THR How were you at 4 weeks post op? (Anterior THR)

[llurbs]

I’m at nearly 4 weeks and continually yo-yo around. While I can recognise my progress I still struggle with discouragement at any bad day. The advice to recap week on week rather than day to day is excellent. I wish I’d get better at this!

The hardest thing for me is night time. I don’t think I’ve fallen asleep before 2a.m since coming home. No matter whether my day has been busy or quiet, whether I’ve had grumbly pain all day or felt quite good, the nights are the pits. It’s not outright pain so much as restlessness, discomfort, inability to find the right position. I thought this would have settled by now but it’s my chief bugbear. Hoping this too is normal!

I think this is very normal. I feel lucky as sleep is not something I have struggled with (which is very good because I extremely sensitive to lack of sleep) That being said, I'm still sleeping on the couch. It's been so much more comfortable for me as I can keep my knee bent then rest it up against the back of the couch. I'm just now getting to the point where I can fully extend my leg without much pain. Another victory I wasn't paying attention to! I tried our bed one night and woke up with my whole body hurting! I didn't realize how bad our mattress is. I hope this resolves for you soon @Hipster_2906 There is a free app called "Insight Timer" I have used for nighttime meditations in the past when dealing with difficulty falling asleep.

 

[llurbs]

Hello @llurbs
Let me just say you are NOT alone. I've been whining all week about how I feel like it's getting worse instead of better. I'm at 5 weeks 4 days post op. I'm lonely and impatient for my life to get back to normal and I wonder if it ever will. Coming here and reading tonight has really helped.
We CAN do this!
Barbara

Thanks Barbara. We are just in a "meantime" phase. Better but not 100%. I don't know about you but I tend to be an all or nothing person so situations like this are challenging for me. My husband always says "You have 2 speeds. Stop and go" Ha! So oddly enough I didn't have as hard of a time being completely laid up as I am having being partly healed. Does that make sense to you or anyone else? Absolutely, we can do this!!

 

[barbloki]

Yes @llurbs !! I am also an all or nothing type person. My friends says to me "you are a 'relax about nothing' person." I don't know how to relax. I've always been a do'er so this resting/recovering thing is not for me. I can't find a comfortable position to sit or lay but standing and walking all the time makes my hip swell. It's frustrating! I'm an avid gardener and my flowers/shrubs are being choked out by weeds. Today is the first day I was able to walk out there and actually see what's going on. I had my husband come out and cut back some weeds that were choking out my new baby blueberry shrubs. The he got me the hose so I could stand there and give them a big drink of Miracle Gro. It felt good to do something useful. Now my hip is swollen. The other thing that is frustrating is not being able to bend over to shave my legs. I had to ask my husband to use his electric razor on my legs yesterday. I don't like being dependent on others. I want to do for myself. OK, enough whining. Time to lay down with my friend, the ice pack. I hope you get to feeling better sooner than later.
Barbara

 

[llurbs]

Yes @llurbs !! I am also an all or nothing type person. My friends says to me "you are a 'relax about nothing' person." I don't know how to relax. I've always been a do'er so this resting/recovering thing is not for me. I can't find a comfortable position to sit or lay but standing and walking all the time makes my hip swell. It's frustrating! I'm an avid gardener and my flowers/shrubs are being choked out by weeds. Today is the first day I was able to walk out there and actually see what's going on. I had my husband come out and cut back some weeds that were choking out my new baby blueberry shrubs. The he got me the hose so I could stand there and give them a big drink of Miracle Gro. It felt good to do something useful. Now my hip is swollen. The other thing that is frustrating is not being able to bend over to shave my legs. I had to ask my husband to use his electric razor on my legs yesterday. I don't like being dependent on others. I want to do for myself. OK, enough whining. Time to lay down with my friend, the ice pack. I hope you get to feeling better sooner than later.
Barbara

I am a gardener too! Just been looking at and watering ignoring weeds lol. My husband shaved my legs for me at first (saint). I hate the prickle feeling. Yesterday was a really good day. The best my hip has felt and of course that lifted my spirits as well. The trick today will be not overdoing it. I'm committed lol Have a good Sunday and remember it is a day of rest!

 

[dnordo220]

I love all,the sharing here. I’m technically 7 weeks post THR, but it dislocated on day 18, so I’m using that date which is 5 weeks today. Yay. The only issues I’m really having are sitting too long, I feel so stiff, and just getting my confidence back. My thigh is still very sore, I try and massage that throughout the day. I was very active and have (had) I high fitness level. I can’t wait to get back to boxing, biking, weight training etc. but I’m scared. The past two weeks I finally decided to get my life back, I’ve been going to the beach, I even went to a dinner and a concert with my friends, we took our moms to see Barry Manilow. I climbed those steps like a champ. But the sitting killed me. I’m trying to remember to take Tylenol or Motrin to ease the pain. Once you realize you’re strong enough, you will just go, and the pain will subside. I am giving myself at minimum 2 -3 months before I start adding in more activity. Right now I’m walking, doing the elliptical in small segments and just upper body workouts.

 

[llurbs]

I love all,the sharing here. I’m technically 7 weeks post THR, but it dislocated on day 18, so I’m using that date which is 5 weeks today. Yay. The only issues I’m really having are sitting too long, I feel so stiff, and just getting my confidence back. My thigh is still very sore, I try and massage that throughout the day. I was very active and have (had) I high fitness level. I can’t wait to get back to boxing, biking, weight training etc. but I’m scared. The past two weeks I finally decided to get my life back, I’ve been going to the beach, I even went to a dinner and a concert with my friends, we took our moms to see Barry Manilow. I climbed those steps like a champ. But the sitting killed me. I’m trying to remember to take Tylenol or Motrin to ease the pain. Once you realize you’re strong enough, you will just go, and the pain will subside. I am giving myself at minimum 2 -3 months before I start adding in more activity. Right now I’m walking, doing the elliptical in small segments and just upper body workouts.

Same here @dnordo220 very active. Sitting also kills me. I was dealing with some pretty severe sciatica on the same side of my THR before surgery. I was hoping that would have magically gone away somehow from having my hip replaced but knew better. I can say it is getting better though and I'm so happy about that. Walking is really helping to loosen everything back up and I'm getting pretty darn good at it lol. I'm so sorry to hear about your dislocation. That must have been so traumatic. That and infection were my worst fears going into this(and dying but my fear of that was short lived once I came to) One day at a time over here. I slept a good deal on my side last night. That was a big deal!

 

[cold_brew]

I’m at 5 1/2 weeks and sitting is rough. Restaurants etc leave me super tight and stiff and I need to go lie flat on my back in bed after to stretch out. Not actually that much *pain*, just hard to move and loosen up after sitting in a proper chair for any length of time.

So yeah I guess we are all in about the same boat?

 

[llurbs]

I’m at 5 1/2 weeks and sitting is rough. Restaurants etc leave me super tight and stiff and I need to go lie flat on my back in bed after to stretch out. Not actually that much *pain*, just hard to move and loosen up after sitting in a proper chair for any length of time.

So yeah I guess we are all in about the same boat?

I used to see commercials for different meds that would say "If you can't sit or stand for more than 30 minutes.." and I would think " who can't stand or sit for 30 minutes?!" It meT lol. the more times around the sun the the humble I become.

 

[Layla]

I used to see commercials for different meds that would say "If you can't sit or stand for more than 30 minutes.." and I would think " who can't stand or sit for 30 minutes?!" It meT lol. the more times around the sun the the humble I become.

Love this! Boy oh boy there is truth in that statement!
We think we're invincible too, until we realize we're not. Oh to be young and clueless again

 

[dnordo220]

I love all,the sharing here. I’m technically 7 weeks post THR, but it dislocated on day 18, so I’m using that date which is 5 weeks today. Yay. The only issues I’m really having are sitting too long, I feel so stiff, and just getting my confidence back. My thigh is still very sore, I try and massage that throughout the day. I was very active and have (had) I high fitness level. I can’t wait to get back to boxing, biking, weight training etc. but I’m scared. The past two weeks I finally decided to get my life back, I’ve been going to the beach, I even went to a dinner and a concert with my friends, we took our moms to see Barry Manilow. I climbed those steps like a champ. But the sitting killed me. I’m trying to remember to take Tylenol or Motrin to ease the pain. Once you realize you’re strong enough, you will just go, and the pain will subside. I am giving myself at minimum 2 -3 months before I start adding in more activity. Right now I’m walking, doing the elliptical in small segments and just upper body workouts.

Same here @dnordo220 very active. Sitting also kills me. I was dealing with some pretty severe sciatica on the same side of my THR before surgery. I was hoping that would have magically gone away somehow from having my hip replaced but knew better. I can say it is getting better though and I'm so happy about that. Walking is really helping to loosen everything back up and I'm getting pretty darn good at it lol. I'm so sorry to hear about your dislocation. That must have been so traumatic. That and infection were my worst fears going into this(and dying but my fear of that was short lived once I came to) One day at a time over here. I slept a good deal on my side last night. That was a big deal!

Omg I’m so jealous ! I wake up with a sore throat from sleeping on my back. Lol

 

[llurbs]

I love all,the sharing here. I’m technically 7 weeks post THR, but it dislocated on day 18, so I’m using that date which is 5 weeks today. Yay. The only issues I’m really having are sitting too long, I feel so stiff, and just getting my confidence back. My thigh is still very sore, I try and massage that throughout the day. I was very active and have (had) I high fitness level. I can’t wait to get back to boxing, biking, weight training etc. but I’m scared. The past two weeks I finally decided to get my life back, I’ve been going to the beach, I even went to a dinner and a concert with my friends, we took our moms to see Barry Manilow. I climbed those steps like a champ. But the sitting killed me. I’m trying to remember to take Tylenol or Motrin to ease the pain. Once you realize you’re strong enough, you will just go, and the pain will subside. I am giving myself at minimum 2 -3 months before I start adding in more activity. Right now I’m walking, doing the elliptical in small segments and just upper body workouts.

Same here @dnordo220 very active. Sitting also kills me. I was dealing with some pretty severe sciatica on the same side of my THR before surgery. I was hoping that would have magically gone away somehow from having my hip replaced but knew better. I can say it is getting better though and I'm so happy about that. Walking is really helping to loosen everything back up and I'm getting pretty darn good at it lol. I'm so sorry to hear about your dislocation. That must have been so traumatic. That and infection were my worst fears going into this(and dying but my fear of that was short lived once I came to) One day at a time over here. I slept a good deal on my side last night. That was a big deal!

Omg I’m so jealous ! I wake up with a sore throat from sleeping on my back. Lol

I don't like sleeping on my back. It's been so nice!!

 

[BellaMac]

You are not whinning at all, you are expressing how you feel because this is a safe place to do so - with people who have been where you are. You will progress each day, sometimes slowly it is unnoticeable. Your body will heal and it is absolutely awesome to be free of your hip pain. I just had my left hip replaced, had the right replaced April 2021 - you are not alone and your sadness etc., will go away.

 

[benne68]

Hi @llurbs and @dnordo220! Hope you are both feeling better this week.

Just want to share a suggestion about using quotes in your posts that you may find helpful.

When you want to reply to someone, rather than quoting the whole message, just go down to the reply box and type your reply. No need to quote if you are replying to the post directly above your reply.

If you prefer, you can mention the member you want to address by using the @ sign in front of their username (no space) and type your reply.

Not quoting whole messages saves a lot of space on the page, and also saves duplicate reading.

If you want to quote just a line in a post, highlight that line.

At the bottom of the post you will see:

Like/ +Quote/ Quote this message.

Click the +Quote

When you get to the reply box, you will see where it says “insert quotes” Click that and it will put your highlighted area into your reply.

Happy Posting!

 

[dnordo220]

@benne68 thanks. I figured that out the other day.

 

[llurbs]

@benne68 thank you!!

 

[benne68]

Hi, @llurbs . Checking in to see how your recovery is going now that you are 8 weeks out. Let us know how you are doing when you have a chance.

 

[llurbs]

Hi! Overall I'm doing well. I do however still get pain when I overdo it. Yesterday I was very sore. I went to my sons Cross Country meet which involved a lot of driving then standing for hours followed by more driving. I then proceeded to invite people over for dinner which involved cooking and cleaning. Not smart. I don't know if it would be "normal" to still have pain at this point (2 months post op) but I feel it might be for me as I have noticed a trend of being pain free after having a more relaxed week. Followed by a week of doing too much because I'm feeling good. I think my muscles are just like "what the heck are we doing here??" Plus my left hip is scheduled for its replacement on December 14 so I'm compensating there as well. Trying not to get frustrated! How are my other July peeps? @cold_brew @barbloki @dnordo220

 

[cold_brew]

Doing pretty good thanks! But your busy weekend sounds like a lot to me too, it would have put me on the ice packs for hours.

 

[Eman85]

The old story 2 mos is still early and real easy to overdo especially because you feel good. Ice is still your friend when you need it, no shame in icing. I can tell you about overdoing at 3 mos and having a real big setback.

 

[dnordo220]

I feel stiff rather than pain. I work remote and at a desk all day. I have to remind myself to move. Marching around the house usually fixes the stiffness. I’ve been able to do most things. Elliptical, biking, workouts. Just making sure I don’t pivot so that I don’t have another dislocation. I’m very aware of every move I make.