Post-Op Blues

[Tim Cunningham]

Welcome;

The experiences you're having are similar to many of us, it's a big deal and change, so completely understandable.  I don't know about you, but the pneumatic air bladder stockings on my lower legs after surgery disrupted sleep pretty badly and did not help with my mood for the first 14 days, and wondering if you may be experiencing that as well.  The narcotics mess with mood as well.

I had an identical extremely positive experience with Brooks and the entire team at CCF, I could not be more satisfied.  I've been around a few truely world-class medical people like him over the years, and he is clearly extraordinarily informed and really uniquely skilled with this thing, and it is executed very well from all aspects.  The care at CCF Euclid was incredible.  In the pre op consult he explained all the pros and cons and the full range of issues with the history of HR, and showed what a revision would look like while viewing my x-rays, and a revision of a revision, which for me made me pretty determined to do everything I can do to avoid that (and if you also saw that in your preop I can certainly see why you may be paranoid about doing anything wrong).

I'm 12 weeks out and doing really well.  If you do all the exercises and follow the restrictions you'll be doing better, every day, with small ups and downs in pain to be expected, but continual progress will happen.  You are only 10 days out so I'd say pain now is to be expected.  The details of how they accomplish the surgical dislocation is pretty hairy, and your body will take time to recover from all of that.

It'll continue to get better overall, just follow the program and do the exercises, and you'll be amazed at the progress.

Dan

Hi Dan L
I am a former Clevelander living in FL having RBHR w/Dr. Brooks March 7th.  I would like to message w/you in email directly..is that feasible?
Tim Cunningham

[Tim Cunningham]

Hi Julia
Forgive me if I am being redundant
Since I am having a BHR w/Dr. Brooks March 7th I thought I would reach out
I'm a former Clevelander living in FL so I will be on a plane 5-6 days after surgery
I thought we might exchange email addresses but I don't know how to do that

[imgetinold]

Julia,

I am 6 hours post surgery, and anticipate the same struggles. I just keep saying " keep you eye on the prize".

This is but a small "blip" on the radar of your life. Hang in there.

Andy

[curt]

    Holly, please hang onto your competitive fire, it will help during the days and periods when your recovery might take a step backward or stagnate.  The long view is surely the sanest way to evaluate how you are doing.
    I thought I knew what it was all about until going through it and figured I could breeze through recovery if I was patient enough to stand the time until I could be fully active.  Turned out there was a lot of surgical mess to take the place of the OA mess.  As you pointed out the OA was only going to get worse and it was forever.  This pain, and the pace of recovery is definitely temporary and does get better.  It will come and you will be able to concentrate on the joyful parts of your new mobility.
     Best of luck on a steady and less painful new you...

Curt

[bothdone]

Hi

I can still remember somewhere around the six month post op point thinking "wow - I feel right back to normal".     Six months may seem like a long time but it is worth it.  Take it slowly and don't think too much about expecting huge gains.  For me, it was more of a "drip-drip" improvement, until, all of a sudden, all the drips merge into a big puddle of success. (that doesn't sound as good as I wanted it to.   D'Oh!).    To paraphrase that old cliche - recovery is a marathon (hopefully) not a sprint.

Ed

[Dan L]

Well said, Ed.  I'm 3 months and that is how it has gone, slow, continuous and much better.