Bilateral THR Hello from “the other side”!

[CricketHip]

You are progressing along so nicely! Toenails all trimmed, all by yourself and the stairs... very well done.

Are you fighting any fatigue? That was the hardest for me after resuming a work schedule.
I would just get so tired.

 

[cold_brew]

I wouldn’t say fatigued really but yeah not much extra energy after work on workdays.

 

[cold_brew]

7 weeks*

* technically speaking 7 weeks is tomorrow. Writing my “weekly report” up a day early, since Mondays are a bit busier now that I am back at work.

Went to a proper track today to do some walking. Did a full, official mile, no cane. A bit tired at the end but nothing a bit of ice won’t fix.

Overall I’d say if you took my cane away I could probably get by alright on flat ground. Stairs and slopes still feel better with the cane though.

Hips and thighs are still a bit of a battezone of numb bits, lumpy bits, achy bits, and tight bits, but really not much actual pain. Still some significant tightness in front of R hip esp after sitting up straight in a chair for a while. Though I feel like that stiffness is a little reduced and a little more diffuse than a week ago? Still a big numb area on the outside of R thigh since day 1.

Sleeping is okay. Can lie on sides w/ pillow between knees; after a while it gets a bit achy and I have to switch side, but the endurance for this is getting a bit longer.

Doing my PT exercises - pretty low key ROM stuff, bridges, clams, half squats.

Done with the celebrex and baby aspirin this week, now it’s down to just Tylenol.

Doc says I can swim as of 6 weeks (a week ago) but I haven’t got to a pool yet. For sure next weekend! 1 more week and I can drive.

Easing into work as much as I can. Very fortunate to be able to get away with WFHing 4-5 days a week while I figure out what works.

LaZBoy and ice packs are still my best friends—icing 2-3x a day most days.

That’s about it. Counting blessings that there’s nothing too “interesting” to report; boring is good

 

[myglasshalffull]

I still get very tired by day's end, that being said I can pretty much go all day long and then I hit the wall.
Still icing as well, usually just once a day, some days not at all.
You will be so happy once you can drive again!
All in all sounds like great progress.
I have my cane in car "just in case."
I could probably go back to work but I think I'm going to stay "retired" until I get bored!!!
Happy 7 week anniversary.

 

[cold_brew]

Feeling a little bit creakier over the last couple of days. I wonder if it’s at all related to finishing up my celebrex Rx last week. Or maybe it’s just a little extra distance recently catching up with me.

Not in ODIClub territory yet though…

 

[Mojo333]

@cold_brew
Great Update, doing so well!
I found longer distance walking for the first months to really cause alot of stiffness the next day...
was really hard to gauge how much was a bit too much as while walking, I felt good!

LaZBoy and ice packs are still my best friends—icing 2-3x a day most days

There were my bestest buds too.

Your slow and steady approach along with the positive attitude is a great example of what a stellar double hippy recovery looks like.
Lots of improvement yet to come!

 

[cold_brew]

Couldn’t have slow n steady’d my way through it without all the good advice from the folks here!

Next up - I can drive again next week

 

[Zoebichon]

I didn’t have Celebrex, but rather Mobic. It’s a great anti inflammatory and I was advised to discontinue it at 6 weeks. Like you, I definitely noticed some pain ramping back up. Also, 6 weeks is when I really began to ramp up my walking distance and speed. So between those two changes, I did have a bit more pain.

 

[Layla]

Next up - I can drive again next week

Yay for wheels soon.
Have a nice holiday weekend...maybe a holiday bbq in the plans?
Enjoy whatever you do!

 

[cold_brew]

8 weeks!

Back to driving cars again. Can’t believe I actually went 2 months without driving!

Spent some quality pool time with the kids this (hot) weekend. So good to start getting back in the water.

Pretty much done with the cane inside the house, even doing stairs, carefully, w/o cane.

Still get pretty stiff from sitting or being in a car too long. Still using the icepacks regularly.

Pretty tired from being busy this weekend. ODIC near miss yesterday from long car rides and walking - tired and a bit achy at end of day but slept it off OK. Bedtime!

 

[Jaycey]

Well done @cold_brew ! Some great progress. Long may it continue!

 

[cold_brew]

Couple of other data points I forgot:

This weekend a friend I hadn’t seen in a while said that my gait looked better than preop already.

ROM is okay. I can put on socks routinely, though it’s not effortless. I even got down on hands and knees on the floor once to dig something out of a duffel bag and got back up (carefully)

 

[Mojo333]

Ahhh... slowly returning to normal activity feels So Awesome!
The stiffness does hang around a while, but you have done so well!
@Jad26 is struggling through the really difficult stage of Double Hippydom...
hopefully he can pop by and be encouraged by your story!

 

[Layla]

I even got down on hands and knees on the floor once to dig something out of a duffel bag and got back up (carefully

That maneuver isn't always the most graceful looking after THR, this early on, especially for women.

Good for you though, you're making great progress. Its amazing what you're able to do within a time frame less than what we imagine it will be while we're still pre-op.
Have a great week!

 

[cold_brew]

Lol nobody said it was graceful that is for sure!

 

[djklaugh]

@cold_brew Celebrate all the "milestones" big and little! Getting down on the floor and back up is a milestone whether it is graceful or not! I remember vividly that milestone for me ... chasing a reluctant feline upstairs and hauling her fuzzy butt out from under the guest room bed. Definitely was NOT graceful but mission was accomplished

 

[cold_brew]

Twice around the block today for the first time!

 

[cold_brew]

Big news, PT says I can cross my legs now! (“Figure 4” with foot up on knee). My socks won’t know what hit em

 

[cold_brew]

9 weeks!

L hip is in a pretty good place. Honestly all it really seems it needs at this point is work on strength and ROM. If it never got better from today it would still be an improvement from pre op.

R hip still has a ways to go. Pain wise it’s fine. ROM needs a lot though. It’s up and down but when R gets a bit tired the front area near the incision tightens up to the point that it’s hard to walk right, either I have to cut the ‘back’ half of my stride short or the stride it tilts my pelvis forward in a way that tweaks everything else. That’s currently the limiting factor in walking more than a mile or so. But all of that is better than it was weeks ago so I think it just needs more TLC to get where it’s going.

Still icing regularly, thinking about cutting back the Tylenol.

Went for a (short!) proper bit of lap swimming for the first time today. Felt great, though gonna wait and see how I feel later today. Lackadaisical flip turns until I’m sure I’m not overdoing it.

 

[Jad26]

At what week was you able to start putting shoes and socks on. Im 8 days post opp before surgery i couldn't put on shoes and socks for 2 years it still feels like its going to be impossible i know its still early days but the thought of doing a figure just seems like it will never happen. Did you work on your hip flexors or did the surgery pain subside and rom became better?