THR On recovery journey

Good morning, @cheermom. Like so many others, I, too, am fascinated by your OS's plan of amping up on rehab so early, and particularly since you indicated you weren't in great shape before surgery. It sounds exhausting and uncomfortable to me, but I think I've turned into a bit of a weenie these days! I was in decent shape before surgery but, wow, I am not sure I could handle everything you're being asked to do. I suspect you have a strong commitment to this plan, and that is critical to your success. I used the walker for the first week, too, but was able to move to walking poles after that. Never felt my hip was unstable but still wobbled and needed to work on that ingrained limp that I'd developed pre-surgery. Hope your second week shows some great progress! Best of luck!
 
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@cheermom hope you don’t mind me asking but you mentioned your secondary scar but not the main one. How long is it and where is it. Do you have to sit on it or can you avoid that?

I realise our two surgeons’ approaches could not be more different re the actual op :)

Had an interesting discussion with my physio today about walking sticks v hiking poles - the latter I am very used to pre-op!
 
Glad to answer :) . My main incision is about 6 inches long on the top of my thigh, about 2 inches to the left of the groin. The secondary incision is about 6 inches to the right of the belly button, right where the pelvis juts out. I forget I have it as there is no pain or anything involved with it. It still has a bandage over it, but I was told it is very small, just small enough to place 3 pins into my pelvis that held it completely immobile for the robot.
 
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Thanks! I know my rehab is unconventional here. But I am with a sports rehab clinic who has a significant amount of professional athletes on their caseloads. Athletes would never tolerate sitting around waiting to heal, so I think their protocols filter down to those of us who are not athletes and we get a watered down version. It is tough, but like everyone else, I am supposed to try it, but not to the point of further injury. It seems they know exactly how far to push the hip for rehab.

I am a little jealous of the people whose doctors told them to just heal, but then I don't think I could do that. I need to be doing something. There is an appropriate plan for everyone and we will all end up in the same place eventually.

Our area is very, very, fitness oriented. actually a bit obsessively oriented. Even the elementary schools all train for a spring full marathon as their pe class. You go to the grocery store and you feel out of place if you are not in some brightly colored bike racing shirt and bicycle pants, clacking around on your bike shoes, Or in yoga pants and sports bra, fresh from the gym.

Of course, that means we also attract the more fitness obsessed OS and PTs, so it is all a spiraling circle.

Who knows, in a week or two, I may get tired of squats and say, "forget it, this is ridiculous, give me my Kindle and the recliner."
 
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It's the same in Anywhere, USA. We all have large Orthopedics Clinics with surgeons affiliated with professional athletes. Can't think of anywhere around the country where people aren't dressed in Athleisure attire. It's in fashion right now, whether you're a fit gym rat or stay at home mom with toddlers.

Most athletes are in better shape than the general population who by all news accounts these days are generally overweight, or obese. I believe the great majority of us heavily research who we'll allow to do our surgery. In most cases our surgeons come highly recomended and perform a large volume of surgeries annually. This is what most seek out from what I've heard and read here. It's a common sense approach.

In choosing our surgeon in most cases we are agreeing to follow his / her protocol for recovery. But it's a personal choice, not mandatory. All you can do is give it your best shot and if it works for you....great!

Would just hate to see you sidelined due to pushing excessively and stalling out your recovery.
Wishing you the best. Stay in touch.
@cheermom
 
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I agree there are sports clincs all the country. However, my neck of the woods has been recognized by numerous sports journals as the fittest place in the country to live by magnitudes for the past 20 years. It is not just trendy, it is an obsession. So, a little different mindset around here.

I would never suggest my plan is better, just a different option. And no plan should be followed without being carefully followed by your medical team

This is where we disagree. I don't think medical advice is optional. I did a ton of research before hand, interviewed at least 8 surgeons, researched their approach, results and rehab protocol before I chose the one who did my surgery. With all that research, why in the world would I decide all of a sudden that I know better. I think we can sense when our caregivers are giving dangerous advice, necessitating a second opinion from another medical professional, but deciding not to do something because I feel I know better, nope. I knew what I signed up for before I was wheeled into the OR. I will definitely follow my plan.

I haven't been disappointed yet with the results. My surgeon only signed off on 6 weeks of leave, fully confident my body will be there by then, if not sooner. But, if I want to meet that benchmark I have to do the work

8 days post op, off all pain meds, and great progress being made in recovery. So far, have made all goals except for being a weenie and not giving up the walker soon enough. So they met me halfway, took my rollator (miscommunication on my part - I was never to have a rollator) away since I was leaning on it too much, and gave me the very basic one with no wheels. I have to say, I made more progress on that one in one day, being forced to put it in front of me and walk into it than I did happily gliding around, holding myself up on the handles and not making my hip work correctly.

If I hadn't listened and continued to do my own thing with the rollator, progress would have been severely stalled.

I won't be disappointed with any setbacks since I know I worked my butt off trying. Things happen and you have to go with it.

Again, if I am being too disruptive with a different approach, please remove my account.
 
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@cheermom it is not necessary to quote an entire post when you reply to it, especially if it's the post immediately before yours. I've removed the quote of Layla's post from your last comment. In the future, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and type your response in the text box. Thanks!

Sent from my SM-S327VL using Tapatalk
 
@cheermom - you’re not being disruptive at all. The type of surgery you had with the Stryker Mako robotics is probably why the difference in the aggressive PT. I think it’s the newness of being exposed to a new method (at least for me) that’s fascinating. I’m happy you’re posting your recovery. We all need to be exposed to a new procedure and understand that this recovery process is different than the norm. You seem to be able to know how far to push without going over your comfort level. In the end we all have our own journey and no two are the same. Wishing you continued breakthroughs and a great recovery!
 
My surgeon just gave a seminar on the THR using the robotic method. I wish I had talked to him about it prior to doing hip #1. I have a pre-op on Monday with him so I'm going to ask him about it. I am super curious about it and have been reading your thread @cheermom!!! I used to be very active until 2 years ago and all I wanted was to get back to running (& getting on the floor with grandsons) but at this point, I'll be happy to be out of pain and be able to get up/down off the floor!!
 
I'm sure it's not your intention but It comes across as though you think we all live in Podunk, USA.
I worry that it may feel insulting to some members. In all honesty, it makes me feel that way. And I live minutes out of Mpls / St Paul with a large and progressive medical community. Most won't be impressed that you feel you live in the fittest place in the country, by magnitudes, in comparison to any other city or town in America. I'm just not sure how repeating that info over and again is beneficial to anyone. Just my thoughts, which may, or may not, be shared by others. Naturally the same goes for your thoughts and opinions.

It feels like you're implying that you had to sign on the dotted line vowing to follow your surgeons
Recovery protocol to a T, or he wouldn't perform your surgery? That's all I meant in saying that it's not mandatory you follow your OS's Recovery directive. It's a choice. If you decided his way wasn't for you, and you stopped, what's your OS's recourse? He can't undo his work.

The decision how we will move through our recovery is a personal choice. As with anything in life, many may find your OS's approach interesting, others.... not so much. There is a BoneSmart philosophy, does everyone have to follow it, No. But I fear that in coming across so forcefully and contrary to all that's espoused here may only turn people off. I'm referencing the posters, slogans and locale statistics you added to your thread. Your story is an interesting one to follow but to clump us all together as "a group that routinely dispense medical advice and to ignore your doctor's if it doesn't match your philosophy" is inaccurate and unfair. The only person on the forum who gives true medical advice is the forum Nurse Director, Josephine.

Edit- I noticed your post that was above, that I quoted from, has since been deleted for those scratching their heads right now.

We all may learn and benefit through your surgery and recovery and I look forward to that. I think we have to be open, as do you. You have admitted that you will be honest in sharing whether your doctor's recovery protocol is working for you and it's appreciated. Thank you for that, it's how we all learn. A great many of us on the forum are middle aged and older, and may be facing more surgeries in the future, it's exciting to learn of other options that may be on the horizon. I'm hoping your recovery enriches the experience of both members and those visiting the forum. We're all in this together. It's what connects us. None of us want to see another fail.

Wishing you only the best as you move forward.
 
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I think there's a misunderstanding going on with "different" being equated with wrong or right. Anyone who's been reading here for more than a few days can readily see how many uniquely "different" approaches each surgeon has to the very same procedures and recoveries. In fact it's astonishing that, almost to a person, no two OS's have had the same practice or recommendations --be it type of surgery, meds, PT, pre op, post op etc. Read the follow up visits of each person and see the endless varieties of surgical protocols on one forum of @20,000 posters. There can't be just one, one-size-fits-all "right" way for everyone. And with that, all medical practice is and should be fungible and in flux, as new discoveries are made, and then tailored to fit each individual patients' needs ...as we too are each uniquely different.

I had narrowed my search down to two well-reputed OS's to interview extensively, both happened to be in the same group at the same hospital. Both do Makoplasty robotics as well (it's not that new btw, been around almost 15 yrs I believe?). But the surgeon I picked -- who had 5 star ratings across the board and heads up the orthopedic surgical department at the hospital, and was rated as the number one OS in the country by one survey--- he chooses to only use Mako on knees alone, not hips. I didn't ask why. For THR, he does anterior Surgery on the Hana table and has phenomal success rates by all reports I've found.

My interviews with both surgeons showed me also the differences between them, even within the same group. Not that one was flat out right or wrong. Mine doesn't use the stockings after. (Oh Happy day!) He believes in walking only for 6 weeks plus some basic gentle isometrics and exercises if you want --but not to focus on ROM or muscle strengthening until well after initial healing has been achieved. He focuses on nutrition more than the other. And, interestingly, neither of the two Mako surgeons I interviewed said that I would be going into any sort of agressive PT program after surgery, in fact they both stressed the trauma of the 2 largest bones being broken, sawed, reamed... And the need to allow healing time.... And so here are just 3 Mako surgeons who all differ considerably in opinion. One doesn't need to be declared as right or wrong. In his practice, my surgeon continues to evolve and refine methods based on observations and findings coming in from his patients.

For example, my surgeon now no longer recommends the antibiotics regime for dentistry. He also just added the newer practice of electrolyte drinks the morning of surgery (I went with coconut water) He gives no restrictions post op, but advises to listen to your body and if it hurts don't do it. And so on. They're all different. So are we.

As for the geographical fitness and athletic caliber... Los Angeles is not any couch potato slouch town. I suspect we have more gyms and Pilates studios than we have Starbucks. The pressure to maintain physical looks and fitness here is perhaps higher than anywhere in the world due to so many people earning their living on camera, in the public eye. And the opportunities for outdoor sports activities are unlimited.

In the end, I think the real voice of authority for each of us is the voice of our brilliant bodies --that most always tells us loudly and clearly when we're doing either too much, too little, or something that may be ultimately harmful. Mine sometimes screeches, but it's all with good intent! :)
 
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I'm sure it's not your intention but It comes across as though you think we all live in Podunk, USA.

It doesn’t come across that way to me at all. They release the lists of healthiest places to live every year. It’s a list of cities not states. There are usually cities from Colorado on the list, which makes sense because there is a lot of cycling, hiking, rock climbing, skiing in Colorado. Colorado is also home to the USOC (Us Olympic Commitee) in Colorado Springs. I think North Carolina usually has a city on the list. Alternately Mississippi typically has one or two cities that rank as the least healthy. So it’s not really a statistic that is reflecting “Podunk” actually I would guess that the healthiest cities are not huge.
 
Well I learnt a new word today... “Podunk”...I love the over-the-pond language differences.

Meanwhile - back to my “snails pace” recovery. To summarise, hopefully we will all end up well,and forgetting about the fact that we have one or two artificial hips and are basically getting on in life. Some of us may take longer than others but that is how it is.
 
I need to be doing something. There is an appropriate plan for everyone and we will all end up in the same place eventually.
Maybe, maybe not. Some end up in a worse place because they've over-stresssed their new hip which is not that difficult to do.
You go! You are keeping me motivated!
At day 6, my standing exercises were also added. I have leg lifts to the front and to the side, squats and toe raises. 2 sets of 15 each, 2-3 times a day. This is in addition to the laying down exercises, the seated exercises (3 sets of 15, 2-3 times a day) and walking for 10 minutes every hour.
Haven't tried a bike. That is ambitious!
I saw this post in another thread and copied it here because it would be a jolly good way of over-stressing a hip. Specially since you are only 9 days post-op!

You need to take this guideline of ours on board:
Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.
 
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@Layla, no honey, I am just very confused and trying to figure out a reason why I seem to be living in an alternate universe when it comes to Dr's recommendations from what is advised here. I interviewed no less than 9 surgeons in 9 different practices.
 
@Josephine, sorry, but my health team strongly disagrees with you. Hips themselves may not need exercise, but those under used or misused muscles need to be retrained and strengthened. That can only be done with work. So, respectfully, I will listen to my care providers on what exercises need to be done.

2 weeks post-op
Made all goals set by myself with docs and my PT

Cleared to return to work full time
Cleared to drive
Walking, mostly independently, carry cane for uneven surfaces
No pain meds needed
No brain fog (no narcotics needed)
Working from home 6 hours a day with no problems
95% return to normal activities such as cleaning house, running errands, making dinner

Wishing all a happy and healthy recovery!
 
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Hi @cheermom
Thanks for reaching out. I hope you're doing well and your recovery is progressing nicely.
You aren't living in an alternate universe, sweetie, just one we're not super familiar with or espouse here.
You come across as rather energetic and seem driven and determined to meet goals that many of us feel are unrealistic, unsafe, posing a danger or set back to your recovery. We don't want to see you hurting.

We have one thing in common, we all had our leg sliced open, bone sawed and prothsetics installed. We understand it all. I'm speaking for myself but it felt like you came running out of the gate, enthusiastic about recovery and some of the expectations you hope to meet feel unattainable. We've seen many set themselves up with chronic pain by pushing themselves when their body was desperately trying to heal. I don't like to see anyone go through that. A question that always comes to mind is this - if you sustained the exact same injuries from a car accident, would you be pushing yourself and working out? I'll let you answer that.

We'd love to follow your progress. Please don't be a stranger here. But please don't leave exuberant posters and slogans that may make others feel they're slacking, or behind in their recovery.

So....how are you doing? I hope very well. I mean that sincerely, I'd love to hear.
 
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Oops, disregard my question. I was typing as you posted.
Happy to read you're doing well.
All that you mentioned, aside from returning to work full time, does not sound too off base. I guess it also depends upon your occupation.
You may suffer Energy Drain though, so don't be surprised. I'm leaving two articles you may, or may not find interesting.
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/energy-drain-for-thrs.12415/
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/phased-return-to-work.5696/
I hope you have a nice weekend!
 
I am just very confused and trying to figure out a reason why I seem to be living in an alternate universe when it comes to Dr's recommendations from what is advised here. I interviewed no less than 9 surgeons in 9 different practices.
There are lots of different opinions among the medical staff. Ask 50 doctors and the chances are you'll get even more, differing recommendations.
There is no one right way and one wrong way.
You are free to choose.
 

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