Bilateral THR Brushis's Recovery Thread

[Brushis]

Hey @Brushis I'm wishing you the best surgery experience ever on January 22cnd.
I agree with Mojo333 bye bye hip pain! It's pretty miraculous.. You got this and we will look forward to seeing you on the recovery side when you are ready.

I made it through the surgery okay . Had two sessions of P/T today up walking in walker and up and down steps within 24 hours unbelievable!

 

[BruceH]

I made it through the surgery okay . Had two sessions of P/T today up walking in walker and up and down steps within 24 hours unbelievable!

Awesome!

 

[VSlowLife]

Fantastic! Great to hear from you!

 

[leejaa]

Congratulations on your shiny new hip.

 

[Celle]

Welcome to recovery, @Brushis .
I've moved your post and some responses to it and started a recovery thread for you. Plese post your updates here from now on.

Here's your recovery reading:
Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:

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rest​

elevate​

ice​

take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT

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a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​

b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

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BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

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Activity progression for THRs​

6. Access these pages on the website

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Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Care In Hospital​

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.

 

[CricketHip]

hey hey! Congratulations @Brushis ! It's pretty amazing, isn't it? I hope you are able to snag some sleep.. so happy for you.

 

[Layla]

Good Evening @Brushis
Congrats! It's so much nicer to be on this side of it all. Up walking and navigating stairs already. You're on your way!
Wishing you comfort and a peaceful night's sleep.
The future looks bright!

 

[Mojo333]

Hi
My "Both at Once?!!" hippy pal.

So glad you are one and done and sounds like your pain is well managed

 

[Fit4Family]

Congratulations @Brushis Awe struck by double procedure folks. Glad everything went well and your pain is under control. Hope you can rest comfortably, Ice baby ice. Worlds best pain reliever.

 

[Brushis]

Hi
My "Both at Once?!!" hippy pal.

So glad you are one and done and sounds like your pain is well managed

Thanks so much everyone going home today just learned how to get in and out of car,bed,tub , stairs with cane and railing.Its been a rough few night’s but I feel it’s getting better every day .

 

[Elf1]

Awesome to see you on the recovery side and even better to see you're going home! Actually you're probably already there. Now to get some uninterrupted sleep, rest, elevate, ice, ice and ice! Slow and easy, especially this first week or so

 

[RinTinTin]

Congratulations @Brushis

 

[Mojo333]

The first week is a real stinker.

Stick with the meds and lots of ice.
All Temporary....sending healing vibes your way.

 

[Brushis]

Hi
My "Both at Once?!!" hippy pal.

So glad you are one and done and sounds like your pain is well managed

Hi mojo I did great since yesterday had a set back with swelling in in hip area down to my knees real puffy not red though ! Been icing on regular times needed .

 

[Brushis]

Hi
My "Both at Once?!!" hippy pal.

So glad you are one and done and sounds like your pain is well managed

Hi a little set back swelling set in on day 5 . Real puffy from outside hip area to my knees . Not red I’m color I have icing at night and all through the day . Dressings are still on and have seepage under dressings but I have taken a shower yesterday .

 

[Mojo333]

I bet you have been up and about more, am I right? This sounds familiar - and normal although it is also a call to stay elevated when possible and keep that ice Pumping

The first 10 days was ALOT. Then things sort of started settling. So try to relax as much as possible.
My first shower was wonderful and Scary!
Exhausting too, but clean exhausted was nice.
@CricketHip, my cohort, emphasizes deep breathing to engage the lymphatic system which is responsible for getting that excess fluid out of your body.
All temporary...
healing mojo coming your way.

 

[Mojo333]

Regarding some seepage.. also to be expected.
Wondering when your post op appointment is scheduled?
I know I liked to hear reassurance from the OS office.

 

[CricketHip]

@Brushis Good morning! I'm sorry to hear you are experiencing a good bit of swelling.
It happens and with you having both hips replaced, I'm not surprised.
there are many lymph nodes and pathways deep in your abdomen and some very important nodes on each groin area.. right where your upper leg joins into the front part of your hip and they can get overwhelmed after such a surgery..
The nodes are what assimilates the excess fluid and moves it upward to the next channels so it gets to the heart, then kidneys. When they get hit with such a large amount they just can't keep up.

Manual Lymph Drainage - MLD - is very effective and if you want to try a few of the techniques, maybe you can help with the flow.
It won't be a quick fix because your body is producing a good bit of lymph fluid and trying to heal. But if you do this daily and several times a day with a very light touch, it will begin easing up.
Ideally, finding a MLD therapist is the best option but doing something for yourself isn't bad, either.


Laying with a pillow under your knee is not a good idea. It should be like this, similar but different!

****
Take deep breaths.. deep, as in breathing in to a count of 5, or 3 or 4, whatever is best for you. hold it for another count of 5 then blow out completely, still using the count that's comfortable for you. A series of at least 6 of these could help get your excess swelling to move. To ensure you are taking proper deep breaths, place your hand on your naval and watch while taking in your breath, if doing this properly you should see your hand move up.

Then, as you slowly breath out, to the same count of either 3, 4 or 5 gently press down and slightly upwards with the palm of your hand.
Do this whenever you feel up to it during the day or night. The more supine that you could get in the recliner or bed, the more effective this can be.. you have lymph nodes located in your groin and sitting up too much can cause a restriction of the lymph flow.

You can, after the breathing, place your hands lightly on your upper thigh, right where the crease is in your groin and lightly stroke upwards towards your naval.
I did this quite a bit post op and while it takes a while for the body to wake up and respond, it will, and it will help get things moving.
The reason this can help is because our lymphatic system doesn't use our cardiovascular system to help lymph fluids move.. no assistance from the heart pumping. Our breathing and our physical (muscular) movements keep it flowing.
****

 

[Brushis]

****
Thank you so much I will try these techniques you discribed .[/QUOTE]

 

[Brushis]

Recovery Thread bilateral
I had them done on 1/22 got out of hospital 1-24 got home sat was ok . Sunday woke up with some more swelling puffy ness on the outside of hip down to knee and calf’s puffed up. Called dr his office stated they called me in antibiotic and stated it takes time and will see 2/5 for follow up and remove staples .Other than swelling can get around pretty good . P/ t coming to my house tomorrow for the first session. Dr office stated by day 14 issues will turn around !