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Bilateral THR DashingHippie Diary

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I agree witheverything too. I just had the one hip done and applaud the courage and strength of you bilateral babes. Bows down.....but one or two it has sucked big time along the way. My hubby got constipated one time in his life once......and it was like the earth stood still and he was beyond upset. While I take Mirilax every day of my life and pray for something other than a mcnugget once a week. So funny...and good for you to now understand your wife's struggle. :) I am at 7ish weeks and look ok so folks treat me like nothing happened. Trust me, if you read my thread it was a major journey to get to 7 weeks. But even now I had to get ice at 230 in the am last nite. I am not healed on the inside physically or emotionally despite what the outside looks like. At first follow up I could not look at xrays or discuss surgery I thought I would barf or faint or both. Second apt I had doc let me hold titanium parts so I could believe they were mine because, like you I have some denial about them being in my body. I could write forever here. ...but know that this is a safe place to ask questions, scream frustrations, cry, laugh, discuss poop, complain about loved ones etc....because we all get it. We will hold you up when it seems like noone out in the real world understands. Xo
 
Ahhh hon, I get it, we get it. For me the hip doesn't feel like a loss as mine contained so much anger and hurt in it. My hip started going down hill after a car accident 8 yrs ago (me at a light at bottom of off ramp, drunk person never slowed down). This accident changed my life profoundly. My boyfriend/ fiancée couldn't handle me sick, which I was.... Took me a full years just to walk again. The relationship ended, I was on my own. And still fighting to look normal and have no one else notice how damaged I was and risk them leaving too. Then I had years of feeling unappreciated as I pushed myself to do normal activities with friends and family despite excruciating pain.

Here's the thing, which may be for you too, I did this with minuscule complaining, put on Oscar performances daily to do my job and come home and show up for family. To the point that when I committed to this surgery, extended family and even my teen stepsons who live with me 95% of the time, were completely surprised. They truly had no idea I'd been in excruciating pain for 8 yrs. Only my husband knew, and that was even limited considering my fear of driving another man away being 'sick'.
I don't regret my actions. This is me. 200% all the time for everyone in my life (accept me.... Working in that). Sounds like you have been the same. Am I terrified I won't have my life back, without pain? you betcha! But I feel like I can finally let go of the anger and hurt that accident caused me. And even thank it for leading me to my husband and where I am now.

Those hips of yours have been failing you for some time. Your pride of award winning acting seems bruised. Well, I see you. I feel you. And I get it. Let's just hope and pray that these new hips of ours allow all the action we soooo long for, without the performance!!!!!


RTHR, posterior, 15JUN2015
 
@Dashinghippie Will you get back to previous level of athleticism? Maybe ....that is up to you and your surgeon. But the slow and steady plan is most likely to get you where you want to be! Trying too much too early is likely to lead to additional strained muscles and actually slow your progress. I've never been particularly athletic but I can and do do much more now than I'd done for years prior to my surgery. The only life time restriction my OS gave me was "no bungy cord jumping!" :rotfl: That's OK with me ... it's never been on my bucket list!

But I have done a 50 yard dash to stop granddaughter from walking in front of an oncoming car! And romped vigorously with 3 very energetic lab dogs. And gone swimming in both pool and ocean. And rode a horse ( well, sort of, it was a carousel horse on the Flying Horses in Oak Bluffs, Ma). And have gone off-roading with my brother along the beaches of Martha's Vineyard which was rather like riding a bucking bronco! And traveled from Oregon to the East Coast 4 times now. And hiked up and down the hills of Oregon, Massachusetts, and Vermont. And have gone boating, sail and motor, several times. And regularly chase 2 cats all over the house, haul them to their crates, stuff them in then haul cats plus crates to car and to vet or groomer. Sort of mundane stuff but that's my life and I love it.

As for family and friends - yup I do understand! In hospital after surgery I was a person of interest - seemed like every doctor and nurse and PT person in the hospital plus all trainees wanted to see the LOL (in this context that's medical speak for Little Old Lady) in 214 who had both hips replaced. And many of my care team had never worked with a BTHR patient before and were rather confused when I'd tell them "Nope don't have an unoperated on leg". Even the nurse in pre-op, advancing on me with her magic marker in hand, was taken aback and had to recheck her notes when I said both hips were being replaced that day. AND the social workers were very apprehensive about sending me home as I have lots of stairs in my house ... despite the fact I had twice demonstrated to PT that I could manage stairs quite well, thank you very much! And friends and family varied from "Are you crazy? Both hips at once? WHY???" to "why can't you do ____?" To "What! You're doing ___ already?!" Even medical professionals didn't "get it" some times. About 15 months after my hips I had right shoulder replacement - and the shoulder PT ladies(different set from the hip PT ladies) were shocked that I could cross my legs and stoop and bend - "What about the hip precautions? Are you supposed to be doing that???" And they were amazed to hear that the precautions only were in effect for 6-8 weeks!

All that is just one reason why BoneSmart is such a wonderful place! Folks here do GET IT! In all of "IT's" myriad forms and permutations.
 
@Dashinghippie

I, like you, take one Trazadone before going to sleep and it has truly been a Godsend for my insomnia! I've been taking it for several years and have never needed to up the dosage. My doctor explained that it keeps you asleep rather than putting you to sleep and it is not addictive like sleeping pills are. I'm going to rely on my bedtime buddy, Trazadone, to get me through the post-op insomnia. :alarm:
 
After reading thru all of the above, I've made an empirical determination that you folks are AWESOME and without much of your circle of peeps *really* knowing how awesome you are !
:bow:

It seems every one of us has a myriad of stories pre and post op...but courage and determination seems to be common attributes.
Kudos and Thanks!

I had a much better day today, in part because of the support and understanding here.

Today:
Played competitive duplicate bridge all day...we totally kicked butt, got a 69.1%, and won the whole thing...our best score to date! Wore my white stockings and shorts...was just missing a clown hat to make the outfit complete...who cares, we killed it!

Then, immediately after that, I had my 3rd PT session with Mike, and my 'PT zen master' told me he threw out the protocol book for me and was going to wing it. At 15 days today, he said I'm already doing things he says are typically done somewhere in the 6-12 week period.
So -
tomorrow, I'm going to drive myself to another bridge tourney, hopefully rip some faces off (with a smile, of course!),
and go to the hoops court before dinner and do my shooting routines!

My PT guy cleared me today for all that and just repeated my earlier self-imposed limitation (no jumping, no lateral moves, nothing quick).

I'm pretty psyched.

just took a percocet and trazadone; is needed to calm all the firing muscles after the paces he put me thru in PT today - need a good 5 hrs to be able to concentrate all day tomorrow.

So please, All have a pleasant, pain-free as much as possible, and depression-free night!
 
I think that many of us struggle with the metal bits in our lives---I call my knees fake knees although my doc keeps trying to make me say, replaced!!! I almost fainted the first time someone referred my "prosthesis".

I am a ski instructor and really worried that I would not be able to ski---but imagine my surprise when i realized that I was skiing Better than I had before on my poor, wonky knees. My balance was better and my skiing is really great right now. But . . . I am 71---and I find that half a day feels just about right. I still do cross country skiing as well and have been considering some races---when you get to be my age, the field is rather depleted!!! so the change of winning is greater.

Basketball has a lot of stopping and twisting--so you might find that it will not work with the fake hips--but, there will be something else to take its place---like cycling? just keep an open mind. You don't have to only play bridge. Yikes, I have ADHD and cannot count those cards---i just guess all the time!!!

And yes, other people want to play down your surgery---they are afraid that if they admit that it was a big deal, they might have to face the same thing themselves someday. Most people try to make it smaller, so that they do not have to think about it at all. Silly really--but I have been guilty of that type of thinking myself. God uses this stuff to teach us compassion for others. I am the first one out of my chair to help someone else come in a door or get a shopping cart to lean on when they walk into a store. I drop off dinners, pick up kids and in general make time in my life for others---I have learned a good life lesson.
 
Cynthia777 said:
@Dashinghippie
In addition to that determination, courage, support and understanding, I'm going to add that I've never come across such a caring group of individuals in my life!!! Thanks to all of you who take the time to help others!
It is greatly appreciated!!!! :loveshwr:
Click to expand...
@Cynthia777 I cannot tell you how much your comments have touched the staff here at BoneSmart. We are passionate about the work we do and love to know when someone feels they have benefited from the forum. Thanks for taking time to say you appreciate it.
 
Hi @Dashinghippie I was getting a little worried that we hadn't heard from you for a while, well it wasn't that long really, but your are doing GREAT :wow: keep positive and dont worry if you have a downer now and again, its all normal And we all have it.

Enjoy your bridge and no jumping !! and hope you get another good sleep too

xx
 
Thx all.

I had a very good day at bridge, drove myself (4 weeks early!) half an hour away to the tourney. Came in 4th...decent day, fun.

Came home, got dressed for hoops, reclined on couch to put feet up waiting for my wife to get home...fell asleep waiting. She went swimming while I slept 1.5 hrs, then we had pizza for dinner. No Hoops!
:(
Tomorrow then.
Ha!

Swelling going down...maybe 2 more days till 'normal'.
 
:rotfl: Oh you got attacked by the "taken suddenly nap" beastie! Guess your body was telling you to rest cuz healing and bone growth had to happen right NOW! This too shall pass but may pop up now and then for several months
 
Did a ton of cutting early today (small trees and bushes) to beautify my wife's workplace garden. Took it out of me as it was over 90 and sunny. Bad sleep night last night. so had a small nap mid-day.

No hoops again today...planning on Sunday morning before it gets too hot (it's up near 100 as a high each day right now).

Issue and question:
Right thigh, the upper rectus femoris (leg lifter) muscle under the scar (which is healing nicely at day 16 today) is a bit bunched up, like it's angry...like it's making a small fist under the scar area. When I sit for any length of time, it is tougher to straighten up and walk normally, with normal swinging gait. I tend to have to or want to lean forward a bit to take the strain off that stiff muscle Tried a bit of heat earlier tonight...not sure if or how it worked.

Does anyone else have (had) that sort of bunchy muscle under the scar issue? If so, how does it resolve and over how long? If not for that, my walking would look almost completely normal already.
Remedies to help it along?

Tonight, I'm killing the sleep with a naproxen after dinner (as usual) plus, just now I took a flexeril (muscle relaxer), a trazadone (sleep) and 2 small tylenol. If I don't get 6-7 hrs, I'll want to know why!

Thx
 
Hi @Dashinghippie I haven't hadn't that problem, or if I did I didnt notice as I haven't been nearly as active as you...well infact I haven't been avtive at all!!

Hopefully someone will get back to you
 
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Thx @Suzette ...that tells me something. maybe it's like that on mine because of the 30 straight leg raises the first PT people in the hospital had me do on day 1? It was key in making me sore and swollen that 2nd day and it hasn't quite gone away yet. Tho I'm highly functioning other than that.

Sounds like maybe you do *not* have that because your activity level is less and maybe no one beat you up in the early day(s)?

more heat with massage on that specific muscle (all around under the scar) sometime today.

btw, I just woke up - that drug cocktail knocked me out and I had roughly 6.5 unbroken hours. I think I'll do it again tonight and go for 2 deep sleep nights in a row! imagine. lol

Have a great day and hope you keep making good progress!
 
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Hiya I am still only getting about 4.5 hours. Just can't nod off. Then wake up due to having a leg in a weird position then it gets stuck!!

I definitely had the right leg beaten up and still have trouble with it. But my left leg is great no real issues at all. So if I just had the left hip replaced I would, I feel, be ahead of the game, so to speak. The right hip/thigh muscles/tendon is a right pain!! Not sure how to deal with one good one bad.
So am doing a lot of walking about to try and get things loosened up. Except now my knees click.

Oh the joys :dubious: x

Have another great day. Its raining here in Worcestershire uk:groan:
 
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