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THR Could Really Use Some Help<

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MobileMel

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Joined
May 18, 2018
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Hi all! I had my THR on July 16th 2018. I am hoping to do all this "recovering" right, but am feeling very fuzzy and unsure. I was doing decently until yesterday, post op day 5. Every dose of my pain med continued making my dizziness and intense nausea worse and worse. That's why it's taken me this long to get back onto the computer. I began taking half-doses of the narcotic on post op day 4. I developed a low fever of 99.4 yesterday as well. This morning, I have alot of pain obviously, but i am scared to take any pain meds. Is it better to just not move and go without the meds or take the meds and force myself to endure the nausea and dizziness? I also fear any pain med will cause the same response as i am very drug intolerant. Help, please!! Thanks guys!
 
Welcome to Recovery!
I'm sorry your struggling with pain, nausea and dizziness at this point. You need your meds right now though for the pain. I'd advise you call the office of your OS and speak to someone on his care team. Ask if your meds could be causing these symptoms and if so, can they be adjusted. I believe you can run a low grade fever at this point from what I've learned during my time here. I'd mention it anyway, along with your other concerns so they can offer you some reassurance. When you're feeling better please read the Recovery Guidelines below and pay special attention to the BIG TIP toward the bottom. Keep in touch and let us know how you're feeling.
Wishing you comfort!


Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each, member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice. @MobileMel
 
MobileMel, I agree with Layla. Call your doctor. There are effective meds to control the nausea, and it is very important to stay ahead of pain. Half-doses aren't the answer right now because you won't get the benefit of effective pain control, plus it's not alleviating the nausea anyway.
 
My dr rx a generous supply of zofran automatically. I needed it constantly the first two weeks as I was taking the narcotics at the correct dose, on time.

In my experience, pain had caused nausea too.
 
Call your doctor. They will help you and staying ahead of the pain is essential. You may have these reactions to narcotics or need different ones. Staying ahead of the pain is going to help you with healing.

I had a low grade fever too in the beginning and I had to watch it. Rest and ice a lot.
Wishing you less pain and more heal
 
Hope you are feeling some better, MobileMel.:console2:
This is the tough part...hope you were able to get something for your nausea.
I had to do on some ginger ale and eat grapes for first days as my appetite was kaput.
Temporary..that was my mantra through the rough stuff...Temporary!
 
Hi, all! Well, I ended up not being able to tolerate narcotics, so am on a good anti-inflammatory and Tylenol, Zofran for nausea and my BFF ICE.

I was doing really well just taking it one step at a time, then my Uncle died unexpectedly, and I had to care for my children while my husband was called into work. Long story short, my 9 year old has autism and cannot manage change in routine well, so I could not bring anyone in to help me other than my mom who has to take care of my Aunt though my Uncle's passing.

Fast forward a week, I attended the wake and the funeral and since Friday, have been doing a lot of resting. I have more pain when walking than I did before the funeral obligations.

I am really trying not to worry that I did any permanent damage. I just did a lot of walking with my walker on uneven terrain and getting into and out of cars. To top it off, my husband, a pharmacist, was scheduled no hours to work in August not fired, his boss refused to fire him and yelled at him for using so much of the company's health benefits. Husband has been working the past three days straight and I am so tired.

If you made it this far, thank you. I just feel so robbed of my recovery.
 
@MobileMel So sorry you are not able to focus on your recovery. Please try an take things very easy. I too had to deal with a "crisis" just post op my RTHR. Somehow you cope and somehow that hip forgives you. Ice and elevate if you can get a chance to sit. I doubt you did any damage to your new hip at the funeral. But you must be very tired. Hope you can get some rest!
 
Thanks for your kind words, Jayce. Do you suggest I work on my PT exercises at this point or just rest, ice, and elevate? It's my husband's last day of work today, so I should get some rest soon. Thanks!
 
I'm so sorry @MobileMel that you're dealing with so much heartache this early into recovery.
So very sad. It sounds like most of this was out of your control. I doubt you did any permanent damage but I would definitely not engage in any PT while you're hurting. It will only make it worse. Please read the BIG TIP from the Recovery Guidelines -

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

Also read Energy Drain from the Recovery Guidelines for a better understanding of why you're so tired -
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/energy-drain-for-thrs.12415/

Please understand, sweetie, you weren't robbed of recovery because you're still in recovery and will be for some time to come. Some unavoidable circumstances occurred and you engaged. Now it's time to rest and recover. With some restorative sleep, icing, pain reliever and time, I'm sure you'll be okay. You're only 12 days post op now and that is very early days.

Please read this Activity Progression for THR also and use it as a guideline, sticking to it as much as possible, in an effort to get yourself back on track.
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/activity-progression-for-thrs.13187/

Stop by with questions, we'll be here for you.
Hugs and best wishes for a peaceful evening!
 
Thank you for the support. I took a shower and was putting a purse away in my closet. This requires a small step stool. I was not thinking straight at all. I was preoccupied with thinking about my husband finishing up his work on his last day at work, and I stepped off the stool. I experienced an extreme, sharp and burning pain in my thigh and now I can feel a lot of weird, painful pressure in the side of my hip where I've been fine before. From here on out, I am just staying in my chair, and will ice and rest. I cannot believe I did this! I have my first check up on July 31st. I really hope everything is ok.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your Uncle. Sending you my deepest sympathies. I am also sorry that you are not starting out your recovery the way you had anticipated. Sounds like you joined the ODIC (Over Did It Club) and just need to allow your body to rest now. I've worked with several Autistic students from severe to higher functioning, and totally get the whole change thing with your son. Transitions and change are so hard to cope with. Sending hugs to you and hoping that things begin to get better for you! :console2:
 
Sorry to hear about this. Looks like you are getting great advice here. Best wishes for your full recovery. Typing this three days out from the op so way behind you on the recovery stakes right now. Thanks for posting about the stool. Sounds like the sort of thing I would do too! Xx
 
I went to my first post-op appointment, and all is well. I'm very relieved and have been resting and icing a lot. My husband has been wonderful to me. I'm having my good days and my not-so-good days, but I feel like this is normal recovery at last! Thanks for your advice and support guys!
 
Hi everyone,
I had THR on July 16, 2018 and was going along rather decently with my recovery (although I felt it never was as easy of a recovery as I thought it would be) until mid-November of 2018 when I began to have popping in the replaced hip which was not painful but was pretty consistent.

Aanytime I went from stand to sit and sit to stand at times. Bending over with partially bent legs and straightening up also resulted in popping. The hip began to be more painful with searing pain in a band across the top of my thigh including into my labrum and eventually I could not get up the stairs.

Right after Christmas I dramatically decreased my daily activities. I stopped picking up anything heavier than maybe 10-20 pounds. I have given myself as much rest as I can. I am 40 years old with school aged children. The hip is now giving me an incredibly deep, intense pain, rating of 6-8 throughout my entire top front and into the side of my operated hip anytime I am standing for more than a couple minutes.

I have to cry out in order to get through the pain. The pain occurs as soon as I take weight off the operated leg. Although as of today, the pain happens anytime I am standing for more than a couple of minutes regardless of how I am standing.

Please help me with any advice on these signs. Is there ever supposed to be popping in a replaced joint 6 months into recovery or am I in trouble? Sorry for the length of this post!
 
Hi MobileMel,
I'm sorry you're struggling at 7 months post op. Have you contacted the office of your OS with your concerns?
If so, wondering what advice you received? I will tag, @Josephine, the Nurse Director but really feel you need to touch base with the office of your OS. I'm sure through a few questions a member of his care team will either offer reassurance, or determine you need to be seen. After three months of discomfort and questioning your situation, It would be wise to contact them.
Wishing you comfort as you seek answers.
@MobileMel
 
Thank you so much for your quick response. I had an appointment with my OS for Feb 1st but had to cancel it due to a winter storm. At the time of Feb 1st I had not developed the newer intense pain. I will give my OS office a call in the morning to reschedule. Has anyone experienced these symptoms and not ended up with a major complication? I am not even sure whether I am asking about possibility of infection, implant failure, or what? I am very scared. It takes time to get into my OS as well. I would love to find anyone else out there who are 7 months post-replacement with similar symptoms? Thanks!
 
Hi @MobileMel
I'm sorry to read you have a problem and I'm glad that Layla has tagged Josephine, asking her to advise you.

You'll notice that I have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread.
For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:
  • That way, we have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
  • If you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
  • Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.
So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here.
Don't worry that we won't see your question because, between us, the staff read all new posts every day.
If you need an urgent response to a question, just tag a member of staff.
How to tag another member; how to answer when someone tags you

If you prefer a different thread title, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.

Here are the instructions on finding your thread, How can I find my threads and posts? . Many members bookmark their thread, so they can find it when they log on.
 
MobileMel--If it were me (I am 6 months out), I would be very direct with them in terms of your symptoms and the need to see the doctor. The level of pain you are having would worry me, and I would want to see my doctor to have an X-ray or tests to be sure all was well.

I know we all have a tendency to not want to bother our doctors and we always worry we are overdramatizing. But there are times when we need to advocate for ourselves---they work for us, and we owe it to ourselves to get answers for things that really seem off.

I'm not trying to add to your worry, but it seems you are concerned, and in this case checking in with your surgeon may be helpful.
 
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