Guest viewing is limited

THR LTHR with bone graft March 19, 2012

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hi Elizak. Good to hear you are feeling better and looking after yourself well. I too was really exited for my check up and to see my Xrays. I took photos of the before and after on my phone, they're good to have. I am showing them to everyone...the proud mother of a new hip.lol.

Hope the lie-ins and good sleeps continue and best of luck for your checkup on Tuesday.

Take care

Ann
 
Hey there, just checking back. Seems like you reigned things in a bit and found a better balance for yourself. Good for you. You seem to be rolling along quite well in your recovery. I am happy for you. Hope you get a good report at your post op. I was so happy to get to 6 wks. Feels like a milestone. Let us know how it goes and have a great wknd -cathy
 
I have reached day 40. I still have soreness, achiness in butt area and outside of thigh. Not all of the time but when I sit too long. Still struggling with balance of activity and rest. I reread Josephine's progression of activity and try to rein myself in. If I had followed her advice I think recovery would have been easier.

Have also been having a return of pain when sleeping for the last few nights, probably from moving in different ways and generally being more active. Also from not taking enough pain medication, especially before bed.

Big milestone tomorrow. I have a professional event that I must attend. First time since surgery to wear anything besides pajama pants, shorts, and sneakers.

Although I have not been using my cane I will take it with me, just in case and to warn others to give me room. I am considering taking a cushion in case the seats are low so that I will be more comfortable. 5 plus hours of sitting ! I will have to remember to get up and move about often.

I have a temporary handicapped placard, so that will help with parking in the downtown area.

6 week checkup is Tuesday. I am eager to see my after x-ray. Planning to continue PT, but will likely change to a provider that has more equipment, particularly a mirror so that I can work on balance and my gait.

Thank you again for the support. It has sometimes felt like a lonely journey, but the bonesmarties always lift my mood.
 
Before I get scolded again, :secretaea:I would not be going to this event unless I absolutely had to. I have postponed it once already. I will take it easy the rest of the week.:th_heehee:
 
Log of activity undertaken today (not very exciting)

Up at 6:30 AM too early ! Sore on outside of hip and leg, stiff. Wander downstairs, take 2 tramadol. Feeling Ok by by 8 or so.

Laze around, reading, going through mail, relaxing in recliner. Feed and water dog. In course of morning step outside to check out my garden. Tasted the arugula, kale, spinach, and romaine, awesome. Beautiful sunny day. Move my herbs and strawberry basket back outside after cold temps the last few nights. Water container plants. Discover cardinal's nest in the ivy on my fence when I disturb mama cardinal by coming too close. Very cool. Play with dog a bit in the yard. I throw things up the hill, he chases them, but does not understand the part about bringing them back to me. Good thing he has plenty of toys. Eat pizza and salad from last night (my treat).

Feeling tired, nap from 1:30 to 5:00. Wake up with pain again. What am I doing in the bed while asleep ? I must be thrashing around. Do some stretching in the bed and exercise involving sliding heel back towards hip. Seems to help. Take 1 tramadol. Back to recliner. Prepare and drink massive yogurt, banana, and blueberry smoothie. Yum.

Later, drive to store to buy a chocolate milkshake for a treat (another one ). I have actually lost about 8 pounds since surgery. I want to lose another 12 pounds to get out of overweight category according to my BMI, but I am a firm believer in occasional treats.

Vacuum the living room for first time in long time (very hairy from dog). This is more difficult than I thought it would be. Get my clothes ready for tomorrow. Get ready for bed. More tramadol in hopes of defeating nighttime pain.

End of lazy Sunday for a recovering hippie.
 
Elizak, like the lazy part - that's the key to recovery. Please be very careful with the vacuuming! Still early days and that activity can make you twist and turn causing discomfort. Remember - no one ever died from dust or dog hair! :th_heehee:
 
Hi Jaycey,
Thanks for the hint. It was a little more twisting than I was used to and the vacuum was heavy. I did a very basic job to get the big stuff up and called it quits !
 
6 week checkup

OS said that everything looks great. Restrictions lifted with the exception of not reaching out to the side when I am bending over to tie my shoes, basically not to reach out to side when at extreme flexion. He told me that if I avoided this I would stay out of trouble. Since I can't even reach my foot now I don't think I much to worry about. I see him in 5 months. I am also now permitted to take anti-inflammatories (yay).

I asked for three more weeks of physical therapy. Although I am walking well without the cane and without a limp (for short distances), I have a lot of work to correct 6 years of limping, hunching over and not using my muscles much. I am still not able to climb stairs in the normal fashion, but I was told not to worry, that this would happen in time.

I mentioned that the skin around my incision was still a bit numb on one side, he told me that this was normal and should go away.

I have a DJO hip, ceramic head (36 mm) with a polyethylene cup (58 mm) and two screws securing cup at top.

I am very relieved, very happy, looking forward to returning to all of the activities that I had to give up when I fractured my pelvis and maybe some new ones, like kayaking ! Especially sea kayaking. I also plan to get my scuba certification.

Starting to plan a trip to the Turks and Caicos in June. Snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, sailing, walking on beach.....dancing.....:snork:
 
Good for you on your post op. everything sounds great! I'll tell you getting back on my anti-inflam after my post op really made a diff for me with aches and pains. Getting back on that now I only take Tylenol once in a while.

I am a kayaker myself, recreational, though I have done a little sea kayaking. My doc said it will take a bit for me to get safely down there to get in my kayak and be comfy, but I can wait. As long as I get in there again eventually. Kind of a wimpy kayaker anyway, I like the nicer weather.

I have a bit of numbness on certain parts of my scar too, but it has gotten better already in that the area of numbness has gotten smaller.

So happy post op, happy restriction lifting, happy milestone day, and happy trip planning to future fun with a good hip :) -Cathy
 
Well done on your 6 week check - that's a major milestone reached! :yes 4: Please don't worry about the continued stiffness. I took me months to be able to tie my own shoes! You'll get there.

You mentioned the vacuum was heavy. Another tip - watch the lifting for a bit. I can't tell you how many hippies forget that at 6 weeks the restrictions are lifted but things are still very much in the healing mode. Lifting anything very heavy can set things off again. Easy does it!
 
8 weeks postop update

Generally, I am functioning well. Walking fine. Feels really different as I am actually moving my left leg rather than limping along. I am surprised by how much range of motion I have compared to before.

Milestones and good things:

Able to walk down stairs normally (using railing).

Can put foot on operated leg on coffee table and bend to tie my shoe ! First time tying my left shoe while on my foot in about 6 years ! I could definitely feel the stretch in my muscles though and am not making a habit of this.

Shaved my legs in the shower (first time in about a year). Realized that I could bend my knee and hip to reach down rather than bending straight as I had to before. Much easier having a hip that works.

No pain while sleeping or when getting up most nights and mornings.

Does not hurt to stand.

Realized today that I could do a straight leg lift which seemed impossible just 2 weeks ago. Again I am not going crazy with this as I do not want to cause a muscle strain or spasm.

Challenges:

My butt around the incision is no longer as numb but it is not happy about what was done to it. Sometimes wish it had stayed numb.

Had a bout of sciatic pain and swollen muscle in butt last week-I had this before but not nice to get it back. Tried to take it easy for a few days(hard because only comfortable position was lying in bed) and now is easing up. But now pain on side of leg (greater trochanter area) and groin. A moving feast.

Working on going up stairs. Sometimes I can do it normally, sometimes not. Trying not to push myself as my muscles set up a protest when I do. I have lots of stairs so this can be irritating and slow.

Energy level is quickly depleted. I am having trouble keeping on a normal schedule when I nap during the day.

Conclusion:

Impatience is a real problem, especially since my restrictions were lifted at 6 weeks. I have to continually remind myself that I am healing and not overdo. I took a break from PT for the past 2 weeks as I had a lot of chore type things to catch up with around the house. I am going to start back up in the hopes of getting some advice on some of these muscle pains. Also, PT made me feel as if I was accomplishing something and I think the disciplined exertion was good for my mood.
 
Hi Cathy,

Thank you for your kind post.

When I say ocean kayaking I am envisioning perfectly calm clear Caribbean water. A few feet of water where I can kind of roll myself onto the sit upon kayak and roll off !!!

If I lived in Vermont my kayaking season would definitely be short ! Or nonexistent.
 
You are doing fantastically well Elizak! The patience thing is the worst part at this point. You mind says go and your body isn't quite ready. Slow and steady. Keep trying those stairs. One day you will bound up them and realize you did it!

Well done!
 
Thank you Jaycey for your encouraging post.

I stopped keeping my journal of daily aches, pains, activities, etc. about a week end a half ago as I was getting impatient with thinking about my hip all the time. This was a mistake, as I kind of lost track of the progress that I have made. It also made it easier to match up overexertion with resulting pain when i was keeping track of things. So back to the journal.

I am sleeping on my nonoperated side with no problems. I do use a pillow between my legs but I have done this for years due to bony knees. Tried a few times to sleep on operated side. Still feels strange, so I will wait on this.

My butt still sometimes feels warm around the area of my incision. Is this normal ? Everything is all closed up, no problemss, but should it still feel warm ?
 
Hi there, I too, sometimes feel warmth around my incision, but nothing seems to be wrong with it. Also am having the "patience " issue. Seems like after the 6 wk post op I felt so released that I did too much right away, and am still trying to find my balance with it, so be careful. What I found is that it is not a switch that turns on and off, but like everything else, a gradual thing and that darn word "patience" is such a big part of it haha.

Hope things continue to move along well for you, you seem to be doing great. -cathy
 
Hi Eliza,

Your progress report sounds great -- tying shoes, shaving legs, working on the stairs and the feeling of having "a hip that works"!! :thumb:

The energy depletion you describe is pretty normal for only being 8 weeks out from surgery. Still a lot of healing going on and napping is good, eventually you'll get to a point where you don't feel the need to do that as often.

I'm 10 months out from surgery and still keep the journal, only now it's more a focus towards changes in activity levels with fewer mentions of aches and pains. It is a helpful little tool to have. :wink1:

Take care,
Cardie
 
ElizaK, your story is so motivating for me! I'm currently l awaiting the day of my new hip but look forward to continuing to read such success stories like yours in the meantime. Thank you for sharing and keep it up! :)
 
Glad to hear how well you are doing Elizak. The incision on my knee feels warm to the touch also apparently that is normal. keep up the great work
 
Quick update 8 weeks plus three days

I was complaining a lot about pain in my last post. Well, as soon as I complained, it eased off.

New things

Can climb stairs (slowly) in a normal manner

Was able to trim my toenails on operated leg by putting foot on coffee table (nails were very long and scary)

Can sleep on operated side. It feels great to be able to enjoy my bed, roll back and forth, change positions, etc., while I am reading.

Minimal pain, more an achy feeling, mostly groin and side of leg. I still take naproxen and acetaminophen regularly and tramadol when needed.
 
That's a great report!!! You are coming right along and it only gets better and better. You are right to continue with some type of pain medication as long as you have discomfort. It just makes things so much easier.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

Members online

Total: 931 (members: 1, guests: 930)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom