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THR Two Years Post THR and Life is Great!

Tough news about your old dog @Granny Di , I bet he was embarrassed... good on you for the energy and patience for a new puppy though, how lovely.

Although I do get sore sometimes when I sit too long, too low or belt about a bit much - I keep thinking how much better it is than before the op - I can hardly believe it sometimes. Is that the same for you? I mean, I know I will never be 30, 40, 50 again - but I can tell that the gradual improvement in my strength and flexibility will continue, and that makes me smiiiile!
 
@Sullivand Maybe you are right about my chiro. I was afraid to ask him if I was a hopeless case. He said since I was living at the cottage (a 40 minute drive from town) I could just drop in whenever I was in town. "For what?" I wanted to ask him as he did nothing but go over my MRI and comment that the correction for one problem negatively affected the other problem. It's a good thing he is good looking!
With metal inserts now they cannot use any electronic heat treatment for muscle aches. I have to keep reminding myself that I am 69 and need to be patient.
@sunbunny -Yes there are always new aches and pains - sitting for the long drive was achy and I needed to stop and stretch a few times. My sister and I spent about 3 hours shopping -Costco and Home Sense - and that was harmful -to the bank acct too! I feel for you sunbunny as it is hard to be patient when recovery is so slow.
We'll all get through this together!:console2:
 
@Great Aunt Janet - I thought when I got back with the car and a wagon in the back (He was on the trail in the bush) the dog would be dead he was that pitiful. (I had left my hubby to deal with the bugs and the dog.)
In the afternoon he was retrieving big logs in the lake! Why can't we recover like that? I think it was the heat that got to him. I hear you are having a polar influx in Oz.
I hope we can handle a pup now but in 5 or ten years at 75 -80? Gonna be tough.
Yes I was in pain before the op and could not walk as far as I can now. You have the right positive outlook -we are getting better albeit slowly. You know my biggest fear is dementia because it runs in my mother's family and exercise was my way of fighting it off. With my mom and her sister it started at age 75 and got worse slowly until she passed at 89. With that thought I better get off this device and get on my bike.
Thanks to all for reading and responding in whatever way you did. Love you all!
 
Lovely news about your dog (naughty to frighten you like that!), extra treats for him tonight. Yes cold heading our way I believe - we have hardly had a winter at all really, so I think we need something to kill off the bugs.

You keep on that bike, it is keeping you damn sharp now - so great to tackle big problems with strong weapons. As always - you are an inspiration Di.
:yes!:
 
@Granny Di ~ I do hope you find some sort of relief for your back pain. I've been able to keep my back issues at bay for many years and I seem to be noticing it even less since my hip.

I don't do kids very well - I'm afraid mine grew up and turned out well in spite of me - and find them a bit tiring at the best of times. Our Arabian club sponsors a reading program with the local schools where the kids come out, learn about horses then "read to the horse" - it was fun working with them but exhausting.

It's so sad when our canine friends have problems. Since I lost Stetson (my wonderful Standard Poodle) I decided to wait to get another dog - and my aging Pound Puppy (a wonderful breed) seems to enjoy being an "only" dog. Though he also enjoyed a few days visit from his brother last week. They'd been apart for 14 years and I'm sure had no idea they were related. :dogsniff:
 
Beginning 18th week on Monday: Report on recovery
Too much cottage socializing has interfered with my exercise /rest plans and I have been moping and depressed for a month when I was expecting to be so much better. I didn't have the after op blues that everyone else seems to get but I have them now.
What I can do post op: bring my knee to my chest -couldn't do that for at least 6 years
Bend my bent leg out without pain
Walk without pain on the op side hip
Enjoy some nookie without pain
Walk 5 kms -havent tried doing more than that
Bike 12 kms on my mtn bike on sand roads - no hills
What I cannot do: walk without pain on the non-op side -guess I need it fixed too
Bend/squat easily
On knees I get funny pins and needles feeling in my op side knee
I still need acetaminophen to help with pain in non-op hip.
Cannot sit for long periods (say 2 hours in the car ) without having to struggle to stand upright -pain until I straighten and walk a few steps and that is with tylenol.
Can't get into my white jeans.

My back is bad with retrolisthesis at L2 on L3
anterolisthesis of L4 on L5
Conclusion from MRI - Multilevel spondylosis including narrowing of thecal sac at L3-4 and a right extruded disc compressing the right L3 nerve root

I have to be positive. I can do a lot and it could be worse.
 
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I don't want people to compare themselves to me and what I can do as you may get discouraged. I was in relatively good shape and my hip pain got unbearable rather suddenly after two weeks of strenuous hiking. I don't think of myself as an athlete but the medical people always say I am an athlete. It always surprises me as I just feel old.
:bicycle1:
 
My new hip feels hard and like it is sticking out more than the old hip. Does anyone else have this feeling?
:shrug:
 
@Granny Di my new hip definitely feels different than the other after almost 5 weeks. I am attributing this to tissues that are still healing around it, and possible numbness (I had the anterior procedure). I'm hoping most of all of the numbness goes away over time. My surgeon's PA said that's often the last thing that comes back.

As for sticking out, could it be a loss of muscle tone around the new hip? Causing it to feel more prominent?
 
@agilehippy - i think the muscle, collagen and fat have not totally repaired in that area yet. I suppose it is normal.
I hiked my first 5 km on an up and down trail near our cottage this morning (on two Tylenol) - it took an hour so I am happy with that. My "good" hip hurt but not my new one. I'm tired now though and will take it easy...I think I am over my pity party. :)I will check out your thread. The numbness gets better -it seems to take forever but it isn't really considering what has been done. I was massaging my knee constantly. Aren't we lucky to have this forum and all the great hippies and moderators?:loveshwr::yay:
 
@agileHippie @Granny Di I still feel odd too at 8 5 weeks. Numb and sore on the op side. Incision still hurts and when pt works the muscles it's a big owie. No where near laying on that side yet.
 
@donor - I can sleep on all sides - even my stomach which I couldn't do pre op. Don't know why that is! Maybe all that sawing and hammering, pulling and tugging straightened out something in my back. :flabber:
I was released from phsyio on May 20th - 8 weeks after op. I am slowly increasing activity but I am never sure if I am doing too much or too little. I can tell you I am stiff now after my hike but I will rest up tomorrow.
I wish there was more follow up but I suppose if I want to get reassurance I could see my physio.
@donor - 8 weeks isn't long really - it takes months for the body to heal. What I would like is to get off the tylenol but I have too much pain in the good side. :chinstroke:
Hang in there! You will get better.
 
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@Granny Di
We are the same age and from where I sit you are doing brilliantly. I wasn't as physically as active for sure but you no longer have any pain in the op hip, so that is a miracle. Happy for you!:wowspring::yes!::yay: Hoping to get where you are one of these days.
 
@nochoice - I like your avatar! I'm a birder and wildlife lover and love to take photos of the birds.
I don't have that pain you feel each time you put weight on a hip or take a step - but I do have abnormal feelings in the op side so I am not healed yet by a long shot. I did a long hike today - 6.4 kms on sand roads in 1:27 -picking a few sweet blueberries along the way and I am tired now. My leg felt wobbly near the end and I had to think about correct gait and making my leg go where I wanted it to go. The "good" side has that pain (mild comparatively) on each step so it will need doing at some stage but I am not ready for that. I am still taking tylenol - 2 this morning for the walk so I am not pain free yet.
The walk was easier than the bending and squatting putting the bed together yesterday. I had lots of muscle pain after that session. Like the mods here say - walking is the best exercise.
I compare myself to others on the forum and I realize I am doing better than most but I still wish it was healing faster. I haven't read your thread but will soon. Do you feel that you only have a few good years left at age 69? That's how I feel and I want to travel some more and have a few more skiing, biking and hiking adventures. Dementia runs in my family on my mom's side so I am afraid my good years are going to be few and I also feel that exercise is the best way to fight dementia. Do you feel that way? I hate getting old and I tell my 5 grandkids that I am going to live to be 100. They believe me! Bloody hips are messing up that goal!
Soldier on! We are all in this together. :good-bad:
 
@Granny Di I read your story in @donor's thread about your trip. Oh my goodness you are brave and wonderful! I hope that most of your trip was lovely even though the boat didn't get you. I would have been CRYING for sure. The point is that you just did it and that is amazing! I am sure you will be here well past 100! You certainly have the goals and attitude to do so. Thank you for all of your support on my thread. I appreciate all of the positive thoughts!
 
@Granny Di
I like that owl and little fox(?)too but I fear it is photoshopped! truthfully right now I feel that all my good years are behind me. I've had pain ever since my THR and did not go into this surgery with lots of pain like many of you. I had no hip pain! In a way this makes it harder I think. If the hip pain was gone perhaps I could access how I really feel about age. In Sept. I will be 70, now that sounds old.You really are doing amazingly well and I can see you at 100. Luckily no family history of dementia for me. You don't necessarily have the genes and I'm sure exercise is good for everything if your body can handle it. Cheers.:hiking:
 
What did you say @nochoice ? Just kidding but my memory is going and I find it hard to keep up with everyone here. I can still figure things out though. I noticed my mom and her sister started to lose it around 75 but they lived to 89.
Now I blame my stupidity on meds fog. Lots of years of stressful teaching and lack of sleep hasn't helped and I wonder if all the stress contributed to my arthritic joints?
@nochoice -I keep telling myself that being 70 is heck of a lot better than NOT being 70. I had friends that died at 40 and 50 and my own father passed at 68. He had both legs amputated from diabetes. So sad.
Cheer up -we are lucky to have lived this long! I have to read your thread now and forget it. :scratch:
:thud::umm::what:
haha
 
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