THR Take a deep breath! Jump in!

[gertie]

This time a year ago I was just finishing up at work, getting ready to head home and put finishing touches on prepping my house for recovering from my 27th October, 2016, LTHR.

My recovery was smooth, mostly pain free, and uneventful--but it also got interrupted and side-tracked by badly deteriorating knees. At the 2 month point, I started working with a PT who was helping me rebuild strength and flexibility post THR as well as helping me with balance. The work went well for a while and then my painful knees got in the way.

This past summer has been devoted to recovery from staged TKRs (and I learned firsthand that hip recovery is much easier than knees). My new hip has been sturdy and reliable throughout this recovery. I get occasional twinges in the IT band and hip flexors but it's mostly pain free.

I'm going for walks, back at work, taking care of all my life maintenance needs but not yet feeling ease with climbing stairs or gardening work (more because of knees than hip).

But I'm also aware of deficits in range of motion with the hip as well as some weakness in the hip flexors. I'm about to begin outpatient PT for the knees so maybe we can also address some of the lingering hip issues.

I hope my late October hip buddies are doing well (@Krista and @SwimGirl)

 

[Miss Muffet]

@gertie - Hello! Can't quite believe a year has flown by and so many changes. Well you've certainly turned into the bionic woman then. I hope the PT will help you regain some of the range of motion. It is true to say that although I'm about to come up to the first anniversary of my second new hip I am not as bendy as I would like to be. I've recommenced Pilates lessons and swimming in the hope to address all of that and when I can do the splits again I'll let you know. The biggest bonus of all is being free of all that blithering pain and dumping a mountain of medication. Psychologically these changes have an enormous effect on my outlook on life and I hope that is the case for you. Look ahead and reap the benefits. All best wishes

 

[gertie]

@Miss Muffet How nice to hear from you! Yes, it is a treat to be relatively pain free (although I'm still in the sometimes pain phase of TKR recovery) and heading toward truly pain free. I, too, am looking forward to putting in some pool time this winter.

 

[BusterBeans]

@gertie. Great to hear that you have succeeded with your hip and both knees and glad you did them in that order which is what they recommend. I did it the opposite and am still having trouble with the right knee. Am scheduled to see a knee specialist next month after my new OS said he couldn’t help. I remember too well how much my BTKR hurt so you have really crested a huge hill.

Am surprised to hear recliners aren’t designed to fit people our height! Having shoulder surgery Monday. This getting old stinks.

 

[gertie]

Nice to hear from you @BusterBeans. Sorry to hear that you're having continued pain with your knee--hope the new doctor has some answers. I will eventually need to get my right hip done so I'll find out firsthand what it's like to do a knee then hip. Ah, well, as you say, getting old ain't no fun.

I think the only recliners that work for tall folks are the kind with separate footstools!

Good luck with the shoulder surgery. Rotator cuff? Or a replacement? A good friend has had rotator cuff surgery on both shoulders and has recovered well although it took some time--she's a fiddle player and is now back to making music.

 

[Krista]

You have been through so much, @gertie! And you still have a ways to go with your knees. I can't even imagine going through two knee replacements while in recovery from hip surgery. But, if the pain and disability is bad enough, then a person must go through it! I'll be posting on my thread tomorrow, our one-year anniversary. Seems like about a month ago to me.