New hip is in and recovery is beginning

[jwtoto]

Hi Guys and Gals,

All the planning came together on 4/15/2010 at 1230 a.m. when I woke up in the PACU at HSS with a BHR on the right side done by Dr. Su and team. I am not a stranger to having surgery so I was pretty relaxed and kept a positive attitude during the days prior  to the surgery day and during the four days in HSS. This particular surgery hurts quite a bit for quite a  while afterward evidently..I am beginning to appreciate that now. It's been 15 days and I am sticking to the regimen of walking as much as I can during the day and doing some simple stretching and PT type exercises on my own. Sometimes I can bear all of my weight on the operated side and sometimes I can't put all my weight on it, but I use the crutches most of the time. I still feel swelling down in my knee; and the quad, hamstring, and groin muscles feel like they have been through a real war. No position is very comfortable...I am turning the other cheek to type this post right now.

I'm holding up pretty well, I suppose, but it is kind of depressing to recover from surgery no matter what you had done or who you are. Fortunately I am pretty strong in the upper body and I can move around on the crutches like a machine so I am mobile. My left hip is getting kind of tired of doing the work of two hips but I guess that will get better once I start walking better on the bionic one.

Anyway, it feels good to vent a bit here in a discussion group where people have similar experiences. I usually feel best around mid morning and then things go downhill in the evening (it's around 7:30 p.m.). This is really my first week back from New York (been back six days) so I am just getting into a groove here. So far this week I have had a couple of pretty painful days. Sleep hasn't been easy to come by for a while so the sleep gas tank is pretty low too. The old brain is not working too well at the moment.

Well thanks for reading my rambling. If you feel like sharing some of your experiences you had during your first few weeks I'd enjoy reading them.

                                     More later,

                                        Jerry RBHR Dr. Su 4/15/2010

[Margie]

Jerry,
I think we all felt the way you do at one time. Sleeping as it seems has been an issue for everyone I have talked to. Sleep when you can and turn the T.V. on when you can't. The more I fretted about it the harder it was to sleep. I found the easiest way to get comfortable was in a recliner with pillows at both sides so that I could lean into them a bit. Pillows under and between your legs with also helps a lot.
Do you have any home physical therapy? I did find that having someone to tell me what was OK to do helped. I was so afraid to hurt myself that I would not have done most of the things he told me to do. Even with out it most people have ended up at the same good point, but I do feel for me it got me there a bit sooner.
Night time does always seem a bit harder. Even at 6 1/2 weeks by the time I sit down at night I do have a bit of a time getting going again. On the good side, most of the time I forget about the new hip. Every day I would find something new I could do and less and less of the uncomfortable feeling. I enjoy my sleep again and wake up refreshed and ready to go.
You will be amazed at how you forget the first couple weeks after awhile.
This site is a great way to get info and talk to others. Ask a lot of questions and they are answered. I have never "met" so many caring people willing to help at any point.
Good luck and take each day as a new adventure. Pat yourself on the back with every new plateau.
Best to you,
Margie

[jwtoto]

Hi Margie,

Thanks for sharing with me. I am on my own with the physical therapy and such since I left NY. I had a few PT appointments in the hospital and a couple in the hotel after I left. The suggestions were pretty good and consisted of common sense things I can do on my own. I am pretty self motivated. I walk four times each day (about every two hours) a distance of about 500 yards each time. So I go about 1.2 miles per day now since about last Tuesday. Today is day 16. I am going to try to get onto my stationary bike today and pedal a bit. There are 5 basic exercises that I am doing- foot pump, windshield wiper action with feet, quad squeeze, glut squeeze and heel slide. Then I also work on straight leg toe touch, bending forward in a chair, and quad stretch. That is quite a bit. Dr. Su gave me a prescription for PT starting at 6 weeks. He said I could go in a pool whenever I want so I will give that a shot soon.
 
Time for my walk now (first one in the a.m.). Then some icing.

What are you doing?

                               More later,

                                 Jerry RBHR Dr. Su 4/10

[Margie]

Jerry,
Sounds like you are doing great. Walking is the best exercise. I am amazed at how different the protocol for limitations are for each doctor. My doctor did not want me to cross my foot or leg past the center of my body or break the 90 degree rule for 4 weeks. After that I was to stretch my leg to my chest and cross foot over knee and stretch. He also did not allow me to drive for 6 weeks. Other people I have read can do these things from the start. I started out leaving the hospital with a walker on day 3 and by day 5 I was using a cane. I also had physical therapy at home for two weeks every day, then went 3 times a week after that. I do think the bike helped a lot and the therapist worked on my range of motion by manually stretching  the leg. Once I could put on my own socks and touch my toes they said I was all set. So by the time I saw my doctor at the 6 week check I was already done with PT.

I do five miles on a recumbent bike each day and still do the stretching and squeezing exercises plus I am back to work 10 hours a day. It is funny but even when I am sitting down at night I still find myself doing the foot pumps all the time.
Pat has some great exercises for the pool on this site.

Keep up the great work and look forward to every day!

Margie