THR Heal first, then exercise, then dance!

[lovesstars]

(And @An54 ...I am happy to share my awesome tofurkey recipe)

 

[EL11]

Three months and two days post surgery update:

Let it be stated for the record that yesterday I left home, walked around for a couple of hours to run errands and vote in the civic election--and felt entirely normal.

This walk was significant because the odd tweaky feeling running down my op leg was finally gone.

What a great update! Three months is not long at all in the grand scheme of things. I think 3-6 is about how long it takes for soft tissue healing, so you are acing it ... not that we're all in competition or anything ... but that is so excellent, good for you. The odd tweaks feeling running down the op leg, exactly.

 

[NanaKP]

@An54 - I, for one, would never take your recent post as gloating. On the contrary, I find it motivating. My own journey has been filled with bumps, twists, turns and even a u-turn, I appreciate seeing everyone's gains as they reach them. One thing I have learned the last 5 months, everyone IS different and the healing journey is as well. Keep posting away!

As far as Christmas goes, I don't get nearly as excited about it as my married daughters do. They have already both offered to host Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. We truly take pleasure in the baking together and celebrating with some great food. We enjoy watching the grandsons play with new toys and be so excited about celebrating the birth of Jesus and Santa coming, all in one!!

Please post about your travels - I have never been out of the U.S. so find that I live vicariously through other's travel journals!

 

[Barbaraj]

Absolutely agree with all of the above comments, @An54! I think even if there is a hint of the green eyed monster that might rise up when someone who is struggling reads your posts, it is great to read about those who have done well, slow and steady, and recovering at a comfortable pace. Every recovery is different, we're told, and some are easier than others. But I personally LIKED reading about those easier sorts of recoveries!

When I first got on this forum before my surgery, I was horrified at reading so many posts about folks who were struggling so badly. My heart went out to them, and still does, but reading about so many of those going through so much pain and lengthy recoveries made me initially feel very anxious and panicky. Then a forum moderator reminded me that only a small fraction of those undergoing hip replacement surgery actually find their way to the forum, and in many cases they are folks understandably who are struggling a bit and looking for answers and help. As a result, I responded that I was going to post my recovery as well---good, bad or ugly--and I was sure hoping it would be good because, thinking back on pre-surgery me, I was so wanting to read about folks who had slow but uncomplicated recoveries. Like you, mine has been pretty terrific so far. I am not boasting or bragging about it--it's just my story and mine, like yours is a valid story which I think folks appreciate hearing.

I've enjoyed reading your posts and hearing about your disciplined focus on rest and taking things slowly--it is genuine and inspiring, so keep it up!

 

[SurreyGirl]

All of you please do keep posting your positive reports! Yes it is frustrating for some of us who are behind compared to where you are but the important thing is that where you are is a good indicator of where I will be in one month.

If, after another three months, I have not got there is is only then I will contemplate a giant leap off Beachey Head, but until then I live in hope that I will catch up with the rest of you!

Keep dancing, riding and enjoying life after the op. )

 

[An54]

Three months is not long at all in the grand scheme of things. I think 3-6 is about how long it takes for soft tissue healing, so you are acing it ... not that we're all in competition or anything ...

@EL11 , I know it's no competition , but in a strange way I almost felt myself competing to win the awards for Top Rester & Languid Queen of the Year . I decided I would lie back, rotate my feet, rest again, have Hub peel me grapes, and do that for a month, or maybe two months... and take it from there. If I end up a quivering immobile blob of jelly, then I will rethink my approach to the next hip. But perversely, I wanted to be the laziest. Geez, I am competitive after all!

Please post about your travels - I have never been out of the U.S. so find that I live vicariously through other's travel journals!

Dear @NanaKP , be careful what you ask for; I might start blabbing on forever, completely derailing the main event here. But I appreciate the kind words.

thinking back on pre-surgery me, I was so wanting to read about folks who had slow but uncomplicated recoveries. Like you, mine has been pretty terrific so far.

@Barbaraj , Happy to hear that. And your progress really has been terrific. I can't believe how quickly you could give up the walking aids.

If, after another three months, I have not got there is is only then I will contemplate a giant leap off Beachey Head, but until then I live in hope that I will catch up with the rest of you!

@SurreyGirl No! Not Beachy Head!! Consider this: we both might end up as double hippys. We are practically hippy twins now. If that surgery cycles 'round again for both of us, your right THR might be a pain-free cake walk, while my left THR will give me nothing but trouble. I will need your encouragement--so don't jump!

 

[Going4fun]

Hi @An54, the point of updates is for you to tell your story. The truth of your story is what helps us ... we learn from the truth of various people's stories ... you've worked quite hard to show a lot of patience in not pushing yourself and not landing in the ODIC ... That's inspiring.

I have to admit: I accidentally (isn't that lame?) stepped into a meeting of the ODIC ... when one day I just got hyper about cleaning and straightening my home and moving things and ... I am left with a tender thigh ... not extremely painful ... but more tender ...

Anyway, I don't know how to say this ... other that that we benefit from hearing a wide range of stories, even if our recoveries are slower or more agonizing than other people's recoveries ... Just on this board, there was a woman who was a patient of my surgeon ... like 8 years ago ... and when I read her thread, she had ditched her cane after two weeks ... I'm coming up on six weeks ... and I've been close to ditching the cane ... then I ODICed ... and today I deliberately used the cane more ...

But ... here's the thing. I have seen progress almost every day ... and almost no pain ... so even though this other patient of my surgeon was walking unassisted much sooner ... so what? ... Doesn't mean she was walking better at 3 months or 6 months or 1 year ...

Your humor is quite warm and your desire to dance ... that worry about "bragging" ... uh ... don't know to say this ... that doesn't apply to you ...

True story: I have a family member who has been confined to a health facility for going on 20 years ... with a severe condition (deliberately being vague) ... There is no one I know ... who excites at hearing good news from me ... more than he does ... For years I felt guilty talking about my life to him ... only to find out that he uses my life to go on a joy ride ... and he just likes me ... so he wants the best for me.

Well here ... I went on a joy ride with you dancing with hubby and walking home ... and sneaking in some triple-steps as they say in swing dance. We'll get there ... even those of us who feel our recoveries are slow ... we'll get to greater mobility ... keep sharing! ...

 

[Alitm]

@An54 You have set such a great example of how taking it slow and steady wins the race, in your measured approach to healing. Every time one is on an apparently unswerving course to the ODIC, thinking about your thread stories helps us fend off and redirect! IMHO it takes huge strength of character to take the steady road, and not end up in unnecessary pain and on ice for longer than needed! How wonderful that you are starting to dance now...life is to be lived, and as @Going4fun intimated in his post here today, others successes are our joy rides ....love that! Keep sharing please

Your comment about not allowing for complacency until the six month mark is appreciated as a good reminder. It is so easy to think we can go gangbusters at three to four months, when in fact, six months is what my OS talks about. Thank you for reiterating that .

We look forward to more dancing stories to come.

 

[Mojo333]

Very happy your "experiment" is proving successful.
It is helpful to all who read to get different perspectives...and yours, as you know, is one we live to Tout!
Hope your week is sweet!

 

[An54]

But ... here's the thing. I have seen progress almost every day ... and almost no pain ... so even though this other patient of my surgeon was walking unassisted much sooner ... so what? ... Doesn't mean she was walking better at 3 months or 6 months or 1 year ...

@Going4fun , thank you for your kind words and generous thoughts. I think you have hit the nail on the head when you refer to what is happening at 6 months or 1 year along. This will be the real acid test for me--how I am doing at six and twelve months. Sure, I used a walker for at least a month. (And that fit in with my perversely diabolical plan to win the slow award! ) And every time I read about someone doing so many repetitions of deep squats and clamshells, etc, I ran (no--I slowly shuffled) to my bed and rested even harder and longer, calling out languidly for another peeled grape..

But seriously, I even gave up measuring anything, or keeping track of steps or time walking; I monitored my progress just week by week; I basically ignored the exercise sheet I was given. I took it easy. I am not particularly recommending this approach; it's probably too extreme in the inert direction. I was being as stubborn in my passive approach as some go-getters are with their more ..ummmm.. 'assertive' approach. If you can't completely suppress the expression of the competitive gene, you can at least try diverting it somewhere else.

IMHO it takes huge strength of character to take the steady road, and not end up in unnecessary pain and on ice for longer than needed!

Thanks dear @Alitm , but I think that I was rather indulging myself in the role of the experimental lab rat in my own cage, choosing not to step on the wheel. Right now I am a bit of a stiff, bloated rat who ate too much cheese and tapico pudding. Can this white rat --me-- be up and running/dancing in fine form 6 or 12 months from now? We will see.

Your comment about not allowing for complacency until the six month mark is appreciated as a good reminder. It is so easy to think we can go gangbusters at three to four months, when in fact, six months is what my OS talks about.

Yes, in my mind, six months will be my reckoning time. I think I read on the one of the horse-riding conversations that someone's OS said six weeks healing was long enough before climbing back into the saddle. I was amazed--I thought that one would be looking at at least 3 months. If true, it's very re-assuring that I have healed twice over since the six week mark. But it is strange that healing estimates vary so widely.

 

[Barbaraj]

Oh, the languid approach--it sounds particularly appealing at the end of a long day, @An54. I stood at the stove this evening and made the first dinner I've made since before surgery and I'm beat. Who would have thought that rice and beans, plus steamed Brussel sprouts, would be so utterly exhausting to prepare? Not even 7:30 yet but thinking of giving up and retiring to a well deserved rest in bed. Hurray for you, for giving us the much needed reminder that taking it easy, just going slow, is really and truly a very good thing.

 

[Alitm]

@An54 I will share what my OS has to say at my six week check. He has been saying, walk walk walk only until then. I'm not sure what happens next....but I'll let you know! Unfortunately, at nine weeks I'll be back in the OR, so won't have too much time to explore the at six week instructions! Then I wonder what happens to the #1 surgery hip...I guess she has to step up to the plate in a big way, and that will be her new rehab! The impression I get from my OS is that six months is really what he looks at, but we need to keep moving until then. Sounds like that is exactly what you have been doing, walking, taking the bus in the city etc. I'm sure you have been dancing steps here and there too, you will get back to the dancing and are already on your way. I think it continues to be a slow and steady, with a few zig zags, process.

I think folks can get back to really riding at twelve weeks. Six weeks...I'd have to see it to believe it! Even if they had robotic surgery, how much can we speed up bone grafting, healing soft tissue and growing a new joint capsule...and more importantly, why risk it? Of course folks who are younger heal faster, but still, bone grafting is bone grafting etc. Kent Farrington is an elite rider (on US olympic team, and was leading FEI rider for nine months +) who came off a horse called Lucifer that he was asked to campaign by owner Bill Gates. In a fluke accident at a jumping event, Kent came off and landed on his feet, shattering his lower leg. He had THE best orthopedic care, and if you search FB you can see Kent's page and his recovery. It is nothing short of remarkable...he put his heart and soul into it, had youth on his his side, but it still took him twelve weeks to start riding again.

 

[Going4fun]

@An54, I thought of you the other night ... when I put up on some music and for the first time since surgery, I felt like doing a few dance steps ... Was kinda stiff ... but it felt great ... the easy steps felt a lot like walking ... just natural exercise ... felt great.

Looking forward to you posting on your first official dance outing since the surgery.

 

[An54]

Looking forward to you posting on your first official dance outing since the surgery.

Dance update! @Going4fun , at just over 14 weeks since surgery.

My first official dance outing was yesterday evening, and I am pleased to report that I am still ambulatory.

For the past week as I have ramped up my activity, I have been having the odd weakness here and there... right knee, left hip, this and that. I went to the pool yesterday morning to simply walk through water for 30 or 40 minutes, then followed up that evening with a Halloween dinner dance. So I had my first true partner dance (swing) with my buddy Groucho Marx (I meanwhile was channelling Margaret Dumont) . Groucho is a light and slender chap , like a delicate bird, all 115 pounds of him, so it was easy to dance with a light touch and to spare myself if I were inclined; gentle turns and rotations, all quite floaty. My Groucho friend doesn't have the heft or 'gravitas' (if that word can be applied here) to really test the solid lead/follow dynamic.

Then I got a Dance--note capital 'D'-- with another chap; you know the feeling with a new dance partner; the first few beats can tell you.... So that dance was my real test, all the rotations and turns, and I kept up with almost everything he threw at me, and I squeaked in a few 8 count triple steps here and there to test myself. It was an R&B Band, so not too much swingy music, but the Blues numbers gave an opportunity to mix it up a bit. I also danced 8 or 10 dances just freestyle/alone. It was good. My legs are a bit stiff today, but no pain, no setback so far.
I'm going to another Halloween dance party tonight. We'll see how that goes.

 

[Layla]

Wonderful news! I'm happy to read this. It's great you're feeling well today also.
I hope you have just as much fun tonight, Dancing Queen.
I usually save this emoji for SaraK who's out shaking it weekly, but she won't mind sharing
Have a good one!
@An54

 

[An54]

Oh, the languid approach--it sounds particularly appealing at the end of a long day, @An54. I stood at the stove this evening and made the first dinner I've made since before surgery and I'm beat.

@Barbaraj , After I made my first omelette , that was the kiss of death for me as the helpless invalid, waited on hand and foot. There is something about the sight of the convalescing Hippy at the stove that propels you rapidly forward in your healing--in the imagination of your partner that is! Hub was nervous about preparing dinners for us; I could almost feel him relax from across the room as I started to do things in the kitchen.

I think folks can get back to really riding at twelve weeks. Six weeks...I'd have to see it to believe it! Even if they had robotic surgery, how much can we speed up bone grafting, healing soft tissue and growing a new joint capsule...and more importantly, why risk it?

@Alitm , this twelve week marker seems to fit in with my journey. I would never have tried swing dancing at six weeks, but I am just past 14 weeks, had a good evening of dancing last night, and all is well.

 

[Barbaraj]

Well, although I did make one dinner, @An54, I haven't been inspired since then! I am really so tired of cooking after decades of cooking for ungrateful children. Every once and awhile I enjoy making a meal, and do like entertaining for friends, but for the most part I could toss that chore out the window if my husband were more enthusiastic (and he's clearly not) about taking over kitchen duties.

Your dance sounded like a lot of fun. I am a total klutz on the dance floor, having grown up in an era where all one had to do was get out on the dance floor and jiggle if the music was fast tempo and loud, or cling to a partner and slowly revolve in a circle if a slower dance tune was played. It is pretty amazing that my husband and I have a son who is a dancer (hip hop) and actually is very good at it. He's currently teaching at a couple of local studios and we've decided his talent is a throwback to a far, far ago generation as my husband, while more enthusiastic than I am (and less inhibited) isn't exactly setting the dance floor on fire either. Enjoyable to read about all your fancy footwork!

 

[Alitm]

Hi @An54 So thrilled you were out dancing last night and are doing well today! Great to have that benchmark in my head. I love hearing about everyone's adventures back into doing what they love! Thank you for sharing, much appreciated.

Thinking about trying to absorb my wonderful horses's gaits with my hips and lower back at six weeks post op makes me feel and at the thought!!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend !

 

[An54]

I was out again yesterday evening. Although not much dancing was involved (to possibly the worst band I have ever encountered--but they were enthusiastic, so that was something!) I did walk and walked well, including long loping strides for a few blocks to see if I could increase my 'amplitude'. My point? I think it's time to change the title of my thread... how about "Heal first, then exercise " ? I am not opposed to exercise; I just didn't want to do any capital "E" Exercising until the deep healing was done. I'm at 14+ weeks, and think I'm there. I've pushed it a bit the past week or so, have no bad effects, so this experimental lab rat (me) is moving along, phase 2, more and more normal exercise-y activities.

 

[Jaycey]

Happily changed your thread title @An54 . Your approach to this recovery has been stellar! No sense in trying to "train" a new joint or build strength in an area that has seen major trauma. The slow and steady approach works every time.

Enjoy your new hip - there is a lot of living to do post THR!