THR The new road step by step

Hey @Autumn01
How are you doing today? I hope the redness is easing and you received some reassurance from your surgeon / care team. A peaceful evening and overnight to you.
 
Hi all the surgeon also responded that the pink area could be allergy and i could get dressing changed. But since its no worse, just barely pink, not itching etc…I decided to wait a bit and see. Stitches are out next Friday and I would hate to disturb the area at all.

otherwise…all good. hours ticking by.…resting…just going to loo.

i did a tour of the apartment last night using my walker. High of excitement! all bits working well on left leg.

i am elevating leg at night. Still struggling to sleep on my back. I now and again rebel and stick a pillow between my legs and turn to non op side for a bit.

sometimes sitting up in bed, i feel the hardness of the new bits. i am not sure if others also find its nature is like a steel rod! Its not anyway but feels like it. Funny how our bones are hard but soft! The new hip is foreign and weirdly hard and feels unyielding. Our own bones feel more accommodating. i am not too sure to what extent I can push it. I am aware its limited In function. I used to be able to touch my toes before op on right side …even with my dying hip i could almost manage it on left side…..those days are now gone! Its not as absent mindedly dependable as our own would be. I do feel that. maybe because my joints are elsewhere flexible or double jointed, i now feel a limit difference?

i am holding my breath really! Just waiting for time to pass….. to next week….to the next stage of adding a few more steps to my day. I will probably wonder up to the building roof and do circles there to get some sunshine. I am incredibly lucky the building has a lift and the roof is tiled with a superb sea view to make it worth visiting! So I will do the laps of my new expanding world practice up there.
 
Now i am wide awake i have made decision to drop Celebrax and see how the day goes. I got up to go to loo…no pain meds at all …..and all was good. No Pain. 5th day and no pain. That has to be good.

so ok then… i took paracetamol 1g. Maybe as the day goes on and the hip tires it might ache…. Lets see.
 
@Autumn01

It seems like you are doing well! I'm so glad.

As for the inflexibility, it will come back. Your muscles will be tight for a while. I could easily touch my toes before my surgery and now, at 4 weeks, I'm almost there. I don't want to push it, though, especially in the first 6 weeks. But it comes back.

I can't guarantee that everything will come back-- I am still waiting on some of my range of motion to return on my other hip, but I'm pretty sure you will be able to touch your toes.

And I just remembered I have a cousin in Crete, too!
 
Hi Schaargi

thats good to hear the range will return! i dont plan on yoga….never did it before so why start now…..

i decided to take celebrax. No need to be a hero. Its also anti inflammatory. I need it, Continue the course for safety.

i dont want to tempt fate and say i am doing well. but i had a couple of good days that i enjoyed! I take hope! There is a long road to go with snakes and ladders pathways ahead. i will take the good days to breath!

my left leg is a bit swollen. The area around the implant is tight. I didnt sleep with it elevated last night. did just a touch too much walking yesterday. I will force elevation and r&r today. No tours of triumph around apartment. Just loo stops.
 
@Autumn01 Good for you for deciding that heroism isn't necessary in your recovery. Pain meds can do alot in keeping you mobile. Within reason, of course.

You are doing well and the issues you are feeling and having are totally part of the recovery process.
oNe day you will realize that your ROM is returning and the hip feels like an old friend.
 
sometimes sitting up in bed, i feel the hardness of the new bits.
The implant is very deep. There is no way you will "feel" it. You might have stiffness. But that is post op recovery not any "new bits".

Very early days. All this is temporary - don't fight it. Just chill and listen to that hip.
 
i dont plan on yoga….never did it before so why start now…..
You might be surprised, you might want to do Yoga. The stiffness post recovery can be annoying. Yoga stretches help expand the ROM and in the morning help make the stiffness go away. Even simple Yoga like chair Yoga helps.
 
@Jaycey I am deep into chilling! I have streamed tv so much on my ipad, my eyes cant focus!

@Eman85 all this is new, perhaps as you say some warming up exercises will come in handy and now need to be incorporated as needed to a sensible level. Its a complete new beginning with the hip contraption leading and defining the new way. dysplasia degenerative options were a toss between wheelchair or hip defining my life anyway.


One week down, one more week to stitches out and a full shower!

i have stopped celebrax …script ran out…doc said no more needed. So just paracetamol now…plus blood thinners and probiotics. the docs philosophy was heavy use of medication processed in liver. It takes the hit but it regenerates. I like that. It makes sense. For the little use I have, I am adopting it.
 
day 12 post op……the days slip by pretty uneventfully.

i am cutting down on paracetamol. Still just walking to loo and back with a lap of honour about apartment. Its becoming a lot easier now. I am trying to put a little more weight on new hip but dont feel the need to stress it. i guess i am not confident of my new addition yet! I feel restless but managing to curb it down.

i have stopped feeling the new hip. it used to feel like it would clean poke out from behind! Or was like a hard piece pressing on my bones. But thats all gone now. I can feel the progress of the brain incorporation the new bits and no longer focusing on alerting me of strange presence and strange sensations.

otherwise no weird pain.

i still cant sleep on either side. I spend a few minutes on right side with pillow just for relief, then it starts aching down my leg, so move back.

stitches come out Friday so will need to walk about a bit more. i am sure its going to get tired and complain! Meds at ready….

i do not feel the need or at this point see reason for PT. i will take it one day at a time and see what happens.

i am really lucky its winter!
 
@Autumn01, that's great!

I'm glad you are able to walk a bit and are getting your stitches out. You sound like you are very reasonable about increasing your level of activity, and are ready for a big day on Friday. I'm relieved you can prepare yourself for the big day and not get surprised like you did when you got out of the hospital and had to navigate the airport!
 
Thanks @Schaargi!

that day actually taught me all i needed to know about what was in charge! Its good I had that lesson. my hip is going to lead and I will follow.

So i think i am paranoid the other way…trailing back and being overcautious.
its been years since i have been free from pain so i am just being a little cautious to make sure the pain doesnt return.

besides at my age, what is my hurry? I dont have a job to go to and my family is now looking after me. So anything I do wrong impacts them And their jobs and incomes. So best to do it slow and easy.
 
I like your approach, Autumn. Slow and easy…one day at a time.
You may feel more drained after your visit on Friday to remove stitches, but those post op visits are usually reassuring and you leave feeling satisfied with your progress and encouraged about the future. Let us know how it goes. :)
Have a nice evening!
@Autumn01
 
Happy One Month Anniversary!
I have fond memories of my one month anniversary.
I really started realizing the great benefits of the surgery at that point. It is such a blessing that we have the opportunity for this second chance, I hope you’re doing well, Autumn01 and I wish you a very Happy New Year!
@Autumn01
 
One month! where did it go?

yesterday I was still in denial thinking just a few weeks of rest would cure my leg!

today I am going though moments I completely forget i had a problem!

i am still walking with cane outside but more as an insurance in case of need. Inside I am unassisted going about. i do still feel pressure as i put weight on my foot but i think its all normal and will slowly dissipate. Thats because thats is whats its been doing last few weeks! At first I was worried in case it couldnt take weight…then decided millions of others in the world, walk fine so its obviously normal transition…so slowly i learnt to trust it.

i am walking about in town twice a day for 45 mins. Mild hills are ok… one supermarket with super bad incline last few meters is out of bounds! I made it up inching ever so slowly up and took taxi out …..and wont go back! Generally i take taxi to and from supermarket and dint buy too much because again i am not sure of weight on leg so early.

Obviously i still lack full confidence. I am not sure when i will be able to finally bend without scaring myself of dislocation possibilities. It seems an open worry. So use of golfers reach is my go-to. But there are slip ups now and again when i forget. Its so fast….A bad moment…a bad overbend… opps …. can happen!

i also worry cause a few night i have woken up in pain from hip because i was sleeping on my side. I now ram a pillow in the right side so if i do turn…likey the pillow will stop the turn or leg will go on pillow so have height support.

i cant sleep on op side yet.

i had travel plans for end Dec to return to Uk. I have put them off to end of Jan. the weather here in Crete is so mild and wonderful and the situation far safer (covid wise) than UK….plus the leg….who needs to leave!

i think it looks like becoming a permanent move!
 
:wave:@Autumn01
So glad to see you are doing well and being smart about your recovery.
One month...no time to do anything to excess.
I, too, felt steep inclines AND declines tough on still healing soft tissue.
I think our apprehension, to a degree, keeps us cautious and protects us from too much too soon.
Patience in recovery served me well...
You are doing great.... All Temporary:friends:
 
Hi @Autumn01 - I am almost a month post-op myself and much of what you say sounds very familiar! Like you, I’m walking at home w/o the cane but using it outside. I’m up to 40 minutes on one daily outdoor walk around town as I (like you) have the good fortune to be in a warm place for a winter surgery and recovery. And also like you, I’m scheduled to return to a colder climate (for me in mid-January) - difficult to contemplate but I’m very grateful that I could be in a warm place in the first weeks of recovery where daily outdoor walks and time just being outside are possible! (I will be returning to a much more challenging climate mid-January.). I still wake up pretty often at night but have started to find it easier to lie for a short time on the operated side (surgeon-approved in my case), with my long king pillow between my legs. Hope that happens for you soon. Glad to hear you’re doing so well!
 
Glad to read you’re coming along so well. It is amazing how time flies.
I think it’s wise of you to avoid steep inclines at this point and also carrying too much weight.

i cant sleep on op side yet.

If you’re not placing a pillow between your legs, consider trying that. I use one of those inexpensive long body pillows and find it very comfortable. I was beyond one month post op before I even attempted side sleeping (on my op side) mainly out of fear. It is now my preference.

Wishing you a Happy New Year!
 

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