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THR Coddfish’s second hip

Those early days are already a bit of a blurry dream to me. They soon will be for you too. Try and rest as much as you can and take advantage of having someone to help. As you say though, each day does get better. :flwrysmile:
 
Today is day 5 (counting the day of surgery as day 1). Progress continues to be good. I am still very stiff but I don’t have much pain despite only being able to use paracetamol and ibuprofen (I can’t tolerate opioids). I was able to spend the whole night in bed rather than on the recliner although I still need a bit of help to get out of bed. But am managing the stairs in both directions and the shower without assistance. I have started the leg mobility exercises (backward swing, side swing and knee raise). I managed to walk down the drive of our house (4 car lengths) and to the nearest junction (just the width of a large house away) and back. Starting to be able to plant the crutches at the same time as the bad leg rather than placing them first. Leg action improving. Pity it’s miserable and damp out there after the beautiful last few weeks we have had in the UK.
 
This is a great report and I’m glad to hear you’re taking things gradually in terms of adding exercise and activity. You’re still very, very early in recovery so try not to rush yourself too much. As long as you don’t experience any increases in pain or swelling the day after doing something new, it’s okay to add a little more (every other day).
 
@Deni444 Morning Deni :wave: is it today you are doing to see your surgeon about the other hip? Had a thought it was 22nd. If so good luck and post how it goes.
 
Wow you are doing great! Spring weather here has been lousy this week as well! We went from 70 degrees to 49 & rain! Yuck.
Today is Nor’easter. Just what you don’t expect in late May but I live in New England so weather can be quite fickled.
 
Don’t worry about posting on the wrong thread @IndigoKnee. Just making me grateful this already is my second…..

Continuing to do well, I think. I have got some swelling, most obviously the circumference just above my knee is an inch or so more on the affected side than the other, plus my husband says my affected buttock looks larger from behind (!). No infection, pain or temperature so I am working on the basis this is normal, even though I don’t recall it happening with the other leg. Walking and movement is ok. I can now get out of bed unaided. I did wake up with a stiff lower back this morning - am condemned to back sleeping for 4-6 weeks. I am using an orthopaedic neck / head pillow which seems to be working well and is stopping my shoulders hurting and stopping me from snoring. I am using a fairly flat pillow under my knees to take pressure off my spine, plus a triangle between them to stop me rolling. Wondering if it would help to put another pillow under my lower legs to raise my feet?
 
It's always worth a try with pillows in various places to keep you comfortable. And what works right now may be different a few days down the road. I know I used TONS of pillows for all my surgeries and kept moving them to different places when something started to hurt. It's especially uncomfortable if you are forced to sleep in positions that are not the norm for you. Your body will likely register some discomfort that a few well-placed pillows can alleviate. One thing that worked for me as well was to put a heating pad at the small of my back. There is a major nerve cluster there that can tense up and the warmth of the pad helps.
 
I slept last night with a pillow under my lower legs and one under my knees. It was much more comfortable and I also don’t feel quite so swollen today (as well as my husband’s lovely comment about the size of my left buttock, I did feel like I had a boulder in there). Not so bad today and strength continues to return. Still no real pain, just knowledge it’s been done, despite the somewhat lightweight med regime I have to get by with as someone who is opioid intolerant. Continuing to extend my out of the front door and down the road amble, will probably try a circuit of the small park across the road once my husband is back from personal training. I remembered my trick from last time that cycling gloves make the crutches much more comfortable to use.
 
I think the larger buttock size will go back to normal. My right side was also bigger for awhile so pull on joggers & shorts were my go to & a long sweatshirt.
 
Coddfish said:
Continuing to extend my out of the front door and down the road amble, will probably try a circuit of the small park across the road once my husband is back from personal training.
Click to expand...
Please be careful not to overdo it at this very early stage of recovery. You aren't even a week out. Research shows that the people who are least happy with their THR outcome are the ones who push to do too much too soon.

My surgeon insists that, if you want a successful outcome, "Your only job the first two weeks is to rest and recover."

Please take things slowly,
 
My hands got really painful in the early days. I ended up getting a pair of fluffy socks and binding them onto the handles of my crutches. It helped a lot to cushion them and eased the strain on my hands. I bound them on using a bit of elastic. Just doubled over the fluffy sock and slipped it on the handle.
 
Be cautious when putting a pillow under the bend of your knee. That actually can cause some problems and even contribute to a blood clot. It’s much better to place the pillow on one side or the other of your knee bend so there is not a lot of pressure on the back of your knee. You can turn the pillow lengthwise as well and that spreads the pressure out over a much larger area.
 
benne68 said:
Coddfish said:
Continuing to extend my out of the front door and down the road amble, will probably try a circuit of the small park across the road once my husband is back from personal training.
Click to expand...
Please be careful not to overdo it at this very early stage of recovery. You aren't even a week out. Research shows that the people who are least happy with their THR outcome are the ones who push to do too much too soon.

My surgeon insists that, if you want a successful outcome, "Your only job the first two weeks is to rest and recover."

Please take things slowly,
Click to expand...
Please don’t worry, I listen to my body. I add a little each day. I haven’t seen any research that links exercise in the early stages to outcomes. Too much too soon is probably hugely variable by individual and I certainly don’t feel that is what I am doing. My body would be telling me if it was. My experience last time resulted in me being back running at 4 months, with a fantastic outcome to this day, and the day by day improvement doesn’t feel very different this time. I have no pain, I have good movement. I have restrictions due to it being posterior and others due to it being uncemented, which I am following. Just been out for brunch with my husband and a friend. It involved a walk of a few hundred yards from a car park along a flat seafront prom to the cafe. I am using 2 crutches, it was incident free.
 
You’ve got this, @Coddfish. Hope you enjoyed your outing today.
 
Fantastic to hear how you are getting about! Just goes to point out that everyone recovers differently. The reason isn't always clear. Sometimes super fit people struggle and others a lot less able and an older person sails through. Sounds like you may have hit the jackpot with two hips giving you a good recovery. I'm cheering on from the sidelines. I love a great recovery story!

On the subject of pillow. I got a lot of comfort pre operation having the pillow longways. Under the knee but all the way down the leg. Thankfully, I've not needed it post op. Since I was finally able to access my super high bed I've slept like a baby all night with my operated leg out straight. Just needed a bit of sheepskin under my heel to deal with pressure.

Hubby has just had to adapt to the gentle mood music of a back sleeper snoring their head off. I think he dreams of me being back in the recliner :heehee:
 
It’s that thing of what is the lesser evil. I am not a natural back sleeper so need to find as many ways as possible to stop aches and pains elsewhere in the body ruining my sleep. The special head and neck pillow plus 2 pillows cross wise supporting me from above the knee to foot seems to be working. I find it bad enough that lying on your back tends to make you need to drink more water which means yet more loo trips. Very grateful I can quite easily get in and out of bed by myself and navigate to the loo. We have a lovely en-suite but it’s 2 steps down from the bedroom so I am currently using a bathroom on the landing in the night. Husband hasn’t been disturbed by me for the last couple of nights.

On recovery, I think one of my advantages is that despite being 68, I am a runner so have very strong bones. Having said that my cancer treatment challenges over the last 2 or 3 years have meant running has been very patchy. In fact it was new issues with returning to running after the cancer saga that led me to decide this needed to be done. Feeling pretty good about recovery so far but I know it’s not going to be straight line progress.
 
Dear admins. I posted a link in another user’s thread to a product that has helped me. I have had a message saying the post has been deleted with the link under administrative review. Are we not allowed to provide links to things that have helped us?
 
Hi Codfish,
Thanks for reaching out.
All links will be vetted and must meet Administration’s criteria for approval or will be removed.
Guessing you'll hear something soon. So please check back.
@Coddfish
 
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