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THR left it TOO long: Left THR Posterior

@myglasshalffull @Zorro

Thank you for the huge encouragement! It's been a good week in hindsight. I didn't think I was making much progress particularly and then out of the blue, I was able to do 9 laps around my garden. It was a considerable increase from my previous maximum of 3 laps. It just felt so comfortable today that I just kept walking until I felt tired! It was a few hours ago and so far so good. I just feel like I've been on a long walk but no pain or swelling. I'm just hoping it doesn't hit me tomorrow!

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!
 
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This is great news, @Deni444. That’s how it works sometimes…..you make a big advance all at once for seemingly no reason at all. You are wise to just enjoy it and wait a day or so to see if there is any impact. If not, you’re good to go. I’m hoping that’s the case for you. You’ve been doing such a great job staying mindful of your body during recovery, I think it will pay off for you. You really are still early in recovery and you’ve made wonderful progress in my opinion.
 
@Deni444 You did 9 laps of the garden! Wow, well done. I thought you recently said 2 laps so that’s great. Amazing how things suddenly starts to feel more possible.
I had a good weekend as well. I was feeling very low and negative recently but yesterday I drove my car for the first time since the operation and as I hadn’t even been able to get in a car as a passenger to get home from the hospital (complicated story) this was a big deal. My lovely neighbour came with me 'just in case' So should be ok to drive myself for my check up in a weeks time. Then today I walked (slowly and with crutches ) a round trip of a mile and saw lots of wildflowers. Hope neither of us are not too sore tonight. Off to get ice now ….:ice:
 
@Jamie Thank you! It felt wonderful and I'm really hoping I'll be able to start going on little walks up my lovely coastal road now.

@IndigoKnee I so pleased for you, that's amazing news! I haven't been able to drive for some time and I know how isolating that can feel. Then you walked a mile to top it off. I hope the ice works its magic. I haven't needed any after my garden walk (yet) and so I'm hoping that is a good sign I didn't overdo it... We'll see!
 
Thanks @Zorro Next day and everything is still great. I only did one lap today. Hip is fine but lower thigh muscles really tired. It's been well over a year since I walked that far so not surprised. I'll try again in a couple of days :)
 
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I had my telephone appointment with my surgeon this week and he is scheduling an appointment to get the ball rolling on my second hip. He's also going to take the opportunity to check my recovering hip. It's a little disappointing really as a telephone chat didn't really provide the level of confidence that a physical examination would have. He was happy with everything I told him but expressed concern that he would have liked to have checked my wound when I had the leak issues earlier. Not a great vote of confidence for my private hospital. There seems quite a disconnect.

I'm confident my wound is healed well but now I'm wondering. That's really how I was left after the call. Happy he had no concerns but left wondering wether it's good that it will now be 8 weeks before my new hip is actually checked and then only as a side issue.

He said I should expect a slow recovery because my hip he just replaced was 'horrible' and the other one is 'horrible'. Not a man of many words but I do actually believe he is a good surgeon.

I did actually overdo it after my 9 laps around the garden. Not in the usual sense of pain or swelling but my leg muscles generally reacted as if I'd run a marathon. The result, too much muscle fatigue to do much for a good few days. Today I felt better and have straight away overdone it somehow. I think doing a couple too many lateral leg raises. I'd been doing a couple and did a few more. I'm now icing!

So, hands up I'm in the ODIC again :bignono:
I can hear the shouts of... Be patient echoing :heehee:
 
I'm so sorry your call with your surgeon left you feeling so uncertain. Try not to worry. If there was a problem with the wound, you would have symptoms liking pain, redness and even fever. If you don't, it is probably healed just as you believe.

Glad you are able to go ahead with the second hip soon. Keep us posted!
 
Thanks @benne68 :loveshwr:

I'm not worried about the wound so much as every time there's a new pain, ache or sensation in the new hip. I wonder if it's OK. I've read many a recovery story and so remind myself it's normal to be a bit anxious. I know that it's normal and that things feel different as we recover. I kind of got used to the big swelling episodes. Now I don't get those, I tend to over think all the new aches. Especially as they now seem to be more in the hip area and not the leg generally. I suspect they were always there but big leg area swelling masked other smaller sensations.
 
@Deni444 I, too, am sorry your phone visit was confusing and less than optimal! I think, from my own experience, that many physicians (surgeons especially) struggle to translate their medical language into words that their patients will understand. They trust their own eyes and experience and maybe wonder if colleagues (ie: at the hospital) are reporting things accurately ... or if they them selves would have seen something different had they been there to examine you. And saying a hip is "horrible" .... well just how awful is that "horrible". One of the things I appreciated about my surgeon was that, at our first meeting, he pulled up my x-rays on the computer - the actual films not just the written radiologist's report - and showed me just why he used the "horrible" word to describe each hip. And yes even my non-medically trained eyes could see just why that was an appropriate word to describe what was going on with the hips.

The longer one goes with a deteriorating hip before getting it replaced, the longer the muscles and tendons are getting out of shape. And therefore the longer it will take to get them all back to where and how they are supposed to be. Add to that the healing required for going through major surgery! And in this situation there will be more odd sensations as those parts rehabilitate. It's almost like each big and little part has to do a bit of screaming "pay attention to me!" while they heal.

At this stage it is also important to take care of YOU! Pamper your self a bit. One of the things I did when given the OK to have a bath rather than a shower was to take a lovely soaking bath with wonderful smelling bubbles. I made sure to have a female friend in the house in case I needed help getting out off the tub (my male house mate - wonderful younger fellow - but that kind of help is NOT in our relationship!) That was so relaxing and therapeutic! And it soothed many of those small (and a few large) complaints from muscles and tendons.
 
Thank you so much @djklaugh :goodpost:

That's exactly what I needed to hear. Everything you said made complete sense and was reassuring. To be fair to my surgeon, we had discussed my 'horrible' hip whilst looking at x-ray before surgery. He'd also written a report on my condition that used appropriate language. He's not the tea and sympathy kind but I think he cares. Just not a natural communicator.

I think I'd really struggle to get out of the bath but I'm planning to go swimming and I think that would be really nice.
 
@Deni444
Thanks Deni for your encouragement. Sorry to hear that you were dissatisfied with your phone call and left wondering if all is well. I was imagining you actually going to see your surgeon. Do you mean a further 8 weeks before it’s looked at? I totally understand you worrying about each new ache. I’m like that and also thinking, in my case, why is my leg swinging that way when lying down.

The Dr I saw yesterday wasn’t a surgeon or even an orthopaedic doctor, just the person on duty at the Urgent Care Unit (for those of you across the pond this is a walk in unit similar to the emergency room but dealing with less life threatening conditions) I have to say I was shaken when my physio thought that the prosthetic knee might have been fractured and cautioned me not to eat in case I was operated on that day. Probably unlikely given that I had to wait 48 hours for my fractured femur to be dealt with! I did find it interesting to see the xrays including the previous ones before and after surgery which I hadn’t see before.
I echo what @djklaugh said about pampering yourself. Though will caution getting in a bath until sure you have the muscle strength to get out - I speak from experience after my knee replacement! :bath:
 
@IndigoKnee Thanks for the warning. I'm definitely not ready for a bath, I'd have to get on my knees to get out and possibly end up twisting. That's the one position my surgeon told me to be cautious of (bending at or beyond 90 degrees with a twist. With my right leg so poor I wouldn't want to risk it.

On the subject of knees again. I've been rushed to x-ray numerous times with my right knee over the years but the x-ray always comes up fine. Mechanically sound but the issue has always been soft tissue inflammation that isn't obvious and it's often taken a long time to calm down. It has often baffled everyone but over these years I've had to accept it doesn't feel mechanically sound but it is. Knees are quite intriguing joints!

In answer to the 8 weeks, yes. My new hip hasn't been physically checked since surgery. Although they did x-ray it and have observed my progress, mobility and pain levels and such. Even my physio appointments have been by video and I wasn't required to demonstrate anything. On the one hand, I can't fault my experience at the hospital but it wasn't what I expected when I paid for private treatment. I did go back to the private hospital to have my wound checked and that was reassuring. My personal opinion of paying for private hip replacement in the UK is that the only benefit seems to be quicker treatment and a slightly more attractive hospital. I feel the aftercare would have been better through the NHS. It's a long, long wait but once you get through that stage, the service is set up to see you through every stage with a joined up and efficient approach.

I read a lot of threads on here and there seems to be a huge difference in terms of post op check-ups. My team seem to go solely by observing pain, ability to sleep and mobility. If it all looks good, no need to check. I guess my recovery looks good to them.
 
My first post op was at three weeks. I was seen by the physician assistant who checked my wound and I had my hip x-rayed and was. I was told all appears as it should.

I didn't have an appointment after that until I was three months post op and saw my surgeon for the first time since I saw him in recovery, as he wrote notes in my room about the surgery and told me he put my leg on backwards :heehee: He never even checked on me for the remaining 23 hrs I was at the surgery site, so I don't find your situation odd, or unusual.

You're right, there is a difference in terms of post op visits. I guess they assume that we'll let them know if there seems to be an issue. There's been a theory tossed around here that they schedule your first visit with the OS "weeks" beyond surgery, so by then you are hopefully over hating them for what they did to you. :wink: :heehee:
Have a great weekend, Deni!
@Deni444
 
@Deni444
How’s your walking going?
Interesting about the difference you have noted with the post surgery check ups. When I had my knee done 2 years ago, at a private hospital but funded by the NHS, I had two lots of in-person physio at 2 weeks and 4 weeks, and saw the surgeon at 8 weeks. He told me that they used to see NHS patients at six weeks and 10 weeks but were told they had to reduce it to one appointment . I did have some concerns a few weeks after that and then again at five months and both times I was able to see him again by making an appointment through his private secretary. This time I’ve got my first check up next week which is just over nine weeks. This surgery was at an NHS hospital done as an emergency. Prior to my being sent to Urgent Care two days ago no one checked up to ask how I was doing apart from when I first came home.

I’ve just driven a short distance as needed to put petrol in the car ready to drive to my checkup on Tuesday. It’s about 45 minute drive to the hospital but I’m going to allow extra time so I can stop partway. It’s unfortunately I’ve got to drive myself, but I’ll manage.

Knees are indeed intriguing and complicated joints! When five months after my knee replacement it suddenly gave away under me – seven times in a very short walk – I went back to see the surgeon who x-rayed it and all was fine with the joint, but the joint capsule had been damaged though he wasn’t sure how that had happened. The knee did eventually get better and up until having this recent accident I was walking as far as I wanted on it on rough and uneven ground. So I guess eventually everything will heal and I’ll be enjoying walking again and stop being so scared, as I am at the moment.:bolt:
 
Thanks for sharing your story, it helps to know I'm not the only one. @Layla

I liked your point at the end about delaying post op contact until we don't hate them. When I came around in theatre I was chatting to my anaesthetist and spotted my surgeon about to sit down at a monitor. I called his name and he looked up in horror :yikes:... I simply smiled and said, 'thank you Mr Carluke'. He let out a breath, smiled back and said everything had gone very well. I did wonder at the time what he was expecting me to say :heehee:
 
@IndigoKnee My walking is very off and on. I keep overdoing it. My 9 laps left me feeling like I was recovering from a marathon, so I was back to a single lap. Now, I seem to have set off a bit of swelling doing some exercises, I really didn't need to be doing. I've decided to do a reset and build up again from a single lap. I'm still on the crutches because when I attempt to switch to sticks, my hip gets grumpy.

It's arduously slow going but I'm active around the house and get around. I have to keep reminding myself I'm progressing but it's slow.
 
@Deni444 interesting to hear that you’re still on crutches as I keep thinking maybe I should be going onto a cane by this stage. I do walk around the house mainly without anything, except at night, but when I saw the doctor at the hospital on Thursday he said crutches really aren’t a good idea because if you trip you will break your arm, which horrified me. I did also try a short walk with my Nordic walking poles but the 'foot' of them is really quite small so that didn’t feel safe. So I’m left thinking should I try walking mainly indoors without any support and just walk slowly heel/toe concentrating on a good pattern or should I try and go out still using my crutches. I tried using a cane today just to walk to the car (30 yards) but that didn’t feel safe.
Of course you’re coming from a situation where your mobility prior to the operation was limited so you would’ve had a fair bit of muscle weakness. There doesn’t seem a clear answer to anything, just down to each individual I guess.
 
It’s interesting seeing the difference between the private care package you got at a Nuffield hospital and the one I have from a Spire hospital. I get as many face to face physio sessions as I need - the first 2 already booked at 2 and 3 weeks out. Last time I had 3 in total but they were at 3, 5 and 8 weeks, after which they discharged me as I was very well recovered. When I asked this time if it was 3, the answer was no, if you need 33 you can have 33. I will have a face to face with a nurse next week to take the surgical clips out and check the wound, and a face to face with the surgeon at 6-8 weeks. My surgeon has a private practice in both a Spire and a Nuffield. I chose Spire because it’s nearer home and it’s also where I had the other hip replaced. I didn’t think to look at any differences between the packages. Beginning to think I made the best choice, despite feeling I was being chucked out of hospital way too soon last Sunday!

I am sorry you are still experiencing discomfort. I guess it’s going to be hard until you have 2 fixed hips - but I am sure it will stay better. Don’t worry about using crutches - even just a little touch helps reduce the load and is worthwhile. One day you will wander off without them and not even think about it.
 
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