Become an Insider

THR Déjà Vu: Squirrellymom's Right THR & Her Left THR

Status
Not open for further replies.
Thank you, thank you, thank you all. I'm not tripping the light fantastic by any stretch of the imagination but I wanted to give an honest update as to what I experienced for op day and the day or two after. It really isn't all pain sometimes. I tend to actually see things in a humorous bent so when I tell about it, it comes out as funny. I just have that attitude. People that know me don't know when I'm serious and that can and does cause problems. I had a good nights sleep again last night. Only up once to go to raised potty at about 4AM. I sat in a chair for an hour last night and watch a documentary about Alzheimers on NPT. My 91 year old Mother has dementia and is in a nursing home so I am very interested in the genetics of the disease. Well, here ya go, I sat there watching this show and I forgot to do foot pumps and or butt clinches and my left leg was swollen when I finally stood up to get ready for bed. :bignono: I needed to move around and walk about for at least 5-10 minutes and I did not do that. Well, I went to bed with all my pillows and my ice and took my Tylenol and my swelling subsided. This morning that leg is stiff and the bruising is really starting to show up. Lots of bruises around the packing and the skin is hot to touch. I have PT this afternoon back at the hospital so I'm sure they will do just enough to get my blood circulating and my muscles strengthening. No, not too much too soon. I'm being lazy and lounging. I know my limits. Pain is still -0-. Stiffness, swelling isn't painful - just uncomfortable. Some Aching and soreness today but it is supposed to rain and that always brings on stiffness for me anyway. @Cynthia777 You are so sweet. It means a lot to me to know that I can put into words things that will make someone laugh and smile. It is so hard to sit back down and rest after healing the first time and getting active again. The difference now, for me, is that it isn't a surprise. I know what to expect so some of the anxiety isn't there. I'm excited that you will be doing the two step really really soon. Yes, I did write for a newspaper about 18 years ago. I did a weekly column on happenings in our small community. It was fun. I also did a newsletter for our local animal shelter and that was also fun to do as I could be the voice for the critters. As you might imagine, They had lot's to say. :doggie::meow:

I hope everyone is healing and those who have not yet made it to "this" side are relaxed and informed and know that they will come out for the better and be glad they made the decision to dump the bad joint and get with the new! Waiting & Watching for that Lil Missy Muffet gal to come over now. --julie
 
Isn't it ironic how much anxiety most of us go through during the pre-op period, only to find out all that worry was for naught (in most cases)?
You're sounding great and chipper as always! May your recovery continue uneventfully and quickly. :-)
 
It was fun to read your surgery facts. (Actually fun to read all the comments here): Pre-surgery it was a mind calming experience-- knowing what might be coming. And after surgery, just a reminder of the experience that seems like a long time ago (but really isn't). I'm glad to see your at zero pain, and are continue pushing forward. My swelling / bruising really didn't appear until 5+ days post surgery. Then it took several weeks to go away. I'm sure that's what caused quite a bit of the stiff feeling that I had to get past. Ice made it feel better, but didn't seem to speed up the healing. Your lucky to be up and feeling good so quickly. I'll be looking for your updates.
 
Ahhhh @CatLady1 I think you may need to get the other hip replaced so you can join me and @Cynthia777 with all these new posts we are doing. :eyebrows:

I went to PT back at the hospital on Thursday afternoon, so I had an entire day free of doing anything on Wednesday. Hip #1 had me going to PT the next day after hospital discharge so I felt like I was on vacation for an entire day with nothing to do but lounge. :swoon: I didn't have to do very much at PT this time. They did remember me though and when I trotted in without my walker I was reprimanded for attempting to be an over-achiever. I was really achey and very tired by the 2:30 PT appointment so I was complaining. I did the sit down stepper, the stationary bike and a few on the table leg exercises and had some measurements taken. I don't think I have as much flexibility or range of motion with this leg as I did with the right one. My therapist said they are both different and different muscles get cut and so not unusual to feel different. I do not experience the "log leg" but it is hard to actually pick this leg up and put it somewhere. It feels very weak. Need to build some strength for sure. I was swelling quite a bit around the incision and down the upper thigh and the bruising was really popping. Ugly dark purple and all the way around the upper part. @CatLady1 - Nothing, not one bruise near the knee on this leg. Knee feels great and appears to not have been touched. Unreal. Therapist put my hip/leg in the "Game Ready" compression/chiller thingie and it felt soooooo good. She said she will do it again next week if I'm still having swelling and some heat in the area. I'll say I am even if I'm not. :ice: I'm actually sleeping fairly well and I've been able to sleep on my right side with pillow between my legs for a while each night. I'm icing regularly and this is day 5 post op and I went up and down my basement steps today foot over foot with no problems. One thing that makes a difference is I kinda know what to expect and I'm not afraid to move and to go slowly and just do what I can. I've been sitting outside on the deck enjoying the sunshine (vit. D!) and watching for the hummies to appear at the feeders. Maybe a big difference is that this is April and Springtime :surfer: and #1 RTHR was January - ugh. :blackcloud:

I don't have any restrictions except deep lunges. I never did those anyway. Doc says Teds for 1 week, I'm not using my walker or cane in the house as I am not walking much, just from room to room. I'm taking two Tylenol in the morning and again at night. Two 325mg aspirin and Meloxicam once a day.

@Cynthia777 I can really tell that my legs are the same length. It is amazing how 1 cm could make the right leg seem longer and stiff. My legs feel totally normal now and I don't favor one leg over the other and I'm not limping at all. Normal. The word is that I feel Normal. If I weren't sore and bruised I would be walking like I did five years ago. I can't wait to take a long walk in a few weeks. :walking:

@CatLady1 I bought a Fitbit yesterday - well, I ordered it and had Fed Ex bring it to the house. :yes: I remember that you got one so when I finished old #2 I decided I should have a present and I ordered one - (purple band of course & I shall wear a red hat with it) I'm messing with it and figuring out what I want it to do. I don't want to be reminded to walk more just yet, like duh, I really can't do 10k steps. I'm also having my sleep monitored. Just tapped it and today I've taken 1.7k steps and it is only 5PM. WhooHoo. Hugs, --julie
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Great update @Squirrellymom! I can't wait to get rid of this LLD, as it's quite annoying! I LOVE that you feel like you're walking "normal"...it's been a very long time since I've felt anything close to walking without the limp. My op hip feels soooo good, but hip #2 needs to go real soon! Keep up the great recovery! Hugs! :-)
 
Just remember- 10,000 steps is where you'll be aiming in 14 weeks. At the 2nd week I was happy to progress from 500 steps to 525 between days (if I walked that much). We're out camping with friends this weekend, and yesterday I topped 13,000 steps. We brought our folding bikes with us, and have spent some time everyday riding the bike friendly sidewalks in Townsend TN. So I'm still working on keeping moving. It's amazing how much better the hip feels this year. :-)

Once you get moving, Julie, we'll have to have a Fitbit challenge!
 
:welome:We have Hummer's at the feeders in Middle Tennessee. Welcome back little ones, it's SPRING!

Alrighty then, I've just returned from my second PT at Centennial Hospital. It took an hour and a half to get there this morning because of traffic. It "should" take about 40-45 minutes, so needless to say I was stiff and rigid when I stumbled though the Therapy room door. I had a restless night because I did too much yesterday. Yes, 7 days out of surgery and I was doing a lot without a cane or walker. Up and down the deck steps (2nd floor deck) about 4 times because my husband had something to do yesterday and left me at the mercy of the pack of four dogs, all who "need" to go out and threaten to pee in the floor if I don't let them. The two big dogs can go in and out on their own but the two little ones have to be watched so they don't get into something or "something" doesn't swoop down from the trees and get them. :rolleyes: I also stood in the kitchen and baked little doggie bites that probably took about 30 minutes to mix up and roll and cut out. Should not have done that. No! I was hurting last night and both legs had some swelling. At PT, the therapist had me do some mild stretches and some other exercises to work out the sensitive areas. It is mostly the new op left hip toward the backside (I had anterior but the bottom side of butt feels really tight) and down the hamstring. I am able to get my socks and shoes on by myself but I have a pinching, tightening, burning in that area and it is swelling a little every day. Getting comfortable last night was almost impossible. I told therapist it seems to bother me more than the right hip did at the same time but I admit I am using it more. I was VERY careful with the right one as it was my first and I didn't know what to expect. The second one has been an "I've got this" situation and I know I have got to take care and rest more. It's hard, really really hard to go back to zero and start over. I am very impatient so I'm having to focus. When I asked the darling therapist why I felt more discomfort with this left hip, she said they are on different legs and had different operation, muscles, nerves, etc. Also heads up @Cynthia777 therapist reminded me that since I had different leg lengths for three months this left leg may be experiencing hamstring pain because it is now even and I'm using it differently. I also had slight swelling in the right hip last night which she indicated is probably due to using the right leg when I stand up and, of course, when I go up and down steps. It is only just over 3 months from replacement so it is having to react to new stresses as I had been favoring it. She has suggested I continue to use my walker for another week (ha, yes, really use my walker:whistle:) before using the cane and to ICE the right hip along with the left hip. I'm sitting on my biggest gel ice mat because that left buttocks is tight and I'm using the lesser mats to cover the left incision area and another one on the right.

A couple of times a day I'll be doing a few stretches that therapist gave me and hope to ease that tightness in hip and hamstring muscle. Now that both sides are equal, I find that I will have to adjust to walking straight and not favoring one side over the other. One hip is an infant and the other is a toddler so I've got a lot of cautions still outstanding. To All the one hipsters, enjoy the freedom to move about now. To all my Deja Vu buddies, there seems to be a unique period of adjustment for me after the second hip when everything has to balance and the new one says - Hey, Me! I'm sore and the old one says, Ha, Me, too, don't forget me. Nice thing I've found is, I'm not as tired as with the first one. I may or may not take a short nap during the day. With the first hip I "bonked" frequently and I absolutely had to sleep during the day. I have more energy with the left one and that is another reason it is giving me some pains, I want to keep using it. Going to keep on icing. I don't know what I would do without refrigeration. Guess I'd apply for a job driving the old ice wagon. :ice: --julie
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for all this detail, @Squirrellymom ! It's good to hear about you doing so well and get an insight into what #2 will be like!
 
:hi: - @Squirrellymom - I've been a bit quiet (unusual for me, I know :umm:). .... But had a good old read of your thread and can see you've been quite energetic. I wonder if you've been a smidgeon too active. Those batteries should be wearing down by now. I, on the other hand, haven't (!). Have been concentrating on elevation, which I mistakenly understood to be levitation so couldn't understand why I was still lying on the sofa and not gained any height whatsoever ..... :what::what::what:
Seriously though, I do a few gentle stretches X 4 daily and am icing almost continuously. :ice: The bruising emerged and has settled to pretty shades of the rainbow and the swelling is kept under control courtesy of the ice. :ice:
Tinkered with the meds which I am hoping will help me to grab a spot more sleep at night. But am trying not to fuss - it would be different if I had to go and do a job of work each day. As it is I am able to monitor work emails from my iPad and so far no great catastrophes. You're through these 2 surgeries - just need to let things settle down now. Be good!
 
@Miss Muffet You nailed it! A smidgeon too active is fact. I am trying to focus and settle down for a while longer. I'm so not into being a couch tater again BUT a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. I wish the battery would run down a bit but, alas, it is SOLAR POWERED.

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun,
and I say, It's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Little darling
I feel that ice is slowly melting
:SUNsmile:

You are doing so good with icing and gentle exercise. Heal baby Heal! --julie
 
Squirrellymom said:
Also heads up @Cynthia777 therapist reminded me that since I had different leg lengths for three months this left leg may be experiencing hamstring pain because it is now even and I'm using it differently.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the club! I was told at the six weeks mark that when the new hip joint was created -- it was done with a LLD that has caused a tight hamstring, that I'm told will take a year to recover from (stretch out). I believe it. I was sent home from that appointment with exercise bicycle instructions, and DH had directions on how to lift my leg at the ankle to help stretch the hamstring (to be done morning and night). The bicycle has been awesome for getting motion back in my hip joint muscles, and I'm still doing the stretch. I took up doing my own stretches when DH had to leave for work early one day -- I'm using a yoga stretching strap stretched around my foot to lift my leg. My advice, just take it slow and easy, and keep pushing on. My hamstring is still tight. It probably will be in August, too. I can lift my leg better than before, but not as high as my good leg. You would think a leg muscle could stretch out faster, but I'm sure my OS knows what he knows, when it comes to bones and muscles recovering.
All that said, I'm loving the ability to move around like a quasi normal person. Last weekend we went camping, and I spent time every day riding bikes around Townsend (TN). The worst part? My sore butt, sitting on the uncomfortable bike seat. Since we got back, I've been shopping for bike seats online, but I'm sure it will take a visit to the store to sample some seat cushions.:bicycle2:

As for getting shoes and socks on, I can put socks on my operated foot, but it's still a tight squeeze, moving the leg to the correct angle to put them on. And I'm still still bending over to tie a shoe (but I can do it... pre-surgery, I couldn't.) My new motto: just keep pushing on with the exercises. And don't get impatient.
 
So glad to catch up on your thread. Enjoyed your second surgery notes.....I loved hearing that you can feel that your legs are the same now! Hoping for the same in late May!

Take care and don't overdo!


RTHR 1/15/2016. Posterior approach. Due to AVN. LTHR in my future.
 
Thank you @CatLady1 for the verification and information. My PT gave me some hamstring exercises but I have to do them very gently because of time since op. When I walk normally I feel the tightness. It also is an ouch when I bend or lift that leg to put on pants, socks, shoes. I know it is still very early and I'm hoping it will stretch out soon. It is good to know there are others who experienced this same hamstring tightness. I have a list of questions for OS for my 6-week check-up in late May. Your experience will help me comprehend what "may" be and what I need to do. Got my stationary bike but not on it --yet-- for this side. Soon! Love Townsend! Maybe you will need to get the padded bicycle shorts in addition to the seat. Double padding. My husband has the "outfit" for riding but he has a skinny butt and his bike seat looks dangerous.

I hope some of my experiences will resonate with others who have gone through/will go through the LLD situation @jomarie58 . I didn't think to expect the stretched pain when they lengthened the left leg. See, just by posting what I am experiencing I got a response from Sheryl that she has had the same thing happening and what she is doing to rectify it. Now I can add that to my knowledge pool so that when I speak with OS in May I will have something to build upon. I really let myself get into a physical mess of muscle slack. I thought that since I was still moving and pushing prior to THR on right that those sloppy muscles were going to just snap back. I didn't destroy those hip joints in a few months so I won't rebuild them in a few months either. I know you are ready to have this whole thing over soon too and that late May can't come soon enough. :martini: --julie
 
@Squirrellymom
I'm not sure what's going on, but I never got an alert that you posted! Frustrating to say the least!

I'm so happy you've shared your experience with the LLD and your second recovery. I will be in the same boat you are in now and I've been very curious to know how the recovery will go with hip #2. I've been more or less expecting what you've described, but having it confirmed helps a lot (no surprises). Thank you so very much for the heads up!
 
@Squirrellymom -- due to the LLD and tight hamstring, I was still using my cane at the 6 weeks mark, and wondered about that- especially when lots of other hippies were talking about how they were walking sans assistance at 3-4 weeks. I could feel that hamstring biting during a stroll and felt if I used a cane it kept me from limping (to compensate). The "lay on your back, lift your leg at the ankle" stretch that hubby did for me (and now I do own my own) has also helped bunches in stretching the muscle. I'll be curious to see if I'm given different stretching exercises when I go back for a visit in June. I know if I try to push the hamstring stretch too much, I'll have pain in my lower back muscles the next day.

I get impatient and want to hurry up and return to normal flexibility (which you have to understand, I'll probably be a LONG time getting there, cuz who knows when that last was???), so I keep expecting that all this stretching should just start working. I do still see improvement week to week- able to lift my operated side foot higher - yesterday I was able to step over a thigh high fence at work-- (pre-surgery my leg wouldn't have lifted or stepped over anything. Shoot- I couldn't even step into the car).

At this point in healing I am mostly able to lift my leg and step into pants. Up until now, it might have required me grabbing my leg and pulling it up tighter to assist the step.

I guess that's why my OS advised I'd probably be tight for a year. So I wonder if younger patients can get their muscles stretched back out faster than us old folks??
 
Two looooong weeks and two days PO for joint #2. I have my third PT tomorrow. I have been given "homework" to do 2X daily but I have only done a few gentle moves, butt clinches, foot pumps, bridging, heel/toe stand raises, clams and not even 1X every day. I'll lie and say I did. I'm doing light house work, bed, laundry, some meal assembly etc. I'm not using my walker or my cane inside the house. I went on a brief shopping excursion on Monday to TJMaxx to pick up a piece of jewelry for a granddaughter who is turning 17. Yes, I could have simply sent a gift card or money but I never hear what they spend it on or if I do, I never approve of their squandering choices. I took my cane and I used the shopping cart for extra support. I did just fine. I didn't drive myself, I had my DH drive me. I'm not taking any pain meds but I didn't want to be involved in any kind of accident and have the insurance company claim that I wasn't cleared to drive. I drove by myself at #1 op after four weeks with no problem. My instructions from the Surgical staff says six weeks but then it also has the narcotics disclaimer. Aspirin and meloxicam and vitamin D are not on that list. So, drive I will when I feel like it. Plus, this is my left leg this time and I do not drive a :driver:, therefore the old leftie just hangs out and lets the right do all the work. Vroom, Vroom.

The incision is still slightly swollen and feels hard. About one more week and I will start some light massage of the scar and maybe use some vitamin E oil over it as it has closed up very well. I was told that I really didn't have any precautions except the deep lunges so I do bend over to pick up things on the floor (mostly use the golfer's pick-up) and bend and snap with the dog bowls. Again, as with THR #1, the thigh area has nerve reaction. It has been and still is slightly numb, especially along the outer side. It has tingly sensation when I rub my hand over and along that area. The right leg did exactly the same thing only it included above the knee area with the nerve tingle and it is almost totally normal now. A slight burning is also felt so I'm pretty sure it is nerve healing going on. No TEDs this entire week as OS told me I could toss them after one week. I am off the two aspirin a day for blood thinning and now on one aspirin a day. Tylenol as needed and I do take one benedryl tablet at bedtime which helps me relax to sleep. I'm wearing my fit bit and some days I have hit over 1 mile in my around the house/yard steps. I am waking still about 2x a night to get up and go pee. I did that with #1 so I expect that to taper off and get back to no pee during the night if I don't drink anything after 8 o'clock. Looking forward to being six weeks out but ---- enjoying TODAY. --julie (pretending to be THE Dalai Lama)
 
Hey, @Squirrellymom I just noticed your LLD story in your signature. Round here we say that haggis have one leg shorter than the other for exactly the same reason. :heehee:
[Bonesmart.org] Déjà Vu: Squirrellymom's Right THR & Her Left THR
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel
Corganics CBD

Staff online

Members online

Total: 1,008 (members: 1, guests: 1,007)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom