THR ken325i - Left THR - August 12

ken325i

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Well, I made it! THR 8/12, sent home 8/14.
I have had a lot of pain in the upper thigh area, I assume, from the muscular trauma to separate and get to the joint (hip). They told me, with most anterior surgeries, muscle and nerve damage occurs. It will take some PT and time for that to heal. As a result of this I can't use these muscles to bend my knee. My wife is helping with the leg PT and the muscles are very slowly coming to life, with a lot of pain/strain to get there. Using Percocet for pain management.

Last night was my first night home and had an unusual occurrence -- was sleeping well, until about 2.30, then woke up in a panic attack, and feeling like I could not breathe! Got up and sat in the recliner until the sun came up. Hope tonight is better!

I will say -- I am pushing myself on PT, and I feel better today than the day before. Hopefully in a week, things will be much better!

Thanks for your comment!

Ken
 
Welcome to recovery, @ken325i .

I've moved your after surgery post from your pre-op thread and used it to start this recovery thread for you. Please post updates on this thread from now on.

They told me, with most anterior surgeries, muscle and nerve damage occurs. It will take some PT and time for that to heal. As a result of this I can't use these muscles to bend my knee. My wife is helping with the leg PT and the muscles are very slowly coming to life, with a lot of pain/strain to get there.
I will say -- I am pushing myself on PT,
Please don't push hard at PT. It really isn't necessary to do that for recovery from a hip replacement. In fact, pushing too hard can even create problems and slow down your recovery. All your hip needs is gentle movement and time to heal. Take good notice of the BIG TIP in the recovery guidelines, below:


Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

6. Access these pages on the website


Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
Hello and welcome to the recovery side! Please don't push yourself. I figured out that I was expecting way too much and not giving myself time to heal and recover. I'm 16 days post op now, and it is difficult to be patient. I hope that you will rest and catch up on your sleep.
 
Welcome to recovery and congratulations on your shiny new hip. Slow and steady will get you through to a successful recovery so practice patience and do not push too hard. Have a peaceful evening.
 
Hello and welcome to recovery. Congrats on your new hip!

Last night was my first night home and had an unusual occurrence -- was sleeping well, until about 2.30, then woke up in a panic attack, and feeling like I could not breathe! Got up and sat in the recliner until the sun came up. Hope tonight is better!

Ken, Hopefully this was an isolated incident, but if it occurs again I’d report it to your surgeon to make sure it’s not some type of reaction to the narcotics.

I echo the cautionary advice you received above, please don’t push it. PT is not necessary at this point. You don’t want to hurt yourself, stalling your recovery.

In case you haven’t made it through the Recovery Guidelines yet, please at least read the Activity Progression for THR as the info should keep you active enough and out of danger of entering the ODIC (Over Did It Club)

Also, read the article on ICE from the Recovery Guidelines. It will help with pain and swelling.

Wishing you comfort and a peaceful overnight.
 
I was sent home with toradol. Another narcotic. Between the effects of the general wearing off and the toradol, I had a very similar experience. Woke up gasping for air. Narcotics do slow respiration so that might be what you experienced. I slept in the recliner for the first 4 days. It was more comfortable and made it easier to ice. Plus I live in a two story house and didn’t want to be climbing stairs.
 
Welcome to the recovery side! Hopefully you are getting well settled in at home and the panicked feeling is a thing of the past.
Be kind to yourself and there's no reason to push too hard so soon in the healing game.
Your body was put through a lot.
I look forward to reading about your recovery..
 
I had a good night's sleep last night -- 1 percocet and one benedryl. Slept really good - 10.30 - 6.30. I think if was too many drugs in my system that caused the previous night's panic attack. My pain level is getting better by the hour -- when resting and icing I have no pain at all.

PT is getting better. Some muscles are coming alive, and I am able to increase various motions. AND I PROMISE - I won't do anything that creates continued pain and suffering!!

I am pleased with current state, even though I was set back a bit with the first 48 hours after surgery. Not quite the walk in the park I thought it would be. My wife told me -- what is 48 hours to have a totally pain free hip??!!

I am really looking forward to this coming week!!

Thank you all for your comments!

Ken
 
Hi Ken, I had my left hip done anterior also. I had my surgery on the 28th of July. I think that a lot of the loss of range of motion is mostly due to the swelling. I can't remember in particular the day, but it seemed like day 10-12 everything just got so much easier and I could move so much better. I had a lot of pain at first as well, I'm glad they gave you decent pain pills! I was really regretting my surgery in the first week or so, now I can see a light at the end of the tunnel...
 
Hi @ken325i do you drive an old BMW? ;)
Any surgery causes muscle and nerve damage, there are sharp knives involved! "Log leg" is something that many, including me, have experienced. The leg just will not cooperate. You have to lift it into bed with you, and you may have to shove it out in the morning!

I have two anteriors, and the incisions are about 4" long. Imaging how they have to stretch those tendons and muscles apart to get their power tools in there! :yikes: I promise I won't say that again... feeling slightly queasy lol. So healing will take its sweet time-- a year! Meanwhile, patience is what the patient requires. Much easier said than done!
 
Yes, the pain meds really help!! And, yes, I am an old BMW guy! I created my username several years ago and use it across many different BMW and other forums.

Thank you all for your comments! So much of what we go through is not explained anywhere.....until you get here! Was reading the Progression of Activities earlier today, and it all starts making sense.
also, other users comments on their Dead Leg is appreciated and confirms -- everything is OK! Healing will occur in God's time.

Thank you!
Ken
 
All of us are happy to help.. we have been there and also appreciated the helpful links and advice.

Glad it's helping you with your recovery. Sometimes we get too caught up in our recovery and it's good to look around, take a deep breath and laugh.. Especially when you can see that many of us went through the same things, right?
There are actually some social pages on the forum, too. Great way to pass some time while icing and elevating.

Oh and yay! For the good night's sleep!
 
other users comments on their Dead Leg is appreciated and confirms -- everything is OK! Healing will occur in God's time.

You’re funny! This made me laugh :heehee: Dead Leg, that is.
Let’s call it Log Leg, it sounds more optimistic, lol.
Log Leg - your brain is telling your leg to move but the muscles and soft tissue have been so traumatized that there's no reaction.

Prayers for comfort and perfect healing. I hope you have a wonderful week!
 
Day 8 - post op
Have spent the last week just hanging out, with minimal walking around/inside the house. I have gone to 2 PT sessions, nothing overly strenuous, and I feel better after each session. I still have a Log Leg, with inability to get in to/out of bed without help. Lots of pain in the upper thigh. Is this caused by the femur implant? Still using percocet every 6 hours. My pain is the strongest when I have been stationary for a period of time -- like, 1st thing in the morning -- boy, it really hurts when I wake in the morning.

WIll begin week 2 with longer walks, 2-3 times per day -- to the mailbox and back. Also will continue PT, 3 x per week.
I don't feel that I have made that WOW transition to the next phase.
OS appointment scheduled for 2 weeks post surgery, August 27.

Thanks!
Ken
 
:wave:Hi Ken, Happy Thursday!
Log Leg will ease and disappear. Wondering if you’re icing and elevating? if not, please start as it may help with any heaviness caused by inflammation.

It is your choice, but PT is really unnecessary at this point and I’d hate to see you overdo it and end up in the ODIC (Over Did It Club)
Here’s the BIG TIP from the Recovery Guidelines -

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

The pain is from the “controlled” trauma your leg recently endured. It is healing and you will experience some discomfort. Hopefully the pain is well managed with the Percocet. If not, please speak with your surgeons office.

I hope today is a good one! :)
@ken325i
 
You stated you take percocet every 6hrs. Do you take it at night also when the 6hrs passes? If not, that will of course cause you to have more discomfort in the morning. Also after being in one position at night will add to discomfort till we move around.

I do not know when the WOW transition happened for me for long term but probably way down the path. My first wow was just being able to get off the stretcher and with walker go to the bathroom in the hospital. My next one was coming home and getting comfortable in my own space. For me, the big WOW was probably this spring which was 5m down the road when I could walk around our large yard and pick up tons of broken branches and sticks so I could start mowing and not be hurting.

At 8 days you are early in the recovery journey but sounds like you are doing well. The second week for me was somehow harder than the first just because my euphoria from having the surgery and the majority of pain was gone but I was not healed yet and I knew it would take time. Time is a great healer for all the carpentry that was done on our bones and soft tissue.

Have a peaceful day with lots of ice and elevation.
 
no,, I do not wake through the night for pain meds. I bet that is why I have a few more aches first thing in the morning.

I had my first WOW #1 today!! -- I am able to get into and out of my bed with ought assistance! Before, there was too much pain. Now, 1 2 3 and it is done! YAY!!

Ken
 
Early in recovery I would set an alarm so I could take pain meds. I kept some crackers next to me so it would not be on an empty stomach and I always had something to drink next to me anyways so it worked out well.

Congratulations on your first WOW. Sometimes they just sneak up on us which is great as we all need that lift it gives us. Have a great evening.
 
@ken325i haha my screen name is in active use all over the interwebs too. We used to drive exclusively ancient Volvos, but now have only the 1984 waiting for some restoration, and a 2004 S60 which has no bragging rights whatsoever!

I would say that your thigh pain is soft tissue, and possibly caused by all that sleeping overnight with no pain med. if you get behind, playing catch-up is painful. I was lucky, my percocet was rx'd every 4 hours, so I always had a med time coming right up. This allowed me to start weaning almost immediately, substituting in a half-tylenol 325 for every half percocet I took away. The 4 hr timetable meant that if I made a mistake, I'd be able to correct it in just a few hours. I also was given celebrex for one hip, and meloxicam for the other, for a month. That was quite helpful. And wearing the ice 24/7 was nothing short of miraculous!

So happy for your WOW moment!
 
Hang in there, friend.
I feel like week two was my rough week.
Early days ...stay medicated, put off PT, only do what is necessary, and stay with the stool softeners. The first WOW is great, but with the meds the second one might want to lag too.
Staying hydrated, icing and elevating, and short frequest walks is the best advice I can give you.
Healing mojo coming your way.
 
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