THR Meralgia Parasthetica - any experience?

[ritabell]

Had left hip#2 done yesterday. OS said there was a lot of inflammation and a small fracture that grafted with my own acetabulum bone. Reported at 930 , taken to OR at 1230 , thru recovery and in my room by 5. PT came and I walked down the hall and back and one step up their little portable stair case. I did well probably because of the drugs. I wish I had an earlier surgery ( hip#1 was the same march 2019) because I am just so nervous with all the hooking up, bedside testing, and pill taking in addition to talking to the anethesiologist, nurse, the OS permission forms. At least they keep you busy. Took oxy at 10 PM and was able to sleep for 4 hours straight, then in hourly spurts.

Then there was this AM when the pain kicked in and more pain meds helped... a lot of swelling in legs and especially both feet. They discharged after one day, so I am happily writing this reclined on my sofa with feet elevated and 2 ice pacs the bonesmart way. I am exhausted just getting home. I must say that this NOrthwell Hospital was VERY organized and efficient. They have a new orthopedic center in a new wing. I was very satisfied as I was last time.

So I first question in recovery is what position ( back, surgical side, non-surgical side) has everyone used in the first couple of weeks successfully? Last time I slept on my back which I hated and hardly slept at all. Then I adjusted my back sleeping to more of a 45 degree angle with pillows under/ between my legs on the non operated side, Does this make sense? I was too scared to try the operated side.

So that's question #1 on Day 1 of recovery. More to come. Hope my Nov 13th buddies did well. Do you think I'll be able to go to someone's house who is local for Thanksgiving? I don't want to get my hopes up so I'm asking now.

 

[Layla]

Welcome to Recovery and Congrats on the new hip. It's good to read you're resting comfortably at home. As far as sleeping, I'll weigh in, as I'm sure others will also. I'm not a back sleeper by choice but often wake on my back. I experienced posterior approach so I was unable to lay on my op side and slept on my back in a recliner for three weeks before attempting the bed. Following is an article on side sleeping that may help -

THR: lying on my side - when can this be done?

To answer this question - it depends upon any restrictions such as don't bend past 90 degrees which will make a difference to this 1. if you have restrictions, then you cannot/should not try sleeping on your side until these have expired. Maybe 6, 8 or even 12 weeks - it depends upon the...

bonesmart.org

Also, please read through the Recovery Guidelines below. Lots of useful information.

I look forward to following your journey and wish you comfort as you begin healing.


Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:

rest​

elevate​

ice​

take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Activity progression for THRs​

6. Access to these pages on the website

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Closure​

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask the at each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.

 

[ritabell]

Regarding the above post about sleeping positions , I had an anterior THR yesterday.

 

[Elf1]

Welcome to the recovery side and happy to see you're home and resting.

Did your OS give you any restrictions or guidelines? Some want you sleeping on your back for at least 6 weeks. I didn't attempt to try side sleeping of any kind until after I had my 6 week follow up and then it was on non op side with pillow between legs. Was a bit uncomfortable even at that time but was worth it to get off my back! Op side took a lot longer and there are nights it still sends me some zaps and says roll over!

 

[ritabell]

It's 3:30 in the AM and I managed to sleep 5.5 hours straight on my back with my feet elevated on a wedge pillow. I was comfortable that way but exhausted just from coming home from the hospital, so I guess that helped too. I also ate dinner sitting in a real chair with 2 pillows on it. YAY!

Second day...second question... I thought I had everything set up in my house where I wanted it but started changing things around ( which pills where?) Also made a chart of when to take pills since they changed things up in the hospital. Since I'm a real list person, this helped. My bed is in the middle of the room so I can get out on either side and have to figure out which side works best, operative or nonoperative. Any advice?

So happy to be home. When I'm lying still, I almost feel like I didn't have surgery so that calms me down Nurse comes today.

 

[leejaa]

It feels good to be home. I too have my chart for when to take pills. I actually am using the same notebook from my other hip. It is funny bti wake up in the recliner and nothing hurts for a few minutes till I move.

How wonderful that we are done with surgery.

 

[ceezee]

Charts to track pill usage is such a great idea! This is the one my husband made for me using an Excel spreadsheet.

 

[ritabell]

So happy to hear about and see these charts! Don't they make you feel relieved and in control of something? I love seeing what you are taking. I too take losartan but also take xarelto for occasional Afib which probably made me the most nervous of all. Had to be off xarelto for 3 days prior to surgery but hasn't been a concern for either surgery so that was a relief. What gives me concern are all the different meds I am on right now. Makes me feel old for 71, on top of the walker and the cane. But I know all that will vanish once I am walking better.

So this is Day 3 and my third question/concern. How much oxycodone to take? Dont know whether to take 10 mg less often or 5 mg more often? Interested is what hippies are doing. Last time (March) I took 10 mg twice a day with tylenol in between as that was the OS protocol. Yesterday (day 2 after surgery) though I had to take it more often so maybe the twice a day thing isn't the right choice this time. Have a lot of muscle pain in upper leg even on the pills I took. Could hardly lift it with our screeching. Any thoughts?

I like this forum because can hash out what I and my fellow post ops are thinking ad doing even if t's not what I'm doing. It's nice to ear about choices in our control.

Got another 3 hours sleep on my back after by 330 bathroom call. That seems to be going better than last time so far. I was up half the night last time.

 

[VSlowLife]

I am glad you are home and doing well. Congratulations!

 

[ritabell]

Any problems/worries about sleeping on your nonsurgical side? I,too, can't sleep on my back although last night (day 2 post surgery) I managed to get in 5 hours straight with little fuss. Maybe its the meds. Last time, I had trouble after going off the meds.

 

[Elf1]

@ritabell I'm hoping you're taking your pain meds as prescribed, you're really early on right now, you don't want to play catch up. If you are taking them as prescribed and they don't seem to be working I would reach out to the OS and let them know.

As far as sleeping on non-op side, do you have any restrictions from your doctor? If you do try sleeping on non-op side, recommend putting a pillow between your legs to take some of them stress off and keep you from rolling to far over.

 

[ritabell]

Day 3...so which day after surgery is supposed to be the most difficult? Had the visiting nurse and a little PT and was exhausted. Took oxy in the middle of the day for pain but feel loopy. Yesterday I was peppy coming home from the hospital. A lot of muscle pain in leg and buttocks today. Too tired to write.

 

[leejaa]

You sound fantastic. Just don't try to cut down meds too early especially if you are hurting. The nurse at hospital and home nurse stressed staying ahead if the pain.

I am doing great and am very glad to be home. I had my shower this morning and it felt so great to be clean and showered.

I hope you have a restful night.

 

[ForumUser]

Hi Ritabell,

My second hip was May 19, 20 years after my first.

I had two oxy tabs in the hospital following the op. Returned home next day and used only Tylenol. I wasn‘t afraid of the narcotics, but I don’t like the way it makes me feel. I tried 1000 mg of Tylenol every six hours and had no significant pain, so never took any of the oxy I had been prescribed.

I had no restrictions on side sleeping. I did use a pillow between my legs. No issues sleeping on non op side.

 

[Pumpkin]

@ritabell
You'll notice that I have moved your newest post with your original recovery thread. For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:

• That way, we have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
• If you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
• Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.

So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here. If you prefer a different thread title, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.
If you need an urgent response to a question, just tag a member of staff.
How to tag another member; how to answer when someone tags you

Here are the instructions on finding your thread, How can I find my threads and posts? . Many members bookmark their thread, so they can find it when they log on.

 

[Pumpkin]

Normal for the most challenging days to happen a couple of days after surgery. It will start to improve once you body gets over the immediate effects of a major surgery.

 

[ritabell]

I have a lot of muscle pain getting up/down from bed and sofa, more so than last time. In March, I took oxy at 8AM and 8 PM with tylenol in between but this time it's 3 times a day and I still have pain. Icing a lot but struggling on day 4. Worried because I am not moving smoothly and dont want to injure myself.

 

[Jaycey]

Worried because I am not moving smoothly and dont want to injure myself.

At this stage you don't need to be moving around a lot. And when you do move around, take it very slow and steady.

Are you icing and elevating?

 

[ritabell]

Icing every hour, hour & half for 30 minutes high feels great!. By moving I mean in/ out of bed for the bathroom. I guess I fooled myself in the hospital being able to walk down the hall and back. Taking everything for constipation but that hasn't worked yet either, hopefully today. Yes, slow and steady. Thank God for my husband carefully lifting my leg. Was able to get 2 big chunks of sleep last night so thats good.

Lots of Ankle pumps and buttocks squeezes for now.

Thanks for writing... My moods go up/down during the day.

 

[Jaycey]

If you are having what we call "log leg" - a very heavy feeling in your op leg making it hard to move - use a belt from a bath robe or even a dog leash to help you lift your leg.

Lots of fluids and prune juice helps some with constipation. Here's an article from our Library: Constipation and stool softeners .