THR Heal first, then exercise, then dance!

[Bionic]

@An54
I am not getting much in the way of long walks. Its difficult as we live on a steep hill, but I am doing as you have mentioned and mixing it up a bit at home.
Sometimes I do just forget my crutches and I think thats a good sign and at other times I am afraid to let them go. I can now manage stairs without them, although do cling to the hand rails. I have bought walking poles for when I am a bit stronger but haven't used them yet.
Appointment with the OS tomorrow so lets see what he says.
Where abouts in BC are you?

 

[An54]

@Bionic , I live in Vancouver, right in the city, False Creek South.

A small epiphany: I think I am clinging to the walker for security , not need, as just now ( while trying to be quiet) I lifted and carried the noisy rattling thing from one room to the other , suspended , whilst my legs kept moving forward . So I am balanced and strong enough, I just need to focus on the heel-toe thing now, and duration of walks .

 

[Bionic]

@An54
I know what you mean about security. It's still early days for both of us so why not?

We had planned a holiday for next year going to the Calgary stampede and eventually ending up in Vancouver and Vancouver Island. However, I have spent the holiday money to have my hip replacement so perhaps the year after. By then I might see you somewhere like a spring chicken

 

[An54]

@Bionic, let's keep in touch. Maybe we can jog around Stanley Park together some day. Or perhaps cycling would be better.

 

[Layla]

Good Morning @An54
You're obviously still hanging onto the walker for security if you're carrying it from place to place suspended. Practice heel toe walking with a crutch or cane....whichever assistive device you're trying to work toward next. You can do it!
Let us know how it goes. When I started, I overdid it the first day. I thought practice would make perfect but practice made me sore as I circled through my living room and kitchen too many times. Practice, but don't overdo. Find a comfortable balance.
I hope you have a great day!

 

[An54]

You're obviously still hanging onto the walker for security if you're carrying it from place to place suspended.

I know--it's too ridiculous. It has been an emotional block holding me back, not a physical one. I will follow your advice and not overdo it.

 

[Bionic]

@An54
Cycling around Stanley Park sounds great

 

[Mojo333]

Yay...for at least knowing your hip is strong and stable and you are able to do it.
Isn't it amazing.
Hope your night is peaceful, @An54 .
You are doing great I think!

 

[An54]

Well here is my weekend update.

Not wanting to miss any of the THR stages, I spent Wednesday feeling quite depressed. However severe back pain the following day (the result of sleeping in a twisted position) keep me so preoccupied that I didn't have time or room for depression. Later in the day, after trying regular Tylenol and Advil, I put the pain to rest with Tylenol 3's.

Also, I have ditched the walker, and am now walking unaided around home, firmer and stronger every day for the past three days. So it did pan out more or less as I anticipated-- going straight from the walker to walking unaided, but it took a bit longer than I expected.

I got my follow up X-Rays on Thursday, and will see the surgeon for my post-op check on Monday morning. I am looking forward to getting clearance for swimming, so I can do my gentle water exercises again.

 

[Mojo333]

Also, I have ditched the walker, and am now walking unaided around home, firmer and stronger every day for the past three days. So it did pan out more or less as I anticipated-- going straight from the walker to walking unaided, but it took a bit longer than I expected.

Good going lady.

It's just one month hipversary...Yay @An54 ...prime time for the post op blues...
Don't despair...we've all been in that purgatory...between where we were...hell...and where we want to be...out of recovery.
Keep the faith...you are doing very well!

 

[Layla]

Hi there
Happy One Month Anniversary!
Hooray for losing the walker. That's a satisfying milestone.
Let us know how your appt goes on Monday, if you want to share.
I hope you have a nice evening and Sunday!
@An54

 

[Alitm]

for losing the walker, as planned no less!! So pleased for you !! Great news after a low bit with the back pain etc. Super that that is sorted.

Good luck on Monday - fingers and toes crossed! Looking forward to hearing positive news from your OS on the x-rays and pool release. It will be so wonderful to get back into the pool and start your water walking again.
Enjoy your weekend

 

[1stSurgery]

Good luck on the Monday post op visit @An54! And happy to hear you are off-walker now.

Posting this message from my page on a few threads to invite everyone to go tell their Tall Tales they've heard about THR recovery.

------
I started a thread at the social room, which I guess is kind of like the "parlor" of the BoneSmart Villa.

It's a place for all hippies to recount the Tall Tales from the THR Fairytale Book that you've heard - about everyone's great aunt or stepmother's friend of a friend - who had a miraculously speedy recovery from THR and was scuba diving or competing in mixed martial arts on day 12. We've ALL heard them.

Drop your stories here for posterity!
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/tall-tales-from-the-thr-fairy-tale-book.49667/

 

[Mojo333]

@An54
Hope you are keeping those post op blues at bay.
I'm sure your OS will be pleased with your progress at your appointment today.

One month is very early days in recovery so hang in there.
We are rooting for you!

 

[Bionic]

Hi @An54
It seems that post op blues can strike at any time. I had a glitch this morning. I was trying to move some furniture. (Yes I know I shouldn't be doing that) and the frustration suddenly got to me and I burst into tears. A bar of chocolate helped though -

Good news that you have now ditched the walker. I hope the news from your OS is positive this morning.

 

[Mojo333]

A bar of chocolate helped though -

My go to fix also!

 

[Layla]

Hi
Good luck at your appointment today.
Let us know how it goes.
Hopefully today is a good day!
@An54

 

[An54]

So I saw my Orthopod this morning, a zoom-in-and-zoom out eight minute consultation of concentrated efficiency.

I was likely using great theatrical sweeps when up and down on my chair-- operated leg thrust forward, rigid torso lowering itself gingerly into chair, all systems on alert for crashing demolition; nary a 90 to be seen anywhere. The good doctor watched me, and suggested that I just get in and out of my chair "normally". The resistance to sitting down normally, like the walker thing, was in my head. I stood up and sat down like a regular person, and nothing dislocated. I have been walking more normally ever since.

My OS doesn't care about the 90 degree restriction, as long as you keep your legs wide apart when getting up or sitting down, or doing deep squats. In fact, right before my surgery a month ago, he came to my bedside in Pre-op and talked about this. He even did a deep squat with his legs far apart to demonstrate what you could do safely, as long as the legs were kept widely apart. This contradicts somewhat his own office's information literature for patients. But anyway, all is well. I neither dislocated in his office, nor fell apart on the way to the car park while walking more normally than ever. Perhaps I needed permission.

I asked if I would have to wait another 23 months for the second hip, but happily, now that I am one of his patients, it would be a six month wait next time around. As the left hip, though rated 'moderately severe', is at this point asymptomatic, I won't book anything. However it's difficult to predict the rate of disintegration in order to plan ahead for the ideal surgery date. If, when the time comes, I want to speed up the next surgery, one option is to go on a cancellation list. I think there also may be a private consultation option too, but private health care where I live is undergoing changes. We are not supposed to have a two-tier system, yet it is materializing never-the-less.

I complained about lower back pain, and Orthopod mentioned the hominid thing (upright stance, bipedal locomotion) (I didn't want evolutionary facts! Wanted nice little pill to fix everything ;), and recommended working on core muscles.

So guess I'm good to go this Thursday for my big picnic with a few hundred or even thousand others, Diner en Blanc, all dressed in white.

 

[Layla]

The resistance to sitting down normally, like the walker thing, was in my head. I stood up and sat down like a regular person, and nothing dislocated. I have been walking more normally ever since.

You're funny! I'm imagining your overly dramatic sit down.
Glad you got the permission to sit and walk normally.

Hope you have fun at your White Party. Bring your cane so the hundreds and thousands steer clear of you.
Wrap it in white and tie a handful of pretty silky ribbons towards the top, of different widths and lengths streaming down the sides.
Oh how fun, I want to be a fancy shmancy cane designer now.
Have a good one. Thanks for the update!
@An54

 

[1stSurgery]

@An54, I LOVE the chair story! Can so visualize that! Glad it went well once you behaved like a normal person!

And, not to be Debbie Downer about that "other" hip ....but a wee word of hippie sister advice to help prevent you from becoming me - a hopeless victim of the evil Forgotten Hip's wrath.

Be sure to pay close attention to her, the other hip, and if and when she speaks to you -- don't do what I did and say 'Shut Up! I'm walkin here!!' and brush her aside. Give her a moment, listen carefully and make some deals with her. Offer her treats, a day off, a massage. Bribe her. They can turn on you, trust me, if you ignore their beckoning. And should the calling out grow even louder and approach SCREAMING at you... Stop everything and call your OS. Seriously, especially if you have a 6 month lead time for an appt. not saying you will have the swift decline like I had, you'd likely already have signs of that if so, or that you'll have any decline at all-- but just a heads up that SHOULD she squawk a little... Pay attention and don't push past it as if it's nothing. These hips hate to be ignored. Mine has reached Glenn Close "Fatal Attraction" levels of revenge. I'd love to spare anyone that pain.