THR Surgery is over and I'm home

[Vida]

I'm at 8 weeks, 6 of which were partial weightbearing. One of the biggest lessons I've learned here is that we need to stay ahead of the pain. Its something most OS's never tell you. I have a great doc but in his written post surgical instructions he said patients should be on OTC painkillers by the end of week 3. I tried to follow his instructions but realised early on that was not possible so went back on the percocet I was taking before surgery. When I asked for a new prescription, he had no problem with it at all. Some patients breeze through with minimal pain, others (perhaps with different histories or surgical complications) have a harder time. I would not be happy if a medical office assistant on the end of a phone told me that my pain wasn't 'normal,' you were certainly not treated with respect. When I found this site it was such a relief to know I was normal because I hurt after PT and that it is very important not to do anything that hurts. I think the key is to to take what's necessary to stay comfortable and allow you to exercise. I am sure a moderator will point you to a tylenol/ibuprofen cocktail that helps so many people and suggest a bunch of sensible rules to follow to promote a strong recovery. I would add that tempting as it may be, we probably shouldn't compare our progress to others as everyone moves forward a little differently. Having said that, most of us do it anyway! Hope your setback is soon history. x

 

[Jaycey]

Hi Snow - congrats on your new hip! Sorry you feel like you have had a set back. But I am afraid we see this over and over again. You really are not "behind" in your recovery. You just got side tracked.

First take Vida's suggestion. You must stay ahead of the pain. Cutting back on pain meds before PT is not staying ahead of the pain. Get back on the meds on a regular basis so you can get mobile.

Second - PT should not be painful. If PT is pushing you and making you hurt tell them to back off! Gradual increase in repetitions is what is called for. Don't be afraid to say something.

And no - at 6 weeks it is not at all uncommon to still need your post-op medication. There is no time table for THR recovery.

Don't get discouraged (and don't listen to whoever told you this was not normal - when did they have THR)!

 

[Oakviewneighbor]

You should not be having pain for several days following a PT session. Your body is telling you that you are doing too much, too soon. Pain is a sign to stop. You need to tell the therapist what happened so they can adjust the session. Don't be afraid to say no if you feel pain.

I was on Hydrocodone 4 time a day at 6 weeks and using a walker. After week 8 I tapered off to one before PT twice a week and the occasional over did it time.

Slow and steady

Pat

 

[snowhitewithacane1019]

Thanks to all of you for your support and answers. I really appreciate it and feel a little better still having to take the pain meds. However, I think that I obviously did not make myself clear when I said the office person at the doctor's office said the pain was "not normal". What I meant was that when I called, I stated that I thought it was probably normal to be in pain after PT and she stated that this kind of pain was "not normal" so in her defense, she did not mean anything negative by it but was trying to be helpful. Given the problems I had in the past when I was in the hospital, I felt it was better that I clear this up.

Thanks again.

 

[Vida]

Oh, fair enough.I think too many of us have had problems getting sufficient pain control at times so its easy to bristle when it happens to others. Glad they did help you. Take care.

 

[bellaroma]

Second - PT should not be painful. If PT is pushing you and making you hurt tell them to back off! Gradual increase in repetitions is what is called for. Don't be afraid to say something.​

:iagree: PT therapist can sometimes be overly aggressive, if it hurts don't do it. Also at your stage, there still are quite a few backward days, but it will keep getting better

 

[titac]

Hey Snowhitewitha cane; I am just a week ahead of you post op. Had my surgeery on Nov 24, 2012. Try not to be overly aggresive with the PT. If it hurts dont do it! I wih you the best with your recovery.

 

[puddle fish]

I was still taking diclofenic 1x daily at 10 weeks with the aim to taking it every other day so I wouldnt be to worried about still taking it a 6 weeks.i Im now 12 weeks on finished my PT sessions, mostly off all medication for normal activities but did take some before PT, i found it helped with the little bit of swelling and grumpy butt muscles. But at no point did I find my PT sessions caused me pain. This is what my PT told me, best way to moinitor excersicse and movement is think of a scale 1-10, where 1 has no effect and 10 pain
excercise at levals 1-3 are not doing much 4-6 are where you want to be, 7-8 in reserve 9 in an emergency and avoid 10 unless your life depends on it. Some days you can excercise a bit harder and some days less it just depends on your body you have to let it dictate the pace.
hope that helps, if you need it take it.

 

[Poppet]

Hi snowhitewithacane1019

I have merged your recovery threads into this one, this is your primary thread.

We prefer to keep your recovery journey in the one thread for context. Many thanks.

​

One thread for your recovery please?​

​

​

 

[annedw]

hi I am realy sorry to hear of your bad experience in hospital I had similar problems being told there were people in older than me doing better I am 53 and they messed up my pain meds on three occasions the worst being the day I was dischared when I couldnt get any pain relief for 7 hours because the pharmecy couldnt do there job I just wanted to say it realy affected my confidence and I was very down when I got home it has took me awhile to realise it is how your body feels that you should litsen too and dont worry how other people are doing I could not have got this far without the wonderful people on this site hope you feel better soon Ann x