My New Hip - BHR by Dr. Pritchett

[Dannywayoflife]

Awesome mate congrats. Welcome to the club.
Danny

[Dan L]

Great news, congrats!

If you follow the program, use the ice, do the meds and exercises when the time comes and you'll be surprised how well it goes.  Every day from here on out your hip will get better, and not worse, like the days before you had it fixed.

Dan

[Baby Barista]

So I took my first steps with a walker 4 1/2 hours after I left the operating room.  For you voyeurs out there, here's a link to the video my wife shot.

http://youtu.be/vnP5MEz3v3A

Dr. Pritchett said the arthritis was even more advanced than it appeared on X-ray. The joint space that appeared on film was just that... empty space. He had to clean up a significant amount of osteophyte from my inferior femoral head. He had templated me for a 52mm BHR head and corresponding cup. Fortunately, once Dr. Pritchett got in there, my femoral neck measured out correctly and that is the component I got.

Laying here in bed, I'm pretty sore at the incision site and my groin. But thanks to the information shared on this board, I've known exactly what to expect  :)

Thanks again to everyone who makes this site so great, and Pat who keeps it online. I'll keep you posted on my progress!

-Rob

P.S.   I'm the only person on this floor today who is still years away from collecting Social Security  :-\

[mslendzion]

Awesome, thx for posting your first walk.

[ScubaDuck]

Boy that sure looks familiar.  You are doing great!

Dan

[Boomer]

Baby Barista,

My surgery took place sever weeks ago, and I barely remember anything that happened in the hospital. It fades quickly because you become so busy and focussed in recovery. You will be amazed at how tuned in you become with what your body needs and what it is saying to you. Each day it gets a little bit better and the aches and pains start to fade. It's a slow process, but you won't mind it because you can sense the progress you are making and it's pretty pleasing.

Take it slowly, eat as much as you want and sleep as often as you can. Your body will do most of the work.

Congratulations on the beginning of a new, pain free existence.

Boomer

[hernanu]

Congrats and welcome to the other side! Take it easy and don't let the sound of the walker wheels drive you crazy.

[Luanna]

Hi Baby Barista,

Enjoyed watching you take your first post op steps and so soon after surgery! My leg was totally numb from the epidural until the following morning. :)

Take care and follow all the protocols. Keep us posted on your progress.

Luanna

[hernanu]

Rob, I just caught the video, all I can say is excellent! You did much better than I did the first time. I did have the same socks, though.

[imgetinold]

Congrats!  Looking good.  You'll recover very quickly, since it appears that you are about 25 years old.  Like others said....keep the ice on....stay on top of the pain.  Your 25 year old body will take care of the rest!   ;D

[Baby Barista]

37 years old, but whose counting right? Today started out pretty rough. We came home last night and I got right into bed, but had a tough time falling asleep. Then I woke up about 5am with a 102 degree fever. I got very nauseated and hit the reset button. My wife called Dr. Pritchett, who prescribed anti nausea drugs. After taking those, I did my exercises and felt significantly better.

Still haven't had a BM since Sunday morning, that's a bit disheartening... but tonight I'm hoping to make the magic happen. I'm icing nonstop but my operative thigh is still about twice the size of the other.

A couple interesting notes: Dr. Pritchett now uses sutures instead of staples and seals the incision with a colloidal silver patch, allowing you to go in the shower or pool immediately. Also, most pain management is now all oral meds, beginning with several painkillers in preop.

[David]

Get a big container of whole prunes and eat raisin bran 2x a day...
Forget the suppositories and all that other shit...

[ScubaDuck]

Baby B, I had some slight fevers as well.  Nothing like 102 though.  It sounds like you got that under control though.

The BM was the toughest thing for me.  It took me many days before I finally went.  I tried a little of everything - prunes, coffee, etc.  I kept joking that if I keep eating I am going to explode like that guy in "The Meaning of Life."

That is interesting that Dr. P has added a colloidal silver patch.  They did give me waterproof bandages in the hospital that allowed me to shower at least.  I also had sutures and oral pain meds though I didn't need much of the latter.

Best wishes.

Dan

[Luanna]

Hi BB,
I had a fever off and on for the first couple of days after surgery. Guess it is pretty common. Glad to hear that you are at home and coping well. The nausea was the worst for me - it lasted about 3 long miserable days. Sounds like the pill you took fixed you right up.

Take it slow and easy.

Luanna

[Baby Barista]

One step forward, two steps back....

By yesterday afternoon, I started feeling pretty crummy once again. At about 8pm, I woke up in the recliner on fire. My temp was 105 and I felt like I was living in dream land. Called Dr. Pritchett, he had me pack ice bags around me, drink ice water, and take both Tylenol and Advil. He says its rare for people to run fevers that high post-op, but it does happen from time to time. Between the meds, the ice and the cold washcloths, I got the upperhand on the fever by about midnight. Still no BM. That's really making me cranky. Trying all the remedies but, it appears we have a failure to communicate. Hoping today is a little better.  ;)

[hernanu]

We all hit walls at different times, small and big - hope you both cool down and loosen up in the right places  8) .

[WTW15]

Jealous of the fancy socks.  Mine were drab gray.
I hear ya on the BM, but it will happen..... I think the positioning on the throne compromises the process as well.  Keep up on all the home and medical remedies.   

Seems so weird to see you moving the same way I did - that we've been through the same thing and are on the road to recovery.  Good to know there are others out there who understand exactly where we are!!! 

[Baby Barista]

LOVE my socks. Yesterday I chewed through a box of apricots and half a box of prunes. By 6pm there was still no action, so I kicked up to the milk of magnesia. Followed two tablespoons of that with a big glass of water and waited. It wasn't long before the magic happened. Felt much better after that.

Last night I slept in bed for the first time. I strapped the wedge between my legs, rolled onto my good side, and tucked a body pillow behind me for support. I think that worked pretty well.

Today I'm pretty sore. I think it's because I did all of my exercises and walked around the house quite a bit yesterday. It's interesting how your body keeps you in check : )

Continued success at your end WTW15... it's inspiring to see how others are getting along!

[Luanna]

Way to GO.............Baby Barista!!!   ;)

Luanna

[Baby Barista]

Today I backed off of the exercises and walking around the house, with hopes I wouldn't be as sore and exhausted. It helped a bit, but I am swollen beyond what I had expected. I'm icing several times a day. My operative thigh is so swollen it's tight to the touch. This feels especially strange in the groin area. My bruising and swelling is also now extending to my knee and beyond. When I try to bend my knee to get into the shower, I can barely do it. It feels like I have a fat-roll in the way ; ) One of my PT nurses in the hospital suggested my swelling might be especially bad, because my thighs are so muscular, and took a greater level of torque to dislocate my femur. Haven't asked Dr. Pritchett about this yet. Whatever the case, I feel like I could be making better progress if my swelling were diminished.