THR torment's recovery

[souldancer]

@torment - Congrats on new rainbow hip! Encouraging to hear your recovery.
Hope to be be posting after Mon April 13

 

[Buttercup]

Wow! torment, that's an amazingly short 'go home' time. Congratulations...just don't be too rambunctious because it's been comparatively easy for you.

Cemented or uncemented? All the best.

 

[torment]

Cemented. I'm up and walking around the house without any aids at this point. I'm still quite careful and step lightly because it's not entirely comfortable to walk on, but I've come to the conclusion it feels a lot better when I keep somewhat mobile. I've even been able to come off the pain meds here and there without much problem. I took my meds about 11pm last night and didn't take any more until 8 this morning. While the pain was more pronounced, it wasn't debilitating and I was still up and walking around without them.

Potentially TMI below:

My biggest issue right now is post-op constipation. I've been taking a cocktail of fiber and laxatives for a couple of days now with no results and it's starting to get a little miserable.

I'm wanting to try an enema because, while it's very rare I've had to resort to them before, they've ALWAYS worked for me when I did. My wife is against the idea because she is worried about the possibility of infection from introducing something foreign.

If anyone has a suggestion I'm all ears.

 

[souldancer]

@torment - please check @chalcedonian1 recovery thread, there are some great comments
on how do deal with constipation. I agree with your wife, try to hold off on enema.

 

[souldancer]

@torment - my friend (Dr) recommended Milk of Magnesia Phillips, Stimulant and Cramp
free. She had major face lift and took the recommended 2 TBSPs & regretted it,
advised me to start with 1 tablespoon. Also drink lots of water with it. Bottle
also says you should have movement in 1/2 to 6 hrs.

Hope this is informative....

 

[copsham]

I have an image that comes to mind of all of these husbands, wives, friends buying several types of laxatives and all of us with a cupboard full of stuff not used but kept "just in case" LOL
Having said that post op constipation is not pleasant and can make you feel quite ill - eight days was my marathon.
X

 

[torment]

I tried a suppository yesterday which had very limited results. Today I broke down and went the enema route. It's amazing how well they work. I wouldn't say I'm completely cleared out, but significant progress was made and I'm not feeling like complete garbage at the moment which is an improvement. At this point it's wait and see if my system will start working normally again after that jolt. Who would have known I'd be having more problems post-op due to this than the actual surgery. Thanks for the tips everyone!

 

[torment]

Back on the hip topic, today marks 1 week with the new hip! I've been up and wandering around the house without the need of any aids like a walker or cane for a couple of days now. I've even been able to back off the pain meds to half what I was taking earlier and all appears to be going ok. The pain is a little more bothersome but it's well within acceptable levels. I'd rather have a reasonably clear head with a small amount of additional pain. The area around the bandage has turned a little of that healing bruise yellow color.

At this point the break through pain mainly hits when I move the wrong way. There is a pretty consistent ache right behind my hip almost in the buttocks.

I know I have a long road to go, but so far it's gone far better than I had imagined. Hopefully I'm not jinxing myself!

 

[souldancer]

• @torment - glad to hear things are coming out ! haha I should laugh going on 3 days...

If I do not go tomorrow will do colon massage on myself. Also have taken Kefir which
has acidophilus (antibiotics kill the healthy bacteria in the gut), eating prunes, and have
the milk of magnesia if things don't start moving soon.

Sounds like your doing well, no PT? I had to fight with hospital to release me since
they wanted me to sched for 3x week before they would let me go! Gosh one day
out from surgery....I had met all the PT goals at hospital.

Mine was uncemented no screws in cup, bandage looks like yours except for more
anterior. I will be posting pics soon.

 

[Joydancer]

Welcome to the other-side Torment, sounds like you are right on track & doing well !

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

Yoo hoo @torment! Great to see you are doing so well too (commiserations on the bungedupedness, I was luckier there) - I am just back from my flight (easy peasy), similar pain levels to yours, yes, moving the wrong way makes me hurt! Bruising is massive but wound is fine so far. Very happy that we made it through though! What a relief after all that fear? xxx:rolleyes:

 

[copsham]

Hi @torment
Have hijacked your thread so am going to try to delete above post and repost to great aunt janet!

Sounds like you are doing well - it is fantastic!

 

[torment]

It's been a long wait to find out how you were doing Janet. I'm glad you're recovering well!

On the TMI front things are working slowly but naturally now with no assistance needed any more. The jolt seemed to have worked.

I got a little too confident yesterday and over did it. Sat in a low recliner which caused me to break the 90 degree rule while getting out of it (which hurt a bit). My wife went back to work yesterday so I cooked myself brunch and then cooked dinner for us to give my wife a break. Was a lot of time on my feet. I was feeling the results last night and still today. Hip is quite sore, much more than it has been for days. Gonna take it really easy today and hope it recovers some.

The OS indicated I could remove the bandage at 10 days which is tomorrow, but I don't want to risk it on a weekend so I'm going to wait until Tuesday. That's my wife's next day off and if something goes wrong it's better to be in the ER then than on a weekend.

I start back working tomorrow (from home, at a desk). I've been reducing my meds intake for several days to prepare as my job requires clear and logical thinking, which I don't think I'd do as well stoned on narcotics. I may take a minimal dose when I wake up then try to coast through the rest of the work day on just acetaminophen. I purposely have set it up to start back on a Friday so I can gauge how my hip handles sitting in the office chair that much then have the whole weekend to recover or make any needed changes to continue working comfortably. I could do my job from the bed, but it's just no where near as convenient as my from my computer desk.

 

[chalcedonian1]

hi @torment Glad to hear things are clearing out, as it were! This is a big problem with so many people. I can only add that it helps, and for many is almost a MUST as you continue to take pain meds, to use Colace every day (it is just a gel, but helps keep things moving along well) along with whatever else works for you. (Colace is very safe, it can be taken every day of your life if necessary per the bariatric surgeon who attended my husband with emergency surgery last summer.) I did not find fibre pills or powder did anything at all for me, and yes, I had to resort to the full "colon massage" too, as suppositories did not do a lot, but that at least started me on my road to recovery and I have been totally fine since with my regime. I am sorry for TMI, I am actually quite a private person, but I find it ironic that the worst day in the hospital involved my digestive system and not my hip! So far as going back to work, it is a fine line with the pain meds. I can think pretty well with a 5mg hydrocodone every 4-5 hours, but I am more forgetful for sure than I ever was before, so I have to write everything down (I am only working very part time right now, will resume more hours as I improve). When I fail to take the pain meds, the pain and stiffness and just "weird" feeling in my leg returns, though never as much as during the first week, so do please be careful. These weeks are very important to your healing and you do not want to do anything that has negative consequences later. Others on this site know more about this than I do, but I haven't read about too many people who actually accelerate their healing dramatically by pushing themselves too far, too soon. I am now starting week 4, and will be increasing my walking to at least 1/2 hour at a time several times a day with one walking stick, I have also found that stretching my calf and ham string muscles and my quads carefully, along with using a tiger tail roller very gently has provided me with some relief from pain and stiffness. Good luck with your recovery!

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

You are so right @torment - I have done a bit too much today (people dropping round, lovely but I and the house look like hell, and I just don't know where to look!) and I also have a bit more discomfort and haven't been able to actually sleep at all today. My ankle feels like the surgeon might have hung me from a meat hook by it, and is all sort of stretched out. I wish I hadn't thought of that.

I'm going to get my husband to take off the dressing tomorrow (because it is the weekend and he won't be working) so will get the drop on you. However, you definitely beat us all in the work and clear headed stakes as there is no way I would profitably touch a work pc right now... good on you, hope you get a chance to take lots of rests.

 

[Poppet]

Hi @torment - I thought you might like to get a snapshot of where you are in the process of healing.

The following is a link to an article which provides the current science regarding the healing beneath and around the implant and the medically acknowledged approximate timeframes for our bodies healing phases and processes.

Healing Phases & Nutrition

Nutrition plays a huge part in surgical recovery, in fact it is one of the 'forgotten topics' of recovery..

This second link is to other nutritional articles which you may find interesting, including one relating to bone health.

Nutritional advice for pre op and recovery

This third link refers to my ongoing research..

nutritional-snippets-did-you-know

 

[torment]

Thanks for the info Poppet!

Yesterday was pretty bad. I'm guessing my hip wasn't too pleased with sitting in the office chair that much. Mixed with a few other issues yesterday it left me in more pain than I had been in up to this point. I took very little meds yesterday to keep my head clear enough to think, and I was paying for it by the end of the night. It was to the point that I was again using the walker to get around the house at bed time. It was actually a little scary. The worst moment was when getting up to go to bed there was a shooting sharp pain which felt like it was running down my femur. I had a vision of my femur splitting or something.

I took some meds and crawled in bed and my wife packed my leg and hip in ice. This morning it's much better, and I took a full dose of meds so I'll probably be out cold soon.

 

[Jaycey]

@torment unfortunately you found out the hard way - new hips don't like a lot of sitting in one place. You are only days out from major surgery. Perhaps less working and more recovery time?

I'll leave your recovery articles here for you to refer back to:
First are the BoneSmart mantras ....
- rest, elevate, ice and take your pain meds by the clock
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist - to do it to you
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
- if you won't die if it's not done, don't do it
- never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!
- be active as much as you need to be but not more than is necessary, meaning so much that you end up being in pain, exhausted or desperate to sit down or lay down!

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
Activity progression for THRs
Home physio (PT)
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?

 

[younghippie]

@torment I remember in the early days of recovery, sitting upright like you are describing was very uncomfortable. I would have had a hard time sitting at a desk for any extended period of time. I sat mostly in a recliner or just sat up in bed. Maybe you could work off of a laptop?

 

[Great Aunt Janet]

@torment - sorry to hear about your pain and wild imaginings - except that I have been having them also and now feel more OK about it. Thanks for sharing, helps me to know that nothing is really wrong, it is just part of the recovery process. having a peaceful Sunday...