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THR It's done (finally)!

daisyduck0801

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Not sure if I'm posting correctly. If I am not, I apologize and assume a moderator will move my thread to the correct place.

Had left THR yesterday. And yowza! I knew in advance from reading about others' experiences that there would be pain and discomfort, but man oh man, I still wasn't really prepared I guess. The stinging, burning, stiffness, etc that I'm experiencing are making me almost nauseous at times. I'm guessing that the hospital PT department had me doing too much too soon, period.

I spoke in depth with my surgeon about this (while he was doing morning rounds after my surgery) and he said that as far as he is concerned, walking is the most important thing I can be doing now. If I am just not feeling (physically) up to PT, then don't do it. So with his blessing I'm calling the PT clinic where I was to start PT on Friday and cancelling. I've already got moderate health anxiety issues. I don't need to work myself up into a ball of nerves worrying about how painful PT will be.
 
Welcome Daisy!
You are on the other side & it will get better from here. Take your pain meds as directed, do a little walking Ice & rest!
And check in here to let us know how it's all going!
We've all had to recover & no place better than being here to help with your recovery.
I wish you well.
 
Congratulations :yay: @daisyduck0801
Sending a hug for the pain and hopefully once you get to next week it will be a distant memory and all will be on a steadier level.
 
@daisyduck0801 Congratulations on your new hip! Yes, the first few days through that first week or so can be some of the roughest but also are very typical. Those soft tissues suffered a lot of controlled trauma and it will take some time for them to stop being angry about it. PT at the hospital has to get you up to walk, navigate stairs, getting in a car and some gentle exercises to prevent blood clots etc. to be able to safely discharge you home. It also assures you that you are able to get up on that hip without causing damage.

As for the rest of it: we agree with your doc about the philosophy that walking right now is the best exercise for a new hip. It doesn’t have to be anything more than trips to the kitchen or bathroom (which there always seems no shortage of right after surgery lol.)
Get up regularly, like every hour or so, to keep from getting too stiff. Elevate that leg and put ice often on that hip (or wherever it is hurting.) Keep your skin protected from the ice with a cloth or towel. Take pain meds on a regular basis so you don’t get behind the pain. It’s much harder to catch up to it after the fact. Those three are the trifecta in these early days: ice, meds, elevating. My best friends at that time and beyond. Oh, and napping as sleep can be so disrupted.

Early days. You’re doing great at advocating for yourself. I’ll leave you with our post op guidelines. Blessings for a great recovery.

HIP RECOVERY GUIDELINES

1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary.

If you want to use something to assist with healing and scar management, BoneSmart recommends hypochlorous solution. Members in the US can purchase ACTIVE Antimicrobial Hydrogelthrough BoneSmart at a discount. Similar products should be available in the UK and other countries.

2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for THRs

The recovery articles
Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery
Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

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.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Sitting, resting and icing is the most important part of recovery in the early weeks. Walking will come as you progress. The fools in the hospital PT think and profess the immediate PT idea. With my first THR I was able to do what they wanted easily but I saw people struggle and they really belittled them. With my second THR I had log leg and could not do what they wanted, I had to let them know that I wasn't putting up with their ideas. They got the message and a few others were glad I stood up to their bullying.
 
Welcome to the Healing Side, @daisyduck0801!

Cancelling PT is a smart decision. First of all, you don't need to be doing anything other than resting and recuperating for the first couple of weeks post-op. Just getting up every couple of house for a short walk around the house -- to the bathroom or kitchen -- is all you need for the first two weeks.

My surgeon is another one who says the best therapy for hip recovery is walking. In fact, he won't even order PT unless the patients has other issues. All I did was walk and my hip recovered beautifully. It will be five years old this Friday. '

Listen to your body, take things slowly and remember that we are here to help!
 
Good afternoon all. Have a question for any and all of you that might be able to answer this for me.
I'm on day 5 (or 6) of recovery (Dec 10 surgery date). I am continuing to have the expected soreness in (that's actually not too bad), burning sensation in thigh (pretty bad but intermittent and only when I stand a certain way or walk).
I am noticing increased bruising and swelling extending down past the knee and onto the calf.
Not real painful but a sore kinda feeling. This started today. (Seemed to me yesterday that some of the swelling in the thigh and knee area was going down the tiniest bit but now that's back to where it was. Maybe I overdid it? Or didn't ice enough? Rest enough? Who knows)
But this continuing to spread swelling and bruising, travelling further down the leg... normal?
 
Maybe I overdid it? Or didn't ice enough? Rest enough? Who knows)
Yes? Good chance you answered your own questions. Ice according to the guidelines and ice anywhere and everywhere it hurts, swell or bruises.
 
@daisyduck0801 All normal, unfortunately. I continued to have soreness/pain/swelling for a while after surgery & especially after I over did it. You are still fairly early in your recovery, I wish I would have rested more. But in my defense, I did not listen to everyone’s advice. For whatever reason, my mind could not comprehend the need to not over do it, until much later. I’m chalking it up to all the drugs I was on-lol.

Hang in there & rest, ice & elevate!! Happy healing❤️‍.
 
Ok. Thanks a bunch y'all. So for whatever reason it happened... it's normal that it happened.
 
Seemed to me yesterday that some of the swelling in the thigh and knee area was going down the tiniest bit but now that's back to where it was
[Bonesmart.org] It's done (finally)!

What you described is all normal. There will be ups and downs just as the little scribble above reflects.
Happy Healing!
 
Ok. Here's the latest. Checking with others to see what this might be.

So I'm 8 days out from surgery today. Noticed when sitting on a regular chair (not a recliner, etc) - rather, think a kitchen chair, a feeling in the left (my operated hip) butt area, deep, like I'm sitting on something small, but hard. Not excruciatingly painful, but uncomfortable. Makes me want to shift weight to the right butt cheek more to make the feeling go away. Do not feel this AT ALL when sitting or reclining on my sofa. ?

One good thing is that the horrid burning, stinging sensation all up and down my left thigh has really quieted down...at least for now. Makes walking (with the walker) and standing easier. :yes:
 
@daisyduck0801 That feeling of sitting on a stone will fade away with time. For now it might help to put a soft cushion on any chair you regularly sit on. I found such cushions very helpful and more comfortable following my hip replacements ... especially since I did not have a "comfy" side to shift over to.

It is good to hear that burning/stinging feeling has quieted down! And may it continue to be a thing of the past.
 
Good morning all. Day 9 out from left THR.

My next wacky thing I want to run by ya'll.
I previously asked about continued new swelling that crops up as the days roll on.

What about "new" bruising? Yesterday started feeling some soreness/discomfort on the outside of the knee. Pulled down my compression stocking to take a peek and sure enough, what looks (to me) to be fresh bruising...with a tad of puffiness. This "new" bruising is sneaking its way down the front and side of the calf/shin area.

Wondering if the twice a day 81 mg aspirin has anything to do with this bruising? Or, as usual... just a normal part of the whole process?

Don't mean to be presenting a daily "issue" of the day on my thread. I know it's early on in recovery. It is helpful (and comforting) to hear from others if my daily new thing is common, or something that I might want to reach out to my doc about.

:thankyou:
 
Hi there

I just went through my patient booklet as i remembered seeing something about bruising post op and here it is. It says bruising may appear after a week or so and not to be alarmed ......

Bruising: Marked bruising can be found in some patients. This
can be found from the thigh down to the foot. At times the bruising
can be quite dramatic, but it will resolve with time.


Hope this helps :)
 
Ok. Thanks! I kinda figured it was all part and parcel of the whole process. I mean, I was given what I would call generic type post-surgery info and I didn't remember seeing anything about "new" bruising showing up this many days down the road. But of course, I guess that shouldn't be surprising given the somewhat violent nature of this type of surgery.

And to think, I was told "oh yeah, you're good to go with driving 2 weeks post op." :rotfl:
 
Sounds pretty normal…. My bruising got better once the aspirins were stopped :-)
 
Common to have the sitting on a golf ball feeling, might last for some thime. Took a lot of stretches for me to get rid of it. I couldn't carry anything in my back pocket for a long time.
Bruising is common, I had hand print bruises from when they dislocated my rt. side. Ice, ice and more ice often and everywhere.
Driving with my left was no problem at 2 weeks as I wasn't driving a manual transmission. Sitting in the car, driving or as a passenger was a challenge in some cars. With my right it took a little longer to feel comfortable moving my leg fast enough to feel safe if I had to stop quickly.
 
DAISYDUCK,
COINCIDENTALLY, I also have felt like im sitting on a hard golf ball spot on left bottom side, on any chair, or my bedside. When Dr. Called to check on progress, I mentioned it, and was told to have hubby or P.T. check if it's a hematoma. Otherwise ice more.
I had a few black and blue spots appear on my tummy area. Tummy seemed unusual, but wondered if surgeon put a shot, or tube in my tummy ??? Does tummy bruise seem normal.??
Ice hasn't changed tummy bruise yet.
Is driving 2 weeks post op usually common now ? I was not driving after 1st hip for 2 months! Maybe rules on driving have changed in 8 years.?
 
My surgeon told me the blood thinners caused the swelling and bruising. It is a side effect but, obviously, better than a blood clot. Once I stopped the blood thinners (on the instruction of my surgeon) the swelling stopped. I do get occasional small amounts if I overdo things but nothing like before.

As for dramatic bruising, I dropped something on my toe a week after surgery and it went every colour of the rainbow. Usually it would not have bruised at all.
 

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