THR Up, up & away!'

[Miss Muffet]

Hello @doopy - sorry I've been off grid for a couple of days (birthday and anniversary) so have been neglectful.

First of all - I would dump emptying the dishwasher (apart, maybe from the top layer??) You really need to conscript someone else to carry out that job. One Smartie had a great suggestion for cat feeding. She used paper plates which once the car food has been added she just dropped on the floor. Then later on used her grabber to pick up the plate and toss it in the bin!

I hope you're keeping on top of that pain with meds. Maybe you're cutting down too early? I'm taking more than you and your Op was a week after mine after all. If you cut down before time you will have pain and then you won't want to move around. You'll decrease naturally over time, so don't push it. I cut a dose out a few days ago and regretted it. I'll revisit that when I'm feeling more confident I'm on top of things. The blues may be linked to the pain (pain is a real downer) so possibly time to reassess?

The brain fog is also very familiar - I cannot tackle anything that vaguely requires grey matter. I've got a pile of books which have been given to me but I just can't deal with them at the moment. No concentration whatsoever. It really bothered me. At least I recognise this from last time. I get up each day and think of the things I'll tackle, but they invariably don't get done. This won't last forever. Last time, one day, quite out of the blue I woke up and started to get motivated and involved. Made appointments, read, picked up my pastels. At the moment I feel I'm dragging myself a bit, but I am more reassured that normal service will be resumed. Don't stress over this. You and your body have been through a lot and this is your time to simply take things a day at a time. Be kind to it and it will pay dividends in the long run

 

[doopy]

Yes, @Miss Muffet , I'm getting the message re the dishwasher!! Today I spent hours resting in the recliner, getting up now & again for a little walk, just messing around online, watching TV etc, & as it's the end of the week I let husband pick up fish & chips, which we have about once a year. Decided now was the time for the annual indulgence! Feel better for a day of real rest.

His response to my last meltdown (tears of frustration, not anger) was -wait for it ! - "why don't you do what I do when I want to relax, lie down & pick up Proust? You can't go wrong with him"!!! In my present foggy state I'd be lucky to get past the title page!! Honestly!!

Hope you had a fab birthday & anniversary - how was Sir Van? As I said, I'm gearing up for a trip to a concert soon, & I'm going to leave the house for the first time post-op for Sunday lunch with friends in a country oub. Fingers crossed!

 

[Krista]

That's so funny, @doopy, your husband recommending Proust! It might do a nice job of putting you to sleep for a nap! You are less than two weeks out, so brain fog would definitely still be an issue for you. It does take quite a bit of brain power to be hyper aware of every move we make, trying to be safe. And our brains just can't do much right away after surgery. Please do try to avoid doing too much. Others can do ALL of those tasks which are still too difficult for you. Enjoy those ventures out, but don't feel badly if either of them turn out to be too much for you to handle yet. I didn't go out at all until my two week follow-up appointment at the surgeon's office, and only a time or two in the weeks following that.

 

[cait1981]

Doopy - please dont feel bad about your lack of concentration regarding reading - I have my final 2000 word assignment due on 12th Dec and I can't get anything done - It was originally due 14th Nov and I asked for extension due to surgery - now I'm struggling to research for it as I cant concentrate and the deadlines looming - its okay though I decided to just do a little each day starting today :D

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[doopy]

Hello @Krista , yes, I'm quite nervous about going out. I don't know how things work on your side of the world, but I start the first of a series of 6 PT appointments on what will be Day 16, & my first appt with the surgeon will be around Week 6, so it seems we are sort of left on own a bit here? I live about 150 yards from my Physio clinic but they have advised I don't walk there (on crutches). I feel I probably could - which is actually amazing when I think that I couldn't do it pre-op, & drove! My friend & neighbour (who lives opposite me & who will be having his THR in the same hospital as me in a few weeks' time) also has to drive there - can you believe it??! I think maybe I'm already getting ready to appreciate the benefits of this new hip. But I'm hopeful that a quiet Sunday pub lunch will be ok - my kind friends are reserving a table right by the door & arranging to drop me right outside. I'll just have to try to avoid any potentially dangerous trips to the Ladies!!
So, nervous but thinking it might do me good to see beyond my house. @Miss Muffet was so right when she compared the hip to coming home with a new baby - I remember a friend (who already had kids) had to gently remind me there was a world outside & who helped me to take my first trip to a store with the baby. Scary!!

 

[Miss Muffet]

Take it steady on the PT - remember if it hurts don't let them push you. Let me just say that I was simply released with a short list of exercises which, so far, I have not done. I only did them a couple of times after my last Op. Have occasionally done a few simple stretches. Truly I find following the BS mantras worked for me. Look at your self-confessed progress so far - saying you think you could probably manage the walk to the clinic already (only days postOp, and more than you could have managed preOp!) Do you see how your mood has lifted after a day taking it a little more gently? Enjoy your pub visit.

 

[Jaycey]

Anyone else feel the same??

Brain fog is very common post op. One of the biggest complaints we see here is members saying they can't focus on anything like reading or doing crafts. It will ease but it's very real. Mindless TV or movies help pass the time.

 

[SwimGirl]

Hello @doopy I was staying home more and more preop because it just wasn't worth the energy to go out.
So, staying home postop was a breeze. In fact I am still happy to be home even though I can move now.
Then I have to remind myself that I actually enjoy going out to shop and see Christmas decorations and go out to lunch. Just have to work at expanding my world again. Good Luck on PT and do not overdo. I think after the holidays I will pursue PT again. Not in a hurry to do any more exercises than in preop booklet. You know how Josephine stresses little to no exercises and hips heal well on their own if given half a chance.

 

[Miss Muffet]

How is @doopy doing today?

 

[doopy]

Hi @Miss Muffet , thank you for asking! just got back from my first physio appt. Slight crisis as I was nearly late - one of those days when crutches kept flying away from me, grabber was always in wrong room (even though I have 3), and both legs got stuck down one trouser leg. Plus at the same time son was running late for returning tp London and hadn't packed etc etc. Phew!
I was slightly disappointed, as I'd hoped my physio (who I'd been seeing pre-op) would be more impressed with me - I thought I was doing great, but I got a few comments about foot turning out wrong way and how my back was sort of locked. Gosh - encouragement is so important!! But she is great, and was probably just doing her job well by not letting me get away with bad habits. She was excellent in explaining the emotional and psychological aspects of pain (something I know she specialises in): for example, when she got me to do some movements which pinched a bit in the groin, it was like the old pain, and I told her this particular pain frightened me as it made me worry that somehow the problem had not been fixed. But when she made me do something different, and it was a bit sore in the buttock, I just accepted it and didn't mind because I understood how much trauma that part of me had sustained, and it was so obviously a new pain relating to surgery. A good lesson in how we process pain. Once she had explained that it was the flexor muscles at the front of the hip which had probably been out of action for years which were now hurting, and this was to be expected, I think I'll be able to deal with it and work through those exercises without worrying so much But in spite of the fact that I love my surgeon and trust him totally, there's that tiny fear that keeps on saying "ow, that's the old pain, did he miss something??", which of course is ridiculous.

Still a bit weepy but not depressed - just little tiny waterworks for a second when I feel lonely or dreading the long day ahead - but then I get down to it and it's fine. Like now - I'm nestled in my recliner with my laptop & a rug, will do some stuff online and then doze. I think there's a part of me that just can't quite grasp that this will all pass one day (soon) - I still can't believe there's a real life after this. @SwimGirl , you are so right - my world had shrunk right down to trips to the supermarket (which I sadly do quite enjoy!) and the garden centre - otherwise every trip had to be considered to evaluate if it was going to be worth the pain and the effort and the enduring pain for 2-3 days afterwards. As I said, I can't yet believe that I might get back into the real world!!

Sorry, all - this turned into a great lengthy essay - just felt like explaining and unburdening, though maybe the pain explanations might be of help to others.

 

[gertie]

I can't yet believe that I might get back into the real world!!

You will! You will!

I recently read back through one of my pre-op threads as a reminder of what I was dealing with in the month or two before surgery. I mentioned going to the supermarket after work and how hard it had been--and I remember that trip and how I had to cut it short with just a few items in the cart because I was in so much pain. Well, I recently went to the same supermarket--drove myself there--and I didn't quite finish my list but not because of pain. Instead I started to feel tired and realized I still needed to stand in the checkout line, load the groceries into the car, drive home, and unload them so I thought it best to go while I had some energy left. But it did feel like a step into real life again--and a pain free step.

 

[Jaycey]

or dreading the long day ahead

Wow - I remember this part. At times it was very hard to even get motivated to do it again another day. Everything takes so darn long to do!

You'll get there @doopy . Just give yourself time to fully heal. And please don't let PT hurt you - no matter what she is trying to explain. PT should never hurt.

 

[Miss Muffet]

Well personally I think you're doing well and yes, I guess the Physio is just looking extra closely at your gait. And the emotional toll is something not to be taken lightly. Jaycey is right though, you mustn't do any Physio which hurts. We get low when we're in pain so that will inevitably make you weepy. Getting moving first thing after we've stiffened up overnight is always a difficult time of the day but once we get moving things ease up a little. I only had that same conversation yesterday that when you've lived with OA pain for such a long time it is really hard to imagine that we will ever be painfree and mobile once more. I'm still a way off and after a more active day have to take an enforced easier day. I do have the advantage of recalling this pattern and also that it really does get better. I had a brief patch between surgeries when I was more mobile. The new hip had started to function and Leftie was coping (just). Then things got worse and the shrinking world problem which we all share cut in. Any shopping trips were gradually reduced and finally junked. I just could not cope with the walk or carrying anything. I was pretty much housebound and reliant on others. It's hard being patient when we're anxious to get our lives back again.

 

[doopy]

Thanks friends - it's so great to share & not feel alone! I now realise how others in my life who are painfree just can't possibly empathise, whereas everyone here seems to share the key common ground. Will try those PT exercises - but gently! I'm a great believer in listening to my body. Also, the PT today so rightly described certain movements as "functional exercise" ie things you ought to do as exercises but actually end up doing anyway naturally as part of just living (e.g. golfer's lunge to pick things up).
Onward & upward!!

 

[gertie]

certain movements as "functional exercise"

Seems like the functional approach is the best thing to do in the early days while soft tissue is healing. My in-home PT was all about function and very helpful--golfer's lunge, other ways to bend w/o breaking precautions, ways to get up from a chair more easily, getting in and out of the tub to take a shower. She discouraged doing exercises simply to do exercises--everything she had me do was about increasing flexibility to increase function. Very useful and not at all painful.

 

[SwimGirl]

@ doopy I don't need to look back at notes to remember my limitations. I have a few kinks to work out with
my left hip but I wouldn't trade it for my preop status. I just love that I can collect stuff from the floor that
I drop. I obviously need to get out more. On a brighter note my son and I will be working for the Salvation
Army with their annual Christmas toy distribution for families that have financial needs. Donations are made
mostly by corporations in the area and we get to deliver them to individuals as they arrive at the warehouse.
I basically will be pushing a cart and then someone else puts items in the customer's car. So I won't overdo.
Love holding onto a cart! We have done this for the last several years and the people are so grateful that
some start crying. What a blessing!

 

[cait1981]

Doopy I loved reading your post it reminds me that everything I'm experiencing is a normal part of recovery. I am 5 weeks post op today and still struggling with emotions- yesterday I was excited because I could finally do leg lifts and took a short trip to Bunnings only to find my knee felt very weak, I broke out in a cold sweat as the pain increased - this morning I was teary feeling like I regressed a few weeks so decided to rest all day and start again tomorrow. I am down to 2 endone so called the Dr to arrange a new prescription and got the third degree from the receptionist about whether I needed this medication still - I only take 5mg once or twice a day but I will have to wait and see if the Dr prescribes more or something else. Anyway It is good to read other people's journeys and how they are coping with the tough days.

Cait
LTKR
27th October 2016

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[SwimGirl]

@cait1981 yep! 5 weeks and I am not exactly where I want to be with recovery. Guess I am not alone. Now why am I not one of those people who at 2 weeks postop threw my walker to the side and said I am all good to go?
I swam about 3/4 of a mile a day preop up until my first surgery. I guess swimming is not walking! So a day at a time.
I hope you get your meds refilled. Do not give a thought to that receptionist! She is not the one in pain!
Tough days? Put red cranberry juice in a wine glass and put feet up and watch a good movie!

 

[doopy]

Hi @cait1981 , thanks, yes - it's so good to know we aren't alone. I'm fine when I'm with my mother-in-law who is popping in for an hour or 2 every day to watch me descend our (seemingly) huge staircase & to pick up stuff the grabber can't get etc, but when my husband comes home I just dissolve into tears. I held it together last night until going up to bed, when my crutch slipped off the stair, taking my leg with it. All was fine, but the shock & fear just made me burst into tears. Sometimes it all just seems so difficult, even though logically I know I'm doing well (for heaven's sake, someone just removed my hip socket & 2 days later I'm walking??! I mean - bionic or what? Miraculous!), and the days till I am allowed to give up the blasted crutches (at 4 weeks) stretch ahead. Why can't I just enjoy the enforced rest? Here in the U.K. it is becoming festively freezing & frosty, so snuggling down for an afternoon under a rug with tv & my laptop ought to be a lovely indulgence but instead I feel guilty & a failure. Today I'm going to make myself write Christmas cards (every year mine are late!).
I hope you got your meds - if they are helping on whatever level (psychologically find that a small ibuprofen is sort of reassuring for me -I imagine it as doing its anti-inflammatory good work even though maybe I don't now need it for pain). Don't fret about your knee feeling weak - it is such early days still when you think what has been done to it! Try to love it & think that you are taking care of it if you give up & rest for a bit.
Well, I've been awake now for 2 hours since being woken at 5.30am by the dreaded TEDs cutting in behind my knee - ouch! But looking forward to call from a friend in NZ very soon, at this odd hour.
Chin up, everyone!!

 

[doopy]

@SwimGirl , what a wonderful post about your work with the Salvation Army! Such a tremendous thing to do, I'm sure you & your son will have such a fulfilling and heartwarming time - bless people like you.
I too was a swimmer pre-op, except it had deteriorated into basically just a lot of floating around! Every leg movement had me yelping! But I love my (small!) pool at an old hotel round the corner, where my friend & neighbour try to go at least twice a week. I'm looking forward to getting back, but a bit scared about getting in & out using the ladder!!