Revision THR Once more into the breech

[LarryG]

For all of us Bonesmarties with difficult revisions, I want to offer some hope. I flew to San Francisco from Hawaii to have my failed revision done over by a revision specialist. I'm 17 days out from the surgery and in less pain than I've felt in a year. I know it's early and the doctor wants me to stay on crutches for 6 to 12 weeks. I'm going to be super careful. Here's a picture we took to remember my early recovery at 15 days out.

 

[Poppet]

What a great photo Larry, I am so pleased for you that you have less pain looking forward to following your recovery journey...

 

[sissy46]

Look at you!! I'm so happy that you're doing so well. I had wondered if you and your wife would be able to get out and enjoy San Francisco while you're there, and this picture answers that question.
I know this must also be so encouraging to others who have had a difficult time, so please keep updating.

 

[Dmcfad2]

Great photo. Glad you are doing well!

 

[Annette]

Looking Good! Glad to hear you're doing so well.
Welcome to San Francisco.

 

[MajorHeidi]

What a GREAT picture to remember your San Francisco trip! You luck SO HAPPY!
YAY!

 

[LarryG]

I'm three weeks out today and I went in for followup X-Rays and a final meeting with my surgeon before flying home to Hawaii. He said everything looked great, no movement or loosening around any of the 12 screws he put in. The extensive bone graphs all look as expected and he predicts that my real bone will replace them over time. He still wants me on crutches for the next 10 weeks and feels confident that if my healing continues, the new hip will be good for many years to come. The stiffness is normal after all the work they did during the surgery and I will have considerable scar tissue inside. But he prefers stiffness to looseness because of the danger of dislocation. I just have to be patient and it will improve over time. Needless the say, after my past year of pain, I couldn't be happier.

 

[MajorHeidi]

Good report Larry!
Best of luck, and hope your trip back to Hawaii is a nice one.

 

[LarryG]

Tomorrow marks four weeks since my revision surgery in San Francisco. We are back home in Hawaii and my recovery is progressing at a rapid pace. I have no incision pain, no swelling, no ill effects of any kind. I feel I'm entering the danger zone because I feel so good. I'm still on crutches as the doctor instructed. He specified 6-12 weeks before abandoning them entirely. On outings I do tire easily, so I'm keeping them short. Although I feel little pain at home, I try to remember to take a Tylenol and maybe a Tramadol each morning to control the soreness I start to feel after walking too far on the crutches. I looked back on this thread at my recovery (non recovery actually) from the previous revision and the trajectory is completely different. This time I'm going to get my life back!

 

[Annette]

To Life!
Keep on Keeping on.

 

[Maeve]

Oh boy @LarryG ! What an amazing inspiration you are! So positive and focussed..."i dips me lid" as the cockneys...I believe would say!
You have just powered through an incredibly difficult time.
I feel very blessed to have really waltzed through a seamless recovery after a pretty complicated THR in April 2013. I'm one year out and recovery has been very smooth...and to think I was impatient at every milestone makes me feel very ungrateful when I read your thread.
Very happy for you. I know how much I missed exercising and the gym and railed at the restrictions.now I am firing on all cylinders...in fact did 8 classes this week...from body pump to Pilates and Tai Chi.
I don't visit Bonesmart often these days as I am no longer in recovery. But I am so grateful fo the support and encouragement this forum gave me for the first 6-9 months post THR ...it was invaluable. I drop in now and then ....just as you check in on old friends from time to time. I will certainly check in again very soon to see how you are going. All the very best wishes to you from the land of OZ. You SO deserve a smooth ride from now on!

 

[LarryG]

Thanks for the kind words @Maeve ! As difficult as my first revision was, I know others have far worse issues. The vast majority of doctors are genuinely warm hearted and very skilled, but not 100%. For those unfortunate few with poor outcomes and seemingly indifferent doctors, Bonesmart can be the only avenue for empathy and informed advice. I know I got tremendous help from @Josephine and @sharonslp, @bottomshollow and many others. Everyone's help and encouragement has been much appreciated and continues to be going forward.

 

[LarryG]

Ok, my next hurdle is one we all hope for: the absence of pain and withdrawal from narcotics. I never took a large amount but I was taking 3 or 4 oxyCODONE (5mg) every day for nearly a year prior to my last revision. Now that the pain is happily fading away, I'm taking far less--maybe 1 50mg Tramadol and one 5 mg oxy. I've tried several times to just take 1000mg of Tylenol 2X a day and that works fine for pain relief. But once I pass the 20 hour mark without narcotics, I get a familiar burning feeling in my head. It's not really bad, but definitely unpleasant. If I take an oxy or a Tramadol, it goes away in about 20 minutes. I'm pretty sure this hurdle will just be a minor bump on the road to full recovery unless it gets a lot worse. Has anyone else experienced a similar "burning feeling" in their head or other unpleasant symptoms from narcotics withdrawal?

 

[alexthecat]

Yeah, I've been there, all right! My doc gave me a plan to taper down both dosages and frequency until I was completely off narcotics. As I recall it took about six weeks.

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