THR It's done (finally)!

[Eman85]

Ask them what they did post-op after their THR. The one thing we all can tell you is that we all have had at least one THR. Don't take it that sitting in a chair is going to get you fully recovered and doing the things you want to do but straining damaged muscles won't get you anywhere either. They dislocate our hip joints, something that doesn't normally occur even in accidents or sports injuries. They wouldn't have an athlete working their shoulder immediately after a dislocation.

 

[benne68]

A little disconcerting to me that 2 members of the same surgical team are saying things to patients that don't align.

I agree with you! Of the two, I'd listen to your surgeon.

I once had a PA tell me that he didn't recommend using an icing machine -- and this was after the surgeon ordered one for me!

 

[2nd Hippy]

Hi DaisyDuck, Re: Torture PT:
Now I can relate to your P.T experience. As I wrote on my thread last Friday, about sudden severe swelling of my feet, & increased size of hemotoma on incision, it made sense that it was from an over exertion that I had PT the day before with Substitute Drill Sargent PT. The 1st PT was with my PT I've seen for 10 years. All I did at first appt, was Heel slides with belt on foot & tighten gluten muscles. No pain, did it fine. The 2nd PT Appointment, WAS WITH A SUBSTITUTE PT AIDE, who really worked me way too much, with too much pain and a "strict military voice". I should have said, STOP. But I did not. That PT session caused the swelling, NEW pain etc on the next day. Today I had 3rd PT with my regular PT. I told her everything about substitute PT. She agreed that other PT was following the plan in the manual that said, "on day 8, do this"... WRONG. No regard for not knowing everyone is NOT at same stage on day 8 or day 25. I know this as a teacher, that not every student can read chapter 5 and answer questions, as some students can't even read chapter 3 yet. So I totally feel your concern about PT. It's about the specific person who will respect your concerns. All I do this week now is heel slides, tighten glute muscle, & lay leg down in bed & press knee cap down, like cracking an egg under the knee. SLOW & steady. Nothing like the crazy vigorous PT again. Hoping you can find a more caring, empathetic and knowledgeable P.T. in your area. And from my having had adhesions from other past surgeries, I know PT is Necessary & worth it for me. Just not "torture PT!"

 

[daisyduck0801]

Hi Hippy. Yes. I learned - the hard way - about being VERY careful wit.

Changing the subject a little, there's something in your response about adhesions. So I'm posing this question to all fellow "hippies."

At my 2 week post op (the day before Christmas Eve) the PA was checking everything over and noticed a goodly amount of swelling around and under the incision site. He didn't seem concerned as the scar or incision itself looks real good. There is no redness or heat. And I'm not running any fever. I assume he was checking that the swelling or lump wasn't infection. It was mildly tender when he pressed on the lumpy area.

So here I am, going on 3 weeks post op. The overall swelling has subsided a lot. Not gone completely but down a good amount. But, that lump in the incision area is even more noticeable now being as the swelling adjacent to the lump is decreasing. Anybody have any ideas? It's not painful when I put gentle pressure on it, but still tender. I saw over on Reddit a lot of folks saying they were told that it's scar tissue.

Not sure if this requires a call into my doc's office just to let them know that as the swelling is subsiding this lump is more pronounced.

 

[daisyduck0801]

Oops, meant to start off saying I learned the hard way about being careful with PT.

 

[mendogal]

@daisyduck0801 there's a difference between this scar tissue (normal!) and adhesions (not)!!!

The subcutaneous tissue under and around your incision had to be both cut and somewhat pulled apart for a while for access to your hip. It heals by forming scar tissue, just like your incision.

Over time it softens, becomes more supple, and shrinks - just as our external scars soften and fade over time.

Once your incision is 100% healed on the outside, often our ortho team will recommend (for my knees it was the 3 week visit) very gentle circular fingertip massage over the area - not too much and it totally shouldn't hurt!

 

[daisyduck0801]

Thank you so much mendogal.
I guess this early in it's still easy to fret over every new little thing that pops up.

 

[2nd Hippy]

Hi DaisyDuck, My first adhesions were post uterine surgeries. Sticky fibrous tissue wrapped around parts of abdomen where they didn't belong, causing problems. The adhesions were surgically removed.
I'm at same point as you, as we had same surgery date. Each day brings a new thigh pain, & butt hemotoma is still swollen.
Haven't removed the sticky glue tape yet, but I just left a message at o.s office for advice on "when" I can. The M.A. said it will come off on its own, eventually, but will ask o.s. or p.a. today to call me.
Enjoy your day !

 

[mendogal]

Thank you so much mendogal.
I guess this early in it's still easy to fret over every new little thing that pops up.

Yes it is - we have each and every one of us been through this!!!!
Always ask!

 

[myglasshalffull]

My scar looked so lumpy & quite large in the beginning. Now it's barely visible & shrunk down to a few inches.

 

[daisyduck0801]

Ok. Well, now my mind is a little bit more at ease.

Hippy, how long ago did your hematoma develop? And, how is that handled? Let it go away on its own, drain it...
You are right about every day bringing some new oddity, pain or weird feeling. I guess I just get mildly freaked whenever it happens and I want to be sure (well as sure as I can be) that I shouldn't be checking in with my doc when the new oddity occurs.

I'll say one thing. I have always had very mild health anxiety...my whole life. But this - recovering from THR - has thrown me into a whole new world of physical stuff to be worried about.

 

[daisyduck0801]

Also Hippy. My surgeon's PA peeled the sticky tape bands off at my post op visit on Monday, 12/23. It came off very easily. Didn't hurt the slightest bit. The edges had already been curling up and it was kinda on its way to coming off on its own anyway.

 

[daisyduck0801]

Good afternoon all. So...think I may have overdone it (again) yesterday. At least I hope that's what's going on and not something else. (Not with PT. That's on hold for now.) But I found yesterday that getting around using the walker was going better than it had been so I guess I was doing more. Since we're supposed to get up every hour or so, I try to combine the walking with something productive - like throwing a batch of clothes in the washing machine. (Laundry basket is up on top of the dryer), or heating up something in the microwave for lunch. Stuff like that. I'm still not putting full weight on the surgery leg, but it's been easier, not as uncomfortable in the last couple of days. I've found I've been able to use the countertop in the kitchen as a sort of "brace" to lean on and "scoot" along the counter instead of using the walker. (Does that make sense?) Nothing I did during the day brought any pain or discomfort.

Dozed off around midnight. Woke up a couple of hours later and...oh my gosh! I felt an immediate pull or ache or something in the groin area - right where the tippy top of the thigh meets the trunk of the body. As I continued to try and move the leg, pain shot down to the inner thigh. Is there some tendon, muscle, nerve, or other structure that anyone knows of that runs from the groin and snakes its way across the upper thigh and down along the inner thigh?

I had to use my leg lifter again to get that leg off the sofa. (Had been able to stop using the lifter a few days ago). Being in a reclining position is ok. But can't sit on a chair - even a very cushioned one) with both butt cheeks planted on the chair. Get immediate pain in the groin area. Surprisingly, I am able to use the walker without tremendous discomfort - if I walk very, very slow.

My inclination is to (other than the usual ice, elevate, rest) monitor this new pain. If it doesn't start to improve over the next few days, or gets worse, get in touch with the doc's office. Ugh.

 

[MinnieAnn]

@daisyduck0801 I don't know how helpful this will be but I just had my 6 week post op check up and I can't tell you how many times I've been through the steps you've described between 2 and 6 weeks Day goes well and I notice that I'm doing a little more than usual, don't think anything of it and next day Oh Gosh!! Groin pain, shooting pain in thigh and sometimes down into shin and on and on. No comfortable position available. Odd, the walker always feels ok to me! Each time over a 2 day period these symptoms subside and I feel ok again. I can only conclude that unless I'm in pain I cannot remember having surgery at all. Per surgeon there is nothing at all wrong, in fact my healing is "excellent." I guess it's just my silly brain then! Hopefully yours will resolve soon too!

 

[daisyduck0801]

Thank you Minnie. That does give me comfort. I can't believe what a nervous ninny and whiny baby I've turned into since having this surgery. I have always been independent and the opposite of whiny. And used to being on the go. Intellectually, I know I'm supposed to take it slow and steady. But I've never been the slow and steady type. Quite the opposite (for better or worse). I get caught up in what I'm doing at the moment and forget to check the clock and remind myself "Get off your feet! Go rest!"
Thank you for replying. Misery does love company.

 

[mendogal]

Oh my, a classic soft tissue visit to the ODIC.

At three weeks out, our suggestion for activities of daily living "natural PT" is pretty limited. Do some single light chore while you're up for a walk, then for your next few walks just walk!

Bonus tip: while recovering from my knees, I used my phone's timer function like a deranged (in)efficiency expert: I timed my rest, my walks, and my sitting up in a chair in order to stay in whatever my current comfort zone was.

 

[daisyduck0801]

Coincidentally mendogal, I strapped my health watch to my wrist earlier today - not to count steps - but to set my timer and keep an eye on rest time, get up and move time, etc. It was easy in the first 2 weeks to not overdo it because, well, it would hurt too much to overdo it. I would feel it immediately. But a few days into the 3rd week things were feeling a little bit better, easier and so I guess it was easy to slide into doing a little too much. Oops.

 

[Eman85]

As we heal it gets easier and easier to do too much and set ourselves back. The ice and rest is the cure and using the wait and see method usually shows us it was just soft tissue.

 

[daisyduck0801]

Fellow hipsters. Would appreciate some weighing in on this.

So, I overdid it on Saturday. And I think, still recovering from that?

Prior to Saturday, soreness and swelling had started to subside. Moving with the walker was getting smoother and less painful. That's probably why I overdid it.

Yesterday evening I started having a mild achiness in the surgery calf. Asked husband to look at the back of it because I couldn't see it. He said the calf did not look swollen or red. But there is still some discoloration, like a light tan or light brownish color - I guess left over from the bruising. I asked him to feel the calf. Didn't feel warm to the touch. Also, it was obvious that the leg was starting to swell again, just a little bit, in the knee and thigh area.

I have been taking twice a day an 81 mg aspirin since surgery. I have been wearing compression hose day and night for the most part. My surgeon's PA told me a few days ago that I could stop wearing the hose as long as I was still taking the aspirin. So, I stopped wearing the hose for maybe 2 days. Then I decided to be on the safe side and put 'em back on. Certainly wouldn't hurt.

I put the hose back on after a shower yesterday evening (after having the sore feeling). After putting the hose on the achiness in the calf pretty much went away.

I took it real easy yesterday hoping things would calm down. This morning (and right now) the renewed swelling is still there. So is it possible to overdo things on a Saturday but then new swelling (from overdoing it) doesn't show up until 2 days later? (Monday evening)

Naturally, my health anxiety self is thinking... blood clot. I texted my surgeon's PA about half an hour ago requesting a phone consult, mainly to see if he suggests I go to the ER to check it out.

Thoughts?

 

[daisyduck0801]

Just got off the phone with the PA. He said what I described to him does not present as a blood clot. But of course, if it would ease my mind, I can always visit the ER and they would do a special ultrasound.