THR yesterday

[Saddlepal3]

Justa Bill,

Sorry you are experiencing this difficult recovery. For what it’s worth, I have read all your posts, but have not responded because I had no advice. Given your situation, you might seek out a second opinion from another orthpedic surgeon. As Pat said, it could well be that you are just having a slow recovery, but it might be comforting to have that confirmed.

[Justa Bill]

Well, I did see my ortho on Wednesday and he seems convinced that it's just irritation and inflammation from the stretching of the thigh muscles during the procedure. He prescribed a round of prednisone.
However, I'm not so convinced. I'm back to using crutches and the pain is at least as bad as before surgery. I now regret having the procedure. At least, before, I knew what was wrong. I'm absolutely miserable and have lost hope of recovering. I've thought about seeing another ortho, but it usually takes weeks to get an appointment. So why bother. Especially since I'm supposed to report back to work in two weeks. Yet, not being able to walk and back on the oxycodone, I don't think I can.
If this is going to be my life, then I don't want any part of it.

[Pat Walter]

Bill
I am so sorry to hear how much pain you are having.  I hope that you are just a slow healer and will be better in time.
Meanwhile, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
Pat

[catfriend]

JustaBill - Please do not even joke about suicide. If you are in so much pain you no longer wish to live you must seek medical care immediately. Whether it is a suicide hotline, a hospital ER, a mental health professional,another opinion, or a team, it does not matter. You must speak to somebody to get you through this crisis. Now. Do not let the despair overtake you.

[LMS]

So sorry that you're having a rough recovery.

From reading your posts, your post op after care is... well... not as good as it could be & IMO may be a factor in why you're struggling so much?

At 10 weeks post op, I was still using a cane because it helped me walk properly & helped support / keep the pain under control.  I was still on extra strength ibuprophen & tylenol 3.

I was doing physio 3x/day, walking 10 min. after & then icing the area. 

It's also when my PT was happy enough with how things were progressing & discharged me with an action plan on slowly getting back to daily activities.  The key word "slowly".

My surgeon had told me no work, no physical activities (other than what the PT ordered) for  3 months. 

Everyone heals differently.  I'm still very stiff & have soft tissue pain in my THR hip 3 years post op. We're guessing lots of scarring.  It sucks but compared to the pain I used to be in pre surgery, it was worth it.  Mind you, it probably would've been better had I had the surgery earlier.  Who knows? 

Do you have a good rapport with your surgeon?  Are you confident with how he's handled your case?  Is he able to answer all your concerns to your satisfaction?  Has he even entertained you seeing a PT?  Why did he feel that prednisone was the pain relief to help?  Did he offer any other suggestions on pain management?  What made him come to the conclusion that it was just irritation & inflammation?

There is an answer to the "why"s...  Sometimes it's difficult to find it when you don't know which questions to ask.

Chin up, take a deep breath & slow down, things will get better.

If you need a sounding board, feel free to message me.  And post on here, this hip community is a great support network.  People may not always reply but they do read the posts.

[LMS]

Also... post operative depression is very common! 

You went through & a still going through a HUGE experience.  Being an athlete living with the constrictions of debilitation from a bad hip, a big surgery that is to fix this & then the pressure to recover "quickly".  It's all a lot for the body & mind to go through.

Another thing... how's your toe?  Did they ever give you AB's?  If not, did your family physician check to see if you may still have an infection in your system?