Guest viewing is limited

THR It's done (finally)!

Hey Hippy. So today we completed our 6th week of recovery. (We're going into our 7th week).

Dec. 10 to Dec. 31 = 21 days
Jan. 1 to Jan. 21 = 21 days
That's 42 days divided by 7 days (per week).
Voila! 6 weeks completed

(My husband is a CPA and I'm an accountant - hence the obsession with numbers :wink:)
 
Benne, thank you for the support. You know, when you're sitting there talking with someone and... what's the saying about you may not be able to define something precisely, but you know it when you see it (or hear it - meaning BS). That's how I felt yesterday after that conversation. I would rather someone be honest and say exactly what you all here on bonesmart say! It takes time. Sounds normal. Give it time, etc, etc. Don't (as a medical professional) look at me quizzically and imply that well, I must be doing something "wrong" and hindering my recovery. :bignono:
 
Throwing this out there. How many of you, who are avid gardeners - about how long was it before you were able to get back to tending your gardens? Given the positions necessary to do this - most if not all - that take place on the ground... how long before you were able to safely and comfortably resume your green thumb activities?

Not trying to compare and I know we're all different, but it is something I am wondering.
 
Hi daisyduck!
This may be a topic to get your surgeons opinion on also. You will need to be able to bend, squat and reach without pain. I am more of a container gardener, so I don't need to get up and down off the ground. Getting up and down from the ground is something you will need to master doing without significant pain or instability. Also having the ability to kneel or bend for short times when necessary. Raised beds would be less of a challenge, if you have them, gardening kneeling pads or stools will offer support getting up and down. Long handled tools may be another consideration. Hopefully a few hippies that are avid gardeners will stop by with advice and tips on what worked for them. Happy Wednesday! I hope it's a good one for you.
@daisyduck0801
 
Thank you Layla. I do a little bit of container gardening as well. I've got a huge (ground level) bed that runs along 3 sides of my fence (kinda like a squared off U shape) - and it is my pride and joy. (I designed it and had it professionally installed but I maintain it). I love getting down in the dirt to do my weeding and mulching. I trim and shape everything myself. I experiment with all kinds of new planting materials and even started messing around with growing my own stuff from cuttings, etc.

For the time being I fully expect that I'll have to hire someone to take care of things for me while I am still recovering. But it's the thing that I look forward to getting back to the most. :SUNsmile:
 
#DaisyDuck0801 ,
I am the farthest from being diligent about MATH ! I apologize for having jumped us up to 7 weeks, when we're only at 6 weeks. !!! Yippee yay, that feels better already.
I am So impressed that both you and hubby have impressively strong MATH backgrounds!!!
DID you follow up with your O.S. regarding what HIS P.A. had told you without seeing you Walk ???
Hang in there until your weather warms up to do your favorite gardening, yet I'm sure you never intended to start gardening again until you can squat, bend, & kneel. Would like to hear more about your gardening.

2nd Hippy
 
@daisyduck0801-no your not being unreasonable,he SHOULD have watched you walk. Also-agreed that your recovery is super early and @benne68 is completely correct that soft tissue is healing up & it will just take time. I had similar aches & pains that have luckily mostly subsided. When I do notice myself getting tired or having a particular ache again, I go back to the tried & true “heel to toe” method. Personal experience from me thinks everything will work itself out in time. Do u have someone that could video you walking & you watch just to see yourself? I know it might be hard to figure out since you still have aides, but a thought. It is so frustrating at first, I completely understand.

The snow should be gone soon? I hope your beautiful plants survived this insane weather. Still so cold here. Saturday I think we get up to 60 & I can not wait.
 
@daisyduck0801 gardening!! I can’t wait to get back. I have not tackled anything big yet. I did about a month ago went out and weeded a VERY small section in my backyard. I was sore for 3 days afterwards. I had long been released on everything and honestly I just did it bc the weeds were driving me crazy & just to see if I could do it. I have not tried since. I did not kneel or squat-I really just bended and used a long small shovel to help. I am hoping by spring I’ll be in better shape-I’m working on my quads now!!
 
Hi Hippy. To answer your question regarding private messaging my OS. No, I haven't. At least not yet. The situation with my surgeon and his PA is kinda strange, I think. Believe it or not, I met with the surgeon only twice - and that was very, very briefly. My surgeon's PA acts almost like a gatekeeper (to the surgeon). I met my surgeon - for the first time - about 2 weeks before my surgery. We spent about 20 minutes with him (and the PA). The next (and last time) I met with the surgeon was the day after surgery. He stopped by my room on his rounds. Spent about 10 minutes with me. My only other contact is with or through the PA. My surgeon came highly recommended by a family member and a couple of clients. The whole group of surgeons in that practice all have stellar reviews.

So, here's my plan. I made an appt with a PT (older guy, lots of experience, specializes in folks with joint replacement). Going for an assessment. Want him to assess my gait using the walker. I also want to ask him about measurement of leg lengths. I know that bonesmart experts say LLD usually subsides eventually. But it's something I want to discuss with the PT anyway. (I can really feel mine when using the walker).

Been doing better about not overdoing it. But I do notice that I feel better (aches and pains wise) walking with the walker earlier in the day. By 3 or 4 in the afternoon I'm starting to feel it in the outer thigh. And the times I tried the cane, it's a completely different sensation. I feel ok in the thigh area, but right up above my knee gets achy. And I've never had problem knees, ever. Go figure. :what:
 
Hello msart. As I told Hippy up above, I'm going to see a local, very reputable, older PT in our area to assess my gait using a walker. Frankly, I think I'd trust this person's assessment more than what my surgeon's PA has to say on the matter. The snow is finally melting! Yay! Some of my hardier shrubbery looks like it might be ok. But it's too soon to know. I researched at the LSU Ag Center, and they advise to leave everything alone for now. Wait until early March to start assessing damage. Then wait until all chances of another possible freeze are past and go ahead and trim or prune back any dead branches, etc. If the plant survived, new growth will start probably in late March to early April. You can also take your fingernail and scratch the bark along a stem or branch. If it's green underneath, the plant survived and is alive.
 
The situation with my surgeon and his PA is kinda strange, I think. Believe it or not, I met with the surgeon only twice - and that was very, very briefly. My surgeon's PA acts almost like a gatekeeper (to the surgeon). I met my surgeon - for the first time - about 2 weeks before my surgery. We spent about 20 minutes with him (and the PA). The next (and last time) I met with the surgeon was the day after surgery.
I actually think this is quite common. In the US anyway. I've read it often over the years and experienced it myself.
I had a 30 min consult with my surgeon (he came highly recommended) I was already diagnosed elsewhere, scheduled surgery, saw him right before surgery in prep, then in recovery while I was still foggy and then not again until I was three months post op! I agree with the gatekeeper comment, they are like the OS's gatekeeper.
It's like - don't bother me (OS) unless it involves, closing the deal or slicing into flesh. :heehee: Kidding, not kidding.:wink:
 
@daisyduck0801
I agree with you on both PT and the ag advice you got on waiting to assess plant damage!
 
Yes, same here PA was gatekeeper & I did eventually change OS due to her not listening to me or answering questions that I felt were very important to address. I had my surgery when I was on vacation so my thought process was OS didn't want to get too involved, check the XRay & tell me things look ok & move on.
He's a highly respected OS in my area & friends of mine have had him do their surgeries with excellent results. I just didn't care for PA so got a referral to Brigham in Boston through a very good doctor friend of mine. He was so informative, caring & respectful & all my questions & concerns were answered. PA plus some students in examining room & I probably was in that room an hour.
It's so different when you have no time to plan or what to expect so I thank my lucky stars that even though I was 1700 miles from my house having my hip replaced the OS did a good job & I recovered. And thank goodness for bonesmart! Cause this is where I really learned!
 
Good afternoon all fellow hippies.

Ok. I'm gonna get deep in the weeds here (excuse the pun - given my love of gardening). And really, this is more or less a matter of semantics, I guess.

Those of you, in recounting your recovery journeys - when you say you were "up and walking around" or "up walking" - do you mean unassisted? Normal walking? Without pain and discomfort? No limping around?

I'm not (or trying hard not to) compare my recovery with others. I was up "walking" with a walker and a PT at my side within 24 hours of surgery. It was painful. I slogged through it.
But in my view, that is not "successful" walking.

I hear and read of others talking about walking with no aid (walker, crutches, cane) at 3, 4, 5, 6 weeks. BUT - was the walking pain free with no limping? That, in my book, is normal successful walking.

Am I being unrealistic in my definition of what constitutes "up and walking" after THR? Would love your thoughts, observations, etc.

P.S. I do understand that normal pain free walking for a long-ish period of time can bring about achiness, soreness, etc. for someone that's had THR. Makes sense that could happen.
 
@daisyduck0801 I agree with you to a certain point - getting back to normal gait without any aids is the goal after a hip replacement. But how long that takes depends on many many factors. One of the big factors is how long did it take any person to get to the point they need hip replacement. The longer that is, the longer it is going to take to recondition all the muscles and tendons in both legs.

I'm one of the rare ones who had both hips done at the same time and it took me over 3 years to get to the point of needing surgery - from first twinges to almost wishing for death because of pain - plus the 6 month wait to get into surgery following initial visit with my surgeon. So it took quite a while for me to get the "normal gait" going again ... and even longer to recondition legs for other motions like getting foot onto opposite knee. But at my last visit with my surgeon - about 3 months after the surgery - I walked into his office with my cane over my shoulder like a rifle -- just showing off a bit. I was only taking the cane along when I went out "just in case".

So put things into perspective for your self - how long did it take you to get to needing surgery? Now apply lots of patience cuz it's going to take time to get to where you want to be! And you will get there.
 
Thank you so much for your insight. You make common sense points. It took me, I'd say, a couple of years before I decided to go for my first consultation with an orthopedic surgeon.

But, my pain was minimal to moderate - and, always in flux. It would come and go. I would go months (2 to 3) feeling zero discomfort. Things really started (2 years ago) with mild intermittent discomfort in the groin area. I was always thinking that I must have pulled something. Tore something. Up until about 4 months before surgery, I was walking 20 to 30 minutes at a time with no discomfort or limping. About 2 months before surgery I started noticing the slight achiness in the groin while out cycling around my neighborhood.

And all the while, I was scouring YouTube for various exercises, moves, etc for sciatica, periformus (sp?), hip, etc issues. Looking for ways to shore up and strengthen musculature surrounding joints in the pelvic region. For a little while these things worked. I was having less discomfort but it would still wax and wane. Would never disappear completely.

At my first surgeon consult I was shown my X-rays. Bone on bone osteoarthritis in the left hip. Right hip, perfect. (Go figure. How did that happen?). I was flabbergasted. Never in a million years thought it might be what it was. Said thank you and got a second opinion.

The surgeon that wound up doing the surgery, took their own X-rays. Said it wasn't the worst case of b-o-b osteoarthritis he'd ever seen but would, with time, most likely get worse. That is what made me agree to surgery.

I know I'm very early post op (7 weeks Tuesday). Just a little frustrated that there is still no way I can walk without a walker or holding onto something, like a countertop... without severe limping. Seated, I am more flexible and have a decent amount of strength in the surgery leg. I can even put on both socks without having to get into contorted positions. It's just the pain in the leg when putting weight on it (standing or walking) that gets me questioning things.

Thanks for listening to my diatribe folks.
 
P.S. I do understand that normal pain free walking for a long-ish period of time can bring about achiness, soreness, etc. for someone that's had THR. Makes sense that could happen.
Hi there :)

I believe that to be "up and walking" is to be walking without an aid. It doesn't matter if you have pain or a limp. At 11 weeks post op I still ache and end up in pain when I walk too much. But I am definitely up and walking. I was "up and walking " at 2 weeks post op but had my stick nearby and resorted to it after i got really achy and started to limp.

I did have surgery quite early on in the piece though i.e. I wasn't limping or in excruciating pain prior to surgery. I could have waited but wanted it over and done with so this may be why I was off the aids quickly.
 
Last edited:
Hi daisyduck,
Typically "up and walking" is the ability to stand up and begin walking shortly after surgery.
It is routinely encouraged the day of surgery...and thereafter to get the blood flowing and to regain mobility.

We normally recommend heel-toe walking for a limp and to use an assistive device until you're no longer limping.
This involves striking the ground with your heel first, then rolling through your heel to your toe, and pushing out of the step with your toe. It takes a concentrated effort, but you'll likely notice a difference.

It's just the pain in the leg when putting weight on it (standing or walking) that gets me questioning things.
If this is a mild discomfort, I'd say it's normal. If it's sharp or severe, feels abnormal, has increased in intensity, rather than gradually improving, consider checking in with your surgeon's care team for advice. I am not advising this because I think something is wrong, but when you're concerned or questioning, the phone call and reassurance you'll likely receive is worth the peace of mind. With that said, keep in mind that recovery timelines do vary based on individual circumstances.

I hope you sleep well tonight and have a great week! :SUNsmile:
 
Hi again,
I just read a thoughtful post of yours elsewhere as you reached out to danelady.
I will link her thread here for you to check out in full if interested -> I AM THE STORM
Have a great week!
@daisyduck0801
 
Back
Top Bottom