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THR Weight after surgery

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@sandysue14
Yes, I will have the right done in September and pray I won't ever need the left hip done (it is symptomless at this point).
You're very welcome for the "encouragement". You are fortunate that "your way" is working for you. However, take someone like myself, who will not be in the extremely good physical condition you were in prior to surgery, my recovery will be quite different than yours. I most likely (actually odds are) will need to follow more of the "traditional" recovery methods mentioned here on Bonesmart.
As mentioned again and again on Bonesmart, each person's recovery is unique to themselves. What may work for one member may not work for another. I'm happy you found "your" recovery path to healing. :)
 
Glad that your exercise routine is working for you @sandysue14 .

Regarding your comment on restrictions - huge numbers of surgeons require restrictions - others don't. But in the end every recovery is different and each and every new hippie must choose the path that is right for them and for their healing hip.

For anyone reading all this please don't compare your recovery to any other recovery. We are all different and many need time to rest and heal post THR.
 
@Cynthia777 - I've had some on hand since about Nov 2014, before my major shoulder surgery in Dec '14...my hips were bad and my shoulder was bad, leading to almost zero sleep every night.
I found I needed help and succumbed to taking something (either one perc or one traz or one of each) almost every night if I wanted to get any more than 2-3 hours.

Between Dec '14 and my BTHR on June 24 '15, I got 3-4 hrs per night *with* a traz, and only got random 6-7 hr sleeps with a perc and traz *and* a low activity day (less than average pain in hips and from shoulder recovery workouts).
I used my ice machine every night for all of that, no matter the drugs.

post-op BTHR, I randomly use one perc and one traz at ~midnight if I want to ensure that I knock off by 1-2AM and sleep for 6-7 hrs.
Last night, because I was a bit achy and 'ginchy' from walking and shooting hoops yesterday, I took one of both. I just woke up after a solid heavenly 7 hrs.
Yazaaaa!!
:)

going to the pool to swim laps this morning.
might need something again tonight...but I try not to and will take if I need to, no question.
 
Wow Dashinghippie! You are awesome! I imagine you are a wee bit larger (and you are clearly supplied with testosterone) and I can see that you are nearly 10 years younger than I am so heap on the scoops! My biggest frustration is not knowing how much I really weigh haha! I am only now up to the duck walking with resistance bands (feels silly)! I like to see some determination and spunk! At first I felt like some of the people on this forum thought I was a total nut, but am ready to hit the gym again today and once again, feel better than I did yesterday! I am off to Thailand on Sept. 1 and need to be ready for the 3 flights that add up to about 26 hours. We live there 6 months every year and from there we travel. This is year it is India (1 month), Laos, Vietnam, and 2 trips to Northern Thailand. So I need to be ready to move! Hooray for you! And Hooray for me too!
 
Sandy, would you please create a signature for yourself that includes your surgery information. That is helpful to all who come along and read about your recovery.
 
Signature's done!
gazelle7777 said:
I wonder how much a hip or knee implant weighs. I know they weigh more than bone. I have two hip and two knee replacements. So Say I f they weigh three pounds each ....can I subtract 12 pounds from what the scale says?
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No way they weigh 3lbs each! I've weighed one of each - you can read the result in here Weight of hip and knee prostheses.
sandysue14 said:
After having extensively researched the mechanism by which bone growth is stimulated, I now know that this is not a good approach. The only way to increase bone growth is to put weight on the specific muscles that attach to the bone.
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I won't say this is totally wrong but it's not entirely true! Pulling of the muscles and ligaments might contribute a bit to this but only a bit. Bone growth is stimulated by loading on the bone which can be vertical, horizontal, angled or, most importantly, torsional. Bone is a very dynamic and unique tissue. It can sustain 40 degrees of torsion (as in slalom skiing) without failing for instance.

One of the biggest issues facing NASA when they sent men into space was the loss of bone stock due to the weightlessness. But this can take weeks to become an issue. Resting for a couple or three weeks after surgery is not going to do it.
sandysue14 said:
I believe this is because I don't lie in bed all day.
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But nobody is suggesting a person spends all day in bed! What a ridiculous idea! There is a vast difference between doing sensible activity and having rests in between to going over the top and thinking that by intense exercising one can 'make this hip/knee recover if it kills me' kind of notion. I don't think you're going quite that far but I have seen the grisly outcomes of people who do just that and my concern is that other members and guests might read that into your posts and get the wrong idea.
sandysue14 said:
I am surprised at the extreme hip precautions as these seem to be the ones used only for posterior hip replacements.
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It's nothing to do with approaches, just the surgeons preference. I know lots of hip surgeons who never impose restrictions for their posterior, lateral or antero-lateral hips. I know other surgeon who impose them on their anterior hippies! Go figure!
 
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Hi Josephine! This is where I got the lie in bed all day "never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, never stay awake when you can go to sleep!" That mantra is posted in many places on the site and I did, indeed, think it was ridiculous! Why not say something like "stand when you can, sit down when that is too much and lie down when you need to?"
The following is from the Hospital for Special Surgery in NY: 'Strength training is probably one of the most important things you can do to build or maintain strong bones. When muscles are challenged, they pull on their bony attachments stimulating bone formation. If you want to increase bone mass in a particular bone, the exercise must recruitmuscles that attach to that bone. It appears that a certain strength training intensity stimulates bone growth... ' I am not trying to say that anyone should follow my lead, but I am being careful and, at the same time, working hard! I can't understand why so many people seem to want to castigate me for this. I have not hurt myself and have explained that I am being very careful not to. I wanted to post my progress for people who might be interested in an active approach to recovery from a 62 year old who takes keeping her body in shape very seriously. For the most part, the comments (except for a few) I have gotten have just made me feel terrible. Thanks to the few people who have encouraged me and I wish everyone the best in their recovery but I am tired of being told my success is something bad and will hurt others. That was not my intention at all and I will stop posting.
 
Sandy, perhaps we do need to take a look at that wording in the mantra as it's obvious some people must be taking it literally. It was never intended to mean you should just lie around like a couch potato, but was written to encourage people not to push themselves too soon thinking they had to get "normal" again quickly. At the time we put together those mantras, that was the case for many, many people here on BoneSmart. Sadly we still have a large number of people who feel they must push themselves in order to recover properly. We still want to help them realize that they need to take things slow and easy. We'll take your suggestion under advisement about the wording, though, since the comment may not be perceived as we had hoped.
 
Hi @sandysue14 , you're recovery has been great. I, too, like to say something regarding weight: I think I gained weight both from November to April preop and possibly post op. I haven't weighed myself ever since the operation.
The weight gain preop was desirable because I had lost 4 kg after attempting to do the Ironman Germany (of which I managed to do only half). Also - my muscles had atrophied - so I went to the gym preop to get my muscles in a reasonably strong status to help me recover well after the operation. You may have experienced muscle atrophy, too, caused by not using that hip efficiently - and, then, when your hip is fixed, you get that muscle back. Remember that muscle is heavier than weight but it's healthier to have muscle. So the weight gain is nothing to worry about. Forget about the scales. Just look in the mirror and enjoy your new fit body and the strength you regained.
 
I am now more than 3 months post THR. I stopped posting because I was told that my aggressive approach to exercise might be injurious to others. But I kept up my daily exercise and completed PT. When my doctor last saw me he said "wow, I wish more of my patients were like you." I am in Thailand now, made the 26 hours of flying without incident (I took two whole aspiring and wore the ted hose to combat DVT). I go to the gym here in Thailand every day, am up to 2 hours on the treadmill, 90 lb leg press and many other weight bearing exercises. We will head to Luang Prabang, Laos soon and a month in India in November, then back to Thailand and off to Vietnam in February before going back to New Orleans. I have no regrets about my regime. My muscles are much firmer and I can walk as far as I like without pain. I did learn that some of the advice I was given about "ice, ice and more ice" should have been tempered with "but only 10 minutes at a time". I don't ice any more but was icing for 1 hour at a time! That cause my body temperature to drop and swelling to reoccur! I still have some very slight, well, not pain, but discomfort but nothing that keeps me from moving. I am ecstatic about my recovery and wouldn't have done anything differently!
 
Good morning @sandysue14 (because it's morning over here in Germany)
First of all - thanks for posting - I'm finding your posts extremely interesting for 2 reasons:
First of all, your slightly different approach to recovery. Let me encourage you and tell you that we must be similar both in body fitness and in recovery success. You're not doing anything wrong if your approach to recovery is rather more active (I wouldn't call it aggressive) than average. Don't feel penalised because you do more. I was also very active post-op. My surgeon told me I must exercise because I have osteoporosis. You see, for some people, more rest is right because they would otherwise hurt, while for those who are used to activity, a lot of exercise it good. Some people would be appalled at what I did a very short period post-op: After 4 weeks I went on a real bike (after I had execised on a stationary one ever since 8 days out). At 6 weeks, I went back to work full-time (the normal period is 8-12 weeks with a phased-in return to work). It was also at 6 weeks that I went to work on my bike - 27 km one way because some companies join a "bike and business" campaign in Germany in summer to encourage people to live more healthily and save CO2. I never experienced any pain. I was just fine and did not feel I had overdone it. I stopped taking any pain meds after 3 weeks and was able to drive my car at week No 4. Also at week No 4, I walked upstairs and downstairs normally - we have 3 flights of stairs in our house. I did some strenuous gardening (pruning bushes and tidying away the branches) also around 4-5 weeks post op. I didn't have post-op depression, I had pre-op depression because it hurt so much (arthritis, grade 4, bone-on-bone. Some people forecast that I would never be out of pain, but I though positive after the operation).

Now the second thing I find interesting is your long-distance travelling. We bought a holiday house in Cairns, Australia, which we let out at the moment (we have a short-term accommodatin agency that looks after it while we are absent). The long-term idea was to spend several months in Australia and use the house, just as you do with your stays in Thailand and the other countries in the area. We can't do that yet though because I still have to work for another 6 1/2 years. But maybe if we succeed in keeping the house we will be able to then. We went to Australia 12 weeks after my operation and the long-distance flight was ok - I didn't even need TED stockings. In January, we are planning on going to New Zealand and that holiday will also included a week in Cairns on the way back. Please carry on posting and enjoy your stay in South East Asia. It would be great if you could report about it a little bit.

Best wishes from Germany
Constanze
 
I gained 10 or more lbs. after THR revision. All going extremely well otherwise. Same thing happened first time but now I am prepared and am fighting it! I think something happens to certain people that makes us want to eat more after surgery! Plus the reduction of exercise. I agree with Josephine, for most people go easy on exercise and walk but in moderation. Listen to your body and when you get tired or sore just stop. Good luck!
 
The funny thing about my weight gain was that I ate LESS! But it has finally come off. I think most of it was just fluid. My doctor explained that it can take up to 6 months to loose the fluid! Anyway, I did stop when I got tired and NEVER exercised through pain! Thing is, I was already in pretty good shape and didn't want to loose that. It is very hard to keep up muscle mass as you age but I want to have some muscles to hold up my aging and crumbling bones. I am very happy with my progress and am glad I did not sit around and wait to get better. X-rays show that my bone growth and healing is great. None of this will guarantee that my arthritis won't cause me to have to undergo another "replacement" in the future but keeping my weight in check and my muscles moving is what I consider doing my part.
 
Healthy and Happy at 62 in Sukothai, Thailand!
[Bonesmart.org] Weight after surgery
 
@sandysue14
You look fantastic & MUCH younger than your age! Your exercise routine is between you and your doctor - if it's working for you, I say go for it. I think in general most of our population is sedentary these days so it makes sense for those people not to exercise in ways their bodies are not used to or that might cause strain when they are recovering. But for someone who is already in shape beforehand, such as yourself, maintaining that strength is an enormous help with recovery.

I remember years ago when I was pregnant, I got my doctor's approval to continue to exercise during pregnancy (I was always fit like yourself) but he gave me certain guidelines to follow. I had so many people question why I was exercising during pregnancy and giving me well-intended but misguided advice to stop, but I listened to my body and followed doctor's orders, and as a result, I had an amazingly easy pregnancy and delivery.

Fit and tone muscles and maintaining a good body weight are very important to keeping stress off our hip joints. Keep up the awesome recovery!
 
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