Cold sweats, weight gain and other post-surgery issues

[tbumnch]

Hi all,

I had THR on 12/09/08, home on 12/11, and 5 days later all seems to be going quite well, except for . . .

1. COLD SWEATS
Started last night in hospital and continued every night since. Last night was really bad; woke up totally soaked. Some threads have linked this to the narcotic [oxycodone in my case].

2. WEIGHT GAIN [and constipation]
This is a complete mystery. I went in weighing 177. On Saturday, 5 days later, I weighed in at 187. I know that some of this gain was due to constipation, and some to the excessive swelling of the leg [holding water]. But ten pounds? After drinking one cup of a very effective Tibetan tea concoction that my wife found, and a few trips to the water closet, my weight is ~ 183. Can the 6 lbs. be water?

3. EXCESSIVE BRUISING
Perhaps excessive, perhaps not, but I am dark purple across my lower abdominal area all around the hip and buttocks and 12 inches above. I understand why, or at least some of this can be explained by the surgeon rotating the the leg 360 for 5-10 minutes, as well as the cutting, drilling and other [minimally] invasive procedures.

Thanks to BoneSmart owners/managers; reading your posts have been very helpful.

Cheers,

Dave

 

[Josephine]

Hi all,

I had THR on 12/09/08, home on 12/11, and 5 days later all seems to be going quite well, except for . . .

1. COLD SWEATS
Started last night in hospital and continued every night since. Last night was really bad; woke up totally soaked. Some threads have linked this to the narcotic [oxycodone in my case].

Does seem that way with the narcotics. Perhaps you are sensitive to them and need to find an alternative - Tylenol might be a good one to use and should be sufficient at this stage.

2. WEIGHT GAIN [and constipation]
This is a complete mystery. I went in weighing 177. On Saturday, 5 days later, I weighed in at 187. I know that some of this gain was due to constipation, and some to the excessive swelling of the leg [holding water]. But ten pounds? After drinking one cup of a very effective Tibetan tea concoction that my wife found, and a few trips to the water closet, my weight is ~ 183. Can the 6 lbs. be water?

You betcha it can be water! I get fluid retention from time to time with swollen legs (granny's legs, I call them!) and pile on the pounds! Then I spend a day or two running to the bathroom and shed it all. Remember 1 pint of water weighs about 1lb (1litre weighs 1 kg)!

3. EXCESSIVE BRUISING
Perhaps excessive, perhaps not, but I am dark purple across my lower abdominal area all around the hip and buttocks and 12 inches above. I understand why, or at least some of this can be explained by the surgeon rotating the the leg 360 for 5-10 minutes, as well as the cutting, drilling and other [minimally] invasive procedures.

Thanks to BoneSmart owners/managers; reading your posts have been very helpful.

Cheers,

Dave

Glad you've found the site helpful, Dave. As for your bruising, you shouldn't have that. Sometimes it can happen that a tiny blood vessel starts to bleed - not enough to be a danger but enough to leak into all the fat in the area and make that great big blue area. It might take some weeks to fade completely but it will.

And just for the record, we don't rotate the leg 360 degrees!! What a thought! The maximum would be 40 degrees.

 

[JudyS]

Hi Dave
Welcome to bonesmart. I had a right hip replacement on June 6th.
Wonderful surgery. I have great range of motion, love my new hip.

As far as weight gain, wow, I came home from the hospital weighing 20 pounds more than when I went in.
I could not believe the swelling in both legs. I did not recognize my feet. I an very active and in good shape. My 5 days in the hospital I consumed almost no calories. I spent 2 vomiting. I was really shocked. My home physical therapist had me stay in bed one weekend mostly laying down.
that did help a lot with the swelling. At my 2 week apt my surgeon told me to use my operated leg more, try putting more weight on it to further reduce swelling. So it does go away.

I had absolutely no bruising, so can't help with that one. No problems with the oxycodone either.
Good Luck in your further healing.
Send any questions our way
Judy

 

[newwheels08]

Hi all,

I had THR on 12/09/08, home on 12/11, and 5 days later all seems to be going quite well, except for . . .

1. COLD SWEATS
Started last night in hospital and continued every night since. Last night was really bad; woke up totally soaked. Some threads have linked this to the narcotic [oxycodone in my case].

I had major cases sweats in he hospital...especially when trying to walk for the first time. It was pouring off. I had a low grade fever for a few days too (not uncommon)...plus the pain meds and several other meds were part of the regimen. No one seemed very concerned except me

2. WEIGHT GAIN [and constipation]
This is a complete mystery. I went in weighing 177. On Saturday, 5 days later, I weighed in at 187. I know that some of this gain was due to constipation, and some to the excessive swelling of the leg [holding water]. But ten pounds? After drinking one cup of a very effective Tibetan tea concoction that my wife found, and a few trips to the water closet, my weight is ~ 183. Can the 6 lbs. be water?

I was at least 10lbs heavier weighing in a home...right after the hospital stay. I was shocked too. My feet were swollen like sausages, and also learned that the weight of the 2 new all metal prostheses are more than original bone. Very swollen, mainly in the legs and feet at first...by then time I went back to work, people commented on how much weight I had lost. plus...The doctors and pre-surgery instructions do not really prepare you for how bad the constipation part will be...I remember that being very rough too

3. EXCESSIVE BRUISING
Perhaps excessive, perhaps not, but I am dark purple across my lower abdominal area all around the hip and buttocks and 12 inches above. I understand why, or at least some of this can be explained by the surgeon rotating the the leg 360 for 5-10 minutes, as well as the cutting, drilling and other [minimally] invasive procedures.

Not much bruising for me, except a bit near the incisions and where the drainage tubes were removed right after surgery.. This cleared up within a week or so. I still get periodic cramping in the hamstrings and bottoms of me feet..and I still enjoy having a small pillow between my knees at night...kind of a strange aftermath of the healing process...even after 10 months.

Thanks to BoneSmart owners/managers; reading your posts have been very helpful.

Cheers,

Dave

I have enjoyed this website too....helped me through the pre and post THR process, and I still check in once in awhile. Best wishes.

 

[JudyS]

Dave
I forgot to comment on the stool softeners , they are a must. My GI doc prepared me before surgery.
Judy

 

[jaz]

Dave
I forgot to comment on the stool softeners , they are a must. My GI doc prepared me before surgery.
Judy

Not necessarily, I took something like 21 diastop tablets when I got home from hospital first time around to get things back to normal, I wished I never took them. When I had the surgery repeated 10 weeks later I refused them, the nurse even tried slipping them in amongst my panadol but I spotted them and removed them. I just ate plenty of fruit and drank lots of water and everything kept working.

 

[Josephine]

and also learned that the weight of the 2 new all metal prostheses are more than original bone.

But not that much. I weighed some prostheses for a similar enquiry some months ago and found the whole kit weighs in at 250-300 gms or 10½ozs. Not all that much more than the bone removed.

 

[UTdave]

I think my 10lb wt gain had more to do with my love of chocolate and red wine and sudden lack of exercise than my prosthesis! But I still blame the new hip!

As for sweats. You are likely on coumadin which is notorious for making people feel like menopause is upon them - even if you're a man. I was always wrapped in a blanket during the day and sweat like a pig at night (the ted hose probably didn't help!). You may want to take your temp, however, as post-op fever is something your doctor wants to know about. Remember a fever is 100.8F or 38C - not "I feel warm".

 

[newwheels08]

The red wine came a bit later...but I do love it too. The big (but thankfully temporary) weight gain was right after the surgery.... and before my "real life" appetites returned. The blood thinner, home care nurse had me weigh in at home 3 days post op (10 lbs heavier than pre-op)....I then noticed my toes were very big, plumped up like ball park franks...thought maybe 2 days in bed with an IV had me topped off with fluids. I like the idea of the bionic hips weighing in too. At the time I was told 5 lbs per side...I think Josephine's number is more accurate.

 

[tbumnch]

Thank you, all; it's very reassuring to learn of "issues," especially those that one's surgeon never mentioned. I guess I should have pumped the hospital nurses for the info. They were fabulous!

The cold sweats continue, however, and last night I got only a few hours sleep. Woke up several times completely soaked. So, I changed tshirt and shorts, put a big towel on top of the sheet, and hopped [well, got back] into bed. Two hours later, same outcome! So, I said 'screw it' and just got up and started a new book.

My "care team" had not responded to my concerns about swelling, so I contacted my internal physician who got my an ultrasound appt. this afternoon.

I'm not on coumadin. Instead, my doc has prescribed something called Lovenox - a system in which you inject yourself with 40 mg of x which, presumably, does the same thing as coumadin [or not].

I believe the recovery is progressing well otherwise. I am walking a lot, doing my exercises religiously, and start PT this week. So, all in all, I suppose I should consider myself lucky, especially after reading about Jaz's redo.

Best to all and happy holidays.

Dave

 

[Laurie]

Hi all, Just to chime in, I did indeed have unexplained weight gain right after surgery and like Judy was very dismayed as I could hardly eat a thing. It did go away sometime after I returned home. The swollen area around my incision did take several weeks to go down. I remember being so worried about that "wallet" effect that I needed reassurance from my Dr at 10 days out that it would go away...Don't know if the Lovanox shots had anything to do with my gain, but only had them 8 days after surgery so no big deal for me. I was fortunate and didn't have to wear the TED stockings (except one day in hospital cause of one nurse) at home.

All is bound to subside in time--take care
Laurie

 

[kimsey49]

I am 8 months out from right THR and doing quite well. I noticed your problem with night sweats and thought I would chime in. I was on Coumadin and I also had the most awful night sweats for the first couple of weeks after surgery. I dreaded going to bed at night to try and sleep, I would always wake up in the middle of the night completely soaked. It was driving me crazy, but it stopped eventually, (THANK GOD). So hang in there it will end...

 

[PRGal]

I also had soaking night sweats; with hydrocodone for pain meds & a once-daily injectable blood thinner called Arixtra for 12 days after coming home. I was off pain meds by day 15, so it's not clear which may have been associated with night sweats. (Sweats didn't show up in the list of "adverse events" in the Arixtra literature, however, constipation did affect 8.5% in clinical trials.) At any rate, this thankfully went away after the first 2 weeks, so hang in there!

I actually lost weight, mostly due of lack of appetite I'd guess, but constipation was a bear! I heartily echo others' recommendations to get a stool softener at your drugstore--really helps!

 

[JudyS]

Dave
Good luck with the ultrasound.
I had lovenox shots for 10 days total. They worked well I guess!!!
I was lucky to escape the night sweats though , they sound horrible.
Menapause!!!!!!!
Judy