THR Seeing the Light!

[Layla]

Hey @lovesstars ....on the eve of, I'd like to wish you a
Happy One Month Anniversary!
I hope you have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend.

 

[lovesstars]

Thank you @Layla !!! Tomorrow...doctor!

 

[Layla]

Best wishes for a good visit. It's always nice to leave there with the reassurance you're doing well.
Will be thinking of you. Let us know how it goes.
@lovesstars

 

[Alitm]

@lovesstars Good luck at your appointment tomorrow!

 

[SurreyGirl]

Good luck to both of you xx

 

[EL11]

Hi, @lovesstars @Alitm @Layla
Yeah, what opioids do to your digestive tract ... it's no joke. I have PT, visiting nurse and a cleaning lady coming today, and I felt so bad this morning I almost cancelled all three. I also don't drink enough water, but am really chugging it now.

Good luck and good vibes to all.

 

[Layla]

So sorry you are suffering some digestive issues this morning.
Hopefully you're feeling better, or the activity of the day will serve as a distraction, minimizing your discomfort. You have a busy one ahead of you! Let us know how it goes, if you're not too wiped out later.
I hope you feel better soon!
@EL11

@lovesstars I'll bet you're excited for your post op. I was, but a tad nervous too.
I wanted to get a gold star, lol.
Let us know if you got one. Will look forward to your update.
Hope your weekend is a good one!
Sorry for the little derail with EL11 above.

 

[Alitm]

@EL11 sounds like a busy day. As @Layla says, let us know how it all goes, if you aren't to tired! Sending positive vibes for whatever comes your way today

 

[lovesstars]

I had the best doctor appt ever!!

I had never met this PA before but he told me the truth on everything which I appreciated.
1. Because I had AVN, my recovery will be longer and more protracted, with more pain. He was thrilled that I am only taking the Tramadol a couple times per week at this point...and he wrote me another prescription for it. He said that he is not worried about this, I am not abusing it and I will be in more pain for awhile and I should not limit myself.
2. He checked my incision, muscles, range of motion. He said my incision looks perfect and healed, muscles are strong and it is obvious I am doing my exercises. He said I should not worry, I am doing great for my situation.
3. He confirmed that I lost a bunch of blood during surgery which has made me weak and pale and dizzy at times — and my hematocrit dropped eleven points. He said that the current thinking is that blood products are super high risk and it is better for me to try to recover and rebuild my blood (it takes about 8 weeks to do this) than to have transfusions. He said to me “even if you were my sister I would not have given you transfusions”. He said — the good news is that my blood work was awesome and strong before surgery and I will get back up there again.
4. He said that I can go back to Pilates when I can walk unassisted, maybe November or December.
5. Plus — because I had melanoma surgery and a sentinel node biopsy on the same hip 20 years ago he said that is also affecting my recovery.
6. He told me also that i will have some days when I feel like I am better, amazing and awesome — and the next days i will be in awful pain and chugging Tramadol and praying. He said that is NORMAL and I shouldn’t worry.

(And I have a picture of my hip which I will post next...)

So I found this really validating and I wish I had been told the AVN thing because I would have adjusted my expectations.

So all good!

Xoxox to you all!

 

[wonkyhipoy]

Hi @lovesstars,

Glad to hear your appointment went so well... and that it level-set you recovery expectations.

I think we all have a bit misguided expectations when it comes to recovery (me especially). Everywhere on the internet, and I mean reputable universities and hospitals, they say short term recovery is typically 4-6 weeks. But what they fail to communicate effectively (in my humble opinion), it what they consider “short term recovery”... which is certainly not what I had in my head. Walking two blocks without a cane for example is not what I would have considered “recovery “ ... two miles, yes, that is what was in my head. Again, big difference between the OS’s definition of short term recovery and my own. Maybe they should have a “google translate” that takes the OS’s definition, and translates it into terms my brain would understand

Example:
OS Definition: Short term recovery
Translation: still a long long way to go

Also, even for the “short term recovery”, based on posts I have read here and people I know who have had a THR (including my father), six weeks is not a very realistic expectation. Those who reach short term recovery in as little as two weeks (and those people do exist... of whom I am extremely jealous ), skew the short term average... an average that appears to be calculated largely based on anecdotal evidence anyway, rather than high quality studies. In general , I think Bonesmart has it right (and of course I base this opinion purely on anecdotal evidence also)... short term recovery is really 10-12 weeks... and even at that point, is not pain free (particularly when we over do it). Now that I know that, what will I do?... well, continue with my unrealistic expectations of recovery of course... after all, I am only human

Cheers

 

[lovesstars]

. MY HIP NEW HIP.

 

[EL11]

@lovesstars, I am SO happy for you! Pilates by year's end, how wonderful. Knowing what to expect makes all the difference, and it does sound validating. He sure gave you a lot of detailed information. You are well on the way, and clearly you take a lot of responsibility for your care.

It is important to deal with smart people who are good communicators. I have fainted twice in my life, both times on a plane, from dehydration. After the first episode, I was taken to the E.R. at a hospital in Denver. The nurses and PAs were were solicitous in a way that I personally found infantilizing (saying "sweetheart" a lot). I was so scared already and it kind of made me feel ancient and as if I were on my deathbed.

The PT and nurse today were great; I also felt validated and optimistic after they left.

 

[Alitm]

@lovesstars What a great and really informative doctor's visit So glad you had your questions answered so thoroughly....very helpful indeed. Gives you information by which to set your expectations realistically. Your AVN, blood loss and previous melanoma removal and node biopsies would of course affect your pain and energy levels and your healing rate. Great to have that all validated, although it would have been helpful to know previously how much the AVN in particular would affect your healing time. I'm sure your post is helpful to many, me included, in terms of expectations
As @wonkyhipoy says, BS helps us set realistic expectations as to recovery time. I'm starting to think much more it terms of three months being the basic minimum and six months being more like what I would expect to be recovery. At our joint class, the nurse said something ridiculous, along the lines of at six weeks one is ready to get on with life! I really feel these classes should be lead by someone who has been through it

 

[lovesstars]

@EL11 How are you feeling today - on day 4????? (Yes, I LOVE being talked to like an adult.)

Funny sidebar — I fainted in school in Milan last March. Nothing tests your language skills better than being in an ambulance and having to go to the ER/Pronto Soccorso. You haven’t lived until you have said: “Si, si, urinavo normalmente...”. (Yes, yes, I have been urinating normally).

Yes, also from dehydration.

Finally I have felt like watching something — I watched The Marvelous Mrs Maisel this week on Amazon. It made me smile!

 

[EL11]

@lovesstars I was feeling awful this morning from "digestive issues," but that was resolved by the time the home care ladies came, and now I feel newly energized from moving around and getting the blood flowing. The PT was taken aback by how flexible I was doing the "windshield wiper" exercise. I took dance class for 20 years but have not been flexible in the hip area for so long. Could my muscles actually remember that I used to be??

I also had a medical emergency when out of the country. I was living in LA and got a singing gig in Tijuana at a hotel. My mom had given me ampicillin to take with me in case I got sick from the food (a bit casual to hand out one's own leftover medications but she meant well). I did get sick and did take it, and broke out in huge welts that scabbed over. Someone drove me to a doctor and translated. He repeated the word "ampicilina" a few times and also something that apparently meant "shock." One of the scabs came off as I was stupidly trying to dab makeup on it and left quite a crater. Scary.

 

[lovesstars]

@EL11 I am so happy that your blood and your (ahem) is moving.

And yes, I do believe in muscle memory. I think that once you are a dancer your body does remember...

 

[lovesstars]

@Alitm @wonkyhipoy I super agree with you guys. If only....

(But hindsight is always 20/20, right?)

 

[Apricot]

Sounds a really good consultation. I agree with you on the need to adjust our recovery expectations. It’s hard to get the balance right. My Pilates teacher talks about muscle memory too. In my case it needs to be deleted and new patterns established.

 

[SurreyGirl]

@Alitm @wonkyhipoy I super agree with you guys. If only....

(But hindsight is always 20/20, right?)

Add me to this list too. I am bookmarking this thread and will wave a printout at my boss who emailed my to say my recovery appeared to be slow. arrrrrrrrgh!

Re muscle memory. I play violin and there is definitely memory in my fingers and bowing arm about feeling how a piece is played even if I have not played the piece for a while!

 

[NanaKP]

Boy oh boy can I chime in on recovery expectations. My OS and the gal who led the joint class were POSITIVE that I'd fly right through the first THR and be ready for #2 within a few short weeks - the gal who led the class actually told me that she thought I'd be back to jogging in the fall. Pffffffffft, I am approaching week 21 from the hip replacement but because of "complications", I am approaching week 8 from a fracture repair (apparently was "missed" from original surgery). I am also recovering from an infection after the wound reopened after the repair. I have gained a lot of insight from reading through this thread about everyone's experiences (yes, and setbacks). Interesting how some do so well with the crutches then cane, and others do better sticking with the walker to the cane. The "blues" lurk in the shadows then leap out when I seem to least expect it.

I am motivated by all of your progress and your sharing of your experiences! I did PT for the first 12 weeks until the fracture was "discovered". Since the repair, I have not done PT and have no plans to return to it. Once the wound is entirely healed up, I'm going to ask about going to water classes. Have any of you done that?

I live in Colorado so the snow/ice could be right around the corner. Maneuvering on that isn't appealing to me. How are you feeling about that Lovesstars? (We are originally from northern IL/WI and have lots of family there still so yes, very familiar with your winters).