I'm an Official Hippy, Surgery by Dr. Snyder

[hernanu]

You guys are still in the early stages, the 'going' issues clear up fast, then the muscle issues are the most important. Sounds to me like you're both having good early progress. In time to catch the Pats vs. Jets....  ;D

[PistolPete]

I made it through another day and the good news is that the swelling is almost gone which is awesome.  The bruising is still there but seems to be navigating down my leg away from my hip.  Yesterday was a little difficult because we needed to paint our living room and I thought I might be able to help.  I stood up grabbed a roller and just laughed as there was no way I could help.  That's been the hardest part of everything with not being able to do such easy tasks.  I cannot wait to be independent again.  My recovery seems quite slow but I'm def. making some grounds.  My doctor said I would prob. be on crutches for a week or so and tomorrow marks the first week and there is no way I could switch over to a cane at this point.  I would bet I would need at least another week or so.

[hernanu]

I stayed on two crutches for a week, then one crutch for about a week, week and a half. Your progress sound pretty good so far, don't put a schedule on things, do things when they feel right.

I was able to drive about two to three weeks in, did he tell you when you could drive?

[PistolPete]

He said I should be able to drive in a week or two post surgery so long as I was off the narcotics.  I can't imagine trying to get behind the wheel at this point.  My days start off great and by the mid to late afternoon is when everything gets really tight and more and more difficult.  My morning today started of great.  I did a bunch of laps around the house and then took a nap around 2 for an hour and when I woke was really tight.  I don't think I over did anything but I'm sure it's just my body telling me to take it easy.  I'm looking forward to the progress I will make this week as things are def. slowly starting to get a little easier.

[hernanu]

I couldn't think of driving that quickly either, especially with my right side, but when the time came, I was pretty ready - he's pretty good about estimating those things.

I was tight after naps too. I never took naps normally before (do now, go figure). I think if we do our stuff, the body will complain. You're doing fine.

[PistolPete]

Well, today was my 1 week anneversary and things are still progresing slowly.  I was able take a few steps with only 1 crutch today.  I could go 10 or so steps with the one crutch.  The biggest issue I feel is tightness and weakness in my front outside quad in the operated leg.  I'm sure as this muscle group gets stronger things will get easier.  I may have a possible UTI as I tested 50% possible positive on one test and negative on another.  Will have to retest tomorrow.  Right now I've cut my pain medacine quite a bit.  I'm only taking 1 dose of Tylenol in the morning and a 1/2 dose right before bed.  3 pills total all day plus my asprin that I'm taking twice daily to keep my blood thinned out.

Everyone says that day 10 is typically the big day so I'm pretty excited for Wed.  Hopefully I'll have the same luck.  It's def. getting easier getting around the house but I will so excited to get outside and go for a walk at some point.

[hernanu]

I'd use two crutches outside for a bit, Pete. The slopes and contours of "smooth" pavement are a challenge at first, no matter how flat they look. You'll be off crutches soon enough, you just want to get as much benefit as you can from your walking.

[PistolPete]

I agree 100%.  If I walk with one crutch the other will be under my armpit.  Safety is #1.

[obxpelican]

Walking is one of the best exercises that you can do Pete, you might be sore here and there just listen to your body and please protect that hip.  A fall at this point could be catastrophic.


Chuck

[Luanna]

Pete,
I started making real progress when I finally got myself walking a bit. I was very careful and still at 11 weeks carry a cane just in case I run into difficult terrain and need it.  Listen to your body.

The other thing that I found useful was to take pain meds as needed so that I didn't create a cycle of pain that was then very hard to break. I hated the idea of taking the stuff but found that after working hard sometimes I needed a bit more than tylenol. Everyone is different and it sounds like you are doing extremely well.

Luanna

[Cantab]

Pete how's it going today? 
I just had my first visit with the visiting nurse, blood pressure was up, but I explained I had just gotten off the phone with Blue Cross, so that explains the elevation.  No problems with the paying of the bills but BCBS was trying to "educate" me on what to expect from the surgery.  I told them that i had received the OK for the surgery from them, dated the day after surgery had occurred.  They had all sorts of questions, I finally got tired of them and told them my Dr. could answer any questions I had, and I also had you guys to run stuff by.  I am real tired of the bureaucracies of BCBS, I am fighting with them over my acid reflux disease and the med, nexium, which needs to be approved by BCBS every year now.

My recent updates are, got home yesterday, ride wasn't bad but getting out of the car was an adventure.  After the whole day and finally relaxing in my new recliner, the leg was sore and swollen.  Tried to sleep in the bed and woke up about two hours later, both legs wore sore from not moving at all.  I had to pee and it took awhile to get the strength up in the leg to get out of bed.  I then took a pain med and went out to my recliner, soooooo comfy, I slept through the rest of the night.  The recliner will be home for the foreseeable future.  can walk with the two crutches now, occasionally get a twinge of pain, but still no strength.  Doing quad sets now as I write this.  Tomorrow is first PT session at home, hopefully i get the OK to do the exercises I have seen here from McMinn Centre, we'll see. Next Wed. is the next appt. with the Dr., 13 days post op. , and will get the 28 staples removed from my 33cm wound.  Is this average for BHR?   I'll post if anything else comes up before Wed, 11/23.

[hernanu]

Hey Cantab, sounds pretty standard. Don't worry about the strength, it comes back soon enough. You just need to be patient with everything that's coming your way right now. Your body is in the first throes of healing, so let it. Good that you're moving and doing exercises; let yourself rest too.

Make sure you become a partner with your PT person, let him/her lead since she's the pro, but let her know where you want to go with the PT, where you want to be by the time he/she leaves. I had to give up my idea of working out, since that was for someone not recovering - show her the exercises and then let her tell you what she plans. I know in my recoveries, we talked a lot about what she was doing and why. I understood that way why we were doing certain things (my worst were lateral leg raises, only got them done towards the end).

I also asked mine when she would consider me "done" so that I knew if I was reaching my goals. They're your partners in getting well as quickly as possible, and every one I met was very dedicated. Good luck (and this is going to sound weird) and have fun, this is the beginning of a painless workout life.

Let's see 33 cm --> ~13 inches.. Mine were 6 inches on the right and 8 inches on the right. I lose unless I claim the additive property : 6 + 8 = 14... I win!

[Kiwi]

Pete,

Great to hear your'e progressing well are so positive straight after your op. Really useful reading for those about to have HR. I look forward to reading more good stuff before next Wed!

Danny - how are you getting on mate?

Simon

[PistolPete]

Cantab- I think you're my long lost brother.  I too received that call from BCBS and it was odd.  They want to call me again next week.  Very strange.  I also have Acid Reflux and use to take Nexium.  It was an act of congress to get it approved and I let it lapse once and now can't get it no matter how hard I fight them.  I now take Prilosec OTC and it doesn't really work.   My incision isn't quite that large but prob. around 9 inches or so.  I also didn't get staples I just got regular stitches that disolve.  My covering comes off tomorow.

Being home at first is a blessing as well as a nightmare.  The first few days home are really difficult but things def. get beter each day.  The recovery has been harder than I honestly thought it was going to be.  I'm on day 10 and each day is a new milestone.  I actually went outside yesterday with PT and walked a 1/2 mile.  It felt really good.  She gave me some new exercises to do as well which is good.  The night sweats are still there but not as bad so hopefully I will get over them soon enough. 

I'm not taking any pain meds at this point.  If I feel pain I will take some tylenol but as of right now I didn't take anything today and don't plan on it.  I took my first dose of Tylenol yesterday morning and haven't taken it since.  Pain really isn't an issue and hasn't been for me which is great.  However, the discomfort from moving the leg is the issue.  I can feel how weak my muscles are and it's something I need to get use to.

I'm now walking with 1 crutch which is great.  I still carry the 2nd one with me in case I need it but I really need to work on strenthening my muscles back.  The PT said yesterday that in some ways I have a long road ahead of me. She said that because my hip was messed up for so long that my stabalizer muscles haven't been used in a very long time.  She said she will put together specific exercises to get me to strenthen those back up.

[PistolPete]

Pete,

Great to hear your'e progressing well are so positive straight after your op. Really useful reading for those about to have HR. I look forward to reading more good stuff before next Wed!

Danny - how are you getting on mate?

Simon

Thanks Simon,

I'm trying to update this daily to give people an idea of what they might expect.  I found a few of these before my surgery and they were quite helpful.  Good luck with your surgery next week.

Pete

[PistolPete]

Day 11:

OK, so I did a LOT today.  I'm feeling so much better but I'm sure I did way too much.  I got up and felt really good.  Still no pain meds so I'm excited about that esp. since I'm not in any pain.  I went for about a 1/2 mile walk with 1 crutch today which felt great.  I also worked in my basement standing up for about 45 min. without crutches.  Then I went to my Martial Arts school and taught one of the kids classes tonight.  Teaching was difficult but I made it thru.  Luckily my partner was there to help out so we each taught for about 10 minutes then would switch back and forth. 

I also just took the covering off and it's pretty nasty.  The scar is quite long about 7" or so.  No drainage or redness around the site and very litle bruising.  I did cover it back up even though I prob. didn't need to but figure I will do that for another day or 2 just to be safe.  I'm sure I will be tired tomorrow from everything I did today but I really want to get my life back.  I did an exercise this morning where I lifted my operated leg and just let the leg hang free and rotated my foot in a circle and everything felt sooooo smooth.  No clicking or anything.  If I did this presurgery the foot would stop and not be able to complete the circle.  I would prob. make a triangle at best.

Pete

[curt]

    Sounds like you are having fun with your new hip.  Enjoy.  I too get amazed now and then when I realize that I've done some activity and have NOT had to stop doing it or even THOUGHT about the hip.  After so long its a welcome change.  I hope you keep amazing yourself too Pete!

Curt

[hernanu]

Cool stuff, Pete - I'm sure it was good for your students to see you too. Isn't that smooth feeling the greatest thing after the locking and snap feeling pre surgery? Sounds like things are progressing well for you.

[PistolPete]

It is an interesting feeling.  I was doing leg lifts out to the side today and it feel weird.  The hip glides smooth but it feels like an opposite magnetic force in the hip.  Can't realy describe it but it feels odd. 

[curt]

   Outside lifts (abduction) has been my weakest motion since surgery.  Not sure which muscles and tendons were at fault, but its the very last thing that is giving me a reason to remember that I had an operation.

Curt