THR I've been on "the other side" for over 3½ weeks. . .

[Hoppy Nanny]

Hi @Mercy1 .......we must all feel differently about our body parts as once my hip was out I didn't want to ever see or hear about it again .... It had caused me so much trauma!!!
However, there are times when I think...... I have really had that done....!
So glad all going so well....Chrissie xxx


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[Mercy1]

Oh, @Poppet! Did all of that occur as a result or related to your FIRST hip replacement?


Mercy1
THR 5May14

 

[Mercy1]

Hey, @Me2. . . We certainly have many things in common. . .horses, hips, and not wanting to lose our bones. . .
Thank you for your honesty, as that was a huge issue for me. . .I cannot explain my feelings, but I am thankful to know that you felt the same. . .


Mercy1
THR 5May14

 

[Mercy1]

You know, @teakea66, I feel I would have been much better off without physical therapy. . .
I, too, received exercises to do at home (which I do). PT last week set me back a little (MY fault TOTALLY) because I was WORKING so hard to achieve (what it was, I don't know)!
I only have two PT sessions left, thank Heaven! Because of what I have learned from everyone on BS, I will take it EASY!
I do plan to talk to my OS about my PT experience, though! One day, the therapist was confused about which leg was my operative leg and had me doing things I should not have done! Lol. . .It was not until the next session that I realized his mistake. . .no harm done. . .Also, I have a different therapist each time I go in so there is no consistency. The last time I was in, they gave me over to two PT "interns". . .interesting. . .
I think my OS needs to know these things, don't you?


Mercy1
THR 5May14

 

[TTBONE]

@Mercy1 I had my THR May 6th. But I tired to walk on my own and it set me back a whole day. When do they have you going back to work? I'm a Respiratory Care Practitioner and they have me going back July 8. I'm worried that I will not be ready. When do you go back? Do you think you will be ready?

 

[Mercy1]

@TTBONE Hey, great to hear from you! How are you feeling, seriously? I have now retired from ICU, but not from working. I don't know when I will get to go back to doing what I love. . .I am just having to learn patience with myself. . .I look forward to being one of the success stories . . .the ones who say, "Why did I wait so long to have this surgery?" How about you?


Mercy1
LTHR 5May14

 

[jebrig3164]

@TTBONE Hey, great to hear from you! How are you feeling, seriously? I have now retired from ICU, but not from working. I don't know when I will get to go back to doing what I love. . .I am just having to learn patience with myself. . .I look forward to being one of the success stories . . .the ones who say, "Why did I wait so long to have this surgery?" How about you?


Mercy1
LTHR 5May14

That's what I want to be. A success story. I had my right hip replacement on January 30th of this year. My left hip replacement on April 30th 4 weeks ago. It's been a journey it's still is. It's a life changing operation. I'm 45 years old. And want my independence bsck.

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[Poppet]

Hi @Mercy1 - they never got to the bottom of it... Surgery was fine, it all began in recovery!

 

[Mercy1]

Oh, @Poppet. . . How thankful I am that you are here with us today !
My post-op recovery room experience (of which I have no memory) troubles me. I was told "You took an unusually long time in recovery" and that when I did "wake up" I was "crying". I can not figure that out. . . I would like to know what occurred !


Mercy1
LTHR 5May14

 

[Mercy1]

Everything hurts now! Prior to surgery, only my left hip and surrounding muscles hurt. In 2 days, I will be 5 weeks post-op. For the past 3 days, the only thing that doesn't hurt is my left hip joint! I feel as though someone took a baseball bat to my body!

I love the social aspect of physical therapy, but the over-achiever in me works too hard when there! I take two days to recover each time I go! Thank goodness I only have one more session. . .I am seriously thinking of going AWOL ! (I may take a gift to them and then go AWOL because they are really "nice") !

No, I'm not taking my pain meds. My doctor does not do refills on pain meds. . .sends you home with what he expects you will need. Like the "good patient" I am, I was off of the pain meds fast! I am only taking my, blood-thinning, one aspirin a day !

Yes, ice is my friend. . .

Please, somebody, tell me that "this, too shall pass" or something like that. I, seriously, question my sanity when I traded pain in one joint for pain in several others! I feel like I have traded my (prior to surgery) very physically fit body for something out if this world!!! When will the person I was return?

I am sorry about the negativity. . .I must have heard 25 times how I would immediately be thankful I had this surgery. . .ugh, no. . .thankful for MANY things, but never thankful for MORE pain! While on pain meds I made the mistake of thinking this was a cake-walk! Whew. . .I was sooooo wrong!

Anyone else experience any of this or am I just as nutty as a fruitcake?

Yikes!!!!



Mercy1
LTHR 5May14

 

[jebrig3164]

Everything hurts now! Prior to surgery, only my left hip and surrounding muscles hurt. In 2 days, I will be 5 weeks post-op. For the past 3 days, the only thing that doesn't hurt is my left hip joint! I feel as though someone took a baseball bat to my body!

I love the social aspect of physical therapy, but the over-achiever in me works too hard when there! I take two days to recover each time I go! Thank goodness I only have one more session. . .I am seriously thinking of going AWOL ! (I may take a gift to them and then go AWOL because they are really "nice") !

No, I'm not taking my pain meds. My doctor does not do refills on pain meds. . .sends you home with what he expects you will need. Like the "good patient" I am, I was off of the pain meds fast! I am only taking my, blood-thinning, one aspirin a day !

Yes, ice is my friend. . .

Please, somebody, tell me that "this, too shall pass" or something like that. I, seriously, question my sanity when I traded pain in one joint for pain in several others! I feel like I have traded my (prior to surgery) very physically fit body for something out if this world!!! When will the person I was return?

I am sorry about the negativity. . .I must have heard 25 times how I would immediately be thankful I had this surgery. . .ugh, no. . .thankful for MANY things, but never thankful for MORE pain! While on pain meds I made the mistake of thinking this was a cake-walk! Whew. . .I was sooooo wrong!

Anyone else experience any of this or am I just as nutty as a fruitcake?

Yikes!!!!



Mercy1
LTHR 5May14

I am 4 months out from having my right hip replaced and 6 weeks out from my left hip replacement. Things are way better now that I have both hips replaced but I am still stiff and sore all around my thighs and knees. But I walk about 5 blocks a day with my cane. I do my excise as well. I can go up stairs and bend down to pick stuff of the floor. I'm 45 years old but I weigh 330 pounds. I use to weigh 600 pounds 7 years ago. Now that I'm getting mobile again I am looking to get my weight down to about 200 pounds or lower. It's gonna be a process with this. I came from being on a walker and wheel chair for a year and a half to here. So I'm progressing again.

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[Dmcfad2]

@Mercy1 I felt just like you, actually up until about 10 days ago! I was a fit, active person before surgery. I am 11 weeks post op. I really struggled in my recovery. I had a lot of pain, swelling and stiffness. At about 9 1/2 weeks, I suddenly started to see improvement. My ROM increased dramatically. I felt a shift in my recovery. I started to feel more "normal". Just this morning, I noticed a big improvement in my walking. Walking has been a struggle for me. It didn't feel natural, my thigh hurt when I walked and felt heavy. But, today I felt a difference. I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can now believe that I will get better. I don't think I really believed it until recently! People used to tell me that it would get better, but I thought it would be different for me. I don't know why. Hang in there. It really DOES get better!

 

[MajorHeidi]

@Mercy1 You are doing great!!
My only complaint at 8 weeks (today) is when I stand up from sitting, I am stiff and it takes me
about 10 feet to walk it off.
I hope that goes away???

 

[Sue629]

@Mercy1.......A big welcome BS has been my home away from home, prior to surgery and even after. I hope you find yourself at home with so many wonderful people here . I am a week ahead of you, 4/30 was mine..You can read my thread on link below. Wishing you best with your recovery, go slow with Pt...I say slow and steady . ....Nice to meet you Sue

 

[Mercy1]

@Sue629! Thank you so much! It is REALLY nice to meet you! I will read your story when I go to bed tonight and write more then! I wanted you to know that hearing from you, @MajorHeidi, @Dmcfad2, @jenrig3164 MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE! I just need to know that others have experienced something similar in their recovery. . .kind of like being on a float trip, paddling on white water to keep your velocity just a little more than the river runs. . .good to know that several others are ahead of you and still afloat!!!! (Never mind that the water is only 3 feet deep!) LOL!

Thank you ALL again! More later!


Mercy1
LTHR 5May14

 

[Serenity41]

@Mercy1 I am sorry to hear that you are hurting. I think you are right and it maybe the over-achiever in you. I am the same way. I am aching from my PT sessions today and I am icing. You got off you pain medication pretty quickly. Are you taking anything at all for your pain? Tylenol, Aleve? I know that pain can make me crazy. Do you think you can go to your GP to get something to relieve it and get comfortable for a while? I don't like taking all these pain meds as they constipate me badly and make me loopy, but I work around that and take what I have to. I learned the second day I was home that it was a no no to try to stretch the pain meds out. I hope you get this worked out. 5 weeks is still early days.

 

[Mercy1]

@Serenity41, thank you for writing! I think I was having a pretty rough day (and do not know exactly why)! I am about to come to the conclusion that I need to take carbohydrates (breads/ice cream/cheesecake) off of the table and out of my cookbook! I seem to get an systemic inflammatory response whenever I eat those foods!

I am not opposed to pain meds. I think the problem for ME is that I OVER-DO when I am out of pain!!! Most of my pain after physical therapy occurred because I took my pain meds prior to working out (as advised in the post-op booklet from my OS's office) ! There is a REASON for pain. . .it is the body's way of saying "STOP DOING THAT TO ME!"
LOL !

More than anything, I need to know that there is a day coming when I will be out of pain and happy I had the surgery!

Could you tell me more about your experience? When was your surgery?


Mercy1
LTHR 5May14

 

[Dieter]

@Mercy1 Hello neighbor to the East! The good days and bad days come with the territory...As a nurse you understand the trauma your body has had and the energy it is using to heal. I feel like I am very fortunate. I went back to work half days at week two, full days week three. I am 4.5 weeks and other than being sore around the joint feel great a couple of days, the next I just want to sleep. I was very active up to the day before surgery and am conscious of not overdoing things now. I'm doing PT, back to laps in the pool, walking as much as I want and even tried 10 minutes on a spin bike yesterday, but I do rest when I am tired.
My OS did take pictures of my femoral head, you can see one on my recovery thread: "Hippy Ki Yay--Dieter's Path is Super"

 

[Mercy1]

Wow!@dieter, looks like some rough weather is coming through Oklahoma! Hope y'all stay safe!

I am married to an Oklahoma boy. . .best/toughest/most tender-hearted guys in the world!

Thank you for your encouraging information! BTW, did you have to ask the doctor to snap a picture of your diseased femoral head? It is a very fine specimen of what NOT to wear! How many years did you suffer with the pain before you decided to take the surgical route?

How wonderful to be swimming. . .NO better exercise! I really believe that the ONLY helpful exercise for me (post-operatively) SHOULD have been swimming, but, fighting the occasional cottonmouth or snapper in our ponds is not what most doctors consider hydrotherapy!
I did, however, find this fine example of country ingenuity that could make all of my worldly wishes come true :

It could double as an iceskating area with another winter like we just experienced!

For those folks who want a pool that is less pricey yet not quite down-to-earth, I found this :

There IS hydrotherapy hope for my recovery !!!!


Mercy1
LTHR 5May14

 

[Mercy1]

This picture goes where it says "view attachment" in my previous post (I'm doing this on an iPhone and I think it was timed out!)

Mercy1
LTHR 5May14