@Alitm I am glad the thread has been of some help to you and perhaps others. I will certainly be following your bilateral journey next month, sending only good thoughts!
I am almost at the 6 week mark since my revision surgery. This past week had its frustrations. I didn't want to write about them while they were happening because I wanted to see if they would abate-- and indeed they did, so I am assuming I joined the over-did-it-club, though what I did hardly seemed to be overdoing it to me, jeez!
So, I have started driving, which has been absolutely fine. I didn't need to lift my leg into or out of the car with my hands, and I know how to get in without twisting in the wrong direction. Hitting the brake was easy, so no issues there. All good.
My mistake however was NOT bringing my walking stick with me and blithely thinking I would walk in and around and through a few stores and in parking lots without it. I went to three stores, two parking lots and it was very HOT and disgustingly humid, there was a hot weather advisory which I hadn't gotten the memo about, and I lost energy very quickly as the stores were not well air conditioned. My hip did not like walking over and around the potholes and little hills and valleys either without any support at all. The shopping cart provided less than minimal help. By the time I got home, I laid down on the bed exhausted and annoyed---will I ever have my energy back and WHEN will I be able to walk without the walking stick for good distances? My hip hurt, it was actually throbbing, and I felt like I was swimming through molasses when I walked. My husband then reminded me that my surgeon told me a week ago that I could continue to use the stick for 2-8 weeks, and to just feel free to not use it when I feel I don't need it. The surgeon, dropping hints no doubt, said I might be on the more conservative side and continue to use it from time to time, and of course that translated to my mind as kind of a team challenge, i.e., "conservative! HA, I don't need to be so slow, I don't need to use the stick, I don't want to be a wuss....". OMG, that was fairly arrogant of me and I paid the price.
Well, I rested and iced for a day and half after this not so great foray, and then this morning went out with my walking stick to stores, a mall and a restaurant for lunch, came home, baked a homemade cake with frosting, and made dinner with my husband, and then watched golf sitting on a couch I haven't been able to sit in for over 3 years without pain. So it has been over 13 hours--- no naps and no stopping except to eat. The weather cooperated, it rained and then was delightfully cooler. I am now getting ready to ice my hip, but I am pleased to say it is only very slightly sore, no big deal at all. Using the stick was clearly the big difference, so I learned my lesson--have it handy so I can use it when I need it. I actually don't have to put my weight on it every step, just every few steps, so that is also progress, but I liked having it with me today. And when I got home, I didn't use it at all (I actually forgot, home seems easier to me!) and I had NO limp while moving around my house. I went up and down the stairs leg over leg (going up is slightly harder right now leg over leg, but I am able to do it a couple times a day). I predict I will be tired tomorrow, but my hip has felt good all day, and I am not yet fully wiped out. I didn't feel any jolting movements when I was walking, or sharp sudden pains when shifting from one leg to another, or when getting up as I did with the loose implant. The groin pain I have been experiencing since the revision has also lessened, but the surgeon said it will most likely be here to stay for a few more months, on and off, so it might be fluctuating. I don't have any such pain tonight, even after a full day.
@Layla Last weekend I couldn't even imagine moving around for 13 hours, and as I mark my progress by weekends as you suggested, I can see there has been real improvement even with the slight setback this week. I just have to be patient and not get ahead of myself-- no small task as this healing unfolds! And I guess it really is 1 step forward, 2 steps back from time to time, but overall, I still feel so much better than I did before my revision (except for my day and a half recovery from my own stupidity this week!). I marvel at people who are able to go out walking great distances in their recovery already, I think because I had to be sedentary for so long so as to not provoke further pain and looseness in the implant, I need more time to rebuild stamina and energy levels. When the heat calms down I will go to the gym to ride the recumbent bike and use the elliptical, that will help my mind, body and soul--I can't work out at the gym when it is so humid.
So I still remain optimistic and I am becoming a bit more enthusiastic about this revision--I hope my general upward trajectory continues. I also hope everyone out there is doing well and improving too!