THR Life as a Double Hipster. How are you doing?

@Ava J what a wonderful way to wake up! Sorry about your hissy stitches, that too has probably already passed! I want a pic of you criss-cross on the floor when you're ready!!!
@Hipster-2 I have fallen HUGELY more times than I can count, with most falls being within a year of a hip. No damage that I know of to the hip. Plenty to my pride! I don't think I'd want to be thrown from a horse, but then I never thought that would be fun. Steep trails would bother my knees but fear of falling would be more fear of slipping into a 180-split, as one might if the lead foot slips on wet leaves or the like. That would not be fun. Might need a basket carry or a nap!
I was asked at a routine PCP appt last week, are you afraid of falling? I had to answer with a laugh, I am deathly afraid of brick steps, because I had a doozy of a "sprain-everything fall" down 6 of them at 38! But no, I'm not afraid of falling in the way she meant. I just have a vivid imagination :yikes:
 
@Ava J what a wonderful way to wake up! Sorry about your hissy stitches, that too has probably already passed! I want a pic of you criss-cross on the floor when you're ready!!!

Will do! I will definitely want that picture for myself!

I have this 5" in diameter acrylic ball and I've been using it to massage my whole hip the last couple of days. So nice. I wonder if that's what's really helping with the stiffness right now.

Yes, the stitches have calmed down on their own for now. No sudden moves though.

Is it lunch time yet?
 
[QUOTE="zauberflöte, post: 1429845, member: 10388"@Hipster-2 I have fallen HUGELY more times than I can count, with most falls being within a year of a hip. No damage that I know of to the hip. Plenty to my pride! I don't think I'd want to be thrown from a horse, but then I never thought that would be fun.
[/QUOTE]
That is very good to hear! Somehow I am much more paranoid now that I have 2 hips; statistically it seems to double the risk of some catastrophic revision if I get lawn-darted from a horse. Or trip over a vacuum cleaner or such - I’m not gifted with an excess of coordination or grace. My friends and family already consider me too much of a risk-taker, so it seems reasonable for me to take prudent precautions rather than keep thinking of myself as 25. Even last winter with 1 hip, I was far more worried about walking on ice than I’d ever been in my life. No doubt after a year or so of feeling paranoid I’ll just forget about it...
 
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@Hipster-2

Honestly, in slippery situations, I am always more worried I'll damage my hands if I fall. That's how I fall - on my hands. I've hit them hard before. So hips I'm not so worried. I've sort of learned to cushion myself, like a cat, I guess. But I totally get your concern. Especially in this first year, re-learning coordination. UGH.
 
Today is like turning a new leaf. I was ready to be sore and cumbersome after my yesterday's buzzing around, but more than anything, I was tempted to ditch crutches. :p Bad me. Husband told me several times today to be patient and give it two more weeks until my 3-week post-op appointment.
I'm gonna be good and careful.
 
I always guard the face-- a flute player is nothing without her face in original condition!

@Hipster-2 let me make a list.
--stepped over a wire "fence", flute bag swung around me, swung me over and wham on the new right hip. Flute sustained no damage.
--carrying two heavy grocery bags towards Concrete stoop in the remainder of the snow, tripped over the rucked-up heavy rubber door mat, new hip knee wham on concrete. No broken bottles!
--same fall with full litter box but caught myself, whew!
-- walking fast on the road in the dark, looking into people's houses as one does, rolled left ankle over an uneven paving, wham on new hip knee and both hands. Jeans not ripped!
-- showing yard guy where I wanted him to rake, wham stepped into knee-deep leaf-filled pothole in dirt on new hip side, tibia not broken.
These next are with both hips:
-- stupid cat on bathmat post shower, wanting to keep her dry I stand in bathtub and reeeeeach for towel,, slip on leftover conditioner, much acrobatic twisting, land straddling bathtub edge (YUK!!!!) on tailbone. Somehow fractured a rib on the toilet plunger handle. I also had pneumonia. Cougher not broken, unfortunately.
--post-shower drying leg up on vanity top (usual MO), hard vestibular spin, toilet relocates to a parallel universe so nothing to grab as I whirl around straight at the bathtub. Tip straight-legged into bathtub, land on tailbone again. crying ensues. Mr ZF to rescue. Very worried! Xrays show nothing broken. Dr says "pretty good field test of your bone density". Hard to sit on firm surfaces for many weeks.

And all these falls were age 61-67. Don't worry too much! I'm sitting criss-cross legged on the floor stretching my outer hips as I write this. :ice:
 
Today is like turning a new leaf. I was ready to be sore and cumbersome after my yesterday's buzzing around, but more than anything, I was tempted to ditch crutches. :p Bad me. Husband told me several times today to be patient and give it two more weeks until my 3-week post-op appointment.
I'm gonna be good and careful.
Ava, I admire your attitude! You are a much better patient than I ever was!
 
Today has been a mleh day. Nothing hurt especially fantastically. I actually took less pain killers. The leg felt stronger. Motion--smoother (apart from when I walk).

But my left stitch hurts a ton (overworking that leg for sure). And I had a general moping attitude. A whole summer indoors after a really crappy, long winter. Waaaaaah. Cabin fever is setting in real good. Just counting the days until I can sit anywhere I want (no 90 degree/low furniture restriction) and until I can walk 1-2 miles in one lump.

I got this. I got this. Tomorrow will be a better day.
 
I'm glad you felt stronger today. That's a good feeling, isn't it?

Tomorrow will be better! I hope you sleep well and wake up refreshed.
 
I had a general moping attitude. A whole summer indoors after a really crappy, long winter. Waaaaaah. Cabin fever is setting in real good.

My heart goes out to those in recovery now. You really have to pull from your patience reserves. Trying to understand all that’s going on and how to function in these days of the pandemic and civil unrest is difficult enough, but add to that recovery from a major surgery. Considering all, your doing well. Hats off to you! I hope this evolves into a peaceful Saturday.
 
There are days that are like that and one just does not feel super peppy especially with the extra stresses from Covid. You have done a great job practicing patience and moving along at a steady pace. As a friend kept telling me years ago during a trying time for me "this too shall pass and all things will be well". Of course, I kept saying when? I hope the day improves for you and you have some sunshine in your area but not too much heat.
 
@Ava J ugh I hate those days-- I have them from time to time without a recent THR to pin it on!

As far as seating--years before first hip, I bought myself a chunk of 5" foam, not memory foam but exactly the density and degree of firmness I wanted, to make any hard chair both comfortable and high enough so that my innards did not squish my breathing, so I'd be more comfortable playing my flute. I still carry it in my car-- works wonders for cheap folding chairs! I found some cushions onAmazon that might be useful.
Something like this?
 
Feeling better today. I got to get out a little on the weekend, so that helped tremendously. :D

Took off incision cover today because once again hit the itching stage. I thought I was allergic to surgical tape. I still may be because the transparent stuff gave me severe itching for days. This bandage was the brown one with a white pad on the inside, but still started itching mildly a couple of days ago. Took it off this morning. My husband even joked that I've been itching for the last hour and a half in the morning. :p

Looks like today will be the last day of traMADol because I'm not in too much pain and also approached the same amount of pills I took with my left hip. Either way, I'll have some left, so if I hit a difficult day, I'll have some. I'll keep taking my Celebrex though until I run out (before bed). Really help with that tired muscle/swelling feeling for me.
 
My skin did not like bandages on and itching was a companion as was benadryl which I hate to take. I was very happy when all were gone. Glad to read you are feeling a bit better and had an outing. I hope you have a good day.
 
@Ava J so glad you got out-- that's a real mood lifter for anyone!
Allergies! I am definitely allergic to that Kinesiology Tape, any brand. If you've ever had it, you know that it's made to stick tight for up to a week, and us a bear to loosen even then. I get a bubbly rash around it and the first time that happened I had 4 pieces in a star shape over my right S-I joint (felt wonderful, like a warm hand supporting my back) but the itchy blisters were very hard to bear, and ripping the tape off did not improve my disposition either! I had a similar, milder reaction to the transparent bandage over my first hip incision, but the second didn't bother me. Who knows why.
I also sometimes get red outlines around bandaids that are on all day.
 
Hello Ava,
Glad you’re feeling better today. A change of scenery, even for a short time does a body good. I hope the itching stops soon and your pain steadily eases.
Happy Two Week Anniversary a day early! :wave: Enjoy the week.
@Ava J
 
@leejaa

This was odd, odd, odd. So maybe I'm not allergic to them per se, but just sensitive to the period of time there is adhesive on my skin? Even after I took it off, I itched like crazy for a day. I resorted to swabbing around the glue contact sites with hand sanitizer (because of alcohol and I don't have any rubbing alcohol, thanks COVID). It did help. Sheesh though. Today is better.

@zauberflöte, @Layla

Thank you, yes! I do feel better having gone out a bit. It was a bear. One thing better, the other one worse though. I am ready to throw the walker out the window. Walked some with just the one crutch downstairs. Boy, am I still too stiff for that. I forgot just how much I lean on the healthier leg during that first period of less assisted walking.

Climbing up the stairs last time switched my mind to the point of thinking "Something's been seriously wrong with me and I'm still not okay" instead of "I'm getting better!" No bien.

Got my iceberg back for tonight. I'm gonna mope, finish some computer stuffs, and watch some show on Netflix. Oh yes. Tea is coming. Poor hubby. Ten weeks of this! I keep chanting, "By Halloween I'll be awesome. By Halloween I'll be awesome."
 
Awwwww @Ava J it's normal to feel this way, really!!! Don't beat yourself up. Hubby with tea sounds lovely, as does Netflix. I stopped our Netflix last month bc we weren't watching anything for months on end. I'll start up again when The Crown drops! We are watching the 1955 season of "What's My Line?" right now on Amazon, which is harmless, brainless, and funny. Just exactly what we need!!
 
6 weeks of bandage torture! My blisters had blisters. I nearly jumped up and hugged my OS when he said I didn’t need them any more. Discretion being the better part of valor, I waited until the end of the appointment as thanks for a job well done. What can I say? I’m the touchy-feely type. He never really knew what to do with that part of my personality. Lol. Anyway. It took about a week for all of that redness/irritation to go away. I remember getting very antsy about the same time. You’re not a day old surgical but not yet quite ready to take everything on...but you’d really like to. Then your hip and body put you in your place. Then you start muttering things as mantras. Oh, yes! How I remember! Lol. :heehee:
 

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