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THR Left 2013 - Now the right

Happy Friday the 13th peeps! It has been just a little over 29-weeks since my TLHR. I have survived moving into a new house and have started cycling again. While I am not ready for the TDF, I have been out three times this week, already.

And when I say moving, I was the primary labor force. The last time I saw the doctor in March, his last words were, "Don't lift anything heavy." Yeah, well....

What I find amazing, is the almost immediate relief I have from any arthritis related discomfort after riding my bike. My hip is fairly good. I won't lie and say there is no pain ever, or no discomfort, there is. However, those first few steps after standing are getting better all the time, and I am no longer conscious all my waking hours of something being wrong with my hip. I can also sleep all night. Laying on my left side is still iffy some nights especially if there is weather, but I can always roll-over. Before surgery, I just didn't sleep well in any position.

Life is good, my new green riding lawn mower arrived last week. You know what? I do not miss a push mower!!! No Way!

I will say the move had me worried. All of the activity had my LH very angry, as well as both knees. As soon as I had my bike uncovered from the massive quantity of moving boxes and detritus, I started riding it, and the pain simply went away. I remain largely pain-free until I wake up the next morning.

Keep on trucking, I am having both knees x-rayed on the 24th of this month, and am looking forward to LKR in a year to 18-mos. Judging from the post-move pain, the right one is not far behind.

Did I mention our new house has a whirlpool tub? I am telling you what, those are the neatest inventions, aside from riding lawn mowers, ever!:bath:
 
Good report. We have a hot tub and I would have to agree it is the most awesome thing ever:) still only 3.5 weeks out.. But can not wait at 6 weeks to get back in and soak:)


LTHR Direct Anterior May 19, 2014
 
Good evening, just got back from my fifth bicycle ride in nine-days and I feel great. I wonder why it is that I am always in some kind of pain except after a bike ride? Running used to do that for me, then it started to hurt after running so that was my big sign it was time to hang up the track shoes.
Just amazing, all my joints are currently pain free.


Sent from dougie0216's iPhone using BoneSmart®
 
Hello everyone. I had the most wonderful bike ride last night. I actually felt normal. There was no discomfort of any type (as a result of surgery). It was windy and rainy and it just felt great. There were no issues with my left hip. While I was on the bike, I could not have told you I had a hip-replacement eight months ago.
Evidently, some type of healing has gone on in the past month or so. Suddenly, I can sleep on my left side and I am not aware of anything different. Although last week, I skipped a step getting down off a step stool while working on my porch, and I was aware that I should have used my right leg to land on. Fortunately, the pain only lasted...well, a day and a half.
Other than that, it is all good. I am starting to think crazy thoughts like signing up for 25-mile bicycle rides. The doctor and I decided against knee X-rays. We know they are arthritic, and I am not ready for surgery yet, so why do it?
Get off the couch, get out of bed and get going. Or as they used to say, get a job, cut your hair, call your mom.
 
[Bonesmart.org] Left 2013 - Now the right
@dougie0216, can't say your bike ride sounds like fun to me, but if you enjoyed it--TERRIFIC! Happy to know that things are progressing so well for you. No reason not to consider 25 mile bike rides. If that's your thing--- then go for it.
 
@bottomshollow, I am an outright endorphin junkie. Running used to do it for me. I have made the decision to not run anymore, even though I know of some people who continue to run after THR. Cycling is a good substitute for running, it just takes a little longer for the endorphins to flow. Not to mention it burns calories and alleviates the pain in my other joints for several hours.
I just like pushing myself, so more often than not, I will ride up that extra hill or go the extra mile or kilometer.
Just as soon as I get my heart rate up and the sweat going, everything ceases to hurt. The pain relief often lasts until the next day. So, if you were to ask if exercise is an addiction, I would have to say, yes! However, some days I don't do anything except pick-up the remote, and that is OK too. So, exercise is an addiction, but it is no longer an obsession. Peanut butter cookies are another thing entirely.
:bicycle1:
 
I was going to reply earlier but the site was slow. Instead, I went to the vending machine in the hallway (at work) and got some peanut butter cookies.


Sent from dougie0216's iPhone using BoneSmart®
 
9-1/2 months post surgery and things are going well. I can go several days in-a-row now without any hip-discomfort whatsoever. It still is not perfect. I do have some occasional discomfort when standing and walking after being seated for awhile. It does not hurt, it just is stiff and takes a few steps to walk normally.

In August we spent a week visiting relatives we had not seen since prior to surgery. We also brought a teen-aged grandson home with us for a few days and rescued some items from a storage shed which involved loading and unloading a u-haul after driving 380-miles. Yes, my hip hurt as a result of the physical labor and the drive. Although, I had a lot of things hurting after that ordeal. We packed 1500-miles of driving, moving and visiting just about every living relative in a ten-day period. Most fifty-somethings hurt after doing that.

The strangest thing that happened involved closing the vehicle door. I had borrowed a pick-up to tow the trailer. The door to the pickup had a console on the inside. The same side where I carry my cell phones in my shorts pocket... to make a long story short, I closed the door and the console dug the cell phones into my left leg right where the incision was. Ye-ow!:censored: I was awake and using some choice words after that.

I had a bruise there and it hurt for over a week. However, after that went away, my hip and mobility were actually better than before the whole ordeal began.

So, when the surgeon says it can take 1 - 2 years to fully heal, he does not mean it takes that for everyone except you, because you are exceptional. I had some hip discomfort last night after telling my spouse yesterday morning that I had not had any pain all weekend.

Right after surgery it was two-steps forward, and one and-a half back for awhile. Now it is ten or more forward, with an occasional step back. I am very satisfied, and would do it all over again on the other hip, absolutely.

The progress over the past couple of months is amazing. I have my strength back. My endurance is back at almost 100%. Life is good. I started in a weight-loss program over the weekend to lose the 25-pounds I put on after surgery. I woke up hungry after the anesthesia wore off.
 
@dougie0216 i loved reading your reports! I had to upheave and start the moving-the-family at about 10 1/2 months. My hip stayed strong all through the move, including that we moved from a one-story rancher to a split level! I was fighting a very painful foot injury, so all the advil and tylenol probably comforted my hip...

You are quite the biker!! Biking early on contributed to a tendonitis which is still bothersome; I stuck with walking after that! And... I am glad I did not set the record with 20 lbs gained after. Still working on that :lol:


My phone sent this using BoneSmart Forum, clever phone!
 
The only problem with sports / physical activity is that I continue to eat like I do when I am working out, even when I am not. My bike is in need of a repair, and it has been hanging in my garage for the past three weeks. meanwhile, I continue to eat like I am burning those extra calories...
Time for some accountability, and tracking what I eat.

I put most on the weight on while there was snow and ice on the ground almost all of December and January. I was home, bored and alone, so I ate. It will come off, I am motivated. Also, all of my fall / winter clothes are tight, or I cant get in them. I don't want to buy new ones.
 
Good report @dougie0216 !
I still have stiffness upon standing. Hope it goes away for both of us.
Good luck on the weight loss!
 
Checking in this evening because next week will be 11-months post surgery. Things are sooooo much better it is just amazing. Any discomfort in my hip is pretty much gone. I was wondering if those first few steps after standing would ever be normal? Thankfully the answer is Yes!
There was one day last week when the pressure dropped just before a cold front and just about every joint hurt, but after the front passed my hip was fine.
I realized today that at some point over the last two weeks I have been standing up and walking without remembering I had a TLHR on 11/21/13.
I don't know about you guys, but that is huge! Way cool. Awesome!
I did go purchase a 750mm weighted exercise ball and started using it regularly at the end of September. I had one but it was a casualty when we moved. I had let the air out of it to take up less space and when my wife saw it was flat she tossed it.
So, I am bicycling two days a week and doing Pilates and stretching with the ball another two or three or three days. I am riding over ten miles at a time.
Last night after working out, I felt so good, for a moment I entertained the thought of running again. That is the first time post surgery that the idea had popped into my mind.
I am not going to say never, but I will attend my yearly check-up first and see what the X-rays say.
I don't walk because I know where that will lead. I am a runner and the walking would last a couple of weeks and then it would be running.
If you are just out of surgery, take your time. Do your PT. It will get better.
I have to give a shout out to my surgeon, Dr Thomas Tkach at McBride in OKC. I would go back to him in a heartbeat. Hopefully no time soon...
Peace.


Sent from dougie0216's iPhone using BoneSmart®
 
[Bonesmart.org] Left 2013 - Now the right
@dougie0216, what a great update!!!! More proof that there is real "normal" life after a total hip replacement and one can have a "forgotten" hip. So pleased for you that things are going so well. Will be interested to see if you get back to running.

Take care and keep us updated. We care.
 
During my last visit to the surgeon, he mentioned he had a friend who had run 13-marathons on the same hip I have. Once you get the runners high, the only way to ever have one again is to run. A good pair of running shoes is about 10% of what an entry level road-bike would cost. If I am going to spend four figures on anything new, it will be another guitar. I just refuse to support two expensive habits, and I will take music over cycling, any day.

I just wanted to give the new hardware and my body a chance to fully recover before going to something with a higher impact. I feel like I am almost there. Personally, I'd rather sit on a couch and get fat than just walk. When I go for a walk, it is depressing. I will see someone running, and say, "That used to be me."
I am really working on my lower body and core, and have lost half the weight I put on while recovering from surgery.
Once I hit my running weight and see the doctor in December, I am planning on celebrating with a run. I don't see any marathons or half marathons in my future, but I don't see why I cant run the occasional 5k.
Six months ago I would have told someone they were crazy if they said I would run again. Now, I am the one who is crazy.
[Bonesmart.org] Left 2013 - Now the right

This was taken at a 5k on New Years Day 2013. It wasn't that long ago...and I looked happy, in spite of bib number 13. I still have that bib.:cool:
 
@dougie0216

If you love to run, then how about you switch to Chi running and use the Galloway Method of interspersing one minute of walking after so many minutes of running. The idea is not to be a heel striker, so you need to go to a running coach and make sure your gait is using the ball of your foot. If you love to run, run but be sensible and take it easy. One year for the bone to take firmly to the implant, lose the weight you want. Best way to get rid of that weight would be to get on a stair master and running elliptical to get those glut a nd quad muscles built up again.

I will be back to doing Ironman races in early 2016. If you read my thread, you will see that I have and will continue with the Ironman Triathlons as I feel one that there will always be new prosthetics around and if I get 20 years so be it! I was diagnosed in May with a very rare form of cancer and had it successfully removed 4 days after my JUNE Ironman. I recouped for 6 weeks and went back to the gym to And worked my core, gluts and quads for my total hip in September.

So the point is......just do what you love but use your head and be smart about it. You have no idea what life will hand you in the future, don't sit on the couch getting fat eating Oreos...find away to make it happen and it maybe out of the box but seriously......you don't want to look up later down the road in the Big and Tall store wondering What If.......

Hope I didn't come across rude as I don't mean to be.....just athlete to athlete...I felt reading your posts you were waiting for someone to tell you to run.....so run but use your head and your feet!

From an Iron Chick in Canada....who never ran more than a. Half marathon to train for the Ironman races! In fact I ran 10 km for the last one.
 
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No offense taken, eh? I drove across Canada three times, I used to live in Anchorage, AK.
I ran a marathon back in 1983 on my 25th birthday. Then I got married and fat. I have always been blessed with good cardio. I lettered in cross-country running, X-C skiing and track in High School. I was actually the USSA Boys Class III State Champion at 7.5k in X-country skiing in 1976.
I never quit running but the runs did get few and far between for about 20 years.
Fortunately, I'm a neutral striker so the only time I was ever on my heels was when I was tired or not paying attention. I have only not been running for 18-months. I am doing some squats and where I live is very hilly so I have been riding the bike up and down hills with earnest for over three months.
My big toes are double jointed so I never got the ironman bug. swimming is no fun when your toes are out of joint. I also have run 26-miles before so that is off the bucket list.
All I want to be able to do is run an occasional 5k in under 30, ok well 27...
Thank you for the advice. I had my K times times down in the fives when the pain put an end to running in March of 13. Since that pain is gone I see no reason I can't get back there.


Sent from dougie0216's iPhone using BoneSmart®
 
Hi @dougie0216 Great to hear how well you are doing! Just remember that all the soft tissues (the ones you can't see!) deep in your body do take longer to heal - I was told 12 to 18 months. Of course, one thing I know is how different we all are, depending on age, prior fitness, genetics, etc. and you seem to have started at a good place.
One word of warning - look after your knees if you start running again, there's a lot of us on here who suffer with them as well as hips! And well done with losing some of that extra weight, it goes on so easily (mmm peanut butter cookies) - mine sticks round my middle and it needs to go before winter really sets in, us retired people can't afford new clothes when there are loads upstairs that don't do up!
Take care and let us know how you are doing
Regards
Anne
 
My knees already hurt. I have talked to my PCP about them, and will have some xrays done by the surgeon in December. The PCP asked me in August and we concluded the pain was not debilitating. I have had knee problems since HS, and the only time they do not hurt is when I am running and for a day or so afterwards.
My left one swells occasionally, but evidently there is some cartilage left in there and if physical activity alleviates the pain and stiffness, then my Doc is all for it.
The bottom line is, if it hurts too much to run I wont do it. but, if I can derive some overall physical benefit from it, then why not?
I ran through a lot of pain the last couple of years until I simply could not do it anymore. I will probably be the same with my knees:walking: I am operating under the assumption they will have to be replaced at some point, especially the left one, so why not run until then.
 
That's exactly how I felt before my hip! I did all the training and racing for the Ironman before my surgery. I knew that I was getting a new hip so I just wore every last movement out of it I could!

Go for it but do get those knees checked most definitely!

Cheryl
 
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