THR On the the other side at last!

[Josephine]

Just to let you know I don't suffer any pain from the hip joint itself as I'm happy about that, the pain is lower down around the adductor and only hurts when i raise my leg up towards my chest or trying to lift it off the bed.

Do you now see how you are contradicting yourself? Just because there is no pain in your hip, it doesn't mean that any other pain doesn't need medicating! That's post-op pain. You don't get post-op pain IN the hip! That's been replaced. It's one of the commonest mistakes I see people make - they spend months unsuccessfully trying to subdue the bone-on-bone pain so once the surgery is done and the b-o-b pain is gone, they assume that anything left isn't 'pain', that it shouldn't be there, that is means that something is wrong and that they shouldn't have to be taking pain meds for it!

Wrong! Post-op pain might be different and it might be temporary but the outcome of your operation is largely dependent upon good management of post-op pain. This pain comes in many forms - soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness.Plus you shouldn't be waiting until the "pain is at its worst" before you take something. You need to be more proactive than that.

I suggest you take one Tramadol and two paracetamol 3 times a day. Or 2 co-codamol 3 times a day. That way you manage the pain so you can get more active without the pain.

 

[zauberflöte]

cabbageandbacon took me long enough to come visit you-- I'm sorry! I've been interested to watch what Josephine has been saying, because every time I read one of her pain posts, I learn a little more for my own situation! I really hope her advice helps you get out of your pain place, too If it weren't for pain, we'd all be flying so high!!

 

[sandybeach]

cabbageandbacon that's interesting that you only have pain when laying in bed and lifting your leg. I hope you soon find out why. It must be a muscle that's weak yet. I get pains in my hips when I try to force them to bend too much, I know it's time to back off when that happens. I am back to work now, I started last Monday part-time for the first two weeks so life is starting to get back to normal for me again. Post what's going on with your hip when you find some answers, maybe Josephine will know what you need to do.

 

[cabbageandbacon]

Josephine

I get what you're saying certainly, the thing that threw me initially was the fact that i was suffering what i perceived to be the same pain as before my operation.

I'll take your point on the meds, i was only using them if i needed them which i thought was the right thing to do at this stage, shows how much i know or thought i knew. Thanks for the advise, i'll certainly take it on board and learn from it.

 

[cabbageandbacon]

zauberflöte
I found it weird myself, it hurts when i lay on my side(s) and on my back but not on my stomach. I'm now down for physiotherapy so i'll listen to what they have to say and take their advice from there.

I'll know it'll be alright in the long run, just wish i wasn't so impatient

 

[cabbageandbacon]

sandybeach

Never worry about calling by, we all get pre-occupied with other things and it happens.

How are you walking at the minute? Are things going to plan for you?

These 2 months have flown in for me, i'm glad to be off the crutches to be honest. I nearly broke my neck more often than not with them .

How do you find your movement now, do you get the weird feeling with the new hip? I'm loving that feeling that bar the pain atm i can now do things i haven't done in years, real stupid wee things that people take for granted.

 

[zauberflöte]

cabbageandbacon heh heh I think you tagged the wrong person right down the line for a couple of posts! Yes, I am very glad I don't have to worry about crutches-- I would have been the one with the broken neck!
I'm doing very well, thank you! 2+weeks, and i ditched the walker and the cane on the same day last wek-- using the cane didn't last long, did it? I now take it around the house and out int he street for safety's sake, and the walker is for transporting the laundry basket from bedroom to laundry
The hip does not feel the least bit strange, it feels like it works! of course i have swelling and stiffness and pain and sensations, but deep inside where the new hip is just feels.....good! yesterday I learned of a restriction I have (OS had told me on discharge day NO restrictions!!) which makes my moving around somewhat stilted. but the groin pain is gone, the ache is gone, "wee things" are better-- only we would understand, eh?
Stop by my thread tomorrow-- later tonight I'm going to post a "reprint" from a knee guy's thread, it is hilarious and totally germane to the discussion at hand....

 

[clarabo]

cabbageandbacon. You sound like you are doing just grand and as you should be at your stage ....im pretty much the same even 3 months on.....lose one wee pain and end up with something somewhere else....think it all must be part n parcel of the recovery eh.....know the strange heavy hip feeling but im getting used to that aswell......another few weeks and things will change again for you.

 

[Poppet]

clarabo, I have been wondering how you are doing.. Note to self- go find your thread

 

[cabbageandbacon]

clarabo

I think my problem was that i thought i should be further along than i am at the minute. I really needed to sit back and just let nature take it's course and be patient, not something i'm good at to be honest.

On another note the pain at night has died down a little but it's still hanging around and being annoying. I got prescribed 100mg of Tramadol to take before i go to bed and they work great, so here's hoping as you say i'll notice the difference in the next few weeks.

 

[Kim22]

Hi cabbageandbacon I am about a month ahead of you and still having pain in the adductors Patience is what we all need and in my case the hardest lesson to learn as like you I thought I should be further on at this stage. Accepting that we have to just let nature take its course is a good strategy and being gentle with ourselves is another one.We will get there in the end and its a case of thinking long term rather than short term.I had unrealistic expectations about my recovery and thought I would be cycling and going on long hikes this summer.I will accept short walks on an a flat and even surface and building up gradually with a stationary bike this year.Glad to hear the Tramadol at night is helping .

 

[cabbageandbacon]

Kim22

I meant to respond to you in your own thread after your review with the surgeon. I actually read that and wished that my own was as thorough as yours. Mine just told me the pain would go away and to do non weight bearing exercises and i'll see you in a year. No X rays, scans etc etc...I think that's kinda ticked me off a little to be honest and it was one of the reason why i went and seen my own doctor who gave me the stronger Tramadol for the pain.

I'm busting to get out on my bikes atm, but i'll just have to accept that it'll probably be mid August before i'm doing anything, in the meantime i'll just extend my walks a little and try and get the strength back into my left leg.

 

[Kim22]

Sounds like a good plan

 

[zauberflöte]

cabbageandbacon those surgeons are pretty optimistic, or don't know what they're talking about, or something. At joint class, I heard from J-J the OR nurse (who really should have known better) about the OS who had THR and was down in the cafeteria having coffee with the guys the next morning, and another one who was playing golf at 2 months. I'm thinking he sat in the cart and watched. Macho surgeons, every one.
You will get your strength back, slowly as you have planned. My new mantra is "I don't want a setback!" LOL (says I as I sets on the couch paying for an overly ambitious Thursday....)

 

[clarabo]

cabbageandbacon.... I made the mistake in the beginning of stopping the painkillers or taking very little..was under the illusion that if I was having pain then I shouldnt be pretending it wasn't there by dulling it with medicine. Felt like I was cheating in my recovery. Now im reading this back I really sound wierd ha ha. Took advice from advisors on this site and took them whenevr I needed to. You will know yourself when is the right time to come off them but as I was told just do it gradually

 

[cabbageandbacon]

clarabo

1st off, i'm loving the kid in the Celtic shirt i'm a Celtic fan myself, along with Cliftonville over here in Belfast.

I get what you're saying with the painkillers, it's a weird one alright as you'd think that once the pain is gone then that's it. I told the wife that i was feeling great a few weeks ago then a few days later i was in agony and she couldn't understand it. So i took Josephine advice and kept taking them as a matter of course, chilled out and more or less done nothing and now i feel a lot better.


zauberflöte

I heard some bionic men stories, hard to believe half of them. My father in law next door neighbour told me that she rode her bike home after her operation. I tried not to laugh when i heard that, especially as all i wanted to do was go to a football match the next day. So much nonsense from some people out there indeed.

So short term pain for long term gain is my motto, the most i'll be doing will be on my spin bike in the house and a few little walks around where i live to loosen up.

 

[zauberflöte]

cabbageandbacon I well remember that match you wanted to go to...I really like your motto, short term pain for long term gain. if I were a cross stitcher, it would be over my pillow by tomorrow night! Thank you for posting it when I needed it

 

[clarabo]

cabbageandbacon.....that's my son.... his dads a huge celtic fan......old firm games in my house were a nightmare...loads of shoutin n swearin.....was dragged along to parkhead a few times aswell cos he had season tickets....needless t say I was a right pain in the a*** asking what offside was n what was happenin. Lol

 

[TeeEm]

she rode her bike home after her operation

Yeah right ! Ive heard about someone who went jogging 2 weeks post-op too. Actually, Ive just been into our village shop. The lady in there had a THR few years ago - when I limped in there pre-op, she told me how it had taken her months to get over hers because she had a lot of damage, they had to do this, they had to do that etc etc and what a terrible ordeal it all was. Today when I limped in she said 'arent you off that stick yet? I was back at work after 2 weeks and feeling fine'. Everyone has a story to tell . I wonder what we will be telling people this time next year?

 

[cabbageandbacon]

Hello again folks, just a quick 4 monthish update from myself.

I've been getting physio which has helped me a lot, starting to loosen up a lot more but still a few niggles that will take a while to ease out. I still have that groin area pain, but the therapist says that it's severe muscle tightness and has given me a series of stretches to be getting on with.

In the meantime i've joined the gym and have been able to use the stationary bike they have there, i'm currently up to 14 miles for an hour on it. I'm using it with the walking machine and the cross trainer to add a bit of variety, i've also taken my mountain bike out and about where i live but i've felt a little bit of pain in and around the hip when getting off it so i've left it alone for later on in the year.

So that's where i'm at atm, i'll update as i go along.