Depression/post-op blues - open for all

Just a it over 4 months and and finally having some no pain times. Really does just take time! And yes I hear the chorus of "I told you so" in the background! Still not comfortable at night but now seems to be a little bit more my crazy round and round thoughts that keep me from sleep.
I have been back to work for about a month. Still not getting enough exercise. Too tired emotionally and physically can't seem to get motivated. Amazingly I am getting by on 2-3 hours of sleep some nights..most are closer to 4-5 hours .which is better

Also still have about 3/4 inches difference in leg length. Last appointment surgeon indicated was be cause my pelvis is tilted ... Thinking about fixing my right shoe a little higher to match. Original recommendation was to wait 6 months....anyone know why? Could not find a lot of research.



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Original recommendation was to wait 6 months....anyone know why?
I had a leg length difference (LLD) post LTHR. I was advised to wait 3-4 months as the pelvic tilt you noticed can balance back a bit. I had a lift fitted for one shoe and wore it for years.

Please don't worry about exercises. Walking is the best exercise for any new hippie.
 
Sometimes the aches and pains can bring a smile instead of a frown...was making biscuits for dinner, my 5 year old grandson was helping. Started getting those sharp stabbing pains in the muscles of my leg. These have just never gone away. I think I said " ouch" and startled my grandson. He said " oh grandma is your next hip talking to you again?" Not pain...just talking!
Still working through the depression and emotional left overs from the surgery ( 4+ Months now). Wish there were discussion. sites like this one, I have looked at a few but they have been hard to navigate. Forum structures were confusing...or maybe it's just me.


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@ddj are you still taking any pain medication for this pain? You might want to talk to your family doctor about prescribing something for this. It's a bit of a cycle. You need meds to get mobile and as your mobility increases in stages you might need something different.
Still working through the depression and emotional left overs from the surgery ( 4+ Months now).
I hear you on this one. The physical recovery can be very dramatic. The situation changes daily for many months. But many have emotional scars and this too needs recovery. Keep coming here and sharing. We do indeed understand. :console2:

I'm going to tag @Me2 . She worked through some major emotional issues after her first THR. Maybe she has some advice?
 
I am using NSAIDS and since my second surg I have tramidol 25 mg


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Thank you for any help. If I do not get my act together, could lose my job!!


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I was a mess... and also on antidepressants before and after. I would person and person all day, want to be left alone, kept blanket and pillow on sofa and stayed there where I could watch Netflix. No bushing teeth, bathing, or even changing sheets...no housecleaning so nightgowns and things started to pile up on floors...I felt after 2-3 weeks, when my friends started to become scarce and stop calling for fear you'll ask them to do a chore. I didn't want to call them because I also felt a bit angry at people because they suddenly also didn't return my calls, even though I only wanted to chat. I knew then I couldn't call and say "I'm SO DEPRESSED" and they'd feel obligated to come over.I think they have no idea how brutal and hard this surgery is. Once you can walk, they think you're perfectly fine. So... nobody hovering over me. Alone. Then, dark thoughts start to creep in, your mother's death, your brother who is killing himself w alcohol, losses - friends - lovers - dogs - and you let your mind go to such awful places. My doctor added Buspar and overnight I was so clear headed. My therapist told me I was so much better and to learn how to not focus on the past, but let it go... that's all. Let it go. Whatever combination of meds/talking - it worked and I'm so so grateful. I'd first asked my joint nurse, she said "well, it can be depressing" and that's all. Had to seek a psychiatrist to double check I wasn't going insane. Today, I've finished my PT as soon as Medicare stopped covering sessions. I rolled up rugs, washed hardwood floors, vacuumed, dusted, changed sheets, bathroom, kitchen cabinets and sinks. Bending was causing me lower back pain and finished the next day. A total of 8 loads of laundry up and down steep basement steps. Got a lot done. The trick is to be having "overnight guest" and so ashamed for someone to see your place. Things I could not do. Wash the woodwork along floor - I used to be able to plop down w a bucket of soapy water... a rag and scrub and wipe with dry towel...scoot on a bit more... Well, there is no *plopping* or *scooting* and I was saved by a very short stool I had. 18" off the floor... Sheets were OK but take about 10 trips around the bed. corner, corner, corner, corner, flat sheet, fold and tuck that side, fold and tuck this side. Make sure both sides are even at top. Put on thin blanket and then comforter. 4 pillowcases to put on and try to arrange on bed. It had to take at least an hour... but I did it. Nope, can't plop on bed with knees and shuffle around, but maybe someday. I think I'll look back at this and go HA!!! I made it. Hopefully w message boards, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, other forums, I can maybe help other people. "You are not alone..."
 
Thanks for all that you posted. I had a total right hip replacement on April 11th. I had my left hip done 10 years ago. This one was harder. Less pain pre-op but much more post-op. On day 2 after surgery I needed a blood transfusion! For 2 weeks I stayed at my sister's and she was there helping me with everything. I had totally forgotten how helpless I would be after surgery. Then she and her husband were going away for 5 days so my other sister flew in from Va. to stay with me for another week. She also gave me wonderful care. Up to that point i felt fine emotionally. No depression, no anxiety. But when my sister left to go back to Va. sadness and weepiness began to set in. I went back to my other sister's for a few days but finally I had to go home where I live with my 91 year old mom in her condo. So even though I have been on a low dose of antidepressants for years and increased the dose before surgery to ward off any chance of depression it has not worked. I am at almost 5 weeks post op. But I find that I have no energy, i feel tired all day long and keep falling asleep, that just makes me feel more depressed. I was going to try to go back to work next week (Monday will be 5 weeks post op) but I am so sleepy and down that I just am not ready. It helps so much to hear other people are going through the same thing. I don't want to increase my antidepressant any more since increasing before surgery hasn't helped anyway. I take a minuscule amount of Xanax for the anxiety (only .25 mg) so that just cannot be making me sleepy. I just want to stop feeling so tired and sleepy. I do my PT exercises and take a short walk up and down my street each day. But i am not sure what to do right now except maybe stop fighting the tiredness and sleep when I need to. I have to get back to work at some point soon though i will go back part time. I am hoping this will go away but I may have to talk to my psychiatrist soon to see what he might suggest. Thanks again for sharing it helps a lot!
 
Hi, @jogino! Glad you got through the THR! You say you are tired all the time and have no energy. While this may indeed be from depression, I am here to tell you that the energy drain from a THR is real and is debilitating. Here is a link from BoneSmart about it: Energy drain for THRs. Here is another link about Activity progression for THRs. I was exhausted, no energy for months after my THR, and I had no depression before surgery. Time will tell which it is for you, and it may be a combination of both. The energy drain does end at some point, and then you will know. All the best to you in your recovery, both physically and emotionally!
 
Hi, @jogino! Glad you got through the THR! You say you are tired all the time and have no energy. While this may indeed be from depression, I am here to tell you that the energy drain from a THR is real and is debilitating. Here is a link from BoneSmart about it: Energy drain for THRs. Here is another link about Activity progression for THRs. I was exhausted, no energy for months after my THR, and I had no depression before surgery. Time will tell which it is for you, and it may be a combination of both. The energy drain does end at some point, and then you will know. All the best to you in your recovery, both physically and emotionally!
Thanks so much for your reply. It helps to know this fatigue is very real. I actually feel like the fatigue is what is making me feel depressed. Thanks for the links too. Very helpful.
 
I am so happy my reply helped! Who knew beforehand that this surgery could be so overwhelming? Perhaps those who were on BoneSmart before their op and got the lowdown here. I wasn't, and it was all a big shock to me. I'm still having fatigue many months later, but I just got diagnosed with sleep apnea which causes fatigue, and I have a complication, which can contribute to it, too. Most people are getting their mojo back by 12 weeks or so. Best of luck to you! I hope you will consider starting a thread in the "Normal Threads" section to discuss any issues you are having, including this one.
 
I was going to try to go back to work next week (Monday will be 5 weeks post op) but I am so sleepy and down that I just am not ready.
@jogino Much too early to go back to work. The normal time off from work post THR is 10-12 weeks and then a Phased return to work.

And don't forget, post op blues are very real. The good news is, all this is very temporary. Just give it time.
 
@jogino Much too early to go back to work. The normal time off from work post THR is 10-12 weeks and then a Phased return to work.

And don't forget, post op blues are very real. The good news is, all this is very temporary. Just give it time.
Thanks for the encouragement I need to hear that this lousy feeling is normal and should go away. I am up and down and wake up now feeling anxious about what I am not sure....getting back to normal and work? Why does that give me anxiety? But I will try to do all the right things and not fight this so much. More time needed to heal, I guess. Thanks for the link to Post Op Blues. Much appreciated.
 
@jogino It's funny you should mention the waking up feeling anxious. Post RTHR I remember several times waking up in panic mode. I was not on heavy pain killers so can't blame this on drugs. But recovery is a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Just go with it. It's all temporary! This too shall pass.
 
I am going to celebrate six weeks post-op for a THR next Wednesday.

I had to wait from January 4 until April 6 for the surgery and all the while my spirits were fine, but once I got home days after surgery my mood became increasingly volatile - I would suddenly turn into a puddle of tears. A friend asked me about my mood and when I explained she said that she had heard that opioids can damage serotonin production and interfere with antidepressants. None of the physicians or medical professionals, who saw the list of meds I was on, made any mention of this...

I decided to try to taper off the Percocet as quickly as I could without interfering with the PT, so within a week and a half I went from 6 a day to just one at night, to help me sleep. I stayed on Tylenol every four hours. This worked wonders: the sudden lows were gone!
Best luck for a speedy recovery to you all.
 
@newhipJen While I would not recommend trying to recover from THR on only Tylenol I do understand your concern about using Percocet. Do remember that there are many other alternatives to pain management. A discussion with your family doctor to find something that works for you is recommended.
 
Thought I would join the conversation. I am 10 wks post-op. Feel pretty good but the depression is lingering longer than I thought. Yesterday I got the ok to lift restrictions. But I am still scared of doing things. I am fearful of dislocating. I am just wondering if dislocating is something that gradually happens?? I do slowly walk 40 min a day. Today I weeded but I think I overdid it as my back is aching. I'm depressed as I am so very bored. I have been looking for a job and nothing is paning out. Then the negative thinking starts-who is going to hire someone who is 56 yrs old. I was a real estate appraiser for over 10 years. I worked out of the house. But 2 yrs ago, the laws changed and I could no longer appraise homes. So I worked part-time as a Receptionist at a Bank along with working part-a time in retail. The long hours of sitting and also standing caused havoc on my hip. So I quit. I got a job as a Caregiver. But soon found out that cleaning for 3 hours was also bad for my hip. I didn't want to be a cleaning lady as I wanted to take the patients to their appointments etc. One patient I had threw her dirty clothes at me and said "wash them!" So it wasn't the job I thought it would be. So last October I broke my ankle and then it was decided that I needed my hip done. On top of it all, our daughter who is in college, will not be home this summer as she is staying to take summer classes. So we are empty nesters and I am very depressed by that. Today has been hard. I've been crying a lot as I miss the family bond. I can't even get myself to do much other than go for my daily walk. I just don't know what to do with my life. I want to work and make a difference in someone's life. In the past I have been a volunteer at hospice. Maybe I should start that again just to get out of the house and be of service to someone. I would love to be a paid employee there.

Thanks for listening. Sorry I am so down.
 
@Arlene56, I am so sorry you are feeling that badly. Aging has so many challenges, never mind recovering from the broken ankle and the THR! It is difficult dealing with the empty nest and changes in family relationships, and changes in jobs and employability. I hope you will have some heart-to-heart talks with your closest loved ones and tell them how you are feeling. Perhaps you can brainstorm to think of things you can do to help yourself to feel more involved in the world and more useful. That's a good idea about volunteering for hospice! There are many volunteer opportunities that don't involve too much physical effort, but that would be very appreciated. Perhaps even seeing a therapist for some objective observations and suggestions might be valuable to you. Sending hugs from a bit south of you here in Illinois.
 
@Krista
Thank you for your response. Not really sure who I can turn to in my family about this. My hubby just doesn't understand what I am going through. He is the type that just says 'get over it '. My sister doesn't like to hear anything negative unless she has negativity going on, in which case, I get a phone call from her. Since our daughter is staying in a 4 flat this summer,
she really has gotten very independent. She doesn't call us much. She is busy though with 3 part time jobs and taking a class. But I think I will go talk to a counselor. I feel like I can give back to this world somehow.
Thanks Krista. Hope you are doing well. I haven't really been on Bonesmart lately.
Have a good evening.
 
@Arlene56, we have to talk to someone when we feel low. If family doesn't work, then a professional may be the answer. Of course you can give back to this world! You have so much to give! I get it about your daughter growing up and a bit away. My 26 year old son lives and works 2,000 miles away and we talk maybe once a week, do some texting and emailing. It's nice and we have a loving relationship, but it's not the same as when he was here with us. My daughter lives on her own. My relationship with my sister has gotten much closer over the last few years. She moved into the house next door to us a year ago, and we have such a good thing going on between us. I don't know where I would be without that. Have a good evening yourself! At least we are having splendid weather, no gloom to rain on us.
 

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