THR Molly's recovery

[Great Aunt Janet]

Should I begin ramping up my activity?

Hi @Molly12 - it is a hard question to get a firm answer on - some people seem to do really well with lots of physio and exercises, and others do the same with none. And vice versa when it comes to poor results.

So the only path is to choose what works for you - and it sounds like walking is doing it. Just pick the odd day to do something longer or more hilly, and then take it easy the next. That way you are increasing it without risk to your healing - I think you are already doing this or you wouldn't have got so far so well!

I tried side leg raises at about 5 weeks, and could hardly lift the leg at all - but now, after another 5 weeks or so of walking (and I have added pootling around on my bike and lots of stairs at work), I find I can do a respectable side leg raise or 10. Not that I try very often. So just the time spend walking about has strengthened my muscles etc - and I can still use them for what I need them for.

 

[Molly12]

4 week update. Ditched the cane today and went shopping. I still am very cautious when moving but don't have a limp and no pain when getting up from being seated now. Still taking an occasional Tylenol which helps with all the new aches and pains I have from using new muscles in both legs. I still have a little achiness in my lower shin but nothing like before so I am hopeful that this will resolve. I have been driving for about 10 days and that has really helped my mood as I am not homebound. I am not doing any PT just walking and small chores around the house. I am still icing a couple of times a day because it just feels good. My incision is still very lumpy and ugly but fortunately it doesn't both me in the least. Bikini days were over a long time ago. Lol

My friends see me and tell me how wonderful I am doing but also seem to forget I still have lots of healing to do. They keep encouraging me to do more and more things but I have to remind them that I need lots of rest still. They expect me to pick up where I was a month ago...hiking, biking,power walking, shopping, beach walking. They are not used to seeing me sit out at the sidelines.

I am not quite ready to say I am glad to have had this done yet as I still felt better prior to surgery than I do now. Perhaps after my first hike with no pain I will be able to come back here and exude thankfulness. It is probably harder in some ways for those of us who had this done before intense pain, limping, walking with a cane disabled us. I chose to have this done in the very early stages of osteoarthritis before I was in intense pain.

All in all, I am healing!

 

[Molly12]

Well, I must have overdid it yesterday. I went without my cane and felt fine and totally pain free until about 2 pm. All of a sudden I had a pain to the right of my incision (had anterior) that made walking very painful. I had not had this pain before. It appears to be muscular. I immediately started icing it. This morning it is still very sore and tender all along the side of my incision and I am back to limping with a cane. I am beyond frustrated!!! I am also scared something is wrong!! I am forced to stay off it today as it is just too painful to keep walking on it. I was very careful not to do too much so not sure what happened. It is like my muscles are waking up and angry.

Has this happened to anyone else? Any advice for me? Is this normal? @Josephine

 

[Teecup]

That's the pain I had after my first "real" walk on Monday when i walked about 2 blocks with a slight slope (both crutches). Up until that point, which was at 14 days, I had not walked further than around the house with crutches, five minutes tops. Still have a twinge of pain from that and will take my second walk today. I'm thinking your pain is just part of the muscle reconditioning. Even though you are further ahead of me and have had quite a bit more activity than I, it doesn't sound like you've done anything to warrant an injury. Hope ice and meds calm the minor storm!

 

[Sagefemme]

@Molly12 I think what you have experienced is exactly what is supposed to happen--you pushed a little too hard and your body let you know. You might even take pain medicine today, not least because being in pain is making you worry you have done something harmful or permanent (which I'm sure you have not). I have found the "warnings" from my body are sometimes random, meaning I can't figure out what I did to cause the "pushback." But every time it has happened I have just listened, scaled back, iced, taken some pain meds (especially if discomfort is going to disturb my sleep--I'm big on sleep as healing force) and the next day, or the day after that, back to normal. I am surprised that one day I can walk a fair distance with complete comfort and no cane, and the next day I find myself slightly uncomfortable after half a block and go back for the cane. I've decided for now that any walking outside (including shopping trips) I will always have the cane with me, just in case, since this is all somewhat unpredictable.

Lie on the couch today, and tomorrow I bet you can be a warrior again!!

 

[Molly12]

thanks @Sagefemme @Teecup I think you are exactly right!! I just had a major meltdown and now I feel better! Your words ring true for me. What a journey this is.

 

[donor]

@Molly12 my doctor told me the other day the body is going to give you information thru this recovery. It's the mind that needs to listen to it. Hahaha...my mind continues to override information at times about this and all other aspects of my life.

 

[Sullivand]

@Molly12
I had the same experiences! Friends who think you need to exercise and friends who have relatives who got through their hip replace in just a few days! Ugh! I want to punch them all! But your body tells you when it's time. I thought I would just get increasingly better day by day but that isn't the case. I can have a busy day and do great but then it takes me two days to recover. It is all normal. My OS told me to expect good and bad days as part of the healing process. So it seems to me you are right on schedule-- YOUR schedule.


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[Molly12]

@Sullivand yes I mistakenly thought that I too would get better and better everyday. I planned to add just a little more exercise everyday and a few more housekeeping tasks until I was healed. I was not prepared for this setback but it is comforting to know that others have experienced it. I was just boasting to friends how good I was doing and now am embarrassed to tell them I can't drive again...at least for a few days. The pain is very acute when changing from the gas pedal to the brake. Just not safe for me or anyone else driving right now. So I am feeling at the mercy of others again. Hate that feeling,

 

[Josephine]

I went without my cane and felt fine and totally pain free until about 2 pm. All of a sudden I had a pain to the right of my incision (had anterior) that made walking very painful.. I am beyond frustrated!!! I am also scared something is wrong!!

Nothing is wrong except you over did it as you so expertly diagnosed yourself! That's oh so easy to do. But that's part of recovery - push a little, suffer the consequences and learn not to do that again - yet. Well, not until you've got another week or two under your belt. Just now you are only 4 weeks out which is very early. I think you should go back to this post and re-read the recovery articles!

 

[Sullivand]

@Molly12
I am beginning to wonder if hip replacement is like birth and you forget the pain~ or they are all liars!?!
I think you just hit the 4 week wall that told you to slow down. I did the same thing and drove a short distance and told my friends all was great~ I had to eat my words and only just started driving again yesterday~ my week 6. It's interesting that so many people experience this at week 4. The articles from this forum are fabulous and I really like the chart that shows your progress week by week and it is all so spot on!



Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[donor]

Checking on you @Molly12. How are you feeling? Hoping today is better.

 

[Molly12]

@donor thanks for checking on me. Resorted to a pain med this morning and feeling a little better. Unfortunately this angry muscle is keeping me homebound as I can't drive comfortably. Going from the gas to brake pedal is painful. Feeling a little down today mood wise as I was doing so much better earlier in the week. I can still walk without my cane but getting up and down from a seated position is painful. I am confident a few days of rest will be helpful. However, I am so over this recovery!!! Grrrrr.........

 

[Liznwiz]

@Molly12 I'm having the exact same problem as you with driving. Its not painful just uncomfortable to move foot from accelerator (gas) to brake. I went for a 30 minute drive to see a friend today, then had to drive back, by the time I got home I was ready for painkillers.
I'm having a day of rest tomorrow, hopefully I will be fine again for the weekend. Hope you feel better tomorrow too. This is a slow old journey and I'm 19 days ahead of you, and still use a cane when I walk in the street, but don't use it indoors.

 

[Constanze]

Hi @Molly12 I hope your pain from overdoing it a little bit has gone now after you have had a nice rest.

It looks as if your friends don't know anything. But then, my friends and colleagues don't know anything either. However, the way they behaved with me was the opposite. They couldn't believe I was doing so well at 6 weeks (not 4 weeks). They were surprised I could go to work at 6 weeks and ride a bike 40 kms a day.

Walking slightly asymmetrically and feeling sore getting up from a chair is normal at 4 weeks. After 6 weeks, however, this phenomenon will gradually disappear. My operated (left) leg now feels as strong as my unoperated one and they both look the same strength. Best wishes. Constanze

 

[Molly12]

Feeling so much better this morning. Back to where I was 2 days ago before I overdid it. I am not really sure what happened but I did try to get down into a low lawn chair and when I got back up I started to hurt so perhaps I injured a muscle. My mood is also improved!! I guess it is true that this is nonlinear healing. Makes it difficult to plan activities from day to day. I have to warn people that I may need to cancel at the last minute for awhile as things with my hip change quickly!!!

 

[Sullivand]

Yes! A day at a time! Listening to your body is the answer!

 

[Gummy Bears]

Hi @Molly12 I have found over the past couple weeks that people (mostly friends and coworkers) treat me as if I'm totally normal, probably bc for the most part, I look normal. I find it to be super annoying. Anyway, hope things keep coming along, sounds like you are treating yourself well!

 

[Sullivand]

Yes! @Gummy Bears and @Molly12
I ran in to some friends out to lunch~ I planned it through between rest and pain meds. They saw me and said " so glad to see you and all pain free!" Yea right! Ugh! It makes me worry about going back to work!

 

[donor]

@Molly12 @Sullivand here too! Someone asked me today, at day 32, when i would be back to work full time? Omg just 3-4 hours for 3 days has been a challenge big time. Then I get the opposite. ...wow are you sure it's ok to be walking so soon???? Folks just don't get it in the real world. Tg for the folks here to keep me sane. Xo