THR Ready for the blessings coming my way...

[lanice1972]

@younghippie, good morning my hippie friend! Your recovery sounds almost exactly like mine, except I had anterior. I have also had issues with getting dizzy when i stand up. On fact, it delayed my PT in the hospital for a few hours. When I stood up my BP was dropping to 80/40 and below. It seems to be lessening now though. I just sit on the side of the bed / couch for a minute before I attempt to stand.

I as well wasn't given too many restrictions, except my Dr. was VERY adamant about me using my walker for 4 weeks because my bones were so soft, which he was NOT expecting. Just being extra careful with them. He also said that he saw the OA which he expected to see but that he also saw that the joint was very inflamed, like you would see with RA. I have always tested neg for inflammatory arthritis, but he is referring me to a rheumatologist because some types don't always test positive.

Anyway, my arms are sore from using the walker and my tailbone is sore from being on it more than usual. Other than that, I feel like we're kicking this recovery in the backside!!

Keep up the good stuff!

 

[busymum]

Hi @younghippie yeah got one 5,6,7 and 8 so will have to make sure they are just careful. They've already bought special chocolates for when I'm in hospital bless them. What's the difference between anterior & posterior. They've told me they're going down the side of my thigh? Did you have epidural or general anaesthetic? X

 

[MsFit1]

Hi @younghippie I'm so happy to read about your excellent recovery! My surgery was May 5 and it's great to hear how well everyone is doing. I had the anterior approach and experienced some knee pain post surgery too, but it has mostly subsided and now it's just tight in the knee area due to swelling. @lanice1972 it seems like quite a few of us had low blood pressure and dizziness - I still get a little lightheaded at times and just have to lie down for a bit. But considering this is major surgery our recoveries are truly amazing!

 

[PuppyLove]

@younghippie you are so sweet to tell me all about your experience. I'm not at all nervous, just like to be prepared. I'd love to look into a crystal ball to see the future! I've been told I will have some restrictions, TED hose won't happen unless there's excessive swelling, and the unit I'm going to has group PT every day at 9:00am and 1:00pm. Since my surgery is at 8:00am, I'll hopefully get rid of my catheter that evening (I won't complain if there are problems and I have to keep it-I'd rather have one than a bedpan). I was told to anticipate going home Thursday or Friday- which is why I was so surprised you were discharged so soon.

We are cleaning the house this weekend and trying to arrange things for my arrival home. I've precooked ground beef and chicken and frozen it for easy meals- my husband will cook but the kids schedules are pretty busy so this helps out. I also have some meals already cooked and frozen in individual servings so I can heat up "real food" if no one is home. I know my family can handle things, but there's only one "mom". That, of course, is mom spelled backwards!

I'm glad you are doing so well!

 

[younghippie]

Just woke up with pain behind knee. Got up immediately. Walked around, which makes it feel a bit better, but pain returns when I lay down. @Josephine how do you tell difference between leg cramp and blood clot? Pain is cramp like, but location is weird- behind knee/upper calf. Did increase excercises yesterday.

 

[Josephine]

The symptoms of a DVT (clot) are
- a deep vein below the knee in the calf
- pain and tenderness of the calf.
- swelling of the calf.
- colour and temperature changes of the calf.
- the calf becoming warm and red
The symptoms will not abate with activity and may even get worse.

It's more likely that this pain has been caused by over-activity and appears to be confirmed by this comment

Did increase exercises yesterday.

I was also concerned to read that you've not been taking your pain meds 'by the clock' as you feel you don't need them. Are you experiencing any of these issues: soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness? These are all types of pain too and need to be medicated.

So I'm going to ask you some questions and I need you to answer each one individually in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....

1. what are your pain levels right now? (remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't compare this with the bone-on-bone pain you had before surgery!

)

2. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

3. how often are you icing your hip and for how long?

4. are you elevating your hip, how often and for how long?

5. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

6. what kind of PT/exercises are you doing? How much and how often? (and detailed details would be appreciated, please! Reps, sets and session and all that)


I also observe that you haven't been left the recovery articles which I would urge you to read and digest.

First are the mantras ....
- rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist - to do it to you
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
- if you won't die if it's not done, don't do it
- never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!

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
Activity progression for THRs
Home physio (PT)
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

 

[younghippie]

Thank you SO much for your response @Josephine! Here are the answers to your questions.

1. pain level (behind knee/upper calf- 5. Hip- 2)
2. Medication- oxycodone/acetomedophen 5-325 I am taking 1 pill every 5 hours throughout the day and then 2 pills before I go to bed at night. I am sleeping between 8-11 hours at night.
3. I am icing about 3 times a day for about one hour each time.
4. I was elevating my hip about 80% of the time, including sleep after coming home from hospital. Last night I did not sleep with my hip elevated, as I was getting uncomfortable and thought it might be good to have a change of position. I woke up through the night and did my ankle pumps several times while half asleep and that's when I noticed the new pain in my upper calf/behind knee.
5. My activity level is- I get up about every two hours and do one-two laps around inside of my house walking with walker (about 10 min. of walking).
6. Pt- I do ankle pumps/ankle rotations (move ankles in circular motions) in bed every hour or two- 15 times each. Yesterday, I added glute squeezes and and quad sqeezes (15 times/2-3 times day) and also increased my walking around the house a bit. Tried sitting up more yesterday too (which is uncomfortable.)

Also, I am taking 325 mg aspirin 2xday to prevent blood clots. I was not given ted stockings.
I will read the recovery info. right now. THANKS!!!!!!!

 

[moms4tne]

My conclusion is, your general physical strength and health are the biggest determinate of how you will do post-op.

 

[MsFit1]

Hang in there @younghippie ! Perhaps you should take it a little easier for a few days to see if your pain abates.

 

[younghippie]

@lanice1972 Glad you are doing so well! Sounds like you are getting in lots of activity with the walker and sitting up (I don't like to sit up... have to force myself too!)

@busymum Sounds like you have your hands full with your little ones. They will be a nice distraction during recovery, which may make it even easier! So sweet about the special chocolates! I think there is an article in the library about anterior vs posterior. Anterior is the newer method and the incision is usually in the front. Posterior is on the side/rear. I had posterior and mine is upper rear end/side. Don't worry about the approach... I think most agree that it's best to find the best surgeon you can and let him decide which approach is best for you. In the end, the outcome should be the same with either approach. I had general anesthesia. No problems at all with it. I was glad to be out of it and not hear anything. They did wheel me in the OR while I was groggy, but still technically awake. I would have really freaked out if I had known that was going to happen, but it actually was NO BIG DEAL! Don't worry too much about that. I know I did and it turned out to be a non event. If I can answer any questions for you, just let me know! It's all still so fresh on my mind, it's kind of exciting in a weird way. I'm kind of proud of myself for getting through all of this!

@MsFit1 Glad to hear you are doing so well! My knee is still bothering me off and on... last night I put a cream similar to icy hot on it and that helped a lot.

 

[younghippie]

@PuppyLove I was discharged so soon because that is just the way my surgeon/hospital does it. It is a special hospital that only does joint and spine surgery and it's a research hospital. So, they do some things a little differently than bigger traditional hospitals. They write in their literature that they believe you heal better at home, so they try to get you home as soon as possible (also have private suites with no visiting hours so you can heal with family.) So, I didn't go home earlier because I recovered crazy fast or something... it's just the way they do it. They actually asked if I wanted to go home or stay. They would have let me stay if I wanted to or if I didn't have help at home (I was tempted to stay because the food and service was fantastic!) I didn't have a catheter and it was a bit of a struggle to urinate after surgery. I was wishing for a catheter then! Ha ha. But, again, I guess that's just a difference in hospital/surgeons. They don't use catheters at my hospital for regular joint replacement surgery. Great idea about the frozen food! I started a thread a while back with recipes that you can freeze easily (just search "recipes freeze" if you need some ideas.) You'll do great! Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[younghippie]

quick question... for those that have gone before me... When did you first roll over on your side. I am SO tired of laying on my back, but am afraid I will dislocate if I roll over on my side (I know you are supposed to do it with pillow between legs...just seems frightening!)
@lanice1972 @moms4tne @MsFit1 Have you all tried laying on your side yet?

 

[Cantabrigian]

I think I slept on my "good" (left) leg either the 1st or 2nd night, if memory serves me well.
I used some cushionning between the knees to help keep the legs slightly apart, and be more comfortable, but I didn't have any restrictions either. As always, if in doubt, ask your surgeon what he recommends.

Only recently (last week or so) have I felt comfy sleeping on the operated side - i.e. at 4+ weeks post-op.

 

[moms4tne]

I took a short nap, laying on my good side, on the morning of Day 6. I was too scared to roll myself, so put a pillow between my knees, which were bent about 4" off the mattress, and hubby rolled me by grabbing the opposite edge of a bedspread I was laying on and pulling it towards him. Then lots of pillows wedged along my back to keep me stable. It felt awkward - I wasn't super comfortable and was afraid to jiggle around to get into a better position - and there was a lot of pressure/pull on the incision and/or bandage, but I was so desperate for sleep that I managed it. However, trying to do it again that night was excruciating. Couldn't get comfy at all - then tried to roll back on my back alone and I got in a position where I had to cry out for help because the incision was just screaming at me. Not good. Sunday morning we discovered all the fluid buildup under the bandage and I don't know if that was caused by what I did, or was the initial reason for my being uncomfortable but I've not been brave enough to try again.

I will say my incision feels a million times better today after having been cleaned and redressed yesterday. I don't think it's really possible for a wound to heal if it's immersed in fluids, so glad I got that all out of there - even though the bandage wasn't supposed to be changed until tomorrow.

Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[MsFit1]

Hi @younghippie last night, day six, I did try to lie on my unoperated side for bit. I put a pillow between my knees and stayed like that for a short time but it really wasn't all that comfortable. I don't have any restrictions, but it seemed to pull on the incision site a little. I really have zero pain when lying on my back, but it does get a bit tiresome being in the same position for so long!

 

[younghippie]

Thanks @Cantabrigian @moms4tne @MsFit1 !

Well, today is exactly one week from my surgery date. So, here is an update... In one week, I can walk more easily, but am still using a walker. I could technically use crutches or a cane, but I feel more confident on the walker. When I came home from the hospital last week, I had pain with small things like sitting down, getting up and walking. Now, I have greatly decreased pain meds and have pain with only certain things (like trying to get operated leg into bed.) I do have some pain with walking, but it's not bad. I am walking at a quicker pace with less of a limp. I had a moment yesterday where I was sitting up and realized that I wasn't in any pain. I had terrible nagging arthritis pain when sitting upright before the surgery. I was sitting there yesterday and almost had tears of joy when I realized that I didn't feel anything! I probably haven't felt that for 5 years or more.

I'm not napping during the day now. I have been sleeping through the night every night since surgery (8-11 hours straight!), which is a blessing. I felt a dramatic shift in my mood yesterday and today... have been laughing a lot, wanting to talk to people... just generally feeling more normal. I have had a healthy appetite since the day of surgery. Generally, I feel well and am so grateful that this is going so well. I would encourage those that haven't had surgery yet to try not to worry. It will be so much better than you think and it is so worth it! If I continue to improve at this rate, it will be amazing!!

 

[hipster_chic]

@younghippie it sounds like you are doing great! So glad to hear and so true about the surgery being SO worth it! Wishing you continued good healing!!

 

[MsFit1]

Awesome report @younghippie ! I know what you mean about the simple pleasure of just being able to sit without pain! I bet we'll never take those things for granted ever again. You're right, we have much to be grateful for!

 

[Cantabrigian]

@younghippie so pleased to hear about all your milestones and the reduction in your meds.

You mention that it is hard to get the operated leg into the bed .... have you tried simply tucking the good leg underneath it and using the good one as a crane? It was the 1st thing I was shown in the hospital, and it worked very well on the log leg.

 

[MajorHeidi]

So glad you are making great strides!
Just wanted to let you know I still am too scared to turn on either side at five weeks!
I have become used to my back now and it is fine...
You can also use a belt to help your leg up to bed.


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