THR First Post at Four Weeks

[godsgirlsamuels]

Hello, this is my first post. I am in London. I am four weeks post op today and very impatient to be completely well again.

I went back to work at 2 weeks and three days because I love my work so much, and I will be travelling to Africa (my projects are all in west and central Africa, plus Uganda) at 7 weeks. After a year of agony with osteoarthritis, combined with a lot of travel, a busy job and five children (plus husband and cat) I finally had to give in and get a new hip, but I was so unprepared for the long, slow rehab.

I thought I would be back to normal by now and I am so disappointed that I am far from it. I try to see things from a positive perspective. I have no pain at all, and only take ibuprofen at night, but I am still on one crutch, my legs are completely different lengths and I get exhausted going and down stairs. My physio it is so hard and I feel pathetic at the little bit of movement I can do compared to the active person I used to be.

I have also gained 40 lbs due to not being able to exercise over the last 6 months before the op. I didn't even gain that much while pregnant! But most frustrating of all is the fact that I am tormented at night by lack of sleep. I can't sleep on my back at all and I have had to resort to sleeping pills. Unfortunately, when I am asleep with pills, I flip myself over onto my side or stomach and I am terrified everything is going to pop out.

Enough moaning, I just keep having these ridiculous down days (very odd for me, I am usually a very upbeat person) and I feel too young to be so disabled. Nobody around me has had a THR (I never met anyone else who has had one) and I feel isolated and I am having a little pity party tonight! Thanks for listening.

 

[sharonslp]

Hello GGS, and welcome to BoneSmart. Sounds to me like you would benefit from a visit to our library...click on the tab at the top of the page and go to Library Index. Lots of helpful articles...browse to find the ones that pertain to you. Here are a couple to get you started:
Activity progression for THR
Energy drain for THRs
Healing: how long does it take?

But know this....what you are experiencing is completely normal recovery. I can't imagine why you thought you would be back to normal by four weeks. Did your doctor tell you this? And truly, returning to work after two weeks may be working against you having a quicker recovery. You had MAJOR MAJOR surgery. Your body wants LOTS AND LOTS of rest.

The leg length discrepancy is not unusual and often resolves on its own sometime during the first year. Sleep problems are a big issue for many of us too...that will resolve with time as well. Sleeping badly at night and working all day means you don't have the opportunity to grab naps when you can....did I mention that your body wants LOTS of rest?

I am not unsympathetic to your frustration and your intense desire to be working at a job you love. But there are trade-offs to the choices you are making. There are things you can do to help get yourself through this time, but they would involve backing off from the punishing schedule you are on currently on. We're all happy to listen and encourage you though, so please keep us posted on how you continue to progress. Plenty of us here have pushed ourselves faster than we should have....usually it all works out over time, even when the beginning is a bit rocky.

Sharon

 

[tashia]

Welcome to the site. This surgies is ruff and recovering take time. It is very major and you need to take time for it to heal. Don't push yourself. We have a saying here Rest, Elevate, Ice and take pain pills. It hasn't been to long since you had the replacement so I do hope that you read the articles in the Liberary. Take care. Tashia

 

[Poppet]

Congratulations! on your shiny new!

The benefits of a THR are fantastic, but they do take a while to be realised, so patience is the key. I know, patience is such a hard lesson to learn, but such an important one after the major surgery of a hip replacement.. Don't worry, we understand, we all want to get going and get a bit down and it is ok to have a pity party.. that is why we are here for you .... But remember!

​

Slow and steady wins the race with a hip replacement!​

Rest, elevate, ice and take your prescribed pain medications!​

Here are a couple of more articles from the library for you..

How Long Does Healing Take ......
Chart representation of THR recovery
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

 

[Jamie]

I know it's frustrating to go through recovery. We all get impatient and it can be especially bad if you had "expectations" prior to your surgery. The fact is that your body requires time to heal. I don't know who might have told you you'd be up and running again after just 4 weeks, but that is really not the norm. You must put yourself first right now. Healing is your number one priority.

If you have pain and/or swelling, you need to continue some form or pain medication to treat it (either prescription meds or over-the-counter pain relief). Proper pain management is critical to a good recovery.

The leg length discrepancy will resolve itself with time. It's just a perceived difference due to years of your body compensating for the bad hip. Your pelvis has tilted and it will realign itself eventually to a normal position. This alarms a lot of people and they rush to use lifts or worry about being permanently in this fix. It WILL work itself out and it will do it best if you just let it do its thing....no intervention.

 

[Josephine]

Oh my gosh yes - I agree with what has been said. You are still in the very early days of recovery so you need to take it easy and allow yourself time and space to heal. Going back to work at 2½ weeks was a tad foolish as all it did was to extend the amount of time you are going to need for your recovery. I doubt you got your surgeon's approval about that, did you?

Work will wait but your recovery won't. Beside which you are talking about an extra 6 weeks which isn't a lifetime. Be sensible and read these articles carefully as they address each an every problem that is worrying you
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
How Long Does Healing Take ......
Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule

Pain management and the pain chart
Chart representation of THR recovery
Energy Drain for THRs
Elevating your leg to control swelling and pain
Activity progression for THR
Some suggestions for home physio (PT) and activity progress
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds