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THR Hipmom is healing

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Well Cappy, I've decided to wait till next Wednesday, 11/23 to be safe. I've come too far to blow it now! My OS told me from the beginning that I had a higher dislocation risk than most. And this way, I will REALLY be extra thankful on Thanksgiving this year! :thumb: And happy anniversary to you, too!

As far as my 12-week update goes - I'm still walking with a cane due to my leg length discrepancy (which won't be officially measured until January 4). I can't do anything about it now except to wait and see what kind of settling will take place. I have had no pain in my hip through this whole experience (even in the hospital) and for that I am very grateful.

I have been walking, walking, and walking! A new phenomenon for me :yes 4: Today I walked 3 miles along the Columbia River and was treated to the beautiful fall leaves (although there aren't many trees here) and I got to watch 2 pelicans fly low up and down the river - awesome! Walking for the fun of it - who'd have thought? :yay: And just in time as it is now snowing!
I went out yesterday and bought these rubber and metal grip safety things to put on the bottoms of your boots to safeguard you when walking on snow and ice. I'm a little afraid of this winter and don't want to take any chances! :rolleyespink: Whether walking or driving in winter weather, I'm sure I will be nervous.

I will be calling my OS this week to double check my do's and don'ts after my 3 months of restrictions are up. Hard to fathom that something is unsafe one day and safe to do the next. It will probably take me awhile to go past 90 degrees and I'll bet the toilet will seem "way down low" to me! Hope I don't fall in :hysterical:

It has been an interesting journey and I still have a ways to go - but I have seen the benefits and that keeps me going.
 
Well done with all the walking Donna.

I bought some of those gripper things for my boots last year. They really do work. There's no stopping you now!
 
Set off my first metal detector today while attending my son's "We the People" competition in the courthouse! Fun. :thumb:
 
Unlike airports with the body scanners, I guess there are always other places we have to deal with. One of these days I'll set them off big with hips and knees. :th_heehee:
 
Yep, Julie....with all that metal it will probably sound like you've won the Las Vegas casino jackpot when you go through a metal detector....:hysterical:

(just kidding, of course)
 
Well, one of the days I was waiting for finally arrived! Last Wednesday was the end of my restrictions (well, most of them anyway). I called my OS office and spoke to his nurse: Can I bend more than 90 degrees now? Yes. So I can pull my knee to my chest? Yes. Can I lay on my op side and my stomach? Yes. Do I still have any restrictions? Yes (Boooo!) She said that I should NEVER twist. She said that whatever direction my feet are pointing, the top of my body should be pointing, too. She said that when I reach down, I should always reach down through my legs and not down the outside of them. She said if I want to pick something up from the floor, I should straddle it and pick up down the middle through my legs. Cutting toenails? Always cut from big toe side and don't turn my foot in to reach the little toe, i.e., I guess my husband will be cutting my toenails! Later in the conversation she said something like "at least for 2 years because it will take that long for the bone to grow into the implant. So, I am not really clear if this is a forever restriction or a 2 year restriction.

But now that I am allowed to bend more than 90 degrees, I find that I can't bend :sigh: I wanted to put my socks on without the sock aid, but can't get to my toes. My leg is still swollen so I think that has something to do with it and my hamstrings are TIGHT. I did sit on the couch (and it was a little hard to get up from it just like they say :DOH:) But I am happy not to drag around my cushion anymore! I was able to get up and down from the floor - but only down to hands and knees, not sitting on the floor. I'm afraid to try that. I still feel very cautious.

I'm walking a lot down by the river. 2 to 3 miles @ 5 days a week! No problems there although still using the cane. I'm thinking of getting a thigh high TEDS stocking and putting it on my op leg for awhile to see if that gets rid of the swelling. When I try to bend my knee back, it feels as if I have a stuffed sock behind it - like it is too fat to bend all the way back. I haven't taken my elevated seat off of the toilet yet, either - it looks like such a long way down!!!:hate-shocked: Guess I can keep my armrails up and try it without the elevated seat . . . .

I just have to keep on trucking through December and make it to my January 4 appt. to get my legs measured. That will be the next big step (so to speak :wink1:) After that, I can get my shoe lifts figured out and FINALLY start PT to learn how to walk.

I'm thrilled with the walking that I am able to do even if it is with a cane. I can walk around the house without the cane, but I walk terribly. Just too much difference in my lengths. I'm confident that once I get shoes to fix the discrepancy, I'll be walking great. :yes 4:
 
You're making progress, Donna!!! That's wonderful. You'll still need to apply that patience, though. Recovery can take several more months to be fully there.

I'm not sure I agree with those "never" rules. We've certainly seen many of our BoneSmarties go on to do lots of physical activity that involves twisting your body......dancing, golfing both come to mind. You'll just need to take things slowly and listen to your body. It will tell you when you are pushing the envelope with a movement.

As for your tightness, you probably need to do some muscle stretches to loosen up those hammies. Everything gets tight when you are out of alignment. It takes time, but you can get things realigned and stretched.
 
Hi Donna, I agree with Jamie - your restrictions are a bit unusual. My OS said my only restrictions were no bungee jumping or parachuting :th_heehee:.
You might want to have a discussion directly with your OS on your restrictions.

Keep trying on the shoes and socks. And the toenail cutting. Both took me quite awhile. My muscles were very weak from years of limping around. You'll get there!
 
Hi Donna,

Congratulations on getting off all the precautions! It is a bit daunting at first to suddenly be able to move around "normally" again. I was stunned at how stiff I had gotten in the 5 weeks post-surgery and it took quite some time before I loosened back up again. I had been using the golfer's reach when I needed to unload the dishwasher and pick up stuff down low and I had a hard time getting both feet back on the ground and learning how to work those quads and buttock muscles again, they were all in nap land! It sounds like you are out and about walking and doing well, that is fantastic!! Plus you've already been down to the floor!! I didn't get back there for about 3 months... It is good to be cautious, there are lots of new firsts that you get to experience with your hip now and some may take a bit of time.

I kept my walker flipped around backwards at the toilet for the assist standing up for a few months. I hadn't used the raised seat, but just because you've been released doesn't mean you have to discard all your assistive items, it just means you can experiment a bit more. :thumb:

My knee was also a bit stiff for a few months out from surgery, felt like it was stuffed with cotton and didn't like to bend closed. I had some length added to my femur and that was contributing to internal stretching of everything... Just go easy and in time hopefully yours will settle down as well.

Take care,
Cardie
 
hipmom said:
Well, one of the days I was waiting for finally arrived! Last Wednesday was the end of my restrictions (well, most of them anyway). I called my OS office and spoke to his nurse: Can I bend more than 90 degrees now? Yes. So I can pull my knee to my chest? Yes. Can I lay on my op side and my stomach? Yes. Do I still have any restrictions? Yes (Boooo!) She said that I should NEVER twist. She said that whatever direction my feet are pointing, the top of my body should be pointing, too. She said that when I reach down, I should always reach down through my legs and not down the outside of them. She said if I want to pick something up from the floor, I should straddle it and pick up down the middle through my legs. Cutting toenails? Always cut from big toe side and don't turn my foot in to reach the little toe, i.e., I guess my husband will be cutting my toenails! Later in the conversation she said something like "at least for 2 years because it will take that long for the bone to grow into the implant. So, I am not really clear if this is a forever restriction or a 2 year restriction.
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Well, dash my rags - I've never heard the like! All of those are applicable in the first six weeks maybe even six months with care but even two years is - well - stupid! Just think how many millions of hippies out there that have never had the 'benefit' of this advice and done what they wanted with no problems at all! I think she was exercising that familiar medico-legal ethic called CYA (cover your (ahem)!). Tell'm this just in case anything happens and then I can put my hand up in (fictitious) court and say "Your Honour, it's her own fault - she was warned"! :snork:
 
Yup, yup, and yup! All will come in time! Just think about what you haven't been doing since the surgery. All of this is a combination of stretching and reprogramming, and kinda throwing caution to the wind.

Old habits are hard to break, and when you've been so careful NOT to break a restriction, it is not that easy to just "have at it". However, you seem to be moving right along, so I have no doubt that with practice EVERYTHING will return to you as second nature.

PATIENCE my friend! Congratulations with getting to this point in recovery and doing so well! I can honestly say that at 20 months, if I hadn't had the issues with fracture etc., I honestly do feel that I am back to "NORMAL" physically. I just have some problems with the implant itself. The healing part is done though.

That just happens with time, no numbers that you can put on it. I tend to agree with the nurse to a point, but don't take that as a negative thing. Now you know what to expect and if things happen sooner or easier for you, all the better.

Congratulations! Welcome to your new life! Oh, socks and toenails...it really does get better :wink1:. Easiest I've found for both is to put my foot up on a chair/toilet seat and lean forward. Eventually things just stretch enough to get there, but not for a while. It WILL happen!
 
Hi Donna, glad to hear you are getting more and more back to being able to do things. I agree with all of the above as well. They must just be doing what Jo has said. I know your replacement was a more difficult one, but there are a lot of others out there in your shoes with the problems and doesn't seem like they have been told those kind of things.

I twist, I turn, I bend (of course I can't do all of them great. :biggrin:) but I wasn't told I couldn't try or do one thing.

Hmmmm hope she was just being over zealous with it. Keep up the great work.
 
Jo, you are an absolute riot! Where do you ever come up with these sayings :loll:??? Right on Momma Hen!
 
Was one of my dad's favourite sayings when he was taken by surprise by something. Kind of like his version of a :DOH:
 
Yeah, I don't know what to make of the "no twisting" rule either. The things the OS demonstrated for me to see what not to do were: He was sitting in his chair and had his torso facing forward but pointed his knees together way off to one side and also sitting in a chair he reached his hand all the way down to the outside of his ankle (I think his knees were pointed off to the side, also). He told me I should never do those movements when I met with him at the 6 week post op. Do these 2 things sound familiar to anyone?

I should see if I can get my son to post my X-ray for me and maybe that would show (to someone who can read an X-ray) why I have these restrictions. I only know that prior to surgery he told me I would have a higher dislocation risk due to my anatomy and I was closer to a revision surgery than I was to a primary hip replacement.
 
Hi Donna,

Just a quick note about your stiffness.

I was instructed by my physio (PT) yesterday to stretch my operated thigh by laying on my back and loop a towel or scarf around the back of my thigh and gently but firmly pull my thigh towards my chest. It stretches the hamstrings obviously but seems to loosen up all the thigh muscles.

Hope this helps.

Charlie
 
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