THR THR #2 (7/21/14) a better recovery than THR #1 (4/22/13)

[Jaycey]

@cthipster , I am very encouraged by your story. I am waiting for hip number 2 and hoping to have a similar experience. As you say, knowledge is power. You learn from the first one and carry it forward. Sounds like this recovery is really on track. Well done!

 

[cthipster]

@Jaycey, as a moderator, I bet you are SO prepared for #2! I was scared to go through it again and had to keep reminding myself that the first two weeks are the hardest and then it gets better from there. I am also hopeful that having #2 done will allow me to get the full benefit of having #1 done. I am excited for that moment when I'm not calculating how many steps I'm going to have to take to do something or decide my activities based on how much walking there might be. What a glorious day that will be!

 

[Josephine]

I'm having my second knee done sometime this year but being on here doesn't prepare you all that much. If anything, the number of problems we see makes it worse!

 

[Jaycey]

@Jaycey, as a moderator, I bet you are SO prepared for #2!

Not really the case. I was totally not expecting hip number 2 to go. I obsessed about it post LTHR and remember asking the x-ray technician if my right hip was OK. Four years ago - it was. So I am still trying to get my head around having to do this again - including the not to be pushed recovery. I have so many plans and new things that I need to get on with. Unfortunately my RTHR is a major roadblock to all those plans right now.

I am excited for that moment when I'm not calculating how many steps I'm going to have to take to do something or decide my activities based on how much walking there might be. What a glorious day that will be!

Amen to this!

 

[cthipster]

@Josephine and @Jaycey, I guess sometimes it can be TMI. Yikes. I'm sorry you have to go through this again but glad that you have so many people who are here to support you as you have supported us. You also have the chance to put your own advice into action in your own lives. Role models!

 

[MajorHeidi]

@cthipster Do you still feel any stiffness upon standing on the first hip? I still have this at 4 months.....
am hopeful it will exit.
You are doing great!

 

[cthipster]

@MajorHeidi, my first hip is perfectly stable at 16 months out. I can stand and balance on it. Before I had hip #2 done, I could bend down, with legs completely straight, and put my hands on the floor. I was doing all basic yoga positions. It's not stiff at all. I have no lifetime hip restrictions from my doctor except for running and jumping.

The one thing I have to work on is that when I'm sitting down, I can't lift my foot and put it on the opposite knee or cross the operated leg over the other leg. I have to use my hands to lift up the leg. The piriformis is not functioning properly.

I hope to rehab both legs once I'm out six weeks plus from this second surgery by doing individual Pilates sessions and doing DDP Yoga. I don't know if you've seen that viral video of the vet who couldn't walk and then through DDP Yoga and a lot of work was able to walk, run, and lose 100 lbs. I was hooked. DDP Yoga is completely no impact and is a combination of yoga (not the spiritual side but the basic poses), rehab, and isometric exercises. Here's the video if you want to see it: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/04/arthur-boorman-veteran-walks-again-yoga_n_1478847.html

It's natural to be stiff. Are you doing any exercising or stretching? Scar tissue can be a cause of stiffness. I went to someone to break down the scar tissue. Graston technique is great for that, as well as rehabilitative massage.

 

[LoyalD]

@cthipster, I saw my GP on Monday, at the six week mark, and he said I am completely normal being in pain and needing pain medicine. He indicated that OSs, in his experience, think the surgery they perform is so wonderful, we should be pain free quickly. My OS was really surprised when I saw him to have my staples taken out at Week 2, that I was still in so much pain. Finally, some sanity at Health Care Partners, reinforced last night by my Outpatient PT who agreed, yes six weeks to be pain is normal.

In your early posts, I think you said you were not taking narcotic pain meds because of nausea; so what are you taking now? I am still taking Norco 5, every four hours. The OS had been on Norco 7.5 every six hours, but when I saw my GP on Monday, I told him, at five hours, I was in significant pain and could not make it to six hours. He indicated that Norco will only last four hours, so changed my prescription to Norco 5 eveyr four hours....bless him for listening!

 

[cthipster]

@LoyalD, I have only been taking Tylenol since Day 14 (I'm on Day 17 now). Before that I was taking a newer drug called Nycunta, which was great except that I developed systemic itching that drove me nuts. That's why I cut off.

I didn't take any of the narcotic drugs like Oxycodone, Percoset, Narco, and even Tramadol, as they made me nauseated and dizzy when I had the first hip replacement. The anesthesiologist recommended Nycunta, and although the OS thought it wouldn't be strong enough, it was just fine. Except for the itching.

I'm glad that you advocated for yourself and didn't react to the doctor's reactions about why you were still in pain. When my PCP was surprised that I was calling him to do something about the itchiness when why would I still be on the prescription pain meds -- it was only a hip after all -- I felt judged. And I was just two weeks out. The only person who can judge if you need pain meds or not is you!

Thankfully, I took a piroxicam today (I still had some of my arthritis meds from before) along with 1000 mg Tylenol, which Josephine recommended to take 4 times a day. I am okay. I feel more pain than I did in terms of twangs and pangs here and there, but it's nothing like from before the surgery. It's manageable.

I hope you feel better on your four-hour routine.

 

[MajorHeidi]

Hey @cthipster thanks for those tips on stiffness. I will go check those things out. Sounds good. Thankyou!!

OK! Just WOW!
Tears running down my cheeks. What an amazing video and story! Thanks for sharing.
I will look into this DDP yoga.

 

[MajorHeidi]

@cthipster I edited my comments above..... pls look

 

[cthipster]

@MajorHeidi, thanks for watching. It's amazing! The program is not expensive, and there's a whole community that's like bonesmart, supporting people who are on the DPP Yoga program.

 

[cthipster]

@Josephine and everyone, I have a question about scar care. The steri strip mostly peeled off today, so I took it off the rest of the way (it's day 19 after surgery). I'm sorry for the not nice picture, but I thought I'd share to see if anyone has any suggestions.

There are some pink spots, the biggest one being at the top of the scar. I remember this happening the last time, so I'm not concerned about that. What's grody is all the leftover tape, dried skin, and what is probably scuzz/lint/who knows. [Shudder.] In terms of the dry skin, you can see the whitish skin that's flaking off, some discolored brownish skin, particularly at the top of the scar, right side, and then above and around the scar mottled skin which is a different color from the rest of my skin.

I'd really love to wash and clean it, but I'm wondering what I can do at this point. Can I, for example, slather it in A&D ointment (my sister gave me this last year to help minimize the scar), let it sit, and then wipe it off with a cloth, so that it can gently slough off the dry skin and scuzz? Can I wash it with soap and water?

I honestly don't remember what I did last time. I don't remember it being this gross or having to be cleaned. Thanks for your help!

 

[beachgal]

@cthipster, great question. When the PT gal took off my super-glued bandage at day 10, everything but my new prosthesis came off with it. I saw stars. She retaped it with new steri strips after cleaning up to the incision with alcohol and gauze. Then she covered it with a much lighter-weight covering until today when she uncovered it for good. Again, cleaned with alcohol and gauze but not directly on the incision. She also told me to dab a bit of alcohol on it after I shower to help keep that area dry.

I'll be watching to see what other solutions appear here. BTW, my incision area was clean with no drainage or gunky stuff nearby. I'm pretty paranoid about keeping it that way.


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[Jaycey]

@cthipster I wouldn't slather anything on that scar. As beach gal says you want to keep it clean and dry. Shower as normal and pat dry would be my method. Looks like it is healing just fine.

 

[cthipster]

@beachgal and @Jaycey, I ended up asking my brother who is a surgeon what I could do and he said ointment was fine. The skin around the scar feels like leather. This didn't happen to me last time. The skin is very dry. I have read that people use Eucerin, Mederma, Vitamin E oil. Has anyone tried those?

I have those scar patches which I can put on after I take a shower today and pat it dry like you said.

 

[beachgal]

I've used Mederma in the past but not until the incision had healed. Mine is starting to pull a bit but I know that's a good sign. Lots of advocates here for Vitamin E oil. May give that a try this time.


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[cthipster]

@beachgal, thanks. For #1, I used the silicone gel scar sheets religiously after the steri strips came off. I have pretty bad keloid, so I wasn't that hopeful; as expected, I still got a bumpy and irregular scar. Because of my skin color, the scar is also darker than my regular skin tone.

I didn't have any allergic reactions or dry flaky skin with #1, but this go round the itching and skin issues, near the scar and systemically with rashes, etc., have been my biggest inconvenience. The skin texture and appearance of hip #2 scar gross me out. Apparently, it can happen, so I'm glad I have people to ask.

 

[bottomshollow]

@cthipster, I have been puzzling over your thread title, and I cannot figure out what it means. Could you possibly give me an explanation?

Just remember, it's better to have slightly unattractive scars and hips that work so well you forget you had them replaced.

 

[cthipster]

@bottomshollow, Josephine changed the title on my thread, and I wanted to ask how I can update my title. Would you know how to do that? A better title is probably "THR #2 (7/21/14) a better recovery than THR #1 (4/22/13)"

Yes, I don't mind having unattractive scars. My husband is the only one who sees them, except for one big picture on this thread!