THR Left one is done - and right one too!

[leenie60]

I was able to remove the toe nail polish from my feet and trim my toe nails ever so slightly. It wasn't "easy" and I was huffing and puffing afterwards with that ouchy kind of breathing followed by a slow unfolding from the position. More positive baby steps.

 

[MammaT]

@leenie60-I well remember the toe nail milestone! Of course, now the new leg is not hard-but the right is getting difficult! Keep focusing on little milestones-they add up to big ones!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[Mojo333]

@leenie60 I know you are ready to be getting on with it...but good for baby steps. One month or.
I think of you and I know you are gonna be like I am now at six months...happy and healthy. Hope today well be a good day

 

[Layla]

Yay on the pedi! @leenie60
Isn't it funny how something you took for granted a mere few years ago, became so painful and
almost impossible to accomplish?

I did a pedicure a day or two pre-op. I knew a manicure wasn't allowed but it didn't
mention pedicure so I struggled through not knowing how long it would be until I had another.
Even chose a nude polish so it wore less visibly.

At one month post op I was bound and determined and set out to trim, file and polish. I did the non op leg and didn't feel I had the flexibility, or the energy, to do the op leg leaving it for a day or two...until it drove me nuts! Your description of the process is pretty accurate to my experience lol!
My legs aren't short and possibly my arms are disproportionate? All I know is it is still a struggle each time I do it but feel like I accomplished something BIG when I'm done! I hope it gets easier because I've read too many negative articles on the dangers of infection in nail salons.....NO THANKS!

Best wishes for a great week and a closed incision!

 

[leenie60]

My 6 week followup went well except he removed 2 more sutures that popped to the surface... Doc feels bad but there is no infection which is most important and if necessary call him. Return to work 11/1 which will be 8 wks post op for the right and 15 wks for left.

If i choose to, I can stop using the pillow at night. He urged me to continue using raised toilet seat and to use handicap bathroom at work so that my mobility doesn't take a hit. Other wise, no work restrictions, continue walking and NOT over working the hips.

Because I had both done close together he said it is still early and to keep up the good work. He also said that those people who have had lumbar fusion have more back pain due to all the compensating and extra load transferred to the hips. I look forward to diminishing back pain.

I am definitely achy, stiff and sore but I am also making great progress even if it's frustrating at times.

The pic shows my boo boo and 4th bandaid of the day.

 

[Mojo333]

I think that battle scar looks great for 8 weeks, @leenie60 . I don't know how you're other one looks now, but that one looks like its gonna turn into thin scar.
Mine was done anterior... and it 6 mos looks like its kind-of dented in and might not be so thin but who knows. I don't care really... I'm over short shorts and bikinis age and it was well worth it.
I forgot about your back surgery.
You sure have had a lot of fixing it up done these past years. I know it hasn't been fun but you should be good for another 50 years after this.

 

[Layla]

The incision scar looks so much better! @leenie60
Sounds like you're doing well, life slowly returning to normal.
Hope you're feeling stronger each day as you continue to heal.
Have a great rest of the week!

 

[Mojo333]

@leenie60
Hope your absence means you are doing well and back to life.
Just wanted to say

 

[Layla]

Me too @leenie60

 

[Mojo333]

Yay...see you peeking....love ya, miss ya.
Hope you're getting ready for a great holiday.:dancing:

 

[leenie60]

Hi All! I have been back to work since Nov 1st so my absence definitely means I'm getting my life back! The first couple of weeks were short weeks and my accounts took several days to restore so they were basically unproductive days but I did get to walk around, get acclimated and show my face!

All in all I am doing very well. My scars are healing beautifully even the difficult right one is doing well. I still have difficulty getting my shoes and socks on even with an assist, but once in a while I manage on my own using my doctor's guidance. I walk anywhere between 5 - 10,000 steps a day to keep things moving. If I sit for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time things stiffen up. It is easy to walk around I just need to do it and I have been.

Some days are better than others as my back is still very sore on some days, more sore than the blasted hips! I still take anti-inflammatories 3-4 times a day and one or two pain meds a week, as needed.

I even took a bath a couple weeks ago. I have a 6 foot tub so it is a bit easier to get in and out of than smaller ones but I was very careful. I try not to pick flat things up off the floor but otherwise, I bend pretty regularly and until this afternoon there have been zero issues.

The issue was... On my way out of work today I had a bit of a dislocation scare! YIKES. I was wearing slim pants that tend to get stuck on my socks and ride up ever so slightly. I put one foot behind the calf of whichever leg I want to adjust and slide it down from the back using the top of my foot. I've done this many times without any issue whatsoever. This afternoon when I put my left foot behind my right calf to slide the pant leg down ever so slightly, my hip or hip muscles, for lack of a better word, pinched or caught. I'm not really sure how to describe it but it hurt and stopped me in my tracks. I leaned on a table for a minute or so and let the feeling subside and to be sure I could walk on that leg. I could and I'm home with heat on it. It feels off but it didn't dislocate. What a scary feeling. I can only imagine how it actually feels to dislocate. My hips are very stable but it seems to me now that a really simple routine kind of move really can throw us out of whack.

Sorry it has taken me so long to hop on but I'm up early every day and some days I'm working 10 hours to catch up financially and I've just not taken the time to chime in.

I am alive and well. Feeling just a tad unsettled by today's glitch but nonetheless, recovering beautifully and busy getting ready for the holidays albeit it cautiously.

Happy Holidays to all.

 

[Mojo333]

Be Super Careful. I did some excessive work requiring several hours of unusual leg/hip position and felt it for days.
Thought I was passed some of that, apparently not.
I also had volunteer run small cart into my incision one day. That really hurt.
Try to be careful not paranoid.
Glad you have been doing well...don't think some of those muscles are ready to go all the way yet.
So good to hear from you. Think of you often!

 

[leenie60]

@Mojo333 I've bumped my scars a couple times too and that definitely doesn't feel good. My right incision oozed right up until 2 days before I returned to work when I was finally able to stop wearing band aides.

 

[Layla]

Great to see your avatar and post @leenie60
Sorry you hurt yourself. Hopefully the heat and some rest will resolve it. That is scary!
That's a lesson for me as I normally wear the slim leg or skinny jeans myself and do the same thing. Only difference is I always do it with the bottom of my foot hitting the very lowest inside part of my calf....in the front, not the back. Wondering if that maneuver is just as dangerous. Something to consider...

It's great to hear you're doing well and are back to work. Don't be a stranger, it's nice to hear from you.
Wishing you a great week!

 

[leenie60]

@Layla - thanks for the info on your approach - I think I have done it the way you describe more often than not so perhaps it was the way I did it that time that caused the discomfort. HHmmm Can't say I'm going to test it again anytime soon.

Thanks to you and @Mojo333 for being concerned about me.

 

[Layla]

Hey @leenie60
Hope you're doing well....thriving....moving forward in life.
It's been a rough year with two hip replacements. BUT you did it!!
Would love to hear an update when / if you have time....if you care to share.

Want to wish you a very :merry christmas: and a happy, healthy 2018!

 

[leenie60]

Hi friends! Well this year was off to a good start until I tripped and fell at work the other day! Let me say, that I believe I am A-ok. I was coming out of an office at work and took a hard right, right smack into a 5 gallon Rubbermaid garbage can that caused me to end up turned around and I landed on my left him and hand then sort of rolled onto my right hip on a concrete floor (with carpet). There were a couple of big guys around who helped me get up so I didn't have to try and roll over and get on all fours then to a standing position. I was shaken up and quite upset all night and I was sore. I iced and took a bath and put myself to bed early. My hand and wrist hurt and my hips were sore.

I reported to the Health Center immediately the next morning to report my fall. I work for a gigantic company and it was prudent for me to report the fall. By that time, my left arm hurt when I moved it, my palm was sore and the soft tissue on the outer part of my left thigh in particular, was screaming at me. I was diagnosed with a slight sprain of the arm. She really didn't do anything with my hips other than listen to what I said in terms of how I was feeling. My upper body and neck were sore.

Last night a decent size bruise appeared on the outside of my hip. It will probably get a bit darker and it is still pretty sore. Both hips and my sitz bones are sore, but again, I think I'm okay. I have not called my doctor. I'm actively monitoring how I feel and know that it is not uncommon for stiffness and bruising to get worse before it gets better so that's where I'm at.

When the doctor said I have two very stable hips, he meant it. I think that how I fell made all the difference since my legs didn't go in all kinds of directions that they shouldn't have gone. It was more like a stop, drop and roll kinda fall. I took a few minutes to recover and regain my composure before I left work that day. That was Tuesday.

Now I'm sharing with my hippie friends. I have been requested to follow-up with the Health Center on Monday and an official non-reportable injury report has been initiated for workers comp purposes. Non-reportable because it didn't happen in the shipyard working on a job, which type of injury would fall under OSHA. Fingers crossed everything will settle down and all will be well. My shoulder has been operated on twice so I really can't afford to have an injury to contend with at this point in time, never mind incur an injury to either hip, both knees and my darn back! All were impacted to some degree by the fall.

Has anyone else taken a spill after getting one or two new hips? If so, how well did you fare?

Cheers,

 

[Layla]

Hi @leenie60
Always love spotting that balloon knowing it means a visit from Leenie!
That post was jaw dropping! My word, you're lucky it wasn't worse. I'm sorry you're
hurting at all, especially the shoulder you're concerned about. It sounds like you're suffering
a lot of after affects. Hopefully all will ease soon.

I know we all fear falling! I always wonder what one's thinking as they're falling, or if there's really any time to think? GrannyC recently took a spill outdoors on the ice and Mojo flipped a 4 wheeler. Both are okay but I'm sure were sore. Mojo sustained a decent bruise. She has a photo on her thread, check it out.

I hope all else is well and that you're back to your old self in short order. It was great hearing from you, don't be a stranger! A great weekend to you....try to stay on your feet

 

[MammaT]

Hope soreness passes soon @leenie60. Not the best way to test how stable the new hips are. If hip continues to bother you at all, make sure they follow up on it.

 

[Mojo333]

Hi @leenie60 .
My "incident" scared me silly! My hips...an I okay? Took me half a day to discover I had large abrasion down shin, severely skinned knee, handlebar jammed into left inner thigh, , hence large bruise...and various miscellaneous bruises on elbows and arm.
I'm okay with all of that, HIPS FINE!
So sorry you hurt yourself...so happy your hips are FINE.
I am being ever so more careful as it could been a bad Christmas Eve and mine was due to carelessness.
ATV very heavy and with 250 lb BIL on back, will tip when turned sharply....now I know!
Honestly, my heart was racing for an hour as I walked around and checked out my hips.
WE have to be more careful!