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THR Diary of my journey to happy times

Well, I learned something new today! Absolutely fascinating....sooooooo glad you are getting closer to resuming your very unique hobby!:yes!:

It's really incredible to think of how many things are impacted by a bad hip, and a hip in recovery as well. So reassuring to see the return of mobility and function, and to realize the pain is lessening as time passes as well! :yahoo:
 
I know I'm a romantic and even more convinced of that after reading this. Obviously, I don't understand all the technical bits but it sounds fascinating and a great amount of fun! Good job you on on participating again ~ was kind of happy to see that you stuck to shorter flight of even stairs for now though! Thanks for taking the time to share, I never would have known this was a hobby otherwise.

I think it seems so different, it's really a different topic but I blown away when treated to my kids playing bells at a Christmas concert. So beautiful. I have wondered now and again if I might be able to find a novice group to learn with when we retire.
 
Very fascinating, Klassy.
I hope you're able to get back to it soon. The explanation was quite interesting.

Want to wish you a Happy Two Month Anniversary!
You're doing great..and to think it will only get better. :happydance:
@Klassy
 
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Thank you all for so kindly indulging me in my obsession!

Day 63 has brought more firsts. I walked my 0.7 mile block with one crutch, my first time outside for a significant distance without 2 crutches. And cut the time to 20 minutes, thus 2.1 mph, a new post op land speed record.

And then H had to go to the church where we ring to let in a tradesman to do some work (H is “tower captain “ ie person in charge of the bells, so has a key). I went along for the sake of an outing, but once there, I thought.... dare I? I hadn’t thought I was quite ready, but I did dare. Up the 47 steep uneven stone steps of the spiral staircase I went. And rang a real bell ( a quarter of a ton, made in 1605). Only 4 rings, because we aren’t supposed to ring outside designated times in case we annoy the local community. But enough to prove I could do it. Then down the 47 steps, counting each one off. It was slow and it was exhausting, but I did it!

Woohoo!
 
:wow: Isn’t it a great feeling to be able to start reclaiming your life?!!!
Hopefully you had a hand rail for the step climbing, and weren’t in a rush....and perhaps iced and rested when you got home?:bath::martini:
 
Whoa, I don't think I could have managed all those steps up and down when I was where you are in recovery. So, great job, @Klassy! I hope you didn't pay the price when got home. I am sure it felt like a satisfying accomplishment and even a little soreness afterwards wouldn't wipe the smile off your face. And then being able to ring the bell also must have been gratifying. As I think all recovering hipsters can agree, it's the small but important accomplishments that remind us that we are progressing towards recovery. So, hurray for you!
 
Stair climbing Rock Star! :happydance:
@Klassy
 
I wrote to the NHS website to ask them about their rather upbeat view of recovery- see end of post for my query. I’ve just received the response below. I’m interested in your thoughts.
I’ve looked at the link to the site they used as one of their sources, I may contact them too and ask for the evidence. I didn’t see anything in that site about being back to normal in 3 months, so presumably that was the expert opinion of one clinician. I bet he/she never had a hip replacement!

On Tue, 12 Feb 2019 at 15:28, <nhswebsite.servicedesk@nhs.net> wrote:
We have reviewed the sources used during the 2016 review of our hip replacement content in response to this query.

It seems the figure of 4 to 6 weeks was written based on:

- the expert clinician’s feedback at the time of writing – a consultant orthopaedic surgeon
- the Royal College of Surgeons advice on recovering from a total hip replacement:

https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/patient-ca...gery/total-hip-replacement/returning-to-work/

The next full review of this content is not due until October 2019. However we have looked at the most recent version of the sources used and I feel some changes could be made to our content to better reflect the advice. Mainly that recovery times can vary depending on several factors and it could be misleading to give recovery times on our pages (even a modest estimate).

We are going to look into making some changes and publishing these to our site over the next week.

Best regards,
Editorial team, NHS Choices

If this resolution doesn't answer your query or provide you with guidance please click here to inform the service desk . If we receive no correspondence within 5 working days your ticket will be automatically closed.

Message:

I am interested in your Hip Replacement Recovery web page. Please provide the reference for the studies from which you drew the conclusion “Generally, you should be able to stop using your crutches within four to six weeks and feel more or less normal after three months, by which time you should be able to perform all your normal activities.”
 
Well done - that is encouraging.

Not only do recovery times vary but it appears that it takes a year plus for muscles to fully recover - it might be helpful if they were explicit about that. Also normal means different things to different people. Better to use different terminology - eg able to perform certain tasks etc.
 
Yes it’s good they seem to be planning to at least water it down. The RCS site they refer to as a source does specificy activities, some seem reasonable but I’m not sure about golf, cycling,tennis at 12 weeks. I have seen some info that advises against tennis ever. Depends how you play I guess.
 
Day 64. Not much to report. Showered, dressed including socks without aids, went upstairs a few times to open and close windows and to fetch things, stripped bed, put two loads of washing through washer and dryer including reaching the pesky sock at the back, all general pottering inside done with no aids, tied shoelaces, went out as passenger in car and walked by river for 20 minutes with 1 crutch, walked round shop pushing trolley. All things that were major milestones once, and now seem routine!

I am tired today after the exertions of the past couple of days. It shows up not as pain but as stiffness after sitting. By evening after a spell of TV watching in my chair I had to walk with a crutch to get back to walking smoothly. It’s a bit annoying that I have things to do at my desk computer but can’t sit there for long enough to get properly into it. Once again find myself grateful to be retired.

I’m also not mentally sharp as I can’t get a good night’s sleep. I did have a couple of weeks where I was sleeping well but have regressed. I’m accepting it may be like this until I can return to side sleeping. I test it out every few days, can stay for longer (20 minutes) on my good side, still can’t bear the thought of trying on the operated side.
 
Klassy said:
The RCS site they refer to as a source does specificy activities, some seem reasonable but I’m not sure about golf, cycling,tennis at 12 weeks.
Click to expand...
- I think I am doing OKish at 3.5 months and could do cycling easily (not hard on the hip), could just about do golf now but not at 12 weeks (need to be able to walk 5+ miles carrying clubs) but no way could I play tennis yet, not even doubles, and suspect it will be a good few weeks before I can. I could very comfortable play table tennis though...…… I have played bridge a few times and found that was fine - even after 2 weeks.
 
Really pleased you contacted the nhs about this. I had pressure on me to return to work too early as OH were following the 6 week guidelines that the NHS mention. I feel I could have done with some extra time before returning to work and it set me back. The guidelines do raise management expectations!
 
I wrote back as below. I will be watching their site! I will also tackle the RCS.

I am just curious to know what studies they have to make the statements they do.

I think also even if they have the data , it can be misleading. Looking at what I wrote for day 64, you could read that as back to normal activities. It leaves out things like the walk was at 2 mph, stopping every time I saw a dog or an inattentive pedestrian, that H put the shopping in the car and carried it in, that it was probably a quarter of a normal days activities but wore me out. Even the shower takes concentration. As a series of activities it would have a series of ticks in boxes, but none of them are back to normal.

My reply:

“Thank you for taking the trouble to review the content of your website. The change you suggest would be helpful.

At the moment you are raising expectations which are going to be disappointed in a substantial proportion of patients. The worst aspect is that people are being pressured to return to work before they are well enough, on the basis of your website.

The RCS information is more nuanced but still tends to the optimistic, and neglects to say that full recovery takes 12 to 18 months, not weeks. I shall be contacting them also.

Thank you again and I look forward to seeing the revision on your website.”
 
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