hi, i have swelling from my waist down to ankle and find lying on my back difficult because of a pulling sensation above groin and stretching of skin.
i spend most of the night moving around trying to get comfortable.
any advice much appreciated
annie
hi. the swelling is totally normal and you’ll think it’s impossible for your bottom half to get to the size it swells to but it will settle. the advice I found was every couple of hrs yo make sure you elevate both legs when sitting and some use ice in a bag / frozen veg ( wrapped in a towel or something ) to help reduce it. I found on the internet advice abt elevation in bed but it all said dont put pillows directly behind the knee - think its cis it puts the hip out of alignment. but I elevated my feet lower legs on a couple of pillows but you must also keep your feet /toes pointing upwards and not let your feet flop inwards or outwards as that can dislocate your hip. apparently where your toes are pointing indicates the position of your hip.
I found tho within 2 days of proper elevation and moving abt at home I lost a lot of swelling - lost 8 lbs in weight.and I’m now 8 weeks post OP anx it’s just a tiny amt to my feet which isn’t a problem.
good luck. I found the first 2 weeks were the worst but compared to the pain I had pre OP even then it was much easier 
Getting comfortable is the worst part of the post op recovery - having to sleep on my back was just awful and I ended up exhausted. Things improve from week 3 onwards and at 6 weeks you should be feeling much better.
Yes it does improve, elevate, use ice, also move your feet up and down when lying flat and wear looser clothing if you can.
Move about often too.