Bilateral THR I’m far 2 Hip for these lousy joints

[Barbaraj]

Loved the mental picture you created, @MrDIY, I can totally imagine the staggering hippies wandering around and shrieking for "ice, baby, ice"! Thanks for an end of the day smile, you are very good at making me chuckle! That would be a totally fun movie to film! As long as there is a snack table and bar available, I'm in!

 

[MrDIY]

I get that this is your measure of success

Actually no, this is meant as a means of recovery. Success cannot be measured until I am recovered!

 

[MrDIY]

As long as there is a snack table and bar available,

You can’t make a movie without a snack bar!

 

[SurreyGirl]

May I have a part in your zombie hippie movie please? Also happy to help out as a vocal coach...

Sounds great fun and hope the catering truck is a good one. Pornstar Martinis on tap?
I suspect we would have no shortage of script and copywriters on this forum. And probably a few over-zealous A -type directors :/)

@MrDIY you would be our Fitness Instructor and please be gentle!

We could always approach “Hans Zimmer” for advice!

I would like to propose a Busby Berkeley dance sequence on masse like the old ladies from “The Producers”. Complete with overhead “blooming flower type” shots where we all lie on the floor in a circle heads at the. Entire, doing leg abductions and heel slides.

I would like an ice machine in my Trailer please, king size bed, a champagne fridge and endless supply of Lindt Dark Chocolate, Marmite Toast soldiers and lightly boiled eggs for breakfast.

There should be a huge hot tub on site and easy-on-the-eye masseurs to help us after a hard day’s work staggering about as zombies.

Movie Title
“Dawn of the Tedds”?

 

[Barbaraj]

Love your movie ideas, @SurreyGirl, nothing like taking it over the top instead of the slow and steady pace we're all trudging along on! I got a great mental image of pushy hippies behaving badly, swiping their canes, crutches and walking poles at those cutting in line at the snack bar table, while those with walkers are ramming into the back legs of those folks as well. I'm lining up at the bar for any drink involving alcohol and grapefruit juice, and truffle fries with finely grated parmesan as my snack option. Have you completed your morning workout, @MrDIY? Hope you continue to be able to complete what seems to me, and presumably many others, a staggering amount of exercise for someone so early on who had bilateral hip replacement--but clearly it's been working for you, and with your doctor's approval so all good. My exercise thus far today has involved standing at the espresso machine to make my morning latte, fetching the newspaper from our driveway, doing a load of laundry and tromping up and down the stairs several times on errands. Think I'm about ready for ice and a nap!

 

[MrDIY]

@SurreyGirl & @Barbaraj

It seems that our budget should be layed out as follows:
Food and refreshments: 70%
Choreography 20%
Writing / story development: 5%
Filming / production and everything else: 5%

This seems like the ideal recipe for a cult classic to me!

 

[Barbaraj]

Love your proposal, @MrDIY! You always put a smile on my face--I think your proposed budget is PERFECT, no suggested changes at all. I think we'd get a lot of recovering hipsters interested in this production, especially salivating at that generous food and refreshment budget. With so many of us tottering around with low energy these days, the promise of food and drink (that someone ELSE is preparing and serving) would be a huge incentive. Now, we've just got to identify some wealthy and willing to waste money investor to bankroll this classic!

 

[SurreyGirl]

And make a loss so that we could claim on the insurance a la “Producers.”

Remember that famous scene in Jurassic Park where the coffee cup started vibrating before the arrival of T-Rex? I think coordinated walkers on masse as the Hippie Zombies emerge from the fog would produce the same effect. So many films to send up!

 

[MrDIY]

Day 9

Stairs x 8

Went to a craft fair with wife and daughter

Alternated walking around with periods of sitting while they did their thing:

Walking with crutches ~5-8 minutes x1,1,1,1 (12 min), 1 (3 min), 1 (3 min)

Sitting 5-10 minutes x 1,1,1,1,1

Done with craft fair we went to get a sandwich and coffee for me and then my wife dropped me off at home for break/ ice / elevate

PM walk 1000ft (~7min 15 seconds)

Rest / Ice / Elevate

 

[MrDIY]

Observations and assessments

I estimate my left hip is about 2 days behind my right. They are both improving but my right is the better of the two.

I can walk unassisted in small spaces like the kitchen. I’m not smooth though, it’s choppy movement. I can bear weight longer and more smoothly through the gait on the right than on the left.

I can lift my right knee about 2” while seated.
I still cannot lift my left knee while seated.

I am supplementing my diet with 50g - 100g of whey protein per day to help facilitate cell repair / regeneration. In addition I’m trying to get a good amount of calories to support tissue repair processes. I believe this is very important and not talked about much. I’m eating almost like I’m trying to gain weight with high-ish protein (trying to get ~150g a day) I think this is important for recovery. I should weigh myself and see if I am actually gaining weight lol (I don’t think I need to gain weight just not be losing weight).

I still have swelling but it is more local to a couple of inches surrounding the incision sites.

There is still numbness around the incision sites and the top of thigh.

All in all every day so far has been a little better than the last.

 

[Jamie]

Actually we do advise people to stoke up on protein following surgery. That's always a good plan to promote the healing process. Some of our members' surgeons are having them supplement with protein drinks like Ensure prior to surgery for a couple of weeks as well.

 

[Layla]

Hi, Happy Sunday! I hope you slept well last night.

Here are some protein ideas I've posted many times for those who have mentioned they didn't have much of an appetite, or weren't eating well. Some may sound appealing to you also, Mr DIY, when you're on the run.
Another thing to look into is Bone Broth if you haven't already. I drank a mug a day while in the early weeks of Recovery and want to get into the habit again going into cold and flu season. Among the many things it's touted for, boosting the immune system is one and that is always a great benefit.

Nuts
Trail Mix
Turkey roll ups (cheese or veggies rolled inside the turkey)
Greek Yogurt
Cottage Cheese
Hard Boiled Eggs
Tuna
Veggies & Hummus
Peanut Butter and Apple
Peanut Butter on Celery
Cheese Slices
Beef Sticks
Protein Bars
Protein Shakes
Canned Salmon on Crackers
Edamame
Chicken Salad
No Bake Energy Bites (many online recipes)

Hope you have a great Sunday and week to come!
@MrDIY

 

[Josephine]

Actually no, this is meant as a means of recovery.

To be honest, I don't see this as a means of recovery in anyway whatsoever!

I still have swelling but it is more local to a couple of inches surrounding the incision sites.
There is still numbness around the incision sites and the top of thigh.

THIS tells me your hip is still in a very early stage of healing. I think what you are doing is really dicey and I have seen many such situations end in disaster - either loosened, prostheses broken or even bones fractured. Here's a couple of examples of what I mean

Walking with crutches ~5-8 minutes x1,1,1,1 (12 min), 1 (3 min), 1 (3 min)
Sitting 5-10 minutes x 1,1,1,1,1

I really don't understand what all this means - perhaps you'd be kind enough to explain!

 

[Barbaraj]

Good morning, @MrDIY, hope you are waking up and not too stiff and uncomfortable from yesterday's outing. I am obviously ahead of you in terms of recovery, with my September 26 surgery, but I am still overwhelmed with body fatigue/energy drain when I attempt activities, especially in the evenings as I did last night (dinner/auction event). I can't imagine walking around a craft fair even if it did involve sitting interspersed with walking. Don't you get tired? I know you seem to have more stamina than I do, perhaps beforehand as well, but between all that exercise you do, even with your doctor's approval, I would think you'd tire fairly easily. But if it works for you, you can handle your routine without it overwhelming you, then you should consider yourself very lucky! Fun to read about your steady upward trajectory!

 

[MrDIY]

I am still overwhelmed with body fatigue/energy drain when I attempt activities, especially in the evenings as I did last night (dinner/auction event). I can't imagine walking around a craft fair even if it did involve sitting interspersed with walking. Don't you get tired?

Haha, Of course I get tired! With the alternating walk/sit that I was doing I noticed that about the 7-8 minute mark my legs would fatigue and I would want to sit down. Alternately when sitting down, it would be at about 6 minutes when I felt ready to walk again. After the craft fair I was certainly ready to ice and elevate that’s why I had my wife drop me off at home. After eating and coffee and about a 1.5 - 2hrs icing and reclining I felt ready to do one of my more structured walks around the block.

I would think you'd tire fairly easily. But if it works for you, you can handle your routine without it overwhelming you, then you should consider yourself very lucky! Fun to read about your steady upward trajectory!

I don’t know if I tire more or less easily than anyone else, but so far I can handle my routine just fine. I rest between all activity. I guess the way I log my stairs makes it appear as if I am going up and down and back up all in one session. But that really is just a tally of how many times that day I went down and back up the stairs. The total amount of work is the same but there is plenty of rest between (usually).

 

[MrDIY]

Day 10
Light day

Stairs (daily tally)x 4

Notes on stairs: no longer using crutch on stairs, just one hand on rail. On ascending have transitioned to “normal” stair ascension: left foot up, right foot to next step, rather than 1 foot up, next foot to same step. Still descending using my weak (left) leg to lower, in controlled manner my right foot to next step.

walking unassisted for small trips ( recliner to bathroom,etc ) in the house (daily tally) x 5

Stationary bike 30 minutes at RPE 6 (1-10 scale)

 

[MrDIY]

To be honest, I don't see this as a means of recovery in anyway whatsoever!

I know you don’t, but we have had this discussion before here: https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/has-pt-helped-with-your-thr.50178/

THIS tells me your hip is still in a very early stage of healing.

Yes, I would say I am in the Sub Acute phase of injury.

I think what you are doing is really dicey and I have seen many such situations end in disaster - either loosened, prostheses broken or even bones fractured. Here's a couple of examples of what I mean

I understand that the Mods do not agree with what I am doing.

I really don't understand what all this means - perhaps you'd be kind enough to explain!

This simply means that I alternated walking and sitting. Every ‘1’ is essentially a tick mark signifying 1 repetition. I am not interested in crafts at all. So I turned this outing into an opportunity to get some walking in while making sure to rest.

 

[An54]

@MrDIY . I personally hope you keep posting as I would like to see how it all turns out. You and I are THR bookends of sorts, taking polar opposite approaches to healing.

 

[Barbaraj]

Hey, @MrDIY, it's Monday evening, and I hope you had a good day, challenging yourself as you are invariably going to do, but with no serious ill effects. I know you've said that you intersperse your activity with lots of rest, so if it works for you, that's great. I was up and out of the house today, on errands with my husband, and then ended up going to the gym for another slow workout. I am a little nervous about my left hip (not a bi-lat like you) as it's not in great shape and I'm hoping to fully heal from the right hip replacement before needing to get the left one done--and I'd really, really like any number of pain- and care-free months before I need to start thinking about a second replacement.

Love walking with no assistive devices--feel much more human and like myself. I keep an eye out for crazed toddlers in stores, and give myself as wide a berth as possible to those who look unsteady, but feel I'm doing pretty good walking without a serious limp. I've directed my husband to keep a steely eye on my gait, and let me know if/when I start to limp--I need to knock that off if I do that. Anyway, cheers to you, hope you managed today and feel as if you're moving forward on your recovery at a rate that makes sense to you.

 

[Mojo333]

Have been anxious to see how you were getting on as I've worried that you were doing a bit too much too soon.
I know I am a worry wart...but truly want this recovery to go well...as someone said before, maybe JoeKnows, it is an investment in a hip pain free bright future.
Hope you are hanging in there!