My New Hip - BHR by Dr. Pritchett

[mslendzion]

My swelling was shocking but I was told expected. My knee looked like a melon. There were a few days it hurt to put weight on knee. The swelling then dropped down the leg and my foot was huge. The RN told me once it moved to the foot it would start to recede, she was right, but it did not happen quickly.  I still have swelling in my knee and thigh but not near as bad.

I also had groin pain pretty bad, that has not been an issue the last few days. I too found that it helped just sitting/sleeping for a day to reduce the pain. There was a direct correlation between movement/activity and the level of pain.

[hernanu]

Are you elevating the leg? Icing and elevation together are the best way of dealing with that.

The swelling will go down, the bruising will travel, as long as you're doing what your surgeon prescribed to avoid clots, you should be fine.

[ScubaDuck]

BB-

Your recovery sounds very similar to mine.  I started out with no real bruising and it got worse each day for about 7 days.  It even extended down to my ankle.  I have pretty muscular legs from biking and hiking also.

It sounds like your swelling is worse.  I spent a lot of time sitting or lying on the bed with ice in the first two weeks.  It sounds like you are being much more active.

Are you taking aspirin this first week to prevent clots?  How is your incision looking?

Best wishes.

Dan

[Baby Barista]

I am spending the bulk of my time in a recliner with ice on my hip. I think I may just need to take it easier on the walking and exercises. Last night I went a full 8 hours without pain meds and that was a huge freaking mistake. I woke up in such pain and with the shakes, that I broke down in tears and scared the kids. Just trying to keep my eye on the prize : ) Though the idea of returning to my desk job in another two weeks seems less and less likely

[Luanna]

Hi BB,
You'll be surprised at how much better you'll be feeling in a couple of weeks. Danny has muscular quads too and he also had a rough bit of time right after surgery.

Keep the pain under control, rest, ice, and elevate.

Sending you positive well-wishes!!!

Luanna

[mslendzion]

Though the idea of returning to my desk job in another two weeks seems less and less likely

I planned on returning to work on 1/30 but my doctor indicated I need more time. I too had some concerns returning on the 30th. Still in a bit of pain and in need of more PT.   It is looking like a 2/13 return date.

[Two4One]

Well done, Rob!  I'm so relieved you're relieved!

mslenzdion, I sorry you couldn't return to work as soon as you'd hoped, but on the other hand we'll get to see you
'round here and you'll be feeling ever so much better.

2fer

[Luanna]

How are you doing today Baby Barista?

Luanna

[Baby Barista]

Swelling is about the same today. Since mornings have been rough... I'm now starting out straight away with my anti nausea, painkiller, and Tylenol. That set my day up right.

What is different today is the pain/tightness in my quads. It's at it peak right now, a 9 out of 10 on the pain scale. Feels like I got whacked in the thigh with a lead pipe. That's made doing anything difficult. I've been icing as per usual, but I'm also lightly massaging my leg. Any other tips for that acute thigh pain aka non stop charley horse?

[obxpelican]

Some doctors will prescribe a heavy anti inflammatory drug along with pain meds, you should be well passed the point where extreme bone pain is an issue being that you are 6 days post-op.

I would call your doctor and explain your pain, you should not be a 9/10 pain wise this far post-op, although it's not totally abnormal to be in that much pain 6 days out, usually by now the pain is beginning to wane.

Everyone recovers at a different rate, hope you feel better.


Chuck

[Luanna]

If you can find Danny's thread about his recovery, you'll see that he had a lot of thigh pain early on. Had to do with how muscular his quads were. His doc told him that he'd experience more pain early on I believe. Danny - correct me if I'm wrong here.

I'd call in to see if there is anything they can give you to help relax your thigh muscles. Sounds like a spasm.

Luanna

[Two4One]

I agree with Luanna.  A nasty hip flexor spasm had me bawling at PT last Friday; rest, light massage, and a muscle relaxer did the trick for me.  Let us know what works for you because those intense spasms grab a lot of people as they are recovering.

Good luck and feel lots better soon!

2fer

[Baby Barista]

Past couple days have been okay.. thigh pain is still pretty intense. I asked Dr. Pritchett about this. He said it is common in people with muscular thighs to experience pretty intense pain near the one week mark. He said it takes a greater level of torque to dislocate the femur and a greater amount of pressure to keep the leg out of joint while he works. He said the best thing to do is deep tissue massage. It hurts like hell, but it does feel better afterward.. I also tried out our handheld back massager and that seemed to work well too..

[Luanna]

Good to hear that things are settling out a bit. You might want to PM Dannywayolife and compare quad size and pain levels. Very similar except for Danny was a bit more vocal about his discomfort if I recall correctly.  ;D

Luanna

[Baby Barista]

Quad has been improving. I've been giving it some self administered shiatsu massage. I go until I want to punch myself in the face... Then I back off. It's worked! It is funny how as soon as one part feels better, you feel something new. Usually it's a smaller something, but still... something. I now beginning to feel some of the tendon and ligament slipping/snapping some people have described. I may have felt an occasional clunk, but I can't be sure. It's certainly not the feeling I expected.

I've been filling my days with daytime television and naps. Our nanny gets the kids from school, and rides herd until my wife gets home. I didn't realize there was this much crappy daytime television! Anybody have a Netflix recommendation? Right now I'm watching VH1's "History of Metal". My brain is still a little mushy from painkillers to read a book. I'll start reading next week.

I don't usually brag, but I've gotta tell you, my family has been remarkable throughout this whole thing. My three year old helps daddy every morning get out of bed. She gets him his crutches, his sweatshirt and his slippers. My six year old son has been my second pair of hands, fetching my phone, my iPad, my headphones... if I need it, he's Johnny-on-the-spot to bring it. And my wife... what can I say, she's the absolute best! She took the first week post-op off from work. For every small improvement, she's been right there to point it out and congratulate me. And when the pain brought tears, she was there to hold me and remind me that it's only temporary. Without a doubt, this would be a much more difficult journey without their tremendous support.

[Dan L]

Barista;

Great to hear about the family helping out; has to be a huge comfort to have them helping.

Daytime TV is the worst.  I found myself watching various PBS and related series off DVD or online through Netflix etc, Ken Burns stuff (Civil War, National Parks, etc, etc) I'd watch an episode or 2-3 per day to kill time, nice thing about a series is that it can burn time over an extended period.  If you have access, Hulu online also has all the comedy central stuff (Colbert/Stewart) which were great while sitting there doing nothing in the early stages of recovery, and Amamzon online has alot of content as well  (we get them through a Roku device or a Sony Blue Ray with built in web connectivity).  I was so desperate I followed the Conrad Murray wrongful death trial (M Jackson), which was a welcome distraction that dragged on for weeks (got hooked in the hospital).

I normally read a lot, but like you, didn't read much at all during my recovery from BHR #1, I was off the narco's after 2nd week, but just didn't feel like reading.  Made up for it since though.

[hernanu]

Quad has been improving. I've been giving it some self administered shiatsu massage. I go until I want to punch myself in the face... Then I back off. It's worked! It is funny how as soon as one part feels better, you feel something new. Usually it's a smaller something, but still... something. I now beginning to feel some of the tendon and ligament slipping/snapping some people have described. I may have felt an occasional clunk, but I can't be sure. It's certainly not the feeling I expected.

I've been filling my days with daytime television and naps. Our nanny gets the kids from school, and rides herd until my wife gets home. I didn't realize there was this much crappy daytime television! Anybody have a Netflix recommendation? Right now I'm watching VH1's "History of Metal". My brain is still a little mushy from painkillers to read a book. I'll start reading next week.

I don't usually brag, but I've gotta tell you, my family has been remarkable throughout this whole thing. My three year old helps daddy every morning get out of bed. She gets him his crutches, his sweatshirt and his slippers. My six year old son has been my second pair of hands, fetching my phone, my iPad, my headphones... if I need it, he's Johnny-on-the-spot to bring it. And my wife... what can I say, she's the absolute best! She took the first week post-op off from work. For every small improvement, she's been right there to point it out and congratulate me. And when the pain brought tears, she was there to hold me and remind me that it's only temporary. Without a doubt, this would be a much more difficult journey without their tremendous support.

Great that your family has been spoiling you. Just a warning - if you punch yourself in the face, the face will hurt.

Recommendations for good movies:

• Better Off Dead.
• Lone Star State of Mind
• O Brother Where Art Thou?
• Raising Arizona
• Unstoppable

[ScubaDuck]

Sounds like you are doing well BB.  I am not much a TV person so I spent most of my time on the computer or reading.

You sound like a lucky man with a family like that.  You should treat them to a great vacation when you are healed.  I was fortunate that my gf had the summer off and could take care of me.

Best wishes.

Dan

[Baby Barista]

Went in for my two week follow up yesterday. Dr. Pritchett said the wound looked great. The silver bandage had worked very well.

They took two X-rays, a an anterior pelvic and a cross table. Dr. Pritchett called me out to take a look. Just to my naked eye it appeared to be a pretty darn good placement. He scaled up the image and brought up the measuring tool... 40-degrees on the nose! He said he was also very pleased with the seating of the cup (I had dysplasia) and the estimated anteversion. On the femoral side, the X-rays show the prosthetic is well centered on the neck in both planes.
I'll be starting PT next week and meet with Dr. Pritchett in another 6-weeks.

All in all, I've been very pleased with the outcome to this point. Before surgery I had severe femero-acetabular impingement. Doing some of the at home exercises I can already tell that's gone. My hip glides thru positions, that before, would have caused sharp stabbing pains. Lots of work ahead, but I'm looking forward to it.

[hernanu]

Great results, the silver bandage did wonders for me too (second time around). It is fun having that type of hip mobility once the HR is in.