Bilateral THR Had mine done May 26th

Bionic Baba

new member
Joined
Jun 8, 2020
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3
Age
53
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Canada Canada
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Hi All - I just found this site searching for recovery tips and was just wondering where do I go from here? The hip recovery area? The pre-OP area to post my name and date?
I would appreciate any help or advice you can give.
Thanks
 
@Bionic Baba Welcome to BoneSmart and the other side of surgery. I moved your thread to the recovery forum. Post all your questions and updates on this thread so we have your information in one area in case we need to advise you.

I'll get you added to the May hip group so you can chat with other members who had surgery at the same time. And I'll tag my colleague @Mojo333 who has also had bilateral THR.

I'm also going to leave you with our recovery guidelines. Lots of helpful tips and suggestions based on years of experience in joint replacement recovery. Give a shout if you have any questions or concerns. We are here to help!

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of this BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for THRs
6. Access these pages on the website

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
:hi:Welcome! Thanks for joining us. Such a cute baby on your avatar.
Happy Two Week Anniversary! Let us know your progress at this point, we’d love to hear all about it.
A peaceful day to you :)
@Bionic Baba
 
Hello and welcome! Bi Lateral THR.. one and done! I hope you are doing well with your recovery. From previous accounts here on the forum, the bi lateral way can be a little tougher in the early days but hopefully you are over much of that now?

I enjoyed my summer recovery and hopefully you will too.
 
Welcome to bonesmart. Wow, both hips at once. I know many people love getting both done at the same time and having one recovery. I hope all is going well with you.
 
Welcome to BoneSmart and the healing side! I didn’t find this site until a month after my surgery. Boy, do I wish it had been sooner. No worries. You’re here now. Be prepared to learn and be supported in all aspects of your joint replacement from some of the nicest people around who totally get it. Keep us posted on how you’re doing.
 
:wave:Hi @Bionic Baba
Not sure what led to your bilateral hip replacements, but bone on bone osteoarthritis was the culprit in my case at the ripe old age of 53 :shrug:
I was pretty shocked as I had been trying to get a diagnosis on what I seemed to be a lower back issue for two years and had gotten completely exhausted with my pain and lack of sleep.
This surgery has me back to a vigorous life and though recovery seemed daunting early on, didn't take long for me to realize my hips were great...just had to heal those poor legs from surgical trauma and years of bad gait and picture.
Hope you are resting lots, icing lots, and taking it slow and steady.
All temporary and well worth it.:tada:
Healing mojo coming your way, new double hippy.
 
Hey @Bionic Baba
It‘s been a month already. Happy One Month Anniversary!
How have you been? Tell us something good...we’re all ears. :)
Hope to hear from you soon.
 
Hi All- thanks for all your encouragement and advice ! I actually forgot I had joined this site - must have been the meds I was on at the time !! LoL My recovery has been slow going - my right hip has been great !! My left.one has given me some grief - and I am.still using a cane and I'm 6 weeks today!! I have pinching pain in the front and groin pain as well on my left side - almost like my tendons / muscles are tight and will not let me get a full stride without pain. I'm wondering if its just muscle memory so to speak as my left was the second one to go and it deteriorated faster than my right and was more painful than my right. I'm trying to figure out of it's just me not trusting the joint or if I need to just build up more strength and work through it to get to the same as my right and be able to walk unassisted? I am very stiff and slow going after I sit for a bit and especially in.the morning when I first get out of bed. I also feel it being kind of clunky and weird at times when I walk. My foot has some numbness at times. Its hard to describe - it just doesn't feel at all like my right if that makes any sense? My PT has said that I'm being too hard on myself and I'm still healing and to keep walking as much as I can without overdoing it and keep up with my post op exercises and it will get better. I had bad osteo in both hips prior to op and believe me the pain I'm having now is nothing compared to my life before my Bilateral THP!! I was very active and fit before this happened to me and worked out daily with my group of BBB's (barbell biatches) ha ha ! I miss them dearly and theynare my buggest supporters !! I wonder if I will ever to get.back to that level of activity ever again? Hope all is well with your recovery road and I look forward to your feedback!!
PS - I also have crazy RLS every night !!
 
Yes, you are absolutely correct---it can be very frustrating and time seems to---does, actually creep by when we recover from these procedures. Slow and steady is the best plan.
If long strides are uncomfortable, stick with shorter ones...
Several short jaunts with rest and ice in between is better than long "push through it" walks that can cause tendonitis that can take months to come back from.
Please remember what has been done to your body---you were sliced open, a bone was cut, some things were pounded, screwed, glued, muscles and skin were bruised, too, you were physically manhandled while you were under, and then you were closed back up!

These things take some time to recover from, and,unfortunately, it may take longer than we would like it to, but we are not the ones scheduling the recovery/rehab; our body does that.

Don't listen to anybody who has had a relative/friend/next door neighbor/car mechanic, etc...listen to your body. We are used to the "no pain, no gain" mentality and want our lives to re-assemble themselves very quickly---and that, unfortunately is not the case.

Take your time, relax, and know that down the road, you will be pain-free and loving it. I had to learn what patience truly is---many of us had to, as well...

When one considers how long it took for our bodies to become this way, some months of recovery/rehab really are nothing.
Keep the faith and have a good day.:SUNsmile:
 
Hi @Mojo333 !
Thanks so.much for your reply and words of wisdom ! It's very easy to forget what my body actually went through and your reminder was just what I needed!! I will relax and chill out and listen to my body! I do need to remind myself that this isn't a competition and I will recover and be more active down the road if I do not push it too far !
Thanks again!!
 
My PT has said that I'm being too hard on myself and I'm still healing and to keep walking as much as I can without overdoing it and keep up with my post op exercises and it will get better.
Please try to stay focused on this advice, because no 2 hips are the same in their recovery. I had my first hip replaced almost 5 years ago and it was a fairly straight forward recovery. Last year I had lefty replaced and it was way slower all around.
Hopefully in a couple-three more weeks you will feel some more great progress!
 
Patience is the muscle that really needs to be exercised a lot during recovery, much more than the hip. Do some walking, concentrating on good form of heel/toe, small steps are good - the longer stride will come. I took small steps for a really long time and truth be told did not notice that I was taking longer steps but must have because today I had to hurry somewhere and noticed I could take really big steps again. This is at almost 8m. I am not saying it will take you to 8m but just to let you know it happens and sometimes we might not even notice right away how we progress.
 
Happy Two Month Anniversary!
I hope all is well. Please feel free to leave updates as time allows. We’d love to read about your progress.
Enjoy the rest of the Summer. Stay safe and well!
@Bionic Baba
 

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