THR "Runaround Sue Rocks On to the Other Side"

[flowergirl]

A few years back I rolled over in bed one morning (that was when I could still roll over in the bed) and came face to face with a big ugly spider on the side oft the dresser...so I did the next best thing too...I yelled for Dad. I got the rolled eyes, exasperated huffing and puffing and such until he went to kill it and this thing took a death leap AT him! Needless to say he didn't get the spider and it jumped and ran under some furniture. I couldn't sleep in my room for weeks and when I finally did return I shook all the bed linens out every night.

I too was NOT a back sleeper but have amazed myself that I can stay on my back all night. But then maybe it is the dozen pillows propped up around me in bed that keeps me on my back...I did try to roll over with a pillow between my legs a few times....really??? I wait for the OK to move without restrictions and roll all over that bed!

Hope your enjoying your holiday weekend

 

[Runaround Sue]

Yesterday (Thursday) was the worst ever which was strange being I hurt myself Tuesday and Wednesday was not nearly as bad. I don't know what caused it but I had tried sleeping on my incision again and it seemed fine, but then I woke up in agony. I hadn't taken any Norco & extra Tylenol at bedtime so it had been 13 hours without any pain control when I woke up at 8 AM. In desperation I doubled the dosage and staggered back to bed for half an hour until I felt better. I took it very easy all day in my lift recliner and started a book. I went back to the time & dosage routine of the previous day, Wednesday, of Norco (5mg. Vicodin-325 Acetominiphen + 500 mg tablet extra-strength tylenol) every 5 hours throughout the day. I did take a dosage of this combo at 12:45 AM today and then slept fine until 7AM. Neither Norco or tylenol work much for me but the OS will only prescribe the Norco at this point, they have such a fear of addiction so everyone must suffer for what the few do :-{. I took my last Xarelto (anticoagulent) on Wed. but I am not sure I can take aspirin yet which does work better for me than Norco but does seem to make my tinnitis worse.

Today I feel great! Late yesterday I found I can use the 14 1/2" high toilet in the small bathroom. I can even get up and down without using the vanity next to it for support, and showed my husband a somewhat deep knee bend in the middle of the room just using my outstreched arms for support My Pt had asked me on Wed.if I could use that toilet so I wanted to be sure.

About an hour ago I found myself in the kitchen without the cane, walking tall and standing straight! I do have pain every time I stand up on the new hip, but it is tolerable and it lessen as I take more steps. I am so happy to be able to stand up in one smooth motion whereas before it was a major struggle grabbing on to everything nearby and walking hunchbacked for about 20-30 feet afterwards. I thought was a combination of bad hip and bad back, but now it seems it was all bad hip.

Today I plan on taking it easy another day, no sense to take any chances doing the PT and putting myself back in the same situation again, besides which we are in the midst of a heat wave with humidity that us Californians are not used to and we do not have air conditioning. Yesterday was hotter, it was still 80 degrees at midnight and it never cooled down, ugh. The drivers in the laptop died so now this room with the PC is our only internet access. I had to stay off of the computer yesterday because it was 87 degrees in this room and I could not stand it for more than a few minutes!

 

[Runaround Sue]

@flow Priceless!

Do you put all of those pillows around yourself every night? My problem with pillows is the little doggie that sleeps with me. I must hug him to sleep every night, he would not tolerate otherwise. I can't even lie down on the bed during the day without him! He jumps and woofs at the side of my bed until I give in. Luckily that is on the good hip side. Last night it felt great to lie on my back with the ceiling fan whirring around over me on top of the covers (it was so hot!) but he wouldn't stand for that and I had to give in. He eventually gives in and moves elsewhere, thank heavens because he makes me so warm.

 

[Runaround Sue]

Ack! It is 84 degrees in this room now, 88 degrees outside where I just walked partway uphill and back in two directions in lieu of exercises . Cooler today but still very sticky and uncomfortable! At the higher elevation I started to feel discomfort in my knee and ankle. I hope this doesn't get worse tonight.

I sit every evening in my lift recliner with an ice pack on my sore pubic bone (it is still tender to the touch) and a larger pack on the incision. It served a dual purpose last night keeping me a few degrees cooler. I never did get any other swelling or bruising anywhere, for that I am so grateful. There is still just a slight swelling at the top and bottom of the incision but that may be caused by that indentation from the steri-strips. Wed. & Fri. evening we went to an all you can eat soup & salad bar and both nights I bunged the incision getting in and out of the car which made it hurt some. I hope that indentation on my heiney will not be forever, the 6" incision on my upper arm/shoulder is, and it is ugly. I told hubby I will have to buy those panties with heiney padding to wear my jeans and other form fitting pants., LOL!

My OS said no 90 degree restriction but my PT always says not to do it. I found that I can bend down and put on my pants and also put on shoes and socks! I was fearful doing it so I will wait a while before I do it again, after all I do want to get my monies worth with that grabber and dressing stick!

My hubby is back to full time next week, he has lots more faith in me than I do myself. Its probably for the best, 1. for the money cuz we spent a lot for me lately and 2. that I regain my independence.

I hope I am not boring anyone with my rambling. I hope to help others as reading other peoples recovery threads is helping me on this journey. I hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend We will be going out for steak or burgers somewhere air-conditioned with my 88 year old mom, being the grill-master (me) is kinda laid up and has not shopped in 3 weeks.

 

[Jojool]

Love your updates (((surgery buddy))) !!! I'm sending my hubby to the grocery store this afternoon. God love him, he's still pampering me in every way. I have a keeper!!!

 

[medic4355]

Runaround Sue I am doing well. This week they swapped me to Cymbalta which treats pain in certain different ways. It seems to be helping me a lot. I have settled with the idea of putting the surgery off until I finish school next year. That decision is based off of how I feel right now but it may change in the near future. My graduation date is set for next Oct so I would love to do the surgery in November and take it and December off before I start back on my Masters. I am doing a little bit of therapy and they hope that will keep me from dislocating my hip again. Sorry I was so late responding. I have tried to pour myself into school and ignore the pain. Thanks again for sharing your story. It really means a lot to hear of your success and I have been praying for you daily.

 

[Runaround Sue]

5 1/2 week Update:

I meant to post a week ago after my first post-surgery appt. but time got away from me. I finally got an answer to the question of the burning, tingling, electric shock, stabbing pain and dead, numb feeling on the skin of the outer thigh of the left non-op leg! My OS says it is Meralgia paresthetica (lateral femoral cutaneous nerve entrapment)

He says it had happened either when the anesthesiologist inserted the spinal or from the tight clamp they used to hold me firmly in place on the table during the surgery. This nerve damage is more common during the anterior approach and was one of the reasons I didn't go with that approach. He says PT and massage will help and it will probably resolve in time and he prescribed PT at my local hospital. BUT:

I already have nerve damage with the pain, burning, tingling, electric shocks and numbness and weakness in my left upper arm, axillary and shoulder from the melanoma surgery and lymph node removal from nearly 5 years ago that has never resolved, so I am not hopeful that this thigh pain will resolve in time.

I asked about the cup material and the PA went to check the surgery notes, then the OS came in the room for the duration of the visit and I forgot to ask him after hearing about the meralgia paresthetica.

Aside from that my news is after that visit I weaned myself entirely off the Norco ( 5/325)! Last week when I went I was still taking 1 twice daily. I cut down to one daily and off completely since. Over the weeks I also cut down my Ambien usage from 10 mg. to 5 mg. nightly and have been taking a Melatonin tablet and several chapters of a good book instead I don't know if the Melatonin works at all and eventually I will stop that but doubt I will ever get off the Ambien because insomnia and anxiety have been a lifelong problem for me.

I drove for the first time Tuesday, no problem there, but I overdid the shopping. First by going to Kohls shopping and walking all over the store, then trying on several pair of jeans. Then on to Walmart for some groceries. THREE HOURS TOTAL! Then driving home, putting everything away and just a quick skillet dinner. I am still hurting today. I know, I know, too much too soon! It won't happen again.

As far as pain goes I still have pain most times on standing and getting going if I sit for a while, but that has gotten better than it was The OS says this is normal?. The computer chair is the worst culprit for that so I avoid getting online. Also the knees, OW, especially the right one! Another reason the OS prescribed PT. I am taking 3 aspirin 325 mg 3X daily or 2 500 mg tylenol 3 times daily. It helps some and I am able to do a little house work, wash and hang laundry, a bit of gardening and walking nearly a mile up & down hills when I am not too tired or it isn't too hot. The days are getting shorter now and I will need to be able to take over dog walking soon because hubby will get home too late and we need to avoid the coyotes.

Now for the good news! My other hip looks great so I don't forsee doing this THR ever again! YAY! I don't feel too badly about the investment we made on equipment or even my expensive lift chair. I will still use the chair and will donate everything else.

 

[Runaround Sue]

medic4355
I am so happy to hear you doing well and hope everything is still the same. Is the Cymbalta still working for you? Your graduation date is coming up soon now in Oct., have you scheduled surgery in November? I will look for updates by you. Take care!

 

[Runaround Sue]

One other thing I forgot to add to my update of my first follow up visit after the RTHR. My OS was trying to tell hubby and I something in recovery about the angle of my hips being unusual. We brought this up with him in the follow up and it turns out I have Coxa Vara hips. We asked if this was congenital and he said no, that it is developmental. The OS said he found during pre-operative templating that my leg length and offset was best restored with a coxa vara neck and a -2 ball, though I still don't know what material the ball is. Told 'ya, I am just weird.

 

[Runaround Sue]

Okay, last update today I promise. I found out the surgeon used a screw in my bone (femur ? for stability I guess). I hope this is a normal thing. I am feeling so abnormal after all of the things I posted about today that I learned at my first post op appt.

 

[sharonslp]

Sue, everything you are reporting sounds normal and par for the course, to me.

1. Screws - I remember when I went to my surgeon's seminar on THR....when I was deciding who would be my surgeon. He discussed the variations possible; cemented, non-cemented, possibly one or several screws. He mentioned that his partner always used a screw, and he preferred to decide case by case. In my case, I had non-cemented, no screws. But it shouldn't be a concern that you have a screw. (As long as you never have a screw loose.

2. Meralgia paresthetica - I am quite sure that is what I've had for about 30 years now. The skin on the side of my right thigh has been numb all this time (following birth of third child). Every so often, I will wake up in the middle of the night with an electrifyingly painful sensation...like pins and needles on steroids! It lasts for a moment or two and then subsides. I can go many years with it never happening, but the numbness is always there....I stopped even noticing it long ago. However, after both my THRs, it happened fairly frequently for a while....about one month out and lasting for a full month or so. Very disconcerting. It also coincided with when I cut back and then cut out the vicodin I was taking. But by three months along, it was back to "normal" numbness. There is a great deal of pain just under the skin IF I press down on the area, but that may be due to the IT band tightness I have. I have been getting frequent massages lately to help break up the IT band tightness, and it is interesting to note that the numbness is barely noticeable now. Correlation or causation? Who knows? At any rate, it may well subside in time, so give it time.

3. Melatonin, the good book, and a sudoku puzzle have been my nightly soporifics for more years than I can count. Good choice.

4. Overdoing the shopping. We caution everyone here about overdoing too soon. And just about everyone (me included) overdoes it anyway, and learns the hard way. Welcome to the club.

5. Pain on standing and walking, that resolves pretty quickly once you get moving: completely normal. That may change over time, or it may not....don't know your age, but it's pretty common as we age regardless of surgery. We sit a bit; the muscles tighten up; as soon as we stand up they need to be stretched back out. Only a problem if it continues past the first few moments.

Walking up and down hills is a tough movement for our hips and knees, and you are very early in the recovery period to be tackling them. If you are having much pain still, I would encourage you to avoid hills for now, and ease back into them gradually as you heal.

All said, it sounds like you're doing just fine.

Sharon

 

[Poppet]

Hi Runaround Sue, has your OS suggested the possibility of having a nerve conduction test?

 

[Runaround Sue]

Sue, everything you are reporting sounds normal and par for the course, to me.

1. Screws - But it shouldn't be a concern that you have a screw. (As long as you never have a screw loose.

@sharOh I'm not at all, just was posting my news from my post op I'm not at all surprised given my age and rickety old bones.

2. Meralgia paresthetica - I am quite sure that is what I've had for about 30 years now. The skin on the side of my right thigh has been numb all this time (following birth of third child). .....Correlation or causation? Who knows? At any rate, it may well subside in time, so give it time.

I would be hopeful if only the parathestia in my shoulder had resolved over the past 5 years but unfortunately I still have pain and weird sensations daily as well as weakness lifting that arm. I did see while looking into meralgia parathesia that it can be caused during Ceasarian deliveries. My OS seems to think it was either caused by the spinal pressing against the nerve (plenty of info on that on google info) or even the clamp that held me safely in position during the procedure and it was apparent the moment they brought me around in the OR. I am not looking to sue anyone, I was warned of the risks which were even greater than what I am left with.

5. Pain on standing and walking, that resolves pretty quickly once you get moving: completely normal. That may change over time, or it may not....don't know your age, but it's pretty common as we age regardless of surgery. We sit a bit; the muscles tighten up; as soon as we stand up they need to be stretched back out. Only a problem if it continues past the first few moments.

Oh I remember that prior to surgery! I struggled to get up and get going but now I can pop up out of a seated position like a jack in-the-box! The problem is stepping onto the prothestesis, that's where the pain is, the muscles actually feel great what with all of the PT. I never had that before the oxy ran out, do you think the oxy may have masked that pain? I am taking just aspirin or tylenol now several times a day. Or maybe even the cut nerve endings of the femur still healing?

All said, it sounds like you're doing just fine.
Sharon

Oh I too think so! I hope I didn't come across as complaining about everything. I was just posting an update from my first post op and what I had learned. I am feeling a million times better and my life is much improved since the surgery than pre-op and I expect some pain as I am 68 years old and my bones are osteopenic. My life is much improved since the surgery.

Thanks for all of your input Sharon, I really appreciate it

 

[Runaround Sue]

Hi Runaround Sue, has your OS suggested the possibility of having a nerve conduction test?

Poppet No, He just said quote: "It may go away in time, keep massaging it, that should help and the PT will be helpful as well. end quote. Pretty much the same thing the other surgeon said to me after the surgery for the melanoma (WLE and SNB) almost 5 years ago. I sit in front of the tv and alternate massaging from my shoulder and underarm to my thigh, it helps some but it is always there. At least I am still on this side of the dirt, tho! That is some consolation! The melanoma could have killed me and it didnt

Now for a little humor. I saw this on a stenciled sign on ebay:

Dear Santa,

This year please give me a big fat bank account and a slim body. Please don't mix those two up like you did last year, thanks!

 

[sharonslp]

Sue, you sound like all of us hippies.....curious, analytical, occasionally worried, occasionally impatient, and mostly grateful for the improvements from our surgeries....even when they don't fix everything. Every day brings changes now....enjoy them.

Sharon

 

[Runaround Sue]

Exactly Sharon, I have to know the why and the wherefore for everything ;) I am not content until I get to the bottom of everything and I have that AHA! so that's it moment.

 

[Poppet]

Poppet No, He just said quote: "It may go away in time, keep massaging it, that should help and the PT will be helpful as well. end quote. Pretty much the same thing the other surgeon said to me after the surgery for the melanoma (WLE and SNB) almost 5 years ago. I sit in front of the tv and alternate massaging from my shoulder and underarm to my thigh, it helps some but it is always there. At least I am still on this side of the dirt, tho! That is some consolation! The melanoma could have killed me and it didnt

Now for a little humor. I saw this on a stenciled sign on ebay:

Dear Santa,

This year please give me a big fat bank account and a slim body. Please don't mix those two up like you did last year, thanks!

Wahoo... Sue, let that be my mantra for the remainder of the year leading up to Xmas ... Love it..

Thank you for making me smile - take care hon x