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Hip Infection* THR Take Two, 2.5 years later

@Bionic
Bionic said:
Yep, I had swelling too. I must say it frightened me.
Felt much better when it returned to normal.
Hope yours goes down quickly, expect it to be up and down for a bit though.
Click to expand...

Yes, I was certainly worried. Thank you... didn't know my leg could get that big.
 
Glad to hear you are taking all this with humor...
I told my better half...there is often a fine line between humor and hysteria:dubious:

Sorry for your toilet phobia...but my advice is poop when you can while you can.
The constipation issue really made my first week miserable...:groan:

Hope today is a good day and take heart that this too shall pass!:yes:
 
Thanks so much Elsinore for taking the time to post your pre post op experience.
A great read with a good dose of humor thrown in.
Very glad to read you are on the mend and look forward to more tales from the post op side.
cheers.
 
InkedMarie said:
Lol @Mojo333 at “this too shall pass”!
Click to expand...
I didn't realize the joke until @InkedMarie pointed it out. Hilarious.
So, day 6 post surgery and still waiting for something to happen in the bowel Zone. 5 poop pills, two enemas, and one suppository later and nada. I don't know if you have this where you live but we have Intra Mural Nurses who zoom around visiting people after operations to check on them. The one who was here yesterday said the one coming tomorrow might have to bring the the monster enema with her.

I think I'll have a REALLy hot cup of tea and hope it does it's magic before monster enema is needed.
Otherwise, recovery has been pretty good.
I took a couple of pain pills at 3am this morning. The visiting nurse had told me to raise my operated leg as high as possible to get the swelling down. Over did it and hurt all night.

The things that aren't so great for those who are pending their first operation...
  • constipation... I covered that in other notes
  • enormous bruise about 8 inches across and a foot and a half long on my thigh
  • the electric shocks along the top of my leg which I had last time. A nerve thing.
  • missing driving to get stuff I need and counting on others
  • pretty constant but low level pain, mostly from the thigh bruise when seated = HOWEVER, still less than before the operation and I know it will dissipate
But overall, after 6 days I am very happy with the progress. I walked with my walker down the dirt driveway and past a couple of houses on our dirt road. No issues with pain.
 
For the constipation, try pure unadulterated pumpkin paste. Whole Foods carries it and I'm sure other markets. I add cinnamon for flavor because it should be the paste only, no added flavoring or sugars. I learned this from a vet when my cat had the same problem and it worked like a charm! With both of us! Use the rest for pumpkin pie.
 
Those annoying zips and zaps...AND the super sore thighs that felt like someone hung me up and used them for punching bags:sigh:
Already running (well, walking) away from home?
Sounds like you are doing extremely well for such early days.
Great to hear.
You do know that falling down is strictly prohibited!:no-fin:

Onward and upward!:egypdance:
 
Prunes, prune juice and cherries are also a miracle cure for constipation.
For me it was 7 days before I went and by then I was getting pretty desperate. Spoke to my local GP, she asked me what meds I was taking and then asked me to stop the codeine. Not sure you have that in the US but maybe something similar under a different name, anyway, when I looked at the list of contra indications constipation is one of those. Stopped the codeine and in conjunction with prunes and cherries a minor miracle happened
 
Well Mesdames, thank you all for your incredible suggestions... wow pumpkin paste - who'd a thunk?
I am much better after some success last night after lentil soup, and then again today after lentil soup again and some apple prune stuff made for babies. Whew.
This is a forum with incredible people ready to help. Again thank you.
Taking it easy today - not going on any major walks - might do that every two days for a while.
 
Glad you're better after taking a load off :heehee:
Hope today is a good one!
@Elsinore
 
Well, it's now 2 weeks post op. Feeling pretty good. Still on walker for another week then to cane according to doc's protocol. In the last week I've only taken maybe a few Tylenol Extra Strength when pain is a little too constant. I've commited to going back to teaching college for the afternoon in a week's time. We'll see how that goes.

I feel like I can drive, but it was my right hip so not likely allowed to. I'll ask the Doc when I see him.
Making a few 10 minute walks but not rigorously pursing that as everyone has advised me that thr doesn't require a lot exercise to reboot itself.
 
Part 2.
Doing my physio exercises. Lying down exercises include moving feet left and right plus back and forth, pushing downward from my knees when lying on my back, and then pushing with my heel into the mattress with leg bent a bit. Standing up exercises (with chair for support) include bringing heel up toward my butt, calf stretches (stand on toes), and gentle movement to the side... that's the challenging one.

One thing that happened which is new to me is that food tastes different, and most of the time it tastes bad. Bacon is good, bread has no taste, cheese is also tasteless. So far bacon tastes good with peanut butter, tapioca pudding, and chocolate. And I'm not really a super bacon fanatic.

I thought it was my imagination but my son looked it up and it is a thing affecting approx 1-2% of the population. Can take up to 2 months for tastes to come back. In the overall scheme of things, it's no biggie.

I have appreciated your support and I dearly hope that others have as smooth a recovery as I've had. Still lots more recovery to do obv.
 
Good job. Slow and easy you'll get there.
Happy to read all is going well. Keep up the good work.
A great rest of the week to you! :SUNsmile:
@Elsinore
 
[Bonesmart.org] THR Take Two, 2.5 years later
[Bonesmart.org] THR Take Two, 2.5 years later
One of the dogs has appointed herself as my service dog.
 
@Elsinore ! I see you are getting lots of the good advice that's abundantly available here, and taking good care of yourself. Well done!

FWIW, the visiting nurse told me she has found to be prune juice to be more effective than whole prunes for constipation, when warmed up.

I hadn't thought of the quad pain I've experienced with my second hip replacement as the "electric shock" type but that's what it is, and the main reason I've relied much more on prescription pain meds this time. The pt exercise that causes it to kick in is the marching thing, sitting or standing.

Amitiés,

El
 
Great picture @Elsinore:yes:
Great T Shirt, and Beautiful Dog.
I wish you didn't have to head back to work so soon but hope all goes well.
Double hippy now...by Christmas you'll be GOLDEN.:)
 
@EL11 "The pt exercise that causes it to kick in is the marching thing, sitting or standing." What exercise is that EL11?
 
I got my disability parking card for the car mirror a couple of days ago. It will be so helpful over the next couple of months for when I'm driven and when I can finally drive.

I really should have got it before the surgery too given I couldn't walk more than 20 steps. At one of my clients, the walk has been way too long from car to building. I used to have to keep stopping. Dumb.
Anyone else using a disabilty card?
 
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