THR Two years of building the courage, finally on the other side!

[Abbylayla]

Surgery went well yesterday. My spouse asked my surgeon how bad it was. His reply "Oh yeah. It was pretty bad". Can't wait until he sees the worse right one. Wide awake after surgery & very comfortable thanks to nerve block. Oddly, the left hip pain is manageable. But the left knee, which is not a healthy knee by a long shot, os hovering between 7 & 10. I took IV dilaudid every 4 hours last night in order to get away from the pain & get a little sleep. I'm on Oxy now to maintain during the day without over sedation so I can do PT.
I know they move our arms & legs all over during surgery, I'm just hoping nothing "popped" in that left knee causing me a big problem. They are going to keep me until tomorrow, which is fine since I'm very weak from two years of inactivity so I can use the help right now. Was sitting in a chair for about an hour but started getting very uncomfortable and came back to bed. Knee feels decent right now. Don't know if it's the Oxy or it's turning a corner. Hopefully the latter.
Thanks for all the support, encouragement & well wishes. It was an enormous help!

 

[Eman85]

I don't think an OS has ever said, Oh by the way that hip looked good but we replaced it anyway!
The knees take a lot during the procedure and the muscles that pass through the hip that are moved out of the way terminate at the knee. Many times it's the muscles that are giving the pain and it feels like the knee joint.

 

[Jockette]

Welcome to Recovery!

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

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!)

If you want to use something to assist with healing and scar management, BoneSmart recommends hypochlorous solution. Members in the US can purchase ACTIVE Antimicrobial Hydrogel through BoneSmart at a discount. Similar products should be available in the UK and other countries.

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. Here is a week-by-week guide
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.

 

[DK63]

Hi and well done @Abbylayla Now the healing begins...slowly...take your time

 

[Ocean]

Congratulations on your new hip and best wishes for your recovery.

 

[HollyNY]

So glad to see you @Abbylayla !

Enjoy your new hip. May you have many years together

 

[Ruth123]

Congrats.

Your 2 years of relative inactivity may slow your recovery a bit. But you will get there.

It took awhile for my body to fully cooperate--for the first month, each day I had a different pain in a different part of my body, alternate sides, not just on operative side. Many aches and pains were ones I'd never had before. It was as if my body was mad at me for having the surgery.

Then things settled down.

 

[Woodstockhip]

@Abbylayla! I was waiting for this report. So glad you are on the healing side of this "adventure." Just take it slowly and in a week, you won't believe how much changes.

 

[BellaMac]

Congratulations on your new hip. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

 

[Abbylayla]

So everything going well. Going home in a few minutes. My hip feels pretty much as I expected. Sore for sure but not at all unbearable. No grinding & freezing! Biggest pain is my knee. No idea what they do to your knee during surgery but it's absolutely killing me. I take Oxycodone which is just putting a dent In It! Also as expected, I'm carrying WAY too much weight. I need to get really serious about losing some. Gonna be a tough rehab. But I knew it would. So I'm in a great hospital with an amazing staff. A wonderful experience just like it was for my knee replacement. Only issue was...wait for it....one physical therapist. I had Occupational therapy this morning. Walking. Getting in And out of car etc. Having been sedentary for two years that wiped me out. Then PT comes in. Wants me to do it all over again. I tell him I just did that 15minutes ago & explain my right hip problem. My arms are shot. My knee is very painful & I'm pretty atrophied . Gonna take me time to build myself back. He asks me to do the best I can. I agree. Don't want to argue and ask him how far he wants me to go. I struggled to get there start to turn around & he wants me to go a little further. I do. Then I tell him, look I'm wiped out. I can't walk anymore. He tells me I have to push myself. I say nope. I'm not doing that. I fully expect this rehab, considering my run down state to take months & I'm not going to push myself to exhaustion the 1st few days.
He wasn't too happy. Too bad!!

 

[Jaycey]

@Abbylayla Well done for knowing your limits and sticking to them. PT and OT are a tickbox exercise. If your hip isn't ready then you were right in speaking up.

Biggest pain is my knee.

Your knee gets grabbed and manhandled during the procedure. Don't be surprised if you start to see bruising in the next few days. Ice the knee as well. All will ease fairly quickly.

 

[Woodstockhip]

Good on you for advocating for yourself. I’m soooo glad to see you on the healing side. Now we Ladies of the Hudson Valley need to get healthy and strong so we can meet up someplace classy for lunch! Now go home and rest, ice, elevate, and enjoy your beautiful new hip.

 

[Abbylayla]

You know it @Woodstockhip !!!

 

[Layla]

Wonderful to see you here finally. Congrats on your new hip!
The knee can be manipulated rather aggressively during the dislocation process and you may have to ice it for some relief right along with your hip. Good for disagreeing to push yourself today with the PT.
Safe travels home, Abbylayla!
@Abbylayla

 

[HollyNY]

Good for you advocating for yourself.
Yes indeed this merits meeting everyone to celebrate

 

[Abbylayla]

So home now. Waiting for PT to come. My hip joint is not bad. But it felt better yesterday. Is this normal early on? My knee continues to be a huge painful issue. I had it elevated with ice last night. It helped a little. But starting to get concerned. The incision.....rub it against something & I go through the roof. I cant see it but my coordinator said its larger than usual. Gonna guess that's because I let this go too far? But I did take a shower this morning. Felt great. Hopefully PT doesn't push me too far again!!

 

[Layla]

Good morning!

Yes, it is normal to have some days better than others as far as pain and discomfort go. You're only three days removed from the controlled trauma your leg sustained through this major surgery. Your knee may bother you for some time so continue to take meds on schedule and ice any / all that is causing you pain. Try to wear loose soft clothing to avoid any friction of fabric rubbing against your incision. Many even size up in panties or loungewear. Another option, many women have resorted to mens boxers early on for the comfort they offer.
As far as length of the incision, it depends upon the approach used and body weight can play a factor also. Your incision shouldn't heal any differently than a shorter incision, just follow your surgeon's protocol for treatment.
Please do not allow the PT to force you to do anything that causes you pain. You can control these sessions from the beginning by telling the PT that you will only do what you're comfortable doing.

Keep this in mind -
It is not necessary to exercise your injured hip to promote healing. The controlled trauma sustained through THR will heal on its own. Often though, we're impatient and want to move the process along. In doing so we run the risk of struggling with pain and setbacks stalling the healing process. The best therapy for recovery is walking, but not to excess. Start slowly increasing time and distance incrementally in an effort not to overdo it. Give yourself the TLC you deserve and reap the benefits of a successful recovery.

Best wishes for a good day!
@Abbylayla

 

[Ruth123]

My experience with ANY surgery is that the 3rd day is about the worse...all the pain meds you had during spinal block and IV afterward in hospital, leave your system around then.

Wow...a shower already! I was a scaredy cat and waited a week on a shower (ours has a step down into it). Just used washcloths during that time. Good for you!!

My scar though small (4 inches) was sensitive for a long time (same experience with breast tumor surgery)...I have very thin skin. I went bottom-less when at home (I wore sundresses or skirts) as I found the leg holes in many of my panties too tight over the incision. When I went in public areas for walks I wore a pair of satiny men's briefs for the first month.

Even today, 2 1/2 months post-op, some of my underwear irritates it, some days.

 

[HollyNY]

Hi @Abbylayla
Day 3 was the most uncomfortable overall. Ice round the clock if you can. I used a lightweight icepack in a ziplock bag in a pillowcase.

My incision also measures a little longer than I expected. I had the same thought that more work might have been needed to fix everything. But it will be almost invisible when healed.

Lounge pants were the most comfortable with a looser cut. Nothing to rub or irritate the incision.

 

[Abbylayla]

I decided to take my shorts off around the house & just wear underwear. My shorts are pretty loose by why bother. I dis buy some underwear a size big. They also stretch. Very comfortable & easy for bathroom runs.
@HollyNY I have an ice machine & I've been using that on my hip because the ice bladder can mold around it. I've got an ice bag on my knee. Been doing this for hours each day. Can I tell you I'm freezing!! I'm actually thinking about getting a fire going in my woodstove. Lol But yes you are absolutely correct, ice is a huge help.
@Layla my surgeon is a real non alarmist. Before I left yesterday he talked to me about PT. He told me not to drive myself crazy with PT & don't let them scare me. Yes the exercises are good but he's more concerned with just moving my feet around & getting up to walk every so often even if not far. Knowing my fear of dislocation he told me to follow the 90 degree rule, no twisting etc but again he said don't let them scare me or drive me crazy, it's just their job. He also said the chances of dislocation are slim to none. As I get used to the new hip I can feel that it is strong. Stronger than I expected. I can put full weight on it. I have pain for sure but pretty much the surgical muscle pain I expected. The insision is YOUCH! I wasn't expecting that. But all in all I knew being sedentary for two years this would be a difficult rehab & it will be.