In and Out of Bed 1st Two Weeks After Surgery

[Chris_RS]

I'm scheduled for surgery in around 12 days with Dr. Gross and wife and I are prepping things around the house for the recovery.  Question - is there a consensus on good/bad side of the bed to use when recovering from resurfacing on a particular hip?  Read quite a bit from others with short  term issues with "log leg" and the challenges it poses getting in/out of bed.  It seems like you'd need to have the good leg on the floor?  I'm having my left hip done and I usually sleep on the left side of the bed (as viewed from the foot of the bed) which is also closest to the entry and bathroom doors.  Not a deal breaker either way, but if the right side of the bed is a better idea during recovery we could easily flip the head of the bed to the opposite wall temporarily.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Chris

[chuckm]

Hi Chris, it probably won't matter a whole lot which side. If on the right you will first sit on the bed both feet on the floor. Then you reach down with your hand and lift that dead leg up onto the bed. Then bring the good leg on next. On the other side of the bed same thing but put good leg on first.
Getting out same thing in reverse. You just have to hold the leg with your hand (or a towel or strap) while moving it.
Another way is to sit on the end of the bed and pull yourself on that way.

Chuckm

[jd]

Yeah, I did both sides. I had my right leg operated on and slept on the right side of the bed in the hotel in Columbia, but returned to my normal left side once I got home. Neither seemed particularly easier or harder.

I *strongly* recommend using the leg lifter you get with Dr Gross though, it's a life saver (or as chuck suggests, a towel). You will not be able to lift your leg under your own power for a while. A couple of times I dropped it where I couldn't get to it and I think in the worst case took 10 whole minutes trying to get out of bed. All worked out though!

[livendive]

I had both hips done last year and did not switch sides of the bed, nor did I notice a significant difference. I suppose it was probably a little easier when my "good" leg was first off the bed, but not enough to warrant walking around the bed to the bathroom when my normal side is just a few feet from the door.

[Chris_RS]

Chuckm/jd/livendive - Thanks for your replies - I will (gladly) stay on my normal side of the bed.


-Chris

[RebeccaT]

I had my right hip done with Dr Gross 9 weeks ago. The whole setup there is great. I did switch to the right side of the bed, mainly because my husband has a habit of rolling around and/or snuggling up and I really didn't want him hitting the operated leg. It was definitely a good move for me ... and I liked pulling my operated leg up last.

I spent most of the day time on the couch the first week or two. Some say recliners, but that did not work for me, waking or sleeping!

Good luck!!

[Chris_RS]

Thanks Rebecca.  I'll have to wait and see what works best.  I have two different recliners and a couch ready in the family rm - and the benefit of a spouse and two grown kids to help move furniture around if needed.

-Chris

[Miguelito]

Hi Chris,

Good luck with the surgery! I can't really comment on side of bed, as I stayed on the same side (right leg to the floor) for surgeries on both hips, two years apart. My experience was that getting in and out of bed was the most painful thing post-surgery, but I can tell you what worked best for me. These recommendations are for the first week, or two, depending, and longer if need be.

First, I only got in and out of bed once a day. Definitely limit the number of times you get in and out of bed. Keep the pee bottle they give you, for use at night, especially. You have a recliner; put it in the bedroom, or at least on the floor that you will be sleeping in, to limit stairs during the first few days, week.

If you have one, a bed rail can be very helpful, but not a requirement.

As I said, I stayed on the same side of bed (so can't comment left vs right) but the single most important trick I discovered regarding anything post-surgery was to get in and out of bed from the bottom. For me, the invisible dog-leash they give you to rope your foot didn't solve the pain problem getting in and out of bed, as at some point in the procedure the leg moves from side to side (which the strap doesn't control for) and that was the cause of the really great pain.

Bottom of bed technique: sit on bottom of bed, as far back as you can get. Lay your upper body back on bed and use your arms and good leg to worm your way up bed. To get out do the same thing in reverse (though you might need the strap more in getting your foot to the ground, can't remember exactly).

Best of luck,

Mike

[Miguelito]

Oh...while you didn't ask (I think) I wanted to add that while I used bed at night (and recommend that) during the day I like to mix it up between a recliner and a loveseat (two-seater couch). My body appreciated the variety as my back tends to get sore when prone too long). After the first few days (or week, I forget) I preferred the love seat as, when laying down one of the armrests acts as a head-pillow, and one acts to hold up your lower leg from the knee down. My back appreciated this lessened strain on it. It worked best when I took a tray table with a cushion on it and put it at the foot end of the loveseat to support my lower leg and feet dangling over the edge.

I just took a cheap wooden tray table (my ex had about eight of them) and sawed off the legs to the necessary height (as I didn't have anything to hand that was the perfect height).

Mike

[jd]

It's interesting Mike, that you didn't find the leg lifter good at maintaining left/right stability. I agree that pain happened when the leg moved laterally (or possibly when muscles activated to move the leg laterally or prevent the same). I found that while the leg lifter was good at lifting/lowering the leg, it was also a complete life-saver for swinging my leg in and out of bed. I put it around my foot and then added a fair bit of tension on the "leash" and found I could control things pretty well that way.

Best of luck Chris! It'll be over before you know it. Things will improve drastically throughout the first few weeks. You'll be amazed at how quickly you improve.

[Ernie]

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned this, but the trick that worked for me was to sit on the side of the bed, put a pillow between my thighs, squeeze it hard with the inner thighs while swinging my legs up onto the bed, using my unoperated leg to do the work.

[hernanu]

When I had mine done, my physical therapist showed me this process that worked great.

From lying flat in bed:

   
• slip your "good" foot under your 'bad' foot, cross at the ankle (good leg behind).
• sit up in bed.
• with your good leg supporting the bad one at the ankle, keep your legs straight.
• turn 45 degrees so you're on the side of the bed, with your legs straight out.
• slowly use your good leg to let both legs come down; you'll be sitting up at the side of the bed.
• stand up.

From sitting on the side of the bed to lying down:

   
• slip your 'good' leg behind your 'bad' leg at the ankle.
• slowly raise your bad leg with your good, supporting at the ankle.
• turn 45 degrees until you're sitting in bed in the position you'll lay down in.
• lie down.

You don't need a tool other than your good leg (which I hope you carry with you everywhere).