Revision THR hip replacement gone bad<

[zinnia]

Good news and not such good news. I have failed to mention that I have major arthritis problems in my left foot which is basically "duckfooted" and permanently swollen with a "bony" projection at about mid-arch. I am also flat footed and have a bad pronation problem in that same foot. I wear a shoe insert to raise and support the arch but that doesn't correct the crooked foot problem. I don't want to bother Josephine unless someone, @Mojo333 or @Layla think this problem warrants her attention. My PT says it has to do with the loss of elasticity in a ligament or a tendon (I forgot which one) which comes with age. That allows the foot to cant to the outside and thus the duck foot.

Secondarily, I have bone on bone in the left knee which is giving me a lot of pain and difficulty now. It was doing okay before and right after surgery but now it is acting up in a major way. I use a declofenac gel and a brace which does help somewhat. I hate to think of another surgery but this is getting to a serious level of concern. And, originally, it was a question of which comes first, a hip replacement or a knee? The surgeon said hip but then his mistakes cost me 2 years and I ain't getting younger.

Those are my complaints for the day. Hope Everyone is well and flu-less anyway and that all recoveries are going well. Got my eye on you, @MammaT. Good luck! Will be waiting to hear from you on the other side. Hugs and lots of them.

 

[SaraK]

@zinnia - Have you ever heard of the phrase "burying the lead" ? I would think that the issue with the knee and the foot could be a large contributor to the limp and "clunky" gait when you walk without at aid! Are you able to get any relief from a cortisone injection in the knee? What other alternatives have they discussed beyond a knee replacement? I've heard of people who've had good results from stem cell injections or hyaluronic injections.

 

[MammaT]

Oh @zinnia, sorry you have foot and knee issues with all of you other stuff. I know nothing about feet except mine aren’t too goo either. In terms of knee, would a cortisone injection be possible? I know it won’t cure it, but perhaps can get you some relief and help buy some time?

Thanks for the good wishes. Will post when I am settled and somewhat coherent-and I’ve had a cup of coffee!

 

[Mojo333]

zinnia, @Josephine may or may not have any insight on foot, but she is a knee pro. We will ask.

 

[Layla]

I'm so sorry, Zinnia. It must get frustrating at times. First the hip, now the knee, throw in the foot UGH!

My mom is 80, soon to be 81 and she needs a new knee and hip also. The knee really causes her pain, more so than the hip, but the hip does need attention first, so that's what she'll begrudgingly do.

You are a strong determined woman who's full of life, I have every confidence you'll get this all worked out.
Hopefully Jo has some answers on your foot, but not sure she will....
Wishing you a great week!
@zinnia

 

[Josephine]

My PT says it has to do with the loss of elasticity in a ligament or a tendon (I forgot which one) which comes with age. That allows the foot to cant to the outside and thus the duck foot.

Well, zinnia, sorry to add another op to your list but what you've described would only be fixed with a mid foot fusion.

I use a diclofenac gel

I wouldn't bother with that - it's a waste of money. I saw a documentary about it a few months ago where tests showed quite clearly that the gel doesn't penetrate into the skin more than 3-4mm and certainly goes nowhere near the joint! And the bad news is that though it's obviously not an oral medication, it certainly does get to the stomach via absorption in the blood. Medications: acetaminophen (Tylenol, paracetamol) and NSAIDs, differences and dangers

 

[Layla]

Hey there...how's our girl, Zinnia doing?
Hopefully just carrying on, living life as best you can.
We're cold and snowy here in the Upper-Midwest, I'm over winter
Need some of this and that >
A great rest of the week to you!
@zinnia

 

[zinnia]

Hi @Layla, Just checked in to see what's up on the message board. I have an appointment with PT today. 6 more to go after this one. I think it has helped in that it has speeded up recovery a bit without any difficult muscle pain. But I seem to have hit a time of particular tiredness. I am trying to stay ahead of it but not succeeding. Have others in recovery had a period like this at about 8 - 9 weeks? I had so much energy there for awhile and now it seems to have disappeared. Recovery had slowed down to a pretty slow, almost unperceetable pace. I guess I added a great deal in the very beginning and now I'm in for the longer haul. At any rate, it is what it is. I'm still here and will be.

Yes, I am living life as best I can. Lunch tomorrow with my regular lunch buddies. Then a Mardi Gras ball Saturday night. I am going as the ghost of a Monarch butterfly. . .I don't know where that came from???? Except that they are going practically extinct. Maybe I'll even dance a bit which will freak out my husband.

It remains generally cold here for the South; rainy and windy yesterday. Cloudy and a bit warmer today. I am totally done with winter. Trouble is it appears it is not done with me. We do not have your snow, thank heaven. But this has not been a southern winter.

Thank you for checking in. Love you for that and everything else too. Have a terrific weekend yourself.

 

[MammaT]

I think we hit plateaus in all sorts of things @zinnia, and recovery can be a series of them. It’s lie our body needs to get used to where it is before it can move forward again.

The ball sounds like lots of fun, you will need to provide details.

 

[Mojo333]

I am going as the ghost of a Monarch butterfly.

That's the coolest thing ever. Energy drain hit me so hard months 2-4. I just got so tired doing little to nothing.
You're gonna get better, zinnia.

 

[Layla]

Hi Zinnia,
I hope your PT appt went well today. I don't think being tired at 8-9 weeks seems unusual. You were pretty active early on. Traveling for Christmas and then your trip to Cali and the cruise shortly thereafter. Your body is probably just saying "enough for now." Our body's energy supply isn't limitless. So when we're in healing mode after major surgery our energy will be used for healing first, not leaving a great reserve for all the other activity of daily life. It is completely normal to feel tired for quite some time. How long....most likely relates to your body's rate of healing. Making our best effort to get adequate sleep and rest is beneficial. Our body does it's best healing while we're sleeping. Sooo....Do not pass Go, Do not collect $200....just go to bed!

Consider taking it easy for a few weeks. Try to get in some extra sleep or a few naps and I'll bet you'll be good as new. I hope you have a nice lunch tomorrow with friends. The Mardi Gras Ball sounds fun. The ghost of a Monarch butterfly, hmm, that's interesting! Happy to hear you're out living life and enjoying yourself. You're a dear, that's for sure.
Hugs and love to you!
@zinnia

 

[zinnia]

Thanks, @MammaT for your plateau explanation for the loss of energy. That makes sense to me and I take that under your advisement. You are observant and I appreciate your wisdom. As well as @Mojo333 's experience which is exactly like what I am feeling right now.

But I may have broken the pattern last night. . .I did dance! Had to ask husband every time and it was just slow dancing. He had reservations at first and only swayed to the music on the dance floor but as the number of dances grew so did the movement across the floor. Of course, I could hold on to him going and coming. But it was great fun. My costume was a hit. I have large flowing wings of a Monarch that attach at the neck and wrists so I was pretty dramatic with wings out spread on the dance floor. It was great fun.

Advise taken and appreciated @Layla. More rest is welcome. In fact, I am ready in a moment to go watch a movie in bed and fall asleep. Husband is fixing dinner tonight so no worries there. Not much on tap next week except PT Tuesday and Thursday and a couple of friends for dinner Friday. Mild today but quite breezy so I won't be walking my 20 minutes today. I figure I'm do a day off entirely. Oh, I do have my painting group tomorrow pm. But that is a joy and then some Valentine shopping.

How are you doing MammaT? I will venture over to your site and check out what is happening on your recovery end. You sound wonderful.

Happy Valentine to All on board. Have a lovely evening.

 

[MammaT]

Imagine that @zinnia-dancing! Your costume sounds wonderful. I think the dancing last night makes up for not walking today. By the way, the only day you don’t have something on the schedule for next week is Wednesday, so it looks like you have a few things on tap!

 

[Mojo333]

Swaying slowly to the music as the ghost of a monarch.
It's such a beautiful picture.
All is not lost when we can in the face of adversity can find the beauty in the moment.
I'm ever so grateful that one such as you can be this kind of example.
Sweet Dreams.

 

[Mojo333]

Hope all is well with you, Zinnia.
I didn't feel tired some times...I felt Weary...weary of it all.
Hoping you catch a second wind soon and know that I'm rooting for you.

 

[Descant]

Thanks for your encouragement on my thread @zinnia. I don’t seem to have a total energy drain really at more or less the same stage as you, but in reality when I think about it I am avoiding talking to a lot of people. After 40 minutes talking to one of my daughters the other night on the phone, I had to text an old school friend to tell her I wouldn’t be calling back until the following day because I knew that I would have felt too depleted afterwards. I think that I am keeping my energy by keeping life simple.

I’m certainly not back in any way to my normal life of church bell ringing, organ playing, jiving. I have returned to playing Bridge though and socialising if it’s straightforward.

How would I have known that you were the ghost of a Monarch butterfly and not an actual butterfly?!

 

[Layla]

Zinnia, you've come such a long way! It's wonderful to hear of you out dancing with hubby.
I'm sure you looked beautiful in your costume. I'll bet you felt like the belle of the ball.
Hope you had a good PT session today.
Have a great dinner with hubby and friends tomorrow night!
Big hugs to you
@zinnia

 

[zinnia]

Hubby, bless him, is terribly sick with a cold. Went to doctor yesterday and it is not the flu nor strep throat just an around nasty cold. All blood work came back positive and negative in the right places but he is on an antibiotic and something else I think it's for his throat. So no dinner guest tonight @Layla. If he gets better we are aiming for Monday. The problem is dinner. I am going to make it and cook it 1/2 way then freeze it and cook it all the way Monday. I hope it works.

PT is going very well. He's started me on some new stuff and I have no resulting pain or soreness. Lots of balance exercises. And it always ends with the nu step. I still walk little bits around the house unassisted. Some times it works out; sometimes I start to limp so I head for my rotator walker which is a great help. I pruned some of my roses this am and will do the rest this pm. The weekend looks good for doing some outside chores. Finally, warmth. My daffodils are ready to break into bloom!

Hugs to all the hipsters who read this. . .hope your days are without pain and you are progressing nicely.

 

[SaraK]

Great to hear your update, @zinnia ! I'm sorry your husband isn't feeling well, but isn't it nice to know you can take care of him while he's ill? That, in itself, would be progress, but I love to hear that you're out in your garden and enjoying the sunshine!

When I was transitioning off the cane, my PT always said to take it in stages and use the cane once I started limping. He also decided a PT session was done if I seemed in pain or tired - which he'd know because I'd be limping. He said it takes more effort to walk without the cane because of the balancing working different muscles and you can't expect them to be ready to completely take over at the drop of a hat. Like any muscle, they need time to build up and strengthen.

I'm sorry your dinner plans were changed, but try to relax some in between bouts of taking care of hubby!

 

[zinnia]

Hi @Descant, I have missed you. I know what you mean about the phone. I have a neighbor friend who calls almost every day and I just don't pick up and then I'll send a text later instead. What is it about talking that wears me out. I too am trying to rest more and not do too much stuff. But my husband being sick and bedridden through the duration of this really nasty bronchial infection is wearing me down. There's the dog to take care of too and husband needs certain things that he can eat with the throat so it's a constant activity almost right now. I've fired the woman who "cleans" the house; I just haven't told her yet. The best thing is the weather. . .it's glorious today and I want to be out in it. I just wish I could get down on my hands and knees and dig.

Oh, I'd love to be a Monarch butterfly and make that run to Mexico. What a trip. We will be sailing again in May, Memorial Day for us the end of May. A trip we haven't made in a few years now. We make a weekend sail to one our particularly lovely off shore areas with our yacht club. Of course, I am not allowed to do anything but sit and watch as my husband single hands our 31' boat, sails and all. I used to be his second mate and help quite a bit. But I think he likes doing it all himself. He's a natural sailor.

Hope your days continue to be as you choose them. Sounds like you are managing your recovery the way you must and it suits you well. Keep in touch or I will miss you. I will do the same. May the goddesses speed.