THR I had no idea how impacted I was

[kymamaw]

I'm glad you are doing well and hope you continue to do so.
I am having RHR on February 6, 2020. I have MS as well so I know exactly what you are saying pertaining to not knowing whether your leg pain was due to your hip or the MS. On top of it all my knees are both bone on bone, have been for years and they are not cooperating at all. So needless to say, I have been having an awful time.
I hope to get some good relief with the new hip.
Thank you for posting about your surgery. It's not everyday that someone with MS posts. Take care, do well.

 

[Mojo333]

Hi @Chris1962
I think you are doing great and how confusing it must be at times to try to decide if symptoms are MS or new Hippy related.
These are indeed early days and though you have other struggles, I believe this new hip is going to lead you into a very happy new year.
It is a slow process...but well worth it in the end.
Hope today is a Good Day!

 

[Fit4Family]

I really like your surgeon’s advice @Chris1962

Sounds like you are progressing very nicely for less than a month out. Shifting weight and being deliberate are such important considerations. Great place to practice is at Kitchen counter, when you are only doing that. It is oh so easy to get distracted and a little sloppy with all these things to think about.

Hoping you can move into a larger and more expansive world in this new decade approaching. Let your kids take care of you. It’s good for them. Best wishes.

 

[Chris1962]

I am not sure if those who so kindly post to me can see my reply, so, for now, I will just say thanks to all. It is so helpful to have a community.
I am doing well and I will consult my MS team for recommendations to give my doctor. I am lucky to have the wherewithal to navigate the system (and lucky to actually have access to practitioners).

I am doing well. That very end of the third week seems to have been a turning point in my stability and confidence. I am forgetting to take my pain meds and sleeping in 4-hour increments, that is a relief.
(this forum has a very good spell checker and super cute emojis btw). I will take the advice to do my PT in the kitchen while I hang on and do things anyhow. Besides that the moving about, walking with he walker and a bit with one cane and occasionally walking a bit carefully (it is not very pretty, so I only do it to go very short distances) I feel like I am doing enough.

@Mojo333 you are right. (and good). My year ahead is going to be a happy, potentially pain-free (well 90% I hope) year filled with simple joys of having an increased ROM! I delight now in opening my legs, it feels good and soon I shall be able to wipe my butt with the skills of a seasoned and competent butt tidy upper. (TMI alert) (too late). The little things are to celebrate as progress (with gratitude @leejaa )


It is a joy to have my girls and they are not in the least grossed out by my medical stuff. Honestly, I am a silly bean, my youngest daughter is an occupational therapist. As soon as she arrived she had popped my walker up a notch and dropped my potty down so my feet did not dangle (which she thought was pretty funny). She took a picture of my walker that I had jimmy-rigged a tray/basket on to for future clients should they find themselves with a walker but no tray.

@kymamaw Fellow MS'er I wish you a swift and straightforward recovery and will be following your journey.

 

[Chris1962]

Is it common to be super emotional after surgery? My goodness, I am up and down in a day in ways I am not so familiar with.
I don't feel depressed but vulnerable. I who never cries is crying often. I feel relieved, I feel the limitations of my past and my present. I am hopeful for the future but the future is in the future.

maybe it is Christmas and I see everyone buzzing around and I am here healing and tearful.

 

[FCBayern]

@Chris1962 bring emotional after surgery is very common, nothing new here. Hang in there, this too shall pass, sometimes a good cry is just what you need.

 

[VSlowLife]

He told me to keep using walking aids until I stop limping, no if’s and’s or but’s. He told me to focus on walking on flat secure surfaces - even if that means laps in my living room - for physical therapy. He wants me to concentrate on a smooth, controlled transfer of body weight onto and off the new implant - no pivoting, no jarring, no twisting, no leveraging. He said to count steps, increase very incrementally, and wait two days between increases because inflammation can show up as much as 48 hours later. He told me to wait on any other exercises - specifically strengthening - even upper body - until he has confirmed the implant fixation. He said to keep going up and downstairs one at a time, even if I don’t have to, because the angles involved in that full body weight transfer are unnecessarily problematic.

He pointed out that any setback in the first 6-8 weeks that results in jarring the implant or reinjuring soft tissue typically means a 3 week timeout on the couch and back to square one. He advised me that it wasn’t worth the risk, and there was all the time in the world for the other parts of my recovery after the implant was secure and the soft tissue healed.

@Chris1962 Wow, I bookmarked this post. Your surgeon gave you very clear instructions about movements to encourage bone in growth for the first two months. Thank you for sharing them.

That was an excellent question to ask your OS, regarding what separates the patients that do well to the ones that do not!

Glad to hear your muscle spasm no longer painful with the implant vs old hip!

 

[Mojo333]

Emotional...certainly.
The limitations of bad hips, the diagnosis...the lead up to surgery and the subsequent relief to be on th ed other side...the dependance, the uncertainty...
Most all have been there...done that.



Keep the faith, new hippy.
All temporary.

 

[VSlowLife]

@Chris1962 Sorry to hear you are having some blues. The blues after surgery are so common there is a thread dedicated to it. If you go to hip, post recovery forum at the top of the menu bar to the left, you can scroll down a bit and find the thread.

As your healing becomes more evident to you, I am hoping the blues will leave you.

You are fortunate to have one daughter who is an OT!

 

[Chris1962]

Hi friends, I am still unbelievably emotional. My girls find it sweet and touching as I am- I was a very stoic kinda gal. Sisters dinner Saturday night - for me it was too much. I hung in there (3.5-week timeline) but it was just too much. At first, I thought I would take just my two canes but instinctive fear (or common sense) jumped in and ixnay that. it is a bit of an unsteady ground to the door, stairs that I had not done (my home has none) and inside. We all gathered around the kitchen block on high stools. I perched there as long as I could then requested I more sane chair. Dinner was lovely but I still have little appetite and now my butt was sore. Eventually, I lay on the couch as a large group played games at the table. I was ok with my youngest and a few visits etc whine, whine. It was late, I was tired and eventually, we went home.

Big emotional day yesterday as my eldest and her partner kinda tumbled into a conversation that ushered in a dissolution of the union. Probs should have been had prior to flying 3000 miles together. I sat with them for most of the afternoon as we all got through it. Life, she comes at you fast after you turn 30 I told the girls. That is all OK.

Today, Monday - everyone out. I made a split pea soup with the left-over ham and in my addled brain forgot to remove the many, many cloves embedded in the tiny ham. The soup is good but ugh....clove! .

I went to bed. I hardly slept last night my spasticity was horrible...like a vice grip on my new joint. I called my MS nurse, same o'l bureaucracy - I need to see my family doc, get a pee test and blood work, make a referral formally to a specialist at my neurologists. (such a drag).

My butt and leg ache and I have barely left my bed (except for the mulled pea soup). I hurt and am uncomfortable and weepy and really annoyed that I am so miserable. I will rally. I did sleep this afternoon so I feel a bit better.

 

[BruceH]

I hope you feel better. For what it's worth I'd say you still have a sense of humor (mulled pea soup, lol).

 

[VSlowLife]

The holidays are both joyful and stressful. Add recovering from major surgery and some MS issues to boot and it can’t get much more stormy.
Cheers to you for getting out and being with family. Cheers for you figuring out how to keep yourself safe and somewhat comfortable.
Whining is perfectly acceptable. Sometimes, we just try to do something relatively normal, knowing we may over do it and will pay for it later. So sorry you are feeling miserable. I hope tomorrow will be a better day.

 

[leejaa]

Hope sleep comes for you tonite and you get some rest.

 

[Mojo333]

Oh my stars...Chris.
Being a self professed stoic, I'm sure you remember the tenets...
Life is certainly a mixture of bright stars and family drama with mulled pea soup.
Early recovery doldrums interwoven with the We All Gotta Be Happy Holidays.
Dont sweat the small stuff.
All temporary, dear friend...this too shall pass. (even the pea soup)

Sending healing mojo and wishes for a

 

[kymamaw]

I'm so sorry it was such a rough day. I totally understand as my MS and family are very difficult to figure out sometimes.
And then, when I am out of my comfort zone, physically and mentally, things tend to become very difficult. I can relate to the being stoic, high chairs, stairs, holiday stress, all of which can cause exacerbation in MS sufferers.
I hope and pray for your recovery to become easier and more comforting to you psyche. God love you, I know it's hard to deal with at times.
Try to stay positive, you will get through it all and be so much better and relieved. Take care, and know there are people like you out here with lots of sympathy, whether you want it or not.

 

[Chris1962]

kymamaw Thank-You so much for your kind words. I believe I am doing well but without a doubt, my spasticity is giving me some grief. So funny, it was absent in that leg for almost three weeks. It may have been the pain meds but it started to come back before I finished up my narcotic help. I am thinking my nerves are coming back and as before my new hip, they just recoil at discomfort. I am doing my best to address it (only bothers me from 2:45 ish till 7:00 am) so I take muscle relaxants during this time and it helps.
It is nice to have a MS'er here. So many weird things with MS, it is hard to communicate it. Your surgery is coming up soon, Feb 6th. I will say for all the worry and healing that horrible, debilitating, evil grinding hip arthritis is gone. For that, I am so very grateful. I will heal up, at my pace and it is very possible I will be better than I imagined. I think with MS you get accustomed to a challenge that rarely gets better so it is hard emotionally to hold out hope for such good results from this new hip. I am however feeling better overall and very much looking forward to a month by month improvement. 4 weeks out and honestly I am doing really well, my complaining is predominantly just a relief to share. I will keep watching for you are your new hip date approaches, much care and Happy new Hip year. (my new internet password) xo

 

[Chris1962]

Going4fun Thank you for the counsel. I am at 4 weeks and 2 days. I definitely had a very long hard time prior to my new hip so maybe it will just take as long as it takes. I actually had a posterior approach. My incision/scar is healing well.

I am so curious why the groin is such a point of difficulty for so many. I could never understand my groin pain prior to THR and now still with the groin ache.

I can sort of use the cane for a while but alas the walker eases my discomfort for now. Perhaps I need to walk more with the walker, build up strength.

I read and re-read advice to relax, be patient and I am comforted by it. Luckily there is so much good sound, kind information here I do derive great solace from everyone's stories.

patience, patience and then some more. In two or three weeks I will know more. At the three week mark, I woke up significantly feeling better stronger.

My daughters have been delighting in what they call the "emo chip" that came with my new hip. I am unusually emotional and react to feelings of gratitude and love with immediate tears. In a weird way, I hope I keep some of that vulnerability, it is authentic and more honest than my I can always cope with everything attitude. Blessings unexpected in forms I did not expect.

New Year coming, happy hippy 2020 comrades. a little of everything and then....

 

[Chris1962]

Way too early morning hello but hello and morning. Because of the MS, I understand it is difficult and possibly unethical to give advice but it does impact my recovery so I will share.
I need to get a pee test and some blood work to rule out any infection (often UTI's or any infection will increase spasticity, so they rule these out before they address anything). I am certain I have no infection (but I will figure out how to get all the requisite tests - ie ask someone to help, ugh)

My spasticity only affects me from 2:30 am to 7:00 am (and occasionally in the day when I am in one position too long). I am trying to figure out the triggers. (very normal for spasticity to be a problem at these times for us MS'ers). My triggers may be pain, a full bladder, not moving (i.e. asleep) and the nerves coming back to life that feel discomfort and/or the result is any movement. If my body has been quiet any movement signals my hyper overreaction to fire in any direction (spasticity sort of). If I lift head, try to move the leg, contract any muscle to shift position, sets off a mother spasm. I have a full flexor spasm and a wee adductor spasm. That means my leg draws up (past 90 degrees and the upper thigh pulls in while my lower leg draws out and ffs my foot draws in also. Needless to say, it is so uncomfortable. I can not prevent my knee from bending up, it has the force of a powerlifter. I hold two hands on my knee to hold it back a bit, kinda helps. I do not feel like my new hip will dislocate more that it gets a vicelike contraction workout and it exhausts my leg and makes it ache. Once the contraction is over will loosen and I can slllloooowly I can stretch my leg out. If I do it too quickly, we are in for round two, three and so on at lesser force till I am fully awake and writing to you >

I have lots of spasticity in my lower body and because it is mostly my new hip side that is overreacting, it makes me think it is in part pain related. It stopped in hospital while on narcotics (till the last two days when I think my nerves reawoke) and my leg was numb. It was worse prior to my new hip and then it hurt like no-ones business (arthritic crunch).

I do take diazepam and baclofen at these times but need counsel as to its efficacy (which will happen in bureaucratic time).

Part of me wants to scream to someone that this is serious, bone doc, ortho nurse, physio folk, personal doc, ms clinic I want to see someone NOW. However it is Xmas, offices are closed, it is not 911 level emergency and I gotta do it book by step.

I will begin tomorrow.

Last yabbering before I hopefully go back to sleep.

Do I ice my groin pain? Also, why oh why do we have groin pain?

Emo (emotional) chip they implanted in my new hip joint compels me to tell you I deeply appreciate and love you all. (the love part is the emo thing.....but I mean it)

 

[Chris1962]

oops,
Straightening my leg is still difficult. Is this normal?

 

[Elf1]

Groin pain is something that a lot of folks complain about before and after the surgery. I'm not exactly sure what causes it but there's a chance that you're having some swelling in that area, even though you may not be able to see it. I do suggest you ice, ice, and more ice ! Basically anytime you aren't up and moving around, yes that includes the groin area.

It could also be referred pain, basically pain that shows up in an adjacent area to the injured or op area. Example: my right knee hurt terribly before my surgery. Immediately after it stopped. It will kick up though if I push things too much. Hope this helps a little.