THR Roseanne in recovery

[Roseanne]

Home but in a lot of pain. One night stay at the hospital. surgeon said everything went well. Once the general anesthesia wore off the leg has been throbbing and burning. Currently icing, elevating and resting taking meds as prescribed. 10 mg oxycodone every 6 hours, aspirin, mirilax and tramadol if needed. pharmacist said don't take tramadol and oxy at the same time so not doing that. Using walker for trips back and for to the bathroom and leg lifter to get into bed. Constantly icing and doing mild foot pumps to keep circulation going. hope pain lessens over the next few days.

 

[Jaycey]

@Roseanne Welcome to the other side. Do keep icing and elevating. And if the pain is not easing, call your surgeon's office. It sometimes takes awhile to get the pain management cocktail just right.

Here are your recovery guidelines:

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
We are all different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for YOU.“ Your doctor(s), physiotherapist(s) and BoneSmart are here to help. But you have the final decision as to what approach you use.

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 this BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for THRs
6. Access these pages on the website

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Closure​

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.

 

[Mojo333]

@Roseanne

Hang in there, my friend. These first days can indeed be tough.
Thankfully, all temporary.
Make sure lots of icing is included in your pain management protocol.
Healing hugs.

 

[myglasshalffull]

Sounds like you are doing what you should be doing at this point. My best wishes to you in your recovery.

 

[Ldm380]

It does get better, don’t rush the recover, your doing everything you should be at the moment.

 

[Roseanne]

One month since THR, spent one night in the hospital. Have not posted since day after surgery due to pneumonia setting in and being very ill with that for the past 3 weeks in addition to ongoing pain from surgery. I developed a serious cough one week after surgery that kept getting worse. Asked the surgeons office for anti-biotics and was told I had to contact my PCP for that. Took 3 more days to finally get thru to my PCP for a video visit. I was crying and all but begging for antibiotics because my chest hurt and I could not stop coughing. Got the anti-biotic prescription filled. Two days later I had my 2 week follow up visit at the surgeons office and asked the PA if it was possible that I had pneumonia and could he please do a chest x-ray. Sure enough, the x-ray came back positive for infectious pneumonia. PCP office added another anti-biotic to what had all ready been prescribed. Today is day 29 since THR and finally feel like my cough and chest pain is clearing up. Have never before in my life had pneumonia and aside from the bad hip am a healthy 68 year old. I had general anesthesia for the surgery rather than the spinal injection and wonder if that somehow made my lungs more susceptible to infection. My sister is a pharmacist and could tell from my phone calls with her that I was seriously ill. She flew in from Tennessee and stayed with me for a week to help nurse me back to health.

The first two weeks after surgery all I did was lie in bed, elevate my leg, apply ice packs every hour, take meds and sleep. I could not tolerate the oxycodone prescribed for pain, gave me the dry heaves. Tramadol was the one pain med that actually worked and I am still taking it twice a day for the pain in my hip. Like so may others, my operated leg swelled to twice the size of my left leg and I needed a walker for the first 2 weeks. The swelling has subsided and I now walk gingerly with a cane mostly just around the house. When I stand up it takes 5-10 seconds to stabilize my right hip before I can take the first step. From other posts here that seems to be fairly normal for 4 weeks post op and will take more time for the muscles to recover. Doing ok with sleeping on my back and keeping leg elevated all night. The meds I am still on are Tramadol 100mg 2 x day, gabapentin 300 mg 3 x day and baby aspirin 2 x day.

I am pretty shocked by all that happened in the past month. Going forward will continue to take it easy, listen to my body for pain signals and not overdo it. Really appreciate this forum and all the information others have posted about their experience with THR. Great support group.

 

[benne68]

Oh my goodness, @Roseanne! What an ordeal you've had. The first few weeks of recovery from this surgery is hard enough without having to deal with pneumonia!

I am so happy to read that you are feeling better. And it really does sound like your recovery from your THR is on track. I'm thinking those two weeks in bed may have given you time to heal from the trauma of surgery, and now you can start to regain your mobility.

Please keep us posted on your progress. But do take it slowly -- you are early days.

Sending hugs

 

[Eman85]

Getting pneumonia from a hospital stay is a risk. I had a spinal but they gave me a spirometer with both THR's to check my lungs with instructions to use it at home for the first few weeks. In a strange sort of way being sick might have allowed you to do what most of us don't do and that is just rest. Granted your body was fighting on 2 fronts at the same time but it sounds like you're on the right track.

 

[Roseanne]

What was so surprising is that once I left the hospital never received a follow up call or check in from anyone. Was not sure what to expect but once I was out the door they were done with me and was told to contact my PCP with any questions. Pretty amazing considering the $100K plus bill that my insurance company is going to receive. I could complain but have barely had the energy to walk out to the mailbox and doubt it would make a difference even if I did. I have had lots of bed rest and today was able to walk out to the mailbox twice instead of once with walking sticks so that is progress. Going in next week for a follow up chest x ray to see if the pneumonia is gone.

 

[Layla]

Roseanne, What a time you’ve had over the past month!
I am sorry you had to endure the pneumonia as you began recovering from major surgery. Your sister was sweet to come and nurse you back to health. She must have been very concerned. I wish you all the best and hope you get the all clear when you have the chest x-ray next week.
Take good care and stay in touch!
@Roseanne

 

[Roseanne]

Thank You!

 

[Jaycey]

I had general anesthesia for the surgery rather than the spinal injection and wonder if that somehow made my lungs more susceptible to infection.

Unfortunately a known side effect of GA is pneumonia. So sorry you suffered this!

Fingers crossed for a clear x-ray next week!

 

[Layla]

Happy One Month Anniversary, Roseanne!
I hope you have a wonderful week as you continue the journey!
@Roseanne

 

[Roseanne]

Thank you. Slow but steady progress forward. Still needing tramadol 100mg 2 x day to manage pain. Read that one of the side effects of tramadol can be "discouragement" which I have definitely been experiencing the past month. Feeling like the pneumonia is gone but now dealing with frequent bouts of sadness as I try to maneuver life with a disability, even if it is temporary. So many things that I am no longer able to do that I took for granted before. Seem to be always misplacing either my grabber to pick things up off the floor or my walking stick. Have learned to move from room to room with cane in one hand and a shopping bag in the other to carry items that need to be brought upstairs or downstairs. Really appreciate some of the tips on this forum. Heel to toe walking and taking 5-10 "marching steps" when first moving from a sitting to standing position before trying to walk. Both very helpful to ease the pain of those first few steps. I had initially put in for 6 weeks off work, now thinking I might need to put in for 4 additional weeks putting my return to work date as September 30. That will go over like a lead balloon but my job is high stress and not sure I will be ready to return to it before that.

 

[Jaycey]

now dealing with frequent bouts of sadness as I try to maneuver life with a disability

Post op blues are very real - read this article again Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it. This too shall pass!

I had initially put in for 6 weeks off work, now thinking I might need to put in for 4 additional weeks

Good move! The recommended time off work is 10-12 weeks and then a Phased return to work. You had an extra complication to deal with so at least 10 weeks is needed.

Looking at your surgery date you are at the point I called the one month slump. We see pretty dramatic changes in the early weeks of recovery. At about one month out it seems like things slow to a crawl. Frustration sets in! But in my experience the difference between week 4 and week 6 out was very positive.

Hang in there - good days are coming!

 

[myglasshalffull]

Sadness comes and goes in recovery. We sometimes "overthink" our recovery and things we cannot do rather than what we will be able to do slow but sure. Happened to me...thank goodness for good folks here.

 

[MarilynR1234]

You nailed what I am feeling at 3 weeks post op , sadness’. Up and down all day.. it feels like grief but I have so much to be grateful for. I worked with urologists and a favorite saying was “ this too will pass “ although we were talking about kidney stones lol!!! Also when I read how great others were doing at the same time frame, like walking miles. I wish I could but their recovery is not mine. We all heal in different ways. Good luck and keep moving forward!!

 

[Eman85]

12 weeks is the standard return to work time period, any less can be rough especially if you have a demanding job. The downs are something we all have dealt with but it will get better you really had a rough start. I would find another way instead of a cane and something in the other hand, a fall would be a very bad setback.

 

[nasruddin]

Seem to be always misplacing either my grabber to pick things up off the floor or my walking stick. Have learned to move from room to room with cane in one hand and a shopping bag in the other to carry items that need to be brought upstairs or

My house is like an Escher painting, so what you need is always on the other floors. I have gotten really, really
good at going up and down stairs.

The thing that bothered me the 1st few weeks was gravity. There is so much gravity. Everything headed for the
floor, out of reach. It would be so much nicer if we spent the first few weeks "on the float", like in the Expanse!

 

[Roseanne]

Thank you all for the responses. So helpful to know that people out there understand who have been through it themselves. Like so many of us I heard over and over again prior to the surgery how great THR was with a 95% success rate and a lot of people able to walk without assistance after 2 weeks. Not so for me. I even had a relative refer to THR as being the equivalent of an oil change in a car. Needless to say, they never had one.

Little wins now are what keep my spirits up. Was able to drive to the grocery story today by myself with only my walking stick in the cart in case I needed it. That was actually a big win. Being able to vent my feelings here also is a tremendous help. I just wasn't prepared for the grief, sadness and feelings of helplessness that overwhelmed me. Adjusting to the reality of my new normal is what life is all about now.