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I have three Havanese. Jesse, Charlie and Annie. I waited until I was 43 to get my first dog. Always wanted one, but never had them growing up. I made up for time! They are loving, affectionate, and do not shed, which is good because I have allergies and asthma. I would love to have more....but the vet bills kill me.
 
Mamarey said:
I have three Havanese. Jesse, Charlie and Annie. I waited until I was 43 to get my first dog. Always wanted one, but never had them growing up. I made up for time! They are loving, affectionate, and do not shed, which is good because I have allergies and asthma. I would love to have more....but the vet bills kill me.
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Lol we always had dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs.... anyway. Now I have one dog, he casts really bad and I have asthma and fur allergies. But I love my dog. Pmsl... thats what inhalers and antihistamines are for. Lol
 
Question for anybody: Do post-op people ever wish they had a Theracane?
https://www.amazon.com/Thera-Cane-JMAS5000-Massager/dp/B000PRMCJU/?tag=ate362da-20

I have wanted one for years, to work on my right leg, and back, (and neck sometimes), but I never bought one. Now seems to be the time to take the plunge, especially if anybody here (recovery folks very welcome to help me out!) uses or has used one and found it helpful.
This "cramp-like" deep ache in my right thigh, ham, and calf have been with me on and off since I was a little girl with growing pains, but I feel 61 is too old to be having growing pains, LOL. I've been plagued constantly in the right leg for decades now, but never once thought that it might be arthritis. I was jogging 20+ miles a week up till 7 years ago; I always figured that was the cause. (I know, I know, Jo or ByGosh or C Mac will tell me indeed it was! LOL)
Perhaps all my leg problems will go away with right hip replacement surgery recovery?
 
I can see you will be having a few problems over the beds!! From my experience you will need the bed to be not too low to make getting in and out of it easier and it could do with being reasonably firm so you can push your good foot into to it to help you get into a comfy position. I haven't used it yet but wouldn't packs of frozen peas or sweetcorn work better than ice as you can mold it to your leg?
 
Littlejem I think I'm going to have to steal hubby's bed, and put some memory foam on top of it. Our beds are high; when I back up to them the top of the bed hits right between my leg and my butt. With the memory foam, I might need a step to get up!!
The ice packs I have (we call them freezie things in this house) are malleable. About 10"x4"x3/4", full of refreezable gel. Take it out of the freezer, moosh it around a little,, and tuck it around whatever you need. I also have a special recipe I got from a PT over 20 years ago-- gallon ziplock bags filled with 1 part rubbing alcohol to 4 parts water. When frozen they are extremely cold, but slushy and flexible. And BIG! And refreezable. I've tried peas in a pinch-- they seem to be good only for one use...
What? You're not icing??? ?? I'll go over to your other thread and find out how you're doing! :)
 
I'm loving my freezable gel packs. They are great, except when I leave them in to long and they go like boards, but they thaw soon enough. The rubbing alcohol & water ones sound great, you could make some decent sized ones.
 
BarbaraR those look good! Very big!! How long do they take to re-freeze? I have a shopping cart full right now at Amazon-- I got the free Prime trial which expires in a week, so I want to order lots of stuff asap.

And, woohoo! A family member just found for me, at our vacation place, a walker, 2 kinds of commode, and a shower bench. All free and only used by family! Just have to make them all fit in the back of my wagon on the way home before surgery... LOL
 
Chris i remember being told, that i had growing pains as a child, as i was sobbing and my mum sprayed and rubbed Ralgex into my legs. Pah. lol
 
zauberflöte Welcome to the site! Everyone here has been such a great support system. I cannot believe how great my new hip is! I wish I did not wait so long! It's great that your mom can help you. Both my parents lived to the ripe old age of 93!
 
Aud-- my father would hold me on his lap in the rocking chair, they always happened in the middle of the night. He'd rub Ben-Gay on my leg, and rock, and rock, and maybe he'd sing, all I remember is huge comfort in the middle of the pain. I can hear that rocker now, the exact sound it made. :)
 
Mbone thank you! My mom is 85, and her mother died at 88. But Mom is quite with it mentally, an intellectual really!, and she walks every day so keeps in shape, and is a very good cook. However, she's small, and not physically strong, so we're going to have to work on the 3 cats attacking the food on the counter while you mix it! LOL
 
zauberflöte, they take an hour or so to freeze. While you're buying things at Amazon, get a cane. Here's mine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AFFMGG/?tag=ate362da-20

Aren't you having anterior approach? You shouldn't need a lot of equipment. I didn't have any restrictions, so toilet seats were not a problem. I probably could have used a shower chair for my first shower, but my sister was here, so she just stayed in the bathroom with me. And I brought the cane to the hospital and made them let me use it. I left with the cane, and stopped using it after 3 or4 days at home. I've brought it out with me when I've felt uncomfortable with crowds. My surgeon challenged me to walk into his office unaided at my 2 week follow up, and I did! It's nice that you have family to lend you stuff, but don't buy a lot. You won't need it long. (Except for the ice packs. They're heaven.)
 
Thank you BarbaraR ! I haven't yet called the OS office with my list of questions, b/c I'm waiting with bated breath for a mailing that was supposed to come this week. I don't know if I have no restrictions or not. LOL You are a yoga girl, I never ever was-- you're probably stronger than me, and definitely more flexible. Right now I can get up off my own toilet fine b/c the sink is only a few inches away on the good side, so I can use that as my "other leg". I have started using handicap toilets in public places b/c sometimes publics are so very low, and I never know when I'm going to not be able to get up LOL.
My OS said "about one week on walker, one on cane". I can certainly be assertive with cane in the hospital, but OS also said, "usually one night in the hospital"! I guess I'd need it to beat PT over the head with? :heehee:
I would rather have the stuff and not need it than have to send hubby out to buy something that I could have had for free!
Did you use a leg lifter thing like Jo has posted a pic of? I ordered that item. I seem to be seeing posts about the leg weighing a ton, and not being able to lift it if you had anterior.
How about an undies-and-pants-puller-upper? I dreamed I concocted one out of a couple of coat hangers. In case I can't bend down. As for socks, I only wear socks in May if I am putting on my running shoes, and I don't think I'll be doing that for a little while. I have a nice pair of Keen slides which don't fall off, which I hope will be good. If not, Sperry Topsiders are in the wardrobe! Or barefoot is fine for me too. Here by May it can be hot and sticky already!

For a cane, I thought I'd go to the Rite Aid and find one that fit my height and pathetic hands.
I guess today's order will include several large ice packs! Thanks for advice and encouragement :) chris
 
zauberflöte, hi Chris. Only one night in the hospital is fantastic, but the first few days at home are challenging, so make sure you have someone around to help you. Like I was so out of it, I couldn't remember when I took my meds and the pain got ahead of me a few times. My leg did feel like it weighed a ton, but someone warned me of that and told me he used his good leg to lift his operated leg by hooking the good leg underneath. So that worked. The muscles on my operated leg are still sore-- the surgeon didn't cut them, but he did stretch them out a lot, so it feels like a bad sprain, but it's a little better every day. So still a little uncomfortable to lift the right leg, and I have to bend the knee. I haven't needed an undies or pants puller upper, and I can put on socks ok, a little uncomfortable. Before surgery, I bought a pair of Merrell fleece lined clogs so I wouldn't have to worry about socks if I couldn't do it.

If you have problems with your hands, it's probably a good idea to try out the cane first. I just didn't use mine much; I'm glad I didn't spend a lot of money on it.
 
BarbaraR I'm wearing fleece-lined slipper clogs right now!! I will remember that about using good leg to lift bad. The leg lifter was not expensive, anyway, and I can either save it for the next hip or give it away...
My hands are typical "old musician" hands-- a lifetime of overuse and repetitive motion, maybe a little arthritis, I don't know. My mother and my younger sister both have arthritis in their thumbs. So hanging on to something, or putting pressure on the joint where the hand joins the finger-- can't do that for extended periods. So that padded cane handle looks enticing!
Mr ZF is staying home the first week after surgery. The second week he may have to go to his office 100 miles down the road, but he may be able to put that off till the Wednesday. Also, my son just found out that his training program will now keep him there till the end of July (YAAAAAYYYY) so we now actually have a spare bed for my mom, who's willing to come help if I want her. Brave old lady! We have to think about that. It might be alot of fun, or it might be gruesome! We get along very well at her house, but she hates bugs and heat, both of which we have in abundance! And.... she will NOT wear sunscreen! People are burning here already-- I heard a story about a guy who spent all last Saturday refereeing soccer, and came home like a lobster! March!!!!
Now I will go and do an hour or so of repetitive motion ♫ chris
 
Wow, your mom must be amazing. I think you'll be ok with your husband home the first week and your son able to stay in his program longer.

Oh, two more things I thought of. Once the bandages were off, I found the underwear cutting into the incision to be really uncomfortable. I bought French cut briefs and they're great: https://www1.macys.com/shop/product...1?ID=639953&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results

And I've been living in yoga pants. Old Navy makes the ones I like-- they're called wide leg active pants, and they come in Capri length, too. I think you can only get them on line. Very comfy. I've been wearing them to work because my leg gets a little swollen at the end of the day, and it makes real pants uncomfortable (and I can't really wear dresses to work, but you could probably wear sun dresses, I forgot that it will be hot there. We had snow yesterday.)
 
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