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rtkitters
junior member
Weird, font looks OK now! How do I get one of those colorful labels for my thread saying its a thr?
THR Help - baths?
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beachgal
post-grad
I think it was about the third day before I was able to shake loose...it's miserable. You think I'm kidding but I told the nurse I was not leaving the hospital until I pooped. 
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rtkitters
junior member
beachgal
post-grad
It's not too late! Buy a couple disposable Fleet enemas and have at it. Lay down a plastic garbage bag or a long dry cleaners bag on your bed. Put down three or four towels on top of it. Lay back and slowly squeeze the bulb. Don't go too fast and try to be near a toilet. It works pretty fast. The other option is to use it over the toilet. This is not a time to be embarrassed. Honestly, after I had a BM, the recovery outlook seemed brighter.
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rtkitters
junior member
I did use an enema earlier today and got some relief but not a ton. Seems like there is still a lot in there so considering repeating tomorrow. My body does not seem to want to move anything on its own right now.
beachgal
post-grad
There is no shame in using an enema several times if needed. Be sure to drink plenty of water to ease things along, too. Glad you see how important this is.
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All done for you!
AndyH99
graduate
Belated welcome to the recovery side, it seems we transferred over on the same day as I had my bilateral THR on Tuesday. I'm now on Day 4 and no movement either so I'm opting for a suppository tomorrow if nothing moves today, last thing I want is that staying bunged up!
On a lighter note, I recall people mentioning peanut butter and ice cream - it just so happens I know that Ben and Jerrys do a peanut butter based ice cream! It's a hard life but I'm going to have to try it for you all and let you know if it works
On a lighter note, I recall people mentioning peanut butter and ice cream - it just so happens I know that Ben and Jerrys do a peanut butter based ice cream! It's a hard life but I'm going to have to try it for you all and let you know if it works
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rtkitters
junior member
Hi folks, sorry for the long gap in updating. Hip recovery is going well and I am walking on a cane well now with minimal pain. Unfortunately, I hit a big snag in the road when I developed a nasty post-intubation throat infection, though :(
About 10 days into my recovery, I started to get a sore throat. No big deal -- probably kid germs from my 2 year old. Over the next couple of days, it got worse and worse, to the point that I was struggling to eat, drink, and swallow my own spit. I had the visiting nurse take a look and she said it just looked red but I should go for a strep culture. So I went off to the doctor. They looked and seemed to think it didn't look too bad, took a strep culture (turned out negative). Meanwhile, I'm in awful pain, worse than the surgery. I had been going down a bit on my vicodin but to handle the throat pain I went back up to the max dose just to be able to eat/hydrate. When I looked in the mirror and angled the flashlight down at an angle I could see at the very back/bottom of my throat a bunch of white ulcers that neither the visiting nurse nor doctor had seen.
In the midst of this, our elderly dog died and I was basically sitting around crying constantly from the throat pain plus grief and basically stopped eating and drinking. My wife threatened me with an ER trip, made a bunch of calls, talked to varous people at the doctor's office, and managed to set up a second appointment. She firmly warned me I was not allowed to say a word to the new doctor - she would do the talking (apparently I minimize everything and act like everything is ok when talking to doctors, lol). So we troop in there, she tells the new doctor (actually a very kind, wonderful nurse practitioner) the entire story. Nurse practitioner is VERY interested in the fact that I just had surgery and was intubated. She takes a good long look down my throat, turns the lights off to get a better look, and is able to see the ulcerated area. I just have to say THANK GOD for nurse practitoners - love them! She said she has seen this before in patients after surgery. some of them end up in the ER getting scoped because the pain is so bad. What she thinks has happened is that when I was intubated, there was some trauma to the airway and they may have transmitted an iinfection of some sort. She swabbed me for some additional cultures (still waiting on lab results) and started me on augmentin. Also gave me a numbing gel to get the pain under control.
I'm on day 2 of antibiotics and feeling a tiny bit less pain. Will see the NP again next week and also have an ENT appointment lined up just so that someone can give it a second look just in case. So frustrated and down about this setback and so so so tired of all the pain! I just want to be able to get a pain-free restful night's sleep and eat a good meal for the first time in weeks!
About 10 days into my recovery, I started to get a sore throat. No big deal -- probably kid germs from my 2 year old. Over the next couple of days, it got worse and worse, to the point that I was struggling to eat, drink, and swallow my own spit. I had the visiting nurse take a look and she said it just looked red but I should go for a strep culture. So I went off to the doctor. They looked and seemed to think it didn't look too bad, took a strep culture (turned out negative). Meanwhile, I'm in awful pain, worse than the surgery. I had been going down a bit on my vicodin but to handle the throat pain I went back up to the max dose just to be able to eat/hydrate. When I looked in the mirror and angled the flashlight down at an angle I could see at the very back/bottom of my throat a bunch of white ulcers that neither the visiting nurse nor doctor had seen.
In the midst of this, our elderly dog died and I was basically sitting around crying constantly from the throat pain plus grief and basically stopped eating and drinking. My wife threatened me with an ER trip, made a bunch of calls, talked to varous people at the doctor's office, and managed to set up a second appointment. She firmly warned me I was not allowed to say a word to the new doctor - she would do the talking (apparently I minimize everything and act like everything is ok when talking to doctors, lol). So we troop in there, she tells the new doctor (actually a very kind, wonderful nurse practitioner) the entire story. Nurse practitioner is VERY interested in the fact that I just had surgery and was intubated. She takes a good long look down my throat, turns the lights off to get a better look, and is able to see the ulcerated area. I just have to say THANK GOD for nurse practitoners - love them! She said she has seen this before in patients after surgery. some of them end up in the ER getting scoped because the pain is so bad. What she thinks has happened is that when I was intubated, there was some trauma to the airway and they may have transmitted an iinfection of some sort. She swabbed me for some additional cultures (still waiting on lab results) and started me on augmentin. Also gave me a numbing gel to get the pain under control.
I'm on day 2 of antibiotics and feeling a tiny bit less pain. Will see the NP again next week and also have an ENT appointment lined up just so that someone can give it a second look just in case. So frustrated and down about this setback and so so so tired of all the pain! I just want to be able to get a pain-free restful night's sleep and eat a good meal for the first time in weeks!
pamac
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@rtkitters You have been thru quite an ordeal! Hopefully you can concentrate on your healing now. This is a wonderful forum, so stay in touch. 
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rtkitters
junior member
Hi folks, I am about 3.5 weeks out from my THR and I need a bath soooo bad! I take showers every day but I feel like I need a good soak! Also, postop constipation has caused the most horrific hemmrhoid situation and I have tried everything other than epsom salt baths to no avail.
My PT and OT both strongly discouraged me from taking baths until something like 3 months out. My wife is not on board with me breaking the 'rules'. But here is my thought - there are basically two reasons not to take a bath 1) poss breaking hip precautions and 2) falling. I think I have come up with a method to get in and out without causing 1) (sit on side, swivel around, lower self to bottom with arms, then get out by getting on side, then getting on knees, pushing up on side of bath). And as far as 2) goes, I will have to be very careful and make sure my wife is there to help the whole time.
Thoughts? Am I nuts?
My PT and OT both strongly discouraged me from taking baths until something like 3 months out. My wife is not on board with me breaking the 'rules'. But here is my thought - there are basically two reasons not to take a bath 1) poss breaking hip precautions and 2) falling. I think I have come up with a method to get in and out without causing 1) (sit on side, swivel around, lower self to bottom with arms, then get out by getting on side, then getting on knees, pushing up on side of bath). And as far as 2) goes, I will have to be very careful and make sure my wife is there to help the whole time.
Thoughts? Am I nuts?
Short answer is not what you want to hear but don't try this just yet. You need to wait until you are no longer under restrictions. The risk of falling is very big and having been there I do know your hip will be very angry if you attempt to get on your knees to get out of the tub. At a minimum wait until you have the major arm strength to do this only using your arms to support your weight.
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Sitz bath for your hemorrhoids will help that situation, call and get a cream for hemorrhoids from your GP.
https://www.amazon.com/Sitz-Bath-2000ml-bag-Standard/dp/B002C5HOJQ/?tag=ate362da-20
https://www.amazon.com/Sitz-Bath-2000ml-bag-Standard/dp/B002C5HOJQ/?tag=ate362da-20
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rtkitters
junior member
Hmm, that is disappointing. I should have mentioned i have been okayed to and am very practiced at lowering myself to the floor and getting back up. PT taught me how to do it safely and without breaking restrictions. I guess it seems to me that the bathtub is not so much different than the floor (and I should mention the bathtub is huge/jacuzzi bath). Does either of these two things change the equation at all?
gazelle7777
post-grad
@rtkitters baths are a problem for me as well. I pretty much take showers as I can not get out of the tub myself. I have two knee replacements and two hip replacements. I Also have arthritis in my cervical spine which weakens my arms....I can not depend on them for pushing my body out and up. If I get in the tub....hubby has to help me out.....so I take one hot Epsom salt bath on the weekends when he is home to help me out, otherwise I would have to call 911 LOL!
I would love a step in tub if I had $12,000 dollars!
I would love a step in tub if I had $12,000 dollars!
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rtkitters
junior member
@gazelle7777 oh yeah, a step in tub is my dream in life!
@Jaycey I meant to tag you to look at my previous comment above.
@Jaycey I meant to tag you to look at my previous comment above.
Nana757
post-grad
Knowing that a jacuzzi is deeper and harder to get in and out of, I would not recommend it. It is just too easy to lose your grip and slip. And there is nothing to hold on to other than the wet sides. If you must, get foam mats to put on the floor of the tub and sides to better your grip. But, still, I wouldn't do it. It is really worth taking the chance of undoing what you've just been through? Just sayin'....
lambo
junior member
@rtkitters
So my doctor said not to soak my wound until about 4 weeks so I'm sure your wound is perfectly fine to do so but me being me I would advise just to wait the couple of extra days given you are showering.
As for the process of getting in and out of the tub, only you really know what your physical capabilties are. The one thing that strikes me to say you shouldn't do this is the fact that you are asking others whether or not this is a good idea. To me this means that there may be slight doubt in your own reasoning of actually doing this.
In no way do I mean to offend. These are just some of my immediate thoughts in hopes of catching you before you soak.
So my doctor said not to soak my wound until about 4 weeks so I'm sure your wound is perfectly fine to do so but me being me I would advise just to wait the couple of extra days given you are showering.
As for the process of getting in and out of the tub, only you really know what your physical capabilties are. The one thing that strikes me to say you shouldn't do this is the fact that you are asking others whether or not this is a good idea. To me this means that there may be slight doubt in your own reasoning of actually doing this.
In no way do I mean to offend. These are just some of my immediate thoughts in hopes of catching you before you soak.
@rtkitters ... You may notice that I've merged your latest thread with your original recovery thread. We prefer to keep all of your recovery updates, questions and concerns in a single thread so at at any time we have an easy way to go back and review your whole recovery before providing advice. If you prefer a different thread title, post what you want here and one of the staff will get it changed for you.
As for the bath, it would be safest to wait until restrictions are lifted, your wound has completely healed, and you feel steady enough to maintain control getting in and out of the tub. A good thing to do is to practice in an empty tub with someone there. If you can get in and out easily that way, it is probably safe to take a bath.
As for the bath, it would be safest to wait until restrictions are lifted, your wound has completely healed, and you feel steady enough to maintain control getting in and out of the tub. A good thing to do is to practice in an empty tub with someone there. If you can get in and out easily that way, it is probably safe to take a bath.
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