Bilateral THR My New Hips Are Here

[Z15]

Jen,

That all sound like great process. I'm very impressed with your stairs without a cane this soon after BTHR! :yes 4:

And I think that with the PT's it's a combination of what our body and our BRAIN can manage per session. I switched from in-home to outpatient last week and they gave me ALL new stuff to do. I'm actually missing the security of some of my simple little earlier exercises (sometimes I sneak a few of them in for old times sake :wink1

Anyway...good for you.

Baby steps, (not literally...just in how we progress)

Z

OHHHH...and congrats on your Giants! I hope that made your day!

 

[Josephine]

I too have previous surgical scars (from the 80s) that didn't heal as nicely as the hips seem to be doing. I don't know if it's due to location (the older scars are on the front of my calves) or better incision closure methods.

Bit of both, actually :wink1:

 

[ChefHuber]

Excellent job. So glad to hear you're moving around.

I too liked the 'got half way there and realized I forgot my cane'. Hmmm. Go back? Keep going?

 

[dectjc]

Jen
Wow, nice job with the stairs im impressed. And dont ever worry about the little rants, its so easy to get discouraged and we all need to vent. Just part of the deal.
It sounds like overall you are doing great. You have alot to be proud of getting both hips done at once.

 

[haldox]

:yes 4:Great job on the milestones!!!

I think you should really be proud of yourself, no matter when your resting or reaching milestones!

Im proud of ya:wink1:I couldnt imagine 2 THRs at once.

 

[Jollyroger]

Hi Jen

It sounds as though you are doing really well with a sensible PT regime.

I am always impressed by anyone who has both hips replaced at the same time. I've now had both done but with 4.5 months between! I don't think I could cope with the thought of not having a 'good' leg to support the healing leg.

Well done !

 

[djklaugh]

You're doing great, Jen! I am delighted to see another 2-for-the-recovery-price of one hippy doing so well. Pretty soon you'll be doing this - ..... lol or not. Yeah perspective can be a hoot at times - I find it very enlightening to remember how awful it was before surgery - and how relatively wonderful it is now. Little aches and pains are really no big deal compared to that. And also remember how far you've progressed in just a couple of weeks!

 

[Jen]

Thank you everyone .

Deb, I sure hope to be doing eventually. I'm sure if I even thought of trying it now my muscles and joints would go , then they'd go :hysterical:, and would finally end with :no2:.

I have officially graduated from in-home PT! Our last session was on Wednesday where my Jedi-Master therapist handed me my light saber, bade me farewell and asked that the Force be with me. Okay, I am kidding but he did wish me well and told me to make sure that my out-patient facility would provide plenty of stretching and manual therapy in addition to exercises.

On a funny/ cool note, my out-patient facility is located at the hospital I originally wanted to go to for my surgery. The surgeon I really wanted was affiliated with a different hospital so I didn't end up at hospital #1 but I'm glad to have the chance to rehab there. They have a Joint Mobility Center that specializes in post-op joint replacement rehab so I'm excited to see what they can do with me.

And finally, I just got the details on my hip implants (make, model and all that jazz) so of course being the too-curious-for-her-own-good patient that I am, I did a quick search online to find some info. I was very happy to find that my implants were rated among the best in class according to the National Joint Registry for England and Wales. So for the millionth time, I will say that Josephine was/ is right when she says that as long as you pick an excellent surgeon, you can have faith in the implant that s/he chooses for you.

 

[haldox]

:hysterical:You are too funny!

Congrats on graduating and it sounds like the outpatient rehab will be great!!

on your hardware!!

 

[dectjc]

Hi Jen
Congrats on your graduation from star wars school.
I have to agree with your comment about Josephine, I was just thinking today about all she does for all of us, all the hours she puts in on these boards. Talk about the definition of a kind caring person. I know none of us tell her enough how much she means to us and a thank you even seems shallow sometimes for all her efforts.

 

[Jamie]

Jen....wonderful reports from out your way! It is a real "upper" to read your posts!!!

 

[DallasSarah]

Hi Jen,

Lots of congratulations, especially on completing the home therapy part and gearing up for the out patient part...wow time is going by so quickly and you are speeding along!

Yes you are right about Josephine..and Jaycee, Jamie and now Sandy it's a fabulous forum.

Are you going to tell us what type of hips you have....you definitely pulled a lead in - teaser hahahahaha! Share please

Happy healing!

xxooxx

 

[dianemarie]

Hi Jen,

Good for you...great respect for you doing both at once. You have a great attitude and that is a huge help in this recovery. Keep up the great work!

 

[haldox]

Dont wanna derail your thread Jen(sorry), but I also wanted to add to the thanks for the Triple J's and now Sandy(even thought just a thanks doesnt seem like enough)!! I will be forever grateful for this site:grouphug2:

 

[Josephine]

So for the millionth time, I will say that Josephine was/ is right when she says that as long as you pick an excellent surgeon, you can have faith in the implant that s/he chooses for you.

 

[Jen]

You're not derailing at all Haldox . Our Admin and Mods are wonderful and we are lucky to have them. Take that well-earned curtsy/ bow ladies!

Sarah, my shiny hips are ceramic on polyethylene from Stryker and the info I found was broken link removed: https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/16/idUS174436+16-Feb-2011+PRN20110216 . It's a press release so of course the company is only going to include what makes them look good but I was happy to read about what the registry had to report.

And now for something completely different (thank you Mr. Cleese), did anyone have scar tissue develop under the skin surrounding their scar? My scars themselves are just thin little lines so far. If you touch them you can feel slightly dense tissue right underneath and for about half an inch all aound the scars. This is all under the skin. Is this something that dissipates over time on its own or will I need to do some massage? There is still some swelling in the upper thighs but what I'm describing is definitely firmer to the touch.

 

[dianemarie]

Hi Jen,

I had some scar tissue after my 1st new hip that was tight so I had my massage therapist "break up" some of the scar tissue and it definitely loosened things up and felt better. It was many months after my surgery. I plan on doing the same with my L hip after more healing, I'm 13 weeks out from that surgery. My massage therapist told me you have 2 years to break it up or it will be permanent, don't have research to back that up, that is just what she told me.

 

[Jen]

Thanks so much Diane. So I guess I might have to have a therapist work on this some time down the road. My incisions are on the front, upper portions of my thighs so the scar tissue isn't affecting me in terms of flexibility so far. Then again I haven't really tried any major extension type moves yet so I might be more limited than I realize. I'll see what my new PT says this week.

 

[haldox]

Hi Jen-I have the very hard feeling around incision on R side still. I do not have this problem on the L side anymore and I didnt do anything special with it.

I dont remember how long it took to go away but it will

 

[Jaycey]

Hi Jen, I agree with Haldox - the thick feeling under your scar will go away on it's own. You can massage but if that irritates the area in any way back off.

You are doing really well Jen!