Become an Insider

THR Steelmanpa's Recovery Thread

@Elf1 @CricketHip @Layla @Mojo333
Thanks to all for the information..
Yes we may be able to do things and pretend we are back to "normal" whatever that is, but at this stage of the game like many we are still early in the healing phase, though the scar is closed up and we are walking, driving etc then its CRASH... time to lay down or not force anything.
PT tomorrow and will do a pre or post Turkey day 8 week update over the next few...
 
Hello @Steelmanpa
Take it easy at PT tomorrow and have a lovely Thanksgiving if we don't hear from you before then.
Eat lots of Tryptophan laden turkey and go nigh nigh :yawn: :sleep:
 
HI Steelman! You have a good philosophy on this thing called recovery. Sounds like you have the nap thing down pat, too.. that was my favorite part, taking nice naps during the day.

Looking forward to your 8 week update, Happy Thanksgiving!
 
Greetings to all, hope all of you hippies/hipsters, those in pre and post op are doing well...
8+ weeks...
One more PT session to go before I see the OS Wednesday.
At that time the discussion will be about things I have mentioned before
1) altered gait long term with other legs FHL tendon transfer and do I need Rx orthotics-and how do we track this so I dont burn out the hip before I move on to another plane of existence
2) ROM in operative hip/leg
3) Return to heavier weight bearing activities ( carrying my amps to gigs and scuba diving)
@CricketHip I checked with DAN medic and they said as long as the doc clears me and I am physically able to do the required activities I am good. HOWEVER, from their research no doubt they stated the following and not exactly as they worded it... There is a theoretical greater chance for DCI or DCS in the surgical area and it was related to effusion, probably the tissue is not the same where the fascia was cut and muscles were moved around and so maybe the greater chance for the nitrogen not off gassing as in normal tissue.. My take on their words

Generally how I feel
I guess we all get to a point post-op where we feel normal, but ache when we wake up (not the general old person ache LOL) in the operative area, are still tiring a but but pushing ourselves, still have the odd tweak and are tired of devoting time to exercises, walking etc.. People remark how much different I look, not just from the weight loss, but when you are in chronic, constant pain your facial expressions, movement and demeanor are so different

How it affects life "working"
Some of you folks are still working, I was in semi retirement and this year killed my consulting hours with my former employer. Plus there is ALWAYS a stigma attached to someone post op if you are not a full time employee and are not in constant touch with the changes in products or technical standards in my industry. You cant go to meetings or jobsites.....killer....I have a few small projects to do and I think by Januarys end, I am going to just bite the bullet and tell them I can't continue being on call, take back the computer and the cell phone. Time is something we can't buy, and without being morose, there is a limited amount of quality time we have left as we age. I don't wan't to spend it waiting for calls and emails that may or may not come. The income doesn't buy me enough change in quality of life and there are other things I want to do.

Use the Force Luke LOL
The worst part of this is the younger people who were hired don't get my oversight and mentoring, and all the tricks/solutions and base science that I learned are going to be lost. The only other person with my skillset quit about 18 months ago around 18 months after I retired and I went back on call and to help teach them, but things didnt pan out as hoped.... I can see it as they just parrot things from webinars and give diluted answers to technical questions. I feel like Yoda looking at the next generation of Jedi knights who are going to lose the battles to the dark side of the force......but, soon it will just be chalked up to someone else's bad decisions and a story too long to tell. We all have to watch out for our own best interests
 
Good morning Steelman! Wow, I will read up on the scuba aspect of things. I am guessing that it would be in the immediate vicinity of having surgery and that the risk would diminish as we get several years away from the surgery? Or did you take it to mean forever and a day?
I wouldn't be as concerned for myself and my thighs :heehee: as I would be for my husband an his multiple abdominal surgeries and open heart surgery. Thanks for the heads up.
I think full retirement is a good thing if you are ready for it. You sound like My husband and I and we have a lot of things we are planning to enjoy.
I'm not ready to retire yet, but he retires at the end of this school year. (university) I imagine he might do some adjunct work though.
But bottom line is, we have strong hips! The world is our oyster!
 
@Steelmanpa I do know what you are talking about regarding your face changing. A much older gentle, exercise classmate of mine never smiled, but after her hip replacement she smiled so wide and her face was much more relaxed.
Glad that has happen to you!
 
@Steelmanpa
Thank you for a very thoughtful reflection on where you are and how you hope to proceed. I am 66 and was working long hours right up to the time of my surgery 7 weeks ago, albeit as a contractor not as a full-time employee. It never occurred to me that I would ever retire. But I don't feel the same. I've done some work from home, but I'm reluctant to take on too much. Like you I have a lot of vanishing institutional knowledge and enjoyed mentoring younger employees. So I'm at a crossroads. I hope you continue to post. Your insight helps me a lot.
 
@HipLucy , i was not putting in many hours before my hip became a problem, unlike you. My time was devoted to my music, scuba diving when able to travel and 24/7 staff member for our cat. Your evaluation of how to proceed should bear in mind the amount of time it takes to heal and get energy back. One of the other folks posted a link to that in this thread of mine, with wonderfil pictorial and verbiage description of our energy diversion jn healing. You will get energy back, its more of a big picture issue-making the best use of your time and life when healed, if you have options. I am just ahead of you but not certain how long or debilitating your pre op time was. Thats the other factor.
 
Thanks for the clarification. I was in terrible pain for a year before my surgery. The pain came on suddenly but only when I was walking. Since I work at a desk I was able to continue without problems.
 
@HipLucy My pain & ROM issues came on sort of suddenly in late April after 2 very active weekends and climbing stairs carrying something heavy up. Then the first doc sent me to PT which caused the hip to basically totally fail..I was in a lot of pain and crippled since the beginning of June till after surgery in October. But that is now old news, so onto the new

9 week post op followup with surgeon

Today we had x rays, initial commentary with an aide,then another doc who asked me for questions and concerns and finally the surgeon.. It went pretty much as expected.
  • Gait- my LLD is about a mm longer for the operative leg. So the suggestion was made to wait a bit for healing, as he thought my pelvis was a little out of wack due to the muscle contraction from the months of chronic pain and what I take to be atrophy. Maybe down the road simple shoe inserts in the non operative shoe that had the achilles reconstruct 8 years ago.
  • Activity- well my wife asked when I could start shovelling snow again and he said wait till the first of the year, about 13 weeks post op. We also discussed getting my "wind" and conditioning back for life in general and scuba diving. So SILVER SNEAKERS here we come beginning of the year
  • ROM- time and continued excercise stretching.
  • They want me to wait longer for a dental cleaning, till about 6 months post op. The Oral B is going to get a lot of workouts till then. We will still do an antibiotic as prophylactic..
  • See OS in a year for followup
As I said to the doc, thank you for helping me to rejoin the living...

I guess my biggest questions now are the exercise and stretching regimen to go with till Silver Sneakers and beyond. I have to review the "ongoing exercises" that are on my sheet and mix that with what I read here on the guidelines...

And for those of you who are questioning about numbness in the general area near the incision, yeah its going to take a while (maybe a year) and sometimes the sensations dont quite come back. Same as I experienced with the achilles reconstruct..

I am going to post as my ability to get back into life expands--hoping to get more energy back..

Now if only my reflux didnt come back...I wonder if theres a GERD support group online
Coffee is going bye bye for a while :bawl:
 
Really good follow-up! Even though it went pretty much as expected, I'm sure it still felt good to have the validation. I'm guessing it's really breaking your heart not to be able to shovel snow yet. :loll:

So happy for you, getting back to living life is a wonderful thing! Just don't get all crazy, still take it one step at a time, I know you will! Definitely keep letting us know how things progress.
 
Great updates. Thanks for sharing your progress.
Happy One Month Anniversary! (a day late :blush:)
I hope you have a great end to the week!
@Steelmanpa
 
So here we are at 11 weeks post op..as I mentioned elsewhere, life has basically returned.
  • Not ready for heavy lifting (50 pounds for example) shovelling snow or doing some ceiling spackling and sanding/painting yet at home, but getting there.
  • I am very cautious about going out if there is freezing rain/snow or ice to avoid a fall, and avoid those conditions by staying in.
  • My new band starts shows Jan 10th, have returned to some indoor hobbies. Have not ventured further than hour each way on driving yet.
  • Basically trying to catch up on all the things I missed out on doing while suffering before surgery and during the early recovery stages.
  • Still aware that there is a new piece in me, still the local numbness and some soreness every now and then.
  • My exercise regimen is now leg lifts of the affected leg while lying ( can do 40 ) and the balance on one foot, with a 30 minute walk.
  • Walked in the mall a little shopping and also tried the treadmill at home. My hip is happier on softer surfaces that give, so no treadmill and am avoiding concrete based surfaces if possible.
  • Time is the one thing we can not buy or get more of, so daily I went back to my compulsive list writing and do rewrite through the day as well as life's surprises happen.
  • 4 phone calls to straighten out an overcharge on a medical copay..that sucked up a good part of a day.
  • About 1-2 hours wasted on ebay and paypal trying to get them to refund someone their full amount on an item listing. I forgot to remove it before surgery & it was no longer available. It should have been a simple push the button thing, but Nooooooooooooooooo,
  • Yes those are the infuriating things that waste the most precious thing we have , quality time...
  • I wish everyone happy holidays or festivus or whatever you do on the days off, and a healthy, happy pain free hip in the new year!
 
At 9 weeks I feel very much as you do, @Steelmanpa. Even though I must observe the restrictions another three weeks I find myself naturally doing more and more, and I'm thrilled. I get dressed without my dressing stick and hope to remove the raised toilet seat soon. Your comment about heavy lifting resonates. One day I carried a fairly heavy bag to the dumpster and paid the price. That's what my grandmother called a "lazy man's load." Now I'll make several trips with lighter loads.
 
So happy to see your update, my hip hippy friend.
All sounds well and normal.
Happy you are still mindful, as I muse often...got through it but not trying to do it again.:) :-) (:

Lots of great improvement to come.

Don't sweat the small stuff and have a very Merry Christmas!:christmas-carols-smiley-emoticon:
 
You are sounding well and really seem to have this recovery process down. You continue to be very mindful in your approach to things and its serving you well. Happy Holidays to you and yours!
:plugging-in-xmas-tree-smiley-emoticon: :banana-santa:
 
Really enjoying reading your updates @Steelmanpa Very helpful to remember the weekly milestones. Lots of improvements to come. My muscles surprised me even at 8 months. Very responsive and almost back to normal by 8 month. Happy you are getting back with your band in January. Life returning to normal sounds great. All the best to you.

:happy-new-year-smiley-emoticon-4:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel

Staff online

  • Layla
    Layla
    Staff member since November 20, 2017

Members online

Total: 499 (members: 1, guests: 498)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom