THR second time easier (so far)

[Peaches]

Songlady ... what you say makes sense to me. The freedom to not panic when I have reached over, or the pillow slips from between my legs at night ... that will be nice. The freedom to sit without a pillow, too. But no way I am going to go from 0 to 360 and attempt to bend over all the way and do things I don't feel i can do yet.

 

[Elosarabrab]

Songlady, I know what you mean about restrictions lifted doesn't mean you are ready to do it.

I can let my own strength and comfort be my guide. (which is sort of what I've been doing anyway. )

That sounds very sensible to me. I had years of not being able to do stuff like shoe laces and toenails so it will take time to be able to achieve this.
LeeApril26 I cant copy your example as for reasons above, also still got restrictions.

 

[sandybeach]

Songlady you are taking a sensible approach to your restrictions. I didn't have restrictions. There's a lot of stuff I can't physically do. I can bend over and touch the floor but I can't lift my foot to put on socks yet. My first hip/leg has regained a lot of strength so I know in time it will happen. I do admit I get frustrated at times to not have the strength or flexibility to do all the things I want to. We just need to practice patience. None of us have been that many weeks out of surgery. You had your first hip replaced 3 years ago, how long did it take for you do all the things you used to do after that surgery?

 

[ByGosh]

Songlady Your shower insights are absolutely right! Everything you said is so true. Of course, we can do these things now, as in we're permitted to, but can we physically manage them safely? That's an excellent point. I had no restrictions except no leg crossing and pillow between my legs to sleep. I could 'do' anything. But I couldn't 'do' anything, not for awhile anyway.
And like Peaches said, it will be a relief not to panic when we accidentally do something. Our bodies know if we can accomplish a task, and if we do it unintentionally, it's probably ok. Josephine says most surgeons have no restrictions on hip patients, and she feels that many patients ignore them anyway. But I think they're good so we don't feel pressured to do everything as usual right away.
LeeApril26 Peaches I didn't go to rehab, either. I, too, was concerned about infection, plus I just wanted to get home. I remember it was very, very tough at first, though and I probably could have used rehab (my husband sure could've used me to go there!), but we managed. My oldest son had a two week college break, and he sat with me, studying, and helping me. Then my highschooler had her two week break next (great timing) and she helped me before she ran out for sports every day. So it was all ok.
No A/C in sight at my house yet. My husband threw his back out, pushing his brother around New York, and is temporarily off heavy duty chores. We have big window units, that are quite literally a pain to deal with. So it's fans for us. I hope the heat wave breaks soon!
Oh LeeApril26 I meant to tell you (and everyone) that I went to the pool today! It was great because I've been restricting my activities for about 6 weeks now. I did what you said you'd do when you got back to the pool - I walked first for 5min. It's really good exercise because it's less stress on the joints than a real walk. But then I broke down and paddled my way back and forth, with a buoy between my legs so I wouldn't kick or use them and hurt the groins. It seems to be ok. I'm not in dire pain yet, so maybe there's hope!

Good luck with your 6 week check ups ladies! I know you'll both get gold stars! Just like Songlady did! TTYL

 

[Songlady]

Hi sandybeach - Bingo! I figured out how to do a search on here for my old posts. I was still partly using the cane at 12 weeks (or so I remember... I looked yesterday! ) This is a loooong term recovery, and I tend to remember the past with rose-colored glasses. So it was a good reality check for me to look at my recovery from last time!
So, I remind myself: PATIENCE.....and a year from now (even sooner, but certainly by then) I'll be good as new!
Peaches, when I sit at the kitchen table, I normally sit up and cross my ankles under my. I've been SO WORRIED every time I've started to do that!! So now, "restrictions lifted," at least I won't have to panic when I go into various positions automatically and because they feel comfortable!

 

[LeeApril26]

ByGosh. Oh, the pool! Yeah, that's great. So pleased that you were able to do it. And brilliant to put a buoy between your legs. I've been trying to figure out how not to overdo-thanks for sharing. My PT said today that any exercises I do standing without weights-sideways lifts, knee lifts, etc. can be done in the pool with good benefits. How long did you stay in? I am hoping that walking in the pool will build muscle/stamina without hurting my knees. Hope my OS clears me to go.
And Peaches. You were both thinking more clearly than I. The risk of infection didn't occur to me. I just wanted to come home.

 

[Songlady]

ByGosh, Oh, gosh...... a POOL.... I envy you!! That would feel SO good right now! I have the kitchen ceiling fan on (my desk is in a corner off the kitchen) which brings it down to... (cranes neck to look) 83 in here. And, of course, humid, which makes it all worse.
I think you articulated something important: I think sometimes we feel as if we're not doing well because we "can't" do what we are now "allowed" to do. That old joke: "Doc, after the surgery, will I be able to dance?" Doc: "Yes!!" Patient: "Great! I never could before!"
The clinical "you can do this and that..." often doesn't match what we can really do.
LeeApril26 and Peaches I didn't go to rehab, either. In my job I visit a lot of people in rehab places, and spend a certain amount of time in them, and though for many it's the better choice, I thought that I could progress faster at home. At the time of my first surgery, my son was still in high school, so I wanted to come home to him (and I timed surgery just before his vacation, so he got the dubious honor of helping me with meals) and this time, Songman is now working from home, so he was around to help.

 

[LeeApril26]

Songlady. Like the joke. When I read about you having permission to ride a bike, I thought, "maybe I'll be able to do that," without considering that I haven't been on a bike in 20 years!

 

[zauberflöte]

Songlady ByGosh LeeApril26 Elosarabrab Peaches sandybeach @whoever I forgotLOL

I went to the pool today!

Lenore, don't you know that riding a bike is like riding a bike? You never forget how?

The flakes on my operated side's calf started flaking off last week; I noticed them on my blanket!

sorry, I couldn't resist....

I am going to ask my surgeon at the checkup if I can curl my left leg under my right (operated) hip, a position that for some reason is very comfy to me. Possibly because it is aiding and abetting some other orthopedic problem lurking that I am not yet aware of.

I like that position too! I wonder if I still will. I don;t mind it on the other leg either. And re hip replacements in the 90's-- yeah, my dad had one, and needed an ambulance only because his ride home from rehab was a 40-mile-3 hour mountain drive in West Virginia! I ought to name my hip in his honor LOL.

So..... retail therapy? How about this? ByGosh and Peaches I just googled "foam cut to size" b/c I got my "I LOVE it" custom seat cushion that way, and came up with this example just for example of buying online. What I keep harping on (cos I still love it16 years later!) is 5" thick, a medium hard density so it is soft to the butt but doesn't compact much, and as large as the seat of a generous dining table chair, so there's plenty of support for the leg all the way to the knee, which is very important to me. We have another chair, a couch, and two beds by the same custom-cut method-- I recommend it highly. Buying online is harder cos you can't sit or lie down on samples first, though.

But... as I was showering, I thought, "yay, I can wash my feet!" Wellllll.... no.

ha. I fell into that trap last night! I was merrily scrubbing away, and went for the right foot. Here little foot! Nope, not coming. So I soaped up the shower feet and had at both feet with those bristles. It really is a nice feeling, but leads to spending too much time in the shower just for feet!

I went up one step big girl style today! twice! The first time was an accident, caught myself right in the middle of the movement, but was hanging on so continued--yay! The second time was a test, which the leg passed
Off for 3rd round of PT and a nice walk up and down the hall and looping through the bedrooms and around the sunroom circle... borrrrrrrrinnnnnnnnng......

 

[sandybeach]

zauberflöte, congrats on the steps. I can't do that unless I have rails on each side of the steps. Here at home I go toddle style and hang on. I suppose that will all improve in time .....everything is in time. I will definitely come back and look at my thread in a year and see what and where I was at.

 

[ByGosh]

Congratulations zauberflöte for graduating to big-girl-style-stair-stepping. Now maybe you can come out of your training bra!! LOL
Songlady You're lucky (sort of) to have yourself to compare yourself to, if you know what I mean. It's amazing that you can look up your previous posts from 3 years ago and see how you did then. How handy - sort of like a diary! It must really help you with being patient this time, because it's all documented how you did last time.
LeeApril26 If the streets are demolition derby style as you've said, it's probably better if you don't do the bike riding for the time being. Yikes! Take your life in your hips... er.. hands! You'll love the pool again, though. I see no reason your OS won't let you do it. As long as the incisions are well-healed, that's the big thing. My OS (who happens to be in the dog house right now) told me I could swim at 4 weeks, as soon as my incisions were healed. (Hhmmph! What does he know? Just kidding, no not really) Gee it's a good thing we don't name names here, isn't it? Your PT is right that all of the exercises she has you do on land will still benefit you in the pool. You're using your muscles against the resistance of the water which will strengthen them, with the added bonus of having less stress on your knees. That should feel good to those poor knees.
Peaches You can cream those flakes with a sponge net brush on a handle - that's what I do. And I also do what Lenora does, I use both feet to cream each other and a little of the bottom of the legs. I never had bending restrictions, but won't do it now that I've ruined my groins from doing it as soon as my body could do it post-op. See, like I said - what does my OS know? No restrictions on flexion of the hip, and here I am... who knows?
TTFA (ta ta for now)

 

[Songlady]

ByGosh LeeApril26 Elosarabrab Peaches sandybeach @zauberflöte
Here is my 6 week post from three years ago:
OK, so, at 6 weeks after surgery my OS said I could stop worrying about sitting in high seats and using the toilet risers. I came home and immediately removed the over-toilet commode thingy from my master bathroom - I hated that! - but I still am having trouble standing up from the sitting position (At the risk of being too graphic, I am holding onto the cabinet next to me with one hand and reaching behind me to the tank lid with the other hand to push off.)
Doesn't sound too safe for the middle of the night, does it? lol but I was getting up that way for some months prior to the surgery.

I may put back the dreaded commode for a while, sigh. I still have the seat riser in the other bathroom, but I know the family would love me to get rid of it......

And then I have another post at 11 weeks, complaining about intermittent pain from playing the organ or walking too far (and an admonishment from Josephine about not taking meds for those pains!) Indeed, handy to refer back to these milestones!

This morning when I went to sit on the commode without the riser I had forgotten about the lack of riser and sort of crashed my bum onto it! No harm done, however.

 

[LeeApril26]

zauberflöte. Congratulations on the steps. Very nice to regain a lost ability. As for the bike, maybe I should start with a tricycle?
ByGosh. I live in a very old (for NYC) neighborhood. The sidewalks are often slabs of uneven bluestone, and the streets are tar poured on cobblestones and somewhat eroded. It is pretty but very bumpy. I think my incision is healed; hoping the surgeon agrees. The off to a pool.
Songlady. Thanks for sharing the posts from three years ago. Sounds like we are all sort of normal.

 

[zauberflöte]

Songlady very cool having your previous hip's posts!! My method of off-the-loo is even better (and more graphic LOL) than yours, and safer because no bending-- I use the sink on the left, and the seat between my legs on the right. Been doing this for some months and it's very stable.
Good you know not to play that organ too much yet-- esp since you had made such accommodations to reach the pedals! You don't want to sprain your back or anything!!

 

[Peaches]

Thanks, Songlady, for posting some of your earlier posts. Very helpful. That's another advantage to bonesmart--by default we have chronicled our sagas. I do have a journal of sorts for every day where I make notes, but it's mainly to remind forgetful me when I took various meds, exercises, walking, and a pain log of sorts. Not the same as the bonesmart forum postings..... When you said you visited rehab places in your job, did you mean the "real" rehab places, the ones that most U.S. ins. companies do not cover anymore? Or did you mean nursing homes that happen to have a rehab floor on it (sub-acute rehab is the term, I think, that ins. cos. use to describe them). I am very curious what the real rehab places are like, as I have heard good things about them. One in particular in Connecticut, I think, called Burke? (Can you tell I am already thinking/wondering/worrying? a little bit that THR Number Two is someone in my future?)

LeeApril26: I feel for you having to navigate those streets. I'm glad your outpatient PT is close enough for you to walk, though I realize it's not easy. I hope you get the go-ahead Mon. for swimming again. How far will you have to go to get to a pool? ... As for the nursing home-rehab place, it never occurred to me, either, about the risk of contracting an infection there. It was my OS of all people who said to me, "You can get an infection there."

ByGosh: I'm SO sorry your husband's NYC trip was such a bust. Now you are sweltering in this heat we are having in the northeast because of it. The heat is supposedly going to break come Monday. I hope he is better soon. How is the BIL doing?

zauberflöte: Sorry for the TMI in ref to the flakes on my blankey. A few weeks ago I was just as bad, complaining about my stinky toilet riser thingy. Thanks very much for the info and site for the custom-foam place. Worth checking out, as clearly these hip product makers have not hit upon the right combo of size and foam density for their "hip cushions." I hope you enjoyed your two-day reprieve this week, though of course the cats were still there.

 

[Songlady]

Peaches - Mom is at a local place that's a nursing home with a rehab floor - but it's known locally for its good rehab. The places I visit are mostly nursing homes to which folks go for rehab. (I visit on behalf of my congregation.) But my aunt went to Rehab once at a place in Wallingford, CT that has a good reputation and I think is really a "rehab" (one can google "rehab Wallingford CT" to find it, I would imagine.) For you, that's a piece up the road from NY. (But it's located right near the Parkway, so easy to drive to....)
zauberflöte - yes, I use the "push off the seat between my legs" technique also. We have the large elongated seats, so that's pretty easy to do.
LeeApril26, you said it! As I read my old posts, I thought, yeah.... we all sound as though we're sort of in this area.....! Your neighborhood sounds lovely, although the uneven walking areas aren't always easy to negotiate!
ByGosh, I hope you are doing OK on this, another hot day! I am boiling up some pasta this morning while it's still sort of cool, and will mix up a cold pasta salad for this evening. Today is our town's street fair, about 1/2 block up from our house, so I will go and walk there, probably more than I can handle.

 

[Jaycey]

Looks like everyone on this thread is now discovering the beauty of documenting your recovery. On those days when you think you have not made any progress it's good to look back and see just how far you have come. And then years later when you can't pluck up the courage to do something - read your recovery thread again. It takes a lot of courage to go through all this! And you are doing very well I must say!

 

[LeeApril26]

Peaches Going to the pool in the city involves the subway, and I'm not there yet, but a friend has a place in the country with access to a pool, and we have an ongoing invitation, so if the surgeon okays my swimming, and lifts the precautions, we will get out of town for a few days. I am hoping that walking and swimming in the pool for a week will strengthen my knees enough that I can get up and down the subway stairs. I only have a one block walk to the station, and also one block to the gym. I'm anxious about trying it, but I will as soon as I can do it without slowing up everyone on the stairs.
Songlady Yes, until I was zapped by my hip I really didn't give much thought to the crooked bluestone sidewalks and bumpy streets, and it is very pretty. Now I feel like I should wear a yellow vest that says BEWARE! Today our street has a street fair and I walked around a little. It was fun, and I managed not to fall over any kids on bikes.
Hope you are having a good weekend.

 

[Peaches]

LeeApril26: Lenora, I hope you get the okay come Monday for swimming! Then, get the hell out of Dodge and visit your friend! Going to the street fair surely was a good "activity" for you. I feel like we are in THR Boot Camp.
I would not worry one bit about slowing anyone down on the dang subway steps! Just worry about how many seps there are and how high and if you feel you can handle them. Then, take your sweet time and do them as safely as you can. Think about all the times people with canes and crutches have slowly gone down stairs and "slowed you down." Did you really care? Nah ... and if you did, you got over it. You'll be on those subway stairs long before I will. I can't wait to hear if you get the swimming clearance!

Songlady: Thanks for the info about the nursing-home-slash-rehab places. I think the ones in NYC that my surgeon knew about, for a "routine," single THR such as mine, were not too hot. He really convinced me NOT to go. And as I had my cousin visiting to help me, I'm still glad I did not go.

Hi, Jaycey: Well, in looking back at my posts, I kinda cringe. I was really Debbie Downer--or, rather, NOT happy and upbeat like most Bone Smartonians are. I couldn't even get it together to post for about a whole week. Part of that was having an old cell phone that wasn't easy to type on. But I did take notes in long hand and I do read back and see the milestones and shake my head at how freaked out I got over so many things. If I have to do the other hip again, I'm reasonably sure I will be much calmer.

ByGosh: How are you today?? I am so happy that your water adventure was soothing for you in body and spirit. And I love your new avatar, by the way. So sorry that the fallout from your husband & BIL's unexcellent NYC adventure continues, and you are sweltering because of it. I hope those big ACs got installed. Today was dreadfully hot and humid. Oddly, I coped with it better than I would have ONLY because I was concentrating on doing my dutiful walking for the day. I kept thinking, too, that I would rather schlog through the heat, humidity, and hot sun while recuperating from a THR than in the snow and ice. I got to where I dreaded the winter or any precipitation, so terrified of falling down subway steps or on city sidewalks--right, LeeApril26? I work in a very congested area of Midtown Manhattan where it is impossible to hail a cab and many times during snowstorms I would stand there like the Little Match Girl, wondering how in the heck would I ever get home. I would kind of do a crab-walk down the subway stairs, so scared of slipping and falling. Well, THIS WINTER WILL BE DIFFERENT!

Are you feeling any better at all about the groin situation and your OS? Sometimes a new day brings new ideas. Not always, of course. Don't lose hope. That's the most important thing. And visualize your "water vacations" whenever you are down. This is your "safe room" to get some exercise, water therapy physically and emotionally, till the groin problem gets figured out.

By the way, I laugh every time I read "cream those flakes." No clue why, but I love it.

 

[Songlady]

Peaches, I have to say... at the place my Mom is (which is well thought of for its rehab!) they give patients an hour in morning and an hour in afternoon. I guess if you can find a staff member to go with you, you can walk in the halls as you are able, in addition. But.... I feel that at home I got moving a whole lot sooner and in less regimented time allotments, which was better for me.
LeeApril26, I did fine at the street fair! I probably walked more than I meant to. Interestingly, it wasn't all that crowded, which was good for me! I came home and sat in my recliner and was SO still after that I could barely walk! So I got up and walked some more and it all eased. I see meds in my evening and I hope the morning brings new energy - I'm playing the organ at church tomorrow morning! (I've played for 2 funerals now, one Thursday and one today, so.. at least I've started back "on the bench!"
ByGosh, we have our ceiling fans going, and I hear the heat will break in the next day or so! (And I love "Cream those flakes" too!! lol)
Jaycey!! How are ya?! I was thinking of you, since after my first hip we chatted a lot! It is indeed cool to look back at those posts!