THR JayP's hip replacement is done

[Gummy Bears]

My goodness, well I hope this new one lasts a very long time!
So, 3 1/2 hours in the heat gets you some swollen feet. Ha ha!

 

[Sagefemme]

@JulieJF you might discover uphill walking is ok. Today I walked up two significant hills (just wanted to try it) and found it better and more comfortable than walking on the flat! The least comfortable part of my stride is when my operated leg is out behind me, and walking uphill it doesn't seem to get into that behind position at all. The walking downhill was fine too although not quite as good as uphill.

 

[Granny Di]

Gee you have been through a lot! Have things improved much medically and in treatment since your initial op?

 

[JayP]

@Granny Di I think much has improved since my first op in 1982.

Well, staples came out today and I was sooo looking forward to hassle-free showers-but... it was looking like the surface of the incision was coming apart. Surgeon didn't seem "too" concerned. Put steri-strips and tegaderm for another 10 days. For some reason I don't trust the tegaderm so I always cover with plastic wrap.

 

[Gummy Bears]

You just wrap plastic wrap (from the kitchen) around your leg?

 

[JayP]

Sort of. I tape a section of cling wrap over it.

 

[Granny Di]

I did that - saran wrap -and it worked just fine.

 

[JayP]

Last night was the first night I didn't take my 3mg dilaudid before bed. Just slightly more achy this morning. I would barely rate it a 1. I've only about 4 capsules left and wanted to know how I would do. Sleep well also.

With all my narcotics nearly done I don't think I'll need to request more. I should be fine with acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

 

[Gummy Bears]

@JayP hi how are you doing? Just curious (from your last post), did you get completely off pain meds? I keep taking Tylenol but am thinking about stopping.

 

[JayP]

@Gummy Bears hi, how are you? I'm doing well. I am just alternating Tylenol and Advil- mainly out of caution.

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[Gummy Bears]

@JayP thanks for the update. When I don't take the Tylenol (like at work when I get busy and forget), I can feel a difference but like you said, it's not really bad. Maybe I'll take it another week or two and start cutting down. Did you take aspirin for blood thinner? I did and my doc told me I could stop at 2 weeks but I've kept taking it just to be safe. My bottle is going to be out in a few days and not sure if I should make the effort to get more. I thought most people did aspirin for 6 weeks.
Glad all is going well! It's hard to believe how stressed I was before this (as most people seem to be) but in the end, it's been very easy to manage.

 

[JulieJF]

I've got aspirin for six weeks. Funny...my bottle is out tomorrow, too, but I had additional number of pills on the prescription, so I've refilled it.

I agree with the gap between stress and reality post-surgery. I'm so glad to have done it and to be recovering well!

 

[JayP]

@Gummy Bears for blood thinner I have xarelto for 30 days-last one tomorrow.

About a week ago I took my longest walk with the cane and was a bit sore the next day in the front of the hip/groin so I was keeping up the otc meds to help with that as well.

Agreed, it hasn't been THAT bad.

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[Gummy Bears]

@JulieJF thanks for clarifying the 6 weeks, I'm going to go with that! Better to be safe, right?
@JayP how far did you walk? The thing that bothers me the very most (from what I've even tried) is when I accidentally do a deep squat to the floor. I find myself being very mindful of any movement that's not very standard.

 

[JayP]

@Gummy Bears that walk was about 3.5 km. Up until that I had walked about 2 km without any problem. I still have the 90 degree restriction, so I haven't squatted very low.

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[Gummy Bears]

I have a feeling I'm not supposed to squat low, it's just happened accidentally!
Are you guys putting vitamin E oil on you incision? I heard it's supposed to help with scarring so I've started that this weekend.

 

[JayP]

I probably will put something on my incision but I had a delay in getting it uncovered. I still have steri-strips I'm giving a few more days to fall off on their own.

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[JulieJF]

I used Vitamin E on my cesarean incision and it turned into a very fine scar. I asked about it when I was in the hospital, and the nurses reacted very negatively. I am thinking it was because they thought I wanted to start that right away before the incision had closed up. I'll wait till I go back to see my surgeon next week, but I anticipate using E on this scar soon.

 

[Gummy Bears]

My surgeon said it was fine (as long as it's closed up) but I got the impression he didn't think it would do anything. I was thinking about using it on half to prove him wrong but he probably doesn't care and I'd be left with a weird looking scar! Hah!
Anyways, I'm supposed to have my teeth cleaned this Saturday. Would You guys get the antibiotic and get it done or maybe hold off a few months? I'm not sure if the risk of infection goes down after time passes.
Thanks, guys!

 

[JulieJF]

Re: Vitamin E...at the very least, it can't hurt, right? I think I'll use it once I'm sure the incision is closed up. The adhesive is coming off now.

Re: dentists, HSS says to use antibiotics prior to cleanings for a year. I'll double check that, but I'm pretty sure a full year is accurate. If it were me...because I tend to worry about stuff like that...I would probably put off a routine cleaning until further down the healing road and take the antibiotic.