THR I'm New and Hurting!

[tashia]

Welcome to the site. I think i heard you are a little uncorable using a cane, It isn't a failure if you still use a walker. Personal I hate using the cane and perfer the walker because I didn't walk with a twist like I do with a cane. That is just my opion and what I have found I do walking. You are still quite early so please be easy on yourself. I pushed myself and really paid for it so please don't do it, It isn't worth it or worth the pain. Please keep us posted on how you are doing. :doggieshmooze:Tashia

 

[gizmo]

Hi Candy,
I read your post and then zoomed over to read my own 6 week postings to remind myself where I was at that point. When I went to my six week check I could only move very slowly and stiffly and that was on two crutches. I am 48 years old and had my surgery in October and its only been a matter of weeks since I have been able to manage with just a cane. I have always regarded myself as fit and active and spent many years hiking- even with limited mobility I kept swimming and walking as long as I could. Yet I can see much older people progressing much faster.

What I noted on my posts was some of what was worrying me at 6weeks is less of a concern now or even not a concern at all for some things.

Would you be in less pain if you went back to using a crutch? Don't worry if you need to because you will still move forward again afterwards. Compared to my recovery just the fact that you can manage to walk with just a cane is amazing.

At the time -the time goes slowly. Looking back from a four month perspective it has gone like a flash. Alans advice definitely warrants reading through again as it is very sound- for all of us.

Really sorry that you are in pain and feeling sad. I hope bonesmart can help you to feel better.

 

[Yellowgopher]

Hi Candy, it may be worth trying crutches for a little while. As for speed of recovery, don't compare yourself to anyone else! Currently I have a great left hip and an annoying right hip - it looks like, on the same body, my hips are going to recover at different rates! It's not an exact science as I am sure most Hippies here will agree! Take care of yourself.

 

[mccoyniac]

Update...
First of all it has been 7 weeks today since my surgery. Today I went to outpatient therapy, and they discovered that my surgical leg is now longer than my other leg and they have ordered an insert to put in my show. Also I start aqua therapy tomorrow for a month. My Percocet is gone, so I am now taking the Vicodin that the surgeon prescribed. Another adjustment. Plan on seeing my regular Dr. Monday about the depression. I can't tell you all how thankful I am to have found this forum.

 

[Z15]

Candy,

Quick check...I'm pretty sure you are only 6 weeks out...so that's pretty new!

I had to shift to Vicodin too...I think it is different for everyone. I think I was on it for a couple weeks before doing just Tylenol or Ibuprofen.

There is a lot of chat around Leg Length Differential or LLD on this forum. The concensus is that you may want to try to let you body adjust a while to an LLD. Things can bend and tip and adjust and that may be worth letting run it's course for a fe months. I have seen folks here who were paniced about LLD and ended up feeling FINE with no insert...just a thot.

You can search on LLD for some of those threads here on BS.

Hang in there...it gets better. :flowerysmile:


Z

 

[DallasSarah]

Hello Candy,

I just wanted to add another thought, if you are still in pain there is nothing wrong with slowing down and waiting on out patient therapy, or maybe wait on water aerobics (therapy). We are all different in our recovering phases, I was a late bloomer with out patient therapy I didn't start it until week 12, however I did lots of daily walking with my dog. My point is take things easy sometimes more activity can flare up the pain even more which is not good!

Sending you lots of good wishes and love,

Sarah

 

[Josephine]

I am doing the exercises that I learned during physical therapy, and tomorrow I start outpatient therapy. I had been having someone come to the house, but I was doing so well that the insurance won't continue to pay. I think it was helping me immensely and feel that it ended way too soon.

Don't worry about it. In the UK we don't get any formal PT at all, we're just left to do it on our own. Mostly hips have a way of sorting themselves out, anyway, so a regime of simple exercises may be all you'll need anyway. Check this out Some suggestions for home physio (PT) and activity progress. Note the suggested regimen of progress and remember that you are only 7 weeks out and obviously having a slow recovery which is not abnormal - it often happens.

I have been getting out and about and have been doing light housework, but have not done anything like walk around the stores, or take a walk in my neighborhood. I suppose you could say that I spend more time resting with my feet up than I actually do on my feet because of the pain.

See comment above about a slow recovery. Resting is good.

I am taking Percocet but only have one pill left and they have switched me to Vicodin. Needless to say, I am quite anxious about the medication change. I am still suffering from depression.

Since you need to see your GP about your depression - which, unless you have a history of it, may well be due to the pain - you should ask him to prescribe you something decent for the pain. It's quite possible that, because you've been anxious about being cut off, you've not been taking adequate medication for the pain you are in.

I am scheduled to go back to work March 14th, and I honestly don't know how I am going to cope.

You will only be 9 weeks then and given your slow recovery, that's far too soon to be returning to work. This is something else you could discuss with your GP. Tell him about your concerns and see if he won't write you off for another 3 weeks at least. In the UK, 12 weeks off is standard followed by a Phased return to work which is something you might discuss with your boss.

I have tried taking a few steps without the cane, but the pain and the fear of the pain is just overwhelming. I am still on the cane, and seem to be getting stiffer by the day.

I really do think this might be a case of under medicated pain.

I also want to mention that the area of the incision feels very tight and uncomfortable, almost like it is swollen.

It is! Read this article Pain management and the pain chart

You might also read these as well
How Long Does Healing Take ......
Chart representation of THR recovery
Energy Drain for THRs
Elevating your leg to control swelling and pain
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

I hope I am understanding this forum correctly, and that you will all receive my responses

You're doing splendidly!

 

[Josephine]

I just read another thread here about a lady that has similar pain to mine, and someone said it could be a crack near the stem....could that show up on an xray? Also advice was given not to put weight on the leg. Now I am concerned that I may have the same problem and shouldn't be attempting to walk without the walker. The pain I experience is not constant, but I find my self tensing up when I walk with the cane because I never know when the next step will be painful.

It's one of the dangers of this forum, that people can read something in someone else's thread and think it's the same as theirs. But it would quite possibly show up on the xray. Do you have an xray you could post?

 

[mccoyniac]

Thank you Sarah. At this point I couldn't walk very far with my dog...maybe down the short drive and back up and she would be very disappointed. LOL! I did manage to take a few steps down the hall last night without the cane! First time I have "walked" since Jan. 17th. I can't say it was without pain, but I did feel good about being able to do it! The therapist gave me a helpful tip yesterday about swaying to the right and returning to the middle as I am standing at the kitchen sink.
I will let you know how water therapy goes today.

 

[mccoyniac]

Thank you so much. I will have lots of reading to do today! I think everyone stressed to me the importance of exercise and movement that I quite possibly was too anxious for my recovery to be the same as other people's, and my expectations were too high. Patience has never been one of my strong spots! Like I mentioned, I hadn't done any research before surgery at all, and then when things didn't quite go the way I expected them to, I started grasping for information on the web. I found a fellow who walked normally through grass at 3 weeks. He was a pilot and said he had to get back to his job. Also saw an elderly woman walk all the way down the sidewalk (and back!) and between those two videos is when the depression started. I am only just now realizing the errors in my way of thinking.
Thanks!

 

[mccoyniac]

it would quite possibly show up on the xray. Do you have an xray you could post?

My xray. Looks like there may be some space between the implant and the femur at the bottom left?

 

[Josephine]

Patience has never been one of my strong spots!

You are not alone - almost every other member on here has said the same thing! Bane of my life that is!

It's amazing how you can bump into those kinds of folk facing this surgery. But if nothing else, it shows what a common place surgery this is if you managed to bump into two people at that time and two people who were apparently doing so well. I say 'apparently' because often times and for a variety of reasons, people will make light of their experience or perhaps even forget the bad parts of their recovery! But one of our strictest rules on here is never ever compare your own recovery to anybody else's. Their's and your's are totally unique and individual.

 

[gizmo]

Hi Candy,
I have done 5 weeks hydrotherapy in the pool and have found it wonderful. I am also starting to go by myself into the warm pool and exercise and practice doggie paddle. I am about four months post op currently. It does sound like you have really high expectations of yourself. Despite super speedy recoveries you might read of, there are also plenty of us plodding along. Please remember to be kind to yourself. You have been so brave to take this step to get your life back to where you want it to be. Tell yourself how great you are doing - even being patient and taking time out to rest is something to pat yourself on the back for because it isn't easy but it may well be what you need.
Gizmo

 

[mccoyniac]

It was great to walk around in the pool today without a cane and without pain! I didn't want to get out. I was pretty tired when I got home, but I would say this type of therapy is going to be very helpful. I don't remember if I posted on here that I actually went down the hall last night without my cane. I was very stiff though, and leaning to the opposite side since I found out my surgery leg is longer. It has always felt like it was. I was not without pain while walking, and when I tried it again this morning, the pain shot down the bone, and wasn't pleasant. I was allowed to relax in the jacuzzi after the therapy session. I had my cane in there with me and when I got home it was full of water! :th_heehee:
I think this is taking a toll on my back and my other hip. When I did one of the exercises my other hip was hurting very badly. Tomorrow...rest!

 

[alexthecat]

Has your OS told you that you truly have a difference in leg length? As Z15 said above, it is very common early in tecovery to feel as though the THR leg is longer, even if it is exactly the same length as the other leg. This feeling of apparent leg-length differential may take a few months or more to disappear as your body adapts to the new hip.

 

[Josephine]

Candy, your xray didn't show because it was in the wrong kind of format. You need to save it in .jpg or .jpeg

How to post a photo

 

[tashia]

I just drop by to see how you are doing? If you are having pain in your leg please be careful by putting weight on it. The leg is telling you something and thats it not happy. Please remember baby steps, this is not a race you will get to the finish line in your time and your pace. Take care :doggieshmooze:Tashia

 

[mccoyniac]

Yes, OT told me that my right leg is longer.
I may have mentioned the pain in the other hip that I had while doing the aqua aerobics. A few morning this past week I have had a searing, burning type pain in that hip when I woke up in the morning. I looked it up on the internet.....bursitis? It just keeps getting better and better!

 

[alexthecat]

I'm sorry, but I am still not clear on this. You say that you heard this from an OT? That is an occupational therapist and that is not the best person to tell you that you have a true difference in leg length. A physical therapist (PT) is not either. They may observe an apparent leg-length differential, but that is not the same thing. Your orthopedic surgeon (OS) is the one you need be talking to about this.

My concern about this is that you said earlier that someone in outpatient therapy said you have a difference in leg length and that they prescribed a shoe lift. The therapists are not necessarily in a good position to determine if you truly have a difference in leg length. That is the surgeon's job and I would suggest talking to him about that. If you just have the apparent leg-length differential that most of us experience after THR, using a shoe lift will interfere with your recovery from that.

Here is Jo's article about leg-length differential, which shows how true and apparent LLDs are determined.

 

[Josephine]

Just what I was thinking, Alex. :skeptical: