March 31, 2015

Thanks to all that have posted on this site.  It has been a great resource for me while taking this journey. 

I am 40 yrs old and 5 days post op from HR on right hip with Dr Gross.  After reading through the site I realized that everyone has different recovery’s so I really didn’t set any expectations for myself.  Surgery went well, doctors, staff  and hospital were excellent.  I was in the 12:00 slot so I was in the hospital bed until 9:00am the following morning when the nurse came in to get me up, walk around and take a shower.  I can honestly say  that getting out of bed for the first time was probably the worst part of the whole process so far.  I say that because I really didn’t know what movements would hurt, the pain killers were in full effect and I hadn’t really moved for 24 hours at that point.  Once I took the first few steps I felt much much better. 

The first day out of the hospital it was hard to get around.  Getting in and out of the car was difficult, sitting and getting up was hard and sitting on the toilet was scary.  Getting in and out of bed was probably the worst, I didn’t sleep well but managed about 5-6 hours. 

The second day I felt much better, I was able to manage unassisted for most things like stairs, bathroom, shower and walked without pain on crutches around the house.  I did take a trip to the new Cabellas and tried to walk around the store but realized that wasn’t working out so well so I sought out a zero gravity chair and took a break.  Then I got myself one of those little scooters to finish up my experience.  Once I returned to the house I was feeling like I over did it a little.  Taking the normal regimen of pain killers.

The third day I took it easy. Went for a couple of short walks up the street, iced and rested.  I felt better than the day before.  No pain in the hip joint only muscular pains. No ROM…log leg.  Taking normal regimen of pain killers.

The fourth day I traveled back home by plane solo.  Once getting to the airport the wheelchair was ready and they took me through security and to the gate.  I walked down the jetway to my seat for my first leg of the trip.  Another wheelchair was waiting to bring me to my connecting flight.  Again, I walked down the jet bridge to my seat.  During my layover I was able to get some food and walk around a bit and felt pretty good.  I was very happy to finally get home to my family (I was at my brothers house in North Carolina for the last few days) and get set up in my recliner with wife and polar car machine.  I slept like a baby and woke up feeling great.  Taking normal regimen of pain killers.

The  Fifth day my hip was a little more swollen and I had some pins and needles on the top of my right foot for most of the day but it’s gone now.  My stitches are really itchy as well.  I only took a couple of pain killers today and I probably didn’t need them.  I am walking much better and have used one crutch a couple of times because I needed to carry out some water and a bowl of soup.  It feels fine but I’m not sure if I should be doing that. 

Tomorrow (6th day), I may try to get off of the pain killers and take a drive.  We will see how that plan works out.  To be continued…..

8 day update and answers to your questions

-Yes, Ice and Polar care are my best friend!  I ice whenever possible.  Only stayed one night in hospital.  I took pain meds for 5 days and only had 5 extended release pain and 25 short acting pain meds left. 

-The status of my hip before surgery… I was in minor pain while walking and as activity increased so did the pain, always walked with a limp, ROM was horrible, work outs were a joke and was limited to mostly upper body stuff, hard to get a good cardio work out either on stationary bike or elliptical, hard time tying shoes and bending over to pick stuff up.  The worst part was not being able to run around with the kids, my 6 year old daughter could outrun me handily.  The deciding factor was when I was at a convention in Vegas walking to and from the classes and back to my room, basically limping for what seemed like miles over the course of 3 days and coming really close to renting a little rascal scooter.  Oh, my wife was changing jobs and had to sign up for Obama Care so that was another good reason to get it done before that nightmare.  I was definitely not confident that I was making the right decision in getting the surgery and I guess time will tell.  As long as recovery continues to go well and I’m able to walk without pain and resume most activities (skiing, golf, motorcycle) and run around with the kids I will be happy I did it. 

Day 6 – I went off of the pain pills cold turkey, only taking a few Tylenol today, I’m not in  pain  unless getting in/out car and bed if I move the wrong way.  I was planning on going for a short drive with me behind the wheel but decided against it.  Instead I had a driver and went into town for a walk around the mall, tried to figure out how much walking I did, probably a little less than 1/2 mile.  Feeling stronger but still a long way to go.

Day 7 (bandage removal day!) – Today I felt stronger yet again, was planning on taking a walk and relaxing but I was needed at work (self employed, needed the boss to make executive decision) so I took the maiden voyage behind the wheel and drove about 1.5 hrs round trip to look at a job, did some walking, went out to lunch and made it back to my lounge chair unscathed.  It did start to get a little uncomfortable sitting in the drivers seat toward the end.  When I got back I took the bandage off and that felt good, scar was healed nicely but it still looks ugly.  Went for another walk with the kids, really trying to walk “normal” and went about 1/2 mile.  It Felt like I was starting to get a charlie horse about halfway through so I turned around and went back to ice.  It was a good day.

Day 8 – Today I dropped to one crutch when not going on a “walk”.  Went to a morning meeting at work then drove around for about 2 hours. Went home to ice and then out for a walk about 1/2 mile, it was a little further than the day before.  Charlie horse started just as I got back to the house so I figured that was perfect timing.  Again, feeling stronger but again still a long way to go. The Charlie horse is probably my IT band, I need to be careful to not lean into the IT band for support when walking.

Thanks for all of your comments and encouragement!  I wish you all the best in whatever stage of recovery you are in. 

May 15, 2015