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THR Hippity Doo Dah!<

Day 2; morning

:ice: Had some coffee in bed while I iced the side of the hip and top of thigh and now in my chair sitting on ice. The night was a bit of everything. I was up a couple of times for the toilet and feeling sorry for myself until about 2am and then slept through my 3am meds until 4:30am. Sadly that meant waking in a fair bit of pain and a bladder that was calling 911 (999) but my leg didn't walk quite fast enough :bawl: Thank goodness for the incontinence pads (sorry men, TMI).

I still feel a bit shocked by how much pain I am in right now. It is either much worse than last time or I have romantic memories like childbirth. The worst pain in the top of the thigh and buttock. The thigh even hurts to brush with my hand? I also think I can actually feel my butt swelling. Knee discomfort is increasing. The OS warned me this revision would be painful but somehow I convinced myself he was lying just to make himself look better after about my miracle recovery.

I thought a lot in the night about how little I miss my hospital roommate. TALK!!! Omg, it was torture! I was on the window side and started out trying to be nice by sharing the view but then kept the curtain closed thinking she might shut up. NOPE!! She just talked louder and kept on until I answered her. The night I stayed over, every time she heard me she would call through the curtain "Carrie, are you awake"; "Carrie, are you ok". She was 20 years older than me and had her op due to a fall 2 days prior to mine but was on her 3rd room; quite likely due to other residents evicting her! She was refusing to get out of bed or use the commode so was in diapers. Went through a lengthy tale every five minutes about her inability to even hold a cup due to OA. Screamed when they did her BP because she said it was crushing her bones. As I said to my husband, those are the people that eventually wither and die after breaking a hip. :sad:
Then in walked the Scottish PT!! :rofsign: She let her have it about complaining so loudly about the quality of the crackers, refusal to get of bed, etc., etc. It was quite amusing :) PT was actually quite a lovely lady, married to a Canadian so commiserated with my husband about marrying a Canadian followed by a lenghtly conversation with him about the recent rugby.

Today will be spent icing, going to the bathroom, snoozing and moving between my chair and bed and icing some more. Hospital said not to ice more than 20 minutes but I am sticking to 45-60. 20 minutes isn't touching it. After my 60 minutes I just get new ice packs and put them on different spots so icing non-stop almost. 2 spots at a time for 60 minutes, repeat on next 2 spots, repeat. They also say to take painkiller before exercise but I am only flexing my feet a bit now and not pushing that if it hurts the thigh and hip. I love being a rule breaker. :rotfl:

@SarahBee & @beachlily , seeing you two running ahead has me convinced you didn't really have THR but it was all a dream :) Did you both have anterior? Hoping I can say I am happy I got this done and my old pain is gone in a few days but right now not totally in love with my new parts.
 
Give it time @Carriemay60
only day 2.... I had quite a lot of pain the first 2 days and then it gradually dissipated ... think getting up & walking eased the pain too...hoping by tomorrow that pain will diminish for you... hang on in there... you will soon be overtaking us all in recovery [emoji8][emoji8]


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@Carriemay60 , I didn't quite know how to rate your post. I settled on a simple like, although portions were quite funny.

I did have anterior and most swelling is just above the knee. The thigh is somewhat painful but ice and meds help. I will pray it isn't long before your pain subsides and you are totally in love. Hope you have a lovely day!
 
Your plan for the day sounds just perfect for a new hippie @Carriemay60! What approach did your surgeon use? Did he cut along your previous scar? Mine have all been posterior and I soon lost count of the number of times I stood back up from the chair, absolutely convinced I'd sat on the TV remote :heehee:.
Carriemay60 said:
The old band holding the femur was quite a mess and the OS thought it was likely causing some grief so he removed it.
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I suspect the band removal has contributed to the thigh pain and soreness. Did your surgeon say any more about "the mess"? I have a particular interest because I have several holding my femur together. I love your icing regime, I just knew you'd be a rebel!
Not the best of roommates was she, thank goodness it was just a one night stay.
Hope that pain eases over the weekend. :console2: x
 
Carriemay60 said:
The only thing that upset me was I was booked into theatre for 3 hours an 30 minutes before going in the OS said likely only about an hour. Very weird, but I felt a bit ripped off and at risk of neglect. I also quickly remembered that I couldn't get a cancellation slot because of needing a 3 hours slot. Funny to be so offended by that when I already had my surgical bonnet on :rotfl:. We think I wound up in theatre just under 2 hours.
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Just read this on Klassy's thread and jumped over to yours to comment.

I guess you'd have been in theatre a lot longer if your OS had needed to remove the stem? I was in a similar situation, but OS discovered my stem had to come out. It wouldn't budge, my surgery lasted 6 hours, and I was in for 3 weeks. So don't be offended, just be very grateful it was more straightforward than it might have been!!!

Did you really have to wear a surgical bonnet? :heehee:
 
I had posterior the first time and lateral this time. I don't know the details about much yet as I didn't see my OS myself. Peter did and I saw the resident. The resident looked like he was rushing to the bathroom, like he'd had a hip replacement or something :rotfl: and was gone behind the curtain before I knew he was there almost. I do agree a shorter surgery is best but he seemed to have decided that before surgery? He walked away to get scrubbed saying, "I have worked out a great plan for you". We assume he studies the days cases the night before and maps out his plans?

I did have to wear a big paper surgical bonnet. It was blue. I was also put in a paper gown with all kinds of holes in it that they put things that looked like vacuum hoses in and blew hot air into my cacoon. There were little plastic pillows in there filling with warm air to keep core temperature up. The nurse had me put my arm in there before the IV too and it was a painless poke. Then!!! They put this foam pad thing on my forehead that records my core temperature. BUT, wait... it gets better.... they hooked a wire up to the foam pad so I looked like a Teletubbie in a bonnet with a wire coming out of my head and probably looked like I could lift off like a Blimp if I wasn't anchored down. Peter was in stitches, then Awstin got started and then the husband from the next cubicle poke his head around the corner to see what they were laughing at and promptly went back to tell his wife what she was in for.

Also, my pre-op nurse, who was lovely and happy, laughing all the time asked me if I was having my left or right KNEE done. I might have run then if I could have disentangled myself! :bicycle2:
 
Carriemae, I love you...you're a riot! :rotfl: You had me in stitches over "the roommate" story. What a nightmare.
You should have thrown in an obnoxious fake snore once in awhile, behind that curtain, so she thought you were sleeping non-stop.
I hope you have a comfy day with a few cozy naps squeezed in. :yawn: :sleep:
@Carriemay60
 
That is so funny @Carriemay60, you could write the script for a comedy TV show!! Do you have a photo?! That paper gown with the hot air sounds absolutely brilliant though. I came out of knee surgery with my teeth chattering - it took them longer to warm me up in recovery with a hot air blanket thingy than the OS took to do my knee! Do you get a big arrow drawn on your leg pointing to the hip to be replaced? The sort that takes weeks to wash off?!

Yes, I agree, very annoying if your surgeon knew for sure he didn't have to replace your stem.

Hope you're getting the odd nap today. I've spotted you about the forum and you don't seem as if you're only a couple of days post-op! I found it difficult to stay awake. Make sure you're awake for any video calls from little Arthur :loveshwr:. x
 
Oh Carriemae, you have been having a tough time of it, hopefully things will start to ease up now that you're home. I do love the way you describe the room mate and the surgical garb. Had that same outfit when they did my back. Seems you're trying to keep your humor intact which always helps with trying times. Remember to stay ahead of the pain, set an alarm if you need to, much easier than playing catch up with that nasty pain. And I can see I don't have to remind you to ice, Ice baby! Sorry saw Vanilla Ice on DIY T.V. earlier. :wave:
 
@SE Florida My mind tires and can't follow anything detailed but sure not in a fog like I get with a general. No photos @helenium , if he had even tried the locks would already be changed! He normally walks around with one of his many cameras like a tourist! @Elf1 I'm not sure if this is humour or insanity but just had a darn good cry as well.
@Layla I am going hunting now for some ideas on getting in and out of bed. I am finding it much harder at home. Just laid down in bed for 2 hours and found it near impossible to get back up. There is a video on Youtube about getting out of bed and slipping on your shoes that is less convincing than the Easter Bunny! I am also having so much trouble coping with this pain and need to know if this is at all normal. When dozing the pain comes through in little dreams even. I can't relax for a second, even when trying to sleep, which I am obviously not getting much of. Feeling at the end of my rope with it. If it doesn't turn a bit of a corner overnight I will have to reach out to the hospital for help before I act on the temptation to take extra pills.
 
@Carriemay60
Getting in & out of bed..a slip sheet is essential.. Amazon sell them... it’s been a Game Changer for me in my recovery this time... you just slip back in bed so easily.

So sorry you are having this amount of pain.... hopefully it’s just short lived... you’re amazing to still have a SOH.. thinking of you x


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[Bonesmart.org] Hippity Doo Dah!<



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@Hoppy Nanny Strange, there are lots of those on the UK Amazon site but not one on the Canada site. We will try to fashion something though, thank you!!
 
If it's a problem getting to the edge of the bed, or swiveling around, try a plastic garbage bag under your bum. If it's a lack of upper body strength, I'd yell for hubs till you're feeling stronger.
@Carriemay60
 
Carriemay60 said:
@SE Florida My mind tires and can't follow anything detailed but sure not in a fog like I get with a general. No photos @helenium , if he had even tried the locks would already be changed! He normally walks around with one of his many cameras like a tourist! @Elf1 I'm not sure if this is humour or insanity but just had a darn good cry as well.
@Layla I am going hunting now for some ideas on getting in and out of bed. I am finding it much harder at home. Just laid down in bed for 2 hours and found it near impossible to get back up. There is a video on Youtube about getting out of bed and slipping on your shoes that is less convincing than the Easter Bunny! I am also having so much trouble coping with this pain and need to know if this is at all normal. When dozing the pain comes through in little dreams even. I can't relax for a second, even when trying to sleep, which I am obviously not getting much of. Feeling at the end of my rope with it. If it doesn't turn a bit of a corner overnight I will have to reach out to the hospital for help before I act on the temptation to take extra pills.
Click to expand...

Oh no! Just read this and I’m so sorry you’re experiencing pain and sleeplessness. I wish I had some magic help to offer you- I’d definitely contact your OS if this continues. Hugs!
 
:wave:
I had quite a difficult time getting in and out of bed for the first week or so...or getting comfortable for any length of time at rest. Everything just felt compelled to need to move...:sigh:
I do hope your pain is easing some and if not that your doctor will work something out so you can be more comfortable.
Don't forget to stay hydrated and be proactive with the stool softeners so you don't end up with the aggravation of constipation.
That ended up being a BIG deal for me at 4-5 days out.:oyvey:
Healing hugs coming your way!:console2:
 
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