AMD, I needed meds for a good five months after both my surgeries. And I continued taking Celebrex even beyond that. Remember that as you progress, you naturally get more active. But as you get more active, you still need to control pain. This surgery takes a full year OR MORE for complete recovery. No one realizes how much the soft tissue was disturbed during surgery...and we hippies commonly experience various aches, pains, stiffness, tightness, etc from our low back down to our toes. Usually due to a combination of under-medicating and overdoing.
As for PT, you say to the therapist....that hurts. It doesn't hurt good...it hurts bad. I want to take a few days off while I let this inflammation die down, and then I want to go forward cautiously. If something hurts while I'm doing it, don't do it. Say no....that hurts more than I am comfortable with. If your PT scolds you, or makes you feel like a slacker, or insists that you have to....you need a different PT person to work with. You are not rehabbing an injury...you are still recovering from MAJOR surgery. Not all PTs get that....a lot of places are geared more toward working with injured athletes. You're in charge of your body.
Jo will tell you that all a hip needs for a good recovery is walking....and that in moderation, with slow, gradual increases over time as you are comfortable with. I did have PT 3x a week after both my surgeries, but by 8 weeks they cut me loose. At that point I was walking comfortably with no aids. But I was also still taking a daily tramadol or two, tylenol, and celebrex. By the end of 3 months, I had dropped the tramadol. By 4 months, I dropped the tylenol. By 9 months....drug free...a major goal. And now....holy cow....I'm close to a five year anniversary on the first hip, and 4 years on the second. I remain drug free except for times when I am excessively active. I take a couple tylenol proactively when I'm going to be dancing for an evening. And I still take celebrex when I take a grandchild to Disneyworld. But that's not very often.
We are all different, and you will need to find your own combination of what works for you. And just be patient....your body won't be rushed into recovering faster just because you want it to. But it can be rushed into a strain that flares into tendonitis that sidelines you just when you're ready to finally be past it all.
Sharon
United States
As for a warmer state, moving south won't help at all right now. Georigia's "high" this morning is 23 - with not prediction for much warming up. Maybe you should look at somewhere near the Keys???
