THR Diary of my journey to happy times

[Mojo333]

Here's my new baby @Klassy

 

[Klassy]

Oh what a cutie!

 

[Snoopy55]

Hi @Klassy @myglasshalffull and @Mojo333! So good to hear from you all! I just got back a week ago from France. Was gone 9 weeks! Can’t believe it really!
Hippie did fine all in all. Would get a bit sore here and there but nothing too bad. My friend I was staying with is a certified Pilates instructor and gave me some good stretches to do and I took a couple of Pilates private classes which were beneficial in teaching me some good exercises. The lady herself had broken her hip so she was well versed!

@Klassy I’m so happy for you and your doggie! Enjoy your first holidays together!
Hugs to all of you!

 

[Klassy]

Thanks Snoops, Happy New Year! Aren’t we doing well! Thursday was my one year anniversary for Hip 2 and the hospital’s questionnaire popped up on my computer. I filled it in. Score was 100%, up from 98% in October. Woohoo!

Here is Tula opening one of her Christmas presents. We are going for longer walks as she grows, yesterday I clocked up 10,000 steps. She did a lot more, with all her detours to explore.

 

[Mojo333]

Happy One Year Hipversary @Klassy
Very happy to see you doing well and back to life

 

[myglasshalffull]

Happy Anniversary!
This time flew by but didn't seem like it in the beginning!
My dogs always loved opening their Christmas gifts...so cute!
I'm up early and heading to adoption event soon, hopefully several dogs find new homes today.
Stay well!

 

[Klassy]

13 months from hip 2, but back in recovery.

This one is hard. 48 hours done, 12 more days of patience required.

To anyone enduring TED stockings, back sleeping etc, be grateful that at least you don’t have to wear a plastic cone …

Poor Tula has just been spayed and had loose dew claws removed from her hind legs. She feels fine now

and just doesn’t understand why she isn’t being allowed to romp and run free.

 

[Layla]

Aww, poor, sweet, adorable, Tula! I am sure this pains you more than it does her. On second thought...maybe not.
Tula has the cutest face, Klassy, and I sense the joy she's brought to your life. She'll be back running and in mischief in no time.

Happy Thirteen Month Anniversary! I hope all continues to go well with your hips. Thanks for stopping by, always nice to hear from you!
@Klassy

 

[myglasshalffull]

Awww...poor Tula but she will be up and running very soon.

 

[Sukuma]

back sleeping etc, be grateful that at least you don’t have to wear a plastic cone …

Aww..... I did laugh at this - yup, back sleeping but no plastic cone!

 

[Klassy]

(Belated) Happy New Year! to all Bonesmarties, and happy belated 5th and 2nd anniversary for my lovely shiny new hips.

All is well here, just back from a brisk walk on the hills on a rare day of sunshine. Here is our little dog coping in the chilly wind.

 

[Layla]

Klassy!
Such a lovely surprise this morning!! A belated Happy Five Year Anniversary, Lefty and A Happy Two Year Anniversary, Righty.

Sweet Tula is looking good on the hill in the wind. Thanks so much for stopping by, it was wonderful to hear from you. Many blessings to you and yours in 2024!
@Klassy

 

[myglasshalffull]

So nice to see a post from you Klassy, we kind of all "recovered" together!
Tula looking great and happy to hear all is well, same here!

 

[benne68]

Hi @Klassy Great to hear from you! Glad you are doing well.

 

[SurreyGirl]

Great news Klassy!

 

[CricketHip]

Hello @Klassy I love your update and LOVE your doggy picture.
Life is good with our new joints, yes?

 

[Klassy]

Hello all
Me bad! I neglect this forum totally for a year and a half, and then pop back up hoping for support. Sorry!

Anyway here goes: both hips were fine ….

Then 10 days ago, I fell over and landed heavily on concrete, on my left hand and left hip.

Both areas hurt like blazes. I lay there yelping for about 15 minutes while my husband H, fortunately close by, was able to roll me onto my right side. This reduced hip pain slightly. The pain in my hand, which had been about as bad, subsided to almost nothing during this time. Which was good, because it meant that the wrist not broken (I have broken that wrist before), but bad, because maybe the fact that the hip was still hurting meant something serious. And it was clear that I probably couldn’t get up.

We phoned for an ambulance which arrived after about an hour, very speedy for England 2025. Lovely crew took me to hospital, kept me very comfortable with gas. They reassured me definitely not dislocated. They said leg was slightly short and slightly rotated, which could be sign of fracture, but might be explained by the two hip replacements.

They were able to offload me after a couple of hours. I had X-ray and eventually doctor came to report. Good news that X-ray showed no fracture. But I could still have fracture which didn’t show on X-ray. He would test by seeing if I could do straight leg raise. I managed, but v v painful. He said I passed that test, now just needed to test if I could walk on it. The pain of raising my leg had made me feel sick, and as soon as I tried to sit up, I began to faint. I have experience in this area! So I lay back down hastily and explained that if I tried to get up at this point, I would black out immediately. He took my BP which had dropped from 120 to 75 (that’s the number on top, not the one on the bottom which ought to be about 75) and said, oh that can’t be right, must be the machine. I said no, that’s what happens to me. Fortunately he was a sympathetic doc, he explained that what I had was vasovagal syncope syndrome and he agreed that I could have some time to rest, then a nurse would help me up.

Lying on my back I soon felt pretty much ok. A nurse eventually arrived and asked if I had called my husband to collect me. I said no because I hadn’t yet tested my leg to see if I could walk on it. She huffed and with the help of another nurse bundled me into a wheelchair, without me actually putting any weight on the left leg. A porter wheeled me to the waiting area, which was full of miserable people who had been waiting for hours to be seen, so I understand that the nurse had good reason for her impatience. But it did mean that I was heading home with no idea whether I had damaged anything.

I had asked H to bring my crutches which I had kept after my replacements. We got me home and into my ground floor bedroom, and it was then a matter of lying back and waiting for things to heal. Or not.

Compared to hip replacement recoveries, it is quite different. It improved a bit at first, but after two days stayed much the same. I have to use both crutches and put almost all my weight on them, to shuffle to the bathroom and back. I become totally pain free if I lie on my back with an ice pack and don’t move, which is better than I remember early days of replacement recovery . But the process of rising from the bed is painful. Particularly the point where I have got to a sitting position with both feet on floor. The transfer of weight onto feet and crutches hurts a bit, but the point where I straighten from bent over to upright hurts a lot. Lying back down is also painful. This is worse than I remember from replacement recoveries. The pain moves around depending on what exactly I am trying to do, but some of it seems to be inside my left groin, left buttock and lower back, not the part I landed on which was my left side.

On day 6 I messaged my GP practice and about my continuing pain and immobility. A GP phoned, she prescribed painkillers stronger than the paracetamol and ibuprofen which were helping a bit, and said she would refer me for another X-ray. She said that now the immediate inflammation has subsided, and I was able to stand upright, they could get a better picture.

Today, day 10, I got a letter with appointment for X-ray…. in another 16 days time.

The new painkillers, nefopam, are helpful to sleep at night. But days continue much the same.

So, does anyone have any thoughts? Am I best to rest, or try to move? I do have to get up every few hours to visit the toilet, and I do a bit of toe wiggling and butt squeezing to hopefully ward off blood clots.

 

[Deni444]

I'm just reading in horror! If it were me I'd want to speak to an orthopedic surgeon, purely for reassurance particularly as you are saying that it wasn't checked appropriately in hospital. Do you have the contact details for your original surgeon? Could you try phoning the orthopaedic department where your hip was replaced? Just thinking out loud really as I'm not sure what your options are with the NHS system this long after surgery. I'd make a few calls though.

Maybe even a return trip to A&E? Shouldn't be the case but maybe a quicker route to get an x-ray and possibly seen by an orthopedic consultant on call.

 

[Layla]

Hello dear forum friend, Klassy. It's been awhile and while it's good to hear from you, I wish it wasn't due to your fall and the resulting pain you're struggling with. I am so sorry. It sounds like a nightmare. I can't even imagine waiting an hour for an ambulance while on the concrete, then waiting almost one month after the fall for an additional x-ray...it is so unfortunate.

If it were me, I'd continue with gentle movement, like walks around the home as you did in early THR recovery. Changing position regularly as opposed to bed rest. You don't want to get stiff joints and weak muscles as you wait out the next couple of weeks. I'd keep up with the pain meds and thankfully you're able to get some sleep at night. My guess is you really irritated soft tissues and muscles. If the pain worsens, you're unable to bear weight, there's any new swelling, redness, warmth, fever or you feel unwell, you know the red flags, then I'd return to A&E as you mentioned, otherwise just wait it out, easier said than done. Goodness, I'm so sorry. Sending a warm hug and wishes for your comfort.

I'm obligated to let you know about an important change with the forum. The site has moved to a paid subscription in an effort to keep the community here available long term. I hope you will still stay with us. You have my concern and I want to know you fully recover from this fall. Please keep us posted. You do not need to be a subscriber to update your thread.

Here is a link to check out -> Insider Information
@Klassy

 

[Klassy]

Thanks both. Lovely to hear from you again Layla, though I would prefer different circumstances!

@Deni444 , I hadn’t actually thought of going back to original surgeon. I actually had my replacement done privately. Ironically, I was back at a different branch of the same private hospital only two days ago, but to see a dermatologist (as a redhead who spent years living in the subtropics I am beleaguered with skin problems, and I have given up on the NHS for that too). I wish I had thought about that then. Perhaps I will call on Monday. Or go back to the GP.

Things are a bit complicated because on Tuesday am, husband goes away for a week. Overseas for his sister’s big birthday. He would cancel in a flash if I let him, but I won’t. During his last trip to see his family, about 2 years ago, I developed a medical emergency completely out of the blue (I have had quite a lot of surgery on various bits lately, hips have been the best working bits of me!). I stupidly told H, after the emergency so no longer needing help, but he cut his trip short and rushed home . I just don’t want to do that to him again.

We have been arranging things around the home so that I can do things for myself despite the crutches, and I will have at least one person coming to the house every day to lend a bit of help. This was mainly to help with my darling doggy, more than me! But I do have people I can call on to drive me to a consultation.

I don’t know really. I am hoping and hoping that it’s just bruising and will heal. But googling (I know, I know!) is making me think about pelvic fracture. For which the treatment, if stable and presumably it is, seems to be crutches and rest , which I am doing anyway.

No, it will be fine. I have just been up in the middle of the night to visit the loo (this is normal for me), the dog took her opportunity and asked to go out for a run in our big secure garden, now we are both safely back in bed and H has slept through blissfully unaware, and I am feeling no pain at all despite it being 6 hours since last pill. So I am going to be fine.