THR Hippity Doo Dah!<

Day 5 - morning
I'm a bit surprised how well I am sleeping. I slept the full four hours after each wake-up for my pills last night. I was mistakenly following what they did in hospital and waking for/taking my "as needed" painkiller every two hours. Then yesterday, my husband noticed that bottle was getting a little low. So we decided if I can sleep through that dose, I can skip it. We have sorted out my pills to be due at 10pm, 2am and 6am and by cutting back water a little bit in the evening I can last that long for the washroom also. Because of the log leg, I am needing some help getting in and out of bed still and really hoping to get more independent on that score soon. I am rarely aware of pain when sleeping now.
Having said that, yesterday afternoon I was having a little nap in bed and about an hour in woke with a very loud yell when I felt like I had just been kicked by an angry donkey in the upper/backside of the hip. Holy Hannah, that hurt and could be felt for a few hours afterwards. I'm assuming it was some kind of muscle spasm.
I tried walking in the house a little more yesterday and did 'OK' with it but my quads were even more stiff and sore at bedtime so maybe I did just a wee bit too much?
Log leg, burning pain and tight sore muscles are my biggest issues. While I was initially finding it hard to tell if my old pain is gone, I think I may be more aware of this pain being quite different now. If my buttock and quads could settle down a bit I wouldn't be in too bad shape.
 
yep..those muscles are letting you know they are healing & need time!!!
Looks like you’ve got the meds sorted & that log leg will soon follow!!! Yay!


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Is a happy medium possible? Since my epidural faded out, I have felt a real tightness in my quads especially, glutes and the muscles in the back of my thigh. Although it is not comfortable, I have felt driven to stretch my legs a bit because I almost feel like my muscles are too short for my leg. So yesterday, I tried to walk just a little more in the house (like maybe 10-15 minutes all day including potty trips, etc) Sometimes when walking I tried to do a heel/toe movement to stretch the muscles lightly and did 3/4 very lame butt clenches twice in the day. I roll and flex my ankles a few times a day for maybe 30 seconds. I could tell my muscles were tired going to bed but. pain did not keep me awake. A bit stiff this morning. About mid morning, I suddenly started creeping back to surgery day #2 in terms of pain and was soon at the point of being unable to cope so back to bed I went with some extra painkiller. I have been trying to cut down the "extra" Hydromorphone that was Rx'd for breakthrough pain when I had been taking it as routine up until last night (mainly because it is running low). I am going to phone now to see if he will top that Rx up.

So my questions are: Is it possible to do any light stretches without it being more like PT and causing after effects? I don't want to stiffen up but don't want to push it either. I do want to heed the advice here and not be taking painkiller to cope with any stretching. Also I seem to have a sore patch of two on the skin of my tush, so sign of an actual sore yet but sure don't want one. With my time divided between sitting or laying on my back, I am not sure how to avoid this ~ any hints?
 
As an update to the above, I noticed this morning more than ever that when I put my op leg over the edge of the bed in the morning, the quads really burn and stretch as my foot gets lowered to the floor. Am I doing something wrong or not doing something I should be?
 
@Carriemay60 depending on how long you limped around pre-op your muscles can atrophy quite a bit. Building up the strength again is going to take some time. Please do any stretches very gently and not too many reps. Ice and elevate after any stretches. Please don't worry about your medication just yet. Still very early days for you.
 
Thank you for replying @Jaycey I have been limping and at times in a wheelchair for a solid 5 years. To say my op leg diameter is 2/3 the size of my good leg is being very generous and I could easily wear underwear 2 sizes smaller on the op side. What kind of stretches do you recommend? I really don't want to cross the line into doing too much or doing it wrong; I have waited too long to ruin this :)

I have this article telling me what NOT to attempt but can't find one with the suggestions for safe exercises
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/bonesmart-philosophy-for-sensible-post-op-therapy.37103/
 
I did gentle hamstring stretches from a seated position post both THR. My hamstrings were very tight so had to start very gently. I built up the stretch to the point where I could raise the leg directly out in front and then pull "toes toward the nose" similar to what you do when you do an ankle pump. This gives your sciatic nerve a nice stretch (I have major lower back issues unfortunately). I still do these stretches several times per day.

Continue to build up your short walks around the house. But if you are feeling sore - stop and take some time off. Very early days for you especially if you had such major mobility issues pre-op.

When you are a bit more nimble on your feet you can also try very gentle quad stretches (front of your thigh). Please don't try this before your followup with your OS. You need to feel pretty stable on your feet. Balance on your non-op foot and lift your op leg back toward your buttock. At first you will probably not be able to grab your foot with your hand. I started these using a chair or counter to balance and then just plant my foot against a wall as far up as I could. Soon I could grab my trouser leg and eventually I could grab my foot. Don't stretch too hard - you can easily strain the area especially if your quads are tight.
 
I had to play catch up today. Your thread is pretty entertaining. I am impressed at how much you remember about your surgery. I don’t remember any thing. Not even my spinal. I did have on a blue paper hat, but that was before they took me back.

Silly thing that helped me move out of bed was wrapping a silk scarf around my operated foot. Made sliding much easier. My dh had to hoist me to and fro for a few nights. Until he looked blurry eyed so I figured out my own tricks. My muscles felt really tight too. Still do in the morning when I first get moving. Ankle pumps over the side of bed, before trying to stand help me. Sending prayers for a speedy recovery. Hope those muscles start firing for you. ❤️
 
I spent a happy 10 minutes or so picking up coins with mine. Surprisingly they aren't all magnetic.
Where does your daughter study @Hoppy Nanny ? My youngest son was at GSA. Used to love him coming home and singing in the attic.
 
Thinking of you CarrieMay60...hope things settle down soon and you have more movement and less pain.
Thanks so much for sharing your journey with us.
 
Ah! gSA...... have two very good friends who graduated from there a little while ago. Making their careers in the acting industry :)
That's brilliant! Such lovely boys and girls there and always straight into jobs and @Hoppy Nanny don't let her be put off by the likes of those who can't see the benefit of studying the Performing Arts. There are ups and downs of course but it's a wonderful fulfilling life.
 

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