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THR How soon for the other side

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Quite honestly, I'm not surprised that hip replacements are becoming day surgeries. A friend of mind had a "mommy makeover" , boobs, tummy tuck, liposuction, had drains coming out of her with attached bulbs to empty and all after general anesthesia and she was sent home the same day for follow up the next day. She looked in worse shape in the tight garments she had to wear than me coming home after hip replacement with my walker.
 
Well I guess my time of hoping wishing and dreaming I would have or could have gotten both hips done in the same surgery are over. Today is the day check into the hospital @10 am surgery is at noon.
 
I am three and a half days post op I am home from the hospital spent three days and two nights in the hospital. Received one pleasant surprise prior to surgery os decided to do a spinal instead of general anesthesia. I had the other side done four months ago so now I'm constantly comparing everything with this surgery to the last surgery.OS said the surgery went quite well although I was at the upper end with blood loss 800 milliliters not get a blood transfusion but how to get a lot of fluids pumped into me IV and that's why I spent an extra day in the hospital. The last surgery I could get by with mostly tylenol 3 but this time I'm using percocet the pay levels are pretty high. The first 24 hours post surgery I had a terrible battle with low blood pressure even passed out once but now everything is going okay and I'm glad to be home.
 
Oh good. I'm glad you are home. I had the percoset, too. It really knocked out the pain for me. Many people have low blood pressure after this surgery. Congratulations on making it through the surgery. I'm glad you got the spinal, since that's what you wanted.
 
Had low blood pressure for 1 month after taking meds for hypertension for 30 years! But the blood pressure started to creep up , so back to meds!!


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I am 1 week post op and I am constantly comparing this THR to the THR I had this past July. I am struggling much more with my second surgery much more pain. I have to spend much more time laying dowe then I did on the last surgery. It seems like as soon as I am standing up for any length of time my leg starts to swell up I need to lay down elevate and ice quite often. On my prior surgery I only use the Walker two days and then switch to a cane and progressed in walking very quickly. I am currently one week out and struggle with a walker. I only take tylenol t3 every 4 hours I can't help but wonder if I would do better with other pain meds but I just cannot tolerate narcotics. On my last surgery I followed the surgeons recommendation by doing stretching exercises 3 days taking three walks three times a day and increasing the length of the walking time each time. I am NOT overweight and have aways been physically fit pretty well. I guess one week out maybe I am expecting too much or maybe my first week of recovery was just exceptional and this is more standard.
 
determined21 said:
I guess one week out maybe I am expecting too much or maybe my first week of recovery was just exceptional and this is more standard.
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I a guessing you are right. At one week out your situation sounds pretty normal to me. All you should be doing is rest, ice, elevate and take your meds. I doubt very seriously that just Tylenol is controlling your pain. Please have a conversation with your family doctor about an non-opiate alternative.

As we always say, every THR is different - even on the same person. Don't fight it - just go with it. I'll leave you with a bit of reading to do. You may have already seen these but it might be good to remind yourself you are doing just fine.
First are the BoneSmart mantras ....
- rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist - to do it to you
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
- if you won't die if it's not done, don't do it
- never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!
- be active as much as you need to be but not more than is necessary, meaning so much that you end up being in pain, exhausted or desperate to sit down or lay down!

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
Activity progression for THRs
Home physio (PT)
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?
 
Thanks Jaycey.. you are probably right even though I could get by with Tylenol on my last surgery this time it's not going to cut it
 
I am two weeks post op . Use a cane outside ,no walking assistance inside . My wife thinks I should always use cane I waddle without it. Doing my own PT. Exercises 3 times per day and in addition i go down to the local mall 3 times each day and walk 3 tenths of a mile each time. I am to increase distance each day . I still spend a lot of time elavting and ice. Not tiring , and definitely lost the log leg feeling . Recovery is a lot of work I try to be always diligent and keep on schedule with the PT program that I am carrying out myself.. I went to see the OS today for my two week post op check up and he took x-rays and said all looked well. And of course as good as its going things never can be quite perfect I developed a very painful blister beside the incision very painful and very uncomfortable. The OS said there's not much you can do about it and the blister will go away while the rest of the healing progresses.
 
Hi Determined. Your wife is right about the cane. Your goal is to develop a normal walking gait, and waddling is definitely not normal. Abnormal walking gaits lead to pain in all kinds of places. When you are doing your mall walking, concentrate on walking slowly...WITH your cane....and placing heel down first and smoothly pushing off with your toes. Two week is VERY EARLY to be having as much activity as you are describing, so stay tuned in to your body to make sure you aren't overdoing and setting yourself up for some nasty tendinitis. Soft tissue problems continue to plague many hippies because the soft tissue takes a lot longer to heal than the actual incision. Remember that you aren't fully healed from your first THR yet (Takes at least a year, often up to two years). Being determined is admirable, but it needs to be coupled with a healthy dose of patience. :)

Sharon
 
sharonslp, Thanks for the advice my OS told me the same thing today . I'm going to cut my activity level back a little and start working myself back up a little more slowly. He is hoping less activity may get me a little relief from these blisters and hematoma that I have in the incision area.
 
@determined21 I think your problem may be you are constantly comparing your first THR to this one. Every THR is different - even on the same person. It took me over 12 months to recover from LTHR and at 6 weeks post RTHR I was back to full time work.

Throw out the timeline you had for your first THR and go back to the articles I posted for you on this thread. The ones about Healing: how long does it take? and Chart representation of THR recovery give an average timeline. There is no pushing this recovery. Roll with it and you'll get there.
 
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