Denverish
new member
United States
Hello! First time poster, long-time lurker here …
First, thank you to the forum staff and members for generously sharing such helpful information in this space. This forum has been invaluable to me while I’ve been recovering from having my right hip joint replaced on Nov. 30, 2022. As I had my left hip replaced nearly three years before, now my shiny new hips match!
This time around, my decision to have a THR was much easier, as was the initial recovery. At the first twinge of pain, I got in to see my GP to talk about what felt like a labral tear. One month later, I sat down with an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in laparoscopic hip surgery who confirmed that I did indeed have a small labral tear, but it was no use to repair it since I had advanced arthritis in my swollen, deteriorating joint. He recommended that I consider having a THR.
I did not need to consider. The twinge had rapidly morphed into a constant, deep throbbing pain that made it difficult to concentrate on work and a sharp, stabbing pain that woke me nearly every night — despite a steady diet of prescribed Aleve and Tylenol.
The surgeon swapped my Aleve script for Celebrex and confirmed that, miraculously, the surgeon who replaced my left hip had availability and put in ticket for me to schedule surgery with him.
A few days later, a nurse called to offer me two options: I could have my OG do the THR surgery in less than six weeks, or I could have him do it at the end of February. While the Celebrex did, thankfully, take the edge off the pain, I was ready to get this done and get back to an active life ASAP! In August, I was still recovering from a foot surgery in June but really enjoying my daily two-mile walks with my family. When I booked surgery for the end of November, I was using two walking poles to slowly walk a half mile and my recumbent bike was becoming difficult to use.
On November 30 at 7:30 am, I hobbled my way into the hospital on a cane and was helped into a wheelchair. A hour later, I was in surgery!
When I woke up, I did not have muscle spasms like the time before and did not have complications related to my sleep disorder (narcolepsy type I). After that amazing “nap,” I felt better than I had in months!
After enjoying a big breakfast, including a cup of coffee, I was cleared for PT, had a couple of sessions, and was sent home to sleep in my own bed! (Thankfully, my husband/joint coach talked me out of taking the flight of stairs to sleep in our comfy bed, as I am sure I would have had to stay up there for several days after the nerve block wore off.)
Nearly eight weeks have passed since then, and I am doing about 2 miles on the treadmill and elliptical machines at our gym a few times a week — and am planning to gradually return to WFH part-time on February 1st! It is so great to be able to exercise again, and I’m excited to return to the work that I love!!!
I am using my tens machine before exercise and icing and elevating when I get home, and making slow but steady progress week by week, not day by day like I was up until Christmas. The brain fog has finally lifted, my leg is getting stronger, and my balance has improved a lot!
However, I still have quite a bit of fatigue and it’s hard to figure out how much of that is from my sleep disorder and how much of it is from my THR recovery …
I do suspect that part of it is a mild depression I’ve been feeling these last couple of weeks. I’ve been cooped up mostly indoors for a while now since we’ve had unusually heavy snow here since Christmas and the paths at nearby parks have been icy. And now that my visitors have slowed down and my parents and everyone except me has gone back to school or work, I’ve been a little lonely.
I’ve also realized that I’ve been pushing myself too hard with exercising and tackling my to-do list at home. At first, I couldn’t push myself too hard because it hurt or I was too tired to even think about it! When I push myself too hard now, however, I either get dizzy and lightheaded and nauseous — or end up paying for it the next day with fatigue that pins me to the bed.
The hardest part is knowing what my limits are BEFORE I reach them! Can ya’ll identify? Do ya’ll have any tips for me? TIA!
First, thank you to the forum staff and members for generously sharing such helpful information in this space. This forum has been invaluable to me while I’ve been recovering from having my right hip joint replaced on Nov. 30, 2022. As I had my left hip replaced nearly three years before, now my shiny new hips match!
This time around, my decision to have a THR was much easier, as was the initial recovery. At the first twinge of pain, I got in to see my GP to talk about what felt like a labral tear. One month later, I sat down with an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in laparoscopic hip surgery who confirmed that I did indeed have a small labral tear, but it was no use to repair it since I had advanced arthritis in my swollen, deteriorating joint. He recommended that I consider having a THR.
I did not need to consider. The twinge had rapidly morphed into a constant, deep throbbing pain that made it difficult to concentrate on work and a sharp, stabbing pain that woke me nearly every night — despite a steady diet of prescribed Aleve and Tylenol.
The surgeon swapped my Aleve script for Celebrex and confirmed that, miraculously, the surgeon who replaced my left hip had availability and put in ticket for me to schedule surgery with him.
A few days later, a nurse called to offer me two options: I could have my OG do the THR surgery in less than six weeks, or I could have him do it at the end of February. While the Celebrex did, thankfully, take the edge off the pain, I was ready to get this done and get back to an active life ASAP! In August, I was still recovering from a foot surgery in June but really enjoying my daily two-mile walks with my family. When I booked surgery for the end of November, I was using two walking poles to slowly walk a half mile and my recumbent bike was becoming difficult to use.
On November 30 at 7:30 am, I hobbled my way into the hospital on a cane and was helped into a wheelchair. A hour later, I was in surgery!
When I woke up, I did not have muscle spasms like the time before and did not have complications related to my sleep disorder (narcolepsy type I). After that amazing “nap,” I felt better than I had in months!
After enjoying a big breakfast, including a cup of coffee, I was cleared for PT, had a couple of sessions, and was sent home to sleep in my own bed! (Thankfully, my husband/joint coach talked me out of taking the flight of stairs to sleep in our comfy bed, as I am sure I would have had to stay up there for several days after the nerve block wore off.)
Nearly eight weeks have passed since then, and I am doing about 2 miles on the treadmill and elliptical machines at our gym a few times a week — and am planning to gradually return to WFH part-time on February 1st! It is so great to be able to exercise again, and I’m excited to return to the work that I love!!!
I am using my tens machine before exercise and icing and elevating when I get home, and making slow but steady progress week by week, not day by day like I was up until Christmas. The brain fog has finally lifted, my leg is getting stronger, and my balance has improved a lot!
However, I still have quite a bit of fatigue and it’s hard to figure out how much of that is from my sleep disorder and how much of it is from my THR recovery …
I do suspect that part of it is a mild depression I’ve been feeling these last couple of weeks. I’ve been cooped up mostly indoors for a while now since we’ve had unusually heavy snow here since Christmas and the paths at nearby parks have been icy. And now that my visitors have slowed down and my parents and everyone except me has gone back to school or work, I’ve been a little lonely.
I’ve also realized that I’ve been pushing myself too hard with exercising and tackling my to-do list at home. At first, I couldn’t push myself too hard because it hurt or I was too tired to even think about it! When I push myself too hard now, however, I either get dizzy and lightheaded and nauseous — or end up paying for it the next day with fatigue that pins me to the bed.
The hardest part is knowing what my limits are BEFORE I reach them! Can ya’ll identify? Do ya’ll have any tips for me? TIA!
to Double Hippydom
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