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Depression/post-op blues - open for all

@Rkeilb So sorry you are in pain. If you have bursitis it can be very debilitating. Fingers crossed that injection works for you.

Does icing help at all?
 
Not much
I have been icing so much I'm starting to think it's causing problems
It's been 24 hours since injection so hard to tell if it's helping much, maybe a little
Had MRI and that was all it showed, everything else looked good
Praying and keeping fingers crossed
 
@Rkeilb ...

It is so odd that I saw your post as I was just thinking about my own painful bursitis. I can completely relate to the pain and depression you are experiencing. The bursitis is just plain miserable and that kind of chronic, debilitating pain can, without a doubt, cause one to feel depressed.

As for the antidepressants, finding the right one is not so straight forward for some people. My sister went through several before she found one that worked. After my mother passed away, and my father was first diagnosed with Parkinson's shortly after that, I went into a really deep depression. Fortunately, the Celexa I was placed on was a good match for me from the get go.

As for the cortisone injections.... the first injection I had in my bursa was last October (a few days before a long trip to Japan). I had a terrible cortisone flare for 5 days, but it passed and I found relief for about 3 months. After the pain returned, I had another injection one in my hip joint and another in the bursa (both a month apart). Unfortunately, neither was successful and I ended up in more pain than before the injections. BTW..icing really does help.

I am due to have my left hip replaced in the coming weeks (not exactly certain of the date, as I am still deciding on an OS). I hope that the replacement might receive some of the bursitis, but I am not sure now. It seems as though your surgery may have actually caused yours.

I too have been having a bout of depression lately and my thoughts are certainly with you during what I know is a tough time!
 
Thanks for your response
Yes I never had any bursitis problems until 2 months or so post op and am thinking I might have done it to myself through an overly aggressive PT. He had me doing all kinds of exercises that I probably shouldn't of done.
I read Josephine's post which showed certain exercises not to do and sure enough that's what I was doing.
Until I get some relief I am the type of person that will keep thinking something else is wrong and they just aren't seeing it.
As far as surgery don't let me discourage you. You have to weigh the options and do what you think is best.
I'm sure most recoveries go well but I'm just not there yet.
This was my first surgery and it has been more difficult mentally and physically than I could have imagined.
Thank you again and I wish you well!
 
@Rkeilb don't underestimate the influence that constant pain has on your well being, it's very real and can really wear a person down. Pre op, I had "itis" in the front quads, sides of both legs (IT band) and psoas, pain was excruciating. Like a car with a flat tire, the body is out of alignment and other parts suffer as it tries to adapt. These pains quickly subsided after my second thr :)

Muscles can also be aggravated if you are in between getting two thrs with one new hip and one bad hip. Agree with Josephine about PT, your muscles have been injured and need rest, not exercise early on. In addition to ice, try using both crutches and a walker at home to take the weight off and well placed pillows when lying down. Hope you get some relief soon, your world will look much brighter :SUNsmile:

Edited to correct: pre op, I had psoas muscle pain (front groin muscles) not piriformis as previously stated. Had anterior approach btw.
 
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Where exactly was your perifomis pain?
I have a tender spot at the bottom outside of my butt cheek. Kind of the top of the thigh, hard to describe the location.
I really think I have a couple different issues causing me pain.
Not sure it's all just bursitis.
Your right it really wears you down.
 
Wow, I really appreciate hearing so many similarities...at least someone can relate. I spoke earlier on this post a few weeks back. I'm the double hip replacement, anterior approach. I'm now about 7 weeks out. Where do I start..Like you all...I have "post-op depression", "Cabin-fever", I'm "not sleeping well"," Tramodol" is one of my medications and keeps me wide awake at night, I'm "not getting better fast enough", and I really, really wish I could be petting, feeding and/or riding one of @gwenc horses right now, !:) My surgeon telling me today it's going to be at least three to six more weeks before I won't need all the pain meds was not easy to hear. That news is starting to take me to a down place, again. I really need to get back to earning money...and just getting my whole life back :(

So, in an effort to try and relieve some of our struggles for a moment, I'm going to tell you about getting some information from my surgeon today. It was pretty funny. My doctor is so nice, but like most surgeons, quite serious.
Here's what happened when, I whipped out my long list of questions:
Me: Am I as huge as I think I am right now?
Doc Serious: No, at this stage you still have fluids and swelling, but your new hips ARE a bit heavier.
Me: Am I the same height?
Doc Serious: No, you're taller.
Me: Are my hips wider?
Doc Serious: No.
Me: Are my legs even?
Doc Serious: Yes.
Me: Where's the proof you put in the 14 carrot gold hips, like I requested?
Doc Serious: Look at the x-ray.
Me: Why couldn't you do a tummy tuck, while you were doing my hips?
Doc Serious: Long story.
Me: I feel so awful and just want my life back. Being down makes me want to eat a pint of ice cream.
Doc Serious: Just eat it.
Me: When can I wear high heels?
Doc Serious: (almost fell out of his chair) Um, holding off for at least 6 weeks would be good.
Me: Can I horseback ride, ski, hike, etc.? (Why did I ask this when I'm still in so much pain?)
Doc Serious: No. But, you WILL get to doing all that.
Me: Today, I just need energy, no pain, weight loss, and non-blurry eyes so I can function.
Doc Serious and the nurse: (Shocked stares) Well, we can't really help you with ALL that today.
 
1nan what a great post. Sometimes seeing the humor in our plight really does help. I am looking at about 3 more weeks at a minimum to be back in the saddle. I have sat on my heavy duty saddle rack and it feels really good. I remember someone saying on another blog that "the real rehab didn't start until I was back on a horse". And I can imagine what she meant. Apart from the obvious mental lift this will give me, it also feels physically good to sit in that straddle position. Everything is stretching gently as I let my legs hang and rock slowly in the saddle. Looking forward to the real thing. In the meantime, I have got to say the last 4 days have been sooooo much better in terms of pain/stiffness and also my attitude. You will get better. Think of where you were 8 weeks ago and dwell on the improvements you have seen since then. Some wise words from a fellow "hippie" (not me): "Its best to be where you are, rather than where you wish you were". I had to think about that a minute when she said it, but its so true. Wishing you strength and better days ahead!
 
@Horseshoe me! I had exactly what you speak of after the first hip. My eyes were so blurry I could only read for a short while, and no amount of washing face or eye drops helped, and I had fog brain for about 3 months. I laid it all to the GA, as I thought I'd remembered that from some previous surgery. Those things made it, um, interesting, to start driving. I'd have to be wide awake to chase the fog from the brain. Thank goodness my eyes had no problem focusing on distance.
 
Hi - I had my hip replacement operation on 6/28/17. I am only 59 years old and felt SO OLD when I broke my hip. My grandmother broke her hip at 92 so that was my mindset.

In the hospital, I felt so helpless, old, and depressed. I covered it by being cheerful and upbeat but I felt very bleak. When my daughter, mother, other family and friends visited, I was afraid they would smell "pee" in the room even though I washed daily.

In a nutshell, I SUDDENLY felt old and feeble and aged before my time. That is what I call a reality cookie.

Anyway, I am on the mend now and feeling better but perhaps will never feel as youthful as before.
 
@Brunhilda I was a year younger than you when my hip collapsed. And I felt exactly the same. A part of my body had totally failed and to me hip replacements were ops performed on old people. Even my surgeon said I was young for THR.

But literally everyday I marvel at how this surgery has given me my life back. Things that were impossible are now normal everyday activities. Don't get me wrong - recovery from my LTHR was not simple nor quick. But in the end we all get there - to a life without hip pain.
 
Brunhilda said:
felt old and feeble and aged before my time. That is what I call a reality cookie.
Click to expand...

I also went through something similar, it was a sharp jolt and I felt much too young for this. Had a hard time telling people why I was limping and would say it was an old sports injury. I didn't look like a typical OA patient but I very much was one. Both my dentist and derm drs gasped when I told them of my impending thrs, no confidence to be found there either!

When I was on the gurney right before going into the OR, I sat up and told OS that I simply couldn't believe I was getting a thr! Poor guy, suited up in his surgical garb and ready to go, just looked at me like.. err yes, you need not just one thr but two! Had a quick moment when I thought I could make a run for it but I could barely even walk let alone escape and the thrs were inevitable. It's the feeling of being helpless and unable to take care of myself that I didn't like.

Fortunately for us, thrs give back our youthful ability to be independent and look after ourselves. I feel much younger since I have regained mobility, good posture and can now walk normally. It takes years off your face too -no more clenching in pain!

I've come to regard this experience as getting a sneak peek into older age and what it may entail. Although still a ways off, I can now better plan and prepare eg., next house I buy won't have stairs. It's a process and while I am very grateful to have undergone this procedure, the mind took a little more time to adjust socially.
 
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Ditto on the sneak peak into old. And double ditto on the feeling decades younger.
I'm very proud to be a double hippy.
 
It's so heartening to read all of your comments about having similar feelings to my own about having hip replacement so "young." I even went through a period of outright guilt, wondering if I had done something wrong to cause it. I did subsequently find out that I have had bone loss - not osteoporosis precisely but "osteopenia" (sp?). Anyway, I have since tried to just look forward and do the best that I can.

Denise
 
Mojo333 said:
Ditto on the sneak peak into old. And double ditto on the feeling decades younger.
I'm very proud to be a double hippy.
Click to expand...
I am 12 days post 2nd hip replacement and feel exactly the same way. Proud to be a double hippy!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
Brunhilda said:
I even went through a period of outright guilt, wondering if I had done something wrong to cause it.
Click to expand...
This was the first question I asked my surgeon at my follow-up visit. I assumed I had done something wrong to cause my hip to fail. My surgeon just shook his head and said "you drew the short straw - all inherited".
 
@1GreatGran So happy for you.. Haven't followed your recovery too much but all is done and so proud that 2018 will be our year.:cheers2:
 
Mojo333 said:
@1GreatGran So happy for you.. Haven't followed your recovery too much but all is done and so proud that 2018 will be our year.:cheers2:
Click to expand...
@Mojo333
THANK you. I don't post often, so recovery thread is small. It is the first time I truly believe that I will be able t o do 5k walks again. So excited!.

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1GreatGran said:
I am 12 days post 2nd hip replacement and feel exactly the same way. Proud to be a double hippy!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
My 22 year old granddaughter said " I told my friends that my grandmother do old.
It was like a shot in the arm, reminding of who I am[emoji5]

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