8th day

[dshanklin]

Hello to all on this great blog.  this is my first time every writing on a blog so i'm alittle rusty.. 

I had my Left Hip done on Nov 12 in Seattle WA Swedish..  it was an old football injury that ended my career at Oregon State... 

The hip part of this surgery has been great but i've also been battling major headaches from spinal leakage from the spinal tap method i choose.  this part has not been fun..

I have a couple of questions for someone..

I'm having pain in my left thigh right well below the incision.  The pain is not constant but does hurt upon touch but not too much to where i can't message..  Has any one else had this pain and if so how long did it last?  Mine started on day 4...

Also did anyone where the tight stocking they used during surgery, after they were home?


thanks to whoever replies and i'm looking forward to sharing what other are going though with their hips, We are all on our way to normal living....

[wayne-0]

Hey I wore the tight stocking  or TEDS for 10 days after I got home from surgery. My incision never hurt but it was definitly numb on and off for a good 3 months. More of a weird sensation than any thing else.

Wayne

[Pat Walter]

Hi

I wore TEDS, the tight stockings, for 14 days and gave myself heprin shots to prevent blood clots for the same amount of time.  Each surgeon has their own protocol.

You will have all kinds of pains and possible swelling in different places.  You are very early in your recovery and it takes quite awhile to get everything back to normal.  6 weeks is often a time things start to settle down - sooner for some, longer for others.  It takes 6 months for the hip to mostly heal so you can do most activites and over a year to completely heal and do extreme sports.

It just takes time for the body to heal.  The incision will be touchy and mine itched for over a year.  Not as much after a few months, but I have sensitive skin.

Our bodies all react differently.  Unless it is a very bad pain or unusual redness - it is most like a normal healing process.  If you are ever worried, call the doctors office.  If it is very red or swollen and you have very severe pain and/or temperature, go to the ER.  Some people, very few, have actually had blood clots and a few have had infections.  But these are few and far between.  There is a big difference between incision soreness and muscles soreness to a very, very severe pain.

Be patient and you will soon be on the road to recovery and active.

Pat

[jgenese]

In response to pain in different areas. I had pain in my knee, calf, and ankle. If you think about it, their not kind in the OR when it comes to the dislocation part of the procedure. I'm at 4 weeks and the pains are pretty much gone. I think what you're feeling is normal. It's all part of the healing process. It would probably all make sense if you saw a video of your surgery to see what they did to you, but I would'nt recommend it. haha
Good luck to you and be patient with your healing.

[hernanu]

I had some tenderness in the muscle below the incision (outside part of the thigh). Apparently there's a muscle band there that was getting sensitive. I worked with the physical therapist for about two weeks and it lessened, but it is still there when I go up stairs. It feels a bit like a pulled muscle, but it is getting better. It's not painful, but do feel it some times. I figure it's part of healing.

I wore the TEDS socks on both legs for about 3-4 weeks. I also took 350 mg of aspirin every night, for about the same length of time. That was my doctors' procedure, it worked well for me. I became an expert at using the half - tube sock put on thingie.

Now I'm looking at reprising the whole trip for the right hip, looking forward to getting it done.

[RobB]

There seems to be quite a range of reactions among patients regarding fluid accumulation (edema) in the legs after hip surgery. I was definitely glad to have the TED compression stocking on my operated leg for a couple of weeks post surgery because it wanted to stay puffed up from thigh to foot. The other leg and foot exhibited some of that too, although not nearly as much. I wore a TED intermittently on that leg.
I was fortunate that at about two weeks my body removed most of the fluid and things rapidly returned to normal. I've read about others who've had to put up with it for a longer time. I think lots of light stretching-type exercises, elevation, and a compression stocking at least some of time will help reduce the edema in due time.

Rob