THR Made it around the corner

Chaotic

junior member
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Hi everyone, so sorry to be MIA. It’s been a flood of people *and food* since I’ve been home and of course hubby is by my side 24/7 and gets a little sideways when I sit on my ipad when we’re together. So I’ve not had much time to myself these past few days.

Surgery went great! It was a super early morning we literally pulled up and watched them turn the lights on. They called me back after about a half an hour and got me ready. Huge cocktail of drugs in the IV bag an epidural and a nerve block and off to the OR. There he put the mask on me and said this is just air. Just breathe. The mask was not sealing properly at my chin and I offered to help, it sealed and he typed something and the next thing I knew I heard “you’re all done”. It’s so so so surreal. Post-op went great, no blood pressure problems (thank goodness) so I got to my room and was greeted by the greatest nurses. Lunch was a gorgeous quiche and veggies and pound cake. The chef at this place was fantastic. Because it was a specialty hospital with only 15 beds, all the staff was so happy and pleasant. I seriously could not have asked for better.

My doc had me in bed the rest of the day and night. I don’t believe the epidural was working as intended as my catheter was super uncomfortable and I still had a good amount of pain, but who knows, maybe it did more than I realize. Laying there was awful! My sit bones were screaming. I used the bed rails to roll over on my side for a bit just to get off of them. The longest night EVER!

Then, bright and early the doctor swoops in and checks on me, the day nurse walks in “we’re removing your catheter” (My favorite person for the day), they sat me up and I sat up about an hour, then PT came, I walked and did great I guess, they came back again, I walked and was on my way home by 2pm. (I got another great slice of quiche before I left though ).

I was so happy to be home and in my own bed. My husband has been an amazing caregiver for my every need. I’ve had a plethora of visitors which has been nice. PT was pleased with everything and thinks I will be walking on my own in two weeks. I doubt my doctor will allow that but you know. My hardest thing is staying still and resting. Also Lifting my leg, that will take time of course.

Sorry so long, but thankful to you all. The anxiety pre surgery is sooo bad. I am very glad to have turned the corner. I don’t think I will regret this at all.
 
@Chaotic so glad to hear surgery went well and you are settled at home. Sounds like you had a little bumpy start, hopefully things are shaping up. Figure having catheter out and being home has to Have brightened things up considerably. Very cool that you've had visitors already but remember to not let them tucker you out. Hubby sounds like a keeper!

So happy for you! :flwrysmile:
 
@Chaotic
Welcome to the other side!
Glad you are home, and had a mostly good experience at the surgery center.

Here's your copy of the Hip Recovery Guidelines, the articles are short and will not take long to read.

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 these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access these pages on the website

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.
 
@Chaotic
So glad you are doing well and that your experience was pleasant! Makes me a whole lot more optimistic too!
I hope the food is decent where I'm going! Food is always a bit higher on priority list than it should be :heehee:
Can't wait to hear about your continued recovery!
 
Congratulations on your new hip:dancy: hope your recovery is easy and not too painful. Glad to hear you have such a great support system , it makes such a big difference:thumb:
 
Hi @Chaotic ! Great to hear that you are doing well! I am only a day behind you and my experience has been very positive so far. So much better than I expected actually. Recovery is going to be slow, I have to accept that and learn some patience! :bored:
 
Welcome to the other side. Hope you are staying ahead of any pain. Ice and elevate as much as you can. You are on your way!
 
@Chaotic Ahhhh, there you are. I thought you flew the coop on us. So nice to see you here and hope things go smoothly now that you are home. Glad surgery went well too. ❤
 
@Chaotic Welcome to the recovery side. I don't think a lot of us get such wonderful food in the hospital, sounds like a wonderful place. Glad you're home and have such a caring husband! I agree with Elf1 about the visitors, don't let them wear you out! :flwrysmile:
 
Thank you all so much for your responses and positivity. I am a little tired and sore from PT yesterday, it definitely tuckered me out and they came back today. They are serious about this stuff. I had a good nap and am tapering my pain meds some so that’s good. I am having a hard time believing my grandmother’s story that she went shopping with my aunts 3 days after her hip replacement. I love her but girl please :ok:
 
Tomorrow is 7 days and they are coming to change my dressing and take blood. The top of my incision at the bend of my leg ITCHES. :flabber:

Also I think I’m supposed to be getting bored but that hasn’t happened yet. :yay:
 
Also I think I’m supposed to be getting bored but that hasn’t happened yet. :yay:
So funny, I can't recall getting bored either. I had to remind myself to let go of everything else I usually do and just enjoy my naps! It sounds like your PT is pushing you pretty hard though and that's not a good thing. You shouldn't be so sore afterwards. You can always tell them "no" on anything you don't want to do or that causes you any pain. Just keep that ice handy, it's a miracle worker! :ice:
 
I am having a hard time believing my grandmother’s story that she went shopping with my aunts 3 days after her hip replacement. I love her but girl please :ok:

:heehee: She probably sat in the car, doing this > :sleep:
Sometimes I think people forget how their recovery really was.
It's often been a topic of discussion here...hence the creation of the thread below...for your reading pleasure.
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/tall-tales-from-the-thr-fairy-tale-book.49667/

It sounds like you're doing really well. I hope you have a lovely weekend! :SUNsmile:
@Chaotic
 
@Layla Thank you for the thread, I enjoyed it whole heartedly!

Today is 10 days and I am doing okay. I was doing great and then I inadvertently overdid it. My husband was watering the neighbor’s yard for her while she’s out of town so I took my walker just to keep him company. I forgot how bad the back yard is. Super steep, I was walking up hill, down hill, side hill each way, it was just awful. Well within a few hours I felt it starting, I was hurting. I spent yesterday resting, only did PT once during the day but my pain level was up from the previous days.

Then last night, I woke around 3am and in my sleepy fugue I began to stretch like I normally would. I tightened my thighs and POP ... searing pain, like nothing I’d felt this whole process. I sat up in pain waking my husband and loudly saying “I Need a pain pill!” ... It burned until the medicine kicked in and then I fell back to sleep.

Today I have rested but this evening I felt better and did a short version of my PT. I then helped my husband walk the dogs outside, stood in the kitchen a while as he made dinner, ate, then helped clean up. I finally sat down as hubby finished up and I was so tired, just tired and then my leg pain hit hard. Like so hard. I had a pain pill 2 hours earlier but this hit so hard I began to cry. Hubby ran and got me another and sitting with ice helped it pass.

I am obviously overdoing it, but I am resting sooo much also. I don’t know how to balance it better. Oh and to top it off the tape home health ordered me is causing an awful reaction, I’m scrambling to keep my incision covered around all the raw spots on my leg.

But truly, overall, I’m doing well. PSA though, don’t stretch in your sleep. :no-fin:
 
@Chaotic
Glad to hear you are doing well! I can understand being cabin crazed and wanting to get out! Today will be day 4 post op for me and I really cant stand be confined to my house. Over doing it would be an easy thing to do. I live in a split level house where the main floor is upstairs above a garage. Stairs have been my deterrent from being a bit more errant :heehee:
 
@Chaotic When you stretch where exactly does that pain hurt? I've had to be careful about yawning and stretching. My last and most tender spot is exactly on top of where the new joint is located. If I draw my leg up or now putting full body wait on it with a cane it gets sore right on top of where I assume the new socket would be located. Anyway my appt is this Thursday for check up.
 
@Chaotic I don't want to be a party pooper or rain on your parade, but you shouldn't be going up and down hills with your walker at 10 days. Even little hills. You should be using your walker on flat pavement or flat ground. After doing that yesterday, you need to rest, ice and elevate for 60 minutes several times through the day. Your third post above is from the forum advisor, Pumpkin. Read #5, the Activity Progressions for THRs. It might make you more aware of what you should and shouldn't be doing yet. You should be resting and forget the PT at least for now. Standing around in the kitchen while your husband cooks.............if you want to keep him company, sit in a chair. This recovery doesn't happen overnight, it sometimes takes several months to a year. Don't make the mistake of doing too much too soon, you need to take care of that new hip!
 
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@Chaotic I have a hard time finding balance between the two as well. Was finally able to walk and move around again today after the advice from my doc and wrapping the knee. And I am just now sitting down after doing PT exercise, loading dishwasher, cleaning what I can and going to one crutch, although when I do that I tend to lean towards my good side. Icing now and feel no pain:) sounds like you are doing great! Happy Monday!


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Hi all! I had my two week follow up on Thursday. Got a photo of my hardware, the all clear to move to a cane and phase back into work next week. So all is well.

I had my worst day of all the day after that. Serious dizziness and general lethargy, some of those “will this ever get better” moments too. I emailed the nurse and am going to wean off of the gabapentin for nerve pain. I am down to just one pain pill at night and Tylenol the rest of the time but I do still have some light pain. There are some nerve jolts and some aches that must be bone related when I am resting. My biggest concern is how uncomfortable it is to lay prone as it makes my gluteus and hip flexors and groin all somewhat hurt in concert. When doing PT I also have a great deal of inner thigh pain. The PT says it’s normal but again I start down the “will this get better” road. I have switched to a cane and am having some knee pain since. All these aches and pains. I just want to be well.

My husband is wonderful but I think he’s getting tired of doing all my chores just as I’m tired of not being able to do them. I’m also tired after trying to do much. <sigh>
 
@Chaotic, none of this seems surprising since you're barely 2 weeks post op. I'm shocked that you're going to "phase" back in to work next week. And your PT isn't doing you any favors by saying your thigh pain is normal. If it hurts when you're doing the PT, then you have your answer: don't do it. I know you just want to be well, but you need to take care of yourself now or it will only get worse and delay your recovery outcome. When reading through various threads, we all recover at different rates but for the majority of hipsters it's a slow and steady marathon, not a sprint. Wishing you the best with working next week. Hope you're able to bring ice packs to work and get some rest when you're home.
 

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