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THR Grannyhippy's Recovery Thread

Grannyhippy I think I'm doing well my leg is way less huge so it's easier to move and my scar area doesn't look so bad. I get out daily not always a big deal sometimes just a ride in the sun but it breaks up my day

On you hon why are you unsteady? Is it the surgery or inner ear issues... I have that but am glad it's not flared up....... Huge hugs
 
@MyAussieGirl, It's really good to hear you are doing well so soon after your surgery and it's good to get out of the house now and again to lift your mood. I like working in the garden or just sitting on the back patio for a while when the weather is nice.

I don't have inner ear issues but my son has Meniere's disease so I understand what you must go through when you have a flare-up. He controls his Meniere's with a low sodium diet and has not had a dizzy spell in years.

In answer to your question regarding my unsteadiness, it is because my hip is unstable and feels like it gives way a little when I put my full weight on it. The stem is too short and the surgeon is going to replace it with a longer one.
When the Assoc. Prof. examined me he thought he could feel a hernia near the scar and made a comment that sometimes internal stitching can come apart. The original surgeon also made that comment and wanted to do exploratory surgery to check it out. You might have a better idea if you read my entire thread but it is lengthy.

My GP said on a couple of occasions that if the leg length is shortened then there can be laxity in the tendons and muscles and they can then flop around instead of functioning properly. One of the present orthopaedic surgeons virtually said the same thing.

My husband and I recently went to a barbeque at our friends' house and their neighbour, a retired psychiatrist is one of their regular guests on these occasions. He had a hip replacement twenty years ago and dislocated three times before he left the hospital. He said that because he was active and athletic back in those days his surgeon left a lot of laxity in the muscles and tendons and that was the cause of his dislocations. He did not need surgery to correct his problem but he said back in 2015 that I would probably need surgery to correct mine.
 
You know I did read that in your thread but to be honest I think with all that's going on here with me and trying to work this site.... I am a net dummy lol.... I got lost. Yes my inner ear thing is like but not meninger disease..... I am sorry I was duh I will try to be more careful. I type poorly so all my posts lack details. I bet you can't wait till this is all over to be honest I'd not be as strong as you emotionally and would get so discouraged and mad
You're a strong and kind person things will turn around
 
That's alright @MyAussieGirl, I sometimes get mixed up with the posts as well because there are so many to keep up with. Yes, I will be glad to have it all over and done with.

Just as a matter of interest I had to buy a new washing machine today as my other one is playing up and not worth repairing. I wanted it delivered before I go into hospital next week and the sales lady mentioned that her brother-in-law who is 70 had both his hips done in June or July 2015 at St. George Private Hospital at Kogarah and he was very happy with the results. I asked who his surgeon was and she could not remember but said he was very old. I had my surgery there and had a hunch it might be the same surgeon who did my hip around the same time. I bought up an Internet photo of him and asked if that was him and she said "yes".

Her brother-in-law was happy with his hip replacements and has never looked back. Not like me.

My husband had booked and paid for a one week fishing holiday up at Weipa on a houseboat months ago with 6 men. When I was given my surgery date it was on the same day he was leaving for his one week holiday. He was going to cancel the trip but I said not to as he would be home alone anyway and just to ring up if he wanted to know how I was. I did not expect him to come and visit anyway as it took over an hour to get to the hospital both times we went there because of bottlenecks on the M5 and M1 motorways. Our neighbour is going to feed our cat while we are away and there is plenty of shelter for him outside. I was going to drive my husband to the airport initially but he is now driving himself and parking in the long, term parking area.

My daughter-in-law and son have both offered to drive me to the hospital so I don't have to catch a taxi which would be very expensive but although I appreciate the offer I am reluctant to take advantage of it if my surgery is very early in the morning as that would mean they would have to get up early, deal with a three-year-old and a 9-month-old and get over to my place to pick me up. Only one of them would be driving me and my daughter-in-law is still off work on maternity leave so she said she would be able to.

I won't find out the exact time of the surgery until the afternoon of the day before.

I am sooooo sore from having to do a lot of running around at the shops today I could barely walk when I came home.
 
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It sounds like things are falling into place for your surgery although you may be doing too much to prepare. I don't think you should worry about your son or dil taking you. If they have a 9 month old, they are probably used to getting up early anyone. Besides, when you are young, there are plenty of times when we didn't get quite the amount of rest we wanted but they can get to sleep earlier the next night. I bet they also want to be able to help you out so let them. You can always return the favor down the road when you have your health back. Here in the states they don't decide on surgery times until later in the day the day before surgery either. Makes it hard to make plans.

I wish you all the best with the surgery!
 
All the Best for next week.
I hope its the beginning of the end for you.
Joe.......
 
Thanks @Irish Joe.

I guess you are right @GrannyC, both my husband and my daughter (who lives too far away and has a four-month-old) think I should just accept my DIL and son's offer. I just felt bad about causing them inconvenience and if my DIL drives me she does not know how to get to the hospital and back. I can direct her there but she will have to find her way back. It is pretty straight forward though. She does not have satellite navigation in her car but has a smartphone she could use if needed.

When my DIL initially made the offer she thought I was having surgery where I had it before and that hospital is half the distance to where I will be going. She is still willing to drive me to St. Vincent's Private Hospital though.
 
Hey ya, yes lol for me it's a huge confusing site so I get lost some people I only see once and wonder on them ..

I know it's easy for us to say and you have to live it but yes use your family members to help you especially to the hospital...DIL sound's nice let her help.... I think it's sweet of you not to make a fuss about hubby's trip he should have fun ...You know I'll be praying for you and a quick recovery and well of course we are here
 
Here's one.
Getting there is your problem.
Getting home is hers.
Sincerely I wish you all the best.
You deserve it.
Joe......
 
Yesterday afternoon my son popped over to fix a problem with my laptop computer and he said he will probably drive me to the hospital. He has a GPS.

Yes, I am lucky to have a lovely daughter-in-law and we get along so well. Last Sunday she and my son dropped in with an early mother's day present because I will be in the hospital on that day. She is very thoughtful in that respect.
 
Hi everyone, I am now on the other side post revision hip replacement. I did not know how to post to this site from my new smartphone while in the hospital.

Anyway, I am now three weeks post op from my revision hip replacement and so far all is going well. I came home from the rehabilitation hospital today.

My surgery was on Friday 12th May, 2017 and I had to be at the hospital by 6:15 am in the morning. My son picked me up at 4:45 am and we had a quick trip to the hospital because at that time of the morning there was very little traffic.

The surgery went for just under three hours which was a lot quicker than had been estimated. I woke up without incident in recovery and was taken back to my private room on the orthopaedic ward. Not like when I had the original surgery with a different surgeon and anaesthetist and woke up back in my room cold and shivering. The anaesthetist spoke to me post op to explain that everything went well, all blood tests were good and I did not need a blood transfusion. The drainage tube was removed the following day. There has been no swelling and pain has been well managed.

My surgeon visited me the next morning and explained that he had great difficulty in removing the original stem but he managed to do so without cutting or breaking the bone. He had to make a much longer cut in front of the original scar so that he could replace the stem, tighten up all the muscles and repair a hernia. He put two pins in my pelvis so that he could make accurate measurements and he measured many times to get it right. There were stress lines around the top of my femur so as a precaution I can only put 40% weight on that leg for 8 weeks post surgery.

The following Thursday I was taken by ambulance to another private hospital closer to home for two weeks rehabilitation. This hospital is only two or three years old and has a fully equipped gym and hydrotherapy pool with a helpful and friendly physiotherapy team. Both the nursing staff and physiotherapy team gave excellent care. The food was pretty good as well.

I had my own private room in both hospitals.

I stayed in my hospital gown in the first hospital but had packed a small suitcase and took my crutches and grabber with me to the rehabilitation hospital. Having the grabbers allowed me a certain amount of independence when dressing but I needed help with my surgical stockings. I was able to shower on my own from the start with the aid of an arm walker or crutches and a shower chair. I was also independent with toileting once the catheter had been removed. Both hospitals had raised toilet seats.

It is late and I am a little tired now so will finish this post tomorrow.
 
It will be six weeks post op. tomorrow since my revision hip replacement. How time flies. I am still only allowed to put 40% of my weight on my operated leg until I see my OS on 18th July. I ditched my surgical stockings this afternoon because the six weeks I had to wear them is up. I sometimes took a break from wearing them during the day and got my husband to put them back on at night.

I missed a phone call from my OS last week as he was checking up on how I was going. I did not get the message until early evening so phoned his secretary the next day to pass on the message that I am doing well.

I have continued to do the exercise program given to me in the rehabilitation hospital but I have not been down to the public swimming pool yet because it is a bit hard to shower and dress in a wet public change room when I am on crutches and cannot bend beyond 90 degrees but I may give it a try tomorrow if my husband is available to drive me there after his doctor's appointment. I will have to take my grabbers to be able to dress. The smaller pool at the local swimming centre is only available at certain times for physical therapy exercises or aqua aerobics. It is mostly used for swimming lessons. There are steps and a railing to hang on to when entering and exiting the pool. The physiotherapists at the hospital do not expect me to go to the pool now that I am at home.

The rehabilitation hospital I was in has an outpatients' program which has two four-hour sessions a week for four weeks. If I have a letter from my doctor my health fund should pick up the bill as it is considered to be ongoing treatment from when I was an inpatient. My doctor thought I would benefit more from these sessions when I am off the crutches. Each session starts with a group class run by an exercise physiologist. We then have a break for lunch or morning or afternoon tea followed by a session in the hydrotherapy pool.

I will certainly be glad when I am off the crutches as using them is very tiring and my hands and shoulders are often sore. I had sore shoulders and pins and needles in my hands even before my hip replacement.

My surgical scar is still quite hard to the touch but I have started massaging it when I think about it. I have also been applying the equivalent of Bio Oil to the scars. The new scar is 18 or 19 cm long which is longer than the old scar from the first hip replacement. There is also another small wound with two dissolving stitches where the surgeon had put a pin in my pelvis to make accurate measurements. I think those two stitches have not quite fully dissolved and the wound is a little raised compared to the big scar.

In general, even though I am not putting my full weight on the operated hip it feels more stable than before and I have no trouble doing the exercises I have been given.

When I was in the rehabilitation hospital the Occupational Therapist suggested I apply for some home help from the aged care group in my area so she made arrangements for them to contact me. I had a visit from an assessor last Monday and she is going to apply for someone to come out for about and hour and a half once a fortnight. She also suggested my husband apply as well as he has health problems. This way we can get someone to vacuum and wash the floors, maybe clean the bathrooms. I really only need someone to do the floors and maybe the parts of the bathroom I cannot manage such as down beside the toilet or the bottom of the shower recesses. The assessor said that the person who does the cleaning will only clean my bedroom and bathroom and common areas my husband and I use but not the other bathroom or toilet which he uses. My husband snores and has a sleep apnea machine so I moved into the spare bedroom about 18 months ago and I have my raised toilet seat and shower stool set up in the ensuite so he uses the main bathroom and toilet. He gets breathless very easily because of his chronic lung disease and at the moment is having tests done because the doctor thinks he has a blockage in an artery somewhere because his blood pressure is different on his left side compared to his right side. He had a knee replacement back in 2012 and has hip arthritis as well.
He also ended up in hospital for a week while I was in rehabilitation because he had breathing difficulties.

I can manage to do quite a few simple chores by standing on my good leg while steadying myself with my operated leg while not putting my full weight on it but my good leg becomes very tired. I can prepare breakfast and lunch for myself but my husband shops and cooks the main meal at night.

I did buy a mobility walker on special from the local Aldi store just before the surgery but the physiotherapist said that I cannot use it because I cannot judge how much weight I am putting on that leg when walking. So, I am stuck with the crutches.

I did find a use for my walker though. I push it into my kitchen, make a cuppa and something to eat and place them on the seat of the walker and push it in front of me, take a step forward with the crutches, push the walker again and so on until I reach where I am going. It is slow but effective. My husband will also carry food to the table for me as well.
 
Yesterday I went to the local swimming pool for the first time since coming out of hospital. My husband drove me there and dropped me off outside the entrance to the pool. I told him not to wait and I would phone him when I needed to be picked up. Someone always seemed to be available to open the doors for me as I approached them using my crutches. People can be so nice.

I left my crutches beside the steps to the pool and used the railing to enter the chest high warm water and started walking unaided up and down the pool immediately. I could feel discomfort in my operated leg when I first started but kept walking up and down the pool forward, backwards and sideways. I did some step up and down exercises on the stairs while hanging on to the railings.

There was only one other person in the small pool at the time which was good but after three-quarters of an hour the parents and children started to arrive ready for their swimming lessons and the teachers started throwing the equipment into the pool and putting up the line barriers and a couple of them started the lessons a bit early so I left the pool.

I rinsed off only instead of showering as it was awkward with crutches and I even though they had rubber matting on the floor I had to be careful not to slip. There is a bench seat and I took my grabbers so I was able to dress myself and then I called my husband to pick me up. I did take a bag to put over my shoulder but it kept slipping off so I ended up carrying the bag over the handle of one crutch making it difficult to walk so next time I will take a back pack.

I needed to use the toilet after my session but decided to hang on since it would have been very difficult trying to squat in the public toilet as there is barely room to shut the door so I decided to wait until I got home and had the raised toilet seat. Believe me, that was a hard thing to do. I was absolutely busting by the time I got home and by the time I threw my swimming gear in the laundry downstairs and walked up the stairs to let myself in I started to have an accident on the way to the bathroom. I had a shower at home and had to soak my tracksuit pants and undies after. My husband had gone grocery shopping after he dropped me off at home.

Oh, it will be good to be rid of these crutches.
 
That's a great post.
Your revision seems to be going along 'swimmingly'.
Fells good to be doing normal walking even if its in the pool.
You've been through quite a lot so slow and easy is the key I think.
But well done.
Joe......
 
Thanks, @Irish Joe. I love your pun. Yes, we love our creature comforts, especially when everything is specially set up to cater for our needs during recovery and yes, it does feel good to walk unaided even if it is in a pool.

I do like to try to be as independent as I can and will tackle small things without asking my husband to do them for me but I am being careful not to overdo things or do anything to jeopardise my recovery. Sometimes my husband catches me struggling to do things and tells me not to and that he will do it.

Hey, I will tell you another funny story. When I was in the first hospital after my surgery I had to have a doppler test to check for blood clots (standard procedure with this surgeon). This was done the day before I was to be transported by ambulance to the rehabilitation hospital. During that first week in hospital I stayed in the hospital gowns instead of using my nightwear. Typically these gowns wrapped around and had a tie at the side and a set of buttons on top of each shoulder. Now, because the gown would often half choke me when getting back into bed the nurses would undo the button on the shoulder or the tie on the side of the gown. This did not matter when I was lying in bed and I could do the tie up if I got out of bed.

On the day I had to have the scan I was given a gown which was missing one of the ties and only had a stumpy bit where it had broken off. So, when the orderly came with the gurney to take me for the doppler test I told him I did not have a tie on the gown and wanted to grab my dressing gown. He had the gurney right outside the door and my room was at the end of the corridor so he said not to worry about the gown and just to get on the gurney. I was still using the forearm walker at that stage and he walked in front of me and I backed onto the trolley and he covered me with a blanket. I was told I would not be getting off the trolley even for the test.

After I had the test the technician put my gurney outside the door so that I could be wheeled back to my room. I thought the same orderly was going to take me back to my room but it was a different guy. When we arrived outside my room and I had to get back on my forearm walker I realised I could not use the walker and hold my gown closed at the same time. I explained this to the orderly and he held a blanket up behind me as I walked into my room apologising profusely for "flashing" my bottom. It must have given him a good laugh for the day.

Also, during the first day or two at the hospital I was accidentally given the lady next door's lunch instead of my gluten free lunch. I was a bit suspicious of a couple of things on my plate and could not remember what I had ordered so I ate it anyway only to have them bring me my correct lunch after I had finished it. I knew I had ordered chicken breast but that was for dinner that night and there were deli chicken slices and a salad on my plate so I thought it must have been gluten free if they served it up to me. I fell asleep and woke up feeling nauseous and quickly pressed the help button and grabbed a small bowl on my bed table to vomit into. The nurse brought me a vomit bag and I got rid of the rest of the meal. I was offered anti-nausea medication but declined taking it as I thought it better to bring it all up. That episode was not so funny but I survived. Ha, ha.

It's just passed 4 am in the morning and I got out of bed a couple of hours ago as I could not get to sleep so I am going back to bed now. My shoulders were aching and I had a vague headache so I took a couple of Panadol Osteo.
 
Yay.... I saw my orthopaedic surgeon this afternoon and I can slowly ditch the crutches. I am allowed to drive as well.

It is now 9-1/2 weeks since my complex revision hip replacement and things are going well. Apparently, I had a good size tear in my iliotibial band which has been repaired and all the hip muscles were tightened up and the undersized stem of the first hip replacement has been replaced with a much larger stem.

There were many other things that needed to be rectified and have been with good results.

My surgeon said I am standing and walking a lot straighter now, Something I had also noticed. At the moment my hip feels a little strange and there is some discomfort when walking unaided but it also feels a lot more stable than before and does not feel as though it will give way with every step I take.

I don't need to see the surgeon again until December when I will be due for my 6-month post surgery check-up.

My husband has also been driving me to the local pool on average three times a week so that I can continue to do the pool exercises I had been given while in the rehabilitation hospital.

I have now been given a referral to register for the outpatient's program at the rehabilitation hospital. The program has two sessions a week for four weeks. My surgeon wanted me to wait until I was off the crutches before resuming my physiotherapy as an outpatient because I would benefit more from the program that way.
 
That all sounds so good, @Grannyhippy! Those soft tissue tears can be quite debilitating (as I know from experience), and how wonderful it is that the surgeon was able to repair all of those issues for you. Your new stability will help so much with your recovery.
 
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