THR HipsterKat’s Recovery Thread

HipsterKat

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Well, made it through. All the meds and spinal anesthesia from yesterday have worn off and am in a hellofalotof incision/surgery PAIN right now.

Good news is that doc says surgery went well, and no sign of infection. Yay!

Will be in hospital until tomorrow.
 
Welcome to Recovery! :welome:Happy to read all went well and there is no sign of infection.
Please read the Recovery Guidelines below and stop back often. We'd love to follow your progress and cheer you on as you're healing.
Wishing you comfort as you begin the journey.

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access to these pages on the website

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask the at each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice. @HipsterKat
 
So pleased all went well and wishing you a smooth recovery.

z-flores8.gif
 
Good to see you on here :wave: and now starting your recovery, that's a good thing! Keep us posted and ask away! :flwrysmile:
 
So glad the surgery went well and no signs of infection. Now all they have to do is get your pain meds worked out to get the pain under control so you can start breezing through this recovery.
:kitty:
 
Home now with my cat and *real* ice! The ice bags at the hospital are so padded you can barely feel the cold (yes, I know to be careful with a buffer between skin).

Query: When people say elevate, what body part are we talking? Seems difficult to elevate a hip, though I do have my lower legs up.
 
I elevated my legs, and in my recliner I believe my back is a tiny bit lower than my hip. But I agree---elevating a hip in isolation would be hard. I am 9 1/2 months out----am curious now, about the answer to this question:) Good luck to you now that you are home and ready to "jump"( tiptoe??) into recovery:) :flwrysmile:
 
Query: When people say elevate, what body part are we talking? Seems difficult to elevate a hip, though I do have my lower legs up.

I just heard a more detailed explanation on this subject from Jamie the other day -
It's the lymph system that rids the body of fluid (swelling). The object is to get the fluid to the lymph nodes in your torso area so the body can more quickly process it. The lymph system works rather slowly on its own and gravity helps the process move along more efficiently. The fluid isn't actually draining into the hips, but contained within the lymph system, moving to the torso and lymph nodes located there.

Following is an article from the Recovery Guidelines explaining ELEVATION.
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/pain-and-swelling-control-elevation-is-the-key.7602/

Hope this helps. Wishing you comfort as you begin the journey.
@HipsterKat
 
Interesting information @Layla. It's funny----I have heard the "elevate" advice my entire life and have followed it with good results. But until @HipsterKat asked the question, I never really thought about the mechanism involved and why it works, which is weird, because I usually question everything. :heehee: Makes perfect sense.
 
Thanks @Layla. Does anyone have a link to that perfect tiered riser?
 
Curious about bandage over drain site. Drain fell out on day 2. Nurse in hospital covered with large white bandage. Two days later (now at home), feels like there is a lot of crusty dried blood under the bandage. Home-visit nurse today said "they don't like for us to take those off to change them." So when DO they come off, and who does it??
 
@HipsterKat All doctors are different. The hospital gave me an instruction sheet with this type of information before they released me. My home health nurse changed it the first time, the OS office did it the next. You should call your OS office and see what they have ordered for you.
 
Welcome to the other side @HipsterKat Just wanted to say hello and wish you a very speedy recovery. Best person to ask about incision is your OS office. I had to go in and get extra long bandages after first water proof one sprung a leak. The white ones I got next weren’t water proof and had to be changed daily. Seems like every surgeon uses something different. Hope you are resting well at home. :sleep:
 
Home health came back yesterday and changed the drain bandage — or rather, removed it and covered with bandaid as it had stopped draining.

Day 5 and I am achy and bored. Nothing too terrible... just meh.
 
Sounds like you are doing well and progressing. Have you been able to shower yet? I don’t have a drain, and OS uses Dermabond for closing so said it’s ok to shower after 48 hours, just not soak the incision area. Trying to decide if I should do it today or wait until tomorrow.
 
No shower yet for me. I need to wait at least until Tuesday — it is going to feel soooo good! I have washed my hair in sink a couple of times and even that feels amazing. It’s the little things...
 

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