THR Woodstockhip’s Recovery Thread

[Woodstockhip]

All done!! I’ve been up walking and did the little staircase thingie. In a room but not on top of the pain yet. Just wanted to wave hello from the recovery side.

 

[Abbylayla]

Great news @Woodstockhip! Very happy to hear your doing well. Hope by the time you read this they've got your pain managed! Looking forward to hearing about your newfound painless strides!!

 

[DK63]

Hi to you @Woodstockhip and congrats, felicitations and mazeltov and big well done for the staircase thing and hopefully get on top of pain as well.

 

[Panicgirl63]

Wonderful news! You must be so happy that the surgery is over. Wishing you a speedy recovery! All the best!

 

[Mojo333]

So good to see you all done and on The Healing Side.

Hope they keep your pain well managed and you can get home soon so you can assume the position

I'm going to leave you the Recovery Guidelines as a refresher.

I know you are aware we are all different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines

1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary​

2. Control discomfort​

rest​

elevate​

ice​

take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT​

a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​

b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these​

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this ​

Activity progression for THRs​

6. Access to these pages on the website​

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Closure​

​

Pain management and the pain chart​

Healing: how long does it take?​

Chart representation of THR recovery​

​

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule​

Energy drain for THRs​

Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key​

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it​

Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds​

Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?​

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.

 

[Layla]

Congrats! Your post sounds cheery. I hope your pain is well mangled by now and you have a peaceful evening.
Safe travels home if you're heading that way tomorrow.
@Woodstockhip

 

[BellaMac]

Hi to you! Congratulations on your new hip. Hope you are resting comfortably by now.

 

[Woodstockhip]

@Layla — I *love* your typo!! Well mangled indeed.

I’m watching “The Crown” (no wisecracks from @Tuppence71 or @DK63 please!) and waiting for the latest drug to kick in.

This place is like a ghost town. None of the typical hospital bustle and beeps and boops. If you press the call button, someone is there before you get your finger off the button. I do rather miss the view of circling vultures from the hospital window last time ( I kid you not) but this Surgery Center is like Club Med by comparison. Off to (hopefully) sleep. Thanks again everyone for your kind words.

 

[Tuppence71]

Morning! Happy New Hip.

I’m prepared to overlook the Crown - I imagine it was the meds impairing your decision-making. I’ve been binge watching The Rings of Power during my rest-time, and as I had to ditch the narcotics on day three as they made me feel rubbish, I can only blame massive hemoglobin loss for the fact that I only have the vaguest idea what is going on. What did people do in these early days of recovery before Amazon/Netflix? I love to read, but my concentration is rubbish right now….

Good luck today.

 

[DK63]

Hi and good morning and another well done @Woodstockhip To be honest with you I would prefer to be in The Crown, which is the name of the pub overlooking the beach about 800 yards/metres from my make shift living room/bedroom. Keep up the good work and keep mangling those pain meds .

 

[Rebelguy]

Congrats on the new hip! I'm excited to follow your recovery as I am just a little over 3 days out from LTHR. Fun times!

 

[HollyNY]

Good morning @Woodstockhip !
Congrats on making it to recovery

Hopefully they get the pain under control asap.

 

[Woodstockhip]

Ive decided that hip replacement is a lot like taking a really long flight to someplace beautiful — except you’re terrified of flying. You're anxious, can’t get comfortable, nauseated and you can’t just say, ”Lemme' outa here, I've changed my mind.” You’re just kind of stuck with it until it's over. Yesterday I had a lot of pain and nausea, difficulty peeing (I understand that is fairly common after a block). I’ve been 30 on and 30 off on the ice machine all day and it seems to be helping. I loathe the OxyContin (hard to believe people take it for fun!) so I am getting by with icing, elevating, cat-against-hip therapy, Advil and Tylenol. I'll take an oxy before bed. One scary thing happened — out of nowhere, my heart rate went up to around 140 whereas it's usually 70. And I was laying down at the time. Anybody know what that's about? It seemed to be a one-off. Hoping for an easier day tomorrow.

 

[HollyNY]

Hi Woodstock,
I did not take the oxy pain pills for long. But what did work was taking 1 stool softener when I took the pain pill. And drinking a lot of water.

I had Miralax on hand in case the milder approach did not work. Never needed it.

Hope the nausea is controlled.

I wonder if the heart rate may be anesthesia related like the low bp some folks get

 

[Abbylayla]

Could the heart rate be from pain? My resting heart rate is mid 60's but with extreme pain it jumps. Good question for your doctor. Let us know his reply.
Hope that pain subsides very soon!!

 

[DK63]

Hi @Woodstockhip I don't really have an analogy about the hip replacement process. It seemed to me to be sort of : oh this old hip is really horrible I need to get it replaced. Followed by ouch what was I thinking, ow that hurts, ooh I feel sick, I cant/can't stop going to the toilet. Followed by, hang on there seems to be less pain and I am not limping anymore. Followed by ouch, ow, why, ooh, hang on I am walking OK. Followed by ow, not again, ooh what's that pain I can walk straight that's good , Followed by ouch, ooh and so on. And eventually the plane lands and you are somewhere beautiful. But we all arrive at a different time no rush...

 

[Mojo333]

Ive decided that hip replacement is a lot like taking a really long flight to someplace beautiful — except you’re terrified of flying. You're anxious, can’t get comfortable, nauseated and you can’t just say, ”Lemme' outa here, I've changed my mind.” You’re just kind of stuck with it until it's over.

well said...
hang in there, my friend

 

[Woodstockhip]

@DK63, yeah. It ain't all glamour, that’s for sure. Between log leg and rock butt, I'm beginning to fade into the scenery here in the woods.

 

[Woodstockhip]

OMG, I forgot the best part. My doc no longer insists upon the torturous, ugly, dreaded, too-tight heinous TED stockings!

 

[Mojo333]

Woohoo, I hated those things.