Revision THR Hope for 2020, Revised THR

Fit4Family

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Hello all. I live in VA and am 57. I fell in a grocery store and broke my femoral neck. Didn’t realize it was broken until I had more and more trouble walking. Fast forward had emergency hip pinning on 10/03/18. Spent 12 weeks on 30% weight barring with walker, and then progressed to Cane and PT. Unfortunately, started having knee and hip pain mid February and ended up in horrible pain. Had LTHR last Wednesday 03/20/19. Surgery was lengthy. Pins removed posterior and left hip replaced. Had complications and lost voice for a week. Home Saturday. Today is Day 9 for me. Swelling still and in more pain than I was earlier. Maybe due to more activity. Hoping to share this journey. It’s been pretty isolating. I’ve already been home 6 months and this next phase just started. Sending healing vibes to all those post surgery. Hello from Virginia.

Reclaiming a full and active life is worth the temporary pain of recovery.
 
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Hello! Thank you for the warm welcome! I’ve been lurking the last few months but decided to join as the healing journey is different in reality than I anticipated. Glad to dip my toes in. I’m a Sarah too.
 
@Fit4Family
Welcome to BoneSmart, glad you joined us!

You have been through a lot, going forward things will improve and you will be on your way to having your life back.

Here are the Hip Recovery Guidelines, the articles are short and will not take long to read.

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 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.
 
Hi Sarah, :hi:
Welcome to BoneSmart :welome: Glad you came out of the shadows into the light. Thanks for joining us! What a journey you've had to THR. I'm sorry for your longsuffering.
Please stop by often, you'll never feel alone here. Whether communicating back and forth with members or simply reading stories you can understand, it's a comfort to be in a place where you can always find another to relate to.
I hope to see you around soon. Have a beautiful Spring weekend! :SUNsmile:
@Fit4Family
 
Thank you @Layla I really appreciate the wealth of information here and the community that surrounds it. I’ve been trying to tough it out, but tears flowed today. I am grateful to connect to others who can relate. Happy weekend!
 
That's normal! I did it too. Most do.
You can cry over the silliest thing and laugh about it shortly thereafter. Great thing is those lows are usually shortlived.

Here's the article from the Recovery Guidelines on Post Op Blues if you haven't had time to get through the articles yet.
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/post-op-blues-is-a-reality-be-prepared-for-it.7591/
It took me weeks to get through the Recovery Guidelines, I couldn't absorb anything I read it seemed early on.
All Temporary, Thankfully!
Big hugs....you're going to do great. :)
@Fit4Family
 
Hi @Fit4Family and welcome. I too fell in a grocery store (Aldi) and sheared my femur cleaning across the neck ... excruciating pain! :yikes: That was December 2014 and I have been on a journey since, culminating in a Stage 2 Revision on 18 March. You lost your voice ....??? :shocked:
 
Hi @Izabel thank you for the welcome! Who knew Grocery stores could be so dangerous? So sorry. Your journey has been much longer than mine. ((((Hugs))))) My vocal chords were bruised during general anesthesia. They started with Spinal block and I guess lower sleep control. I woke up during surgery, threw up and got my vocals knocked too hard with tubes. Thankful damage wasn’t permanent. Surgeon seemed very concerned, doesn’t happen very often so he had me see ENT. Take care.
 
@Fit4Family Welcome to BoneSmart! I have been on this forum for many years and never met someone who had your complication post op. That must have been a bit scary! I woke up during my LTHR but had a spinal and sedation so no nausea. Glad it wasn't a permanent situation.
 
Hi @Jaycey thank you for the warm welcome. It was scary. We have a 13 year old and he was very troubled by it. Long 8 days. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
 
Welcome to the forum.....I agree with @SarahBee ---you will meet some lovely folks on here, many of whom will offer you just exactly the advice and support you need at each step of the way. I "lurked" too prior to my surgery, and at the start.....am grateful for the support I've been given since taking the leap to a more active status:)

Sedation is an interesting thing. With my C-Section 30 years ago when I had my triplets, I had a spinal that didn't work and had to be put out with a general very quickly. During the process a couple of my teeth were chipped---understandable as the goal was to get me under quickly, but weird to wake up with a funny feeling in my mouth from the teeth.

Yesterday I had a colonoscopy---had sedation and remember nothing of the procedure,(thank goodness) but I woke up literally the second they brought me back to the room---the recovery nurses were all very surprised. They said that rarely happens---typically it is at least a couple minutes or more. I guess the anesthesiologist had it timed pretty well. :)

I'm so sorry you've had so many challenging things to deal with. It sounds like you have a great attitude, and I'm hoping things will be smooth sailing for you from here on out!:loveshwr:
 
Thank you @Debru4 for the welcome and sharing your c-section story. It must be so complicated figuring out what works for each individual. I’m glad they got it just right yesterday for your colonoscopy.

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I’m glad I braved joining and can already tell it’s going to be helpful community to be a part of. Take care.
 
I don't know what your OS told you about recovery. The trauma of a THR is much more than pinning your femur. Especially with the additional work of removing the pins and all. I'd say with the full replacement you're on the right path for total pain free recovery, but it's a very slow winding long path.
 
I have nothing but praise for my surgeon in every respect, and one thing he did AFTER the surgery, at my 2 week follow up, was to explain to me what REALLY took place during a hip replacement. He was pretty direct, and pretty explicit.

While I am grateful he didn't elaborate prior to the surgery (he gave me the facts when I asked, but left out some of the gorier details), it was so helpful to realize what actually happened in my hip and leg. It made me understand the pain better, and not stress as much about it as I might have.

Even so, I still needed lots of support and reassurance from people on this Forum. I remember being asked by one of the advisors if I would feel like PT or exercise would be the appropriate thing to do following a major accident---we all know the answer is a resounding, "NO!!". And yet we often put pressure on ourselves. or allow others to pressure us into jumping into activities/exercises that make no sense, given the trauma our leg has just been through.

Of course, since we all start at different spots, and we all have different things that work for us, there is no hard and fast rule that works for everyone. But in general, think of your hip/leg as having been through a huge accident/trauma, and protect it with that in mind. :flwrysmile:
 
:welome:to Bonesmart where you get great advice, encouragement and experiences from "those who know"
Sorry for the additional hiccups following surgery, but hope all will continue to improve so you can have a lovely spring:flwrysmile:
 
I have nothing but praise for my surgeon in every respect, and one thing he did AFTER the surgery, at my 2 week follow up, was to explain to me what REALLY took place during a hip replacement. He was pretty direct, and pretty explicit.

While I am grateful he didn't elaborate prior to the surgery (he gave me the facts when I asked, but left out some of the gorier details), it was so helpful to realize what actually happened in my hip and leg. It made me understand the pain better, and not stress as much about it as I might have.

Even so, I still needed lots of support and reassurance from people on this Forum. I remember being asked by one of the advisors if I would feel like PT or exercise would be the appropriate thing to do following a major accident---we all know the answer is a resounding, "NO!!". And yet we often put pressure on ourselves. or allow others to pressure us into jumping into activities/exercises that make no sense, given the trauma our leg has just been through.

Of course, since we all start at different spots, and we all have different things that work for us, there is no hard and fast rule that works for everyone. But in general, think of your hip/leg as having been through a huge accident/trauma, and protect it with that in mind. :flwrysmile:
Thank you @Debru4 Great advice. My OS didn’t elaborate much as I was in excruciating pain. Glad he didn’t as I was pretty traumatized. I will ask on Tuesday. He has been very clear, NO PT for 12 weeks and minimal walking with walker. He doesn’t want me riding in a car except doctor visits. No meals out. Etc. I already feel like I’m in good company here. It’s amazing how many we’ll meaning friends are already pushing for me to do more. It seems like the general public thinks this surgery is a bounce back situation. Happy Saturday!
 

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