Hip Infection* Checking in

[Krista]

@McDeeva, my sympathy for your hardships! Not being able to use that foot properly is a big deal when you are also trying to recovery from surgery, and you will need all the help you can get. I am planning on going to rehab for a few weeks after my surgery in August. I'll be 20 lb. weight-bearing on my surgical leg after gluteal tendon repair. The surgeon will also be doing exploratory work, and I may even end up with a revision, don't know yet, and won't know until I wake up from the op. I have pain issues with some of my other joints, and I hurt my back last week, so my ability to ambulate is diminished. Rehab will make things so much easier for me and for my loved-ones who would otherwise have to care for me during that temporary time. I know not everyone needs it, or even has access to it, but it can be of great help, even just for a short time. You get physical therapy every day and they assess what you can and can't do, and help you to become independent in your daily activities.

 

[McDeeva]

Hi everyone,

@Josephine I am on 10 mg of oxycodone x4 hrs and Tylenol, neurontin. They give me celebrex in the morning too. The stretch does hurt, but ortho wants me to stretch the nerve. I will try to review the videos its just hard because i am toe touch weight bearing. So with this numb tingly foot its making everything harder.

@Cynthia777 i am going to work more with PT tomorrow. The thing is my ortho said i didnt need PT at this time just the gentle exercises in the bed and that rehab wont help with my foot. Its also scary because all the rehab places i have looked kinda suspect lol. But i just got back from a walk. I have to wear a brace when i walk that is supposed to go in a shoe but it didn't foot. I wear a laynard boot in bed to keep the drop foot kinda straight. So..sigh def some setbacks so soon. Im trying to stay positive but all i keep thinking is that i have to come in here in 3 months for them to give me a new hip, and what if my nerves arent back? Or what if they get better and then they damage them again? Although I have toe touch weight bearing I would have been in a better place without this nerve issue.

 

[McDeeva]

@Krista thank you one thing about the rehab is that he said i dont need rehab. Like no PT exercises at this time. Our plan now is to have me get up my dads stairs to get to my room and basically stay there for awhile. We havent even touched on this picc line thingy that i have to learn lol. I feel like i havent been getting alot of PT and OT because its the weekend and its like a skeleton crew here (although i dont think its an excuse). I do feel the same way about my families help and what I will be putting them through and I just feel ...bad. :(

 

[McDeeva]

I am able to get to bathroom, wash myself up while sitting on toilet, brush teeth, wash face with minimal assistance. I do need help with the lotioning, puttinf bra on, and dresses etc. My aunt and stepmom and fiancee alk can help md with that. But you are right @Krista it seems so much for them to do. So i dont know really what i should do at this point...its just been so much going on within the last 3 days...i am just..really at a lost for words

 

[McDeeva]

@froggymom wow that is a story there! You are truly a survivor. I will have to read your thread to catch up. Did the MRSA come from surgery? This spacer journey is def nkt for the weak at heart. But with Gods grace we will come out on top like you @froggymom !!

 

[Krista]

@McDeeva, rehab is for when you can't take care of yourself at home. They do OT and PT as your doctor orders, no more or no less. When we are limited in being able to move, we can always use help to learn the safest and best way to get around. Rehab is not just about physical therapy at all. It could really be helpful. Just wanted you to know this! If you end up not needing it, and you can manage just fine at home, then that would be great!

 

[KarriB]

I've been following your thread and even though I'm a TKR, I did have an infection and PICC line. You can do the PICC line yourself or with the help of someone. My PICC line was in my right arm which made it hard for me to flush and get started, but I could do it when I needed. The night I came home from transition care a nurse came to my house with everything needed for the treatment. While recovering from my infection I did no PT at all.

But I think your biggest concern would be how to get up stairs while only bearing toe weight. There was some discussion of me having to go the spacer route and stairs were the big issue. Everyone has stairs either to get to the first floor or to get to the bathroom in my family. I was thinking I'd have to live in my basement family room for 6 weeks and use a dorm fridge and microwave for a kitchen. Have they practiced stairs with you in the hospital?

 

[McDeeva]

@Krista yes you are right. Tomorrow a rep from one of the rehabs comes so i can make an informed decision. I am going to discuss it with my family. This is just such new territory for me

 

[McDeeva]

Hi @KarriB ! I have did physical therapy one time here! We did the stairs and it went....good. I was able to get up and down with a crutch. But u know practice makes perfecr so the more I practice the better i will get. But you know at hospitals time is money so i am going to advocate for myself. Like dont just give me one 20 minute session and say let the force be with you lol. Sigh...

 

[McDeeva]

@KarriB i am right handed and the pic line is in my right arm also. I am hoping to ne able to do it myself also. Were u able to do it by yourself all the time?

 

[McDeeva]

@keepmovin hi I have had alot of famiky over for visits at the hospital. This is a very scary time for me. I have needed lots of hugs. Were your nerves messed up from surgerg? What type of pain pikks did they give yoh? Were you weight bearing?

 

[keepmovin]

@McDeeva - With your foot drop complication, a reputable rehab facility may be a comfortable solution for you. I managed comfortably at home and learned to use the steps non-weight bearing, but I did not have the complications you have right now. I was in a lot of pain, however, so the pain meds will be a must for you. The picc line was the least of my concerns. I think you will find this will become easy to manage. I only had to administer the antibiotics once a day. There is no need to do any PT at this stage. It will only make you more uncomfortable. That will come during your second stage. Please don't concern yourself with your next operation at this time. But, you will welcome the next operation because it will relieve you of all the discomforts and pain that you have right now.

Give this time. It will get better. Patience, time and help from others, and your faith will get you through this.
Hope you have a restful night!

Hugs!

 

[keepmovin]

I just saw your post after I posted mine. I'm not sure what happen when I had the spacer put in that caused all my nerve pain. We think I had nerve impingement but once I had the new hip installed, the pain was gone. I was on a lot of pain meds during the spacer time plus Gabapentine which helped with the nerve issue and helped my spasms at night. Evenings were the worst. It took about a month before I started to adjust comfortably. There is just no easy way to get through this stage but it will pass.

 

[KarriB]

I was able to do it myself, just be sure the tubing is long enough that you can reach the tubing with your right hand also. A nurse came once a week to change the dressing and do a blood draw for my infectious disease dr to run labs. The home health company I chose delivered the IV antibiotics, heparin for flushing as well as gauze pads and medical wipes.

After about 6 weeks my body stopped making white cells as a result of the two antibiotics I was on, (1 oral and 1 IV) so the labs and the ID dr were important. If and when you can shower the PICC line can't get wet. I used Cling Wrap to cover the PICC line and keep it dry. I did wrap two separate times and used the hand held shower head. But I wasn't allowed to shower for about a month because my incision seeped for that long.

Good to hear you can do the stairs. I was in transition care (a step down in the same hospital as my surgeries) for a week. Although I really didn't do exercises that required me to bend my knee (I was in an imbolizer) they did have a set of stairs and my PT insisted I do 13 steps before going home as that's how many steps from my garage to the main living area. Going up with an imbolizer was tricky, but not as bad as toe weight.

 

[KarriB]

Forgot something, make sure someone is with you when they teach you everything you need to administer and flush the PICC line. It's not difficult, just a lot of information and chances are you'll be exhausted. My sisters were with me and learned what to do so they could help when needed.

This is a very scary time. I was an emotional wreck. At one point the nurse came in because she could hear me crying all the way at the end of the hall. I was in a quarantine room because they weren't sure what the infection was for a few days. But I asked the nurse to shut the door and let me cry it out, later she came back and prayed with me. I think the combination of surgeries, medicine, pain and fear make us emotional. I was emotional until I knew the infection as gone.

 

[dinsmaum]

@McDeeva : Just wanted to reassure you about the picc line. You are very, very likely to be able to manage this on your own, or with very minimal help. As @KarriB said, the nurse comes out, walks you through it step by step,and in my case, was willing to come back the next day or more until I felt confident. But I had done this before, not on myself though, and picked it up quickly. The home health services pharmacy delivered everything, and in fact the staff there was incredibly helpful and caring when I had questions or concerns.
Again, agreeing with Karri, have someone there not only to be a second brain for you, but to write down the steps. As Karri said, you are going to be tired, your brain is still going to be a bit fuzzy. Our memories are not the sharpest post op for a while, lol!
I had a new fangled way of administering the antibiotic infusion, but I can't remember the name of it. Instead of a bag and a pole, I had this round thing that you didn't have to hook up to a pole, could move around with, super easy! Hopefully @Josephine will know what I am talking about, so you could ask your infectious disease doctor about it. Mine ordered it, but noted often times insurance would deny. But, my insurance covered it totally with no problems! Well worth checking into.
But either way, this is one part of the whole thing you don't need to worry about. You will likely be able to handle it with a little practice. If not, it will not be a big deal for the ones helping you!

Hang in there!! It gets better!

 

[Josephine]

one thing about the rehab is that he said i dont need rehab. Like no PT exercises at this time. I feel like I havent been getting a lot of PT

Honey - you don't need PT!

You are very, very likely to be able to manage this on your own, or with very minimal help. As @KarriB said, the nurse comes out, walks you through it step by step,and in my case, was willing to come back the next day or more until I felt confident. But I had done this before, not on myself though, and picked it up quickly. The home health services pharmacy delivered everything, and in fact the staff there was incredibly helpful and caring when I had questions or concerns.

@dinsmaum Thank you for this - I'm learning too!

I also found this information which I think it what you are talking about

The kit

Description from broken link removed: https://thebrainchancery.com/page/2/

"Continued me on these really high doses of broad-spectrum antibiotics, which I get delivered at home and am able to self-administer using these neat little balls that contain the antibiotics… You just hook the ball up to an input tube already stuck in your arm, and once you connect it and open the valves, the ball begins contracting like a rubber balloon (which, essentially, it is) and slowly pushes the antibiotics into your arm. So you can carry the ball with you wherever you go, which is great. But you still have to do it 3 times a day, cleaning all the connectors and tubes before and after every change, so it takes a long time to do, overall. Overall, it’s a pain. You may not be in the hospital, but you’re still a patient. At least you don’t have to warn somebody every time you want to pee."

 

[KarriB]

I had some sort of pump that looked like a fire arm or gun. The antibiotics ran just once a day.

 

[keepmovin]

I had a PICC line twice and each time was different. I was told it came down to what your insurance will pay for.

The first time I had what Josephine just shared and what @dinsmaum used. The sphere balls were filled with the antibiotics. The first time, I used Piperacillin/Tazobactam brand name Zosyn. You would attached it onto your picc line and as @dinsmaum explained, it would get sucked up through the line until completed. It took about 10 mins. if I remember correctly. The down side was it had to be done 3X a day at precisely 8 hour intervals. My nurse was strict about this so I did as I was told.

This was before the spacer went in. I first had only a debridement in hopes that I could kick out the bacteria on my own. In hindsight by all, it was wishful thinking as it did come back. So after this surgery, I was feeling fine and was in no pain. When we would go somewhere for the day, I had to find discreet areas to administer my “drug”! I felt like a drug addict in plain view! It became a funny joke in my family.

The second time I had a much better system. I used a simple injectable syringe once a day. That was it! The antibiotic was Daptomycin, brand name Cubicin. My insurance changed and my nurse said this was a good thing, so much easier!

The package with all the necessary equipment would be delivered once a week at which time the antibiotics had to be refrigerated immediately. The nurse came once a week to clean and change the tubing. I was able to shower without a problem. The tape they used was pretty airtight so I never had a problem with that.

@KarriB, I would love to see what your’s looked like. At least it was only once a day! I know you just retired but how does it feel to know you do not have to go back in September? Hope you are doing well.

@McDeeva, How are you doing? I suspect you have your PICC line installed by now. You have a lot of help here so please let us know what your next step will be so we can help you through it.

@Josephine, hope this helps give you and others further insight on the PICC line. Especially the last one I had. Makes it so easy for the patients.

 

[KarriB]

@keepmovin it's beginning to hit me that I don't have to think about or look for a cool day to go into school and set up my room. This summer has been a bit laid back as I don't feel I need to "make each day count". In the past I'd stick to a strict schedule, not making appts or meet with friends if it interfered with my schedule. I guess it was the OCD teacher in me, but this year I'm just taking each day as it comes and not stressing. Thanks for asking.

My antibiotics came in a cartilage type thing that fit into the pump, then it would push it sort of like a Pez machine. I'm sure there's some technical name for it, but it eludes me right now.