Eman85
big-cheese
Don't know what you're using for pain pills but mine had acetaminophen as part of them so I had to watch total intake.
THR Home. (Ouchie)
- Thread starter lizard615
- Start date
lizard615
junior member
Day 7.... one week! So I’m doing 2 oxy every 6 hours. The doc renewed for 1 every 6 hours. I quit taking the Tylenol because I thought maybe that’s what was messing with my stomach. PT Came yesterday and gave me a bunch of exercises. She is starting off with three days a week.
lizard615
junior member
Yikes! I started on the heating pad yesterday. Front part is ice in the back part is heating pad. I must say that the pain has gotten worse as the days go by but I’m thinking that’s all the healing taking place. And I’m more active. How are you doing?
Watch the exercise this early. After the soft tissue trauma from the surgery my doc didn't want me to do anything but elevate, ice, and move with a walker 10 minutes every 2 hours for the first two weeks. The exercise I am permitted at this point are little more than calf and quad stretches and "heal slides" raising your right knee and sliding your heal back toward your bottom. Not exactly strength training but there's time for that after your pain is under control. If I were taking two oxy every six hours I'd be capable of little more than drooling. The only thing that you need to do right now is heal. That is best done if you are not in pain. So first control pain, do nothing that could make you less comfortable, save your PT visits for rehab. Difficult thing when trying hard may mean doing less.
ForumUser
senior
So ....
My left in May 2019 was far easier than my right about 20 years earlier.
My last narcotic was 10 pm on the night of the op - I left hospital next day around noon.
4 grams of tylenol did a lot to keep pain down - my philosophy, not adopted by everyone is to know there is pain, then work with the pain. Not everyone agrees with this. It did work for me. I had virtually no pain after the day of the op that was not handled by tylenol.
My left in May 2019 was far easier than my right about 20 years earlier.
My last narcotic was 10 pm on the night of the op - I left hospital next day around noon.
4 grams of tylenol did a lot to keep pain down - my philosophy, not adopted by everyone is to know there is pain, then work with the pain. Not everyone agrees with this. It did work for me. I had virtually no pain after the day of the op that was not handled by tylenol.
Carolinagirl54
junior member
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2020
- Messages
- 33
- Age
- 72
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United States
1st couple of weeks I took pain meds around the clock, then didn't need it as much. You will taper as pain lessens. Only ankle shuffles and leg exercises in bed and walking for me.
lizard615
junior member
Day 8 - had a major physical therapy session, walked a lot including outside.... she pushed and pushed me. I think I’m at the “leave me alone and let me just elevate and ice” stage. I had a mini meltdown with her claiming that the medical field does not care about me like they should. I was a mess. I think about it now and I laugh at myself. Today will be better and I will walk the walk she pushed me to do yesterday. She is now known as my physical Terrorist for sure....
Woodstockhip
senior
Oh, jeez, you've got one of THOSE! Day 8 I was still on the walker! Couldn’t imagine walking outside! But I expect they get used to their patients' meltdowns. If all else fails, could always whomp her upside the head with your cane! Feel better, do what feels right. If your body says ice and elevate, that’s what you have to do!
How do you feel this morning? Now I am 10 years older than you so my "results may vary" but..... How fit were you before the surgery? How much exertion/rehab does your doc recommend at this stage? How much pain are you in? What is most important to you? How much do you weigh? How was the hip "put together" ie was the prosthesis glued in or press fit? Both of mine have been pressed in and require/required more inactivity and only 25% weight bearing for the first 14 days. If you are "glued" then weight, early activity, etc don't impact recovery as much as for a 165 pound older person with a press fit. You are dealing with a hip not a knee, what range of motion you need to do anything in reason can be achieved in two weeks with little more effort than now. Damage done to your doc's handiwork on the other hand may have more far reaching consequences. I have taken into account that I will loose substantial fitness during my recovery. Beginning training/rehab now or in 3 weeks will barely be noticeable 10 months from now. Messing up your healing will. What is your goal? Maximize gain now or minimize regret and be better than before the surgery by 12 to 16 weeks. Any training requires rest between work periods to have positive effect. Balance between work and rest makes the difference between training to get better and training to be worse (over-training). The whole "no pain, no gain" thing is over rated. It should be a factor relegated to later training. Right now I'm mortgaging my fitness for a future recovery. A PT should be a task master maybe even a bit of a sadist but not a terrorist. Understand her training plan for you, what is her goal, and her timeline. Does it coincide with your long term objectives? Granted docs are by nature conservative, fixing a problem is harder than avoiding one. Both care about you. The best result may lie between their positions. You need to be the one to determine the best path weighing all these factors. So again, control pain, elevate, ice, rest, heal. Pretty long winded sorry.
Eman85
big-cheese
The experience of most of us is to dial back on the PT, especially this early on. PT's seem to buy into the no pain no gain theory and it doesn't seem to work.
lizard615
junior member
Oh I’m still on the walker for sure!!! I’ve not attempted with the cane...
lizard615
junior member
Day 10! ..PT wants me only to ice 20 mins then off. I don’t know about that! Thoughts? I am mainly walking... with the walker... not doing any of the exercises that hurt! 
Very very tired today!
Very very tired today!
If you had an injury - 20 minutes would be prescribed. But you are recovering from major surgery. Ice for 45-60 minutes each session. 20 minutes does nothing!
Well done on the exercises - if it hurts, don't do them. Walking is the best exercise for a new hip.
Are you still on a lot of pain meds? Does the ice ease your discomfort? Is she saying to ice 20 minutes to aide in recovery from training in addition to your normal icing protocol? Just thinking about this in context of both human and equine athletes I would be very cautious in following the PT's direction. My first concern would be exertion while on pain meds. Pain meds tend to dull sensation that might warn you about overdoing it. If you have trained a great deal you have an idea of just how far you can push an injury. If you have not trained a lot you don't. Training can result in some real problems.
Take some time to think about this before you reduce the icing. Your priority should be healing and reducing the heavy meds to zero
Take some time to think about this before you reduce the icing. Your priority should be healing and reducing the heavy meds to zero
Woodstockhip
senior
I was icing pretty much every time I was in a position to do so. I just leave the ice there until it is no longer cold, go for a little spin around the house, and swap ice packs. I don’t think you can ice too much!
lizard615
junior member
Thank you! I agree with all of you regarding the icing. I also leave the ice on until it melts. So I am pretty much just ignoring what she says. I’m walking a lot which is good but I’m not gonna do anything that hurts me. Thank you all so much for your input!
Eman85
big-cheese
I used an icing machine and if I was still it was on me hours at a time and in the early days I slept with it on me.
lizard615
junior member
Day 13.... tomorrow is the two week mark.. big accomplishment today! I took a shower… I have a step over tub… But this was my third shower since being home. But I was able to dry off standing up and not sitting on the commode. I know it doesn’t sound like much but believe me it was a big accomplishment for me! Also going to try to sleep in my bed tonight. At least start off there! I’ve been sleeping in my recliner for the last two months. I will let everyone know how that goes! 
