THR Opposite side!

[Mr.fun]

@CherryRed I have read your post. you say that you thought you would be ready for more after 5 days of a major assault. Not sure I understand. All you should be doing is icing and walking to the washroom. Someone should be helping you with meals, swapping out your ice packs and taking care of all the other things that you used to do in a day. Dont feel guilty. This is your time to ice ice ice and relax with your leg elevated. Why do you feel you are behind??? its only been 5 days! Patience and calm thoughts wins the day. try to enjoy being pampered. This mountain gets smaller and smaller until one day you start to see the sun on the otherside. Thats the time you start to become more active. until then focus on getting the inflammation to subside and pain down to a comfortable level. Take care....rumor has it that it gets better.

 

[CherryRed]

Hahaha - thanks for the reality check, Mr Fun! Your description of what I should be doing is pretty much exactly what I am doing (apart from the ice - the area around the incision is still pretty numb, and I didn't feel any benefit from the ice when I tried it). And my hubby is managing meals, shopping, laundry, etc, brilliantly. I think it was partly the unrealistic expectations set up by all the people who told me recovery would be "a breeze" and "a doddle" compared with recovery from my TKRs. And that it was such common, routine surgery that it wouldn't seem like the major surgery it is. Today, I recalled the words of a nurse after I had my gallbladder removed 16 years ago. Even though it was keyhole surgery and I went home the next morning, the nurse said I still needed time to rest and heal. "Imagine if you'd been stabbed," she said. "Okay, it was a surgeon, and he did it to help you, but he attacked your body with a knife and took out part of your insides. You need time to recover from that." Someone else on this wonderful forum said something similar - if I'd been injured in an accident, the attitude towards recovery would be different. Surgery is done to improve our lives - it's easy to forget that the surgery itself is an assault on the body. That's why I'm so grateful for this forum.

 

[benne68]

I didn't feel any benefit from the ice when I tried it

Please, please start icing! While you won't feel it working, it will make a huge difference if you do it regularly throughout the day.

Icing reduces internal inflammation, which is very important -- especially during these early days of your recovery. As a reminder, here is the correct way to ice and elevate

 

[CherryRed]

Thank you. I will get back on the ice!

 

[Layla]

Surgery is done to improve our lives - it's easy to forget that the surgery itself is an assault on the body.

Yes! So give yourself the TLC you deserve to heal and thrive.
Have a great rest of the week!

 

[CherryRed]

Thank you to everyone who encouraged me to keep icing. I iced for several hours today (hubby going up & downstairs replacing gel packs multiple times - he's getting quite a workout!) and tonight have noticed a real difference in pain levels. So... ice advice - very nice! Thanks all.

 

[Hip4life]

If there is anything I would change in the initial meeting with the surgeon and his team, it would be a more realistic approach to expectations. Don't get me wrong. I love my surgeon and I understand that they don't want to scare the living daylights out of you (which we do a pretty good job of ourselves! LOL) But it would be better with more of some people will be ready to do a lot of things by 6 weeks. Most others will be 8-12 weeks. Shoot! The doc wouldn't let me get back to swimming until 8 weeks to "make sure that incision is completely healed." Then start there. Followed by: you will have pain at first but we will help you with that, etc. You get my drift. I would have been a lot more prepared for what I experienced and my boss would not have had to change my return to work date 3 times. Hang in there and continue your TLC. Best wishes going forward.

 

[CherryRed]

Very wise words - thank you!

 

[Esmeralda]

Hi @CherryRed

I've not been doing very well with icing, even after upgrading from a bag of frozen peas to gel packs, but after hearing how well you are doing I'm going to keep persevering.

 

[CherryRed]

I didn't think anything was happening - but I really did notice a difference. I've been using gel packs - easy and convenient. Good luck - hope it starts working for you.

 

[myglasshalffull]

Dear Hip4Life,
I so agree with your point about surgeons providing a more realistic expectation in recovery.
I didn't have the luxury of planning my THR but I remember my first meeting with PT day after surgery and them telling me "whatever you were doing 30 days ago, you will be able to do in another 30 days." Huh???
So of course when I got home and realized it wasn't going to be back to work, walking dogs etc. in 30 days the depression set in!
But I found this group and then I was able to put my expectations back on a realistic timeline. Fortunately I'm older, have an amazing partner and was able to relax.
I feel bad for the younger folks with small children and husbands and work they are thinking about.

 

[CherryRed]

Yup, glasshalffull - I'm in a similar position, in my 70s with a wonderful supportive partner, so there's no pressure (except from within myself) to get going super-fast. I'm amazed at what your PT told you about 30 days. I get the feeling that physiotherapists in the UK are a little more lenient than American PT's. I was given some very gentle exercises I could do on the bed and told "just do these up to 3 times a day for the first two weeks" and then some more challenging ones to move on to in week 3. My impression is that in general they work you harder in the US.

 

[Hippie Chick]

How are you feeling a week out?

 

[CherryRed]

Thanks for asking, Hippie Chick. I'm doing ok! Swelling is starting to go down, and so is the pain. I'm sure both of those are largely thanks to ice, so many thanks again to everyone who urged me not to give up on it. I'm starting to feel the "strangeness" of the new joint - it really does feel like an alien part inside of me... which I guess is exactly what it is! And I'm still very, very tired - which I expected. All that energy going into healing. Emotionally I'm feeling much more optimistic. I think it was MrFun who talked about seeing the sun on the other side of the mountain... I think I spotted a few sunbeams today.

 

[benne68]

Swelling is starting to go down, and so is the pain. I'm sure both of those are largely thanks to ice,

I wish we could put your words here up in flashing lights to encourage others to really commit to icing.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience -- I'm sure it will help others!

 

[Esmeralda]

Hi @CherryRed
I believe you're now 3 weeks post op, how are you finding things ?

 

[CherryRed]

Hi Esmeralda! Yes - 3 weeks yesterday. Things are improving, I'm pleased to say. I'm down to one crutch indoors, though I still need two for longer walks (I have weakness/numbness from nerve damage in my other leg). Not that I'm doing any long walks yet! Pain is starting to recede. I've still got a big swollen lump around the incision site, but I understand that can take months to go away. Most days are good, but I had a couple of days this past week where I had no energy at all and basically just napped most of the day away. Overall I'm pleased with my progress, though - it feels as if things are slowly moving towards normal. Thanks for asking - how are you?

 

[Esmeralda]

I'm glad to hear that things are moving in the right direction for you. It sounds like you are doing really well and I think from my own experience having the odd low energy day is quite normal during recovery and you just have to listen to your body and rest when it wants to, without feeling guilty about doing it

I've been a little bit up and down and not really because of anything in particular - sometimes it really is a case of one step forward and one step back but I'm just trying to go with the flow. However, I'm feeling good today, the sun is shinning here on the South Coast, so I'm planning on escaping the house and going for a short walk somewhere nice.

 

[SurreyGirl]

Hi Cherry-red
I found Bonesmart’s guide to recovery really useful and am on track 7 weeks on. At 3-4 weeks I was just doing short 10 minute walks in addition to generally moving about the house! I think not rushing the recovery has helped. That and LOTS of icing.

 

[CherryRed]

SurreyGirl, thanks for that! That's pretty much what I'm doing too, and I think you're right about the icing. I'm doing it less now, simply because I'm up and about more and I forget! Thanks for the reminder to revisit the freezer at regular intervals! It always helps.

Esmeralda, I hope you have a lovely seaside walk - I'm in landlocked Nottinghamshire, so I envy you living on the coast. However, we are near the river Trent, and I'm looking forward to a short walk sometime soon on a local path that overlooks it.

Hope we can all keep on keeping on! xxx