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THR FINALLY!!! Cynthia777's Recovery Journey

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@Cynthia777 - Good for you for your honest complaints! I'm going to do the same very soon. Not letting it go. Must have felt good to get that big "NO!" out as a response to whether you were satisfied or not. Nice that you mentioned the nurse who was exceptionally helpful as well.

I'm glad your Mussolini PT guy was cooperative. And even complimentary! It's nice to get an objective outside opinion, isn't it? Love that you showed off your sitting Indian style/ criss-cross apple sauce for him! It also made me feel good when my home PT guy told me I was doing the best of all of his current THR patients.

On the other hand, I think we were all hoping to hear about a good brawl between you and Mussolini which would leave HIM limping out the door. :loll:

@TriciaGP - Thanks for your empathy and support! And don't worry - I won't wear myself out playing catch up! But I am feeling anxious now about getting my range of motion back before my first day back at work....

@Miss Muffet - Thanks for nudging me toward reporting my experience. Great that you noted and commented on the orderly who didn't wear gloves with you! And by the way, you are really recovering wonderfully - and with your sense of humor intact! A big yay! for you! :yay:
 
Sounds like a Mr. Josephine, for sure! Did you notice a butterfly or dragonfly on your wall?? That would have been me.. hahaha always gotta be a bit different. Glad to hear about you thriving in your post op lair.. :flwrysmile:
 
@Readysetgo...oh yeah, I so wanted to be able to report back with a really juicy and interesting story! He was so amenable that I tried with all my might to draw out any little tidbit that I could correct him on, but to no avail! Of course I made him repeat three times how I was better off than 99.9% of any of his other patients (it was definitely music to my ears)! :heehee: With this being said, I want to send a special thanks to all the moderators and to Bonesmart in general. I can't imagine taking this journey without the support and the wealth of knowledge Bonesmart has provided all of us.
 
To be honest @Clipper, I could have easily had my second hip done at around six to eight weeks without a problem. I'm just so happy to have them both behind me. Even though this recovery has been just a bit more difficult, I find having both of them done makes this recovery a lot more joyful (if this makes sense). So liberating! :-)
 
:sneaker:
Cynthia777 said:
You would think he could have stopped by earlier, making sure my pain was controlled.
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Cynthia777 said:
I think what I'm going to do is suggest to my OS that his anesthesiologist should visit his patients in their rooms the day of surgery, making sure the epidural is doing its job
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@Cynthia777 - whoops here I come again .....
My Anaesthetist was there to check on me within an hour of coming round ........... :bow:
OK, I'm gone now ...... :walking::walking:
 
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@Cynthia777 : So glad to you see you progressing so well! The process is never the same twice, is it? I agree with the idea of mentioning the issues with the anesthesia to the surgeon, or someone. Not in a getting him in trouble kind of way, but so that he can learn and not repeat the mistakes.
I hear you about the mental drain! I was so surprised at how hard reading or writing on the computer was/is! I am doing a little bit of reading a book, but have to keep it lightweight, and short times. I remember this from previous surgeries, for sure, and the good feeling when the ability to concentrate returns!
 
@Cynthia777, sorry sweets, but your PT guy will forever be branded as Mussolini in my mind. :wink: Hooray for you for speaking up about your experience. It was the right thing to do. As nice as the anesthesiologist was, he does not sound like he's doing his job properly at all. He could really mess up at some point and cause irreversible damage. You may very well have saved future patients a lot of discomfort or even their life.
You sound like you're doing wonderfully. I am so happy for you! :flwrysmile:
 
Update day 8

Hip #2 recovery has been quite different than hip #1. Since I really had very little in the way of pain control days one and two (due to the epidural having numbed the wrong hip), it makes sense that I have experienced more pain with this hip, however, the pain is very tolerable (but it's always lurking there). I can sleep on my side, but find I will wake up a few hours later very uncomfortable. This is quickly remedied by moving to back sleeping. Once on my back I'm able to sleep through the rest of the night (broken up by a couple of trips to potty land). I am experiencing zero pain while at rest and while walking, my pain level will hit about a three to four (depending on whether I'm close to needing another Percocet). I'm taking 10 Mg's of Percocet every five hours, as well as two morphine ER tablets split twelve hours apart. The pain is primarily located on the outer side of my buttocks (such a cute word and always reminds me of Forrest Gump) and in the upper region of my thigh. It definitely feels like muscle pain.

A bit of advice for those of you still hesitant about moving forward with surgery...DO NOT WAIT! I'm almost certain the reason why this hip is having a more difficult recovery is because I waited a year and a half before having it replaced. Although this hip had been in pain much longer than my first THR hip, we decided to replace the hip that had the more advanced AVN first (funny how the "worse" hip wasn't painful for months after the better hip). To sum it up, get the hip that hurts the most done first even if it has less OA or AVN than the other hip. Keep in mind, this is just my opinion and your OS knows best (usually). :-)

Hope all of my bonesmart family are feeling good. One day at a time and slow and steady are my mantras.

P.s. I'd do it again in a minute and sooner rather than later. The absolute worse part of this journey is the pre-op wait, so why prolong the agony? Just saying...:egypdance:
 
Cynthia777 said:
The absolute worse part of this journey is the pre-op wait, so why prolong the agony?
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@Cynthia777 - I am banking on that to be true, Cynthia. (No pressure, or anything. :heehee:) The daily emotional rollercoaster and churn pre-op is such a struggle. I realize recovery won't be a piece of cake every day, but maybe there's a fundamental shift that occurs between anticipating a challenge/wrestling with the what ifs and then actually being in the challenge and dealing with the known.

13 days to surgery. I can't say I want it to be any sooner (still trying to prepare), but I am ready to get off the ride of ups and downs. My particular orthopedic issue began when I was 12 years old, so it's practically all that I know. I don't remember ever being able to sit "Indian style," and now that I am middle-aged, this sitting style need really doesn't arise often, as that would mean trying to get up off the floor. Who needs THAT? Ha Ha

I know my surgeon said my original hip condition was "severe," but I find my mind playing tricks on me whether it REALLY is all that bad. That's the thing about osteoarthritis - it (for me anyway) gets worse gradually so that you don't notice, or you adapt to it without realizing.

To circle back to your post's point -
Cynthia777 said:
A bit of advice for those of you still hesitant about moving forward with surgery...DO NOT WAIT!
Click to expand...

I appreciate the encouragement and the acknowledgement that we question the "perfect" timing. It's like you don't want to replace your tires too soon, but you know replacement is inevitable. And somewhere between a so-so tread and a blow out, you need to address the issue and have it taken care of. So off to the "body shop" I go, hopeful and eager to emerge with better "traction" and better "balance" to maneuver life's landscapes.

You keep up your progress. I wanna join you in the "better than 99.9%" members lounge! :cheers:
 
@Sommers16
I think the main feeling post-op is "relief". What a "relief" that its over, what a relief I'm out of the hospital, what a "relief" that the constant pain has an end in sight, what a "relief" that I'll soon be able to do this or that. The list goes on. You have suffered far too long, so your "relief" may end up being even more profound than mine has been. Try and keep your mind as busy as you can during these very difficult pre-op days. I found I could actually make myself "forget" that my surgery was coming up soon. This really helped a lot. The last week before surgery is by far the most difficult. You'll be sitting in our lounge very soon with a smile on your face. :)
 
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@Sommers16 I think we become unreliable evaluators of our pain the longer we live with it. You get to where you are so used to the pain you are living with that you loose perspective. I honestly was in a horrible place with my pain the last 2-3 months and it takes so much out of you.

The pain after is certainly different. It sounds weird to say, but the pain I have felt the last week since surgery was almost reinvigorating. I could see an end to the post-surgical pain/bruising/tentativeness. I echo the sentiments of "relief" our buddy @Cynthia777 is talking about.
 
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