THR Post Op LTHR:My new hip! :<

danabanana

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Hi! So I had my LTHR yesterday afternoon. Minor complication with the angle of my femur...I forget the term for it but my surgeon explained it as rather than being straight it had an angle to the right, so he had more trouble getting the post in and then not having as much bone on the one side, he added two screws. All this plus fine tuning to insure I didn't end up tipping over when trying to walk later or have uneven leg length added 45 more minutes to my surgery.
I'm in loads of pain, but nursing is helping keep up. I get Toradol by IV every 6hrs, 2mg of Dilauded every 4hrs. So I watch the clock and ring when it's close.
I'm up on the Walker to use the bathroom, thankfully. I absolutely didn't want to use a bedpan for long so got a commode asap! I opted for general anesthestic over spinal as I did not want to hear or potentially see anything....I've never had a spinal so when they explained some patients do sort of wake up, despite the sleepy meds, due to the very loud noise of the surgical equipment, I was immediately like NO! I've done well with general in the past so I knew I'd be fine.

So there's the update. I'll be 24hrs post up in another couple hours. Physio is going to get me up to walk a short lap of the ward soon, pain permitting ("Lotion is motion"), and then my bed exercises to prevent clots. Hoping the pain lessens by evening so I can get some actual sleep tonight as last night I maybe accumulated 2 hrs. Ugh
 
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Congrats on the new hip @danabanana
Too bad about the complication. Sorry for the pain you're dealing with.
It sounds like your care team is on top of the meds. Don't forget the ice.
I don't blame you for not wanting to hear those sounds, Drilling, sawing, hammering on your bones.
No Thanks! Hope your walk was successful and your pain lessens so you can get that sleep
you're hoping for. Best wishes for sweet dreams!
 
Welcome to the recovery side.
Some tough stuff but sounds like you are getting it done.
Wishing you all the best.
Yay for new hip!
 
Welcome to the bright side @danabanana. Wow, already up and walking. I only managed that on day 3. Onwards and upwards.
Take care


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
Thanks everyone. So my goal was to get to the end of the hall.....hahaha nope! I made it 1/3 and had to turn back. BRUTAL!!! This is super hard. This is what's posted above my bed. So breathing is pretty obvious lol but the bottom stuff....yah, um, I can barely lift my leg up with my towel. And moving it at all side to side...hahaha yah right. Nope nope and nope!
DSC_0305.JPG
 
@danabanana I did the ankle pumps and moved my arms. Physio tried to get me to do all those other exercises, but I just said no. I’m doing just fine.
Keep taking care of yourself


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
Welcome to the other side again @danabanana . Focus on getting your pain management cocktail just right before you leave the hospital.
I can barely lift my leg up with my towel
We call this log leg. It will ease soon. For now move slowly. You can use a belt from a bathrobe to lift that leg.

I'll leave your recovery articles here for you to refer to.
Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery
Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?
BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
@danabanana I did the ankle pumps and moved my arms. Physio tried to get me to do all those other exercises, but I just said no. I’m doing just fine.
Keep taking care of yourself

Thank you Susan, this also feels very reassuring. Right now my leg feels like it doesn't even belong to my body. Such a strange feeling.
 
It's all the trauma from surgery. Lots of soft tissues need to calm down. Give it a few days.
 
It'll start listening to you when it comes out of shock. Mine was the same....hope you have a better day.
 
Thanks ladies. I had a 3am meltdown...the pain got ahead of me because the nursing didn't wake me up for pain meds so I woke up in horrid pain and had to hit the bell. While waiting I checked the time and I was 2hrs overdue! So the emotional wave hit and I had a good person. I did so much reading here and on the Web to prepare myself. This journey began a year ago yesterday when I had the core decompression on it, so I have been doing all I can to prepare for this. I guess you can only though be so prepared until you actually experience it. I mean, I'm grateful I didn't walk (haha) into this blindly however, it's still just not at all what I expected to be experiencing.
Oh so I just got a full frontal view in the mirror of my swelling. Holy Toledo's! My left side and thigh are over double the size of my right. I look like a plus size model, but just on the left hahaha it's like "Baby got back!" but only on the left side. LMAO!
 
Poor you:thud:.
All temporary. Sorry for such a rough start. First days were awful for me too.
Hang in there...
 
You're hysterical! Love the pic of you sticking out your tongue :loll:
I'm hoping after your person and getting ahead of the pain that you're day has leveled out.
Wishing you a peaceful relaxing night and some great uninterrupted sleep :sleep:
@danabanana
 
Thanks ladies. Yesterday was awful. I felt like a rung out smelly dish rag. Add to that, nausea anytime I was up, dizzy/lightheaded, and so sleepy that I struggled to keep my eyes open most of the day. Now while that would have been okay on its own by affording me much needed rest, it was coupled with feeling so physically sick-like. It made Log Leg and I very unhappy...there was no harmony and so no going for romantic walks together. Then I found out my hemoglobin was low. Ding ding ding! Not uncommon post major surgery but mine was lower than the previous day...89 to 85. So today they will check and if it's still 85 or lower I'll be having a transfusion.
So that's where it's at......Taking it one shuffle of my fat, bruised, bionic log leg infront of a normal leg, at a time. Haha
 

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