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THR Let the recovery begin!

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Hello Sandy, Sarah and Lou! Thanks for checking on me! My appetite has come back finally and maybe with a vengeance :th_heehee: I'm drinking water a a breakneck pace which is something I've always done! I was sooo thirsty in the hospital and felt so miserable wing that way, don't want to go there again.

I have been so tired the last day or so, yesterday if it weren't for potty breaks and my exercises I would've never gotten out of bed. Of course we are having some very cold and misty days so that might have a little to do with it. I just generally feel very tired and sore :sigh: and could get a pity party started pretty quick for myself.

I do have a few questions for anyone out there.
How long did you continue to dran from your wound? My Dr told me that if by Monday the 5th it wasn't finished draining then I needed a compression garment...I'm not draining much at all right now but there is still some.

What's the general time people their off their walkers? I know it varies with people just thought there might be something to aim for.

Hope each of you out there has a great night and great recovery!! xoxo
 
Hi Buffi,
Glad to hear your appetite is back. The fatigue you describe seems about right for 8 days post op - the first 10 days or so, if I was not doing my exercises, I had my feet up on the couch (no 90 degree rules) and was bundled up with ice packs, a cup of tea and the internet.
Re the drainage, if you have any concern, perhaps a call to the doctor is warranted. Similarly your PT should be able to talk with you about the ongoing need for the walker - from what I've read in the forum there really is a huge variability of when it becomes unecessary.
Have a good night.
 
The drainage sounds perfectly normal to me Bufffi. However, I am wondering why you are so sore. What are you taking for for pain meds, how often, and are you icing and elevating?

There is no rush to get off the walker. Everyone is different. DO you have crutches to use instead? It is still very early days yet honey...
 
Hello Buffi,

Sorry you are sore, if its a painful sore are you taking your pain Meds are prescribed? It's interesting a couple of the nurses as I was discharging would for sure have me cut back but I'm not playing around with pain Meds I take my 2 tablets every 4 hours regardless I set an alarm on phone every time I take to remind me in 4 hrs, except this morning when I forgot so not sure if I went 4 or 8 hrs (silly one lolollol) I do get a stiffness in my femur bone but not painful. Hope you can calm yours down.

I'm on walker for 4 weeks for sure my dr prefers walkers to crutches, rig now I'm dependent on mine I can take a couple of steps around bed or in kitchen away from it but feel safer with it. I wonder if I could do be doing better with walking but not sweating or rushing it.

I have the sleepiness all the time, it comes in waves. I do have a very upright chair in the living room and find once I settle onto it I will stay awake until bedtime, my new hobby is knitting not sure what right now it looks like a scarf wow it's been years since I did this but it came back to me instantly keep me busy, along with iPad.

Sorry about drainage if in doubt I'd ask drs nurse. I had very little and they removed drain theft day after surgery.....today has been a new day for my scar to itch I'm thinking its a sign of healing. My hip still has some very rock hard patches on the side. Nothing I'm concerned about.

Hope you are well tonight!

Night night...

Sarah
 
Good morning Buffi,

Hope you are starting to not be in as much pain. I too tried to set alarm to take meds and I also kept a note pad next to me and would try to write it down so I knew what I took and when I took it. I also had to take the Lovenox injections daily and wrote it down so I would stay around the same time each day.

Everyone above as pretty much explained everything. If you are draining still a lot I would probably place a call in to the nurse and ask. I had no drainage once I left hospital and when home health nurse came out and changed bandage there was none so she said she didn't see a need to come back.

I can't remember what you had, Anterior or Posterior? With my Anterior I was full weight bearing from day one and as far as walker went if was different with each of my surgeries. First one I was off the walker and using a cane in about 1- 1/12 weeks but with second I was using walker for a longer periord before I was able to switch. Reading Sarah's post it's so true, some docs prefer walkers and canes and others just prefer crutches for the entire time. I agree with Sarah, I much preferred using a walker and then cane. Everyone feels different about each.

Hope today is a better day for you.
 
Hi Buffi. I do not know if I can add much more as others have it pretty well covered. Icing. elevation, and rest should help with the drainage, but I would definitely stay in touch with your OS if you have any concerns. I made several calls to the hospital to answer questions I had. As Julie pointed out, staying on top of pain meds is important. I was repeatedly told to not wait to until I was in pain or uncomfortable before taking your next dose. Follow instructions as prescribed by the doctor.

As for walking aids. I opted for a walker at first. It felt more secure and more natural. When I switched to crutches, I went to one crutch so my PT could help me with my gait. As far as timeframe, I have no idea how to answer that...I think there are too many variables. Your PT may have a sense as to when you are ready to transition.

Hope your feeling better today and the sun is shining!
 
Hi Buffi,

How are you doing today? You know, we'll need to know your med schedule -- or at least Jo will so that she can assess if you need to tweak it for that soreness you mentioned. I can't remember if you mentioned your incision having staples or glue. Your home based nurse should be able to look at it and assess whether you should call in to the OS office for further instruction.

What recommendations did you get at discharge in terms of the use of assistive devices until your follow-up appointment with the surgeon? I moved from walker to two crutches, one crutch and then cane over the span of 5 weeks. Lots of variations depending upon the surgeon and the hip issues prior to surgery.

I'm glad that you got some blood before you left the hospital, are you taking any iron supplements at home? Did you get one bag or two of blood? Maybe a little anemia which in addition to the surgery can leave you feeling tired. You mentioned your appetite being back and that's great try to get in some dark leafy greens (spinach, kale), prunes, black beans in as well. Hope today finds you feeling a bit better. :wink1:

Take care,
Cardie
 
Buffi, I haven't had my hip replacement yet, but I did have a hysterectomy in January 2011 and had a 9" incision. I did really well afterwards, but I was pretty sore for the first 2 weeks or so, especially when I turned in bed or got up out of bed or a chair.

It makes sense to me that anything that has a significant incision and a lot of manipulation--hip surgery--is going to be sore afterwards. Just make sure you are taking your pain meds as often as they are prescribed. If you think the pain meds you are prescribed aren't enough, then call your doctor. They may be able to adjust your schedule or change the meds.

A friend of mine had a posterior hip replacement during the summer. I visited her often. I remember she was still using her walker full time through at least the 3rd week post surgery. She started using a cane intermittently mixed with the walker after that, but I think she was still using the walker some up through at least 4 weeks post surgery. After that things seemed to progress pretty quickly. The first 4 weeks seemed to be the slower time and then things took off for her.

Hope you are feeling better. I will soon be going through what you are and I know I will be telling everyone here what it's like and asking for support.

Try to keep thinking that you had this surgery done to feel better in the future. It's going to take a while to get there, but you WILL feel better after a bit more time. Then you will feel a LOT better than you did before the hip replacement and you will be so glad you had it done.

A co-worker who had her hip replaced two years ago by the same surgeon as I am using saw me limping around today and said "Are you ready to have your surgery????" I told her that I was absolutely ready and felt like taking a hammer and saw to it myself just to get it done and on the path to feeling better! She followed that with a resounding "YOU WILL BE SO HAPPY THAT YOU HAD IT DONE!" That made me feel hopeful :-)

Try to keep thinking about the future and how the rest of your life will be so much better ... this soreness/pain is only temporary. But, I completely understand that it's not too pleasant right now. Feel free to talk about it here or in a PM to me any time. Pain is not fun, whether it's recovery type pain or chronic pain, but the nice thing about recovery pain is that it's temporary! Hang in there!

Dorothy
 
Hey girlienerd! Congrats! I had mine on tuesday, and feel pretty good! Never had any nausea either - It feels so good to be on the other side - now just hope the healing goes fast!
 
Hey Anita. I posted or tried to post a long message the other night and got cut off for some reason. I need to try again. I'm feeling much better!
 
So I've been at home for almost 2 weeks now. There are lots of improvements to my hip and my spirit. Last week around Wed I hurt, just hurt badly. I iced, elevated, took my meds and I still just hurt. In the end I think it was a combo of my hip and my boyfriend. He and I were fighting last week, I guess I don't ask for help very well and he wasn't taking it very well. That's all talked through and things have been 1000x better since last week. My hip has still been hurting but we've changed temps here in the south like 3x since I've been home. I arrived home and it was in the mid 60's 12/1, then the Tuesday after it got rainy and in the low 30's. After that this weekend we had the A/C on again. Luckily it's kinda stabilized at the mid 60's for now but my hip and leg has known about these changes for sure!

I've started out patient PT and it has been great. I've done Tuesday, Wed and will go tomorrow also. I feel stronger and a lot more capable than I have in a while even though I'm using a walker. Pre surgery was just miserable and I was barely able to walk, I'm def walking better now.

I also went to my OS on Monday and he gave me the green light to go beyond 90 degrees. He said my X Rays look great and he wants me stretching and strengthening my leg. I'm thrilled but taking the past 90 degrees easy, better safe than sorry for me.

I hope everyone is having a great recovery and getting ready for a Very Merry Christmas!!

Buffi
 
Buffi, that is remarkable! It is amazing what stress can tell our bodies. I am glad to hear that you and your boyfriend are on the same page again. It is hard to remember sometimes when we are in pain not to be grouchy!! To have restrictions raised so soon is indeed a great accomplishment!
 
Hi Buffi,

I've been thinking about you the last few days! Sorry you have had a tough time, the pain alone is horrible. Glad you talked everything out with your boyfriend. Without going into details I had an odd situation at my friends house. Me too I don't like asking for help, not sure if this warrants others behaviors but that's another story another day :). The main goal is for us to recover and get stronger.......

Congratulations on your visit to your OS thats great. My follow up surgery is not until Dec 29th for now I've been doing home based PT which I've been enjoying it always feels better moving and that helps with the post surgical stiffness.

Sending you lots of love!

xxooxx
 
Hi Buffi and Sarah

I think it is something in us strong capable woman who have been independent and suddenly post op we are vulnerable kand need help. Some guys wait until be asked, others are tuned in and intuitive enough to do for us before we ask... But with either, the only way to get our message across is to have that chat and explain what are needs will be during our vulnerable times, but reassure them that it will be temporary as we begin to gain more strength and ability to do for ourselves.

One of the emotions I started to struggle with around the 3 week mark was that I suddenly started to feel a bit stronger, but didn't feel in control!

That is when I decided that my exer use routine was a way to get back my control and that was when I set up this fabulous app on my IPad to go off every hour with the loudest cheery music to remind me that it was time to move.

Like I said on my own thread, sometimes my exercise was to use the breathing device (3 with balls) that you have to get above a line and hold there for as long as one could... I also make sure that every exercise session is accompanied with music, something really cheery - like that song "Be Happy"... This would set my mood and think, I am in control and doing my exercises make me happy, eventually I was singing along, lol :)

This was the technique I worked out to make me feel totally in control and know king that every exercise session took me one step closer to full recovery. Of course, we still have all the underlying healing that has to take place, but at least I was happy :)

Hope this tip gives you some ideas? lol xxooxx, Sandy
 
Sorry for all the iPad errors, I just can scroll back up without the scroll bar to correct them... Please forgive :)
 
Buffi - a tip for you on the forum. If you click the "remember me" box to the right of where you log into the forum you won't get timed out and loose your posts.

Thanks for the update! Sounds like you are on the right track.
 
Go Team Buffi!! :yay:

Glad to hear that you are making good progress and moving in to your outpatient PT!

My hip also gets a bit cranky at the weather changes. Sometimes I find the heating pad helpful... always good to just take it easy if you are achey in these early weeks. Keep up your meds too, now that you are moving around more with PT and exercises.

Take care,
Cardie
 
Hi Buffi,
Wow! A glowing report! (The fighting with the boyfriend we'll just chalk up to the "we all human" excuse.) Sounds like you have turned a tremendous corner and will probably move along even more quickly with the restrictions lifted. Best of luck in your ongoing recovery and best wished for joy filled holidays!
 
Day 18...

Had a great day with PT yesterday but was so tired after I just about slept the whole day away. PT says I'm making great strides in my therapy and we'll be making things harder next week. I'm glad but still a little nervous. I'm doing 6 min of treadmill work but my right arm pays for it since I have to put weight on it so much. I've tried to put more weight on my leg while walking but my gait gets so out of whack I'm not sure what's better. Kill my right arm and keep good posture or strengthen leg but sacrifice posture?

Hope all my hip friends are having a great weekend! Xoxo
 
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