THR Post hip replacement insomnia

[kiwigirl]

Hey Limitless lemon, if my calculations are correct our are 4 weeks post op? If you are comfortable to go to one crutch there is absolutely no reason not to, unless your DR has said otherwise. It is so much easier having a free hand and you can control how much weight bearing you do so that doesn't change. Oh my, I know what you mean about the pool. I am going 4-5 times a week. Aqua jogging and stretching....feels just amazing and I have even dropped a couple of kilos so am so excited. I only have a little weight I would like to shift and am very aware of staying at a heathy weight now I have my new shiny hip! I do giggle though as I am a little like a seal still....better in the water than on dry land!

 

[PrincessMay]

Limitless lemon - I had my surgery 1 day before you. My first day back to work was this Monday (June 3). I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT!!! If you can take the time - TAKE IT. I'm exhausted - mostly because I can't get enough sleep at night due to waking up every hour, repositioning the pillows, getting another ice pack, etc. So you ask me "why" did you do it? Because 1) I'm afraid of losing my job and 2) family drama at home, I had to get out of the house and let my husband deal with it without me nagging and offering unwanted advice. Work seemed like a safe place to "hide". I sit in front of a computer all day long - and I get up frequently to go down the hall to the bathroom or to get a glass of water. But even so, my butt goes numb and my hip gets stiff. I take Tylenol during the day - and a couple Oxycodone's when I get home, and ice, ice, ice. I've been pretty lucky with my recovery - and it's working for me - but I really wish I had could have stayed home a couple more weeks.

 

[Limitless lemon]

bottomshollow that's awesome. thanks!!!

 

[Limitless lemon]

Thanks PrincessMay I'm inclined to think the sitting alone would drive me crazy at work. My butt goes numb pretty quick these days. Part of the problem sounds somewhat similar to your. My husband works from home and though there's no family drama going on I do feel like I need to get out of the house and stop distracting him. He is an amazing supportive man who has nursed me through all of this but I feel really guilty for taking him away from his work. Plus I need him working because we need the money!! I'm also starting to get a little bit of pressure from the office to return. I think i will ride it out a bit longer though because I'm still not sleeping great.

kiwigirl thanks for the advice on the crutches I went down to one a couple days ago and it's been fine. I am five weeks and one day out and my physio is happy with where I am at and was fine when I walked in with one crutch today! I'm finding myself not using crutches at all in the house but I still have quite a limp. I need to get to the pool more to work on my gait. I've heard alot about aqua jogging... I may just give it a try when I am a bit stronger.

I finally asked about driving today and I am good to go. I think my husband is pretty happy about not having to be my taxi driver anymore!

 

[Limitless lemon]

Hi all,
I haven't posted in a while because things have been going great. I am 11 weeks out and back at work. I am feeling much more mobile having no crutches and been given permission to return my assistive devices. I've even been able to tie my won shoes! woohoo! I had a great follow up with the surgeon who has given me permission to do pretty much whatever I want.
In the last week I have been hitting the gym a bit harder and become a lot more active (nothing crazy though). I've been doing all this while closely monitored by my PT and am still very mindful of restrictions etc. The problem is I have noticed some of the swelling has come back and it feels very different on my operative side when I am sitting. There's no real pain other then some stiffness and the odd ache here an there so I don't think i have damaged anything but the increased swelling kind of freaks me out. Is this normal at this point? especially with my increased activity? does anyone else sort of feel like they are sitting on something on their operative side?
thanks so much

 

[beckylou]

Limitless lemon - yes yes and yes. I am 9 weeks post op and find I am quite sore from increased activity. I never had any swelling but my incision is quite tender and I do pain that feels like it would be around the cup component and some in my leg. Not always the case but definitely when I have a long walk and active day. Swelling may be your body telling you to sloooow dooowwwnn. Frustrating at this stage!

I also feel like I am sitting on something when I sit a certain way. Totally normal - layers of scar tissue. I am no expert but there may be a correlation between sitting and the swelling???

Good luck darl

 

[Limitless lemon]

beckylou frustrating is right! I generally feel quite good so it's hard not to jumpy back into my active lifestyle headfirst!. Thanks so much. it really helps to know I am not alone.... and I've stopped panicking now ha ha

 

[PrincessMay]

Limitless lemon - ditto what beckylou said: yes, yes, yes. It feels like I'm sitting on a little golf ball sometimes - it doesn't exactly hurt - but it's annoying. I believe it's the last of the bone healing - where they sawed it off. One of the "Time to heal" documents in the library said that the bones and tendons take the longest to heal - about 12 weeks. And it swells when I've done a little too much - which is basically anything more than a two block stroll. But it's all good and I'm very happy with range of motion and lack of "real" pain.

 

[beckylou]

PrincessMay, Limitless lemon

I have been off pain meds since week 4 but found that I was reaching for them quite a bit last week. Since Monday I have stopped exercising except for short walks, not sleeping on my op side and have found my hip I is not niggling any more. I did do 4 hours of desk work on Tuesday but made it a point to get up and walk from time to time AND spent an hour lying down in the afternoon. I suspect if I hadn't done those things I would be stiff/sore. I am at the point where I forget about the hip most of the time but I am trying to moderate my activity now. I am going with the theory that slow and steady is the best way to recover.