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THR Double Hipster Club

The past two days have been good. I'm still on pretty strict "don't overdo it" orders because I'm still within the two-week post-op range.

Yesterday, I:
  • Went up and down the stairs in my own home for the first time to shower (been showering at my parent's ranch style home)--this wore me out!!!
  • I also stood in one spot and put the crockpot dinner together with my hubby.
Today, I:
  • Made the crockpot meal again: with my hubby's assistance of gathering materials and cleaning up. :-)
  • I also put together the ingredients to bake some pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip breakfast bars together to help keep mornings easy for my hubby to get the kids ready for school: again my hubby assisted.
  • I also finished my scholarship essay because I plan to start my BSN in January. :-)
That fatigue is real, but I'm happy to be resting again, and probably for the rest of the day. Although, I think this evening we are going to try to play Mario Party as a family while I sit in the recliner. I think I have the tolerance today. :-)
 
@Mojo333 Isn't is so fascinating how you didn't feel it in your hips! I can relate! Your story gives me hope. I anticipate this is going to take awhile to work it's way out.

EDIT: Also, thanks for sharing:-)
 
springs12 said:
Went up and down the stairs in my own home for the first time
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At two weeks…nice! Half the hips = twice as fast, it took me a month to get upstairs! Hope the rest of the path forward goes just as well!
 
@cold_brew I can say that I could have done it from day one with this left hip. My right hip is still healing, but strong enough to get me up, but it's pretty exhausting. :-).
 
Today was my 2 week check up, and it was supposed to be in person but the PA wasn't feeling the best so we did Telehealth. I was okay with it because I just went through this in June so I felt comfortable with it.

  • Switched to cane indoors. Walker outside for another week. Can drop the cane when I feel like my gait is good, but I don't anticipate that happening until after I start PT after 6 weeks. She agreed that I'm probably in for some PT. Not all of their patients need it, but I've had some really messed up muscular compensations.
  • I get to lose my compression stockings! yay! Still on baby aspirin twice a day.
  • Found out that mine cups are cementless because I kept wanting to ask.
  • Sent her a pic of my incision, which looks great. If completely healed, I will start with SLOW water walking progression. Much like I did in the summer. Started with 5 minutes and slowly progressed to 45 minutes. Not super thrilled about the winter months. :-)
  • Got their 2-4 week PT exercises to do at home. Very gentle. Did them with my right hip and loved them.
  • My PT for my right hip is going to check my leg lengths for me next week since the OS is over an hour away, and I've struggled with a twisted pelvis from all my muscle compensations. Just want to make sure my legs are the same length when my pelvis is aligned. Due to all the twisting of my pelvis, leg lengths would change, now that both hips are done, I'm hoping to strengthen my core and back enough that this stops and that my leg lengths are the same. It's more for my own peace of mind. They are just working me in during a break for my PT. I love my PT place.
Hopefully, I keep trending in the right direction. It's been nice that this second time around has been easier.
 
Glad to read that you are finding hip #2 recovery a bit easier, @springs12. I think knowing what to expect helps!

I hear you on the pelvis twisting! As my right hip (and right knee) deteriorated, my body made so many adjustments to ease the pain. The changes were so subtle that I didn't notice how much I was favoring one side. I lived with that bad alignment for so long that, after surgery, all the surrounding tissue has to "relearn" what to do.

It does get better. It just takes time.
 
benne68 said:
It does get better. It just takes time.
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Yes! And, I went into this knowing I plan to do PT up to my neck and shoulders once my hips and all that twisting is better. Before my right hip was done, my leg was always shorter when twisting forward (it should get longer but I had other muscles pulling it up). After my hip replacement, it was longer (still twisting forward but the other muscles weren't yanking it up so then it was doing what it should do when twisting that way). Then it started twisting back (posteriorly), and it was becoming shorter (which is what should have happened). I don't know if I am making sense but I have an anterior pelvic tilt due to my dysplasia and once that right hip was fixed, I wonder if it was starting to try to correct to a normal position, but struggled because my left was still so messed up. Time will tell and heal, but I am so grateful to have found a doctor who listened to all my complicated symptoms and was able to address the root cause.

I have been meaning to tag you forever or private message you....this is a side note, but my mother in law suffered a trimalleolar fracture this summer (aged 68), and is still recovering. I told her about Bonesmart, but I don't know if she ever got on. I've noticed that tag on your posts for awhile. It's not a surgery you hear about every day. I'd never heard about it, but it was encouraging to see she wasn't alone.
 
springs12 said:
my mother in law suffered a trimalleolar fracture this summer (aged 68), and is still recovering. I told her about Bonesmart, but I don't know if she ever got on. I've noticed that tag on your posts for awhile. It's not a surgery you hear about every day. I'd never heard about it, but it was encouraging to see she wasn't alone.
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Yes, I took a bad fall in 2012 and ended up needing surgery to place a plate and screws in my right ankle. It was a slow recovery that took the better part of a year, but I did eventually regain good mobility and flexibility. Please let her know we'd be happy to support her through her recovery!
 
@springs12 What a great update ! I agree with you on the 2nd hip, you know what to expect and learned how to make it a better experience.
 
benne68 said:
Please let her know we'd be happy to support her through her recovery!
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I will encourage her to get on here again. Her progress is much slower than what she was told it would be. Fortunately with all I have had going on with myself and learning way more about muscles than I ever thought I would, in addition to my limited nursing knowledge (due to just starting out), and my child and knowing about nutrition, I am able to give her a lot of input in things to ask all her doctors and PT. But, I know it is a difficult recovery and one of the worst ankle breaks one can have, so emotionally it is a rollercoaster. I think she would benefit just from other's experiences. Ok. I'm done since this isn't for ankles. :-). Thanks for your support. :-)
 
Happy Two Month Anniversary!
I hope you’re doing well. Leave an update when you have time and have a wonderful 2024!
@springs12
 
Hello, Bonesmart! It's been awhile! I woke up this morning thinking about how I can sleep through the night so much better than before so I thought I would pop on here for an update and to send encouragement out there. I had hip dysplasia and was increasingly becoming worse. Right hip replaced June 23 and left replaced Nov. 23. They were two completely different experiences. Left has taken more time to unravel muscle wise because every muscle from everywhere was hanging on for dear life.

My surgeon said most people start feeling better around 12 weeks and are glad they did it at 6 months. The 12 week mark was true for me with both....not perfect, but better. I'm still not perfect, but I am four months out from my left, and I can tell you already, I AM GLAD I DID BOTH OF THEM LAST YEAR!

I can sleep through the night with discomfort only from a weird position. My low back pain is SO MUCH BETTER. I can feel my abs engaging now because they couldn't due to all the tight hip flexors. I can get over 10000 steps in a day and still function at the end of the day. I can walk a mile nonstop. I can bike on a stationary bike for 30 minutes. I could not do any of this for over 4 years! I'm 45 and slowly feel like I am getting my life back.

I start a job next week as a nurse at the hospital. I will have very long days, and although I feel it will be challenging, I feel like it is manageable. I have a plan. Haha..I still see my chiropractor and my PT weekly, and I am looking into trigger point injections for my glutes and attachments surrounding my tailbone because these muscles were rocks for four year holding me together. My PT is working his way up my back toward my neck and shoulders because I had 44-45 years of my body compensating for hip dysplasia.

I'm stable. I can do a little dancing. I'm still careful though. :-). Anyone who questions if they should do it....yes...it is so worth it. It is scary to think about. The small risks involved are scary. But so is living the rest of your life with pain and limited mobility. I'll try to hop back on in a few months with another update. Hopefully I will be doing more!
 
What a wonderful update, @springs12.

Love that you are back to living your life -- and even dancing a bit! I know your post will give hope and inspiration to others considering hip replacements.

Do come back and share your progress often!
 
I really appreciate your positive, yet realistic comments about your recovery. As you described, so many things are interconnected. When one part of our body isn't working well, there typically is an effect on other areas, due to having to compensate or being misaligned, etc. Sometimes the changes are temporary, but other times the damage necessitates another course of treatments or even surgery. Over the years I've had this happen with my back, hip, and knee, and it's so frustrating. But each time I've had a surgery, I've seen an improved quality of life, and know it was worth the risk. I hope things continue to improve for you as you move into the next stage of recovery!:flwrysmile:
 
Great update & if you feel like dancing then by all means dance!
I remember at 6 months post op our friends had a 50's party complete with Elvis impersonator, such fun!
And I danced, felt great!
I was just saying to my partner yesterday that at one year post op I felt very good & could do just about everything I wanted or needed to do. Had a small bump in road last April when I attempted to go back to work which put me down for a few weeks, even thinking something had gone wrong with my hip (which it hadn't).
But now at two years I really am back to "normal." No attempts to go back to work, I've started a dog sitting business & it's a couple days a week & I get great walks in with the dogs broken up over course of the day, this past Thursday me & "Ernie" did 5 miles! This upcoming week Wednesday & Friday are dog sitting days. Gives me a little extra cash which we all need!
Happy first day of daylight savings time! We sprung ahead!!!
 
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