Revision THR Golfer67 Recovery Thread

Well I made it through another day of recovery and it was not much better if any than yesterday was. I can manage if I stick to taking my medications exactly as my doctor has told me to but if I am even a bit late then WOW! Super pain city. I can manage that part of my recovery but I do have a question that maybe you guys can help me with and here is the question. My leg on the side that had the hip replaced is very tight and that makes my incision very tight is this normal? I am not running a fever and there are no signs of infection just a lot of tightness.
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Tightness is very normal, I hope you are icing? Many of us iced at least 40 minutes out of each hour. It makes a big difference with the pain, swelling and tightness. Hang in there, the first few days are the toughest.
Then again, if tonight is still as tough, maybe you could put a call into your surgeon’s office tomorrow and tell them the meds prescribed aren’t giving enough relief.
Hopefully tonight is better, wishing you comfort and some good rest,
 
@golfer67 Glad you are making your way and hopefully you find more comfort tonight. Love the xray! Is that a screw I see? Feel better sir!
 
Swelling made things very tight around my scar for almost a week after my 1st THR. My thigh swelled like a watermelon from walking too much too soon. Rest, elevation, and ice are your friends. It's all worth it. Hang in there and be patient.
 
Definitely take your meds as prescribed, stay ahead of the pain instead of trying to play catch up. And, as others have said, ice, elevation and rest.
 
This has been and still is the hip replacement recovery from hell. Ever since the surgery I have been dealing with nausea so finally after taking my pain meds at 3:00am Tuesday morning I realized that I got a lot sicker after taking my medication and I also realized that my medication was not helping my pain level so I stopped taking my pain medication. After fighting sickness all day and night I prepared to go to the energy room on Wednesday morning but at the last minute I called my doctor’s office and they phoned in a prescription for some anti-nausea medicine and that has helped enough to allow me to curl up in a ball and survive. If a knee surgery is worse that this hip surgery then I sure don’t want any part of a knee surgery.
 
Sorry the meds are giving you a rough time, glad that your doctor's office have you some anti nausea meds. Maybe ask them to prescribe something that agrees with your system a little better. I know that some of us kept crackers close by so you always had something to take with the meds. Empty stomach and pain meds are not usually a good fit.

If you're not already icing and elevating, please try it, it works wonders. I've for at least 45-60 minutes at a time, multiple times a day. A lot of us pretty much iced constantly.
 
I am so sorry you are feeling badly.
Per chance, is your medication codeine based as most are?
I have a very bad reaction to any codeine based opiate.. I get seriously nauseated and fortunately my doctor was able to prescribe hydromorphone ( Dilaudid) for the first weeks which I tolerated well, albeit as Elf1 mentioned, needed to be taken with some form of food.
I was able to step down to a Tramadol/Tylenol protocol that worked remarkably well.
These first weeks are tough and if the meds made you sick, I'm sure you are feeling miserable.
Ice for pain relief all you can...and do ask about alternatives.
Hope you are at least getting some rest now that you have some nausea medication.
:fingersx: you get through this part quickly.
 
@golfer 67
Welcome to healing! My RTHT went well. Reading the surgeon's report shows both the ball and socket surfaces had no cartilage present on first inspection upon opening and exposing the joint. So I guess my THR was a timely event. Glad to hear you have your pain meds lined up. Hang in there. By spring you'll be back to playing "pasture pool" once again. If you haven't seen it, Google Robin Williams on golf for a hilarious, though profane treatise on a game I dearly love to play.
Mark Twain called golf, "a good walk ruined." Lol. Blessings on healing!
 
I’m sorry to read about what a rough time you’re having. I hope it eases soon. Fingers crossed you’re having a decent weekend and feeling more hopeful. It will get better. Wishing you comfort until it does.
@golfer67
 
Thanks for all the well wishes and yes I am feeling better now that I have thrown out all my pain meds and switched to just plain Tylenol. Yes my medication had codeine in it and that is what made me sick. It is my fault for not telling my doctor that I could not take codeine but I am okay just taking extra strength Tylenol every 6 to 8 hours. I am sure my pain would be less if I called my doctor and asked for a different pain medication but I am just going to tough it out from here on. I think everything will be alright from here on out.
 
It has been three weeks since my hip replacement and I am doing okay but this has been much harder to recover from than I thought it would be. Most of my pain is in my thigh where I think they spread the muscles out to get to the joint. I can now walk with only my cane and I don’t use it much inside the house. Sleeping is still a guess when I go to bed I sleep a while and then wake up and fall back asleep later. All and all I am happy with my progress I just have to keep telling myself to be patient.
 
Early days brother, it will continue to get better. Patience is the hardest thing to maintain.
 
It was four weeks yesterday since my left hip replacement. It has been and still is a hard fight. I am still using a cane and staying in the house mostly. My biggest problem is that I can’t get comfortable so that I can sleep. I know it will get better but I honestly expected to be better by now.
 
Walking with a cane at 4 weeks out isn't anything terrible, it's good to have a safety net. And, if you go out in public it kind of gives folks the message to give you some room. Doesn't always work though but better safe than sorry.

Sleep is one of those things that seems to be elusive for most of us, it's pretty normal. Can't tell you exactly when it will get back to normal as we are all very different. I know some folks here slept in their recliner for a good while during recovery. Of course if you don't have one I wouldn't rush right out and get one at this point.

Pillows can be helpful with getting you comfy. Some put pillows all around them, if you're sleeping on your back and you're having back pain try putting a small pillow under your knees, helps take some of the strain off. One of the keys to this sleep problem is to take a nap anytime you get the chance. It helps you heal and keeps you from walking around like a zombie.

Also, you are very early into a recovery that can take up to a year or more, depending on what shape you were in prior to surgery. And, this is a marathon, not a race, patience will serve you well in recovery.
 
@golfer67 have you considered asking your Dr for something to help with the discomfort? I think you had mentioned earlier that you switched to Tylenol only and I know you are staying away from Codeine but there are many options that just might help you.

I was taking more than Tylenol at 4 weeks, for sure.
 

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