THR Ray's Right THR Recovery

[raylo]

Well, I'm going in. For once in my life I drew the morning surgical appt so I should be done and back here in my recliner before lunch. And, like most mornings, I get up feeling a little better and start second guessing my decision to have THR. Then after making coffee and moving around the house a little the pain comes back strong and I remember why. LOL. Chugging black coffee now before my cut off time... See you on the other side later today or tomorrow.

 

[myglasshalffull]

All my best! Check back in when you are on "other side."

 

[Layla]

Best Wishes!
Will look forward to your first post. Here's a refresher of the Recovery Guidelines -

HIP RECOVERY GUIDELINES
As you begin healing, please keep in mind that each recovery is unique. While the BoneSmart philosophy successfully works for many, there will be exceptions. Between the recommendations found here, your surgeon's recovery protocol and any physical therapy you may engage in, the key is to find what works best for you.

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.

If you want to use something to assist with healing and scar management, BoneSmart recommends hypochlorous solution. Members in the US can purchase ACTIVE Antimicrobial Hydrogel through BoneSmart at a discount. Similar products should be available in the UK and other countries.

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
The recovery articles
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?

Nutrition is of paramount importance. Available here are dietary tips, nutrition basics and additional food supplements. These articles are both general advice on food and specific guidelines aimed at people both pre- and post-surgery.

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.

 

[raylo]

Made it to the other side. Surgery took an hour and I was home before lunchtime. Pretty amazing. The last thing I remember was the nurses putting the Hana table boots on my feet. I am still a little groggy from the general anesthesia and from the oxy pill they gave me but otherwise OK. No problem with the steps up to my main level, one at a time up, bad leg up first. In the recliner, ice machine running. Onward and upward!

 

[benne68]

Welcome to the healing side, @raylo. Glad to read that you are home, elevating and icing.

You know what to do!

 

[raylo]

Right now my pain level might just be a 2 or so and I am sitting on my deck catching some sun. But I know it will get worse as the swelling kicks in over the next few days. Ice machine is locked and loaded!

 

[AlanInAZ]

Your experience is similar to mine, now almost 3 weeks post op. Surgery at 1pm and home before 4pm. The nerve block lasted about 24 hours. First two hours in recovery were uncomfortable but tolerable. No nausea from the general. I started Oxy that night to cover pain break through after the block wears off. In total I took 4 Oxy pills and 3 Tramadol pills over first three recovery days. I started with walker, switched to cane after one week and largely dropped cane at end of second week. Hope you have a smooth recovery.

 

[mendogal]

WooHoo! Welcome to the recovery side!

 

[raylo]

Thats almost exactly how I see me going on all counts. I also had no issues with the general except the grogginess. Been drinking fluids and eating all afternoon.

Your experience is similar to mine, now almost 3 weeks post op. Surgery at 1pm and home before 4pm. The nerve block lasted about 24 hours. First two hours in recovery were uncomfortable but tolerable. No nausea from the general. I started Oxy that night to cover pain break through after the block wears off. In total I took 4 Oxy pills and 3 Tramadol pills over first three recovery days. I started with walker, switched to cane after one week and largely dropped cane at end of second week. Hope you have a smooth recovery.

 

[Eman85]

one at a time up, bad leg up first.

Been a while but going up it's good leg up first

 

[Jamie]

@raylo … Eman85 is right. When doing stairs, you want to lead “up with the GOOD and down with the BAD.” It’s good to use a cane as well and it would go in the hand opposite your surgery leg. The cane helps to support your surgery leg when you put weight on it as you’re moving up or down the stairs. There are plenty of videos on YouTube that show this if you want to check them out.

 

[raylo]

Thanks, yup, good leg first up, bad leg down first. I miswrote that post, sorry. I know the correct sequence. I was just meaning the one leg at a time method vs normal one foot over the other normal stair walking. Did the one leg at a time for a long time with the knee. But good you posted the correction else someone else might be misinformed.

one at a time up, bad leg up first.

Been a while but going up it's good leg up first

 

[raylo]

So, day 1 post-op. I am still feeling pretty good and have minimal swelling. Yesterday with the nerve block my pain level was only maybe 2. It had been 5 in recovery but quickly came down to next to nothing. I am just beginning to feel a bit of discomfort as the nerve block slowly wears off. I am going to be brave (or stupid?) and try to stay off the Oxy. There was no need for it yesterday, for sure, but things could be changing today. So, I'll continue with the Tramadol/Tylenol protocol this morning but adding Celebrex, which I believe I also had in what they gave me at the surgery center. I'll only use the Oxy for breakthrough pain, if and when that happens. If the nerve block was wearing off at night I'd probably take the Oxy in advance, but in daytime I should be able to monitor the situation better and take the stuff if and when I need it. Back to the ice and my new Lounge Doctor!

The best news is that I able to get very comfortable in bed and could sleep on my back and non-op side. Unfortunately I still was unable to sleep well since the protocol from this doc and surgical center requires me use those battery powered calf massagers for sleeping. I had them for my TKR last Sept, too, and hated them. They make so much noise, and intermittently, which is terribly disruptive to my sleep. For the TKR I ended up wearing my Sony noise canceling headphones to sleep mostly on my back. That's the game plan tonight.

 

[Layla]

Well it sounds like you're off to a good start, raylo.
Hopefully with lots of icing snd elevation you'll keep the swelling at a minimum. I don't think you're stupid for giving your pain cocktail of choice a try, I did the same, but it's good you're not open to suffering either if it becomes clear that you need the Oxy.

I hope you're enjoying the Lounge Doctor. I still use mine occasionally almost 7 yrs post op while resting on the sofa or watching tv / reading in bed at night. Well worth the money spent for a big chunk of foam.
It's good you came up with a solution to help cancel out the noise of the Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Devices so you're able to catch a few Z's.
Best Wishes for a good day!
@raylo

 

[raylo]

I believe that a little pain is a good thing because it lets you know when you are doing too much or something that you should not be doing at all. Yesterday I could have easily set myself back because it felt so good I could have made some inadvisable moves, even though I supposedly have "no restrictions". Even if the joint is solid and stable there are a lot of tissues that need to heal. So, I am trying to find that goldilocks level but don't know if that will be possible.

The headphones work, but then make it impossible to roll over onto my side. But once I get to sleep I might be able to remove them and stay asleep. It is too bad they didn't think through the firmware a little more to give us a delay for them to come on automatically after, say,10 or 15 minutes to give us time to fall asleep. The other thing they could do is increase the pauses. Mine occasionally have a longer pause for about 30 to 45 seconds or so and just as I am about to drift off they start up again. Making those pauses a few minutes would help a lot.

Well it sounds like you're off to a good start, raylo.
Hopefully with lots of icing snd elevation you'll keep the swelling at a minimum. I don't think you're stupid for giving your pain cocktail of choice a try, I did the same, but it's good you're not open to suffering either if it becomes clear that you need the Oxy.

I hope you're enjoying the Lounge Doctor. I still use mine occasionally almost 7 yrs post op while resting on the sofa or watching tv / reading in bed at night. Well worth the money spent for a big chunk of foam.
It's good you came up with a solution to help cancel out the noise of the Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Devices so you're able to catch a few Z's.
Best Wishes for a good day!
@raylo

 

[Layla]

How long do you have to wear those devices? My OS believed in the value of those cuffs also 7 yrs ago.
Currently, not as many OS's are prescribing them. I despised those things and admittedly cheated, then felt guilty and phoned my surgeons office and was advised by the PA that they're happy when most wear them at least half the time. I believe they set the bar high knowing many will be discouraged and not wear them as instructed. If you're up walking around often enough and doing your exercises, you may consider calling the office and having a discussion with your surgeon or his PA and see if you can wear them for shorter periods of time. It's worth a try...
Give it a few days and see what you think. Happy Thursday!

 

[raylo]

The post-op instructions say 4 weeks, which seems seriously excessive. I believe for my knee with different OS it was two. But I cheated. I don't have any risks for blood clots, taking 81mg aspirin twice daily, and I am up and about every couple of hours for bathroom visits. So I will give it a week, and then start backing off. Hard to say if the OS's really believe in these, but it seems like a cash cow for the facility. They wouldn't even let me use the old pair from my TKR, had to take theirs.

BTW that Lounge Doctor is unbelievably comfortable and stable and makes elevating something to look forward to, not something to hate, like when I used a pile o' pillows for my knee. Simple, elegant, genius.

Happy Thursday to you, too.

And as for the stairs, I actually can do them normally foot over foot already with little or no pain. But I probably won't do it more than a step or 2 test for at least a few more days.

How long do you have to wear those devices? My OS believed in the value of those cuffs also 7 yrs ago.
Currently, not as many OS's are prescribing them. I despised those things and admittedly cheated, then felt guilty and phoned my surgeons office and was advised by the PA that they're happy when most wear them at least half the time. I believe they set the bar high knowing many will be discouraged and not wear them as instructed. If you're up walking around often enough and doing your exercises, you may consider calling the office and having a discussion with your surgeon or his PA and see if you can wear them for shorter periods of time. It's worth a try...
Give it a few days and see what you think. Happy Thursday!

 

[Eman85]

I thought taking the pain pills was a bad thing with my first, not the best idea especially waiting for the pain before taking them.

 

[raylo]

It isn't totally straightforward. If you start taking them too much in anticipation it is hard to know when to back off. In my past surgeries the trick for me has been to find and ease up to that point. I am taking the Tramadol... but tomorrow I'll consider reducing the frequency depending on how the night goes and how I feel. Of course if I get miserable before I go to bed whilst on the Tramadol, I'll pop an oxy.

I thought taking the pain pills was a bad thing with my first, not the best idea especially waiting for the pain before taking them.

 

[Barb56]

You sounding you're doing really well Ray, apart from the horrid cuffs. The policy in our local hospitals in Sheffield, England was to require all hip patients to wear compression socks (TEDS) for 4/6 weeks.

Now it's more mixed. Some surgeons do, some don't. It would be helpful if there was a more consistent policy.

Anyway Ray, keep on keeping on and I'm wishing you good sleep and comfort. Barb.