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THR Constanze's recovery diary

@Legin. Interesting - your Point about the weight loss. I haven't weighed myself for a while. At least I don't think I'm gaining weight. While the weight loss may be desirable for some of my fellow rehab People, it's undesirable for me. Also, sports activities before breakfast or fasting for longer periods in the morning while waiting to have a blood sample taken is also very unhealthy for me.
 
Quick 3-week post-OP update:
Nothing spectacular has happened. My recovery is steady and healthy. My ROM is improving - with gait, I'm almost 100% there - I can walk without walking aids most of the time. Discovered a beautiful walk that starts behind the rehab building - very green and all in blossom - and walked about 1 km on Friday.

My pain meds were becoming ineffective - I haven't got proper pain anyway, only minor muscle discomfort after exercise. I can address that better by relaxing, resting and icing. So I decided to stop the pain meds together with the stomach pills that go with it. Just have to take my thrombosis pill until the end of the month.

In fact, I meet people here who have no pain at all as soon as they leave Hospital. Some of them are a lot older than me and don't really do much in the way of athletics. On the other Hand, I meet or hear about Young sportsmen who have a fair amount of pain. I wonder whether athletes or younger People are more sensitive to pain or have more body awareness?

The good news is I'll go home on Wednesday. I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

What I'm struggling with at the moment is to get enough of my thrombosis medicine. My doc (an orthopaedist) in the rehab says I shouldn't really miss out one or two thrombosis pills. The thing is they gave me only enough to last until Thursday. Thurdays is a national Holiday in Germany so everything will be closed. My GP (Family/Primary doctor) in my town will also be closed on Friday - like so many people in Germany, the People who work in that practice seem to think it's not worth working just for that Friday and decided to take a holiday. So they said I would have to contact an emergency practice in Rüsselsheim - approx. 15 km away from home. That's daft. My husband would have to drive me there and there would probably be a long queue (long wait). But I don't have enough pills and I won't be able to go to the doc in my town until Monday. As we can see, this trouble exists all over the world. Another bonesmart fellow - I think his name is Jeffrey - very nice person - had a similar experience running/driving from pillar to post to get his pain medicine. I'm going to persuade the rehab nurses to give me a extra 4 pills tomorrow , but I know they will be reluctant because the emphasis is on saving - that's what my orthopaedist in the rehab explained. He thinks that's bad but he has no say. It's the cost effectiveness measures.
 
Whooot get you and super recovery. Med supply seems alot simpler here. I go on line to GP order meds they approve it send to pharmacy and i collect meds 3 days later.
 
Hi @Constanze
I admire you sticking with your rehabilitation period. I know I could not do it, so well done! Everything seems straight forward for you. So you will be going home at Wisteria time! Ito is so lovely to get home x
 
Hi @copsham,
I'm very pleased to get a message from you. How's recovery. Are you fine? Do you go swimming sometimes?

Yes, well my period of stay in Rehab is a compromise. While I believe recovery at home would actually suit me better as an individual and my husband has been wanting me back for days - he' tired of driving backwards and Forwards to see me, I whethered it out until tomorrow. So I'm leaving 5 days early because they don't do much at Weekends anyway and Thursday is a national Holiday in Germany, so they don't do much on Thursday either. But I believe I learned a lot here and the exercises are useful for me - they also have a great swimmingpool and rehab has stopped me from taking on too much in the way of houselhold chores - Love - Constanze
 
Hi @Constanze
So are you home tomorrow? I am pleased for you to be going home soon. I don't think I could have coped with it it the brave way you have.

My recovery is 99% okay infact mostly really positive. Every now and then I have a "wobble" when things go wrong. Last week I slightly bent over a table to write a note while I was standing up. I got a shooting pain and then about 4 days of aching when I tried to get out of a chair and hobbling when I got out of bed. Being me I reacted with "its never going to get better" "it must be loose" etc but now it is completely better. This stopped me going to my Tai Chi class last week.

I have been going swimming but in a more lazy fashion than I used to! So really mostly good with hiccough's.

BTW how did you learn such brilliant English?

Karen x
 
@Constanze congrats on going home. I am so looking forward to being cleared for the pool. Still waiting for steri strips and rest of scabbing to go away. You are going do well. I folded laundry today and it actually felt good to contribute. Hubby has worked overtime. Keep us posted?
 
Isn't it strange .... early in my recovery I was grateful to do housework and was proud of doing so!!
 
WTG! Your recovery has been great. I know you will be so happy to be home. Congrats.
 
3 1/2 week up-date and - home again
Hello all my bonesmart friends. I got picked up by my husband and he drove me home. We went shopping at the local super-markets to stock up with food because tomorrow is a holiday in Germany. It's nice to eat healthy home cooked food. I made sweet-and-sour pork with mixed vegetables and rice and my husband whipped some cream which we had with fresh strawberries. I look forward to sleeping in my own bed.

My gait isn't quite symmetrical yet so one of the instructors at rehab told me to still use the crutches. We don't use the cane - we use either 2 crutches or nothing.

@copsham -Hi I have always made an effort with my spoken and written English. I've been a friend of the language ever since I was 11 years old when it was my first foreign language at school. Then I studied it in Heidleberg to become a translator and married an Englishman who I met in Heidelberg. I also think it sounds good and they say I haven't got a German accent. It also fascinates me that the language is used worldwide on so many continents. Bye - I'll keep you up-to-date.
 
Home! Fantastic news @Constanze, I bet it feels great. The next few weeks will fly by and I'm sure you'll see little improvements every day, even though you are not in the rehab system now. Your dinner sounded fab! :)
 
4 week update:
Not much has changed. I continue to walk regularly, sometimes with the crutches to practice Walking symmetrically (still no 100% ok), however indoors and with hubby - without crutches. Indoors I don't need them. In the Supermarket, they get in the way. Standing in the queue (line) at the cashdesk and paying is no longer a problem. I can drive my car now and hubby's car, and I can cycle 8 km on my own bike. Still taking it easy. No out-patient physiotherapy gymnastics yet, but I've heard I'll get a prescription for that on Tuesday and then I'll be able to schedule it. I discussed with my husband whether at this stage just normal exercise (not pt) wouldn't be good enough, i.e. walking, swimming, cycling, and the machines at the gym - he said not really - thinks I would overdo it (hihi giggle giggle).
 
I got my bike out but was too afraid of falling to try it but your post has me inspired. I just need someone to run beside me for the first few pedals so I can be sure if I need to stand up my legs will work properly. Haven't had any volunteers yet. I bike on trails or dirt roads mostly and use the bike shoes that attach to the pedals so have to move fast to get my feet out when I stop. I am being such a chicken! :chuckmarch:
I agree with your husband that you would probably overdo it -maybe a triathlon already?
Diane
 
@Constanze I love your updates - its fantastic to hear of your progress. You seem to have the right balance between not doing enough and over doing it - quite hard really! Don't you find it great to be home again?
x
 
Good morning @Granny Di and @copsham , and thanks for your nice wishes.

I have no triathlon planned for this year because I'm not running yet. I thought I'd wait with the running a bit and see how I feel after about 1 year. My surgeon is an athlete himself and encourages sport. He never pronounced a life-long ban on running for me (unlike the other 2 surgeons before him who are more conservative concerning this).

But I will build up the cycling and swimming slowly. When I went swimming with my husband I did crawl - the up and down movement with my legs seems to be good for my hip. But then I actually tried a few strokes of breast stroke on the way out and that worked. Before surgery that did not work at all - it hurt too much.

Re overdoing: After 3 1/2 weeks post surgery I had to walk from the dining room to the reception to look something up, was in a hurry and left the crutches in a Corner. Then I met the orthopaedic doctor who was in Charge of me in rehab. He saw me walking and said wow. That was the point in time when I decided I'd try to walk without Walking aids. Went for a walk in the sun and the forest around rehab (about 2 km). The next day we did exercises in a Group that made me sore. It was the same feeling as after a marathon but only my left leg. That's how I knew I had overdone it. So it's back to practicing walking with the walking aids.
 
,@Constance I agree your body does tell you when too much has been done. I get shakey and noodle leg shows up, the sister of log leg. I can walk with the cane for short distances. And even can take a few steps without. It is a slow recovery. You are doing so well. I can't wait to be cleared for the pool. Hugs and good thoughts.
 
Hi @sunbunny - Yes it's true. Now I know what log leg/noodle leg feels like. It's like soreness like you've done excessive exercise. It often happens to me in the night when I'm resting. Light exercise such as gentle movement with my feet, stretching or bending can alleviate the pain. Like the stretching felt good to me after a run it feels good to me now. And gentle cycling and Swimming are also wonderful pain killers - but of course I can't very well practice that at night. I haven't taken any more pain Killers in the past 1 1/2 weeks.

By the way: Referring pain killers. In rehab, I met the second person im my life who only took pain meds during the 7-day stay in hospital. And these people I'm talking about are about 15 years older than me. I still needed my pain meds for another 3 weeks postOP. I wonder whether these people just put up with the pain or are not as sensitive as I am.
 
Hi @Josephine or whoever has the rights to do so - could you please change my surgery date to 20 April 2015? And the surgery is LTHR. With any luck, my right hip won't need replacing - I've been told it's healthy and has no sign of coxarthritis, at least so far. But the surgery date really is Monday 20 April, even though they told me to go to Hospital the day before - for some preparation. And even though it may still have been 19th April in some parts of the world (smile :)). Thank you for making the changes - best wishes - Constanze
 
I have noodle leg too but I didn't know the medical term for it. :heehee: It arrives without invitation when I get tired.
Good to hear your other hip is good and won't need replacement Constanze.
 
@Constanze and @Granny Di noodle leg is very shakey with no substance...give out leg..log leg is when you can't move the $&@? leg. Both can make an appearance usually during PT for me. Lol. A sign you must be feeling better..I told hubby to go play golf. All day golf. Only four hours sleep last night. Yikes.
 
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