Well, guys, here I am! I'm home, but I have to confess to suffering from absolutely torrential depression, but I'm making myself post in an attempt to re-engage with the world again (and all of you lovely people out there in Bonesmart - land!).
Well, I guess it all went ok, but not as well as the first THR. My lovely surgeon, who had his hip replaced just after he did my TKR 18 months ago, tells me that you can't compare. He said that in terms of his work, he is more pleased with this second hip of mine, and also that he fully expects his own next THR not to go as smoothly. Interesting.
My first problem this time (& I don't know that I'd read anything about this on this site?) was that on Day 2 I suddenly started to get what felt like cramp in my operated-side buttock. It started to get worse, the nurses arrived to get me out of bed for the bathroom, and then the muscle spasms started - I was in screaming agony. Neither standing, sitting or lying received it - it was just mind-blowing. They gave me a lot of painkillers - a fast-acting codeine, then 2mg of Diazepam as a muscle-relaxant, but nothing was working and I was in a terrible state. The intense pain made me vomit. Finally they tried a Voltarol suppository , and very gradually it subsided. This was late at night, and eventually I fell into a sleep for 6.5 hours, the longest for me in years. I slept on and off for the next 24 hrs, and although the cramp returned for a few seconds on standing, it didn't "take", and all was well. The surgeon later told me it happens sometimes, and that it usually only carries on for days as opposed to weeks. Grim and scary, but thankfully resolved.
My next problem was a (predictable) resurgence of my old problem, atrial fibrillation, which is often seen post-op. Mine is long-standing, paroxysmal, and mostly self-resolving - I had a cardiac ablation which held it at bay for 2.5 years but it returned last year. Cue panic among the nurses, ECGs etc. It went, but kept returning on and off for 3 days, which is something that seriously depresses me (it is accompanied by a sense of impending doom, which conversely causes massive sudden euphoria as it resolves - very odd).
So my return home has been a bit fraught, but mostly emotionally, I'm afraid. The past 7 years since my first THR have been nothing but a catalogue of major health crises and surgeries, which have left me traumatised, scared & sad. However, no real pain, though the hip at the front of the thigh feels stiff and achey when I go to stand. I thought I felt something pop there when I struggled to get off the loo, but it doesn't seem any worse. At the moment, on Day 7, I'm down to just the occasional paracetamol, which I guess is good?
Oh, and I also developed an allergy to medical dressings since THR1, so the huge waterproof dressing is burning ad itching like mad, but this is round the edges, not where the scar is. I often develop blisters, so today I took an antihistamine, which has helped. The hospital just called to check on me, and the senior nurse agreed this was the thing to do. He also told me to simply rest - lie around wherever is comfortable (recliner!), and do a short walk, exercises (oops!), and walks to the bathroom & back - that's all.
So, sorry to ramble, but it's me trying to reach the world beyond my bed! Thanks for all the support and encouragement, sending the same back to all of you.x
Well, I guess it all went ok, but not as well as the first THR. My lovely surgeon, who had his hip replaced just after he did my TKR 18 months ago, tells me that you can't compare. He said that in terms of his work, he is more pleased with this second hip of mine, and also that he fully expects his own next THR not to go as smoothly. Interesting.
My first problem this time (& I don't know that I'd read anything about this on this site?) was that on Day 2 I suddenly started to get what felt like cramp in my operated-side buttock. It started to get worse, the nurses arrived to get me out of bed for the bathroom, and then the muscle spasms started - I was in screaming agony. Neither standing, sitting or lying received it - it was just mind-blowing. They gave me a lot of painkillers - a fast-acting codeine, then 2mg of Diazepam as a muscle-relaxant, but nothing was working and I was in a terrible state. The intense pain made me vomit. Finally they tried a Voltarol suppository , and very gradually it subsided. This was late at night, and eventually I fell into a sleep for 6.5 hours, the longest for me in years. I slept on and off for the next 24 hrs, and although the cramp returned for a few seconds on standing, it didn't "take", and all was well. The surgeon later told me it happens sometimes, and that it usually only carries on for days as opposed to weeks. Grim and scary, but thankfully resolved.
My next problem was a (predictable) resurgence of my old problem, atrial fibrillation, which is often seen post-op. Mine is long-standing, paroxysmal, and mostly self-resolving - I had a cardiac ablation which held it at bay for 2.5 years but it returned last year. Cue panic among the nurses, ECGs etc. It went, but kept returning on and off for 3 days, which is something that seriously depresses me (it is accompanied by a sense of impending doom, which conversely causes massive sudden euphoria as it resolves - very odd).
So my return home has been a bit fraught, but mostly emotionally, I'm afraid. The past 7 years since my first THR have been nothing but a catalogue of major health crises and surgeries, which have left me traumatised, scared & sad. However, no real pain, though the hip at the front of the thigh feels stiff and achey when I go to stand. I thought I felt something pop there when I struggled to get off the loo, but it doesn't seem any worse. At the moment, on Day 7, I'm down to just the occasional paracetamol, which I guess is good?
Oh, and I also developed an allergy to medical dressings since THR1, so the huge waterproof dressing is burning ad itching like mad, but this is round the edges, not where the scar is. I often develop blisters, so today I took an antihistamine, which has helped. The hospital just called to check on me, and the senior nurse agreed this was the thing to do. He also told me to simply rest - lie around wherever is comfortable (recliner!), and do a short walk, exercises (oops!), and walks to the bathroom & back - that's all.
So, sorry to ramble, but it's me trying to reach the world beyond my bed! Thanks for all the support and encouragement, sending the same back to all of you.x