THR Yabba Dabba Do!
- Thread starter Windsong
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Windsong
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It’s remarkable to me that 1 month has already gone by! Honestly, my recovery has been pretty unremarkable. I started using the cane at week 2 and then slowly but surely kept forgetting to pick it up all throughout my daily activities in the apartment.
I didn’t push it though since I could tell my muscles needed time to get used to walking unassisted. But the last week I was actually forgetting where I last used it so now it stays in the bedroom where I will still use it for middle of the night bathroom runs.
I still use the cane for my outside walks but one day my walking felt more normal as far as my stride and faster than normal. I didn’t do it on purpose but my new hip was not happy and I could feel the incision area more than normal. I iced when I got back and was fine the next day.
At my 2 week doctor’s appt. I was given permission to drive in another 2 weeks which surprised me since it’s my right hip that was replaced. Took a drive around the apartment complex and had no problem at all. Never felt any hip/incision pain - the sense of independence was euphoric! One of the things I was afraid pre-surgery was getting in/out of the car and how the hip was going to feel after surgery. Pre-surgery it was so painful getting in/out of car I dreaded doing any errands and going to work was getting harder and harder.
After my sister-in-law left at the 2 week point I remember thinking I’m going to go stir crazy for the next 4 weeks but I am blessed with good friends who have visited me, took me to breakfast/lunch, brought lunch over and yesterday I met a friend for lunch now that I can drive. I forgot to bring my cushion and wasn’t prepared to sit in a chair lower than I was expecting and my new hip let me know it wasn’t happy. Iced when I got home and it’s OK now. I know there’s lots more healing to be done and my hip will let me know when it doesn’t like something.
I really am taking it slow and steady and am at the point where I know I have to be careful not to do too much but push just a little bit more to build up my stamina.
I’m still having problems sleeping at night but rather than stress about I’ve decided to accept it so I’ll get up and read or watch TV, try again and wake up when I wake up! I’m usually an early riser (5:30/6:00) so sleeping until 8:00/9:00 feels decadent!
Walking was my form of exercise before the hip pain got so unbearable and all I ever wanted post-surgery was to walk with no pain - which I am. I don’t have a Fitbit or know how far I’m walking but my walks are anywhere between 20-30 minutes 2x day.
I see my doctor for my 6 week visit on 11/15 so I’ll be curious to see how my ROM is and how he thinks I’m doing. I’m very happy with my recovery so far but am well aware this is just the beginning.
I would not have been as prepared as I was if it were not for BoneSmart. It was so helpful to read recovery threads and to know what to expect and what was considered normal as far as the recovery process.
I didn’t push it though since I could tell my muscles needed time to get used to walking unassisted. But the last week I was actually forgetting where I last used it so now it stays in the bedroom where I will still use it for middle of the night bathroom runs.
I still use the cane for my outside walks but one day my walking felt more normal as far as my stride and faster than normal. I didn’t do it on purpose but my new hip was not happy and I could feel the incision area more than normal. I iced when I got back and was fine the next day.
At my 2 week doctor’s appt. I was given permission to drive in another 2 weeks which surprised me since it’s my right hip that was replaced. Took a drive around the apartment complex and had no problem at all. Never felt any hip/incision pain - the sense of independence was euphoric! One of the things I was afraid pre-surgery was getting in/out of the car and how the hip was going to feel after surgery. Pre-surgery it was so painful getting in/out of car I dreaded doing any errands and going to work was getting harder and harder.
After my sister-in-law left at the 2 week point I remember thinking I’m going to go stir crazy for the next 4 weeks but I am blessed with good friends who have visited me, took me to breakfast/lunch, brought lunch over and yesterday I met a friend for lunch now that I can drive. I forgot to bring my cushion and wasn’t prepared to sit in a chair lower than I was expecting and my new hip let me know it wasn’t happy. Iced when I got home and it’s OK now. I know there’s lots more healing to be done and my hip will let me know when it doesn’t like something.
I really am taking it slow and steady and am at the point where I know I have to be careful not to do too much but push just a little bit more to build up my stamina.
I’m still having problems sleeping at night but rather than stress about I’ve decided to accept it so I’ll get up and read or watch TV, try again and wake up when I wake up! I’m usually an early riser (5:30/6:00) so sleeping until 8:00/9:00 feels decadent!
Walking was my form of exercise before the hip pain got so unbearable and all I ever wanted post-surgery was to walk with no pain - which I am. I don’t have a Fitbit or know how far I’m walking but my walks are anywhere between 20-30 minutes 2x day.
I see my doctor for my 6 week visit on 11/15 so I’ll be curious to see how my ROM is and how he thinks I’m doing. I’m very happy with my recovery so far but am well aware this is just the beginning.
I would not have been as prepared as I was if it were not for BoneSmart. It was so helpful to read recovery threads and to know what to expect and what was considered normal as far as the recovery process.
Mojo333
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
Good for you, skiing it all the right way!
It will just keep getting Better and Better.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
That's what I finally decided...I quit stressing over the sleep thing and became a chronic napper.
It will just keep getting Better and Better.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
OP
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Windsong
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I’m now at 8 weeks (+ 2 days) since my hip replacement and just for posterity’s sake thought I would write an update. I am continually amazed and oh so grateful for having such a truly unremarkable recovery.
I lurked on this website for a year before my surgery and learned so much on what I might expect during recovery (the good, the in-between and the bad). It helped me tremendously during my own recovery and is probably one of the reasons why I don't post regularly. Not ever having surgery before, I’m sure I would have called my doctor’s office with all the questions of “Is this normal?” But all of the incision discomfort that felt like pulling or snapping, zingers, soreness up and down the leg and derrière, muscle tightness, numbness was all stuff I read about on this site and although there were moments of whoa, did I do something wrong to get that reaction nothing disturbing enough to call my doctor’s office with concern.
There was a time at the beginning I didn’t like the way the incision area looked (but this was all new to me) and I would look at the pictures others had posted and be comforted. I remember one time after taking a shower, the incision area looked pink but then I realized I had just taken a hot shower and that area was still sensitive and I looked at it later on and it was OK.
By the time I had my 6 week follow up visit with my doctor’s office (no more restrictions, Yay!), I was walking without my cane except late at night when I was tired and in the middle of the night. I made the transition slowly and as I had read on other threads, I just kept forgetting the cane around my apartment and one time actually had to hunt for it. At the beginning I felt like a baby giraffe or horse whose walking looks stilted at the beginning but I realized that the more I forgot the cane the more secure I felt in walking around without it and started venturing outside just carrying the cane. Luckily, my gait is normal and I have had no issues with limping. When I find myself tired in the late afternoon, I do have to concentrate more on the heel/toe walking.
I had been limping since the beginning of the year and had to start using a walker in June so I knew there would be muscle weakness in that leg and there is. I hate to even call it muscle pain considering that pre-surgery my pain level was an 8. The discomfort I feel now is not bad enough for any kind of pain medication or Tylenol and I know it will take time and patience to get the strength back in those muscles.
I really believe my trouble-free recovery (so far) is in large part to my refusal to do any PT and all I am doing now is walking. I want to give my body the time it needs to recover from this surgery and will revisit the question of PT or specific exercises that I feel comfortable with to improve my muscle weakness in another month. But so far the BoneSmart philosophy has done well by me.
I'm now back at work and doing fine. My short term disability ended with my doctor's appointment on 11/15 so I went back to work that Friday for 4 hours and the next week (Thanksgiving week) for 4 hours on Monday - Wednesday. I started back full time this Monday and there is definitely more soreness and a little bit of swelling around the incision area so I elevate and use my gel icepacks when I'm home. Although sleeping isn't back to normal, I am able to fall back asleep when I wake up several times during the night.
I can sleep on my non-operated side but learned to switch back and forth between sleeping on my back and side. I haven't mastered stairs yet but luckily where I park I have a choice between 2 sets of stairs inside the garage or walk outside up a small inclined hill with a small amount of steps which I can do. I can go down the steps normal but use the cane to go up since I'm at a small incline. But I know everything will come on it's own time schedule.
I am so glad I had 3 reachers (grabbers) to use. I don't normally consider myself a klutz but I swear it feels like I dropped more things since the operation that I ever have in my entire life! I tried to think of as many scenarios as I could so when I showered I had 2 bars of soap in the tub and a bottle of soap gel and of course I usually ended up dropping both bars of soap no matter how careful I was. And of course I would drop my cane or one of the grabbers and have to use another grabber to pick it up. One morning I wasn't paying attention and had a bowl of cereal for breakfast (Cherrios) and hit the bowl on the side of the kitchen counter and some of the Cherrios fell out of the bowl. That grabber was so good it actually picked up the individual Cherrios!
For Thanksgiving I was able to drive the 3 hours to where my family lives with no problem (I brought my gel icepacks with me) and made stops along the way. I was more sore than I had been before Thanksgiving night but that was also the most active I had been. I was really non-stop the whole day and went to bed early with an icepack. I was a temporary member of the ODIC but realized when I came back home on Sunday that it was the day's activities and not the drive that created the soreness and zingers.
All along this journey, I had no idea how my body was going to react and tried to just take things in stride and accept whatever came my way. I know I still have a ways to go but to be able to get back to my life and to be able to walk with none of that horrible pain is truly a blessing and a godsend.
I would have never known what to expect or the recovery progression if it weren't for BoneSmart and the openess and kindness of people who post their recovery stories. A big thank you to everyone who posts their stories with such honesty and openess - you probably don't realize what an affect your postings have on those of us starting our journeys but it made everything less scary and gave me hope that I too could get my life back!
I lurked on this website for a year before my surgery and learned so much on what I might expect during recovery (the good, the in-between and the bad). It helped me tremendously during my own recovery and is probably one of the reasons why I don't post regularly. Not ever having surgery before, I’m sure I would have called my doctor’s office with all the questions of “Is this normal?” But all of the incision discomfort that felt like pulling or snapping, zingers, soreness up and down the leg and derrière, muscle tightness, numbness was all stuff I read about on this site and although there were moments of whoa, did I do something wrong to get that reaction nothing disturbing enough to call my doctor’s office with concern.
There was a time at the beginning I didn’t like the way the incision area looked (but this was all new to me) and I would look at the pictures others had posted and be comforted. I remember one time after taking a shower, the incision area looked pink but then I realized I had just taken a hot shower and that area was still sensitive and I looked at it later on and it was OK.
By the time I had my 6 week follow up visit with my doctor’s office (no more restrictions, Yay!), I was walking without my cane except late at night when I was tired and in the middle of the night. I made the transition slowly and as I had read on other threads, I just kept forgetting the cane around my apartment and one time actually had to hunt for it. At the beginning I felt like a baby giraffe or horse whose walking looks stilted at the beginning but I realized that the more I forgot the cane the more secure I felt in walking around without it and started venturing outside just carrying the cane. Luckily, my gait is normal and I have had no issues with limping. When I find myself tired in the late afternoon, I do have to concentrate more on the heel/toe walking.
I had been limping since the beginning of the year and had to start using a walker in June so I knew there would be muscle weakness in that leg and there is. I hate to even call it muscle pain considering that pre-surgery my pain level was an 8. The discomfort I feel now is not bad enough for any kind of pain medication or Tylenol and I know it will take time and patience to get the strength back in those muscles.
I really believe my trouble-free recovery (so far) is in large part to my refusal to do any PT and all I am doing now is walking. I want to give my body the time it needs to recover from this surgery and will revisit the question of PT or specific exercises that I feel comfortable with to improve my muscle weakness in another month. But so far the BoneSmart philosophy has done well by me.
I'm now back at work and doing fine. My short term disability ended with my doctor's appointment on 11/15 so I went back to work that Friday for 4 hours and the next week (Thanksgiving week) for 4 hours on Monday - Wednesday. I started back full time this Monday and there is definitely more soreness and a little bit of swelling around the incision area so I elevate and use my gel icepacks when I'm home. Although sleeping isn't back to normal, I am able to fall back asleep when I wake up several times during the night.
I can sleep on my non-operated side but learned to switch back and forth between sleeping on my back and side. I haven't mastered stairs yet but luckily where I park I have a choice between 2 sets of stairs inside the garage or walk outside up a small inclined hill with a small amount of steps which I can do. I can go down the steps normal but use the cane to go up since I'm at a small incline. But I know everything will come on it's own time schedule.
I am so glad I had 3 reachers (grabbers) to use. I don't normally consider myself a klutz but I swear it feels like I dropped more things since the operation that I ever have in my entire life! I tried to think of as many scenarios as I could so when I showered I had 2 bars of soap in the tub and a bottle of soap gel and of course I usually ended up dropping both bars of soap no matter how careful I was. And of course I would drop my cane or one of the grabbers and have to use another grabber to pick it up. One morning I wasn't paying attention and had a bowl of cereal for breakfast (Cherrios) and hit the bowl on the side of the kitchen counter and some of the Cherrios fell out of the bowl. That grabber was so good it actually picked up the individual Cherrios!
For Thanksgiving I was able to drive the 3 hours to where my family lives with no problem (I brought my gel icepacks with me) and made stops along the way. I was more sore than I had been before Thanksgiving night but that was also the most active I had been. I was really non-stop the whole day and went to bed early with an icepack. I was a temporary member of the ODIC but realized when I came back home on Sunday that it was the day's activities and not the drive that created the soreness and zingers.
All along this journey, I had no idea how my body was going to react and tried to just take things in stride and accept whatever came my way. I know I still have a ways to go but to be able to get back to my life and to be able to walk with none of that horrible pain is truly a blessing and a godsend.
I would have never known what to expect or the recovery progression if it weren't for BoneSmart and the openess and kindness of people who post their recovery stories. A big thank you to everyone who posts their stories with such honesty and openess - you probably don't realize what an affect your postings have on those of us starting our journeys but it made everything less scary and gave me hope that I too could get my life back!
Alitm
post-grad
Hi @Windsong, Wonderful to hear you are doing really well at eight weeks out! I made it to nine weeks before having second surgery. I felt pretty amazing at nine weeks, and had no formal physio either. It is amazing how the body heals if we just let it! I did some core and upper body work that my physio (who kept me going until 1st surgery, mostly undoing knotted muscles and back traction!) modified for me post op, to keep the upper body and core strong for second surgery, and lots of walking around the farm. The last two weeks my OS said I could lift, so was helping with the barn chores.
Interesting to read about your observations. I too have issues with going up stairs with my first op leg (Sept 16), and is now more of an issue as I've had second THR on other side. First hip and leg seem significantly weaker with that task, in comparison with their strength in other tasks.
I also drop things...it is weird! My poor phone now has a bag that I carry it in, along with other small items.
It is so amazing to be rid of that OA pain, even if we have more healing to do.
Wishing you the very best in your third month of recovery. Slow and steady wins the race IMO!!!
Great to hear from you
Interesting to read about your observations. I too have issues with going up stairs with my first op leg (Sept 16), and is now more of an issue as I've had second THR on other side. First hip and leg seem significantly weaker with that task, in comparison with their strength in other tasks.
I also drop things...it is weird! My poor phone now has a bag that I carry it in, along with other small items.
It is so amazing to be rid of that OA pain, even if we have more healing to do.
Wishing you the very best in your third month of recovery. Slow and steady wins the race IMO!!!
Great to hear from you
Mojo333
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
Oh yea! That's the way you do it!
This post made me smile so so big.
You sound like all is going very well...with the expected issues at 2 months post op! It will keep getting better and better.
Thank you so much for the update and glad you are getting your life back.
I, too, am so grateful for THR!
Pop by again and let us know how things are going.
Onward, and upward!
This post made me smile so so big.
You sound like all is going very well...with the expected issues at 2 months post op! It will keep getting better and better.
Thank you so much for the update and glad you are getting your life back.
I, too, am so grateful for THR!
Pop by again and let us know how things are going.
Onward, and upward!
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On behalf of BoneSmart, thank you for your very generous and kind feedback.
It's awesome to read how the forum benefitted you leading up to your surgery and through your recovery.
We're thankful for all member's and their willingness to take the time to share their journey as each person's is unique. We're all learning from one another and the camaraderie witnessed here is priceless.
It's wonderful to read what an unremarkable recovery you've had. May it only get better.
Best wishes for a great holiday season and a happy and healthy 2019!
@Windsong
It's awesome to read how the forum benefitted you leading up to your surgery and through your recovery.
We're thankful for all member's and their willingness to take the time to share their journey as each person's is unique. We're all learning from one another and the camaraderie witnessed here is priceless.
It's wonderful to read what an unremarkable recovery you've had. May it only get better.
Best wishes for a great holiday season and a happy and healthy 2019!
@Windsong
OP
OP
Windsong
junior member
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Meant to post my progress at my 3 month mark (12/24) but got busy with all the holiday hustle and bustle. It has now been almost 4 months (on Monday) and it’s hard to believe that amount of time has already passed.
Time seemed to stand still for those first 6 weeks but after I returned to work life has basically returned to normal. There are even actually times I forget about the new hip!
The drawing of recovery expectations (straight line up) and reality (squiggly lines all around) captures best what the last 2 months have been like. I’m still doing great but things have gone sideways a few times. I wouldn’t even call them setbacks because I always recovered in about a weeks time.
The third week coming back to work, the fire alarm went off and I had to walk down 8 flights of stairs. I occasionally had already been slowly going up and down 2 sets of stairs in our parking garage and was able to do it “normally” although going up was harder and I could tell my muscles were weak and needed strengthening. My co-workers were concerned about my going down the 8 flights with my new hip but I had no problem and the hip felt great. But a few hours later the muscles in the back of both legs were really hurting - bad. It took about a week to recover from those muscles being over-worked but then everything was OK.
I was going to start doing the inside stairs again but I stumbled on the outside stairs (2 sets of 3 steps going up on an inclined hill) and caught myself pulling up short which of course my new hip was not happy with. So I let my hip recover from that mishap for another week and it started to feel fine and for some stupid reason I thought maybe my balance was off so
I decided to test my balance on my left side first by standing on just that one leg and then did the same for the right side (new hip). I could only balance for a few seconds so I tried it again for a bit longer and that’s when I felt the pain in my new hip. Oh no I thought what have I done?
My stutter steps had been getting better (down from initially 5 to about 3 at that time) but after my balancing attempt every time I took an initial 3-5 steps with that side I felt pain in that joint. It would be gone by about the 6th step but for the first time during this recovery I was really scared I messed up. There was no pain doing anything else, just those initial steps when I got up to walk so I decided to give it 1 week and hoped for improvement. I could tell it was getting better on days 5 and 6 and day 7 was back to work and no more pain! Not only was there no pain but no more stutter steps – I can actually get up from my seat and start walking normally. How weird is that?
So now I’m finally back to taking the inside stairs at work and will eventually/slowly increase that by supplementing with the stairs at my apartment complex (I live on the bottom floor but some buildings are 3 stories so I have easy access to stairs).
There’s still numbness and some zingers around the incision area when I bend or stretch the wrong way or some achiness and a little bit of swelling with too much activity - but oh my goodness how nice to be able to put on socks and shoes and get dressed normally. To be able to get in and out of the car without that excruciating arthritis pain. To be able to drive for 3 hours to visit family members without squirming around to find a comfortable position in my car seat.
To be able to go shopping and not worry about going in the right entrance to get in/out of the store quickly – and to be able to shop for more than 10 minutes! To walk in an upright position and not humped over my walker like I was that last month before surgery! And to be able to walk – period - with no pain – what a blessing this surgery has been!
I can see and understand that it will still take many more months for the soft tissue around the incision to calm down, for my muscles to strengthen and for my stamina to come back. But considering how far I’ve come from where I was before to now, I’m happy where I am now knowing there is still progress to be made – in my body’s own time.
Time seemed to stand still for those first 6 weeks but after I returned to work life has basically returned to normal. There are even actually times I forget about the new hip!
The drawing of recovery expectations (straight line up) and reality (squiggly lines all around) captures best what the last 2 months have been like. I’m still doing great but things have gone sideways a few times. I wouldn’t even call them setbacks because I always recovered in about a weeks time.
The third week coming back to work, the fire alarm went off and I had to walk down 8 flights of stairs. I occasionally had already been slowly going up and down 2 sets of stairs in our parking garage and was able to do it “normally” although going up was harder and I could tell my muscles were weak and needed strengthening. My co-workers were concerned about my going down the 8 flights with my new hip but I had no problem and the hip felt great. But a few hours later the muscles in the back of both legs were really hurting - bad. It took about a week to recover from those muscles being over-worked but then everything was OK.
I was going to start doing the inside stairs again but I stumbled on the outside stairs (2 sets of 3 steps going up on an inclined hill) and caught myself pulling up short which of course my new hip was not happy with. So I let my hip recover from that mishap for another week and it started to feel fine and for some stupid reason I thought maybe my balance was off so
I decided to test my balance on my left side first by standing on just that one leg and then did the same for the right side (new hip). I could only balance for a few seconds so I tried it again for a bit longer and that’s when I felt the pain in my new hip. Oh no I thought what have I done?
My stutter steps had been getting better (down from initially 5 to about 3 at that time) but after my balancing attempt every time I took an initial 3-5 steps with that side I felt pain in that joint. It would be gone by about the 6th step but for the first time during this recovery I was really scared I messed up. There was no pain doing anything else, just those initial steps when I got up to walk so I decided to give it 1 week and hoped for improvement. I could tell it was getting better on days 5 and 6 and day 7 was back to work and no more pain! Not only was there no pain but no more stutter steps – I can actually get up from my seat and start walking normally. How weird is that?
So now I’m finally back to taking the inside stairs at work and will eventually/slowly increase that by supplementing with the stairs at my apartment complex (I live on the bottom floor but some buildings are 3 stories so I have easy access to stairs).
There’s still numbness and some zingers around the incision area when I bend or stretch the wrong way or some achiness and a little bit of swelling with too much activity - but oh my goodness how nice to be able to put on socks and shoes and get dressed normally. To be able to get in and out of the car without that excruciating arthritis pain. To be able to drive for 3 hours to visit family members without squirming around to find a comfortable position in my car seat.
To be able to go shopping and not worry about going in the right entrance to get in/out of the store quickly – and to be able to shop for more than 10 minutes! To walk in an upright position and not humped over my walker like I was that last month before surgery! And to be able to walk – period - with no pain – what a blessing this surgery has been!
I can see and understand that it will still take many more months for the soft tissue around the incision to calm down, for my muscles to strengthen and for my stamina to come back. But considering how far I’ve come from where I was before to now, I’m happy where I am now knowing there is still progress to be made – in my body’s own time.
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Hi 
Great update! Thanks for sharing. So inspirational for those following behind you.
I can relate to some of the difficulties you faced as your hip deteriorated and can also relate
to the awareness of what a blessing this surgery is. At only 4 months post op with months of healing to go
it will only get better and better. Woohoo!
I hope you enjoy the rest of the week.
@Windsong
Great update! Thanks for sharing. So inspirational for those following behind you.
I can relate to some of the difficulties you faced as your hip deteriorated and can also relate
to the awareness of what a blessing this surgery is. At only 4 months post op with months of healing to go
it will only get better and better. Woohoo!
I hope you enjoy the rest of the week.
@Windsong
Debru4
Insider
Boy do I agree about those expectation and reality lines being all over the place! Josephine shared a great graphic early on that really reassured me!
I am 5 1/2 months out and most days I forget I even had my hip replaced. I was very lucky to feel so well early on, but even then, things would pop up that would worry me. I'd jump on here and ask about it, and either get new info to consider, or receive reassurance that it was part of recovery.
I'm sure issues will continue to come up, but am finding myself having a lot fewer questions, and feeling more able to not only live my life but also to reach out a bit to others. What a nice place to be!
You sound like you are doing so well---I hope things continue to go well for you! Being back to a more normal life and schedule always helps us stop focusing on our aches and pains----sounds like you are right where you need to be!
I am 5 1/2 months out and most days I forget I even had my hip replaced. I was very lucky to feel so well early on, but even then, things would pop up that would worry me. I'd jump on here and ask about it, and either get new info to consider, or receive reassurance that it was part of recovery.
I'm sure issues will continue to come up, but am finding myself having a lot fewer questions, and feeling more able to not only live my life but also to reach out a bit to others. What a nice place to be!
You sound like you are doing so well---I hope things continue to go well for you! Being back to a more normal life and schedule always helps us stop focusing on our aches and pains----sounds like you are right where you need to be!
Mojo333
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
Great update and great to see you doing well.
Oh my stars... the Great Fire Alarm Debacle!
It is an ebb and flow journey...but you are doing things Just Right!
Backing off when we have asked too much from our new hip for this particular point in time...resting and icing it up still...is how I worked things out.
Still lots of healing happening and I had those zips and zaps...and numbness at thigh for up to six months and after intermittently.
All will continue to get better!
Great job, @Windsong !
Oh my stars... the Great Fire Alarm Debacle!
It is an ebb and flow journey...but you are doing things Just Right!
Backing off when we have asked too much from our new hip for this particular point in time...resting and icing it up still...is how I worked things out.
Still lots of healing happening and I had those zips and zaps...and numbness at thigh for up to six months and after intermittently.
All will continue to get better!
Great job, @Windsong !
OP
OP
Windsong
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Thanks @Layla! Hope everyone has a great 2019! This has been an interesting journey and I have to keep reminding myself that the healing process still continues and I have to be patient to get the muscle strength back that I lost in the year before surgery.
I know tomorrow is another day but right at this moment I’m feeling frustrated because “all” I want to do is be able to walk up stairs without feeling like I need to hold on to the railing to pull myself up. Now in fairness it’s nowhere near as bad as it was pre-surgery when I was literally pulling myself up every step of the stairway using the rail. I can feel the muscles on my right side are weaker and I need that extra little pull up and it really isn’t as bad as it was before.
I’ve tried to do this slowly – I’m only going up and down the stairs 2x day plus getting out of my chair at work without putting my hand on the seat (which I’ve been able to do for a long time now). I pushed myself a little bit this morning when I went to drop off my rent check. There were only 6 steps to go up and I was curious if I could do it without using the railing – and I did it with no problem but now I’m feeling a little bit of pain on the right side of my thigh to the incision area. I’m sure it will dissipate – when I go home I’ll use my ice gelpacks.
I don’t have to use the railing when I use the 2 sets of outside steps (it is only 3 steps each set though) and that’s a big difference from a normal staircase. I know logically it took about 1 year for those muscles to deteriorate and I can’t expect to get the strength back as quickly as I would like. It’s such a stupid thing to get frustrated at when I’m doing well otherwise.
I don’t think anyone goes through this without ups and downs and getting frustrated sometimes at what seems like slow progress. It’s just hard to know how much to push and/or back off so I’ll just keep trying and try not to get frustrated with myself. I know everything will come in its own time so I have to continue to be patient!
I know tomorrow is another day but right at this moment I’m feeling frustrated because “all” I want to do is be able to walk up stairs without feeling like I need to hold on to the railing to pull myself up. Now in fairness it’s nowhere near as bad as it was pre-surgery when I was literally pulling myself up every step of the stairway using the rail. I can feel the muscles on my right side are weaker and I need that extra little pull up and it really isn’t as bad as it was before.
I’ve tried to do this slowly – I’m only going up and down the stairs 2x day plus getting out of my chair at work without putting my hand on the seat (which I’ve been able to do for a long time now). I pushed myself a little bit this morning when I went to drop off my rent check. There were only 6 steps to go up and I was curious if I could do it without using the railing – and I did it with no problem but now I’m feeling a little bit of pain on the right side of my thigh to the incision area. I’m sure it will dissipate – when I go home I’ll use my ice gelpacks.
I don’t have to use the railing when I use the 2 sets of outside steps (it is only 3 steps each set though) and that’s a big difference from a normal staircase. I know logically it took about 1 year for those muscles to deteriorate and I can’t expect to get the strength back as quickly as I would like. It’s such a stupid thing to get frustrated at when I’m doing well otherwise.
I don’t think anyone goes through this without ups and downs and getting frustrated sometimes at what seems like slow progress. It’s just hard to know how much to push and/or back off so I’ll just keep trying and try not to get frustrated with myself. I know everything will come in its own time so I have to continue to be patient!
No need to push yourself. This can take over a year! Muscles have atrophied. Treat them gently and use the railing. You are not training for anything - you are healing. Patience is still needed!
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EalingGranStaff member since January 23, 2024 -
sistersinhimStaff member since March 20, 2017
