THR Seeing the Light!

[lovesstars]

Hey I know this is a late response but I am new here. I had left THR last week due to AVN and collapse. I was away for many months and started to have the awful pain in December 2017 — and walked on it and walked on it — probably for 200 miles and 7 months until my diagnosis on June 25 when I returned to the States...and the femoral head had collapsed. I was on the couch/crutches for 8 weeks waiting for surgery. Now I am on day 7 post-surgery.
It has been really frustrating for me not to know the reason for the AVN. I am in the small percentage of folks who have unknown etiology. Good times. I hope your joint replacements have been successful.

Left THR August 21, 2018 due to AVN.

 

[Layla]

Hi, Welcome to BoneSmart. Thanks for joining the forum.
Please leave your exact surgery date and which hip was replaced. It will be added as your signature.
Below you will find the Recovery Guidelines which is full of useful info. Read the articles by tapping on them and pay special attention to the BIG TIP toward the bottom of the page.
Happy healing to you!

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
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 these

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Activity progression for THRs​

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. @lovesstars

 

[lovesstars]

Thank you so very much!

 

[Jaycey]

@lovesstars Welcome to BoneSmart! I moved your post to a thread of your own. You had posted on an old thread in the knee area. You will get much more response here from our members.

I too had AVN and a collapse of my left hip. Only I hAnd I asked my surgeon the same question - why me. In my case it was congenital - drew the short straw as my surgeon said.

In any case we are lucky that technology has moved ahead and we can get these things fixed.

 

[lovesstars]

Agreed. I am glad that you are doing better now.

 

[Josephine]

It has been really frustrating for me not to know the reason for the AVN.

Well actually, nobody knows why AVN happens in general. There are specific cases such as a fracture neck of femur or having taken prednisolone because of asthma or a similar condition. We know how it happens but generally no idea why.

I am in the small percentage of folks who have unknown etiology.

Not so small. Those who do known - or have an inkling! - are very much in the minority.

 

[Lski]

Welcome! My diagnosis was AVN too. Why? No one knows for sure. I want to blame it on the car accident I was in back in 2013, but no full proof exists. I never had my hips x-rayed before or right after the accident so there is no way to figure this out. All I can do is look forward to my new hip.
Take it easy the first 2-3 weeks rest, ics, elevate. I bet by the 4th week you will have more range of motion & energy for half the day before you need a nap. Good Luck!

 

[lovesstars]

Thanks so much. I was really hoping I would be doing a bit better even on day 7. Yes, I looked at the recovery charts but it just did not sink in that I would be in such bad shape for so long. Turns out I was a bit under medicated but now, today, at a new level of meds I finally was able to spend most of the day at a 6, which was glorious relief. Hope!

 

[Layla]

Hi there,
I hope today is a better day.
At only 9 days post op you'll have good days and a few bad.
Hang in there, the good will soon outweigh the bad.
A great day to you!
@lovesstars

 

[lovesstars]

Thank you!

 

[EL11]

@lovesstars, my experience has been that I goes in fits and starts. I would say I started feeling more normal at week 3 but like even the most positive graph, it is not a straight line. My post-op appointment with the surgeon did a lot to calm me down. Very best wishes to you!

 

[lovesstars]

Oh that’s good to know. Thank you! I am so glad the one-on-one with the surgeon helped!

 

[Jaycey]

Glad you got your meds tweaked. That's the biggest challenge just post op - finding the balance that works for you. Just take things slow and steady. It's more a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[lovesstars]

Guys! I am having a rougher time. I had a Posterior on Aug 21 (don’t know if that is what makes the difference). I am on day 14. I live in a multi-level house (15 stairs between levels) and I try to only do them once a day (up in the morning and down at night) — that combined with shower, little bits of house puttering — is all I can do. I get dizzy, break into sweats, increase in pain (as much as 8.5) and crawl back to couch and ice. Have had a few days in past five that I felt almost normal — but then soon freezing under blanket, in pain and back on ice.

Was just looking at that graphic on post-op blues of the sword of damocles. Seems about right just now. Would love to walk outside but I just don’t think I am there yet! Yikes!!!

 

[lovesstars]

I am on Oxycodone 5 mg every 4 hours...Tylenol 1300 mg every 8.

 

[wonkyhipoy]

Hi @lovesstars,

Again, I am no expert here, but I think you should talk to you OS ASAP about switching meds. After my scope many years ago (and after a hernia surgery) I was prescribed Oxy. It did absolutely nothing for me whatsoever. Apparently many of the narcotics can be hit or miss... meaning some work well for some, while others work better for some. Perhaps a different narcotic would work better for you. Also, you have room to up your Tylenol (unless there is also some in your Oxy, or you have kidney issues). You can safely go up to 4000 mg a day (well, that is what the hospital told me... but check with your doc)... and Tylenol has a very short half life (2-3 hours), and it take 30 to 60 minutes upon ingestion for full absorption. So if you are taking it every 8 hours, you may be experiencing 2 hours with limited to no therapeutic effect. You may want to consider 500-1000 mgs every 6 hours instead (but again, discuss this with your doc first).

Also, if I may ask, where are you experiencing the pain?



Cheers

 

[lovesstars]

I moved up to the TylenolArthritis (“Super Tylenol”) at 650 mg each because the 500/1000 were doing nothing for me — even before surgery when I was in so much pain (AVN which I walked on for 200 miles and 7 months...dramatic.). The Tylenol 650/1300 is so much better...

Thanks for trying to work this through with me. It is possible that the oxy is not doing anything because it also does not make me at all blurry or drowsy. Nothing. Hmmm. I will send msg to OS.

Pain is at incision (posterio-lateral upper thigh), throughout thigh and occasionally into buttocks.

I am determined to go outside today despite consequences. This is nuts.

 

[wonkyhipoy]

Hi @lovesstars,

You pain areas sound very similar to mine post op (and many others). I was shocked that I felt pain places far away fro the incision (like the thigh, hamstring, etc.). I believe this was caused by deep bruising... which would later show up as actual bruising at the skin in those areas... and by later I mean 15 to 17 days post op. Icing seems to help. I have a chryo unit (cold rush) which I find more effective than ice packs... it alllows me to ice the whole hip and butt, then switch to the thigh and groin, then the hamstring. And, you fill it with ice and water, so it lasts six to 8 hours. They are about $250 USD, and there are other brands also. You might want to consider getting yourself one.

Also, just a quick note that if you are feeling blue, this is totally normal. By all accounts, my recovery is going well, but the hiccups get to me too. Broke down last night and sobbed in my wife’s arms. I went from feeling very positive to completely in the dumps in about an hour... And I am the king of guy that does not cry. Happened with my last hip surgery (scope) too. I liken it to post baby blues. Something everyone goes through in one way or another for various reasons.

Cheers.

 

[lovesstars]

Thanks so much for writing, @wonkyhipoy. I keep thinking that as soon as I order that ice machine I will no longer need it. You are still using it a lot??? How mobile are you? Was your surgery anterior or posterior? Can you sit for long periods of time? ‘Cause like for me 30 minutes as almost beyond my limit...

 

[Jaycey]

@lovesstars you will notice that I have merged your two threads together as we prefer that members in recovery only have one thread.

This is for three reasons:
1. if you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts others have left you in the old threads
2. it often ends up that information is unnecessarily repeated
3. it's best if we can keep all your recovery story in one place so it's easily accessed if we need to advise you.

Please keep all your questions and updates on this thread. If you would like a new thread title just give a shout.