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THR Recovery post op 21st Nov.

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Spid said:
That sounds ingenious! I think I'm going to have to try something like that, I can't be relying on my parents helping me into bed a few times a day for weeks.

I didn't realise it would take so long for that strength to build up. Think it's one of the few things I wasn't expecting.
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Hi Again Spid, yes, it does take a while for your strength to build up.. Recovery from THR is a marathon not a sprint.. I still tell myself that at 12 months post..

Actually I had a formula in my head that it would take me 2 years for full recovery..

This was devised by talking to heaps of folk around my age and loss of mobility who had a hip replaced. So I figure at 12 months, I am only 50 % recovered!

But in saying that, most days, I have the 'forgotten hip' that you will see referred to.. This is when you move, walk whatever, and don't remember you have a prostheses...
 
Hi sissy46, just a gentle reminder :) you don't need to tag a member in your if your are in their particular thread. The tagging is mainly used for when you may want to draw other members attention to the post :)
 
Hi Spid! I too had a problem with lifting my own leg into bed at the hospital. I had to call a nurse to help me each time I tried to get back in bed. When I got home, I borrowed one of my dog's leashes. I would put my foot in the loop (handle) and pull up on it...much like Poppet's bathrobe tie. I only needed to do this for a day or two after getting home.

Funny story for you: I have finally graduated to sitting in my recliner. I am now able to get in and out of it, put the foot rest up (and more importantly down). So last night, I can't sleep so I go out to the living room. I decided since I was all by my self it wasn't that important to lay my crutches down out of everyone's way. So, I leaned them against my husband's recliner (our 2 chairs are separated by an end table and about 3 feet). Long story short, I kicked back, messed around on the laptop, watched some TV...THEN, I realized I had to pee. I reach down for the handle to lower my feet and the darn thing won't budge. Not an inch... I lean over to the left and then to the right, I can't get the footrest down. Then I see that one of my crutches has slid across the floor and has wedged itself under my darn chair. I try reaching down to get it out from under me. No joy! I had a bit of a temper tantrum. In the process, I dropped my cell phone onto the floor and not a grabber in site. Oh ****! Took the remote and used it to knock the other crutch down to where I could reach it, then used it to slide my cell phone over to where I could reach it. Meanwhile, I am calling to my daughters, but they can't really hear me as they are upstairs with their doors shut and their TVs on. So I finally get my cell phone and have to call my daughter to come downstairs to rescue me. Both of them come downstairs laughing at me. If I wasn't worried about peeing on myself, I probably would have had a good laugh about it.

The point of the story is.....stuff happens. Don't sweat the minor details. If you do, you will drive yourself nuts.

Hang in there and keep us posted.
Tammy
 
I bet it won't take weeks. I think you'll be surprised. And do try hooking your "good" foot under your leg for that little boost to get your operative leg into the bed. It works really well.
You are pretty amazing already:SUNsmile:
 
Hi Spid,
Congrats on being on the recovery side. I can't wait until I can join you and others on that side. It sounds like you are coming along well :yay: Keep up the good work !

RTHR
December 14, 2012
 
Tammy, I'm surprised you didn' t try and roll out of the recliner on the good side....


:heehee:
 
dede62, don't think I didn't give it a whirl...but I couldn't manage to get over the over-stuffed armrest.

How are you doing today Spid? Looking forward to hearing how things are going for you.

Tammy
 
Back home today.

Finding it a bit hard to get comfortable tbh. The bed I'm using is a bit hard, and the chair I sit on is a bit rigid too even with cushions.

I want to put a pillow under my knees(whilst laying in bed) as shown in the article on here but I'm scared I may place them in the wrong position and risk dislocation.
 
Spid,

Sorry you can't seem to get comfortable. I'm not sure what your precautions are, but as long as you don't break any of them you can put the pillows wherever it is most comfy for you. If it feels good behind your knees and you aren't breaking the 90 degree rule then fold it and put it there. You'll find that as the days go on it will be easier to find comfy positions and they will change as time goes on. What felt good one day may not the next and vice versa. Ask for help and change positions often to keep from getting stiff. Best of luck and I'm sending good healing and resting vibes your way! It does get better!
 
Sleep wasn't great last night. Still in bed at the moment but I've noticed there is a little bit of dried blood on my bed.

Please tell me this is normal....
 
Bit worried. Was my first night at home last night and I woke up this morning to fing a bit of dried blood on the bed and my pjs.

Should I call my GP or be concerned?

Sorry for the new thread, am just a bit worried so wanted max no of people to see it.
 
Hi Spid

This can happen,

Is it still leaking through the dressing?

I will tag Jo, Josephine Jo will see the tag when she logs on, I have also tagged Jamie Jamie

It wouldn't hurt to ring your GP though.

However I will merge your two threads, so will merge this one into your primary thread.

When you want to tag a staff member you type the @ sign and immediately type in the first few characters to identify the member and you will see a list of member names display below your post on the left and you can click on the name and it will populate next to the @ sign.

p.s. Jo or Jamie, hopefully I have performed the merge correctly?
 
Perfect merge. :)

I finally dared myself to look at it. There was just tiny bit that creeped out of the bottom. Think it had stopped well before I found out about it.
 
That's good Spid,

The unknown can be a bit worrying at times during recovery :)

Nite nite from Australia :)
 
Oozing is not at all uncommon and, much like nose bleeds, a little can easily look like a lot! Don't worry about it, it happens. A new dressing is all you need.

As for the discomfort, it's more than likely you are just in pain and need some pills.
I have to ask you what medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking and how often?

I also note that nobody has given you the recovery articles so I will address that now
Pain management and the pain chart
How Long Does Healing Take ......
Chart representation of THR recovery
Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy Drain for THRs
Elevating your leg to control swelling and pain
Activity progression for THR
Some suggestions for home physio (PT) and activity progress
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
 
They gave me Tramadol 50mg, paracetamol and the blood thinning tablets. I have Tramadol 100mg sr and Diclofenac 50mg here from before, they said it would be ok to take that instead so I will be doing that.

Spoke to the hospital and I've got to go in at 3pm to get the dressing changed. Relieved but I hope it's not a regular occurrence.

I was finding the pain in my operated leg's heel. Due to it just sticking into the bed and constantly pointing up. Would I be able to stick a pillow under my ankles to help this? Just the one pillow.

Thanks for your help, it's such a good feeling being able to be reassured like that.
 
Spid, I have found that using a king-size pillow lengthwise under my leg feels pretty comfortable and it gets the heel up off the bed. In the beginning, I had to have someone help me lift the leg to get the pillow all the way under my upper thigh down to just above my ankle, but I am capable of doing this myself now.

I too had a bit of drainage and bleeding when I got home. I had a home health nurse coming by the house every day. She was not concerned. She echoed what Josephine and Poppet have said. Some is normal...a lot is not. She would just clean the incision and put on a clean dressing. There was "stuff" on the dressing almost every day for the first week I was home. Then, overnight it all disappeared.

Hang in there!
Tammy
 
Yeah, I went to the hospital and they literally had it changed in two minutes. She said it had stopped which I was pleased with.

I think I'm going to have to use a pillow to save my heel the pressure, or maybe I'll lay a soft duvet underneath me. Will a pillow under both my ankles be ok?
 
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