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THR Home and Feeling Great!

Thanks Layla - I honestly think part of why I'm doing well is because I did the 3 years in the warm water pool and stayed with my yoga via adapting it to a chair. The pool was an amazing discovery, doing the warm water arthritis exercise 2-3x/week was time consuming but I was hoping to be an "outlier" and beat surgery. I probably should have done the surgery a year earlier but I was so frightened by the idea of it I just kept trudging on as long as I could. My original surgery date was 8/22. I wonder now how I would have made it until August. I was scared but happy to move it up to June on short notice! I have no regrets!

I would advise anyone to consider the warm pool arthritis exercise to "train" for surgery per Dr. Klapper's book and advice. I am looking forward to being in the warm pool again next month and will likely continue at my community warm water pool after the PT time for about 2-3 months. I start teaching my chair yoga classes again in October.

Thanks for the kudos and support!
 
Yea! Cool air in our house. Togo is pleased as well. I'm ready to cook a real meal this weekend!

I hope the AC being back in will enhance my recovery with the energy drain! I'm at 7 weeks post today! Ready for a next phase and looking forward to pool work next week.

Have a lovely day today!
 
Can’t wait to get into a nice warm pool. Day 2 for me and a mixed day of bad pain and better moments. Hard to envisage the recovery but just have to have faith. The warm water exercises sound great.
 
Great news! @luvsibes
I can't imagine not having AC in the heat and you've had some serious heat in SoCal!
I'll bet you slept well last night. Hopefully Togo did also with his fur coat on.
Let us know how it goes in the pool next week.
A great weekend to you!
 
Hi @SurreyGirl- Hang in there at day 5 now! The first 2-3 weeks are challenging and for me they are really a blur. But, believe all of us, it does get better after the initial couple of weeks. At 7 weeks, I still have the restrictions for another month but most pain is gone. Use this time to rest, ice, watch movies, read good books and take care of yourself. I found it hard to ask for help but hubby was great at waking up every couple of hours so I could get to the restroom with the walker and his assistance to move my leg in and out of the bed! Now, all he has to do is tie my shoes, dry my left calf, and put lotion on my lower left leg post shower. Oh, and the 90 degree thing when my grabber or arabesque move won't work! Wishing you good healing and sending those healing energies to you for good recovery!
 
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My last land PT this morning and pool next week. I'm walking well and w/o assistive device. I can take a 1 1/2 mile walk slowly and easily. Pain is minimal.

When can I try to sit on the floor for mat yoga or dog snuggling? After the restrictions lift in one more month? That's my question for the PT today. Then, off to get some vitamin e oil for the scar. I guess I'll post my scar pic that hubby took sometime later today.
 
Happy Monday!
You're doing great. As always. PT Graduation Day....Congrats!
I know you're excited about that pool. I can't answer your Yoga question but I'm sure some will come along with advice or opinions. I do know I didn't even attempt the floor until 6 months post op. Only attempted it as a challenge when another member posted a pic of herself sitting Criss Cross Applesauce, dorky name I know but I believe the old name is no longer PC. At any rate, it got me wondering if I could do it....and I did! Gauging by your progress you'll probably be doing it way sooner than 6 mo post op.
Best Wishes as you move through the week. Keep up the good work!
@luvsibes
 
Thanks @Layla - I asked my PT yesterday about sitting on the floor or a mat. She sticks with the 3 month rule for that and showed me how it would be done. I have a couple of other ROM actions to accomplish first and she also said maybe 6 months and not to rush it and I will know when it's time to try as I'm pretty intuitive with the body. Yes, the pool next week....I'm happy for that.

Yesterday was also the first time I felt challenged in PT other than the first week when I had to lift the leg while supine and keep it straight. I could not will that leg to lift! I could do it with a bolster under it, with a strap around my foot, but could not budge it on my own! Now, I can do 15 reps 3 sets pretty easily! This one was to lay on my back and bring the leg to 90 degree with bent knee and hold it for a brief count. Wow! The quads and IT definitely felt it! Seeing as how I could not lift the leg up on a curb or up a step pre-op, the fact I can lift it at all in a march or that exercise is great. So, I will work on that one this week slowly and mindfully! No walking after PT, just ice and rest! I do only one challenging thing a day!

I read yesterday in Dr. Klapper's book about the 1 year recovery time. I'm sure it will take me that long to feel really healed. It was 4 years of limping and trying to fix it myself so it will take a while for the muscles to regroup in proper alignment and motion. I can feel that now as I relearn a proper gait and alignment. New muscle moves are letting me know we are getting straightened out!
 
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luvsibes said:
So, I will work on that one this week slowly and mindfully! No walking after PT, just ice and rest! I do only one challenging thing a day!
Click to expand...

Good advice for oneself...and for everyone.

Hope you have a peaceful evening.
 
Well, yesterday I did those new leg lift exercises which are for the abdominals/core and to strengthen my quads and I walked as well. I do feel it today in the quad muscles and low back! I'm on ice now and will skip walking and the new exercises today as I need to run a couple of outside errands which will be enough for today! I tend to get a bit gung-ho about being challenged but I've come close to joining the ODIC group this time! So, I'll revisit those new moves a bit more gently in a day or so. I'm waiting for the pool on Monday. It helped so much the years pre-op that I believe it's the best for me. I do a bit of yoga (breathe, stretch gently, align, tapping energy points, balance - nothing too intense and I'm chair based) each day. I turn my pool work into aqua-yoga being very mindful of my body alignments (there's a word for this - Proprioception, I believe). It's also very meditative to gaze into the water! https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...oprioception&usg=AOvVaw07HWHjZA_TU1SexpUyXfhM
 
:hi:You are doing great for not even two months out...hope your day is sweet!:roseshwr:
 
I was a bit lazy yesterday and didn't go on walks or do my PT exercises. I did go for a quick grocery shop with hubs and out to lunch for Vietnamese food. Hubby got me an Instant Pot which is all the rage with the Weight Watcher folks. It's a modern electric pressure cooker with a lot of other options such as slow cooker. I love to cook and know folks who use a pressure cooker such as my MIL and a friend from India who makes great meals quick. So, I have been playing with that and have made 2 great meals with it. Anyone else familiar with this? I've always been a fan of the crockpot but now it's the instant pot!

The muscle strain from Monday PT is better after a day of not pushing myself. I think the wound area is still sore because there is still slight swelling and the nerves are still tender. The Vitamin E oil I bought is very thick and difficult to massage in and then sticky. ugh! I will look for the Burt's Bees product my PT recommended. The wound area feels like there is still bruising under and around the scar. I assume this will eventually go away. It's not bad but annoying!

I'm beginning to dream about my annual Maui trip which was skipped during the "Lost Summer of 2018"! It really feels like this summer never has happened and is almost over already! I'm also glad I didn't have to wait for my original date of 8/22 as my summer travel plans would have been very challenging pre-op. I truly believe life unfolds as it is meant to so all is good.

Have a lovely day Hippy Friends!:wave:
 
Hi @luvsibes
My dad bought me an Insta Pot for my birthday many months ago, ashamed to say, I've yet to try it.
However, I have looked up recipes a few times and need to get using it. I'm thinking with Fall approaching some Soup or Chili recipes may be worth trying.

You may or may not have heard of a couple other products mentioned on the forum for massaging your incision area. Bio Oil is one, many have liked using that. Personally I didn't, I found it too oily, just as its name suggests. However, I did use Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion with Vitamin E in the squeeze bottle. I liked it.
I bought the jar version (Balm) of the same product and did not like it. To get any on your hand you have to rub and rub, or gauge some out. Not for me! Just a few more suggestions as you're shopping products.

That bruising feeling you describe under the scar can last for many months. At least mine did. Sometimes feeling more sensitive than others. Not sure why though.

I'ts always refreshing to read how you let your body be your guide, really listening and respecting what you're feeling physically. Not just powering through while you're hurting. I think the pay off is recognized in your progress. As always, you're doing great!

Hope the end of your week is all you want it to be!
 
@Layla - I see you find Bio Oil a bit greasy and, yes, it can be, but I already use it on my arms and legs and find it does help alleviate the lizard look! I noticed yesterday that there are some very dry patches around my incision - which is only 4 weeks old today - do you know when it would be safe to start moisturising it?

I know what you mean about the summer passing you by @luvsibes. My op was at the beginning of July, and my 3 months will be up at the end of September, so Autumn will be approaching. My main regret is that I really look forward to six blissfully traffic free weeks on my journey to work due to the school holidays, and I'll miss those this year!! Isn't it silly what bothers one as an "invalid"!
 
Good Morning Hippy Friends! Thanks @Layla - @Eman85 - and @Cassidy - for your comments and feedback.

Today is the 2 month anniversary of surgery. I'm glad I did it. I'm calling OS office today as I really want to sleep on the surgery side. A year of sleeping on the "un-natural" right side has created an arm/shoulder pain at night. It doesn't bother me much during the day but the pain at night is not good. Can I sleep on my favorite side, the surgical side, again? Can I roll onto my stomach and get a good neck and shoulder massage?

I found the Burt's Bee's Mamma Bee Vitamin E oil yesterday at Target as well as a variety of other products I've read about on the forum. I went with the Burt's as recommended by my home PT gal that I liked so much. It is a nice texture and my skin around the wound instantly felt more pliable. I sometimes think my flexibly is influenced as much or more now by the tight skin and wound as the hip and muscles. It feels good to use.

Thanks Layla for the kudos. I think I learned to pace myself when I was given a fibromyalgia diagnosis in 1990. I've learned that if I push and it feels good when doing it, the day after or next it may not feel good at all if I've overdone it! It's been a challenge to learn that and apply it. My hubby is good at reminding me to pace myself! I haven't had a major flare of the fibro in about 7 years after beginning energy work (woo woo stuff but I do credit it for improved health and less pain). The only real flare was right after surgery and for a week or so post.

RE the Instant Pot. I've made turkey spaghetti sauce and carnitas in it. Both came out really flavorful, better than the crockpot and quicker than on stove. It's pretty similar in how I would have done it on the stove or slow cooker. Learning the timing took some research and faith it would work out. I will try a Thai chicken curry next week and see how quickly it can be put together. A new activity to pass the next month of restrictions and rehab!

Cassidy - my goal when I retired was to never get on the LA 405 freeway at rush hour ever again! I understand the reduced traffic at certain times of the year and looking forward to that in the commute. While you will miss it this year, you are missing commute entirely for a bit! Being an invalid has been challenging but in retrospect, I have enjoyed summer days of reading, napping, and being lazy...things I don't always allow myself to savor. At 4 weeks, you are really beginning to notice that you are healing. I wasn't to put anything on my wound until 2 months (today!). Mine was a glued incision with steri-strips.

Have a lovey day Hippies. Thanks for the support and care!
 
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Thanks for the advice about the wound @luvsibes - I didn't have steri strips, but my wound was glued. I'm seeing the consultant in 10 days, so I'll wait until at least then until I put anything on it, and if it's another couple of weeks, then so be it.

I'm looking forward to getting my husband home from his heart op, then maybe both of us can enjoy a couple of weeks of taking it easy. Unfortunately the past two weeks have been more stressful than my usual life!!
 
Happy 2 month anniversary @luvsibes! Mine was yesterday, I only know since it was a Thursday...trash day! You're doing really great and so happy you can at last splash in the pool! Enjoy! I had a co-worker tell me one of those "stories" yesterday --when I was forced to take most of the day off due to bad pain in unoperated hip-- about how his father's third wife was "in the pool on day 4 after her THR"....Those stories are so frustrating! You know somehow they can't really be true (the dressing alone can't be soaked) but everyone has one and they always tell you on a bad pain day! Think he thought it would guilt me into working more and relieving him of his duties! Nope. Rest and ice and more Netflix was the remedy -and today I'm feeling more normal. It was overworking that caused Bad Hip to inflame so... treated with Common sense.

Sounds like all in all your 2 mo journey has been really strong and forward moving.

I used a pure Aloe cream (84% aloe) on my incision and also found it also really helpful on the lizard skin on legs. They used some heavy antibiotic applications on my legs at the hospital that kindly provided me with a free leg dermabrasion at the same time! Aloe really helped smooth that out.

Wanted to ask you since we're a day apart if your thigh is still predominantly numb? Mine is and just hoping it eventually goes away. I plan to make the decision Monday for surgery #2. Wish I could've waited longer!
 
Oh my, Cassidy - hubby is off having heart surgery?!? You two have definitely had a stressful summer. I hope he is doing well with his surgery too. You will have a few weeks now of movie watching and hopefully someone to wait on both of you for meals and errands. Be sure to say "yes" to offers for help and a list of what those friends can assist with. I'm off to your thread now to catch up!
 
Happy Two Month Anniversary!
I hope you got the okay to sleep on your favorite side through your phone call to your OS.

Aside from the short lived fibromyalgia flare you had following surgery, how great that you haven't had a flare in seven years!! You're a woman who cares for and has a respect for her body. I'll bet it pays off through many years of good health to come.
Enjoy the weekend!
@luvsibes
 
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