THR Missy45 Recovery: Surgery wasn’t so bad!

[Missy45]

Hello again! Tomorrow is two weeks since my surgery and I’ve seen some changes. I’ve been feeling steady on my feet when standing for a couple of days now. Also, my PT graduated me to the cane inside the house, though he still wants me to use the walker outside. I started going out places with the walker a few days ago. I was able to walk a little further each day, but we’ve had some pretty bad storms going since yesterday afternoon, so I’ve been grounded.

Before the rain started yesterday, though, I walked farther than I’ve walked in a couple of months. I went to the end of my mom’s street and back twice over the course of a few hours, that would probably be a little over 1/2 mile total. I could really feel it in the muscles surroundings both hips! I feel like I’m ok since doing that, but maybe a little stiff after not being able to do as much today. Plus, I think I strained an ab or something while using the cane. I’m not sure how that happened, but today is the first day that I feel like I’ve had a setback. It’s not too bad, though.

What is pretty concerning is the extreme limp I have when I try to walk without a device. I do feel steady on my feet when standing and I don’t feel like I’m going to fall down when walking/limping, but it is such a severe limp that I’m a little worried. So, is this limp still “normal” at this point...? The PT says I’m doing great and not to compare myself to anyone else, but the home nurse said, “Oh, you’re still limping? Do you think one of your legs is shorter than the other now?” I know that is possible after surgery, but is a severe limp two weeks out indicative of that, or is it just that a limp is to be expected and maybe I need not be worried about my leg length at this point?

Also, I’m wondering if I should keep walking a little here and there without the devices despite the limp. I’m not sure if that will make things worse or if it will help to try to get myself moving on my own again!? Any insight will be appreciated! I know it has only been two weeks, but it does seem like a long time already. I can be patient, I just get worried thinking that I might have lasting problems with walking.

 

[Layla]

Hello Missy
Happy Two Week Anniversary! Thanks for updating. You seem to be doing really well!
Congrats on graduating to using mainly the cane. I loved tossing that walker to the side and it sounds as though you’re getting super close yourself.

So, is this limp still “normal” at this point...?

Yes! I had a limp at this point, many, many do. It is recommended you use an assistive device until you’re no longer limping and practice heel-toe walking, it really helps and it‘s what my PT recommended, as do many.
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.
It takes a concentrated effort, but I believe you'll notice a difference. Give it a try.

Your body is changing, as is your gait as it adjusts to the new prosthetic. Have patience and please don’t worry, the limp should slowly dissipate. It’s also recommended you buy a new pair of shoes, as opposed to wearing those with your pre-op wear pattern. That may also make a difference for you, if you haven’t replaced your most frequently worn shoes yet, consider doing so.

Keep up the good work and enjoy the week!

 

[Missy45]

Thanks, Layla! I will stick with the devices for now. I’m glad I haven’t been trying to go around without them too much!

 

[Layla]

You’re welcome! Don‘t worry about moving around the house without an assistive device. Use it when you’re out steadily walking.

Here is a guide to heel-toe walking.

 

[FCBayern]

You'll know when it's time to stop using the assistive device when you leave it behind and don't even notice. I left my cane in a shopping cart in the parking area and had to go back for it!

 

[Rhiannon89]

Hey Missy! Glad to see you're doing well, the limp is pretty normal, I referred to it as my 'bop' and I didn't stop using a crutch or a cane until the limp went away. I was told it could be the stem settling which gave me a leg length difference but I think my knee wasn't quite strong enough to hold everything up, It was gone by about week 8 when I went back to work, and I just suddenly realised it didn't happen anymore!

 

[Missy45]

Hello! I guess I am a little past due for my one month update, so I wanted to check in. Yesterday was 4 weeks since my surgery. It has been a very long month! The time dragging by hasn’t changed yet. I did manage to get my cable to stream here at my mom’s house so I’m able to watch channels that are local to me. Just that little bit of normalcy helped to give me a boost!

Despite the slow movement of time, I have made some good progress! I got off the raised toilet about a week ago and was able to take showers without the seat a few days before that. I have also kept up with my walking. We have had nice weather so I walk around the neighborhood everyday. I go wherever my mom will drive me, too. Really, any chance to walk is one I’ve taken. It has helped!

On Friday, I found I could pick up my cane and walk without it. The heavy limp would still come and go for a bit more than a day, but it has gotten so much better now. I started my outpatient PT this week and I don’t really walk with a device anymore. I overdid it a bit today, so I’m going to take it a bit easier. Part of that was sitting to work on the computer, though, so it is deceptive. It is kinda the same as when I had back surgery...I can’t sit still too long or move too long. It’s about finding a balance.

My last day of PT is scheduled for 5/18 and my mom has to go to Miami for her job on 5/19, so it looks like 5/19 is the date I can most reasonablly expect to be home. However, my predictions haven’t been worth a whole lot this year, so I’m not betting the farm on it!

I do think I’ll be home by the end of the month, though. This has really been something. I still think it will probably be around the holidays before the reality of this period starts setting in and becoming part of my story. I’m still running on a lot of adrenaline and experiencing a little PTSD, too. But I’m going to make it! This is a new phase of life and I’ve been through hard things before. I do feel like I’ve turned a major corner. I’m a lot farther down this path than I was a few weeks ago. I even started walking my dogs again already!

 

[FCBayern]

Great report @Missy45! Look like you're on your way to an active, pain free life!

 

[Layla]

I can’t sit still too long or move too long. It’s about finding a balance.

So true...and it’s different for everyone. You‘re doing well, keep it up.
Happy One Month Anniversary!

 

[DancerHips]

Thanks for sharing @Missy45! I am about 1 1/2 weeks out and it is helpful and (usually) reassuring to get a glimpse of what might be in the future. Good luck with your continued recovery and possible move home in a couple weeks.

 

[BellaMac]

Thank you for sharing- truly helps those behind you. Glad you are doing well.

 

[Teresa17]

@Missy45

We have had nice weather so I walk around the neighborhood everyday. I go wherever my mom will drive me, too. Really, any chance to walk is one I’ve taken. It has helped!

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like your recovery is going well. I’m encouraged by you saying your long walks everyday has helped. I think I’m lacking in that area. I walk a lot around the house, cleaning & errands but not for long distances. I need to get better & you‘ve encouraged me to do so. Thank you.

 

[Missy45]

Hello again! Thanks, everyone, for your replies. It was very nice to read them!
Well, I made it back to my home in Miami! Today makes one week since I got back and this Saturday will be two months since my surgery. It feels like I am just now getting back to the norm because my mom stayed a couple of days at first, then went home for a couple of days, then came back again. I had a lot of stuff to bring down and she was helping me to get settled.

My operated hip is not feeling bad at all! There is still a lot of recovery to be done, of course, and I do still have some pain, but I trust that it is recovering as it should. I finished my first month of physical therapy and the surgeon wrote me for another month. I’m going to have to find a place here and I probably should have done that already! I will get on it in the next few days. I got all the equipment I have used in PT so far and I have been continuing the exercises here in my gym. They told me that I would be starting new exercises, though, and I don’t want to fall behind.

Where I am struggling a bit is with the other hip as it was injured in the accident also. While the joint is still mostly intact (just bone touching bone in one tiny spot), my previous MRI showed a superior labral tear. The description of it was nothing like what was happening on the left side, but the pain is there and has been increasing significantly. I’m on a heating pad now, actually! Luckily, I had the foresight to make an appointment with a specialist here who does nothing but the labral repairs and reconstructions. I’m seeing him on the 7th. In the meantime, my PT exercises do make it feel a little better and I am trying to have hope that I won’t have to have a surgery at all. I’m not naive, though, so I’m also trying to strengthen my resolve in case he does say I need surgery right away. It’s really, really hard to think about that and it is causing me some depression, I think!

It helps to come back here and read others’ posts and know I am not alone. I think I do have some of the post-op blues hanging around, but I had been able to distract myself from that with hopes of coming home. Now I’m home and I’m wondering if maybe what I was hoping for was for things to go back to how they were before and they’re not...at least not yet! Plus, the dogs are making the adjustment away from being with my mom and having her yard. I think it’s hard on my little female. The male loves going for his long walks again and seeing his doggy friends and all, and I love that too! I’m just wondering if that is making my right side worse now. Lately, I get the popping and clicking constantly. I don’t even have to be walking, I can just readjust my leg a bit on the couch and it happens. It happened just now and it is absolutely terrifying! It wasn’t doing it this bad before I got home and starting walking so much more. I’m not sure what to do in the time until I have my appointment.

Well anyway, I guess the takeaway is that I am not quite feeling like myself yet. I feel weaker physically and emotionally than I thought I would upon returning home. I’m not being too hard on myself because I know I’m going through a lot. I’m going to just keep doing my exercises, keep up with my job online, my housework, and the dogs the best I can. I try to remember healthy coping skills as much as possible, too!

I think coming to terms with what is happening on my right side is the real challenge now. I’ve already started that process a bit, I believe. I wish I had something to work on accepting, but I guess that just means I have to accept not knowing anything for another couple of weeks.

That is my update for now. I will certainly post when I get news about the right hip. I hope everyone is well! I will be checking out the recovery posts to see how all the progress is going.

 

[Pumpkin]

Hi Pumpkin,
I’m hoping you might have some advice for me! I had a LTHR on 3/29, so almost 2 months ago. I have a labral tear on the right side that never bothered me until my left hip started dislocating before the surgery. I have fears that the dislocations put stress on it and caused a more serious injury. Of course, it could be something else entirely, but I went through the severely torn/disfigured labrum of the left side so I have some idea of how it feels.

Now, I’m having a lot of pain on the right side in my lower back and in the side of my hip. My PT exercises do seem to help, but walking seems to make the pain in my back spread and get worse. The trouble is that I just started living independently again and cannot avoid walking my dogs. Do you know if walking is bad for a labral tear?

I have an appointment with a specialist on the 7th, but I’m not sure what to do until then. I’ve read a lot of your posts about labral tears, so I thought you might be able to offer some suggestions. I don’t know what to do and not do until I see the doctor.

I’ve also been reading about the poor outlook for labral repairs and that’s what this specialist does, so I’m feeling a bit down right now. I am encouraged that you are making it ok with your labral tear. I’m so worried about having another THR. Plus, my hip surgeon looked at the X-ray and said my right joint is intact and I’m not a candidate for the replacement. I don’t mean to get ahead of myself, but it’s nearly two weeks until my appointment! Is there anything you would suggest? I’m really scared and having a hard time putting my mind at ease.

 

[Pumpkin]

@Missy45
I have found gentle stretching and core exercises can fully relieve my groin pain from a torn labrum. I found that my quads were tight and the one that crosses the hip joint has to be stretched (Rectus Femoris) or my hip continues to be painful. I have to stretch every other day to stay on top of the pain, when I first started stretching I had to stretch every day.
Which hip stretches will work for you will be different from what works for me. There was a lot of trial and error to find what worked, some even made it worse.
Your PT should be able to help you find what works for you.
Bob Anderson's Stretching book is a good source for a number of hip stretches. You can purchase it on Amazon and other book sellers.

Your back pain most likely is a combination of your recent THR changing the way you walk and move, and your groin pain in the other hip. Ask your PT to take a look at your back, and your gait, they can give you some exercises you can do to help relieve your symptoms, so you can continue to walk your dog.

You are right, labral tear repairs do not have a good out look. They are more successful in younger patients without any arthritis in their hip.

A stretch that works for me is to drop my leg over the side of the bed with my foot on the floor, and gently stretch my hip. You can add stretch by moving your foot back on the floor. Your should only feel a gentle stretch, any more and you may irritate your hip. Your PT can show you how to do this.

Hope that helps

 

[Missy45]

@Pumpkln
Thanks for your reply! It looks like I have a lot to learn. I will get the book you mentioned and start learning about the stretches. I don’t think I have been doing much in the way of core exercises, so I will learn about those, too. I will also get my physical therapy started here in Miami. I have been missing the support of the therapists I had in my mom’s city. I’ll call around and make an appointment today. I’m going to do that when I finish typing this post, then I will go over to my gym and do the exercises I have been doing thus far.

It is hard hearing that the outlook is not good, but I have known this in the back of my mind. This gives me something to start coming to terms with over the next several days until my appointment. I do hope some of this back pain is part of recovering from my surgery! Maybe I can keep the right hip hanging in there for longer than it feels like now.

Thanks again! It really helps to know that you have found some things that work for you.

 

[Pumpkin]

Missy45,
When you are interviewing PT's you will want to find someone who has a gentle approach to hip replacement as well as addressing your back and other hip pain.
With your stretches you may find you can only stretch for 5-10 seconds and may have to work up to the stretching times recommended in the Stretching book.

 

[Missy45]

For anyone who is interested, I found several free PDF versions of the Stretching book online!

 

[Chaotic]

So glad it went well and you are able to let go of the fear and overwhelm. Remember, it does take time and patience is required. I’m saying that for me as much as you

 

[Missy45]

@Chaotic Hello, thank you! I had a little setback today after not being careful with the settings on the exercise bike. Now I’m icing the iliac crest on my operated hip...I would be really nervous if I had not read about things like this here! It seems like my hip is fully prepared to force some patience out of me when I need it.

It looks like you are just out of surgery! I hope you are feeling ok!