Glad to be back at work, but still recovery is not great. 4 months out and still no better. Pre-surgery, I was very active, and I am at a good weight, have good balance, and was in overall good health before!
This is a long recovery. You're only 4 months into a 12-month process. Where you are now is not where you're going to end up. Healing is still happening and it will continue for many more months.
There's still plenty of time for thing to improve.
At this early stage of recovery, you're expecting too much of your body.
Joint replacement isn't like other surgeries, where you can bounce back after just a few weeks. It's a pity no one warned you of that before you had the surgery.
My surgery impacted my entire skeleton from my back, which had scoliosis due to my leg length discrepancy, to my other perfectly fine hip, to my sacro-liliac joints which have severe arthritis.
All of the tendons, ligaments, and muscles were disturbed.
Yes, that's all completely true, and to be expected. All your joints and soft tissues have to adjust, and that takes time.
There is so much of my life that I have given up for this. I can no longer squat, so gardening, painting, home repair, playing with my grandkids is over, and the surgeon says this is permanent.
I think your surgeon is being unnecessarily negative this early in recovery.
What you've given up for now isn't necessarily permanent. Take the long-term view and realise that, given time, you will be able to do some of these things again. Even if you can't squat, you can sit on a chair or stool to do gardening - I do that after two knee replacements.
And you will be able to play with your grandchildren again, even if you have to modify some of the b
games.
Trying to stay positive, and my surgeon and PT says I need to wait at least a year tp see if things get better.
Well there he is right. 4 months post-op is much too early to decide that things are permanent. You're only one third into this recovery. You still have two thirds left, for improvement.
My PT says that for most patients, especially those my age, they are content walking from the bed, to the bath, to the kitchen to the couch, and nothing more. This is so disappointing! It seems as though I should have researched more what my personal outcome would be given my physical condition pre-surgery.
Forgive me for being frank, but what your PT said is rubbish. You're only 65, not 105.
You had this surgery so you could be active again, not just shuffle around the house.
I'll be 80 next birthday and I wouldn't be content with that. I still garden (with some adaptations), do all my own housework, play with my grandchildren, and (when not prevented by Covid) travel from New Zealand to England and back every year, to visit my daughter and her family.
If your PT is really as negative as that, I think you should find another PT - or stop going to PT at all.
Remember this, from the Recovery Guidelines:
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.
Layla gave you good advice, above.