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THR Hi! Mood and exercise question

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YogaGirl We've all been there! If only the doctor could write us up for a big bottle of patience - I'm just starting to get more active again after 9 months and it has been very frustrating. My family nickname was "the Marine" as I used to stride off leaving them behind, no wonder my hip wore out!
Wasn't helped by needing 4 units of blood after the op and still being very anaemic when the hospital sent me home (with a large pot of iron tablets as well as pain meds!) because they needed the bed. Feel free to vent as much as you like, we understand :friends: and sympathise.
Have a read of ByGosh 's thread and elbow your way onto the Goshporch, you have to bring some food or drink (virtual otherwise we'd all be as round as butterballs, not good for hips!) but you can then join in the party to cheer yourself up. It does get better!
We are all sending you healing vibes, Regards from Anne
 
YogaGirl, my recover took over 12 months. I have other issues such as a back problem so they did impact. But after limping around for years we can't expect things to change overnight. Keep trying - what is impossible one day will be easy the next. Start slow with any exercise - no resistance. And then build. You'll get there!
 
Nannyannie & Jaycey thank you for the replies. I really don't think I had any proper information from the OS on the reality of recovery if I was not one of the text book cases. I was born w/out a hip socket and with a dislocated hip. The dislocated one was surgically fixed as a baby and I really had zero issues with my crazy hips for 40+ years. The last two years were a slow closing of a window as the arthritis and labralntear took their tolls. I did the surgery because we had good insurance and I wasn't working. I was not and probably still am not mentally prepared for the turtles pace of my eventual recovery. I also lost lots of blood during the operation. Something about the depth (or lack of) made placing the hardware difficult. They repositioned my entire leg and my formerly slightly pigeon toed foot now points outward. The surgeon says I'm doing great. Me I don't really agree but hopefully eventually I will.

I went to lowes today and I could not stand up looking at tile past an hour or so. I am icing and resting but the burning in my foot, the back ache just depress me. I had no pain except the hip before surgery and I now feel like at any given time half my body is screaming in discomfort. I planned on being one of those people out for walks and feeling good at 7 weeks-- you know what they say about the best laid plans:(
 
YogaGirl said:
alexthecat how long was your journey from thr to cardio exercise?
Click to expand...

I was discharged from PT at 7 weeks post-op. I started a walking program then. (I'm a personal trainer, so I have programs for everything.) My cardio fitness was so poor that I couldn't go far. My first day out, I lasted about ¼ mile before I was completely winded and had to stop and rest before turning back. Next time, I was able to go a little farther and I just kept building from there.

Three months after THR, I went on vacation for a week. That was why I needed to build up my ability to walk. When I got home, I joined a Pilates class and started a program of cardio and resistance work at the gym to get back to doing the sorts of things that I wanted to do outdoors.

Keep in mind that an artificial hip was all I had going on though. I didn't have dysplasia. I didn't have arthritis. I was just an extremely sedentary person with an atrophied leg. As Jaycey indicated, things are a little more complex for people who have more going on physically. Of course, it's still good to have goals and be persistent in achieving excellence relative to your unique abilities and limitations. That's the most any of us can do anyway.
 
I procrastinated for eight years before having my RTHR (mistake of course)! My condition deteriorated rapidly over the final two years, days away from going into a wheelchair and trying to continue working whilst leaning on my elbows on a walker...

I mention this because, if the rapid deterioration happened over two years, I figured that my full and complete recovery was going to take that same time frame. So I decided not to rush it, take it slow and easy and at 22 months post today 14 Sep my THR hip is strong, reliable and I definitely have the forgotten hip - in fact felt that way from approximately 7 months post. So 2 more months to my 2 year anniversary, now I am starting to think about my other hip which is complaining... I would definitely take the same approach second time around.. This is my journey and I acknowledge we are all different :)

Patience truly is the key to recovering from a joint replacement. It was not a quality I personally had before - but I sure have it now!
 
Thanks for sharing alexthecat. How awesome your job is helping people get fit. My hips never stopped me from gymnastics, horseback riding, jogging or yoga...until two years ago. We go on vacation next week and there will be a pool. I am figuring out a safe way to swim laps hell or high water. Even if I ride a hoogie hoard and use just arms.next call will be to OS if I can really go in the ocean. Boy I hope so, my kids have dealt with a whole summer of mom watching. I want to participate!

Yoga girl aka Mara
Anterior thr 7/31/13
 
Interesting to read about the need for cardio. This has been a question I haven't asked, thinking there wasn't much. I kept thinking a fast paced walk was all I could do.
Then....while traveling near the bike path, I saw a group of recumbent bikers, moving very fast using their arms to peddle! I want one! As it stands now, I don't ever think I'll feel comfortable on my regular bicycle. The thought of tipping over freaks me out. @alexthe cat, as a fellow fracture patient, how do you overcome the fear of going boom? :yawn: Good luck Yoga girl! It's so early for you, but it sounds like you have the best part down pat...the mind. Happy thoughts your way!
 
Mara, that's the way! Just work out what you can do and do it! I can tell you that I have a friend in my offline life who was born without a hip socket. Her THR was eight or nine years ago and, to look at her today, you'd never guess that there was anything different about her. I'm not sure how long it took her to reach that point. I've known her several years and have never seen her limp.

elliemom I really couldn't say. I don't have a fear of falling, so it never entered my mind. If you think you are prone to falling, there are exercises that a PT could teach you to improve balance and coordination.
 
YogaGirl Do you have access to a pool in your community? Walking horizontally across the shallow end of a pool helped me enormously. I am a lap swimmer, water aerobics, walking person and after surgery I couldn't do anything much. Drove me nuts. Walking in the pool forwards and backwards on the same level of depth really helps and didn't strain anything. I started really slowly, and just for a few minutes-worked up to 10 and then 15. Once I reached 15 (took a couple of weeks) I added jogging in place in deep water.
If you have pool access get in touch with me and I'll send you more info. Hang in there-it will get better. (I started yoga for the first time in ages last month.)
 
Water walking vertically is good... And helps with your core and some strength rebuilding. Water is always good for the mind.
For a little bit of cardio, I would backstroke, using mostly upper body. I'm not prone to falling, though conscious of its consequence... Water eliminates that concern and just feels good and the extra vitamin D is nice. If you have access to a therapy pool, I think you can ease back into yoga...until you regain core strength and good muscle healing is accomplished.
 
Lol. elliemom no vitamin d going into fall and winter in Ny! The only pool is at a health club that with my parenting obligations and a hubby on second shift will be very difficult to get to. No shallow end that I remember, I think it is just a multilane lap pool. LeeApril26 four months post thr sounds pretty good or back to yoga. I just started trying to stretch my back more- the back pain is new since surgery and stinks.
 
YogaGirl. There are some positions I am reluctant to do-Lotus is tough, even with blocks, and anything that brings the knee past the midline or rotates my left hip. But I can do about 80%, and it's been a couple of years since my last class.
I understand the difficulty of making time for the pool, but f you think you can get there check out the water exercises on this site: broken link removed: https://www.hiphelp.com/pages/exercises.html

Be sure to pay attention to the post hip replacement modifications. People do these exercises to avoid surgery, so there are restrictions for us hippies.
 
YogaGirl I sympathize with what you are going through. I always prided myself in being far more physically fit than most women my age. I biked, ran, etc. and enjoyed the heck out of all of it. It was my stress reliever. I have a treadmill for when it was too cold to walk/run outside. I ran on pavement a lot, they say is part of what caused my hips to crash and burn like they have. I'm having the first hip replaced on September 30. My hips got so bad so fast that I've been unable to do much of anything aerobic or strengthening in about two years, and for the last couple months I'm pretty well confined to the recliner and a walker. It is driving me NUTS and I worry a lot about cardiovascular fitness going to pot, as well as losing muscle like mad. I've become quite anxious about everything you can think of. The activity made a huge difference in how I felt --I know exactly what you mean about feeling lousy without it. I feel lousy, too, and feel like a big lump. It impacts your self-esteem like mad.

I plan to continue taking it easy after surgery (what else can you do) and really taking to heart the admonitions to go slow. But I WILL get back to some degree of fitness after this is all over with, and I know I'll feel much better and more like myself again. I just don't do well as a sedentary person.

I hope you find something that works for you.

Peace and love to you.
 
You're welcome. I saw your post about your vacation next week. Start your laps carefully. The first time I tried it felt like the implant was pulling out of the joint. I'm sure it wasn't but clearly there was a lot of pressure on my underutilized muscles. That's when I started walking in the water.
 
I imagine slow is the only speed I go at this point. I hate not sleeping through the night as I read posts at 1 am...edit, now 2:30 am giving in to unisom.
 
Reading some of the other recovery posts can be scary...
 
Yes, but keep in mind that most people do very well. And, if you are having problems I think you are somewhat more likely to post about it than if you are fine and busy with life and work. There is certainly a social component to the posts, too.
 
@lexyhecatt, I think spending some time in the social area a good idea. I feel silly, I never asked what implant type or brand I have. I see it could be good to know down the road. LeeApril26 you are orrect on the social aspect, it's how I ended up here. Friends and family are supportive but I think they can't truly get it the same way. This has been a great place to understand the process I am in the middle of----I clearly had no proper clue going in what it would be like past the first three weeks of recovery.

I am on ice now after a walk and day of cooking and cleaning. Off to some social distractions. Perhaps I shall stop by ByGosh porch:)
 
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