Hip Infection* Checking in

[Krista]

Are you checking your blood pressure regularly? I've been having some dizziness for the past month or so, especially upon standing or bending over, but sometimes just while sitting down, and it has been on the low side. Have been taking my blood pressure every day once or twice, and my GP cut my BP medication in half after seeing the results. She also ordered it without the diuretic, which I had been having for years.

Bottom line, maybe your blood pressure is too low.

 

[Jaycey]

I would run this by your surgeon's office or your family doctor. Aspirin is a great blood thinner but if it is making you dizzy you don't want to risk a fall.

It's just so weird and annoying and scary

Very annoying! Do report this. No falls allowed post THR!

 

[sinijoma]

I have been having a similar issue, my blood pressure is still low from surgery on 10/14. I try to keep well-hydrated and stand up slowly, but I still get sudden drops. I emailed my primary care physician and I'm stopping one of my blood pressure meds and monitoring my BP regularly. I'm also taking aspirin twice a day as an anti-coagulant. The OS said I could cut that back to once a day if it disagreed with me so perhaps I'll follow up on that.


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[McDeeva]

Yes I had a Drs appt and I had some orthostatic hypotension I think. Also my blood pressure was low after my first surgery in July and is slowly rising I think.

@Krista sounds like me. I am not in any BP meds and the only regular BP readings I get is when my PT comes. Do you have an electric cuff?

@Jaycey thanks for bringing up,the aspirin I wonder could that be contributing to it I am going to ask. And yes you are right no falls ain't nobody got time time for that LOL!!!

@sinijoma what milligram aspirin are you in? I am on 81 one time a day but I started with 325 for a few days. I wonder why it's dropping suddenly. I am still getting them and my surgery was 9/29. I wonder will our blood pressure increase with increased activity

 

[sinijoma]

@McDeeva I'm on 325 mg twice a day. I usually take 81 mg once daily for heart health; obviously I'm not taking that at the moment. I have my first post-op OS appointment on Friday and I'm going to discuss reducing the dose then. It's hard enough to get the BP meds balanced without the added complications of surgery!


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[keepmovin]

Hello @McDeeva! You are doing great and all your emotions are normal! Especially the anxiety! I over thought everything that didn't seem normal and, of course, it all would work out in the end. You are still just a few weeks out - given that we have been through a number of major surgical operations on our hip, it will take longer. I forget how many you have had surgery but I had four on the one hip. Patience and time!!

My latest story.....I am seven months out and had an awful fall on my affected hip. I was helping someone put something in their truck and they did not safely and fully prepare to lift it securely into the truck. I was not taking the full weight but the item fell apart and we all went down! Hard! I was stunned, shaken, and scared! I got up, mad and told them to leave! I landed on my hip and was sure I did major damage. I iced, remained as calm as I could and rested. It's been two weeks now and yes I had some major bruising and did visit my Primary Dr., but I am fine!!

I think you have the dual mobility device as I do. I still can't figure how I got through this without major damage, but I did. I guess my point is, you will be great but pace yourself and give it time.

It feels good to feel strong and confident again, but it has been a long road to travel. Live your life, love your life and be happy! You are young and strong! @KarriB is right! The holidays are coming! You have a lot to be thankful for and to celebrate!

Blessings!

 

[Krista]

Yes, @McDeeva, I have an electric one that you just slip on and push the button. I find that my BP is usually quite a bit higher at my doctor's office than when I am at home, so I am sure the home readings are the accurate ones. I am still frequently a bit lightheaded, and it worries me.

 

[JMACCA]

Does anybody have any experience with bad anxiety/panic attacks? If so what non medicated things did you do to help you?

Hi @McDeeva, I haven't but my husband suffers terribly from anxiety and panic attacks. He started with journalling daily (to find out what his triggers are) and started meditating - all this is preventative, plus he take medication daily. When I see him becoming unwell or we have an event that I know he gets anxious in, I often suggest that he does a guided meditation - nothing really long or too esoteric (he is a big burly bloke) but it makes the world of difference.

 

[Miss Muffet]

Yes, I have had a few. I was put on a low dose of slow release beta blockers to regulate my heartbeat which helps to a degree but I'm really well practised at anxiety and can turn it on at the drop of a hat

As far as non-medicated techniques, I relayed this to another of my BS Besties on here ...

Deep Breathing for Immediate Relaxation
Deep breathing can be a wonderful way to quickly calm down and reduce palpitations. One of our favorite techniques is called 4-7-8 breathing. The method is as follows:

1. Breathe through your nose for 4 seconds
2. Hold your breath for 7 seconds
3. Release your breath through your mouth while making a “wooshing” sound for 8 seconds
4. Repeat cycle

The 4-7-8 breathing cycle should repeated 3-5 times. In just a couple of minutes you should feel yourself starting to relax.

I find it is one of the quickest ways to relax - especially when I'm finding it hard to get to sleep.
Keeping hydrated is also important - it is a good idea to keep a close eye on your water consumption.

I think you should wind back on activity and try to kick back and accept that pushing things will most likely delay your recovery. It is only for a few weeks and will pay dividends in the end. Hope this helps

 

[Jamie]

@McDeeva .... you may notice that I have merged your three recovery threads into one. We prefer that each member keep only one thread pertaining to their individual recovery. This helps us when you have questions or concerns as we can easily go back and review your history before responding. Also, when others come along later and want to read about your recovery journey, everything flows chronologically.

At any time if you want to change the thread title to reflect a current issue, all you need to do is post what you'd like the new title to be and a member of staff will change it for you. You can make as many thread title changes as you like. I have retained your latest thread title here, but you may decide to change it back to your more generic recovery title at some point. That's just fine and we're happy to do it.

 

[Miss Muffet]

@McDeeva - we have a wonderful couple here in the UK - The Speakmans - who have had remarkable results with people who suffer from all sorts of phobias, anxieties panic attacks, PTSD etc. They have helpful advice on YouTube, one of which is on panic attacks which you may want to look at. Once you've found them there are other related clips on anxiety. I wonder if you may find them helpful?

 

[McDeeva]

Thank you all so much! @Jamie ok if you could change it back to my generic title that would be great!!

@JMACCA thankyou someone else mentioned journaling. I downloaded an app called Day one I think? It's really cool it is a journal on the phone..but records like the day the temp how you feel and you can tag different things just in case you want to go back and see how you were doing on a certain day you should check it out!

@Miss Muffet thanks for these tips!! I must admit I am well proved in anxiety also. It is definetly something I would like to kick. I think it's interesting that I am not depressed though. Just anxious than a . I have some PRN Ativan that my doctor gave me that is 1mg. Let's be honest 1mg is like a placebo effect lol. I will look them up thanknyou! I need all the help I can get at this point .

Can I ask you all a question? When you say dial back the activity what do you mean? It's difficult for me to dial back something that I feel like I am not doing a lot of. Like today I have just been laying all day besides going into my office to work a little. I don't sit in my office more than 30 min, then back to bed I go. I am icing and elevating. I also took some Aleve this morning that helped a lot, but started wearing off after 6 hours. Other than getting up to go to bathroom that's it. And ok this is the first day that my activity has been THAT minimal...because most days I try to sit in my recliner and twice a week my sister in law comes over to clean and help me with stuff. For instance yesterday I had PT For an hour, my sister in law came over, then I walked again in the evening. I was in so much pain in the evening. So that is considered a bit much huh

So do you all mean just like do nothing?? No walking or anything? I'm sorry I'm just trying to gauge when I am doing too much. No honestly I have been in pain since last Tuesday when I...well when I overdid it. I just feel like I am supposed to be doing something. Like I'm..behind. Gosh guys...

 

[McDeeva]

@Josephine or @Jamie can you post that chart so I can describe where I am having pain at? Thank you!

 

[McDeeva]

@keepmovin hey friend!! I am so sorry to hear that you fell, but glad that you are ok! That is like one of my biggest fears. It's like as soon as I get outside to walk I am looking down not up. I am so tired of that! I am going to have to get it together. Yes I have the dual mobility device also! Thank you for the encouragement!! It would be a blessing to go into the holidays pain free! And without the cane! But again I'm going to take these ladies advice and take it easy I guess...easier than I been taking it. Which is minimal to no activity. You are inspiring though. You are letting me know that there is life after this infection mess!! I know you were non weightbearing like me before surgery. Did you find that your recovery was longer and harder? I am 4 weeks post op tomorrow and I can't figure out why I feel like I am behind! It's so weird ."such a weird feeling. I need to slow down and get a grip!!!

@Cynthia777 how are you friend?

 

[Josephine]

By all means ...

 

[Tweetybrd]

@McDeeva Hi! I have been watching your thread and had also read your infection thread too. I love how upbeat you are!
I have not had my surgery yet so I can not offer much advice but I just wanted to remind you how much your body has been through the last 4 months. (probably more like 6 months ) There is no way to judge if you are behind or ahead in the healing process of where you "should" be. Hang in there and just let your body tell you what it needs. ATM it sounds like it is telling you it just needs to rest.

 

[Miss Muffet]

Really what I mean is if you find yourself hurting it is your body indicating that you have overdone things. My OS was really plain about listening to my body. It talks to you. As you said in your post you were aware that you'd done too much and were in pain as a result. But you've had a restful day today, but that it isn't the norm. See how you feel tomorrow and that will help you gauge what's right for you. I did absolutely no PT, just gentle stretches and very gradually increased my walking. If I hurt I had a day off and found that things settled again. So often on here people compare their progress with others and that's a mistake because we don't all recover at the same rate. If, as you say, you are icing regularly (and I was doing it practically continuously for weeks on end) and are consciously taking your meds on time - ie following all the BS mantras then you will get there.

 

[McDeeva]

Thank you @Tweetybrd and @Miss Muffet!! It's hard for me to understand that I am not the norm. 2 surgeries in 2 months is...a lot. And in my old age of 33 I am not no spring chicken anymore lol. I will just take a and see where that gets me. I think I am going to ditch therapy. I know all the exercises and have been outside. It's just ..I honestly think I enjoyed the consistent company. . I also was just concerned that I can't get too far outside without getting woozy. @Miss Muffet Can you tell me what stretches you do because I think that's what I'm missing is some good old fashion stretching.

 

[McDeeva]

@Josephine thank you kindly. My pain is located CR2F, ER2F, DR3F, ER3F, FR3F, and F1RF, . My leg also feels like ...i guess inflamed. My foot and ankles are not swollen. My upper leg maybe..I can't tell. It feels heavy at times. Thank you for any insight you may be able to give.

I also,wonder should I need to take a narcotic? I have been taking just Tylenol arthritis. 1300 mg 2x a day. Today I took Aleve for the first time and it helped a lot. I stopped the oxycodone because I was getting dizzy.

 

[Miss Muffet]

@McDeeva - I am hesitant about relaying the stretches I was given in case they aren't recommended by your PT and OS. I would hate to cause you problems. Suffice to say they were few and gentle, and I ditched them altogether pretty soon after surgery as I found that following Josephine's advice worked best for me. She has decades of experience so it made complete sense to follow her recommendations. Notice that we hear from other postOps on here that they applaud that advice which spoke volumes to me. If you end up hurting as a result of PT it simply puts you off doing more and means you're not inclined to move around, which is also not a good thing. I stuck with the walking - eased ever so gently into it and very gradually increased it.