THR MeowWoofMomma's Recovery Thread

[MeowWoofMomma]

Jaycee, thank you so much for the reminder to take it easy! I was feeling like maybe I'm just not pushing myself hard enough, and that I need to be more proactive in stretching and exercising.

It doesn't help that my next door neighbor had the same surgery last year, and was vacuuming the house at 3 days post-op! And walked to the end of the block and back without a walker at 5 days! I keep telling myself everyone is different, and I need to proceed at my own snail's pace.

myglasshalffull, that sounds like the perfect routine for me! I'm going to try and start on that tomorrow morning, and hope that helps loosen up my knee a little. I'm sure it's just all that twisting and turning like you said, because my knee was fine before the surgery.

 

[Jaycey]

It doesn't help that my next door neighbor had the same surgery last year, and was vacuuming the house at 3 days post-op!

As we always say - just because you can doesn't mean you should! Bet your neighbour paid a price for all that activity. But I assume she would never tell you the full story.

 

[myglasshalffull]

We all hear about those heroic recoveries and I guess for some it does happen but I think majority of us need time to heal and listen to our bodies.
But I salute those who are jumping out of planes two weeks after hip replacement! LOL!

 

[MeowWoofMomma]

I can't believe it's already been 2 weeks since my surgery! I thought I would be so much further along by now

I certainly feel better. No more nausea, faintness, etc. But I'm not making much progress with walking. Still have a lot of pain in the knee of my operated leg. It hurts right below the knee cap and along the right side of my knee. It crackles and occasionally cracks and pops as I'm hobbling along.

It feels a lot like the pain I had about 3 years ago when this knee was acting up. At the time, I had PT for 3 months and the pain went away. By strengthening the muscles surrounding the joint, it kept everything in place as it should be.

I'm guessing that the surgery caused a lot of trauma to those muscles and now they're not keeping my knee in place as they should. I wish I could do my knee exercises, but I don't think it's ready for that yet. So I've been icing and elevating and hoping for a better day tomorrow.

When my knee was bad, I used to use KT Tape to tape it together (2 strips on either side and 1 strip horizontally beneath the knee cap). I wonder if it would be okay to do that?

 

[Layla]

Hello, I am sorry you're dealing with a painful knee. The knee can be manipulated rather aggressively in an effort to dislocate your hip. It may be sore for some time. I suggest you ice it right along with any other areas of pain and discomfort. Hopefully it will bring you some relief. As far as using the tape, please talk to your surgeon about it at your post op visit. If you already had that appointment, you can always call and talk to a member of your surgeon's care team.
Wishing you comfort and a good week!
@MeowWoofMomma

 

[MeowWoofMomma]

Thanky you Layla. You always have such sage advice. I have a postop telehealth visit with my PA on Thursday, so I'll discuss it with him.

 

[Layla]

Thank you for the kind words. I wish you luck with your Telehealth visit. Let us know how it goes if you feel like sharing. Best. Wishes!
@MeowWoofMomma

 

[MeowWoofMomma]

Well, it's been 3 weeks today since my surgery, and I was able to walk to my mailbox and back today only using my cane

It was such a lovely day today, warm and sunny. It felt really good to be out in the sunshine.

I had my first post-op last week, and my PA said I'm right on schedule and doing well. He said they really stretch those thigh and knee muscles during surgery, so it wouldn't be surprising if they loosened up a little, and are not keeping the knee together as they should.

He said it would be OK to use the KT tape on the bad right knee, but I've decided to hold off a bit on that and see if it resolves on its own. The popping and cracking has eased off a bit, so we'll see...

Still a lot of pain in the right side of my thigh and just above my knee, but it becomes more tolerable with a little bit of gentle stretching and walking. PA said 80-90% of their patients do not use PT, and that I should just walk instead. He says to do whatever I want to, but stop if it hurts. Hmm, where have I heard that advice before

I'm so excited to be able to walk again, and I'm really looking forward to the day when I can take my little fur kids for a walk again

 

[Layla]

Thanks for the update. It seems you're doing really well. It's certainly not too late to be icing for pain when you're sitting around. It's good to read you you were able to walk to your mailbox today and enjoy some fresh air and sunshine. You'll be walking your fur babies before you know it. A great week to you!
@MeowWoofMomma

 

[MeowWoofMomma]

It's been 4 weeks now, and the journey continues...

At my pre-op I asked my PA when I could consider taking a 10 hour overseas flight to visit relatives, and he said "oh, around 4 weeks after surgery". Yeah, right! Maybe in a first class cubicle with a sliding door and a lay flat seat! I could have the stewards bring me margaritas and ice bags every hour

I do have good news to report, though. For the last 3-4 days I've been walking my 2 fur kids each morning down the block and back. Walking very slowly, heel to toe, using my cane. It's so nice to get out into the sunshine and see all the tulips and daffodils blooming.

Yesterday was my first outing since surgery (hubby calls me a hermit). We went to a big box store and I definitely over did it. After an hour my thigh was aching and I hobbled back to the car in defeat. Iced and elevated for hours after returning home, and this morning it feels not too bad. Going to take it easy today and hope for the best.

 

[Layla]

Great news that you're back walking your fur babies! Getting outdoors does make such a difference in recovery.
Just taking in the fresh air, sunshine and sounds of nature is a mood booster.

Sorry your outing to the big box store resulted in a trip through the ODIC. Hopefully you're feeling better by now. Wondering if you took advantage of the support of a shopping cart as you were in the big box store? One of the member's, Eman85 often recommends this as another form of PT to help practice the heel-toe gait. It is a great suggestion, but like everything we have to do it in moderation and know our limitations. That's the difficult part, gauging our limitations because when we're feeling good it's a temptation to keep going....then later we suffer. We've all been there! I wish you lots of comfort and hope you're feeling better today.
Happy One Month Anniversary! Thanks for sharing your journey with us.
@MeowWoofMomma

 

[MeowWoofMomma]

Thank you Layla. Your words are always so comforting

Yesterday marked the end of my 5th week of recovery, and am happy to report that I am now walking my fur kids twice a day! I really look forward to getting out into the sunshine and seeing the local wildlife (rabbits, squirrels, crows, and even the occasional coyote!).

I'm doing a total of about 1.5 miles a day now. The knee pain has resolved without any special treatment, and the clicks and pops are gone too, so I guess the muscles are starting to get stronger.

Still using my cane outdoors, but mostly for confidence. Indoors I've ditched my cane, but still use my rolling walker for transporting stuff to/from the kitchen, including my cat, who has discovered that she loves to ride on the seat of the walker!

I still have quite a bit of pain in my thigh, the entire right side of my thigh, down to the top of my knee. It's the ground glass on fire, burning, stabbing type of pain. It ebbs and flows, but icing for 50-60 minutes puts it to sleep for a while. I'm hoping this is just slow healing, and not a more serious femoral nerve damage type of thing.

The area around my incision is still sore, especially at the top near my groin, where there seems to be some lumps around the scar. So I do some extra icing there, which seems to help. Hoping that will resolve soon.

It's been a struggle, but everyday seems to be just a little bit better. So I'm hopeful. My goal this week is to try driving. I'm apprehensive because of the thigh pain, but I need to do this, so I'm working myself up to it

 

[Layla]

I am thankful for your kindness.

Small sensory nerve fibers are cut with the incision. While healing you may experience sensations of tingling, pins and needles, itching, burning and even the feeling of a minor electrical shock. These are usually good signs that the nerves are spontaneously firing through the regeneration process. If you think it will make you feel better to check in with a member of your surgeon's care team for reassurance, don't hesitate. There is nothing like peace of mind. I checked in with mine a couple times and found them to be very kind and helpful. It is still really early days for you at only 36 days post op. Thankfully icing helps. I loved my ice!

If you're able to go somewhere like an empty parking lot and practice driving / hitting the brake, before you head out on the busy roads, it may relieve some apprehension. I'm excited for you, I couldn't wait to drive again, but once they released me to drive....I waited another full week, lol. I really didn't have anywhere to go and figured I'd wait until I did. Enjoy regaining your independence!
@MeowWoofMomma

 

[MeowWoofMomma]

This is my 7 week update. I'm feeling encouraged by the gradual improvement in function and pain.

But I'm also feeling weary of the ongoing journey and the still long road ahead. Sometimes I feel like what am I doing wrong? Why am I not doing better by now? Should I be walking more, or walking less? Should I do PT, should I do hydrotherapy? Should I ice more, or ice less?

Then I remind myself that everyone is different, and heals at a different pace. I remind myself that last week I had more pain than I do this week, even though it's only incremental. I need to find my own path, do what works for me, and stick with it.

I can walk now without any aids, and people say I don't have a limp, although my gait still feels a bit like a penguin walk to me. I normally have a fairly long stride, but that causes pain, so I've been keeping my stride shorter, walking slower, heel to toe, avoiding stairs and inclines.

I walk my dogs twice a day, and was up to about 2 miles a day, including some low hills. But my thigh pain was not improving, so I backed off, and now I try to hold my daily average under 1.5 miles, and avoid the hills (hard to do in a hilly neighborhood!)

My op leg feels so much stronger now, and the knee pain is gone. The pain in my thigh is slowly getting better. It used to hurt (burning, searing pain) when I ran my fingers lightly over my outer thigh area, but now it mostly feels numb.

I still get pain in my thigh and in the area around my incision, especially later in the day. It's an aching pain, along with a feeling of a hot spiny cactus pressing on my skin. I only rarely get that stabbing, searing pain anymore (thank goodness!).

I can bend over without pain, but straightening up triggers pain in my groin. I figure my thigh muscles are not pulling their weight, forcing my groin muscles to strain themselves. A bit of a problem when trying to pick up doggy poo

I have my 2nd post-op this week, where they will take X-rays, so I'll finally get to see what my implant looks like! Looking forward to that!

 

[benne68]

@MeowWoofMomma It sounds like you are doing really well for less than two months post-op! Slow and steady is the best way to recover. (My OS told me that the most important muscle to exercise during TKR recovery is your Patience Muscle )

my gait still feels a bit like a penguin walk to me.

I know just what you mean! I did the penguin for quite a while ...

Have you tried heel-toe-walking?

This involves striking the ground with your heel first, then rolling through your heel to your toe, and pushing out of the step with your toe. Here is a visual

If you slow down your pace and concentrate through the entire step, you'll notice a difference. It takes a while to get used to the rhythm, but it helped me quite a bit.

Why not give it a try?

 

[MeowWoofMomma]

Have you tried heel-toe-walking?

Thanks for the suggestion and the graphic. I'm about to take the kids out for their afternoon walk, so I'll give that a try. Although it's hard to walk slowly when you have two little 6 pounders that think they are sled dogs!

My OS told me that the most important muscle to exercise during TKR recovery is your Patience Muscle )

So true! That's my weakest muscle of all! I'll have to add this to my daily exercise routine

 

[Eman85]

Sounds like you're recovery is going great. As for the walking I had to constantly remind myself to walk slow and with purpose and as soon as I felt any fatigue to stop as sloppy walking wasn't good. My shopping cart walking was the best early on. I'd go to the big store and walk slowly, which looks normal in a store, and concentrate on my form. The cart gave support and kept people away.

 

[benne68]

you have two little 6 pounders that think they are sled dogs

I hear you! My guys ( 7 and 10 lbs) always insisted on going in opposite directions -- which made for some very creative leash-holding situations.

 

[MeowWoofMomma]

My shopping cart walking was the best early on. I'd go to the big store and walk slowly, which looks normal in a store, and concentrate on my form

I've been practicing this over the last week, and it has definitely helped me with my gait. It's wierd how just having something to hold onto makes such a difference in my form. I sometimes have to fight hubby for the cart though

My guys ( 7 and 10 lbs) always insisted on going in opposite directions

Ha, ha! Reminds me of a friend who so kindly offered to walk my fur kids, and came back with the leashes completely entangled and wrapped around her legs

Well, it's been 8 weeks now. I still have some thigh and groin pain, and noticed that every week brings a new surprise. This week it was pain in my hip and around my incision area. Also tingling all the way down my op leg to my toes !?

At first I worried that I had done something bad to my implant, because the hip pain was right where the implant goes into the femur. But luckily I had my 2nd post-op appt this week, where they took an x-ray, and all looks good! So it's just soft tissue pain after all.

My PA says the pain is normal, and will come and go for the first year. He says at this point most people are at 80-90%. Hmm, I feel more like maybe 70%?

I continue to walk ~1.5 miles per day without aids. Although I did join the ODIC with a couple of excursions out to the big sales at the furniture stores this week. Still working on growing that patience muscle

 

[benne68]

My PA says the pain is normal, and will come and go for the first year. He says at this point most people are at 80-90%. Hmm, I feel more like maybe 70%?

Don't worry about this. Not only do we all recover at different rates, but it's a roller-coaster ride. In fact, we
have a little illustration of how recovery from a joint replacement usually goes:

It sounds like you are doing really well. I remember struggling with weird aches and pains and "zingers". all up and down my leg for months post-op. And then, one day I realized that I wasn't thinking about my hip at all!

It will happen for you, too. It just takes time. And, meanwhile, we are here for support whenever it's needed.