Rbt2011 welcome to the other side brother!

[mslendzion]

Hi Rbt2011, Glad to hear that in these early days you feel you are now better then pre surgery.  I wonder if the dull headache is due to the drugs, I hope these end for you soon.  What level of PT are you doing this early?  How mobile are you?  Do you use crutches and have you had to conquer stairs?  I'm scheduled for a presurgery appointment with Dr. Schmitt Thursday this week.  I'm scheduled for surgery on 1/9/12.  So glad you have good feedback on him. 

[Aerial]

Good luck in the healing process!  You are on your way!

[Two4One]

Rbt2001 -

I am very happy for you now that you have the resurfacing surgery behind you!  When you feel up to it, I would love to see how you do with PT and when you reach important milestones like your surgery pain diminishing.

I get bilateral hip resurfacing by Dr. Schmitt on December 20th.  It's just around the corner, and I'm getting really excited to begin with healing pain instead of just going from one day to the next without hope of ever getting out of pain or out of the house for that matter!

Dr. Schmitt said I can wean off my pain medications anytime I felt like it after my surgery, so I'm quite interested in hearing any details of Schmitt's aftercare, your pain levels, and your followup care & PT that you'd care to share.  Good luck with these first weeks of recovery!!!

[rbt2011]

Two4one and mslendzion,

The pain has been very, very manageable.  I know I was worried about it preop, but it has been not bad.  Don't worry.

I do the standard PT they recommend at the hospital twice a day.  I can't do one of the exercises (they are more movements than exercises) because it hurts.  I have been off pain meds since day 3 or 4.  Headaches are much better now.  Pain level is low overall.  My Range of motion and strength are bad, but I expected that.

The only concern I have now is I am getting some clunking (which I have read is normal).  Other than that, it's been good.  Best of luck to both of you and I will definitely answer any questions you have.  You will both do great!

If you get a chance at your next appointment, ask him what cup angle is best..  I am interested in that and forgot what he said.

Take care

[MGM]

I don't mean to butt in on Rbt's thread, but thought I'd add some of my of own experiences to this discussion since I'm also a Schmitt surface hippy. My surgery was the day before Rbt's on 11/28 so we actually were in the hospital at the same time.

As far as pain, I don't do well on narcotics so haven't taken them, either pre-op or post-op. Therefore, I didn't use the Vicodin pain pump in the hospital. Instead, I was given Toradol via IV every six hours which is a very effective anti-inflammatory and all that I needed to manage the pain. Upon discharge, they automatically write a script for Norco as the take home pain med. Again, I requested a non-narcotic alternative and was given Motrin 800's which I've only used as needed, not round the clock, in addition to frequent icing. YMMV, but I haven't had to manage narcotic night sweats, headaches, nausea, drowsiness, brain fog, etc, which I know would be adding stress to these early days of the recovery process.

Like Rbt's, I too can't say enough about Dr. Schmitt, his staff, and the entire DMC Huron Valley-Sinai experience. The new orthopedic wing that opened just a few weeks ahead of surgery was gorgeous and state of the art...good timing for all of the Schmitt patients posting here. One thing I noticed compared to my postpartum hospital experiences after delivering my two babies was the peaceful environment which I found to be very calming. Oh, and the "room service" food was surprisingly very good.

Mobility has been okay getting around the house, just taking it slow and steady using the walker per the instructions of the hospital PT's. I've also been managing pretty well using the equipment aids as instructed by the OT's, with the exception of needing help with the TEDS socks. Home health care started the day after I got home with a visiting RN checking the incision, swelling, and taking vitals. PT will be starting in a day or two and I've been doing the hospital exercises in the meantime. Taking showers has been a bit challenging which leaves me wiped out afterward, but I know that will get easier like everything else.

It's a huge weight lifted when you get this surgery behind you since I found the anticipation to be worse than the reality. Good luck everyone.

[curt]

    Rob, the cup angle preferences seem to be around 40 degrees.  Dr. Gross stated that the only measurement that seems to matter to him is that the angle be less than 50 degrees.  Anything less than that seems to have nearly zero problems due to angle.  Hope it helps and congrats on your recovery, sounds great.
Curt

[rbt2011]

Curt-thanks for the info on the cup angle.  Dr. Schmitt had a way of explaining it specifically because just using a protractor isn't accurate.

MGM
You are not hijacking this at all.  You did a much better job describing the experience than I so please continue.  Two4one  and mslendzion are Looking for info on the surgery and Dr. Schmitt so thanks for sharing.  That's the point of this whole site and what makes it so great. 

Sounds like your recovery is going great.  Keep it up.  I would agree that the Toradal was the best (I didnt like the narco stuff either).  I will agree to disagree with you about the food.  Are you getting the clunking too?

[MGM]

Lol, didn't mean to sound overly enthusiastic about the food. It just exceeded my low expectations given the usual stereotype of hospital food being inedible. Maybe I happened to hit on their better offerings because I actually ordered the Greek salad more than once given how tasty it was.

I've had a slight clunking feeling twice since being home, but it wasn't very pronounced and, at this early post-op stage, is normal from the posts I've read here.

[mslendzion]

rbt2011 you are awesome.  In your healing state you are thinking of us yet to cross to the other side.  Thank you!!!

[Two4One]

Hello mslendzion, MGM, and Rbt2011!

It's so wonderful to hear how well you 2 recent Dr. Schmitt hippies are doing, and I'm glad to read and hear about all the good things you and other patients are saying about this surgeon.  From the levels of pain you are reporting post op, now I'm thinking I'll be weaning off my pre op pain meds much sooner than I anticipated.

I got my hospital call today from the surgical nurse to take a history, etc., and I am impressed with their warmth and professionalism.  Friends and relatives are saying things like "before Christmas, Really?", but they don't understand that my bilateral resurfacing on December 20th will be the best Christmas present of my life.  I feel like a little kid counting down the days!

[rbt2011]

Two4one,

Glad to hear all the presurgical scheduling is going well for you.  I did find everyone at HVSH to be really good as well.

I had always read posts about people's recoveries having up days and down days.  While I was off pains meds fast, I did take a few last night and this morning.  I have been going at it pretty hard and I think I over did it yesterday.  Regardless, no need to worry.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised when it is all over with. 

MGM.  I had some at home PT today and have a real hard time bring my leg to center (adduction?), and with flexion.  I have some pretty good muscle pain and am super weak.  My pain is coming from the inner groin when I try this.  The PT said this was likely due to the surgical approach, but I am just wondering if you are having this as well.

[MGM]

Rbt--  Had my 1st home PT yesterday and it definitely was tough, to the point that my leg was throbbing trying to sleep last night...ice and Motrin. I'm now able to push out/pull in to center when sitting unlike last week in hospital rehab and, yes, I can feel it in the groin and thigh, but it's more tightness than pain. Then she had me lay on my good side, pillows between legs, and asked me to lift the leg up. No way, zero strength, and the pain was excruciating when she tried to gently lift it a bit. Unable to do such a simple exercise really showed me it's gonna be a long road back.

Speaking of PT, did you get a referral from Schmitt's office for outpatient rehab? I'm wondering how important it is to locate a therapist who's familiar with HR or if a general ortho/hip PT is okay?

[hernanu]

It's not that long a road back, MGM. At least you'll be shocked by the progress.

I also had the same thing when I first tried to do side lifts. I just could not move the damn thing!  I was more pissed than anything else, and took it as a personal affront, since I KNEW my muscles hadn't gone that far. My PT llifted it slightly, it was the hardest thing I'd done in a long time to try to push it, even with her helping.

The next time she came (about four days later), I had tried several times on my own and could not move the thing. She helped me to lift it and it wasn't quite as impossible, just improbable for me to lift it. I asked her whether this was unusual and did I need to go to some remedial class  ::) .

She was pretty interesting in her description. She said that she thought it was more than just muscle strength or the healing process - she thought the muscles needed to re-learn working together again, since they had undergone major trauma, the muscle memory needed to be reawakened. She felt the support as you raised it was training the muscles as well as supporting weakened muscles. I thought it was pretty foofy and told her so, she laughed and said that it was something she felt from many THR rehabs she had gone through (I was her first HR... you always remember the first one  ::) ).

Anyways - the third time, I had been practicing a bit, and actually was able to raise it a bit before the PT. When we got to this exercise, I actually only needed a bit of support and my leg went up. After that, on my own, the side raise became easier and easier. It was never easy until a few months went by, but by a couple of weeks later I was doing about 15.

You'll get there quickly, there are just some obstacles to overcome.

[ScubaDuck]

I was very surprised at how weak some of the muscles were after surgery.  Leg lifts, both to the front and the side were impossible at first.  I did my abduction moves lying in bed and that was difficult at first.  I could barely do those I can't imagine doing them laying on my side and lifting my leg early on.  Then I graduated to doing them standing up and to the side.  It was only after weeks of those exercises that I could begin to lift the weight of the whole leg like you describe.

Keep a it.  You will be amazed at how quickly strength will come back.

Best wishes.

Dan

[curt]

Same for me as the others.  Practicing the front leg lift and the abduction to the side while STANDING (courtesy of Hernanu) was very helpful in gaining confidence in lifting the leg while on my side.  Still, it was the last set of muscles that I could work with and the weakest overall.  Still gaining strength as I go.  Don't despair, it comes.

Curt

[MGM]

hernanu, DGossack, curt

Thanks for your encouragement and perspective on the recovery timeline. I had another home PT session yesterday and she threw a lot more at me. She's worked with many surgical hip patients and feels I'm ready since I've been able to do most of the exercises unassisted with the exception of leg lifts of any kind. Like you all said, she said keep trying and one day, it'll just happen.

My biggest problem following PT is that my leg aches/throbs which wakes me up throughout the night. Of course, she tells me to ice, ice, ice after she leaves which I would do anyway and Motrin helps take the edge off, but it makes me wonder if that's a sign that I'm doing too much too soon??

Rbt-- How's your rehab been going? I asked my PT about the groin pain you mentioned. She said, in her experience, her male patients feel post-op groin pain much more than females, based on the anatomical differences that also contribute to more hernias in males v. females, more easily torn ACL's in females than males, etc. She didn't think surgical approach was the issue since her THR patients have different incision locations and seem to follow the same pattern.

[rbt2011]

2 week update

My 1  follow up with the surgeon is Friday.  Looking forward to seeing that X-ray and hearing about how brave I was during the surgery :D

I am pretty much down to 1 crutch most of the time.  Occasionally, I do try to walk without a crutch but my gait is pretty bad.  So, I am trying to now really focus on good form and will be with the crutch for a while longer.  I am not where I thought I would be, not where I want to be, but I am getting there.  Lots of good posts on Dannywayoflifes post about this earlier today.  One day at a time, right!

The pain seems to be all but gone in the joint.  I never had too much of that achy, dull pain except for when i pushed exercise too hard.  My pain was when i walked and moved the leg.  This, i can definitely say is gone.  While i may walk like an 90 year old man right now, ill get there.  I do feel some muscle soreness and pain but it seems to be isolated to movements to the side or front. 

PT isn't bad.  Overall I have seen improvement in the last 4 or 5 days.  I still have little strength in the hip flexors.  I'm hoping to get released to swim this week and figure the hip flexors will work themselves out soon enough.  From what I read, they are some of the last muscles to start shaping up.

Scar has healed nicely.  No issues there.  I'm really surprised at how little problem this was.  I have had some big cuts before that required stitches and they were a lot more problematic than this was.  The glue they used to close the wound has been great. 

I have quite a bit of clunking and get wiped out pretty easily.  It's cold and icey here so my walks are limited to in the house (I have a very small house) or the local grocery store.  Looking forward to getting released to ride an exercise bike soon as well. 

My back is an absolute mess.  I never had a back problem per se, but it's been killing the last week or so.  I actually have been back on the pain pills just for this, not my hip.  I think it's from all the sitting and lack of stretching (90 restriction is harder than I thought) out of my hamstrings which are embarrassingly tight to begin with.

I have been getting really down and feeling super emotional lately.  This is totally not like me and really think I'm falling into a depression.  The usual problems and stresses that everyone has as well as the hip surgery really have taken a toll on me emotionally.  I can't even believe I am saying this but I am seriously considering talking to a psychiatrist about it.  I just can't seem to shake it at this point so I think I'll check out this option tomorrow.

But, overall I am happy with the surgery and looking forward to a continued recovery.  I have a long way to go but I'll get there.  Thanks for all the support.  Take care.

[hernanu]

Nothing wrong about talking to a counselor about it, Rob. I also did that, treated it like any other part of the recuperation. There is stress in this whole process, no matter how good it is in the long term, it is a major challenge.

Folks who are not in this don't get the challenges, but we do. If you need help with any part of this, go for it.

[Luanna]

Rbt-

I agree with Hern...this whole process is life changing and long and I think it is perfectly normal to have ups and downs as we navigate our way through it. My moods seem to shift quite a bit as new challenges and accomplishments happen and I seem to have very little "control" over what my body is doing and how it is healing.

If you start to sink into a depressive state, please find someone who can help you climb out of it.

Luanna

[ScubaDuck]

Hang in there Rob.  I had very similar issues early on.  I felt I was behind where I should have been.  Especially after reading some of the posts on here.  What I realized is that we all go into this with different backgrounds.  We have to take it at our own pace.

I was amazed at how weak my hips flexors were.  And when I got in the pool at about three weeks there was no way I could kick.  In fact I am still a little weak on kicking but almost there.  Definitely plan on aqua jogging.  The best exercise I did early.  You can move the hip without any weight.

I didn't jump on the bike too early.  Take it easy at first.  Short sessions with no resistance.

Don't expect to be at a certain point.  Enjoy the journey.

Best wishes.

Dan