THR JamesUK's recovery

[JamesUK]

@JamesUK

Well, I am glad you are doing much better, and I'm so sorry you had a rough start with pain. If they ever (hopefully not) have to do the other hip, you now have more information to help them manage things. I don't know if anesthesia is different there than here, but part of anesthesia is fentanyl, which helps with pain tremendously. I don't think it is always used, but when used correctly during a procedure, it can be very helpful. So when I woke, my pain was less this time because I was able to tell them that I woke up with more pain the first time.

I really love that my surgeon from the get go told me not to expect a quick recovery, and in fact, I just had my 2 week (which had to be over the phone because my PA is not feeling well -- I was fine with that given that I've been through this before and I know what to do and have zero concerns). He told me to expect to not to feel good until 12 weeks. I still read all those miraculous stories of people early on, and they are misleading for many.

I too got to take off my compression stockings today! yay! Now, I am just on Aspirin.

I hope your recovery continues to go well and keep us updated!

Well this is for another forum but I experienced a TIA in 2020, so I’m already on Clopidogrel blood thinners. I’ll be honest, I’ve stopped wearing the compression socks today, because I just managed 45 minutes of light exercise in the gym, I’m on blood thinners, and the time I’m spending in bed is nearly back to normal. I managed 20 minutes treadmill walking (some up hill), 15 minutes cycling on lowest level, and 10 minutes cross trainer. I feel much better for it, and feel stretched out much more.

 

[Jaycey]

@JamesUK In my experience, if you are moving around as much as you describe and are already on blood thinning medication you should be fine. I quit wearing the TEDs after 2 weeks post LTHR and didn't wear them at all post RTHR. I found staff habitually tell patients they must wear TEDs. But these days most surgeons are not bothered about them.

Well done on the workout!

 

[JamesUK]

@JamesUK In my experience, if you are moving around as much as you describe and are already on blood thinning medication you should be fine. I quit wearing the TEDs after 2 weeks post LTHR and didn't wear them at all post RTHR. I found staff habitually tell patients they must wear TEDs. But these days most surgeons are not bothered about them.

Well done on the workout!

I can see why they’d want to cover themselves from any backlash or complications, so being cautious but like you say, I’m moving around now, probably as much as before. I’m just going to be mindful if I’m sat or in bed to just get up and move around.

And thank you… I was nervous, even put the crutch In the car, but no pain, just a nice stretch out and kept around 130bpm. Mentally It has the biggest impact on me, for sure.

 

[springs12]

Well this is for another forum but I experienced a TIA in 2020, so I’m already on Clopidogrel blood thinners. I’ll be honest, I’ve stopped wearing the compression socks today, because I just managed 45 minutes of light exercise in the gym, I’m on blood thinners, and the time I’m spending in bed is nearly back to normal. I managed 20 minutes treadmill walking (some up hill), 15 minutes cycling on lowest level, and 10 minutes cross trainer. I feel much better for it, and feel stretched out much more.

You seem to have a great attitude given the trials you have faced. I agree with @Jaycey. I'm impressed you've been able to do so much exercise wise. I haven't been able to exercise in years due to all my muscle compensations so I'm glad you chose to do the surgery sooner than later bc it would have gotten worse and impacted your movements even more. Kuddos to you!

 

[JamesUK]

You seem to have a great attitude given the trials you have faced. I agree with @Jaycey. I'm impressed you've been able to do so much exercise wise. I haven't been able to exercise in years due to all my muscle compensations so I'm glad you chose to do the surgery sooner than later bc it would have gotten worse and impacted your movements even more. Kuddos to you!

Much appreciated, and sorry to hear that your recovery hasn’t gone as smoothly. Hope things improve for you! The more progress I make, the more I’m convinced that biting the bullet early was the right choice for me. Aside from the traditional ‘physical’ impact it was having on me, I’m sure that I’ve been in a constant state of stress for more than 10 years, and that has probably done more damage to me than anything else. There’s an interesting documentary I watched about long term impacts of being in fight or flight mode, and when you’re injured and in pain, your body, hormones, digestive system, mental health.. everything is just all over the place.

 

[springs12]

You seem to have a great attitude given the trials you have faced. I agree with @Jaycey. I'm impressed you've been able to do so much exercise wise. I haven't been able to exercise in years due to all my muscle compensations so I'm glad you chose to do the surgery sooner than later bc it would have gotten worse and impacted your movements even more. Kuddos to you!

Much appreciated, and sorry to hear that your recovery hasn’t gone as smoothly. Hope things improve for you! The more progress I make, the more I’m convinced that biting the bullet early was the right choice for me. Aside from the traditional ‘physical’ impact it was having on me, I’m sure that I’ve been in a constant state of stress for more than 10 years, and that has probably done more damage to me than anything else. There’s an interesting documentary I watched about long term impacts of being in fight or flight mode, and when you’re injured and in pain, your body, hormones, digestive system, mental health.. everything is just all over the place.

@JamesUK You are speaking my language. Thanks for your empathy, but honestly, my recoveries have been very smooth...they are just going to take time because of the multitude of problems I have. Slow and steady is what will win in my case, and I knew that going in.

Unfortunately, we live in a day and age where are bodies are trained to be in fight or flight (and now they've added freeze), and yes, it greatly impacts everything. Our bodies are hardwired for all systems to work together, and not all modes of medicine have acted this way, HOWEVER, I believe medicine and some professionals are catching on.

Exercise, nutrition, meditation, sleep, etc...are all things we hear about often now because the ARE very important for all the things you mentioned, including our immune systems. Fight or flight (sympathetic nervous system) impacts these muscles and connective tissues we have that support our joints even. Honestly, focusing on my mental health is what has helped me manage and improve what I have had control over, and it is what reminds me that I am helping improve my future outcome with the positive attitude and the choices I make.

 

[JamesUK]

6 weeks post op, I decided to take a Dettol bath today. Got in and out fine, had a long soak. The messages on bathing seem really inconsistent, but I really needed it. Don’t judge me on the Dettol bath… I had a colourful childhood

 

[SurreyGirl]

That made me laugh James.. When my mother was in hospital my father looked after us and bathed us in a bath with diluted dettol! Must be a "navy" thing!

 

[Tazmanian]

Never actually used Dettol but whenever I have a bath rather than a shower I do trickle a little Savlon into it!!

 

[EssexGirl]

@JamesUK What I love about this forum is that you can find relatable stories. In the US the surgeries are usually same day. I do feel like my pre & post op care with the online nurse has been amazing. I’ve been fortunate to not have a lot of pain, swelling or bruising. Keep doing what feels right for you.

I think for me this is part of the problem. With people now having THR younger, materials used improving and better equipment, there is race to be able to do it faster. I don’t live in the states, but I went Private in the UK. My experience was very much ‘positive positive positive’ beforehand, but when I asked for more meds after, the tone was very much ‘you’ve had major surgery, you should expect it. The Professor that completed it is something like in the top 1% in the UK, so I was confident. What I think needs to happen pre op, is that surgeons/nurses should go through a worse case pain plan, so you wake up and you could be lucky and leave well, or if not you know that you’re going on strong pain killers. What I’d never want people to go through is wake up, on the back foot, trying to work out pain management, no sleep etc, and even the surgeons with the newest gadgets may need to adapt their approach mid surgery, which could cause some additional trauma. Anyway, worse night… ever! I’m glad yours went much smoother! My American friend was trying to convince me to have the ‘Nano’ hip replacement, as that is meant to be minimal pain and best recovery. Thanks everyone

Hi @JamesUK,
I know I’m a bit late to the party on this but ive just come across your recovery posts.

I had my LHR 7 weeks ago, NHS but in a private hospital. Like you, I was taken aback at the amount of pain I was in once the spinal had worn off. I was totally not prepared for it and I didn’t sleep for the two nights I was in hospital despite having 5ml of liquid morphine every 4 hours. On the pain scale of 1-10 I never really got below 8 even with the morphine.

Of course, things do get better with time but I think we should be better informed by our surgeon as to the level of post op pain we could have to endure.

 

[JamesUK]

On the pain scale of 1-10 I never really got below 8 even with the morphine.

Im sorry to hear that, and I know exactly how it feels. I think I mentioned that I called the nurses at least 6 times. Afterwards my GP explained to me that I needed a baseline pain relief and then morphine to catch the additional pain that cuts through. My problem seemed to be that I was that I felt I was playing catch up, I was also extremely uncomfortable, hot, and sweating. I’ve not really looked at it too much, but I suspect that you can start taking that baseline pain relief before the op, so it’s in your system for when the blockers wear off? I’m sure somebody can correct me on that, but morphine seemed to work for only a couple of hours at the most. Codeine is a longer lasting from what I was told. I just wish the hospital had let me have the earlier procedure and some physio at lunch time, then I could have taken some codeine and built up some in my system for the evening. With that said, I’m very happy with how things have turned out, and it’s make me appreciate the better times a lot more. I’ve attached some progress.

WK8 - scar seems to be healing better than I expected. In the gym doing bike, walk on treadmill and cross trainer for 45 minutes. Started using some weight machines (with little or no weight) for some back supported squats, ad and abduction machines, and bridge (hip thrust) machine. I occasionally feel my knee turning a little inwards, but hoping all the hip flex and glute exercises will help build the strength. Good and worse days though.. some days I’m tired and I just do some gentle walking.

But anybody just having theirs done. Don’t worry too much about the bruising and strength. Do the exercises you can, walk as much as you can, rest when you need it, and after a few weeks you’ll not look back!

 

[JamesUK]

Never actually used Dettol but whenever I have a bath rather than a shower I do trickle a little Savlon into it!!

I swear by Savlon… but in a bath? Dettol actually feels really nice when you get out. Ye you smell a little like a hospital ward, but considering how long I used body wipes in bed, I reckon it was well welcomed by my partner. Although… I can’t knock those wipes, they did a great job.

 

[JamesUK]

That made me laugh James.. When my mother was in hospital my father looked after us and bathed us in a bath with diluted dettol! Must be a "navy" thing!

I’m not in the Navy, but I love them to be honest. I spend most days in a hydro pool at the gym, so I’m bathing in chlorine (and they aren’t shy with how much they put in). Bleach, Chlorine, Dettoll… as long as you don’t put too much in, and you don’t mind smelling like cleaning products for an hour, it’s alright.

 

[JamesUK]

Just a quick update. 6 months after my op, and I’ve turned so many corners. No pre-op pain, no post-op pain. The scar has faded a lot. I’m in the gym 5 days a week, and doing weight and cardio exercises with my legs. I’ve been careful though, and avoid running. I’ve also had heart surgery since, so with all things considered, I’m looking forward and moving up. I appreciate that some might not be recovering the same, but I had moments early on where I was questioning whether I’d done the right thing, and worried. Just keep your chin up, keep moving when you can, and talk on here if you need.

 

[benne68]

Thank you for sharing the update, @JamesUK. I'm sure it will help those who are still early days and wondering whether the surgery was the right thing to do. You are proof-positive that it gets better,

 

[Layla]

Thanks for stopping by with such a positive update, James. It's nice to hear from you. You've been through a lot since you last posted. It is good to read that you're doing well. Wishing you peace ,health and happiness in 2024.
Happy Six Month Anniversary!
@JamesUK

 

[JamesUK]

Thank you for sharing the update, @JamesUK. I'm sure it will help those who are still early days and wondering whether the surgery was the right thing to do. You are proof-positive that it gets better,

Thanks for stopping by with such a positive update, James. It's nice to hear from you. You've been through a lot since you last posted. It is good to read that you're doing well. Wishing you peace ,health and happiness in 2024.
Happy Six Month Anniversary!
@JamesUK

And thank you to you both for keeping this forum ticking along and engaged. It really helped me, and I’m sure I speak for many people on here when I say I greatly appreciate it.