THR LoneStrHip's Recovery Thread

[LoneStrHip]

Hey Y'all! I'm Wendi. I'm 48 and just had my right hip totally replaced anterior. Advanced arthritis and bone spurs had ground my life to a halt and I'm so excited to live again.

Today marks a week since surgery. My Pico pump device is about to die and I'm instructed to tie it off and cut the cord and apply tape to the end. This seems wasteful, as I have another week to wear the dressing.

I've battled a little bit of post surgical depression, feelings of vulnerability, very alone. I'm happily divorced and very independent but moments like these show me I'm like everyone else and need a little help. My adult daughter lives with me, she helps where she can but middle of the night white hot pain, in need of an ice pack moments are tough.

I'm finding the only comfortable sleeping position is flat on my back with a pillow beneath my knees. Anyone else find this sweet spot? I'm so grateful to be able to sleep for long periods again without pain, but getting up from that, straightening my legs is extremely painful after a few hours. Anyone find they were able to comfortably sleep in different positions post surgery? I'm concerned I'm slowing my recovery by allowing those muscles in the hip/groin area to shorten during the night.

 

[Jaycey]

@LoneStrHip Welcome to the other side of surgery! Sorry you are going through post op blues. It's very normal but the good news is it will ease with a bit of time.

Sleeping on your back is good. No risk of crossing the midline which could result in dislocation in these early days. A pillow under your knees eases any lower back pressure.

In a few weeks try sleeping on your non-op side with a pillow between your knees. The pillow prevents the op leg from dropping to the bed (crossing the midline).

I'm concerned I'm slowing my recovery by allowing those muscles in the hip/groin area to shorten during the night.

Not at all. All that muscle tone will return - just give that hip a chance to heal. Slow and steady is the best approach.

Here's your reading list to refer to during your recovery:
Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:

rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT

a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of this BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for THRs
6. Access these pages on the website

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Closure​

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.

 

[LoneStrHip]

Your reply is music to my ears! I haven't been able to sleep for hours without pain in years so to have five hours of straight sleep and wake up so refreshed feels like a guilty pleasure with the pillow beneath my knees. I can do short times on my non surgical side with the pillow and that is going to be a welcome sleeping position in the future I'm sure.

So I'll just keep sleeping the way sleep allows and quit being so critical of messing up my recuperation. Just do what feels good and keep moving. Thank you!

 

[Layla]

Hello Wendi,
Welcome to BoneSmart and Recovery. Thanks for joining us!

Sorry you're feeling a bit blue. It may be cold comfort but it's quite common and thankfully only temporary.
Stop by here often and we'll try to lift your spirits through support and encouragement and probably even a few laughs.

If accessing an ice pack during the overnight hours proves difficult, you may want to consider a small cooler bedside, or even on the bathroom sink for those middle of the night bathroom runs.

Wishing you a peaceful relaxing day!
@LoneStrHip

 

[Elf1]

@LoneStrHip agree with what both Jaycey and Layla have said. Continue to sleep on your back, use a cooler for extra ice packs during the night and most definitely stay on top of your meds to keep the pain in check, you don't want to have to play catch up. Most of us are sore and stiff still when we first get up in the mornings or whenever but it usually wears off as the day goes by. Sometimes you might want to stand up and do a little march in place, don't lift the legs too high, just enough to get the blood moving again.

 

[Wonderwine]

If you’re normal, you’re also napping during the day, so a couple of good 3-4 hour runs of sleep during the night, then strategic naps...all good. I’m a pillow master, I use different sizes, shapes, configurations. Sometimes the same on both hips, sometimes different ones for each. I miss sleeping on my side but I just can’t yet. Don’t go too hard at all. Your body will tell you what is right when it’s right. One day in however much time you’ll be crossing your legs like you haven’t in years, it’ll just happen naturally, not because it was a goal (I’m assuming you had anterior hip replacement for this, poster might be different). So rest, relax, enjoy the boredom. Cheers!

 

[LoneStrHip]

Hello Wendi,
Welcome to BoneSmart and Recovery. Thanks for joining us!

Sorry you're feeling a bit blue. It may be cold comfort but it's quite common and thankfully only temporary.
Stop by here often and we'll try to lift your spirits through support and encouragement and probably even a few laughs.

If accessing an ice pack during the overnight hours proves difficult, you may want to consider a small cooler bedside, or even on the bathroom sink for those middle of the night bathroom runs.

Wishing you a peaceful relaxing day!
@LoneStrHip

The cooler idea is Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? I've got one right here that will be perfect!

 

[LoneStrHip]

If you’re normal, you’re also napping during the day, so a couple of good 3-4 hour runs of sleep during the night, then strategic naps...all good. I’m a pillow master, I use different sizes, shapes, configurations. Sometimes the same on both hips, sometimes different ones for each. I miss sleeping on my side but I just can’t yet. Don’t go too hard at all. Your body will tell you what is right when it’s right. One day in however much time you’ll be crossing your legs like you haven’t in years, it’ll just happen naturally, not because it was a goal (I’m assuming you had anterior hip replacement for this, poster might be different). So rest, relax, enjoy the boredom. Cheers!

I wish I was a napper! I can rest but sleeping during the day is elusive. Yes, anterior here one week ago and I'm finding that every day there is more improvement. Thank you so much for your support and I'm going to keep using my pillows the way I have been, they have made resting so wonderful.

 

[LoneStrHip]

@LoneStrHip agree with what both Jaycey and Layla have said. Continue to sleep on your back, use a cooler for extra ice packs during the night and most definitely stay on top of your meds to keep the pain in check, you don't want to have to play catch up. Most of us are sore and stiff still when we first get up in the mornings or whenever but it usually wears off as the day goes by. Sometimes you might want to stand up and do a little march in place, don't lift the legs too high, just enough to get the blood moving again.

That's a great idea to get up and march in place! I'm taking short walks and then I plop for the rest of the day usually in the afternoons. I'm setting alarms for pain meds so I don't miss a dose in these early weeks. I'm grabbing that cooler now!

 

[LoneStrHip]

I am so very grateful for this group. Thank you so much for all of you sharing your knowledge and support with us Newbs!

 

[HipsterKat]

Hello and welcome! 10 weeks out and I’m STILL sleeping on my back — it just became a habit. I have a couple of medium density pillows that I put under each knee.

Isn’t it cool watching the improvement each day? It slows down eventually, but those early days (frustrating as they sometimes are) are nonetheless amazing in the sense of the body’s healing capacity.

 

[LoneStrHip]

Hello and welcome! 10 weeks out and I’m STILL sleeping on my back — it just became a habit. I have a couple of medium density pillows that I put under each knee.

Isn’t it cool watching the improvement each day? It slows down eventually, but those early days (frustrating as they sometimes are) are nonetheless amazing in the sense of the body’s healing capacity.

HipsterKat! Thank you so much, 10 weeks out, wow! May I ask where you are in your mobility?

 

[LoneStrHip]

I am a Social Media nut. I enjoy most available SM outlets and have numerous accounts, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc., sometimes to the chagrin of my 20 year old child's eyeroll.

Yesterday I was posting of my Physical Therapy update on Instagram and used a hashtags #HipReplacement and #HipReplacementSurgery - for many who don't understand hashtags, they are simply a method to categorize a post, making it easy for others interested in the same subject to find those who have used the same hashtag. It's basically like a message board post title but it reaches a farther and wider audience. So it was with great joy that I wound up connecting with several other people who had undergone the same surgery and had accounts posting beautiful yoga poses, workout gym photos and videos and it gave me so much inspiration for what my body will be able to do once I'm healed up and the staples and bandages come off.

As most of us on this forum, my life, physical fitness and quality of living has been less than idea for several years pre THR and now that I'm on the other side of surgery I feel I've been given a do-over, a new opportunity at life, to make of it whatever I want and I am excited for new adventures like I haven't been in quite a while.

I started a thread in the BoneSmart Social Room so you can post your inspiration for a better life with your new joint. Please post and let us know what lifts your spirits.

 

[Jamie]

@LoneStrHip...Since we prefer that members only have one recovery thread, you'll notice that I've moved your latest post into your recovery thread. But your idea to have people share what inspires them in recovery is delightful and so I've also started a new thread in the Social Room so others can comment on this without derailing your recovery thread.

We're just getting started on Social Media's Twitter and Instagram, so you may see BoneSmart there if you post frequently. Be sure to chat with @alexthecat and others there. We'll be looking for you.

 

[LoneStrHip]

Thank you for letting me know about the move of the post, I was kind of prepared for that to happen, thank you for redirecting me. I'm glad you appreciate the inspiration and I also think I connected with the Bone Smart Twitter account last night. How great is this time we live in to connect with others? Beautiful!

 

[Layla]

Happy Sunday!
We thank you for your great suggestion! It is great to be able to connect with others who understand through their own experience. I hope you're having a nice weekend.
A great day to you!
@LoneStrHip

 

[LoneStrHip]

Y'all I am frustrated and wanting to quit PT. I won't, of course....I'm a rule follower - but I want to. I'm 3 weeks post op, THR, anterior approach and this is my third week of physical therapy 3x a week. Monday I had a new therapist who worked my tail off! I understand the need to progress and while some of the things felt good to push myself in, I've been hurting ever since. I had PT again today and we took it easier, todays therapist attempted to release some knotted muscles around the SI joint and my gluteus flared up into a mass of muscle spasms and we had to stop to ice and ended the session early.

I'm hurting, feeling stiff, sore and sad that I'm not feeling as strong as I was just last week. Someone suggested the weather may be effecting my hip as well. I live in South Texas and we've been PARCHED! We need rain so badly and a good size afternoon storm rolled through today so the barometric pressure has been effected yesterday and today. The barometric pressure used to really bother my hip when I had all the arthritis in there, but I guess I'd hoped once that was all gone and the new hip was in, it wouldn't hurt so much with the rain anymore. Is this something everyone deals with? Does it get better? Is it all in my head? Am I expecting miracles for 3 weeks post op?

I'm feeling discouraged and weak. I feel like my stubborn mind is not syncing with my body and my body is taking it's sweet time healing. I'm also back to work this week full time and struggling with a bunch of swelling in my surgical area. I'm just sad and frustrated. Meh! Does anyone have an words of advice? Encouragement?

 

[Mojo333]

and so sorry you have been caught in a PT trap.
Anything that is hurtful is not helpful.
This site was a great tool for me during recovery and I am a solid example...among others...how the advice on this forum led to a stellar bilateral hip replacement recovery story for me.
The PT is aggravating things that are trying to settle. Please remember the
BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

 

[Mojo333]

Y'all I am frustrated and wanting to quit PT. I won't, of course....I'm a rule follower - but I want to.

Please reconsider.
You KNOW your body better than a PT who in all likelihood hasn't had a THR.
I dropped PT after first session, gave all time to heal, and went at about 3 months out for some targeted gait training and stretches.

It is Your Recovery.

 

[Mojo333]

Hi @LoneStrHip
Just wondering how you were doing and if you opted to ease off on PT?
Hoping things are continuing to improve.
Healing vibes coming your way.