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THR Surgery done and recovering - yay!!!

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Wow I a 8 weeks almosr and hard pressed to walk for 30 min that seems a bit much for 3 weeks I was lucky to make it to the bathroom at 3 weeks lol but I did make it. You need to be icing and elevating still and don't push yourself and take pai meds as prescribed. Good luck. Valerie

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Hi Juneanng. Definitely better to do shorter walks more frequently, and then build up time very gradually from there. If your 30 minute walk is completely comfortable, maybe add one or two 10 minute walks later in the day. (An if 30 minutes is not COMPLETELY comfortable, shorten it.) Then in a week try adding a few minutes to the shorter walks. If that goes well for several days, keep adding just a couple minutes to your time. It's a lot easier to recover from overdoing just a bit than from overdoing a whole lot. People will do your 30 minutes one or two times daily....it feels good, and then suddenly decide to go to the mall and be on their feet for two hours. Recipe for disaster (speaking from sadly personal experience!!). Bottom line...it won't possibly hurt if you err on the side of too slow. It can hurt a lot if you err on the side of too fast.

Weeks 3 and 4 are still very early in the recovery process, and LOTS of rest breaks are a must. Walk a little; rest a lot. Somewhere in weeks 6 to 9, it's fairly common to see a nice boost in stamina and a decrease in pain levels....both of which can be derailed quickly because you feel so good that you immediately overdo. So resolve to overdon't. Then again around the 12 week mark, there is often (but not always) a marked feeling of progress, which will continue steadily over months IF YOU DON'T RUSH IT. These are not hard and fast times and there are lots of reasons why a particular person may have a slower or a faster timeline...so don't get discouraged if it feels like a slower recovery. (I had a faster than average recovery, I think...but I still needed nap periods right up through the fifth month of recovery.)

You have young children, so probably that will shape your routine more than anything....but again you have to be careful not to let their needs derail your good intentions. Your goal is to be in great shape for the LONG haul and that takes patience. Your regular day is what works FOR YOU....not what it looks like for anyone else. Listen carefully to your body; it will give you clear signals about what works and what doesn't.

Sharon
 
Hi,

I know pain management is different for each person and them each prescriber, but I am just curious as to what your pain management looked like in week 4 of recovery (total hip replacement - 1 hip)

I have been brought down to:
Am - 1 tramadol (50 mg) and 2 extra strength Tylenol
Pm - try not to take the tramadol and just do 2 Tylenol
Eve - 2 Motrin to get through night (can't have all day yet due to the fact that I am still on low dose aspirin to prevent clots for 1 more week)

I am finding that I have quite a bit of pain, but not so much that I can't walk and power through it without any real consequence.

The tramadol was actually giving me insomnia (a lesser known side effect that some people get) so that is why I have weaned off it (was at 300 mg each day up to last week)

Just curious about others' journeys with pain relief.

Thanks!
 
Sounds like you are under medicated, call and let your OS know about the insomnia so they can give you something that will allow you to sleep.
Everyone is different with pain meds, some are off pain meds right away, some take them for a few months.
If you have pain you need pain medication.
 
Hi everyone,

Have posted some questions in the past week or so, but have not updated my progress.

Well, this week feels not much different than last week. In fact, I feel like I am able to do less - walking, things around the house. My insomnia seems to be contributing to this. It seems as though Tramadol actually keeps me awake. So now we are trying to get just to extra strength Tylenol with just so e tramadol in the am. I definitely don't need narcotics anymore, so this should be good for me.

My recovery seems to be going slow, but I think only in my mind and that of so e of the people around me who seem to be having a " just walk it off" mentality (like when we were kids and got hit by a ball:-)

Not hubby as much as my mom...she is very active in her late 60's and has never had to deal with this, so she is not that sympathetic, lol. But that is probably a good balance for me to keep working.

Anyway, hopefully once this tramadol is out of my system, I will be able to sleep better at night.

I have created a good, workable walking routine for myself and have even started going to stores to get more day to day walking in. I make sure to take a rest when needed.

Still not driving, as I just can't lift my right foot easily yet. I hope to be able to drive by 8/31!

All in all, going well. Next dr appt on 9/3 and will get my return to work date after that,
 
Juneanng said:
I feel like I am able to do less - walking, things around the house.
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Have you read any of the articles Jamie left you earlier? You are not even one month into this recovery. If you keep pushing, you prolong the entire process.
Juneanng said:
My insomnia seems to be contributing to this.
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Sleep problems are part of this recovery. The medication is not keeping you awake - read this article again Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?
Juneanng said:
But that is probably a good balance for me to keep working.
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Don't agree I am afraid. If your mother is not sympathetic tell her to watch a hip replacement on the internet. I'll bet that changes her tune!

Regarding driving - you should not drive until you are released to do so by your surgeon. Your insurance will not cover you if something happened.

Sorry if I sound harsh but if you keep fighting this recovery you are only going to end up with continuing pain. Roll with it and listen to your body. It is trying very hard to recover from all the trauma of surgery.
 
[Bonesmart.org] Surgery done and recovering - yay!!!
@Juneanng, You may notice that I have merged your four threads. We like to keep our members' recovery posts all in a single thread. That way it's easy for us to go back and read your history before responding to a question or concern. In addition, the thread becomes a journal of your recovery for those who come along later and want to read about you. So, please post in this thread from now on when you want to give an update or ask a question. If you have questions or concerns that need an immediate answer, please tag an admin, a mod, or other members or all three.

If you decide you'd like a different thread title at any point, you can change it using the Thread Tools button at the top right of the page or just post what you want here and we'll get it changed for you. THANKS!

If you are having a problem locating your thread, here is a link with how to do it: How can I find my threads and posts?
 
Juneanng said:
The Tramadol was actually giving me insomnia (a lesser known side effect that some people get)
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I agree with Jaycey. It's unlikely to the Tramdol that's causing your 'insomnia'. In fact, it might be pain because you are, by your own admission, in pain at night.
Juneanng said:
I have been brought down to:
Am - 1 Tramadol (50 mg) and 2 extra strength Tylenol
Pm - try not to take the Tramadol and just do 2 Tylenol
Eve - 2 Motrin to get through night (can't have all day yet due to the fact that I am still on low dose aspirin to prevent clots for 1 more week)
I am finding that I have quite a bit of pain, but not so much that I can't walk and power through it without any real consequence.
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I suggest you go back to proper doses of Tramadol and add to it, 1,000mg Tylenol taken at 6hrly intervals, day and night. And if you're still taking aspirin as an anticoagulant, then you shouldn't be taking an NSAID (Motrin which is ibuprofen) at all.
 
Thank you everyone! This forum is so helpful to keep things in perspective. I need to heal at my pace. There is obviously a reason why I am not released to my desk job yet. I just need to be patient.

I have read all of the articles. Just thinking that perhaps there is more that might support my specific situation.

Thanks!
 
Hi everyone, well...it has been just over one month since my surgery and things are going pretty well. I am driving again, but being cautious to get into the car sideways and then twist into the seat. I am also walking quite a bit each day using a cane for minimal support. I can walk a bit without it, but find that I limp so much, so the cane makes sense to help with my gait. I am just on ibuprofen every 6 hours for pain now that the blood thinning baby aspirin is done. No narcotics and Tramadol seemed to give me side affects without touching the pain all that well, so I gave up on that a couple of weeks ago.

My biggest problems are:

1) sitting for long period (I just get stiff and it is difficult to get up I also find that I cannot sit on anything lowers than a regular height chair. Just too difficult to get down to and can't imagine getting back up.

2) sleeping in a bed - I just cannot get comfortable. Every time that I try to sleep in my bed, I wake up with excruciating pain. And the only thing that even gets me through the night is Tylenol pm. So, I am still sleeping on my recliner every night.

3) the only other thing is the sheer exhaustion and winded feeling I get after either walking for a while or doing stairs. This may be because of my weight and the fact that I am out of shape, but I never got this winded doing the same activities before the surgery.

4) my gait - my family tells me that I seem to waddle. My dr never prescribed any PT and I am concerned that not having this has allowed me to remain with bad habits like limping. I am going to ask at my 9/3 appt for some PT to help me. I am a professional and just cannot waddle when working with people in my career.

It looks like ii will be back to work 9/13 which will result in an 8 week FMLA. My commute is a long one (1 hr) and then I have a desk job, so I need to make sure I do not sit too long without stretching.

Well, that's the update! Hope all is well.
 
I found that a real life saver is a good seat cushion. I take it everywhere with me; my car, church, sporting events, etc. It helps immensely when sitting for long periods. THR energy drain is a real thing. It has been over 3 mths since my last surgery and if I do too much, I feel as if I haven't slept for days. It will get better, it just takes time.
 
Thank you @Elaine F. My post above details my progress thus far. The toughest thing for me is sleep, as I just cannot get comfortable on a bed.
 
Hi @Juneanng...
I am sad to hear that you are still having trouble sleeping in your bed and are waking in excruciating pain. My question is what kind of pain are you in and where is the pain located? And, when you try sleeping in your bed, have you tried simulating the reclined position of your recliner? I might have some suggestions for you but would like to know how you lay in bed when you do try to sleep there. Mind you, my suggestions would be totally UNprofessional, but it has worked wonders for me and I would be more than happy to share with you. Also, do you have any restrictions?
 
Thank you so much @Nana757

I don't have any restrictions, but have found that having my body at the same level just creates pain in my groin and down into my knee. I also seem to be having some tenderness in the good leg, but that may be because I am working it so much harder (it is the one taking steps, etc)

My most comfortable position is on my electric recliner that gan go to zero gravity. I don't go that flat, mind you, but that is the best position.

I have been taking Tylenol pm to deal with the nighttime pain as well as allow me to sleep. When I don't take this, I just stay awake until the wee hours of the morning. Some of the problem of course as well with the recliner, is that it is in my family room where some of the sounds of the house affect me (ie pets that come downstairs, the sound of the air conditioner, fridge, etc.)

Any tips for sleeping in my bed again would be greatly appreciated :-)

Thanks,
 
Nana757 said:
@rugmankc
I am, what my husband considers, a savant in the art of getting comfortable and sleeping on my back. All the while keeping restrictions in mind and low back pain at a minimum. It is good if you have a firm bed. Might I offer a couple of suggestions....
If you can picture this... One fairly hard pillow placed lengthwise under your op side leg, from the knee down. Then, an even fuller pillow, placed crossway under your good knee and over your op side knee..as close to your crotch as possible. This keeps you from breaking any restrictions in the middle of night, if you have any. I have a 4" wedge at the head of my bed, with two other pillows staggered down. On top of all that, I also have smaller pillows placed under each arm. It looks like I'm in a coffin after all is said and done. The bottom line is this has proven to be very comfortable for me and have no trouble at all getting a good nights sleep on my back....which I was not used to. While this may not work for you or you may have to do some tweaking to suit your needs, it might be worth a try. Good luck.
Oh...and I also have a bed rail placed in the upper third portion of the bed, which has helped tremendously getting in and out of bed.
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