THR Tollers number 2.

[tollertwins]

The crutch tips are OK. Hubs has a rug over the ramp for traction for a disabled dog of ours, and it goes over the side of the ramp edges. Peripheral vision wasn’t enough to tell where the edges were. Told him it has to come up.

The leg is feeling MUCH better today. Taking it easy and watching videos all day.

 

[tollertwins]

YIKERS! I see why walking gets really painful!!! Sent this to the surgeon to see if it’s OK to use some antiflammatory cream on it.

 

[SurreyGirl]

I did a misstep in our front door step and went sideways. Didn’t fall but gave my hip a real jolt. Ice and rested for two days but I pulled a muscle that took a while to recover.

That was about week 4 after the op. I hated that step!

Glad you are feeling better.

 

[Mojo333]

Hope today is a Good Day

Keep on icing

 

[Layla]

Hi @tollertwins
I'm sorry for your scary experience. Glad your leg is feeling better.
Try not to get ahead of yourself. Use the Activity Progression for THR as a rough guideline for activity.
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/activity-progression-for-thrs.13187/

If you haven't already visited the ODIC, I think you did a quick drive thru.
May it only get better. Enjoy the day!

 

[tollertwins]

I wrapped the knee today and put a TENS on the thigh. All of a sudden walking was a lot less uncomfortable...or at least it was uncomfortable where I expected it to be uncomfortable, in the HIP!

Waiting on getting a knee brace delivered b4 doing a lot more walking.

Have noticed a big reduction in the need for pain meds the last day or so. I expect it to ramp up some w being more active after I get my knee stabilized, but that’s OK.

One issue w needing fewer pain meds is that I’m more clear headed, and it’s way easier to get stir crazy...

 

[Layla]

Sounds like you're doing well. Hopefully the wrap and TENS are still helping.
Or...you've received the knee brace.
It's easy to go stir crazy during early recovery which I'm sure you recall from prior surgeries.
I hope it's sunny and warm this weekend and you're able to get out to smell the roses.
Happy weekend to you!
@tollertwins

 

[tollertwins]

Very interesting 2 week post op today. Went well, surgeon was happy. Once I can take a pic of the pic of the X-ray they gave me I’ll upload it.

Anyhow...he sounded kinda skeptical about PT if you don’t need it for gait training. Said that given how good my gait was, in 2 weeks I wouldn’t even want to bother with it.

But, he said, if you want to do it to get some strength back, then you have to wait 2 more weeks, and they have to follow MY protocol (which means I’ll probably skip, since I can follow it just as easily).

I had mentioned earlier that I had walked a half mile once and a quarter mile once the day before (knee brace to the rescue!j and he said “activity is good, but DO.NOT.PUSH.IT!”. Said that even after the soft tissue is healed, that the implant can still get whacked out of position. This was a “bone sparing” implant, so it’s apparently kinda thin and not touching anything but marrow till it gets some bone grown into it. 3 months for that.

He also said to stay on 2 crutches when out and about for 2 more weeks. I’m using a cane around the house, which he said was OK, but saidmat this point I wouldn’t have enough control over the leg to,catch myself if I tripped or stepped funny, and that could be enough to cause the implant to move or dislocate.

 

[Layla]

Hi @tollertwins Thanks for the update.
It sounds like you had a good visit with the OS and he was pleased with your progress.
Wishing you only the best as you move forward. I hope you have a nice week!

 

[Mojo333]

Great update
Being patient and mindful will be worth it in the end.
Onward and upward!

 

[tollertwins]

Xrays...the new hip is the right. You can see in the one pic it doesn’t seem to be touching much. Doc said next followup (3 months) is to make sure it hasn’t moved b4 I get released back to normal activity (Pilates, riding my pony, etc).

He said he was a little concerned that the other one appeared to be “potting”..eg most of the bone growth was lower on the stem. Not sure if that is because I damaged the other labrum almost immediately after surgery and have been limping since or what. Also don’t really understand the significance. But he did say it seemed fine.

 

[Carriemay60]

The picture is sideways but if I am seeing right properly, the left stem has some gaps along the stem and the ball looks odd. I am certainly no expert and only learn here but really curious what Josephine says. I am sure one of the girls will be along soon to tag her.

 

[tollertwins]

The one w gaps is the right one, and is brand new, He said that the gaps are where the bone would grow in later. It’s supposed to be a “bone sparing” design. They didn’t remove bone, but just shoved enough to the sides to fit the device in.

The one w bone growth is the left.

I’m also standing kind of pigeon toed...the X-ray tech said that was so they could see the greater trochanters.

 

[Carriemay60]

Oh, I get you! That's interesting. They did one of those pigeon toe x-rays on me as well.

 

[tollertwins]

And another use for ice! Doc wanted me to ditch estrogen for the first month after surgery, and the gyn said to go ahead and do that.

So I’m almost 2.5 weeks w no estrogen and am getting some wicked hot flashes. Ends up being major incentive to get ice onto the hip and groin area!

 

[tollertwins]

Anybody w an anterior..how long did it take for thigh sensitivity to go away? As in, the skin from a few inches below the incision to a couple above my knee REALLY doesn’t want touched. I’m pretty much still in PJ’s.

Also, I had read that since I had the anterior on hip 1 in 2010 that the surgeons had moved the incision to the side and lengthened it so there weren’t as many nerve issues.

I had noticed that the new one was more to the side, so I just now measured them. The new incision is about 5”...the old one isn’t even 3”. In addition the prosthesis is bigger (they didn’t have the bone sparing ones yet). No WONDER that hurt so much worse! And the nerve issues in the old one are just now getting under control now that I’m not listing to the other side...after almost 10 years.

 

[Mojo333]

Anybody w an anterior..how long did it take for thigh sensitivity to go away? As in, the skin from a few inches below the incision to a couple above my knee REALLY doesn’t want touched. I’m pretty much still in PJ’s.

It certainly was sensitive foe me too.
Had to admonish husband for wanting to give me well-meaning reassurance "pats"
I could feel the sheets on my legs
It was many weeks before the super sensitivity seemed to morph into mostly numbness.
I still had a very substantial numb patch at 4 months that I became convinced was "nerve damage" and probably irreversible.
Dissipated over the course of the year...and all is normal now!

 

[KathyD]

Hi Tollers,
I had the anterior approach for both my hips. I had a lot of nerve pain right down the middle of my thigh from the hip to the knee for about a month after my right THR 2 years ago. This time not so much. I didn't think about where the incision is but it is a little shorter and a little more to the side compared to the first one. Not much but maybe enough to make a difference?

 

[tollertwins]

Well, found out my shoes were getting me again!

Bought some Keens for recovery as they are nice and sturdy and my orthotics work well. But I’ve been getting pretty bad groin pain walking. I can’t quite roll over my foot in ANY heel at all, and trying is making my pelvis tilt, which is irritating SOMETHING!

Back to my unstructured shoes and sticky socks to keep my foot stable on the orthotic in the shoe for awhile.

I thought it might be partly due to tight quads...stretched the “good” side and my pelvis “dropped” some. Have been picking up the other foot and bending it at the knee to stretch the quads a little...So I got the brilliant idea of trying to grab my pants leg to try to get the foot a little higher behind me. .

Holy ****! Didn’t damage anything but my hamstrings went into one HUGE spasm....not doing THAT again!

 

[KathyD]

Ow! That makes me hurt just thinking about it! About a month ago I got the bright idea of grabbing my ankle and pulling it behind me to stretch my quad. I got that nerve pain right down my thigh that we were talking about. Haven't tried it since. I'm not sure exactly how to stretch my quad now.