Lying happily on the spare bed with my legs elevated, grapes, blueberry muffin, and iced tea at hand and no desire to move for a while. I had read on different threads that each replacement is different and I am now a firm believer! Tomorrow will be one week from surgery and this hip experience is very different from the last one. Four years ago I hadn't found bonesmart and I remember sobbing my way through every bitter heal slide and dreading them. It seemed as if the pain and weakness went on and on...weeks till it resolved. My poor knee was reactive to every bit of rehab for the hip and flared up constantly.
I spent the year before knee replacement working out with a really creative trainer prepping for the surgery. Lost 50 pounds and got quite a bit stronger. Knee replaced last November and it was no walk in the park but I got back to work in 12 weeks and managed to finish the school year...had my ten day vacation and, bingo...hip two!
This time the surgery was much less smooth but at a week post op pain is minimal, heel slides are a non event and at my first pt appointment I could easily do all the exercises she asked me to try including little baby bridges without much of any pain. The frustration this time is my increased reaction to adhesives and more sensitivity to inert ingredients in drugs.
I have awakened with migraines the past two nights and am pretty certain that I am reacting to corn starch as an inert ingredient in the new bottle of vicodin. The new pills are a different color so it is clear something has been changed. I guess I will have to use the percosets since the slightly cross eyed feeling they give me is preferable to a full blown migraine episode.
The adhesive problem is ongoing...the initial surgical dressing was put on with silk tape...and taken off very slowly by a slightly impatient nurse using adhesive dissolver every millimeter of the way around my 15 inch incision. As careful as she was I have numerous blisters and skin tears. In an effort to keep me more comfortable a thing called an aqua cell was put on. In the hospital it lasted one day and was filled with fluid and blood. A second was put on. It filled in in two days. A third was put on before I went home. It lasted two days, started itching and leaking, and today my husband drove me to the surgeon where they took it off. It was a gooey mess. Evidently my skin doesn't like it and was oozing under all the adhesive area and getting red. I am back home with plain old fashioned gauze and paper tape. At least now I don't feel as if I am trying to crawl away from my own skin. So this hip is distinguishing herself as a reactive young lady but not especially painfull so far.
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This will get you started on the mental happy dance! Well done. Please update when you feel up to it!
