Day 5 update: Less than a week since my op & I managed to get my socks & shoes on by myself this morning..admittedly I used a sock puller for my operated side & I have long arms which I think is an advantage - but did it by myself all the same. I also went for about a 400 metre walk - which I'm increasing daily. I felt really good & reckon I could have walked much longer but trying to take it easy as it's still only week one.

I can get around house on one crutch easily and stand quite confidentally without any crutches for small amounts of time. I hope I'm not over doing it.  Most of the time use two crutches... until I have no pain, no limp etc as per physio's advice. It's just easier using one at home when you need your hands.

I have been getting really tired in the afternoons which I think is common this early on. My incision was very sore last night too & I was a bit wiped out.

I'm not sure how much I should be pushing myself in the first few weeks. I don't really have that many exercises apart from the walking & a few sets of leg swinging ones, so I'm just doing those whilst trying to listen to my body.

Day 8: I might be over doing it. I feel great in the morning & today I walked for 900metres with my crutches. Every afternoon I'm completely wiped out & just want to sleep. Does that mean I should back off exercise? Is it the meds or a combination of the body recovering from surgery, meds & exercise?

Great job Kiwi!  I can understand you being tired at the end of the day.  I was in the same boat as you- I started off doing way too much; walking as much as 2.5 to 3 miles with a cane before week 3 was up.  My surgeon's nurse caught on to this and warned me to stay at around 1.5 miles max. for the day.  Your mind will say "Go", but the soft tissue and ligaments and tendons are still returning to normal / healing, etc.  I am at 5 1/2 weeks right now and generally feel great all the time, except after my wife took me shopping at a shopping mall yesterday.  I was wiped out last night and sore this morning- perhaps I'm allergic to shopping?

Good luck going forward; try not to overdo it and stay smart!

Steve

Hi Simon,
I distinctly remember feeling exhausted those first 2 weeks, just doing some easy PT and a short walk would wipe me out, quite frustrating. It was pointed out that my body was expending huge amounts of energy trying to heal the soft tissue compromised during the operation. Also, sleeping was not back to normal yet, seems I had to get up and urinate every few hours, no idea where all that fluid could have been coming from.

Listen to your body, I think being tired is ok, but being in much more pain is perhaps a sign of over doing it.
Take heart, you will find this past week a distant memory in just a few more days.

Dave

Quote from: Kiwi on November 30, 2011, 11:36:00 PM
Day 8: I might be over doing it. I feel great in the morning & today I walked for 900metres with my crutches. Every afternoon I'm completely wiped out & just want to sleep. Does that mean I should back off exercise? Is it the meds or a combination of the body recovering from surgery, meds & exercise?

You said it yourself, Simon - Day 8. I like the attitude, but your body's backing you down. I did about 400 meters on crutches three times per day, but after about two weeks. I also spent the afternoon sleeping as much as I needed it. Your body is expending a lot of energy fixing cut and strained muscles. Having said that, I think your body would be wiped out anyways and the activity just adds to it, is not causing the fatigue.

Gotta keep moving, but I'd scale down until your healing muscles catch up to the rest of your muscles that are full of getup and go now that they see the OA is gone. The time for heavier exercising is coming up fast, but you want a good foundation for that.

Okay thanks guys. Too excited I guess. I'll scale back the daily walk & stick to McMinn exercises just once per day until after the two week mark. I agree I think I'll be wiped out anyway. Doesn't the body do a lot the healing when you're asleep? It was just blowing me away how knackered I have been from about mid afternoon compared to the morning where I seem to be full of beans. No abnormal pain - as long as I keep up my meds.

Day 11: Earthquake rumbled shaking our house around 7.30pm, without a second thought, ran through lounge, dining room, kitchen, down hallway to get my children out of their bedrooms (they are screaming), ran into 1 year olds  room and picked her up out of her cot - we all got under dining room table. Shake had then stopped. It was a decent rumble (5.7).

Wife came in from outside where she had been in the garden planting, saw me holding our youngest and said where are your crutches? Looked over and they were leaning against the chair where I had been sitting watching cricket on TV.

As some of you will know, we've had our share of major earthquakes in NZ lately - in Christchurch, but the whole country's a bit on edge when these occur. We live in Wellington which is where they have been talking about 'the big one' since I was a young fella.

Family is all okay - that's the main thing. No damage done there.

Iced up the rest of the night, had few strong drinks. All I hope for now is that I've done no serious damage to my cup (i.e. moved it a mil or two). How would I know? My muscles are a bit sore this morning that's all.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6082343/Earthquake-near-Picton-rocks-capital-felt-afar

I think you'd know. I know the descriptions of dislocation sound very painful. I think you're fine. Check with the doctor if you're nervous, but its like my car accident when i was a month or so along, I didn't even notice it until later.

A fellow hippy has reiterated your comments Hern via email. Just a bit of paranoia creeping in  on my part. The extra pain is likely to be the soft muscle tissue which I've irritated when I ran. I've sent an email to my Surgeon... just to be safe. :o
You had a car accident a month after one of your ops??

Hi

Did you get a reply from Hugh? ( I am still waiting for my sick leave certificate). Anyhow, I think it is soft muscle too. I feel like I have torn or damaged an inner butt muscle with some over exuberant clamshells and I am 5 weeks post op. I am still thrilled with the hip but still quite weak - though my foot drop has complicated things.

good thing I pulled out of the ironman in January- don't think I would have done a good job ;)

Rachel

Thanks for the prompt Rachel. Hugh did respond saying that I would not have done any damage to the hip by running.

Have you found out any more about your dropped foot and did Hugh say anything about how long until nerve pain goes?

btw - I just realised that we were due to be operated on the same date but my op was delayed 3 weeks due to me getting bronchitis.

Ironman less than 3 months after a resurfacing.... you're would have be keen mate.

Quote from: Kiwi on December 04, 2011, 12:51:02 AM
A fellow hippy has reiterated your comments Hern via email. Just a bit of paranoia creeping in  on my part. The extra pain is likely to be the soft muscle tissue which I've irritated when I ran. I've sent an email to my Surgeon... just to be safe. :o
You had a car accident a month after one of your ops??

Double checked it Simon, apparently early "forgetfulness" is setting in. It was four months after my second procedure, as described here:

http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/index.php?topic=2411.0

I must be in some contracted frame of time  :-[.

No worries Hernan, based on how vigilant you are with responding to everyone on this site you're bound to lose something ;) ...do you ever sleep?  :)
Cheers
Simon

I do, and pretty well now!!!

Good for you mate!!
Looking forward to getting to that stage.

Two weeks - things have been going well.. maybe too well. I have been walking with one crutch a lot and feeling fine. I 'could' confidently walk without crutches for small periods but still some pain.

Today - out of the blue, I get pain all around my (23cm!) incision & can literally feel the swelling. I'm also clunking now as well.

This has taken me by surprise as I've hardly had any swelling since my op & my bruising has virtually gone. I'm icing right now which is helping ease the pain. Has anyone else experienced this suddenly coming on - clunking, swelling & pain?

I will add that I did go out last night to our local bar for a couple of quiet beers with mates I wanted to catch up with. I walked there & back - it's only 400m each way. This on top of an earlier walk of similar distance. Also sitting on a hard bar stool may not have helped. Just weird the way it's come on half way through the following day & so suddenly.

Nothing serious ...I hope.

We all get setbacks, Simon. I had a tearing feeling one day in the incision, no clue what it was from; I think it was scar tissue in the incision letting go, since it didn't come back later.

Ice it, elevate and see how you feel and call the doc even if just to clear your mind.

I had some of the same sensations as you and hernanu have described a number of times.  Sometimes worse than others.  Although it worried me a little bit I didn't see any bruising to make me think something tore.  I also attributed the feeling to scar tissue releasing.

Best wishes.

Dan

Cheers Hernan & Dan. Iced all yesterday (and everyday since op), icing as we speak. Clunking & swelling still there. Didn't seem to matter how common I knew clunking was, it still took me by surprise.
I thought I had dodged it. Will push on through this minor setback.
Still okay to go for walks & do exercise? Any exercises appropriate for reducing clunking?         

Hello Simon! 

I'm about seven weeks into my recoup from BHR on my right side and my Physical Therapist has me working on my "Pelvic Floor" which involves too many Latin names for muscles to repeat here!  I'm not computer savvy enough to include some sort of link to direct you to, but you might try a search for the "Pelvic Elevator" and see what comes up for exercises involving your core!?

Part of the problem might have been your "Quiet Beers"...better to go for the loud ones!

Good luck!

Bruce