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Bilateral THR Diary of a bilateral THR Spring 2019

Will take your advice .. plus will talk to my excellent physio before embarking on anything 'adventurous'. At the moment it's a bit inconceivable!
 
I did post a reply to this but somehow it didn't make the thread. Anyway, I agree with you, I shall be very cautious but oh how I wish I could do more …. progress is SO slow!
 
Keep the faith, friend.
One month out is prime time for post op blues and cabin fever! We often think we need to Do Something to hurry things along.
Many members think PT is needed to alleviate tightness. Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue is healing...and full healing can take a full year OR MORE. If a long full step right now is causing pain and limping, don't take long full steps. Take smaller steps. Take a short walk several times a day, instead of longer walks. Use your cane. Use ice. Rest a lot.
At six weeks or so, we are past the initial surgical incision healing, and generally are starting to feel reasonable again. People are itching to get back to their lives....to get on with their lives. To be active. And a lot of us are so driven to be active again, that we promptly overdo it as soon as we start to resume some activities. Once we can walk a quarter of a mile without pain, we figure we're good for a mile or 2. And a week later, why not 3 or 4? We get on a cycle...stationary or otherwise....and instead of ten minutes, we do an hour. Or 2. We go out to run an errand, and end up shopping for 3 hours. We return to work and then go to PT and then stop at the grocery store and then go home and work in the garden.
So really, this isn't the time to do anything to excess. Baby steps now, and lots of patience, pays off big time later. Recovering from self-induced tendinitis can end up taking weeks or months. Or you can consider yourself as still recovering from surgery and structure your return to your life as a slow, gradual process where you introduce very small increments in activity, and then give yourself time to see how your body reacts to it. Your body is in charge of healing, not your mind. You can't will yourself to heal faster. But you can stay out of your own way to let the healing happen.
 
You are so right (as always!). Thought I would do an update on my daily blog ... if you want to read the earlier input, it's in post #25.


March 19th/20th/21st/22nd. Day 28/29/30/31. I am now managing a 40/45 minute double crutch walk. The left leg feels so good and STRONG. I can put all my weight on this and stand on one leg. By comparison I can put NO weight on my right leg as the knee just crumbles. This is really getting me down as I feel the hip op is OK but it's had such a knock-on effect elsewhere that I had not foreseen could ever be an issue. I just so hope it improves and catches up with the left leg. Maybe when I come off the blood thinners in 9 days I can take a proper anti-inflammatory and this will help? Note: my physio has given me a tip that when I do my simple exercises, some of which involve standing on one foot whilst using the other leg (supported by a bench of course) to engage my glutes and that takes the pressure of the knees. Works a treat so may be a good tip for others.

And last night I slept through from 10.15 to 5.20 no waking and NO NIGHT SWEATS (has to be the Gabapentin) and feel so much better. Knee just the same so as I'm typing this I'm in my wonderful life-saving recliner and iced up on knee and lower back. Shortly will go for daily walk.

March 23rd and 24th - Day 32 and 33. Pretty much more of the same, daily walking 50 mins outside with double crutches up and downhill, daily icing and still good sleep in terms of 6 hours and no night sweats - definitely the Gabapentin. Still very week right knee, left leg getting stronger and stronger. Hurrah though went out for pub meal could SIT in chair with booster seat and FIRST GLASS OF WINE!!!!!!!!

March 25th - Day 34. Today, physio later. Am I imagining it or is it right knee marginally stronger????? I can get about on one crutch in the house. So far have just done a 60 min walk on double crutches but I think I overstretched something last night - did an extended reach for a pillow, hmm won't do that again. Currently icing hip, knee and quads in right leg.

BTW - husband I think has reached the end of his tolerance of having a 'sick' wife and having to do EVERYTHING including putting on the compression stockings at night which he find particularly onerous! Am now walking on eggshells - any suggestions for keeping husbands (or partners for that matter) happy?!
 
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@hbl ""Physio has said that when walking with one crutch hold the other arm up in the air as it balances the body and you use all the right muscles in both legs. She's right I can feel the difference and it stops me limping. ""

That is really interesting - I was never told to do that but it makes perfect sense. Ice is really your best friend - especially when stretching a muscle too far by overreaching.. Do concentrate on the heel - toe walking making sure you put your heel down firmly and then to toe - it really helps. Also - now I am seven months on I keep forgetting that engaging glutes and squeezing when sitting down really helps me when I get up. Best of luck with the recovery - I think you are doing really well. Hopefully you won't be on the support stockings for too much longer...
 
Thanks SurreyGirl. Yes, working on the heel, toe when walking and glute tightening especially when siting down. I think I said but my physio also said that when doing the simple exercises and 1 or 2 require you to stand on one leg whilst exercising the other then if you tighten the glutes whilst doing this the pressure comes off your knee(s) which is what has been hindering progress in my right knee.

MIRACLE .. just finished today's physio and after some painful but heavenly pressure point massage she had me walking up and down for 20 feet or so with no crutches and no walking aids and placing pretty much equal weight on both legs with little or no limping as a result of my 'weak' right knee. Practice practice I shall now do (without overdoing) but so much of what we face is also a mental issue and muscle memory. Great way to end my first 5 weeks tomorrow.
 
hbl said:
As the NHS doesn't do bilateral hip replacements as a matter of interest where did you have yours done?
Click to expand...
@hbl Where on earth did you get that idea from? Of course we do bilaterals in the UK! Loads of them! I've worked in lots of hospitals and not even one of them 'never' did bilaterals. In fact, they did bilat hips and knees. Some operating lists would have at least one and sometimes two patients who were having bilateral hips or knees done! Every week!

I think what you may have meant is that some surgeons won't do bilaterals and that is a fact all over the world!
 
Thanks hbl - I had my BHR done at Wrightington Hospital centre of excellence (near Wigan) as I'm in the Lakes but you're correct that the NHS won't do Bi-lateral and it took some doing to persuade the surgeon to do mine, however, when he'd finished he did say that both hips were so bad that neither would have supported the other had he only done one.

I appreciate that everyone is different and recovery also depends on the state of the muscles before the op but it's enormously valuable just to have feedback from people going through this themselves as it seems the surgeaons do their job and expect us to just get on with it.

May I ask if you remember how far you were walking at 21 days and what aids you needed to walk?

Thanks again
 
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JR 2 Hips said:
but you're correct that the NHS won't do Bi-lateral and it took some doing to persuade the surgeon to do mine, however, when he'd finished he did say that both hips were so bad that neither would have supported the other had he only done one.
Click to expand...
Please see Jo's post above. The NHS does do BTHR! It's the surgeon's decision whether or not to do this - has nothing to do with the NHS.
 
Josephine - I didn't say the UK doesn't do bilaterals! I said the NHS in the UK no longer does bilaterals - at least that's what I've been told. Certainly I had mine done in the UK but I went the private route which is what others in the UK have done on this site I believe.
 
JR2 Hips - At 3 weeks not walking very far and always on double crutches. Around the house a fair bit and up and down our fairly longish drive so maybe 20 mins tops outside. But I did try and up it each day which worked for me. As I've said I took it slowly and at end of 5 weeks (as of today) am now walking outside for about 50 mins or so but definitely using double crutches. Around the house am generally on one crutch, frustratingly slow progress but as I look back big changes have been made which everyone on this site says. I agree, though, hospitals don't explain enough about possible issues after op beyond giving you simple exercises, advice on equipment etc but perhaps not enough on how things might progress and what you can expect … recommending this site would be a good start!
 
Thanks for the info - I've posted a longer reply on the thread the adjudicator moved me to but it's so useful to know I'm neither lagging behind nor trying too hard. I look forward to week 6 and hope this new painless clicking isnt anything to worry about - I talked to my surgeon and he said even if there was an issue he could'nt fix it this soon - he didn't let me know if I should rest it ir carry on.
Keep posting - Jo
 
Hope I reassured you. I also had some early clicking particularly in my right hip (the one that was really bad) when I did the simple adductor movements the hospital gave me. I spoke to my surgeon who said this is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. Have to say this stopped after about 4 weeks although I occasionally get a 'boney' feeling when I do this exercise. I just treat everything carefully.

My big breakthrough came on Monday, as I have written on my thread, on 4 weeks and 5 days when I could take steps without crutches and without limping but only in the safety of my own home. Have now got the confidence to go down to one crutch in the house (but not outside where I always double crutch) and when in the kitchen no crutches practising my non limping new walk!
 
Really pleased you've had the breakthrough you deserve and I hope your recovery from now on will be an easier one.

I find I'm in more pain now than a week ago but I'm hoping this is because the nerves are coming back where the tendons were cut and the muscles split but I just don't know. Once again, why don't they tell you these things!!

Don't stop posting please as your stories are my lifeline.
 
Yes, this nerve pain happened to me as well - and right leg worse (but then this hip was the worst one out of my two before the op so I think it's all related). Seems like the right is the worse all round i.e. knee pain, clicking/boney feeling/ swelling and nerve pain. It has definitely subsided though so hang on in there.
 
Thanks - I'm trying to stay positive and hope someone fills me in on the way to do 'icing'.
 
JR 2 Hips I simply bought a range of gel packs (Amazon have a great range) which you put in the fridge and then use. Some of them are designed for knees/shoulders etc and have 'covers' , others are just the basic blue gel pack. If you use the latter make sure you have something between the pack and you skin but I find the ones with covers and straps are fine for direct skin contact. Generally they stay cold for about 30/45 mins depending on where you put them. Lifesavers.

Am having an increase in nerve pain on my right leg and lower back discomfort but I think I'm just experiencing the snakes and ladders recovery diagram!
 
Thanks. I'll get some ordered although I am generally a cold person so don't relish the prospect but if it helps I'll try anything.

I went to the physio yesterday and apart from the difficulty of finding somewhere safe to get our of the car I found that the muscle massage helped. The manipulation was gentle but I still can't lift the left leg more than 4inches off the table under its own power and the right one only about an inch. This excercise hurts! I also don't want to do the sideways motion as that's when I can feel the clunking - yuk.

Stiff today but been for my morning 10minute uphill walk. Some days though I feel I'm relying a lot on the crutches.

I've been lying on the bed doing tiny pelvic tilts which seems to help with the back pain when it comes and I have a Lava Pack (doesn't have that hot wheat smell when hot) which holds the heat for hours so I put this under me too. Maybe this would help you?

Jo
 
Have been told to avoid heat on anything that is already inflamed so for me it's the ice packs every time (am sitting here with one under my bum and lower back). My physio does great pressure point massage and just checks I'm doing all the hospital exercises correctly as it's so easy to get them wrong or 'cheat'. For me it's anything which involves adducting or moving a leg sideways so now I am VERY cautious about doing this and am ultra careful about not spreading my legs - excuse the expression! As I say left hip OK to do this but right, well I just don't want to go there. It is a worry though which I share with you so really hope my surgeon says all is OK and when he sees the xray.
 
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