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THR Day 12 post RTHR

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@Hipster Coley , yes I also have knee pain in certain positions. mostly on the outside of the knee joint.
mY dr and the pt said its due to alignment readjusting after the replacement. i also had minor displasia in my hips which contributed to the rather young osteoarthritis to bone on bone. tHen I was limping quite a bit for 4 months prior to surgery. So now as they explained some muscles and tendons need t strengthen, some need to stretch......and if one looks at the anatomy there are some big muscles that run down from the hip into and around the knee....so makes sense that we are gonna have some weird sensations , pain, soreness and muscle cramping as we heal and get back into hopefully decent alignment in walking . mAssage does seem to help...and
I was told after 4-6 weeks some deep tissue massage by a good pt or experienced therapist can help with some of the stretching and aches as we get there! My son loves NZ, and also had a whole 7 hours enroute in Sydney and said the people were some of the friendliest he's met ever!
 
@geneva -so glad your son having positive experience in NZ and even got to experience Oz. You are right re the alignment. I was born with bilateral hip dysplasia and was operated on when it was picked up at 18mths of age and the went into"frog plaster" for 6 mths after. So my hips didn't form correctly. I've been lucky though as was able to do all sporting activity (not very well due to my ability not mobility!!) In an effort to keep weight off I started jogging 5 years ago and loved it. Devasted that surgeon said I can't do anymore. I was like you too in that it was in the last 4 mths I really noticed a decline in my mobility and had started limping slightly. So I thought I'd get my bad hip done before I became too deconditioned.
I weighed myself this morning and have put on 3.5kgs!!! I wonder if the ceramic prosthesis weighs more than bone!!! Yikes !! I have been fairly careful with my diet post op eating healthy and no alcohol so a little devo.:( once I get the all clear I plan on getting on the exercise bike and swim for my cardiovascular fitness. Deep tissue massage sounds the go too. I will definitely give that a try.
 
@Hipster Coley -- I'm reading your thread to see how things are going and what the PT is advising you since I have not been sent to PT yet. I limped for much longer than you or Geneva, so I'm guessing it will take me a lot longer to recover and have a normal gait. Pre surgery I caught myself walking rather stiff legged (no knee vending either)- I guess it was the joint protection gait. I'm sort of surprised now how much my knee does bend when I walk.
As for weight gain? I'm convinced it's all the sitting around -- eating healthy meals- and not nearly as much activity that causes it. I hope when I get even more mobile I start burning all those calories again.


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
@Cat Lady ,@Hipster Coley, yup, I've gained almost 13+ lbs since the limp and lack of activity started. this is all about new beginnings and making healing and strength recovery a "job" my new mantra; certainly
Worthy of the time and commitment! Easier said than done tho...im to find a class at a local gym , or may even g a class even at nearby senior center ( free and they do basic balance and strength moves, and are free here) these I just can drop in just to keep moving :climb:Putting post it note reminders around my home.....to not sit and vege out...yup, I think the stationary bike with hand weights is starting next week ...LL it swimming? If I could find a warm indoor pool I'd be all over it but non nearby.....! Best to us all!
 
@CatLady1 - my physio only tested my ROM and massaged my leg and worked on my lower back. When I see him on Tuesday I will be getting into the pool. So looking forward to it. I'm finding I'm so stiff and tight in hammy, behind knee and glut. On a positive note I did manage 0.8km walk today around block with no crutch.
@geneva - I like your idea of post it notes around the house to encourage getting up and moving.i might give that a try. My physio said I couldn't start on the bike until 6 weeks :(

No discharge from my wound now for two days. Yay!!!! Suture line looks pretty good.
Using ice and elevating leg still. The swelling in my leg has gone down considerably though it will swell if I sit in a chair for too long. Still finding it difficult to get to sleep at night which is driving me crazy. I've taken to taking ice pack to bed with me and keeping my leg elevated overnight.
Starting to get cabin fever. I love reading but am even getting tired of that. I might try and improve my mind and do some online courses for work. I am so glad I took 8 weeks off from work. The surgeon said to me pre op that I would be able to go back at 6 weeks. I can't see it-knowing I have another 4 weeks to get more mobile has really taken the pressure off.
 
So a full day today. Started with a 1 km walk along cycle path beside the beach. Then went to physio. Still quite tight in my lower back, glut and thigh. ROM still a little restricted. Unable to bring my knee all the way up to 90. I did start hydrotherapy on Tuesday and have been doing exercises in my own pool so hopefully that will help. Physio said may never get full ROM. He did give me a new exercise to help strengthen glut which involves laying on stomach , bending knee and then lifting leg off the bed. He also massaged glut which helped so much. I haven't used my crutch at all and physio happy with my gait. I think I'll book for another appointment next week so he can work on my glut again before next hydrotherapy appt.
Then saw surgeon for my 4 week check who lifted all my restrictions and said I can drive. Yay!!! So tomorrow I'll try and dress myself with no grabber stick and put my own shoes and socks on. He said I can also now sleep on my non operated side with pillow between legs ( I forgot to ask how long for) and on my operated side with no pillow when comfortable. Yay!!!! He said the only thing I'm not allowed to do is angle knees in together or pivot on operated leg and doesn't want to see me for a year. So one happy girl here. I feel I've got my life back. We are going down the coast for an overnight stay about 3 hrs away this weekend so now I wont have to worry about finding appropriate toilets etc.
I do find that I have a bit of pain in the hip especially if I overdo it but not the bone on bone I had pre op. I'm managing it with ice,Panadol and Celebrex. I'd say a pain score of 1-2. My leg still is a bit swollen but much better than it was. On the physio recommendation I am massaging around my scar and applying bio oil to soften.
 
Tomorrow is 5 weeks post op. Can not believe how fast it has gone. I feel that in the last couple of days I have improved markedly. We had a very full on weekend involving lots of walking and two car trips of about 3 hrs each and I coped quite well. I did find though that when we got home last night I was absolutely exhausted. Must be the energy drain that everyone talks of.

Drove the car a short distance today and managed with no problems. Went to the beach with my husband and whilst he was doing his swimming training I managed a 1km walk through the water. Luckily our beach is very calm with no waves.

I am sleeping on my non operated side with pillow between legs but find after a while it is uncomfortable so end up on my back. I can only manage laying on operated side for a short while.

I find the only thing I am having trouble with is putting on shoes and socks. Yesterday I managed shoe and sock on non operated side but could only put sock on on operated side. I haven't invested in a shoe horn yet but will need to I am thinking before I start back at work. I am finding I am very stiff in lower back and hammy still so can't lift leg up far enough.
 
Hipster Coley said:
I haven't invested in a shoe horn yet but will need to I am thinking before I start back at work.
Click to expand...
I invested in a long handle shoe horn years ago and still use it today. Great tool!
Hipster Coley said:
I am finding I am very stiff in lower back and hammy still so can't lift leg up far enough.
Click to expand...
Try some very gentle Hamstring stretches . Start very slowly doing them in a chair.

You are doing great for only 5 weeks out!
 
@Hipster Coley - Our recent recovery experiences seem very similar! We're both getting out more and being more active, feeling okay with that - even though that energy drain will sometimes hit hard. Today I went swimming and did some PT in the pool at the hotel where my brother's family is staying. Felt great. If it weren't winter here now, I'd go in the nearby ocean like you!

I also can't do sock or shoe yet on operated side without sock aide or (awkwardly) with a grabber. I luckily got those things and a long shoe horn at hospital through health insurance.

I sleep on non-op side with pillow, then revert to back. Operated side is more uncomfortable but I'm sleeping on it a little bit now.

I hope your incision is behaving itself these days. How soon do you go back to work? Not soon I hope!?
 
@Readysetgo yes our recovery does seem to be going at the same pace. Amazing isn't it. For a while there I thought I wasnt progressing but it happened pretty much as everyone said it would. Thank goodness for this forum or I would have been second guessing myself the whole time through this recovery.

If I have to go through this again summer is the time to do It. Hydrotherapy is so much easier when it's warm and being able to use the beach is a bonus. I haven't tried actual swimming yet though.

My incision is behaving itself now. No discharge for weeks and thigh not swollen anymore. Under and around the incision line was quite hard. On the advice of the physio I have been gently massaging and this seems to have helped as much improved. I also had developed a slight puckering in the middle of my incision which seems to have resolved. Sometimes I feel that that thigh feels warmer than the other but as its summer here in Australia I'm not sure. I'm paranoid about infection but as suture line not showing any signs if infection I think it's ok.

As to work my surgeon said to take 6 weeks off luckily I didn't listen and took 8 weeks. So in 3 weeks I go back to work. I spoke to my boss yesterday and she said they are all missing me so that's nice. I just want to be a little more nimble before I go back as I am on my feet a lot. I'm also a little worried about the energy drain when I go back to work ( no naps for me at work!!) but I guess I'll manage that if it happens.
 
Thanks for continuing to share you experiences post-op and it's good to hear you're heading in the right direction.
 
Update time- tomorrow is 6 weeks post op. How quickly time flies.

So,I've taken over all the housework again now and managing quite well. No need to use the grabber anymore. I do find that I can't kneel down on my operated leg easily to get into low cupboards so therefore no cleaning out of low cupboards has been done. I'm vacuuming and mopping floors with no problems now.

I'm managing to shave my own legs now. Just not so great on the operated side. But if I put my leg up on side of bath I am managing to reach down further. Today I managed to put on shoes and socks. I sat on couch and was able to bend knee up on operated side and was then able to put shoe and sock on. It was still a bit of a struggle but I managed. I havent sat down on the floor yet as I am I bit scared that I won't be able to get up.

The tight hammy seems to be resolving and the pain behind knee my seems to have gone to. My gait continues to improve. I still favour the operated side slightly especially if I'm tired. In the mornings and if I've been sitting down for long periods I am quite stiff. I drove today for 45 min and found I was quite stiff after. I've stopped all my medication apart from occasional Panadol Osteo if I've overdone things.

I've been doing my exercises at home but probably only once per day but not on the days I do hydrotherapy. I've been doing that once a week with my physio and then a couple of times per week in my own pool. I've also walked a km in the water at the beach twice a week. Today I managed a 3 km walk around my neighbourhood which is my longest distance yet. My glute felt tight the whole way round and I had a couple of twinges in my hip but nothing too bad I iced when I got home and it seems to have settled. I do find if I overdo things I get lower back pain. I am mindfull of not overdoing it. Some days I still have an afternoon nap. Some days I do no exercise at all.

Sleeping is getting easier too. I'm able to lay on the operated side for longer now but find sleeping on non operated side with body pillow between legs much more comfortable.

So all in all things are going well. I have two more weeks to become fitter and fine tune my gait before I go back to work. It doesn't seem as daunting now. I almost feel like this piece of ceramic is part of me now. Reading other BS threads people say that after 6 months or so that forget about their operated hip completely. I can see how that can be now.
 
What a wonderful update! You're doing wonderful! I feel for those of you who must return to work by a given date. I'm sure it puts quite a bit of pressure on you to recover as quickly as possible. From what I've read on BS, the hydrotherapy is really helpful and feels sooo good. Here's to a continued great recovery! :thumb:
 
@Hipster Coley you are doing really well.. I found being a passenger in a car was less tiring than driving. The first big drive to work drained me but got easier after a couple weeks. It's the sitting in one spot not being able to move around like being in the passenger.
 
Great to hear your recovery is going well. I am going back to work at 6 weeks next week and am a bit nervous! I still can't get anywhere near my feet or the floor but I think that may be partly due to my left leg issues. Take care!


RTHR 1/15/2016. Posterior approach. Due to AVN. LTHR in my future.
 
Hi @hipster Co, Just read through your post in one sitting! It's interesting to read someone's journey from beginning to end vs. day by day. Quite a different perspective! You did so well figuring things out along the way with the help of all the Bonesmart friends who chime in to offer ideas that worked for them. This is simply an invaluable site, the best I've come across.:yes:

I took an interest in your progress due to your dysplastic hips. I always wonder how people make out after their surgeries. There are quite a few folks here with different variations of hip dysplasia and I still find it a wonder how most of us did so well with this condition, never knowing the storm brewing inside our hips ready to blow so late in our lives! I was 52 when diagnosed. I've been a runner since I was 12 and miss it terribly! Luckily for me the orthopedic Dr. who viewed my x-rays found it immediately. Before him, I was getting treatment from a pain management group who had taken x-rays but for reasons I hate to think about, failed to tell me. He just wanted to treat me for the business. When I found out he withheld information from me, I almost reported him. I chose instead to put it behind me as a lesson learned and was much more proactive going forward.

I was going to offer one possibly helpful hint to help with ROM - yoga!:wink: Yoga has given me a new lease on life given my hip issues as well as my back issues. My hamstrings are very tight but once I do gentle yoga every morning, I become a whole new person - even now as I endure my current situation.

Also, I was wondering how your gait was progressing? I still have problems with that and plan on spending time righting that after all my surgeries are complete.

Keep up the wonderful progress! Hopefully, you will be treated gently and with compassion when you return to work....enjoy that while you can!:loveshwr:

Heal, Flourish and Thrive,
Debbie
 
Thanks for your good wishes @Shazzstars @jomarie58 @keepmovin

I'll definitely give the yoga a try Debbie. I've done yoga/ body balance classes before and really enjoyed them but found it a little difficult with my dodgy hip pre op. But now hopefully with my new hardware it'll be easier.:)
 
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