Welcome Newbies!
Weigh bearing depending on the method of afixing as well as procedure and patient condition, cemented joints can be quite quick if not immidiate to apply full weight. Non-cemented can be longer, 2-3 weeks. I had my uncemented THR May 29th, and was encourged to use it as much as it felt OK . My first real try, besides walking up and down the hallway in the hospital was walking the 1/4 mile to the car from the hospital. At first, +2 to 7 days it was very tiring to walk far but I tried anyway. I was a bad boy and did not do the exercises as recommended but instead just went about life as normal before the painfull hip limited my mobility. Shopping, cleaning, climbing ladders, travel to other countries, dating, daily walking around the city over miles, bicycling, hauling around sacks of groceries on foot, and doing all for myself since I had no one to take care of me, and I used no special tool for extensions or anything. Getting into a normal routine early may have been a benefit with fast recovery.
I started walking to work 3 days out of the hospital and went dancing(with crutches) on my birthday at day 4 post hospital. I guess I was lucky and never had pain so have never taken pain medication except once 40 years ago when I have a ruptured appendix.
Since I shed the crutches, I do not even remember when it was, I have almost forgotten that there was a long period of pain pre-op and that i used to be limited in range of movement and pain.
Pain is easy to forget with a little time.
I did over-do it once and felt soreness the week following a crazy all night session in discos and rock clubs 2 weeks ago, it felt great at the time, and on the 2 mile walk home at 6am.The week had a lot of soreness however. But this weekend I attended an private party with a great band and found a wonderful professional Ballerina as a dance partner. We entered a free style dance contest and won first place for the dance and for being the oddest couple, she was 22 , tiny, no more than 98lbs and 5'5" and highly skilled dancer with the best ballet company in the world and who happened to be a world class beuaty, and I was a tall 6'3" non-skilled dancer 59 years old, who looks it. It wasn't until the host reminded me that I made him nervous knowing I had had the recent hip replacement that it registered. I was almost in shock, I had completely forgotten that a few weeks before I had this metal thingy put in. The party with 300 guests finally sputtered to an end at 10am the next morning and my dance partner and I went out walking in the park, and searched for breakfast. Our first place prize was dinner for 2 in one of the nicest restaurants in St Petersburg, a $400 value...without wine. I think I better take my 1/2 the voucher and take my GF instead of my co-winner since she missed out by being at an Black Sea resort for the last 2 weeks.
So if this is typical, in a couple months you will need reminding that you ever had pain before or had limited mobility. On thing to remember however, you will probably limp because of habit, it takes a while for many people to stop limping even with walking is not restricted by pain or range of movement. I stand casually and not think about i notice I am resting on the un-bionic leg, then straighten up with proper 50-50 weight distribution. walking even over rough broken ground or on rocky steep trails feels balanced and poised, dancing is easier than any time in 8-10 years. So the limp will be mostly in casual relaxed times when you are not thinking of what you are doing.
Soon you will forget all the problems and if you have pain it will be hard to remember.
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