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THR That wasn't so bad!!!

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Had the home nurse and PT today. Coumadin checked and dosed, incision looks good. PT said I am ahead of schedule and looking good on walking - no limp and walking smoothly, leg length looks good:dancy::yahoo:. Gave me some pointers on the harder exercises (leg raises and side raises done standing) so they will be easier to do when my husband isn't home. Outside of a lack of appetite and occasional dizziness from the Norco, and a little constipation I feel I am in control and doing great! Hospital sent me home with the wrong size walker, though. When I was there they put me in one labeled "youth" made me feel great.:hysterical:
 
Great news Plinej! Your muscle issues sound like mine. I can do the standing leg side raises but in PT they have me trying the clamshell. For the life of me I can't get my muscles to engage and raise my leg to the side. I know it will come and every other exercise is going really well. I'm glad to hear you are having such a great start to your recovery!!
 
Congratulations on finding out that it's not that Bad as you thought it would be. Pain is temporary and you can control that. Press on and get better.
 
Well, reality set in a little yesterday! Day 5, mastered the constipation thing finally!!! (the good news:th_heehee:) I felt so good day 4 decided to cut back on meds a little (was on 20mg Norco every 4 hours - wanted to go to 10 every 6- mistake!!!) I also accomplished doing all the exercises (even the leg lifts!) without assistance - it was quite painful so that should have been my first clue I was overdoing it! I forgot how weak those muscles were pre-op so with the added trauma why did I think it would be easy! Got my surgery info out and sure enough the surgery cocktail wears off in 4-5 days so my euphoria at feeling so well was a little misguided. I still feel like I am definitely on track for a good recovery - incision looks good other than a moderate amount of bruising, swelling not too bad, walking straight , just have what I should have anticipated for surgical pain. My biggest problem is that the Norco seems to be elevating my pulse quite a bit - I am a little concerned about this . My normal pulse is mid 60's and it is now running mid 80's to 110. Could be some from the pain also. It doesn't appear to be increasing my blood pressure though. So I will be scaling back on the exercise (getting husbands assistance where needed) and try to increase my walking today.
 
Pain, dehydration and a bit of blood loss during surgery could all raise your heart rate. Just a thought...
 
I am so glad you are doing so well. Hope the recovery will keep being mostly smooth for you.
Can't wait to join you on the other side and get the scared feeling behind me.
Bea.
 
You will be just fine too Bea...if you weren't anxious, you wouldn't be normal :wink1:!
 
Hi,all! Here is my one week report. Today accomplished all the exercises unassisted:yahoo: Even the laying down leg raises - all ten although it was a struggle from about 6 I was able to accomplish (pat myself on back!!) So, my leg strength seems to be returning. Can't wait til PT tomorrow!! I am still not really eating (everything tastes aweful - Norco messing with my taste buds?) so pretty much just eating yogurt, a few bites here and there. Lots of diluted orange juice and water. I hope to spend today in real clothes and try to accomplish some holiday prep tasks I can do without breaking restrictions. Husband wanted to know if I wanted to go to church today, but I am not sure I am up to that yet with the walker and all and not knowing if I would have the stamina for a couple of hours of public yet. My goal today is to try and be more active around the house - not so much sitting. Wish I could walk a little outside but we live out in the country with no real level flat area to try it out with. May have my husband take me out for some fresh air today anyway!

Anyway, wanted to post an update that everything seems to be going well. A little bruising below the incision, but swelling not too bad. Wish I had some videos to post - may have my husband help me with this later ( I wanted to take an incision photo and he thought I was nuts!!!)
 
Morning Plinej,

Great news about your PT...it's clever and encouraging how each day brings more strength to the leg, it's like each day is filled its lots of new baby steps.

Sounds like it is your pills that are possibly killing your appetite, hope that goes away soon!

Hope you do get outside today, be careful it is a new adventure walking outside because of the non perfect surface and can be a little scary, plus the walker doesn't love the roughness of outside. I'm hoping today with my PT gal we can get me outside with the cane.

Have a good Sunday!

Sarah
 
pline, you need to check in this article again Some suggestions for home physio (PT) - but I'll copy the relevant bit here for you so you can see - NO CHURCH TODAY!

Walking
Hip or knee, walking is about the best exercise you can do but again, you need to moderate your time and distance.
Always use your walker, crutches or canes as appropriate, only moving from one to the other as you gain confidence or until as advised by your PT or physio.
I would suggest the following regime

Week 1
Walking around the house. Trips to the bathroom and kitchen are included!
Being up on your feet several times a day as you need to but don't get obsessive about it.
A 5 minute walk every one to two hours is plenty.

Week 2
Start on a plan of walks around the house lasting longer than 5 minutes but don't a) get into too much pain and b) get too tired. Stop before you get to that point.

Week 3
Take short walks outside the house in the garden, driveway or road for about 5-10 minutes maximum, once a day.

Weeks 4 and 5
Lengthen the walks to about 10-15 minutes once a day, maybe twice a day if it doesn't cause your knee/hip to swell or be painful.

Weeks 6 and onward
Start taking car trips to the shops but keep them short and sweet at the start, no longer than 15-20 minutes
Take at least one 5 minute rest while you are out.
 
Cutting back on Norco

I have been on Norco 20mg every 4 hrs. since surgery. I really have been doing pretty well in the pain department and would like to start easing back on Norco (it is making me nauseous and a bit dizzy at that level). Is it better to cut dose in half and stay on the same schedule or keep dose the same and spread out more? I have been trying to go about 5hrs. but am starting to get that hangover feeling by then. Today is the first I have really dealt with this dizzy, nausea. Just when everything else is feeling so much better!
 
Re: Cutting back on Norco

Glad you are feeling so well Plinej. I would cut back the amount rather than take it less often. You could try 10mg every four hours and see how that goes. If you are feeling more pain, you can go back up to 15mg.

That would only be "my" advice. Good luck:thumb:!
 
Re: Cutting back on Norco

I found that what worked for me was to decrease the amount while keeping the same schedule at first. Though all of us are different - if in doublt give your doctor a call. Hope you feel better soon.
 
pline, I moved your post into your existing recovery thread. I prefer it if people stick with one thread in recovery as it helps me keep track of what's gone before. It also helps people who are following your progress to get the whole story in one thread.

As for your cutting back, I would recommend you mix and match as things will change from day to day and there will be times when you can take less and times when you are hurting more. So take a smaller dose as and when the opportunity arises and even wait a bit longer between doses in the same way. Now things are settling down, you can play around with your meds a bit. You'll soon know if it's okay or not.
 
Hi Plinej, I see that I responded to a newer post about meds, but had not kept up with all your great reports about the recovery. Sounds like you are doing great and that your athlete's body is really kicking in. I am still having trouble with the leg lifts and side shifts while lying down, so I am definitely impressed. Please get hubby to help with a video!
 
I'm impressed that you are able to do leg lifts! I can't even do that now before surgery and haven't been able to do them in close to a year. I'll be thrilled if I can do them better one week after surgery.

You sound like you are doing great in general, and I hope your appetite improves. I'm taking Percocet and I don't have any nausea or problems with my appetite. Maybe you could ask for your med to be switched to that to see if that makes a difference?
 
Day 8! PT went great! she was really impressed with my progress and added some more exercises and (drum roll! ) Ok'd me going from walker to cane! Nurse visited and incision looks pretty good - drying nicely, although a lot of buising and some moderate swelling. I anticipated that since I can't take antiinflamatories).

Cutting back on the Norco and eating more seems to be helping the nausea, heart burn issues. Nurse made me a little late on meds so hurting a little now but all and all a good day!
 
Glad to hear you are alive and well; pressing on with the recovery. Time will pass and you will be back training and enjoying life pain free soon.
 
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