THR New hip at 37! How it went, how it's going!

[KittensMom]

Hi @ChickensMom. My OS wouldn't do any injections until week 12. In my case, a guided imagery SI injection. Good pain relief for about 2 weeks. It's worth a try. Hope it will work for you. Hang in there.

Thank you! That helped me manage my expectations a bit as my mind was getting set on having a steroid jab. I will call my rheumy anyways on Monday to let her know I am having a pretty big flare up. Hopefully rest and now being back on arthritis meds will settle it soon.

 

[KittensMom]

I am not a doctor but if I remember right it was explained to me that steroids can suppress your immune response and would theoretically increase the risk of infection, so…I’m guessing the dr might say that’s not an option.

I think the same reasoning was behind having to wait for the surgery for some amount of time after first trying injections to sort out the hip.

I think the local injections carry less risk than taking oral steroids but let's see what they tell me on Monday.

 

[KittensMom]

My day 10 milestone was stopping the morning long-acting oxy! I am only left with the night one (and an 1x NSAID + 6x paracetamol a day). No difference felt in the hip throughout the day, so I may attempt stopping the night time one tomorrow evening

Hip is doing well. It wants to move, walk, but the left knee has other plans for now Still no improvement and this morning after days of swelling I was woken up by arthritis knee pain. Not fun.

I am trying to brave through it in a decent mood, because I think it is important for my hip recovery to keep the spirits up and not get stuck in the "fix one thing, brake another" attitude. The knee will get better, it has to

I seem to have forgotten how I used to sit on the toilet. I am giggling writing this... but since the surgery I was doing a lot of manoeuvring to avoid pain when sitting, and I swear, now that the sitting pain is gone, I struggle to do a smooth stand to sit movement.

Maybe this is the muscles still being weakened. It makes me laugh every time.

Thank you for sharing your experience with brain fog. Mine I think is mostly gone. I still get spells of tiredness, where not taking a nap is not really an option. I go down like a log. But it is all well and good while on the sick leave.

Thinking of the knee again. I have started watching my food a bit. I know being off arthritis meds, and the extra load on the non-operated leg are the biggest culprits here. But at the same time I know my arthritis gets worse when I am a little bit more indulgent with food - which was definitely the case when my nausea stopped. So I am being more concious with both quality and quantity.

I am grabbing at straws here. The snow started to melt (albeit slowly), and I really want to take my new hip out into the wild soon!

P.S. Forgot to mention: bruising showed up for the first time today! Small 1x1cm dark bruise and more pale yellow ones along the incision. I am sure there are more under the dressing ;)

 

[Layla]

Hi ChickensMom
Sounds like you're doing really well at only 10 days post op. I remember one week post op was the first milestone I looked forward to reaching, hahaha, Lofty goals

Great news on the Oxy! I am sorry your Left knee is bothering you right now. I hope it eases soon.
Take good care and stay in touch. We love updates so thanks for sharing!
@ChickensMom

 

[Eman85]

Getting off of and on the toilet can be a challenge. I used a bedside commode frame over the toilet and it had arms which made it easier. When I graduated to the regular toilet the trick is to use your hand between your legs to push off of the seat, also it's a good way to guide yourself down so you're not off center.
Look at the bruises, I swear it's from the OS or assistants hands when they pull us apart.

 

[KittensMom]

Getting off of and on the toilet can be a challenge. I used a bedside commode frame over the toilet and it had arms which made it easier. When I graduated to the regular toilet the trick is to use your hand between your legs to push off of the seat, also it's a good way to guide yourself down so you're not off center.
Look at the bruises, I swear it's from the OS or assistants hands when they pull us apart.

You should see my OS, she is in her late 50s and has a face of an angel ;) But I understand it is a violent event, the surgery.

 

[KittensMom]

Day 12, I left the house at last! We still have quite a lot of ice on the pavements, but I called my rheumy today, and luckily she had an opening at 1pm to do a steroid jab for my knee It was either today or the 11th, so I didn't want to wait as the pain and swelling was really bothering me.

A friendly neighbour walked out with me to make sure that I get into the taxi alright. How much I enjoyed being out of the house and driving in the spring sun! Even if the destination was not at all exciting.

Rheumy pulled about 40ml of fluid from the Baker's cyst on the back of the knee and injected the steroid. I can move my knee again, but I am taking it easy for now, giving the drug time to work on the inflammation.

I am so happy I was able to do this. I was starting to get very down because of the increasing pain, now at least I hope I can start going on walks soon and not wake up through the night because of the knee pain.

Speaking of waking up at night, I had a visit from the "bone healing pain" last night again. But I was able to curb it with an ice pack and go back to bed. The recovery is not linear, I keep reminding myself

When I got home from the outing I let my cat out into the forest, left the door to the patio open to let the spring fresh air in, and (almost instantly) the cat brought home a live mouse and "released it" in the bathroom. So I spent the next 30 minutes trying to chase the cat away and rescue this poor little field mouse. My mission was successful (she eventually climbed into the shoe box I offered, to escape the cat), but I felt exhausted afterwards...

Safe to say this was enough excitement for one day, I am going to go and have a chill evening now. The dishes can wait till tomorrow.

Hope you are all keeping well

 

[benne68]

enough excitement for one day, I am going to go and have a chill evening now. The dishes can wait till tomorrow.

Glad to read this! You have the right attitude to help you through this recovery with less pain.

Take care of yourself!

 

[Hip4life]

I’m assuming you don’t want us to add “chasing a mouse your cat dragged home” to recovery tips for hips. Our pets certainly keep us entertained and on our toes.
Sounds like your recovery is going well. I’m so glad you got your knee taken care of. It will surely make everything else go a bit smoother. Continued healing blessings and looking forward to your next update.

 

[Gloucestergal65]

We have a similar cat and mouse problem. We don’t exactly keep score, the cat is definitely winning, but we do manage to rescue some of them. ‍

 

[KittensMom]

We have a similar cat and mouse problem. We don’t exactly keep score, the cat is definitely winning, but we do manage to rescue some of them. ‍

Haha yes, it's the same here. I think in the two years I have owned this property he must have taken out a sylvanian family worth of mice...

 

[KittensMom]

I’m assuming you don’t want us to add “chasing a mouse your cat dragged home” to recovery tips for hips.

I wouldn't know if to put it as a recommendation or a precaution ;)

 

[KittensMom]

2 weeks! Not having a great day to be completely honest :(

The hip is doing great. Yesterday I did laundry for 3 hours, but still thought I would stop the night oxy, and woke up completely fine. Well, hip-wise.

I mentioned that on Monday I had my Baker's cyst drained, and a steroid shot to help the left (non-operated leg) knee that swell and hurt due to break in arthritis meds + getting extra pressure after the surgery.

During the draining procedure I felt hot sharp pain in my mid-front calf, a typical nerve pain. I had to ask the doc to tap on the skin of the calf because I couldn't reach it laying on my stomach, and I thought I would go insane.

Yesterday I felt that pain again a few times. Like a barb wire net charged with electricity, right on the shin bone, and sometimes on the sides of the calf. Pain comes when I change the position of the leg, or put pressure on the back of the calf (i.e. when sitting down) but it's not so intense when I walk.

I have spent all evening last night having a proper melt down because of it, fearing this is some permanent damage. I am quite sure the doc hit a nerve with the needle.

Today I have been feeling it more and more often, swearing out loud ever time it happens, the shock of the pain is like a 7 or an 8.

I called the rheumy nurse and she said that she will speak with the doctor and get back to me, but from the sound of it it is plausible a nerve was hit / irritated.

I had the procedure done ultrasound assisted, and oh, I don't know I am just a bit over all of the knee drama. I'm scared that this pain seems to be progressing and of all the things the internet has to say about nerve damage.

I was tempted to post in the knee section of this forum to get some advice but I am not really pre-op. If anyone has any similar experience, please kindly share, mood-wise this has really pushed me over the edge :(

 

[Jaycey]

@ChickensMom I changed your thread title slightly so that our members on the knee forum can give you input.

The first thing I would suggest is to stop using google as your resource for information. All that does is scare you.If you use our Search function (top right of any page) and type bakers cyst into the search area, you will get a list of all threads that discuss this.

In addition, here's an article from our Library Baker's cysts and other knee bursae.

 

[sistersinhim]

I am quite sure the doc hit a nerve with the needle.

This sounds reasonable. If he did nick a nerve then the nerve more than likely will heal. Nerves are very slow to heal, so you will have to try and have patience. Yeah, I know, it's very hard to do. Maybe your doctor will subscribe something to help. I hope so.

I will have my Baker's Cyst flare up in either knee, but more so in my TKR. I find that if I take a couple of days with extra rest and elevation the cysts will go back down. I'm surprised your doctor drained yours. In what I've learned most doctors don't like to do that. I pray yours will stay down.

 

[Pumpkin]

@ChickensMom
I had my bakers cyst rupture, ended up with a huge hematoma in my calf. Since then I have had a few minor ruptures. It feels like water running down your calf.
It does sound like they nicked a nerve, it will take awhile for it to heal.

Your OS should be able to give you something for nerve pain, a common prescription is Gabapentin .

Keep us posted on how you are doing,
Chris

 

[KittensMom]

@ChickensMom I changed your thread title slightly so that our members on the knee forum can give you input.

The first thing I would suggest is to stop using google as your resource for information. All that does is scare you.If you use our Search function (top right of any page) and type bakers cyst into the search area, you will get a list of all threads that discuss this.

In addition, here's an article from our Library Baker's cysts and other knee bursae.

Thanks @Jaycey , could you change it back for me, thankfully the pain is resolving. I think the prev. subject was "New hip at 37. How it went, how it's going"

 

[KittensMom]

Day 19! The last 7 days were not fun, and not at all focused on the poor hip. Quick recap: a nerve on the back of my knee (non-operative side) was damaged by a needle during a procedure to drain a Baker's cyst last Monday.

I have never had nerve injury before, and honestly the first 5 days I was close to losing all hope that it will ever get better. And just generally losing it :( All different movements with the knee would cause a painful (=understatement) shock to the middle of my calf. Thursday through to Saturday I barely walked. I could just about to shuffle my non-operative leg around to avoid getting "tased" by my own nervous system.

The rheumatology nurse called to check in on me a few times. She said it may take days for the pain to go. The way I felt, I did not believe her one bit... The pain was so intense, I had an overwhelming amount of anxiety about never recovering from this. I felt utterly down.

Yesterday I felt first signs of relief. Pain became a little more frequent but at the same time more dull. In the evening the back of my knee was twitching for 2 hours straight, which I took as a sign of the nerve healing / reconnecting. Today the pain is A LOT more dull. There are moments where I can take a step quite freely without the fear of getting zapped, and I plan never to take this feeling for granted.

How the hip doin'? It was my silent hero during the left leg's indisposition. I think I probably overworked it. I know so.

Yesterday I did 3k steps around the neighbourhood. The weather was beautiful... Full sun! Over here we have to wait for spring for so long every year, when it hits it does it with a bang. Birds are doing their bird songs with the intensity of a 90 day fiancé contestant, sunsets have suddenly moved from 3 to 9pm. The world is coming back to life, and I want to do the same.

Well, the hip was not happy about my spring back to life ambitions. My whole front thigh is on fire today. I am icing, I am elevating, I am resting. The only thing I don't want to do is increase meds. I have been off the oxycodone completely for 4 or 5 days, and I am itching to start lowering the number of paracetamol pills. I am guessing this feeling is normal after increased activity?

Stitches come off on Wednesday, which will be my 3 weeks anniversary. And now I will go do some health-focused meditation and get a fresh ice pack.

I hope you are all doing great

 

[CricketHip]

Oh, I hope your knee settles down completely, soon!! What a shame to have that act up during your hip recovery.
Hopefully you are almost finished with the nerve pain and can move forward.

 

[Mojo333]

Hi @ChickensMom
Happy Spring.

Finding the balance and reaping the repercussions for "too much too soon" seems to be the trickiest part for us new hippies.
Counteracting it with ice and rest is the best strategy I found.

My quad was the most tender muscle affected and it seems it never hurt until later so several shorter walks with ice in between was better for me.
Keep that patience muscle toned, my friend.
All Temporary and well worth it in the end!