Hi
I think we all recover at a different rate. I also think, personal opinion that most people don't want to hear, is that surgery with the very experienced overseas doctors generally gives you a faster recovery. I was with 8 other De Smet hippies in Belgium and we were all about the same. No one took heavy pain pills much after leaving the hospital. They sent a whole bag home with you, but I just took some Advil at night for sore muscles. That is what most of us did. Only one of us had swelling and that was after walking around and sight seeing too much about 5 days post op.
De Smet likes to keep you 9 days post op. I flew back to the US on day 10. It was a 8 1/2 hour flight and I did not take any pain meds because I did not need any. I did take double shots of the heprin in my tummy for blood clots, wore TEDS and walked the plane every hour. I also had a middle seat at the bulkhead which they gave me for free without an upgrade. That was better since I had no one pushing their seat back in my face making it hard to get out. I did get uncomfortable flying back. I was able to lift the arm of the middle seat so it did not rub on my hip. I am 5' 8" and a little overweight - so my hips are wider. I would have been uncomfortable if the arm had not raised up. Smaller people or men would probably not have been bothered.
It was not pain that bothered me - I was just exhausted when I arrived in DC. We were to get on a little puddle jumper plane for Charleston WV, but I was too tired to go any further. We canceled that flight and stayed in a hotel. I just wanted to find a bed to lay down in. The next day we rented a car and drove the 6 hours home. It was fine.
If I had more money and time, I would have stayed a few more days or even a week so I could have seen more of Belgium and not been as tired. But it was not a pain issue.
We all recover at a different rate. I used one crutch until 4 weeks post op. Again, deep pain that required anything other than an Advil at night for the sore, recovering muscles.
I think we all just have to do what we have to do. As Dr. De Smet says - listen to your body. It tells you better than anyone else what to do. You can't compare yourself to anyone else.
You may also have more muscle issues if your leg was lengthed or you had a more severe problem pre surgery. Water therapy - walking in neck deep water with stretches and exercises really helped me at about 4 weeks. Many De Smet hippies do a lot of water therapy. I also took PT several weeks after surgery, but it only lasted one week. They did not know what to do with me since I was so far advanced from any THR patients they had.
You also want to make sure you don't do PT with an agressive PT or one who does work with sports people. It is too rough. Only do what doesn't hurt you. If it hurts, don't do it. Walking is about the best exercise besides water therapy.
It just takes time. You will feel much better at different plateaus. I felt a lot better at 6 weeks and at 4 months. You body seems to recover steps at a time.
Good luck and listen to your own body. We all end up in the same place eventually - healed, happy, doing what we want with no pain.
Pat
Topic: flying home (Read 2399 times)
Recent Posts
