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THR Clairebella’s recovery journey

Thanks- I have access to a refrigerator. It might be nice to ice on the way home. I will have to go back on my regular schedule. I had put in to attend a conference. I hope it has been arranged. Then I will be counting the days until Christmas break.
 
Thanks everyone for all the input. I’m still unsure if my pain on weight bearing is normal at 10 weeks given I’m not doing any exercise or outside walking.
I wonder if I should email the surgeon as I am worse now than my 6 week post op check up. Although I am doing a bit more in the house at this point but nothing compared to what some people are managing.
 
Thanks for all your support for my fellow 10 weekers and I have not really asked how you are both doing @Hippie Chick @Esmeralda

I think I’ll wait another week or 2 and see what happens. I plan to do a short walk each day and make a diary of the pain. I just completed a 5-10 min walk and the area all around the joint became more uncomfortable as I went on. Not screaming in pain level but a pretty uncomfortable niggle. I want to try and also go to the pool and do some water walking.
 
Clairebella said:
I want to try and also go to the pool and do some water walking.
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Water walking can be great exercise -- just keep in mind that it can be very easy to overdo it in the water because of the buoyancy. Best to keep your first session short and build up slowly over time.

:flwrysmile:
 
Hi @Clairebella, I think I'm definitely a plodder and not a racer as far as this recovery is going. It is a struggle but I am coming to terms with the fact that my muscles must have been really weak from lack of use for more than 2 years that I can't expect them to jump back into action just because I say so!

I can relate to that niggling ache you're feeling, mine seems to be at the top of my thigh, under the incision area, it starts off feeling just under the skin but then the ache deepens the more I do. After walking for any length of time I do ache and feel quite stiff and this does carry over to the following day. I'm still not walking very far outside, average time is 30/40 mins but I have to say I'm feeling better mentally for getting out and about even though it is causing me some discomfort. On the days I go out for a walk I'm making sure that I don't over do it at home. I'm still being very careful re bending and am only breaking the 90 deg restriction gradually and gently. My gait is still a problem, so I'm still using a crutch and I'm trying very hard to remember to walk slowly and practise heel to toe walking.

Progress has been without a doubt slow but I do feel more positive now and going for walks outside has definitely helped. I think keeping a diary will be helpful for you, it could help you pinpoint what activities are causing you the most problems and it could also be a useful reference when requesting your sick leave extension.
 
I think slow progression is great, maybe a test of our patience but certainly will get us there eventually! I think you sound like you are doing really well @Esmeralda

Is post-op blues still normal at 2.5 months post op??
I’d like to get some positivity! I’m worried I’m screwing everything up by not going out for daily walks and progressing my walking. I find pain gives for poor motivation. Plus the bloody rain in Scotland right now! Not doing anything and not being at work and being on my own for most of the day feels like my post op blues have returned with a bang. I even cancelled friends coming around over the last 10 days as I feel I can’t face anyone. For some reason I feel ashamed that my pain isn’t resolving. I expected post-op pain to have mostly gone by this point and certainly to resolve with simple pain killers.
 
Normal to still have some post op blues, my surgery was in February and I clearly remember in April crying cause I couldn't clean my shower doors correctly!
I was sobbing and my partner thought I had hurt myself or I was in pain and asked what was wrong and I sobbed..."I...can't...clean...shower....
Well, one text to my sweet daughter in law and she came over and did my bathroom top to bottom. She'd come once a month to do shower stall until I was able to bend and get to bottom of it.
I'd let friends come over, do you good to sit and chat a bit but I also understand this cause for awhile I told no one I even had hip replacement. Only my youngest son and a few friends knew what had happened to me. I don't know why I couldn't share the information but I just didn't. We all handle these thing differently.
Hang in there.
 
myglasshalffull said:
Normal to still have some post op blues, my surgery was in February and I clearly remember in April crying cause I couldn't clean my shower doors correctly!
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I read this out loud to my husband as a warning because this sounds like something I'm bound to do eventually :heehee: For now, he barely lets me fold the laundry.

@Clairebella let your friends come over! There is nothing to be ashamed of if you're healing a little slower. Realistically speaking, 10 weeks is not that long. Blast your favorite music when you're alone, and let people visit you, and use a crock pot to make some nutritious but comforting soup, and give yourself permission to heal at your own pace.
 
Well I have organised seeing a friend tomorrow who is local to me - thanks everyone. I need to push myself. Good thing about going to someone else is I don’t need to worry about the grubby house! I looked at the windows yesterday with the dog muddy paw prints and nose snuffle marks and had a big groan, but I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things!
 
Clairebella said:
Well I have organised seeing a friend tomorrow who is local to me - thanks everyone. I need to push myself. Good thing about going to someone else is I don’t need to worry about the grubby house! I looked at the windows yesterday with the dog muddy paw prints and nose snuffle marks and had a big groan, but I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things!
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You mean not everybody has dog muddy paw prints & nose shuffle marks on the doors??:thud:
Those poor people!!
 
Hippie Chick said:
Why I have those too! Plus random floof when my girls shed! :heehee:
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Lol the PT was helping me wi my socks when the air conditioning kicked on & I watched this little mass of floof sneak up behind him... Like it had a a life of its own & was coming over to say hi.
And there are people missing out on that?
@clairabella, we are loved! :puppysmooze::kittykiss:
 
Can I ask the experts further along about a few things. When do the following return to normal without hurting. I ask as after a few good days and nights i intuitively knelt down last night to get something out the bottom of a cupboard. As soon as I was down I was like, why did I do that! I had to heave myself up and knew it’d aggravated all that soft tissue - yup, woke in night with radiating thigh and knee pain. So when can you do the following naturally and without pain. I’m 11 weeks post -op

-Kneeling down/being on hands and knees
-Walking up and down stairs non-toddler style
-Crossing legs to put socks shoes on
-Getting in and out a car by stepping in rather than sitting and swinging legs in- and not having to lift op leg in.
-Lying comfortably on op side
 
@Clairebella The answers to your questions are: It varies from person to person. Sigh I wish there were more definite answers for you but there really are not. For me - and note I had both hips replaced at once - I was able to do the first 2 at about 3.5-4 months post op. For the put socks on .... about 4 months for left foot on to right knee and nearly 8 months for right on to left. My right hip was much worse than my left and the muscles around that hip needed LOTS of PT to get back to proper working order. As for the last one ... about 5-6 months - it initially felt like I was lying on bricks when I tried but gradually over time that sensation went a way and lying on my side got comfortable again.

Hang in there! You will be able to do all of those things in your own good time :friends:
 
@Clairebella I second what djklaugh said -- it varies a lot from person to person, and even from one knee to the other in the same person! Think about all the variables that can impact recovery, like: How disabled were you were prior to surgery? How much muscle atrophy do you need to overcome? Did the surgeon encounter anything unexpected during surgery? Plus there are factors like nutrition, immune strength, etc.

There is no "standard timeline" for recovery, But for me, stairs came first -- probably between 3 and 4 months. Bending and kneeling took another month. I don't remember when I was able to lie on my op side comfortably, but crossing my legs to put on my socks and stepping into the car were challenges for me until about 6 months out.

The good news is that you will reach a point where you will suddenly realized that all this movements come easily and that you will actually "forget" that you had the surgery! Just give it time.
 
Clairebella said:
Can I ask the experts further along about a few things. When do the following return to normal without hurting. I ask as after a few good days and nights i intuitively knelt down last night to get something out the bottom of a cupboard. As soon as I was down I was like, why did I do that! I had to heave myself up and knew it’d aggravated all that soft tissue - yup, woke in night with radiating thigh and knee pain. So when can you do the following naturally and without pain. I’m 11 weeks post -op

-Kneeling down/being on hands and knees
-Walking up and down stairs non-toddler style
-Crossing legs to put socks shoes on
-Getting in and out a car by stepping in rather than sitting and swinging legs in- and not having to lift op leg in.
-Lying comfortably on op side
Click to expand...
All the above questions will naturally come when you are strong enough to walk properly heel to toe and turn with no issues , good balance and of course be cautious in the beginning until you feel confident enough to do those tasks/exercises without a second thought. You’re still healing .. it takes over a year to get back to your ‘new normal.

Everyone is different. Pre-condition is part of regaining back strength… various other data, age, health, and just plain ole fashioned common sense. In many cases strength and healing depends on what your daily schedule is it sorta back to normal.. or can you stand and walk for long periods of time -‘Without pain‘. Can you get in and out of the bath tub yet? Car? Well you know the drill…

What approach you had depends on what your surgeon has given you the release to assume normal daily driving , other daily activities yet? There is really no direct answer .

Can you get up from a chair on your own without using chair side arms to push yourself up. Pick something up from the floor Unaided? How much strength and energy have you gained back? Unfortunately if you struggle or can’t get back up from your hands and knees position don’t , if you can… great. I still can’t get up from the floor for years, I have to use a chair to push myself up..full strength never really returned after 2 hip surgeries on the same hip.. I still ride my horses and garden just readjusted lifestyle after surgery. the answer to your question is basically more of an abstract answer. uhh :no-fin::oyvey::scratch::shocked:… or. :good-bad:very mixed answer because you are the only one to have the answer to your questions . The way hip replacement surgery is portrayed to the public is abstract as well…We are not the bionic woman… in and out boom - a brand new joint. :idea:We don’t all heal over the same period of time . There are too many complex conditions /answers to connect the dots for all hip patients.
Sending healing blessings your way.
 
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