THR Setback at 8 weeks out- and the come back?

[Hippy12]

Fartingdog, thanks so much for posting this. When I first read your post I feared you'd popped the hip. I'm so happy you didn't, and selfishly, happy knowing that if I overdo and feel pain the way you did, it doesn't mean the hip is popped. I've been 'side sleeping' a long time now.. using a pillow between the legs, of course. Initially, my PT wanted me to sleep on the operated side, but I could not till I got back into the waterbed. She also has me massaging those hard areas on each side of the incision. I don't know what you take for pain, but I've had good results with those new "Aleve" gels. I'm down to 3 a day. This will help arthritis in the rest of your body too. I had stopped the Oxycodone after a couple of weeks, but used one each night to help me sleep. Then got nervous I was getting too dependent. First week off I had a tough time falling asleep at night. I wanted to be off the tylenol based stuff in time to have a drink on XMas and New Year's!

 

[Jamie]

Hippy....I want to caution you about the Aleve you're taking. You say you are "down to" 3 gels a day, but that is the MAXIMUM dose you should be taking in any 24 hour period. So that leads me to believe that you may have been overdosing on them previously. Please follow the dosing instructions on the label. Even though they are sold over the counter, there are serious problems (stomach and renal/kidney issues) that can result from taking NSAIDs....especially when the maximum dosages are exceeded.

Here are the recommended doses as taken from Aleve's website:

Adults and Children 12 years and older

• take 1 capsule every 8 to 12 hours while symptoms last
• for the first dose you may take 2 capsules within the first hour
• do not exceed 2 capsules in any 8- to 12-hour period
• do not exceed 3 capsules in a 24-hour period

 

[Hippy12]

I hear you Jamie, but my surgeon feels that if you've been taking Naproxen for a while and haven't had gastric issues, then it's the safest, most under used, pain relief available. I have a fried with RA. Horror stories about her meds causing her own immune system to attack her, etc. She takes Chantix, I think it is. Tylenol (acetaminophen) is bad for your liver, and even 1 alcoholic beverage can make a mess. My kidney is checked regularly too, seeing as I donated a kidney years ago.
When I first weaned off the Oxycodone, I was taking 4 Aleve's a day plus a couple of extra strength Tylenols. Maybe it's as Josephine's charts show, I was overly scared of becoming addicted to narcotics.

 

[Davefd]

I've been taking the max Aleve since Friday, plus meds I was taking pre-op for the chronic pain, but this Dr. wanted me to take more- the advice was take more Aleve despite the gastric isasues, ice it & limit walking for a week, and lay off the bike for a while. All sound for sure and glad to have gone to make sure it's all good but may contact my GP if it persists (but i've been keeping it pretty mellow). I think the setback to limited activity is the biggest bummer, couple with the post-op blues and the hol's - tho I do know it'll get better- in time- but I am an impatient soul!

 

[Hippy12]

I hear you on the 'post op' blues. I did great for a while, neighbors kept stopping by with good wishes, food, candy, flowers. I could not believe how nice everyone was! Then I hit a few days where I was very emotional, felt helpless and did not want to even speak to my husband! Took a while to snap out of it. Good luck. I'm here digging around to find out when I'll be "normal" again.

 

[Davefd]

hippy- on the post op blues, I hit them at about 2-3 weeks and they lasted off/on til I got the OK to drive at ~7weeks (I live alone w/ my hound)- and it took another week for it to really sink in that I am really getting OK and get around by myself and i shook the cabin fever. Now i think I might need to appologize to some people 'cos I can look back and see how crazy and dramatic I got in Dec! Finding this site was great, 'cos I saw that was actually 'normal', makes it less bad this time around. Plus reading around on here talking about THR's is a great time-killer when you're bored!

 

[Hippy12]

It must be tough doing this recovery "alone". I imagine taking care of the hound is a great way to motivate yourself to keep moving. I was high maintenance the first week to 10 days home from the hospital. Each day I'd have a list of stuff my husband needed to do to make me comfortable. Worst of it was needing a whole new bed! Neighbors helped with the dog at lunchtime, but pretty much everything else - the other dog walks and kitty care - and wife care fell to him!
I have a question. Has anyone else found you get this pain in your butt cheek on the operated side that happens every time you reach for something? I'm as careful as can be doing the 'golfer' stance to bend over. Today's been tough.

 

[Davefd]

" Has anyone else found you get this pain in your butt cheek on the operated side that happens every time you reach for something?"

I seem to recall something like that at one point- there was lots of different pains in the operated side that would move around as time goes - figured it was muscles healing/stretching the surgical site, and general movements not done in years. Biggest sensation I recall was when actually 'walking for real' realizing how many muscles it actually takes to do that and how sore i'd get! And going half-way up your back too.

The worst part of being 'alone' is having to schedule outings/shopping with friends/family - was lucky enough to have pops here in town for the first few weeks as a planned part of recovery, so I could always just say 'I wanna go here today'. After that I had to deal with peoples' schedules! Luckily have a great friend who's retired early, so all I had to do was bribe him with lunch and beers once or twice a week


The dog was a great motivator as well. I used to just take her to the dog park most days to avoid walks, but now felt 'obligated' to give her 2-3 walks a day- as it really helped motivate the walking part of PT. Before I got my driving clearance and my later 'setback' got up to 2 miles in a single walk! after I get over this part, I'm going to get one of these special 'leads' that attaches safely to a bike seat post for a dog running/walking along - I am sure she'll love that!

 

[Poppet]

You will find that it is quite common up to a year that one does a particular movement, stretch or bend and you get a little 'ouch, what was that thought'... all part of the healing process.

Also the post op blues seem to come and go for some time.. Just go with the flow. As you get more confident with your new hip and mobile, life improves.

 

[Davefd]

I wanted to get responses from anyone on this issue, as since I am dependent on the VA and I won't be able to see the Dr. regarding this issue for a week (called today). So I am seeking advice here in the meantime as I don't want to get an idea on what might be the cause and what i should do/not do.

I have been having a 'pinching' pain that appears to be right in the joint when standing or walking. This first started a few weeks back after i 'overdid it' (*my main thread -) while the other 'bone pains' i felt then have mostly gone, this has gotten worse and is enough to make me wince when i take a step, and more disconcerting is I have caught myself 'guarding' it when walking (as it hurts), so my gait which was actual 'normal' at about 8 weeks is starting to get like my pre-op arthritic walk, along with the 'old' pre-op muscle/tendon pains and tightness in the quad/groin that had finally gone away around week 5-6, and those 2 symptoms seem to feed on each other and it's driving me nuts.

I have been taking it easy on the walking (just a couple blocks vs miles i was doing), along with taking loads of aleve and icing - and only short periods of excerbike on low-no resistance (and that was only the last day or 2) - I was told before I could forgo most of my PT regimen, as the walking i was doing would be plenty, but i've started doing some of those again as well as some stretches (due to less walking)- i use a heating pad at night to 'loosen' the muscles.

Has anyone else had something like this? And if so, did you find the cause, and did it ever resolve? And were there any specific treatment protocols?

 

[Davefd]

Man, I think I've been singing the post-op blues pretty heavy this last week and have really had a sense of lost motivation lately and feel just totally beat and tired. And things were going soooooo well up to setback! After taking the doc's advice on limiting walking, aleve & ice for a week, plus lots of rest (booooring) I started up walking again as the major pain had subsided over the weekend (and still nowhere near my 2 mile 'almost pain free' walks from a few weeks ago yet) and this horrible 'pinching pain' in the joint started & would throw the walks (and my leg) out of whack - the 'pre-op walk'

I'm wondering if anyone has had something like this: sometimes lately (usually later in the evening) when my muscles felt very relaxed, when standing i could feel my leg drop a little when i lifted it up, and then a slight catch, then 'shift' and 'settle' when i set the leg down - I would say it's like i could feel the ball come out ever so slightly and then slide back in. (definitely also bringing this up with the doc on Wed- i'm already prone to repeat dislocations in my shoulder from a fall i took 2 yrs ago - hence my concern)

I realized yesterday when that was happening that I had also been neglecting my PT over the last week or 2, as the walks had pretty much replaced the excercise routine, and i noticed the physical size difference & lack of tone in my rt glute and hamstring vs the left, so it's back to a diligent routine. Man, this whole setback thing is a bummer.

 

[Hippy12]

I'm wondering if anyone has had something like this: sometimes lately (usually later in the evening) when my muscles felt very relaxed, when standing i could feel my leg drop a little when i lifted it up, and then a slight catch, then 'shift' and 'settle' when i set the leg down - I would say it's like i could feel the ball come out ever so slightly and then slide back in. (definitely also bringing this up with the doc on Wed- i'm already prone to repeat dislocations in my shoulder from a fall i took 2 yrs ago - hence my concern)
.

I find that scarey! One thing I've found on the internet is that when you lie on the operated side, it helps stick that 'ball' exactly where it belongs. In the meantime, I think you're right. If you're not walking, then back to exercises. I don't do most of them, but I do a few as part of my early morning warmup before going out. I won't mention my favorites right now, because I think you should stick to the easy beginner ones till your OS sees you. Such as the toe raises, and side abductions while lying down. When you are ready to walk again, try 10 - 15 minutes at a time. Slow and steady "wins the race".

 

[Hippy12]

You will find that it is quite common up to a year that one does a particular movement, stretch or bend and you get a little 'ouch, what was that thought'... all part of the healing process.

Also the post op blues seem to come and go for some time.. Just go with the flow. As you get more confident with your new hip and mobile, life improves.

This post still applies! Poppet, i see you're 'down under'. We are lucky to have friends who live in Banksia beach. We just got our new Aussie calendar for this year. So, you're having a heat wave?

 

[Debowma]

Wow. I wonder what that is? Take good care and give yourself time. I am five weeks post-op and am trying to find a balance with this healing stuff but it's a challenge. I find the blues come and go as well, depending mostly on how much I can accomplish - until I remind myself that it's not the right attitude to have about this...

 

[Sooty]

I'm wondering if anyone has had something like this: sometimes lately (usually later in the evening) when my muscles felt very relaxed, when standing i could feel my leg drop a little when i lifted it up, and then a slight catch, then 'shift' and 'settle' when i set the leg down - I would say it's like i could feel the ball come out ever so slightly and then slide back in.

Hi Davefd, I've had this sensation regularly from day 1 post op. You explain it so well! I said to my OS that I had the feeling that the muscles around the joint weren't very strong and that the prostheses felt like it was 'hanging' a bit loose or something. He confirmed the cause of the feeling - I attributed it to the fact I was 6 weeks non weightbearing and now just 50% and muscles still very weak. It happens less often as time goes by but still regularyl. It's a disgusting sensation! I hope it goes away altogether soon......

 

[Vida]

Davefd, I've been watching with interest because I too am a backslider. Have been told to stop PT, pool noodling and stationary biking (I only did a few minutes a day) for a week to let things settle. In my case its a combination of mistakenly trying to wean off prescription drugs after a flying start two weeks after coming off 50 percent weight bearing. I was sick of managing the bunged-up thing. I should post this on my own thread but I am a bit afraid that Josephine will smack me: she has a very long reach! I read everything I was given and somehow managed to mess up anyway. I tried the tylenol/ibuprofen cocktail for 4 days but it didn't help so have increased my percocet to three a day, so hope to be more comfortable by Friday when I see the PT again. Seems even if we know what we shouldn't do, we wind up crossing the line anyway. The line is awfully fine between enough activity to keep things moving and comfortable and just plain doing too much. Now I worry I'm stiffening up. Hope you feel better soon, let us know what works for you.

PS. From your avatar, I did wonder if your pooch 'was no more' as Monty Python put it. I have a friend who stuffed her dog (after it had died of course....), which really felt weird whenever we went to her house. Anyway I'm glad to read that yours is alive and kicking!

 

[Vida]

Sooty To me it feel like my leg belongs on a marionette, one of those old time puppets on strings. And I'm certainly not pulling them!

 

[Josephine]

One thing I've found on the internet is that when you lie on the operated side, it helps stick that 'ball' exactly where it belongs

This sounds intriguing, Hippy - where did you hear that?

 

[Josephine]

sometimes lately (usually later in the evening) when my muscles felt very relaxed, when standing i could feel my leg drop a little when i lifted it up, and then a slight catch, then 'shift' and 'settle' when i set the leg down - I would say it's like i could feel the ball come out ever so slightly and then slide back in.

I think you need to get that hip checked out by a revision surgeon who knows what signs to look for in an xray. Such symptoms can be due to malalignment.

 

[Sooty]

I think you need to get that hip checked out by a revision surgeon who knows what signs to look for in an xray. Such symptoms can be due to malalignment.

Josephine I have the same thing, just had my 6 week check up and my OS didn't seem to think much of it. Can't it just come from weak muscles?