Surgery five hours ago and back on the ward. Feeling fantastic BUT the spinal hasnt worn off yet. Relieved to have it over. Will keep you posted. Thanks for all the help and support from forum members.
Mike
Congrats! Take it easy and listen to the Doc. Little by little it gets much better.
Craig
That's great Mike! Congrats and good luck. Keep us posted.
Spinal wore off, blood pressure dropped and nausea hit. Feeling pretty good now. I'd like to move around in bed more, the backs of my ankles are more annoying than my wound. On the whole though. I'm feeling pretty good now. :)
"WELCOME TO THE OTHER SIDE MIKE1966"
(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z263/kelley124_photos/2.jpg)
Fantastic. Stay on top of the pain initially with your meds, and ice, ice, ice. Get through the next 7-10 days, and you'll be amazed.
Thankyou, due for first steps in the morning. Will post a report. Cheers mike
Congrats on the new hip!
COOL!!! Wish you the best. Let yourself heal.
Congrats. Recovery goes quick. Enjoy your healing time. I kind of miss it.
First time out of bed today was hard work. Second time much better. No long walks, just around my room. Feels good to be on my feet. Icing helps heaps :)
I was out on the hallways on the second day. You'll feel better as you go, so your concept of long will change. Good luck, sounds good!
My man...way to go. It only get better. Make sure they check for dehydration. My blood pressure dropped and nausea on this end. i was severely dehydrated. You did better than me. On my first walk I nearly passed out. I am 8 weeks out and I am doing all sorts of stuff. Amazing. It gets better. Be strong!!!
Thanks hiphop, being a member of this forum has been hugely helpful, knowing what to expect and the normal ups and downs. With tips like the dehydration. And icing, which so many people have emphasized has been the biggest help to me. See what tomorrow brings.
Mike
Congrats, follow the program, ice, ice, ice and stay ahead of the pain the first couple of weeks (meds when needed) and you'll be feeling great in no time.
Dan
Good job Mike. Yogurt, ice, ice, and more ice, maybe a little coffee and prune juice if you need to get the guts working.
congratulations, I wish you a great recovery..lyn
Finished day 2 post op and I had a great day. Walked the ward multiple times on frame and crutches and mastered getting in and out of bed on my own. Early morning setback with a hot shower making me feel faint but that came good too. Chance I will be home tomorrow but I'm not worried if it needs to be longer. I know there can be setbacks too. Biggest issue is getting the bowels moving. I'm going to try the prune juice Tin suggested. Thanks all for the support
Mike
Congrats!!! The first weeks seem a bit slow, but try to take advantage, rest and let your body heal. The weeks after the first few fly by. I can't believe I am at week 11 tomorrow! I wished I'd taken one more week off work (sedentary work from home) but I went back at 4 wks post op. So keep that in mind as you return to real life and work on just healing and recovering - as I am learning, the healing takes months, up to a year, so there's time to do that after you recover. I have to keep reminding myself this really WAS major surgery. but that's what all the veterans of this site are for!
Happy Healing!
Denise
How goes today, mike?
I'll reiterate Hip's suggestion and extend it a bit. It's not just important for the hospital, but at home too. I had a mug of H2O by my side at all times and two containers of water going in the refrigerator. So much is going on in your body that dehydration is something to avoid.
Hey Mike you are on your way!
I experienced everything you have described so far. The most irritating thing was the pain in my heels.
I don't know about you, but I was on this awful downward track with osteoarthritis pain 24/7. It had gotten to the point where I couldn't or didn't want to sit, stand, sleep, ride in a car, put on my own sock and shoe and worst of all, I thought I had to give up volleyball! I waited 5 years to have surgery.
I am 3 years post op now. Hip resurfacing changed my life! You can look forward to running jumping and just about any other activity you can think of.
So this is my 27th of season playing volleyball. This year I've played 6's through the winter and this summer I'l be playing men's doubles, coed doubles and 6's.
My best advice to you is to be patient, and I think you will find your recovery will accelerate everyday.
R.BHR 03-03-09
Hi mike
Just replied to you on one of my threads and then noticed you had posted this. Sounds like your doing well. I was about 4 days before you I think. Last couple of days have been the best. Getting around pretty well on the old crutches now and not quite as tired. Are you home yet?
Grant
Hi TK,
Great to get that perspective, it actually is hard to imagine being able to do those things again.
Grant,
I came home yesterday, I had a great first half to yesterday, did heaps but then crashed and I spent the first half of today sleeping. I got myself up and went for a walk on my crutches. Only about a quarter mile but I felt good and I intend to be cautious. Funny you mentioned tiredness because I'm still having lots of bits where I'm really tired. You found that improved recently?
Cheers
Mike
Mike,
If you had asked the question yesterday I'd have said I wasn't as tired as I have been. But then today I watched a movie and then fell asleep for 2.5 hours!!
I think it is a case of the body gets stronger so you very gradually step up the PT and walking, but you forget how tired doing all of this makes you. Think it is just a balancing act. I still feel l I've every day is a slight improvement. It is only when you look back at where you were 5 days ago that you realise how much you are improving!
Grant
Good Luck and healing Mike!!!! Lu
Mike,
Congrats on new hip. I'm a week post op now. Still very sore, but I know that I made the right call in getting the hip resurfaced. Good luck.
Dan
Day 6 post op and just feeling better again after a rough couple of days. Blood thinners played havoc with me, dizzy, nauseous, tingling in the arms and hands. I have gone off everything except paracetemol and I'm doing much better. Going to introduce asprin later today as an alternative to the injectable thinner. Anyway had a good nights sleep for the first time, got up and did my first walk of the day. I guess I had expected to feel like me with a sore hip once I came home. It's a major thing.
Poppy and grant, how are you guys progressing now?
Good news, mike. I did well with aspirin both times, so good things are ahead.
Hi mike
I'm doing well thanks. Improving every day. I haven't done that much walking but I'm not sure how much I should be trying to anyway. I'm just pottering around the house and gradually able to do things for myself
How you getting on?
Grant
1 week post op. Had a couple of good days. My only problem is boredom. I have never been keen on hanging around the house. I'm like you Grant, unsure how much to do. I want to do no more or no less than optimum. The good thing about being bored is that it encourages doing the exercises. I have found the video from the McMinn centre excellent in supplementing what the PT gave me. The saddest bit is that I was never a TV watcher but I have become a fan of 'pawn stars' on TV. I ice after every walk or excercise session and I now have very little swelling in the leg below the incision. Hardest thing I'm finding is sitting on the damn toilet! :)
Cheers Mike
Had the same thing with the toilet!! But managed to sit more or less normally yesterday for the first time - what a milestone! ;)
Yep, this op is a pain in the a***. :)
Even with the raised toilet seat, it was still a pain in the arse. I think comfortable sitting on the toilet didn't happen for about 4 weeks for me. It took about 3 months on the first hip, for me to not always leave the left leg extended when sitting on the can. I think I just got used to sitting that way but probably could have worked on it a bit more after posterier restrictions were lifted.