When will "normal" arrive?

[oxley]

I am nearly 5 weeks post op and wondering when I will be "normal" again.

Pain free
full mobility
walk normal
full nights sleep

[Pat Walter]

Hi

Everyone's arrival to normal varies.  No two people are alike.  Some people take a year or more while others are running marathons 3 months post op.  It depends on your body and also how bad your hip was before surgery.

5 weeks post op is still early in your recovery.  I had full mobility by then as was getting back to normal.  I never took any pain meds other than Advil after surgery, but took quite a few weeks before I slept thru the night.  I hardly ever to that now almost 3 1/2 years later.  We are all different and can't compare ourselves to others.

If you are having a great deal of pain, you should talk to your surgeon.  If you have start up stiffness after sitting, that is normal and eventually will go away.  Pool therapy or water walking will help that for most people.

Pat

[bothdone]

I am nearly 5 weeks post op and wondering when I will be "normal" again.

Pain free
full mobility
walk normal
full nights sleep

Interesting question which got me thinking.    

From posts on this forum (superb job, Pat.  Thanks!)  I know that there are younger "hippies" out there but the age at resurfacing poll shows 82.7% were over 40 years old at the time of their first re-surfacing.     It would be worth asking everyone you know over 40 years old (ie non hippies) if they match your definitions of "normality".   I doubt if many of them would match everything on your list.     I've coached lots of over 50s athletes.   All of them creak but it doesn't stop them training.  It goes with the territory - getting old!  

But in answer to your question, after both my BHRs I suddenly realised at about the six months point how much better I felt.    I felt recovered.   Now, 5.5 years after the first op and 18 months after the second, I know that I've got two BHRs but there's many a time when I'm striding along on a walk or enjoying a short run that it is the last thing on my mind.   I feel "normal"  .  However, I definitely creak at times and I know my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.   Probably the same as many other 56 year olds without BHRs.

Hope your recovery goes well.

Ed

[stevel]

I felt normal at 6 months post-op, when all restrictions were lifted.  My physical therapist discharged me a week earlier.  My left hip extension was 8 degrees and should have been 12 to 15 degrees.  I went downhill skiing and hunting and didn't have any pain or limitations afterwards, so I felt normal.

I have hedged a bit towards very aggressive activity (running, packing out moose meat, skiing the steeps) until 1 year post-op (which is today) to allow the bones to fully densify.

[lindalynn]

What a great question. What will normal be?  I think I must find a new normal.  But I am hopeful I can at least walk, sit, and stand for longer periods of time without so much pain.  I have so many questions on this subject. I am 5 months post op and still can not say I am happy I had this operation but I am so hopeful I will get there.  I hope to be on a site where I can talk to other people in my shoes and not feel so alone. I am heading to Mexico in one month and worry that I will not be able to walk the beach with my husband.  But I am looking forward to access to a warm pool whenever I want it as that seems to be where I feel the best.

Rogerson Right BHR 5-21-09