wonkyhipoy
member
CanadaHi all,
Time for another update. So yesterday was my first full day on a cane after a lot of time out the day before. First and foremost, a word about my good friend Advil. Oh how I have missed you. I am so entranced by you that I feel like I should write you a Haiku. In fact, let's do that:
Oh my dear Advil
How you take away the pain
Yet my stomach swirls
Okay, seriously though, a single Advil yesterday took me to almost no pain, even while moving. I only took the one, and really only so that I did not need the Tramadol, and it lasted until about 4:00. Unfortunately, I probably pushed my hip a bit more than I should have after a big day out the day before, so come 6:00 PM, the swelling started putting pressure on the nerves again. Even with Tylenol and Tramadol, it took a couple of hours to settle down. Spent a lot of time icing my hip area... boy I miss my Cold Rush Ice Therapy machine. Sadly it sprung a leak about a year ago in the main hose of the unit... the one that cannot be replaced. But it works much better than ice packs.
Anyway, today is a complete rest day for me. I intend on doing the PT exercises (there are 4 in total), but aside from that it will be ice, elevate and rest. I thought I would share a couple of "I didn't expect that" thoughts I had for anyone who might come across my recovery thread before they have a THR.
About Bruising
I knew from pictures I saw on the internet before my THR that bruising down the leg was expected... and the OS told me as much when I had a follow up the other day. What he revealed about the bruising though caught me by surprise. He said the bruising down the leg is secondary bruising, and not from direct trauma (meaning a blow to the area that is bruised). I had thought this bruising was because of the way they clam you leg or something... meaning caused by the clamp, or traction, or whatever. However, it turns out that this is from internal bleeding of the soft tissue. Essentially, the blood leaks out of the wound into the surrounding tissue. From there, gravity takes over and pulls it downward. Very interesting. What really caught me by surprise however was the fact that even though a bruise may result from the process above and not direct trauma, it will still hurt... a lot. I DID NOT EXPECT THAT. He encouraged me to ice the bruising too, in addition to the swelling of my hip. The bruising is down to behind the knee by the way.
About the Bathroom
Specifically going number 2. If you are at all squeamish, or easily grossed out, I suggest you move past this one. However, I wish someone had told me what I am about to write here before I had my surgery... so I could have better prepared my self for the ordeal. Okay, so assuming you are still with me, and constipation is not an issue for you, here is what you are in for... particularly is you are a taller individual with a little extra (5-10 lbs) weight on you, like myself. So, normally when you sit down to go number 2, you are slightly leaning forward, almost in a squat. As a result, you two cheeks nicely separate, allowing your business to pass by with limited (if any contact). However, when you use that medieval contraption known as a raised toilet seat, this separation does not really happen. Furthermore, you are explicitly told to lean back, rather than lean forward... further reducing this separation and actually causing your cheeks to press together. Now add the THR swelling into the mix, and what you have on you backside is similar to a 3 year old's play-dough machine with the pancake attachment on. Gross. But wait! There's more! If you happen to be a bit of a hairy fella like myself, things start to get really interesting, as hair often grows on the insides of your cheeks and engages in a "let's see who wins" contest with your business. If your lucky, the hair looses this tug of war... if your not, and the hairs wins.. well sir, what you have is one fine mess. Oh, and let's not for get all that extra fiber (and potentially stool softeners you have been taking), further adding to both the volume of your business, and the mess. And then there is the having to stand to start the cleaning process because you are forbidden from leaning forward an reaching around back. I expected many things with this surgery and its recovery... I DID NOT EXPECT THIS!
Okay, so what have I learned that can help anyone about to go through this. First, leave your embarrassment at the door... if a THR is anything, it is an exercise in learning humility. Second, take pants and underwear completely off before you sit... trust me, it make the whole process easier. Third, if you have a walker, even if you are not using it, position it in front of the toilet so that you can use it during the cleaning process. Not only is it more stable than a cane, in can make the cleaning process less exhausting. Four, expect it two take 2 to three times as long to finish as it did before your surgery, just to feel clean... and make sure there is lots... and I do mean LOTS, of toilet paper kicking around... running out mid clean is not an option here. Five, take the toilet paper off the roll before you begin and place it higher up (you will save your back some anger by doing this). And lastly, baby wipes (moist toilette wipes) are going to be your best friend. Get them, stock them, use them with gleeful joy.. just don't flush them. As any parent will tell you, you only have to do that once, and then you learn. They do not break down in a toilet like toilet paper. If one goes down and gets stuck, there is only one way it comes out... the way it came in. Not a fun task my friends. Come to think of it, have some surgical gloves handy for the whole cleaning process
Okay, so that was a lot on going number 2, but I really wish I had known all this on the first day home. So I give it to all of you. Take it for what it is worth.
Overdoing It
@Layla has repeatedly cautioned this in every post I have read since joining this forum... and now I understand why. It is because in spite of ourselves, we WILL overdo it. Her warnings (which are tattooed on the surface of my brain now) help to remind us, and listen to our body's. So heed her message. We will still overdo it of course... it is inevitable... we can't help ourselves, which I DID NOT EXPECT... but at least if we keep reminding ourselves not to, it will happen far less.
Okay, that is a really long post. Clearly I have been cooped up for too long. I will stop here. Will post another update soon.
Cheers
Time for another update. So yesterday was my first full day on a cane after a lot of time out the day before. First and foremost, a word about my good friend Advil. Oh how I have missed you. I am so entranced by you that I feel like I should write you a Haiku. In fact, let's do that:
Oh my dear Advil
How you take away the pain
Yet my stomach swirls
Okay, seriously though, a single Advil yesterday took me to almost no pain, even while moving. I only took the one, and really only so that I did not need the Tramadol, and it lasted until about 4:00. Unfortunately, I probably pushed my hip a bit more than I should have after a big day out the day before, so come 6:00 PM, the swelling started putting pressure on the nerves again. Even with Tylenol and Tramadol, it took a couple of hours to settle down. Spent a lot of time icing my hip area... boy I miss my Cold Rush Ice Therapy machine. Sadly it sprung a leak about a year ago in the main hose of the unit... the one that cannot be replaced. But it works much better than ice packs.
Anyway, today is a complete rest day for me. I intend on doing the PT exercises (there are 4 in total), but aside from that it will be ice, elevate and rest. I thought I would share a couple of "I didn't expect that" thoughts I had for anyone who might come across my recovery thread before they have a THR.
About Bruising
I knew from pictures I saw on the internet before my THR that bruising down the leg was expected... and the OS told me as much when I had a follow up the other day. What he revealed about the bruising though caught me by surprise. He said the bruising down the leg is secondary bruising, and not from direct trauma (meaning a blow to the area that is bruised). I had thought this bruising was because of the way they clam you leg or something... meaning caused by the clamp, or traction, or whatever. However, it turns out that this is from internal bleeding of the soft tissue. Essentially, the blood leaks out of the wound into the surrounding tissue. From there, gravity takes over and pulls it downward. Very interesting. What really caught me by surprise however was the fact that even though a bruise may result from the process above and not direct trauma, it will still hurt... a lot. I DID NOT EXPECT THAT. He encouraged me to ice the bruising too, in addition to the swelling of my hip. The bruising is down to behind the knee by the way.
About the Bathroom
Specifically going number 2. If you are at all squeamish, or easily grossed out, I suggest you move past this one. However, I wish someone had told me what I am about to write here before I had my surgery... so I could have better prepared my self for the ordeal. Okay, so assuming you are still with me, and constipation is not an issue for you, here is what you are in for... particularly is you are a taller individual with a little extra (5-10 lbs) weight on you, like myself. So, normally when you sit down to go number 2, you are slightly leaning forward, almost in a squat. As a result, you two cheeks nicely separate, allowing your business to pass by with limited (if any contact). However, when you use that medieval contraption known as a raised toilet seat, this separation does not really happen. Furthermore, you are explicitly told to lean back, rather than lean forward... further reducing this separation and actually causing your cheeks to press together. Now add the THR swelling into the mix, and what you have on you backside is similar to a 3 year old's play-dough machine with the pancake attachment on. Gross. But wait! There's more! If you happen to be a bit of a hairy fella like myself, things start to get really interesting, as hair often grows on the insides of your cheeks and engages in a "let's see who wins" contest with your business. If your lucky, the hair looses this tug of war... if your not, and the hairs wins.. well sir, what you have is one fine mess. Oh, and let's not for get all that extra fiber (and potentially stool softeners you have been taking), further adding to both the volume of your business, and the mess. And then there is the having to stand to start the cleaning process because you are forbidden from leaning forward an reaching around back. I expected many things with this surgery and its recovery... I DID NOT EXPECT THIS!
Okay, so what have I learned that can help anyone about to go through this. First, leave your embarrassment at the door... if a THR is anything, it is an exercise in learning humility. Second, take pants and underwear completely off before you sit... trust me, it make the whole process easier. Third, if you have a walker, even if you are not using it, position it in front of the toilet so that you can use it during the cleaning process. Not only is it more stable than a cane, in can make the cleaning process less exhausting. Four, expect it two take 2 to three times as long to finish as it did before your surgery, just to feel clean... and make sure there is lots... and I do mean LOTS, of toilet paper kicking around... running out mid clean is not an option here. Five, take the toilet paper off the roll before you begin and place it higher up (you will save your back some anger by doing this). And lastly, baby wipes (moist toilette wipes) are going to be your best friend. Get them, stock them, use them with gleeful joy.. just don't flush them. As any parent will tell you, you only have to do that once, and then you learn. They do not break down in a toilet like toilet paper. If one goes down and gets stuck, there is only one way it comes out... the way it came in. Not a fun task my friends. Come to think of it, have some surgical gloves handy for the whole cleaning process
Okay, so that was a lot on going number 2, but I really wish I had known all this on the first day home. So I give it to all of you. Take it for what it is worth.
Overdoing It
@Layla has repeatedly cautioned this in every post I have read since joining this forum... and now I understand why. It is because in spite of ourselves, we WILL overdo it. Her warnings (which are tattooed on the surface of my brain now) help to remind us, and listen to our body's. So heed her message. We will still overdo it of course... it is inevitable... we can't help ourselves, which I DID NOT EXPECT... but at least if we keep reminding ourselves not to, it will happen far less.
Okay, that is a really long post. Clearly I have been cooped up for too long
. I will stop here. Will post another update soon.Cheers
Sure seems like it at times, lol. 
