THR Solar 7's recovery

[Solar7]

@Solar7 Oh drat! That is a real nuisance! Can the staff at your PCP's office suggest someone else? Or do you know of another good PCP in your area?

Solar,
Same thing happened to me, my primary for last 30 years retired suddenly right before my annual physical. And primary doctors are very difficult to find. Fortunately the practice assigned me a new doctor, I had the choice of looking elsewhere but all my records are there & I didn't want to go looking. My partner had to find primary last year when he went on Medicare & it was a nightmare. I think he went to several places before he found a doctor to take him. With Medicare you have to have a primary.
See if where your primary has been if they can just give you another doctor???
All my best.

I ended up staying with my current practice... they had the earliest appointment. A month from now.

Sheesh!

 

[Solar7]

Yesterday I had a major scare, and I really need some opinions on if what I'm going through is abnormal, as my surgeon is gone, and my primary care physician is gone, so my next step would be a very costly ER visit. It might just be something I need to be more mindful of the rest of my life, or something that will heal with time.

I'm over six months removed from my surgery. Yesterday I was at a park and sat down on the ground - my feet and legs were abnormally sore, and it was a busy Easter Sunday, so no available nearby benches or anything... and I was waiting on a Pokémon Go thing. Standing up, I kinda torqued my surgical leg. It didn't seem like any special kind of movement, but I audibly yelled out despite being normally very tolerant of pain, and the kind of guy who would just grit his teeth. It was bad enough that a couple of nearby strangers came by to check me out/help, and I was limping. All of the pain was in the back of my lower butt. However, I had anterior, I'm not supposed to have this kind of dislocation risk. For a minute I was worried the pain wouldn't subside and I'd need to call someone, even maybe an ambulance.

After 5 minutes things seemed okay and I was able to walk back to my car. This is the third acute problem I've had since surgery, same pain, back of butt. Some lateral soreness too.

This morning I'm not doing great. I'm really bad with pain charts, but continuing pain like this is something I'd put in the "I'm definitely alarmed" phase. It's a dull ache, but a bad dull ache. I can still walk but I'm going to be laid up the rest of the day.

Anyways, I'm wondering if the group can tell me if this is relatively normal, or if it's worth me possibly paying the thousands of dollars to go to the ER.

BoneSmart team - I know I have a recovery thread but I really need some eyeballs on this, thank you for understanding... I have no problem with it being merged into my thread later.

 

[Freyagirl]

I have the same pain occasionally from my tight sciatic nerve. There are a bunch of stretches that help it almost immediately. You can search for it on this forum or the Internet. I have found sitting on an ice pack to help as well as sitting on a tennis ball. I’m not a Physical Therapist so not one to give you absolute answers but the moderate stretching and the ice doesn’t hurt anything to try,

 

[Solar7]

I have the same pain occasionally from my tight sciatic nerve. There are a bunch of stretches that help it almost immediately. You can search for it on this forum or the Internet. I have found sitting on an ice pack to help as well as sitting on a tennis ball. I’m not a Physical Therapist so not one to give you absolute answers but the moderate stretching and the ice doesn’t hurt anything to try,

I'll give it a bit of a try. It doesn't feel like a sciatic nerve thing, however. Ice has been helping this morning. I'm doing my figure four stretch, but it's neither hurting nor helping.

The acute pain went away relatively quick in the grand scheme of things, but this morning feels like the aftermath of getting punched, but from the inside.

 

[Layla]

Hi Solar,
It definitely wasn't a dislocation or you would have been on the ground in need of emergency services to the hospital. You likely aggravated soft tissue and it sounds like it is resolving naturally. I suggest rest and ice and if it doesn't resolve or increases in intensity, you can check with your surgeons care team for advice.

Please notice that we have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread. Having your recovery information contained in one place will make it easier for you to reflect back on. It is also helpful for those stopping by to be able to review your history before advising or commenting.
Please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here. I did edit your thread title to reflect your current concern. Dislocations: what are the risks?
@Solar7

 

[Jamie]

@Solar7 … I’m sure it must feel that at 6 months out from surgery, things should be pretty much back to normal. Hip replacement can be an extended recovery that lasts a year or more. During this time, as you’ve found, you can do a lot of things again. But getting down on the ground was obviously not one of them for your still-healing body. Getting up from the ground or floor is one of the most stressful things you an do with a new hip or knee.

As Layla said, you did not experience a dislocation. When that happens, the pain is unbearable and you would not be able to walk. But you obviously have made some of the soft tissues very angry. You will need to take things very easy with some gentle stretches and lots of rest and ice until things improve. In the future, please wait a while before getting down on ground level.

 

[Goma]

I'm doing well..doing everything with a bit of caution or forethought. The pain you're describing happens to me...still....in the same area last week. I remember grabbing the back of my upper leg and thinking that's a bit tender. It just passed quite quickly. I'd say soft tissue.

If you're bouncing back then rest and heal. I don't plan on sitting on the ground, I'd rather stand than having to contort the lower body to get up. Like you only 6 months along.

 

[Eman85]

I'd break out the ice packs and sit and rest. Improvement from icing will prove out it's soft tissue pain, cheaper than the ER.

 

[myglasshalffull]

Ditto what Eman said

 

[Solar7]

Hi All, it's been a while. Hope you're doing well! I'm nearly at 11 months since the surgery, and have another quick question.

Is experiencing pain at this point still normal? At any point in my recovery should I expect to be 100% pain free? Some days I am, but last night I went to a movie and the pain still emerged through an 800mg ibuprofen and a couple of adult beverages. It's nothing excruciating, maybe a 2 or 3, but it does give me pause. The pain was in my groin, outside of hip, and radiated down the femur to the knee.

It's not impossible to deal with, just wondering if I should mentally set the expectation that every time I'm going out, I should take some OTC pain meds.

Or, if it's time to schedule new appointment and get looked at. But my entire care team from last year has moved on - my GP, surgeon, and PT. So if this is normal I don't want to bother with all new docs.

 

[mendogal]

Hi there!

Is that pain 2-3 out of 5 or out of 10? If it's on a scale of ten, sitting in a movie seat without walking around might indeed set it off. It's possible you just need to get up and move about during such events, as I do with my knees.

A caution about combining ibuprofen with even a couple of drinks. Most guidance suggests 0 - 1 "adult drink" due to the way they interact to increase side effects.

 

[Solar7]

Hi there!

Is that pain 2-3 out of 5 or out of 10? If it's on a scale of ten, sitting in a movie seat without walking around might indeed set it off. It's possible you just need to get up and move about during such events, as I do with my knees.

A caution about combining ibuprofen with even a couple of drinks. Most guidance suggests 0 - 1 "adult drink" due to the way they interact to increase side effects.

Out of 10. The pain actually started well before the movie, so it wasn't from sitting too long. Unfortunately I'm having the same pain right now and have had it for a few days.

I try not to mix anything but occasionally unplanned things happen. We were early for the movie so we stopped at the bar.

 

[benne68]

Could it be your Psoas? I had Psoas pain through my first year and kept worrying that it would never go away. But it did!

Take a look at these articles to see if they describe your symptoms.

Iliopsoas syndrome

Psoas pain​

 

[myglasshalffull]

I was still getting a little groin pain after my first year, in fact I've said many times I was doing great at one year into recovery but year 2 is amazing!

 

[Solar7]

Just an update for everyone after 13 months... went into another doctor for a year 1 checkup, and everything looked great! He told me the aches and pains I've been having are just part of the new normal for me. That posterior pain is probably from needing to build up the muscle around the area more, so I guess I need to work on them buns, lol.

The GREAT news is that my avascular necrosis on my right hip has not only paused, but the bone grew back! So he saw no indication I need to get my right hip replaced anytime soon if ever, which was originally a likely outcome! So, very exciting.

I don't need to see him for another 5 years, he said. Great news!

If anyone wants to change my title to something like "Solar7's recovery," I'm not worried about that dislocation part anymore. Thanks to everyone for the advice over the past year!

 

[mendogal]

Thank you for updating us!!!!!!

 

[Solar7]

Hey BoneSmart crowd! Hope you're all having a happy holiday season. Things are going pretty well overall... I'm hoping to get back into more exercise when football ends, lol.

Question for anyone around: did you ever end up bowling after surgery? What're your thoughts, or advice from your surgeons?

I'm not exactly a competitive bowler, but my friends are getting together in a couple of weeks to bowl and I'm wondering if I should join in or just watch and have a beer. I'm very worried about slipping in some random bowling shoes making a motion I haven't made in three years, or dislocating as I roll my foot back to throw the ball.

Overthinking it?

 

[benne68]

my friends are getting together in a couple of weeks to bowl and I'm wondering if I should join in or just watch and have a beer.

Why don't you give it a try and see how you feel? If it's uncomfortable or if you feel uneasy, you can always sit out the next game.

Just avoid any "fancy footwork"!

 

[SurreyGirl]

I went to a bowling alley about 3 weeks ago and had a brilliant time. I was fully prepared to sit things out but found I didn’t need to . Years ago I used to be quite good at it so it was fun getting my eye in!
I drove too so that my husband could have a beer so felt I behaved myself. It was a lot of fun.
A few twinges the next day so icepacks were at the ready.

Best wishes for your full recovery !