and put my operated leg up into flexion, like on the side of my couch's arm or even the edge of my bed and roll that rolling pin up and down my ITBand,, it helped so much!! I talked about it on my thread and others tried it and it helped them, too

Looks like we are neighbors!! How did I not notice this earlier? Or maybe I did an forgot on my narcotics?? At any rate, "howdy neighbor!"
I also take my massage cream that has Arnica in it and work it in a circular pattern all around my knee- focusing on the lateral side.. trigger points can sit there and cause a lot of grief.



Any way, there's my little nugget.. I hope it helps you, too.. in fact that rolling pin may feel pretty awesome on the un operated side, too.

 

[ceezee]

@CricketHip !

Wow, we are neighbors. Thanks for the rolling pin tip! I love to bake and have a few laying around but the device on amazon is probably a good thing to pick up. I’m justifying every hip replacement recovery aid by remembering I have two hips getting surgery.

And I’ll check out some cream. Every thing helps!

 

[ceezee]

It’s now been 7 weeks and I feel kind of stalled in progress. I’m still using a walking stick (always outside and sometimes in the house) and limping. It doesn’t help that the weather has been so hot and humid that walking around outside is a no go.

I started PT on Thursday with a very caring and thorough therapist. I got analyzed and was given 2 exercises to do twice a day at home. They did strength measurements so they can track my progress. The exercises are the clamshell and the leg lift to help my missing abductor. Of course I hate doing them and I know it’s been affecting my sleep with sore muscles but the next day I feel somewhat stronger. I need to be better about icing right after I finish. My next appointments are Monday and Thursday—--twice a week until right THR.

I’ve been getting out a lot though visiting friends and going out to dinner plus having many visitors. I have more of a social life now than before my surgery.

And I don’t know if this is because of the magnesium or not but now when I wash my hair no strands of hair are showing up at the shower drain.

 

[Layla]

Hello and Happy Saturday
I keep forgetting you have another surgery right around the corner.
Brave soul, you are. I'm not sure they could get me back that soon but the great advantage is one recovery is rolling right into the next and when you're done...you're done!! Just think how great you'll be feeling by the holidays. And the New Year...2020 will be your year!

I think there are those peaks and valleys in recovery. Times when you feel stalled out. This awful heat and humidity, unless your a fan, can wear you out! I'll speak for myself I guess. I love Fall and it's these hot humid stretches that has me longing for a beautiful Autumn day of September.

Interesting about the Magnesium which motivated me to do an online search. A couple articles say Magnesium helps prevent Calcium buildup on your scalp, further mentioning that Calcium buildup clogs hair follicles making your scalp dry, flaky and even producing hair loss. Supposedly the Calcium deposits on and around the hair follicles can increase over time due to scalp inflammation. Apparently Magnesium counteracts with Calcium, improving circulation and making sure Calcium gets to your bones where it's needed, rather than clogging up on the surface of your scalp. Better circulation also means that other nutrients from your diet are getting to your follicles. Interesting, but as with anything, people need to do their own research.

Please exercise (no pun intended) caution when engaging in Clamshells and Abduction exercises as they are hard on the IT band. Check out this article, see what you think, talk it over with your PT, see what they have to offer on the subject. I do know Josephine is not a fan.
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/bonesmart-philosophy-for-post-op-therapy.37103/
Just want to make sure you're informed and don't get youreself in a state of pain, or misery, leading into your next surgery. I trust you'll know what's right for you.

Also, I know you're pretty active on the forum so I'm sure you've read about heel-toe walking in an effort to lose the limp. I apologize if I've mentioned it to you before but just in case...here goes -

Try heel-toe walking when / if you're limping. Let your heel hit the ground first followed by toes.
It takes a concentrated effort but I believe you'll notice a difference. Give it a try.

It's great to hear you're able to get out with friends for meals, have visitors and engage socially somewhat. The support is a great healer and engaging with others sure helps pass the time.
Sorry I wrote the equivilant of a chapter of a book on your thread, lol.

I hope you have a great weekend!
@ceezee

 

[Cecropia]

@ceezee
I'm at 6 weeks on Tuesday. Isn't funny how we are up and down. I drove to the mall to walk with my cane yesterday, we don't have sidewalks and I wanted a little more challenge than the back yard. I used to do 20min laps at a good pace. Now I was a turtle and did not go real far. Last night my daughter and boyfriend had 4 free tickets in one of the suites at our Lansing lugnuts baseball games, so we went. There was an elevator thank goodness to the top, but still walked a lot. The fireworks were very nice after. But my bun started hurting. Today is pretty good. But I know what you mean by getting out, it's so nice. I'm glad you are doing a few things before your next surgery. Then you can heal for good....and you should be feeling great by next spring gardening and doing your favorite things.

 

[ceezee]

@Layla Thanks for all the information!

I’ve been diligent about the heel/toe for weeks now and it helps. I’m wondering if I won’t rid myself of this limp until after the second hip is healed. After the second surgery the limp should switch sides. Lol.

I’m still on the fence about the PT. I think if I could just expand my times with walking I’d be accomplishing the same thing with less pain and potential for a not good outcome. But this heat/humidity is just killing it. Maybe I’ll head for the mall on Monday and do a ton of walking and hopefully very little shopping.

I want to be at a lake, in northern Minnesota, after the bugs have gone, drinking a cold beer, in the shade, and able to get wet from the lake as soon as I dry. Yep, that would do just fine.

 

[Layla]

I want to be at a lake, in northern Minnesota, after the bugs have gone, drinking a cold beer, in the shade, and able to get wet from the lake as soon as I dry. Yep, that would do just fine.

Sounds lovely in this sauna like weather!
I'll join you haha!

 

[SE Florida]

I want to be at a lake, in northern Minnesota, after the bugs have gone, drinking a cold beer, in the shade, and able to get wet from the lake as soon as I dry. Yep, that would do just fine.

I bet a lot of us would love to go with you and share the lake and beer, let us know when we're going!
It sounds like you're doing really well and ready for #2!!! So happy for you!

 

[Mojo333]

Hard to find those lines... how much is too much, right?
I learned to stop at 3/4 of what I did before if I had to "pay" for it.
It never hurts until we stop
Hips do well with just walking and likely things are still going to be a bit sideways until you get righty on the road to recovery.
It is hard when you feel you're getting conflicting instructions...but YOU are in charge of your recovery and your body will tell you what is helpful and what is not...if you listen.

Hope today is a good day @ceezee

 

[ceezee]

@Mojo333
Thanks for the gentle push to do what I know is the right thing to do at this time. I need to stop the PT. I don’t want anything to threaten my second surgery or make that hip more sore. I think I’ve been blessed with a great recovery on my left hip and to try to force more than is naturally happening is a mistake. My frustration has been with my gait and strength in walking up stairs. But both are better already. And I have 3 weeks to let it improve on its own.

 

[ceezee]

New plan. Tomorrow when I feel less sore I’m heading to the largest mall in America (King of Prussia Mall in PA) to walk and walk and walk in AC splendor and try not to buy anything.
It’s going to +90°F here with high humidity so this seems sensible.

 

[Layla]

and try not to buy anything

Hahaha!
Can. no. woman. ever.
That's unless you forget your wallet at home.
I've heard of that mall, I hope you have fun...just window shopping, right?
@ceezee

 

[SE Florida]

@ceezee Ok, so in the span of 1 hour you went from "need to stop the PT" and zoom, fast forward to going to the largest mall in America tomorrow. My head is spinning, lol. That's a lot of walking! You might need to ice tomorrow night when you get home but I hope you enjoy your day!

 

[ceezee]

I won’t overdo it at the mall tomorrow...promise.

I’ll keep a sharp eye on the step counter on my watch. Walk some, window shop some, eat some, walk some, sit and people watch some......

And icing is always on my todo list. It is a miracle worker.

 

[SE Florida]

@ceezee And I promise that I won't worry So we'll trust you to watch your boundaries! It will do you good to get out. I didn't inherit the shopping gene that's in the rest of my family but I love the part of eating and people watching too!

 

[Cecropia]

@ceezee I'm about to go to bed, but I saw a post where you stated about your poles you hiked the Grand Canyon with. My husband and I hiked the south end down to Indian Gardens and then out to plateau point. I was 58. So glad we did it, never dreamed my hip would need replaced and put a damper on doing certain things now. I can't imagine carrying all the equipment we had on our backs and the rugged path down and climb back up with a hip replacement. Maybe, but that's a lot of stress on the body.