THR philau43's recovery thread<

Thanks @mollymum and @Hoppy Nanny for the advice. I’m trying to be good and follow recommendations but I naturally sleep on my lhs normally, so lying on my back becomes uncomfortable. I’ve tried pillows behind the knees and raising the operated leg on a pillow but the discomfort returns. Oh well - still early days I guess.
 
With my first hip recovery PT told me that I could go on my side with the pillows between be legs and to make sure I did not lean forward and let that leg drop. I used pillows crosswise between my legs and then put a large body pillow in front of me to stop me - sort of build a wall in front of me so I would notice and not roll. It felt so good just to get off my back. I probably did not sleep that way for long but the ability of just being to get there made all the difference when I rolled back on my back. I think it is our brains that get frustrated and everything else hurts when we cannot do something we want. My other favorite sleep(nap) spot was the recliner since it provided support and not quite flat on my back and I could not roll so I could relax.
 
Hello, Happy Tuesday to you :wave:
I say pillows, pillows and more pillows. I used many in the early days.
One to prop here, one underneath this, or that. My fave was (still is) a $10 Body Pillow from Target.
Came in especially handy for side sleeping. Getting comfortable in the early weeks feels like an exercise in futility. Thankfully it's only temporary.
Wishing you a great day and a good night's sleep this evening. :)
@phillau43
 
Thanks @Layla for the advice. As long as lying on my side does no harm and if I am careful not to let the operated leg drop beyond the midline by the judicious use of pillows then I think I should be okay. Would you agree?
 
Day 16 and steady progress. Walked 6000 steps yesterday including a slow walk with my wife and the dog that was probably a little too long but fortunately the village pub was on the return route so a judicious pit stop was called for! The hip feels a little stiff today but I’ve done the 1000 step garden route anyway. We are going off to Wales later today for the weekend, and as we will be in the Snowdonia National Park it can be a bit hilly so I suspect I will need to be careful. A change of scenery will be welcome though, but we will need to take more equipment than usual!
 
Enjoy Snowdonia... love it there... so pretty... hope the equipment doesn’t take over your car!!!


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End of Day 17 - only 3500 steps today as I’ve felt tired and the legs have been aching. My motivation to walk today has also been poor although I’ve no idea why? I’ve napped on and off all day. I’ve cut the meds down a bit, paracetamol 2x500mg x3daily and Naproxen x 1 x2 daily (morning and night). Maybe that’s the reason?
 
You are getting more active and you are still early days out on the healing spectrum.
Your body has X amount of energy at best, and it is trying to make healing a priority.
When you expend energy on other activities, it drains you!
Your body tells you what it needs. You must only listen!
 
Day 21 - wow, those 3 weeks have flown by! All seems to be going quite well. Step count peaking at 8000 a day although some days as low as 3500 so I’m not being terribly consistent. Just had a few days away in beautiful Snowdonia and I coped with the more hilly terrain okay but avoided a couple of steep inclines. Did some work around the house and felt I was being a little more useful to my long-suffering wife! Pain is almost zero with just a soreness around the wound which is healing well, although a couple of the dissolvable stitches are refusing to live up to their name. Still struggling to sleep at night although I have tried sleeping on my non-operated side on occasion with a the help of several pillows between and around my legs. I’m still taking 2x500mg paracetamol 3x a day and 1xNaproxen twice a day. I’m tempted to drop the Naproxen and see how I get on but haven’t been brave enough yet. I use 1 crutch when moving around genre although I move short distances in the house without a crutch. The hip feels as though it is getting stronger but there is definitely a sense of vulnerability. Not sure how long to rely on the crutch and whether it’s use is sensible or detrimental? Going with instinct at the moment. Got some work to do today (from home) so at least the brain should get a work out!
 
Not sure how long to rely on the crutch and whether it’s use is sensible or detrimental?
When you start leaving the crutch behind it's a sign you are weaning off it. Another transition might be to a cane. But I found the cane did not feel as "stable" as a crutch.

Still early days for you! Slow and steady.
 
:wow:
Oh wow! I'm so impressed with your recovery! I'm one day behind you and it's natural to compere I suppose . I don't know how many steps I do daily but did a whole walk around the block today on two crutches. Have used one crutch in the house and stepped short distances without . I haven't even considered getting in my car yet as its so low so to hear you went to Snowdonia is so positive. A beautiful part of the world . I've done some minor admin work for myself but have been taking codeine so have a mushy head which isn't compatable with my paid employment at present . I'm still sore in my operated hip ( - especially today after my big walk ) and can't sleep well at night because of arthritis in other hip. I've just made this post all about me but I actually wanted to congratulate you on your progress!! Were you quite fit before your op?
:flwrysmile:
 
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Hi @Mayhip8 - good to hear you’re also doing well. In answer to your question, I was a moderately active, if slightly overweight 52 year old bloke prior to the ever increasing hip pain drastically reducing most physical activity for several months, such that I couldn’t even walk our little dog. I’ve never been a gym-bunny as the modest paunch in my profile photo is testament to! I bought a basic ‘Fitbit’ watch thingy to monitor the steps. It’s quite useful and makes me aware of what I’m doing. It also tells me how little I’m sleeping at night which I’m not so sure is helpful. Fortunately I have an SUV type car so I climb up into it, but my wife is doing all the driving. I sat on a pillow in the car as the 2.5 hour journey made the wound site a little sore. I also found going round islands a challenge as it naturally pushed my operated right leg across the midline - no problem if I was awake but I did doze most of the way to Wales. I’m not proud to say I may be guilty of pushing things a little, and comments from those experienced in such matters on my previous posts might agree, but I am trying to be careful. I can’t take codeine as it makes me nauseous but paracetamol is keeping my mild discomfort at bay. If I had a magic wand I would find an alternative to TED socks, (and so would my wife who hates putting them on and off for me!) and I’d treat myself to 8 hours sleep at night! Other than that it’s been okay. Sorry to hear your other hip is also a problem. Are you going to have that one done also? My left hip showed signs of OA on X-ray but so far no pain - long may that continue
 
Good morning -I suppose it's unchartered territory for recovery - in that advice is generalised across a broad spectrum and its human nature to be inquisitive and either do too much or too little- hopefully we learn a happy balance before we cause harm to ourselves ( I'm hoping so anyway as I well over did it yesterday and and now suffering the consequences )
TED stockings are a nightmare!!! I used to work on cardio thoracic ward and had to take off and put on at least 8 pairs a day - and then came the patients turn-:loll::loll:There's a knack using a plastic bag - have you been shown it? I'm on clexane injections so only had pumpy socks on for the first day. And legs free to tan in the glorious northern sunshine ( rust, more like)
I'm listed for surgery in August for my other hip so I'm looking forward to being arthritis free for Xmas - I prepared myself for the long haul but forgot to pick up some patience!
Lesson Learnt from me.
Take good care and enjoy your day :flwrysmile:
 
Day 26 - all generally going well but made a mistake last night! Decided when going upstairs I would try alternate stairs as opposed to one at a time. I was still supporting some of the weight of the operated leg with the crutch but going upstairs seemed fine. I thought I’d do the same coming downstairs and all was going well until... on the last step down I looked up out of the window, brought the crutch down and it slipped off the step so my operated leg not only took all the weight but jarred in doing so. Ow! All a bit sore this morning. Anyway, a question around TED stockings. When is it safe to stop wearing them? I have been on aspirin but I’m coming to the end of the course, when I do can I stop wearing the stockings?
 
Mine got lost around Day 7 and I couldn't really walk around and look for them much.:shrug:
When I went to first pre-op appointment at 10 days, OS agreed it was fine.
You may want to check with your OS office but I shouldn't think there would be a problem losing yours.:)
 
Anyway, a question around TED stockings. When is it safe to stop wearing them? I have been on aspirin but I’m coming to the end of the course, when I do can I stop wearing the stockings?
Surgeons are all over the place on this. Some don't require TEDs at all, some for a short period (mine was 2 weeks) and some for 6 weeks. Check with your surgeon's office or your family doctor on this.
 

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