Revision THR One year later and still pain in groin

[Josephine]

Here y'go then!

It would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually - numbered as I have done - in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are

1. what approach did you have for your surgery? Anterior, posterior, lateral? You can look here to see the various types THR approaches or incisions

2. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't forget to factor in other forms of pain such as soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness).

3. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

4. are you icing your painful area at all? If so, how often and for how long?

5. are you elevating your leg. If so how often and for how long?

6. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

7. are you doing any exercises at home? If so what and how often?
This is the most crucial question so please help me by using the format I have left as an example
(which means please make a list and not an essay!)

Exercises done at home
- how many sessions you do each day
- enter exercise by name then number of repetitions of each
etc., etc.

Anything done at PT
- how many times a week
- enter exercise by name then number of repetitions of each
etc., etc.

 

[Onestepatatime]

Thank so much.

1. Posterior

2. Pain ranges from a 4 to 8. The pain and soreness has significantly increased post the dislocation incident.

3. Meloxicam 15 mg daily
Oxycodone - Was taking 10 mg at night. I am switching it to Percocet, the Oxy is not agreeing with me. I just hung up with the RN at the surgeon's office.
Extra strength Tylenol - 2 every 6 hours
Aspirin - one in am and one in pm

4. Icing 20 minutes every 2 hours, sometimes more frequent

5. I pretty much live in a recliner chair when I am not out and about. So my leg is not truly elevated. Should I be on the couch and propping my leg with pillows?

6. I do dishes - wash, unload top rack of dishwasher, wipe down the counters. No heavy cleaning. Minimal food shopping, I have not gone alone yet

7. Just walking. The surgeon said NO PT, given I dislocated the hip.
I take several small walks daily, but the more I walk the more it hurts.

NO PT right now as per surgeon's instructions.

 

[Josephine]

2. Pain ranges from a 4 to 8. The pain and soreness has significantly increased post the dislocation incident.

I bet it has!

3. Meloxicam 15 mg daily
Percocet - taking 10 mg at night
Extra strength Tylenol - 2 every 6 hours

I suggest you take it as prescribed which at 4 weeks is bound to be more than once a day!
You need to take it as prescribed and add in as much Tylenol as you can taking into account the acetaminophen in the Percocet.
Also stop the Meloxicam. It's an NSAID which has very little pain killing properties and several side effects
Medications: acetaminophen (Tylenol, paracetamol) and NSAIDs, differences and dangers
NSAIDs Diclofenac. ibuprofen increase risk of heart problems: new study

4. Icing 20 minutes every 2 hours, sometimes more frequent

You accomplish little or nothing in 20 minutes. Ice for at least 40-60mins and more than 4 times a day.

5. I pretty much live in a recliner chair when I am not out and about. So my leg is not truly elevated. Should I be on the couch and propping my leg with pillows?

Elevation is a precise technique which you can find described here Elevation: the do's and dont's

6. I do dishes - wash, unload top rack of dishwasher, wipe down the counters. No heavy cleaning. Minimal food shopping, I have not gone alone yet

Okay

7. Just walking. The surgeon said NO PT, given I dislocated the hip.
I take several small walks daily, but the more I walk the more it hurts.
NO PT right now as per surgeon's instructions.

I'm very pleased to hear it! Remember this advice given in the second post of this thread

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

 

[Onestepatatime]

@Josephine
Thanks so much! Really appreciate your response. I just wish I had a clear handle on the pain getting worse vs better. Could the dislocation have caused damage?

 

[Josephine]

Could the dislocation have caused damage?

Of course it would! That's like asking if a car accident at high speed would cause damage. It will stretch and twist ligaments and muscles. And that's also not to mention the trauma of putting the hip back in place again. This can all take some weeks to heal and settle down. Another reason why you should be taking your full prescription of pain meds, And rest!

 

[Layla]

Hi @Onestepatatime
Stopping by to say Hi. It's your one month anniversary and I want to wish you a happy one
but I'm not sure how you're feeling. I hope things are easing for you and looking up.
Wishing you comfort and complete healing.

 

[Mojo333]

Yes, I want to send my best wishes too on your one month Hipversary.

 

[Onestepatatime]

You all are the nicest group! Thank you so much for the one month well wishes. Unfortunately the more I walk the worse the pain gets. I’m not improving since I dislocated. Monday I see the surgeon. I want a CT ordered to see exactly what damage was done. I have to find a job and need to know when I can work. I’m also hoping I can drive and go swimming!

But I got my hair cut and colored today so I feel human again

 

[Ptarmigan]

@Onestepatatime If I were you, I would also want a very clear picture of what was going on with soft tissue as well as the joint. I am glad you’ll be in so soon to see your surgeon, and I hope he’ll agree with you that this pattern of increasing pain is concerning and imaging is warranted. Are you hoping for better pain management, better understanding of what’s causing the pain, or both?

I feel for you - you are in such a tough spot. Please feel free to disregard every bit of what will follow, especially if your work isn’t sedentary in nature.

One of my best friends was an executive recruiter, back in the day, and her advice to me, always, was to pursue every job opportunity to it’s endpoint, no matter whether I thought I would accept it or not. Pro tip: 50% of the information we need to make a final decision doesn’t surface until an offer is made. So, rather than shut down hiring processes early, she taught me to keep moving through the steps until I was eliminated from consideration or I received an offer to evaluate. If early in the process a potential employer asks you when you will be available, why not say it’s negotiable? It’s hard to predict how long a company will take to go through their due diligence, and negotiate an offer. It always seems to take longer than it should. It’s not unreasonable to think that a hiring process could stretch out to absorb most of the rest of your recuperation time. The point here is this: unless and/or until you have an offer (written) in hand, you haven’t got anything to say yes or no to.

Another strategy might be alternative work, if you decide to defer your search until you are more able-bodied. If, quite reasonably, you want to get a new long-term position off to a smashing start, you might be better served by gig, self-employment, and temporary work while you are in that transitional time between able to work and less than ready for a prime time debut.

You seem to be a resourceful and resilient person who is navigating a bumpy path just at the moment. I don’t like the word “complication” and I suspect you like it far less than I right now. From here, though, I always see indications that all will come right for you.

I am so happy about your hair!!! It’s so true - hair can make ALL the difference! My turn tomorrow

 

[Onestepatatime]

@Ptarmigan
This is excellent advice thank you! Funny, I run corporate recruiting departments as my career but I can’t seem to apply what I know to myself. I just got an offer for a 3 month temporary assignment but they want me to start Monday. Yeah, that won’t work! I will have to start giving thought to alternative remote work of some kind. I’m praying I don’t get put on non weight bearing or hear other bad news. Maybe the pain is normal, relatively speaking.

 

[Ptarmigan]

It could be, relatively speaking. That’s why I like your idea of getting to a better understanding of exactly what’s going on. And it looks like Josephine’s given you a new take on elevation and icing to try, as well as a suggestion to increase the hours you have your meds on board. Maybe you want a less “woozy” daytime pain med? That’s something else you can ask about.

Fun metaphor: the eyebrows are the things closest to the eyes, and yet they can’t be seen without a mirror. I am glad I reminded you of some basics you already know.

 

[Onestepatatime]

So, yesterday I had a phone interview for a company that is 20 min from my house. I had submitted my resume and two days later they contacted me. The Director of HR wants me to interview, and said I was a great candidate. ****, I did not know how to respond to this request. I said I was unavailable for two weeks, due to vacation plans. Truth is, I was supposed to be on a family vacation as of Thursday for two weeks, on a cruise to Alaska. I had to cancel it, given my hip got progressively worse and I needed surgery.
Yesterday I definitely overdid it. I went to a lake and sat in an upright chair. Was so nice to get out. Then later on I went to the mall, only to one store. Was not gone long. But these two small outings sent me into a late night episode of pain that was hard to bounce back from. Today I have just been home all day, elevating and icing. It still hurts to walk, been using crutches which is better than a cane. The hospital gave me crutches. Tomorrow friends are coming over to go to the pool, but I do not have clearance yet to go into the pool. But the incision looks completely healed.
Hope all is well with everyone....

 

[Ptarmigan]

Welp. Something tells me sitting by the pool very likely will have the same end result as sitting by the lake, don’t you think? I would hate to see you have another bout of pain that is that hard to recover from. Do you think it is possible your body is sending you a message?

So...after I realized my hip, she done broke, and I was pretty much SOL until it was fixed and I had recuperated, I made a conscious decision to treat this whole misadventure like a job. And I realized that even though I didn’t want that job, a lot of my happiness - present and future - depended on giving this job my best effort. So I committed.

I am pretty well occupied. When I add 4 hours a day icing and elevating, minimum, plus the additional rest that healing requires post-surgery, I won’t have much recreational time, unless I am multitasking from my sofa. But I have seen that the consistent daily efforts are the ones that pay off when it comes to our bodies. And I am willing to make those temporary sacrifices to give myself the best chance of a great outcome.

Something to think about...

 

[ceezee]

So...after I realized my hip, she done broke, and I was pretty much SOL until it was fixed and I had recuperated, I made a conscious decision to treat this whole misadventure like a job. And I realized that even though I didn’t want that job, a lot of my happiness - present and future - depended on giving this job my best effort. So I committed.

You’ve explained it perfectly and this is exactly what I did. I viewed the whole thing like a job or a major project. I’m not brave; I’m simply determined.

 

[Onestepatatime]

That is a great mind set. To treat my recovery as a job. I’ll behave at the pool and ice and elevate all day but the two hours I’m there. I live alone and going bonkers with recovery. But yeah, I must get a tighter handle on this if I’m going to get that dream job and feel good.

 

[Onestepatatime]

Hi All, so I saw my surgeon today. He said he felt really bad for me. I asked about MRI and he said it’s too soon. That even if I did not dislocate it would not image well. He said he didn’t recommend I return to work for 90 days from the surgery. And he wants to see me in four weeks to better evaluate any damage done. He acknowledged this is a horrible thing to have occurred.
He did not give me a timeframe on when I can drive he said maybe in another couple of weeks to practice my strength and reflexes. The one exciting update is I can go in the pool! I just felt blue the rest of the day....

 

[Ptarmigan]

It is a horrible thing to have happen - everyone agrees on that!

Glad it makes you happy you can go in the pool!

Did he reassure you that your level of pain is what he would expect to see at this point?

 

[HipsterKat]

@Onestepatatime have fun with your friends at the pool! (Take it easy though!)

 

[CricketHip]

@Onestepatatime I just caught up on your thread, things aren't going to progress very quickly, are they? I am so sorry! But the swimming pool is a victory, right? To have this recovery on top of a job search.. ugh.. I just don't have any words.
Hopefully there is a solution for you to remain home and get yourself completely healed before returning to work.
I like your "being on vacation", that buys you a bit of time.
My husband worked in corporations for quite some years and said nothing ever got accomplished during the summer, maybe you will be able to hold things off until sometime later in September.
That would get you a little closer to the 90 days!

I hope you can rest and relax and enjoy the pool (carefully!!!) and show the OS a lot of improvement at your next check up in 4 weeks.
Take care, we are here for you even if you just want to vent, or whatever.

 

[Mojo333]

I know it is so hard to have your life on hold...and trying to stay out of the post op blues when living alone is tough.
One month out is prime time for this and I think, overall, you are doing well.
Unfortunately the necessary revision reset that THR recovery clock
I do hope you are still keeping yourself on ice
It's very helpful for inflamed tissue.

Sending healing hugs and hope today is a good day.