hi all. i am due to go for my thr in 10 days now. i hear that you should have someone with you to help out. i am alone for at least 8 hrs a day as my wife has to work and its from 8am until 3pm most days. i dont have a toilet down stairs in my house. i was planning on staying up stairs for the 1st week or so. is this a good idea or will i have to be getting help for other things and what are those things i need help for.
Hi fergal
I stayed upstairs when I was on my own as my toilets upstairs and I have tv.my daughter made sure I had enough drinks etc and kind of packed me up lol. Luckily I don't drink hot drinks so I was ok. Just used my crutches to get in and out of bed and had my long handled stick for picking things up.touveill be ok
Regards lisa xx
I was alone for up to 10 hours a day after my op. My husband took 2 days off after my discharge. Before leaving the hospital you will be taught how to manage the stairs so will have a choice of staying upstairs or going downstairs. You will need one or two grabbers and they will need to ensure your seat is at the correct height. The occupational therapists from the hospital will probably be arranging for the equipment you will need including the raised toilet seat.
My husband left at 7 for work and I was usually up, dressed and downstairs before he left. I had a wheeled trolley so that I could take a drink into the lounge and plenty of visitors. Lunch in the early days was soup and my husband did the cooking in the evenings. Each day I was able to do more for myself
All the best
Forgot to say my toilet is upstairs but only needed to go back up a couple of times each day.
I would go downstairs. That is if you have at least one hand rail on the stair well. If you have two, then they will not be a problem.
Before my op, I had assumed I would be on one floor and even planned on sleeping downstairs, but in the event, the stairs did not prove to be that big a problem. Also, going up and down will help you get some life back into the leg which will feel like a dead piece of wood.
Good luck
Michael
I'm 22 days post op. I came home after 4 nights in hospital. Before I came home they made sure that I was able to manage stairs myself. My partner was also out at work for 6-7 hrs. For the first few days I stayed upstairs - he brought my breakfast and drinks before he went to work and I could manage getting up to the bathroom on my own ok. To be honest I didn't feel much like getting up those first few days. Once he was home I would venture downstairs for a few hours. I found after 2-3 days at home my confidence built and I could get up and make my own breakfast. I also felt stronger in myself. Everyone is different but the hospital will advise you on what you can and can't attempt and then it will be practice. I didn't want to attempt stairs with no one else in the house for the first few days so stayed upstairs. Once I'd done them a few times I felt safe enough to try alone. Take it a day at a time and I'm sure you will be fine. Don't try anything unless you feel safe to do so, just make sure that you have plenty to drink on hand.
Hi , my other half took a week off , but I would have coped if on own. Like you only got an upstairs loo, but they checked I could do stairs before I went home. I made sure I went up to the loo every two hours, so I didnt get desperate/ caught short! Because Ive had 2 other hip ops I had surplus equipment so had crutches / grab stick both up and downstairs which helped that first week. Other half was very good in checking I had a pint of squash by my bed , all my pain beds, books, reading glasses etc when I went to bed so nightime needs all met. After my second op - in a different house- i had a little nylon rucksack to put all my bits in in the mornng before going downstairs which really helped. Having a mobiles good if youve got one so you dont feel too isolated and a tv in bedroom can help . Im used to being around people all day at work so my main issue is loneliness. If the doorbell rang and I couldnt get downstairs i just ignored it ! So....I reckon if you arrange things to suit your needs youll be fine - its always more worrying beforehand - I do promise it will be fine - Ive managed all 3 times in different properties and circumstances xxxx
Hi Fergal, I was alone most days 11 - 4pm and the every night 8pm -6am. I only went upstairs for naps and toilet. The stairs all though tough, was good exercise. And im sure got me moving, improving faster than if I didnt use them. I need someone to change my stockings, but I got dressed useing my walking sticks to help me. I made myself breakfast. Tea, coffee. Sandwhich for lunch. Rested when needed. Rest and high protein diet, but exercise important. I kept telling myself that I had been mended... I had been given a new hip, so get it going. I had down days, tears on days.. but keep going.
I hope you cope and inprove. Wish you a speedy recovery. X
Fergal,
stay at where your loo is, thats the best idea, get your wife to do you a packed lunch, and a flask of tea, getting around the first week is not easy, songet as much rest as you can ok.
good luck
suexx
Fergal, I think your plan of staying upstairs at first, where the bathroom is located, is a good one. All of the other people here who have commented seem to have done very well soon after surgery. The problem is, you will never know just how you will feel until the time comes. Many factors go into whether or not you will be able to be alone early days post-op. I would not have been ok alone for the first 2 weeks. For whatever reason, I was quite shaky on my feet, and needed to be watched while I used my walker, and getting on and off the toilet for the first week home. Also, my brain was kind of foggy from the meds and I was very glad that my sister (who lives next door and is a nurse) was there to help me organize my meds and set up a system for taking them, and be on call for me while my husband was at work. I would NEVER have been able to manage flights of stairs up and down to the toilet. Not to mention that sometimes you have urgency to get to the bathroom, and stairs would interfere greatly, even if you could handle them better than I could. You may be just fine, and I hope so! I am 68, and was in fairly good shape before my surgery, walking about 10,000 steps a day, and then, BOOM, I was down for the count!
I am 12 days post . You need to stay where the toilet is available until you are cleared to walk stairs. Stay safe above all. I will be alone 7a -5p and can walk with a cane now .sometimes you need to be close to the bathroom. Good luck,
Hi Fergal
i think all of the points made are very relevant - as this forum shows everyone is different and some are able to manage some things earlier than others . It can depend on your age , previous mobility , effect of medicines , how your body reacts to surgery etc etc , and ive known 90 year olds with complex problems be more mobile than 60yr olds without ! I would just say dont have a fixed plan and see how you go - if you feel safe on stairs then use them - good exercise . If you dont feel safe then dont risk it ! It is best to have someone with you for the first week if possible and depending on your age/home circumstances the NHS may arrange a weeks respite/ rehab for you -it can be very helpful - only other thing Id say is to make dressing easier ( thank god for grab sticks) is lay in a stock of cheap trackie bottoms - ive been rotating the 3 pairs I bought for the last 3 weeks ! My leg is swollen so my normal trousers dont fit and you need something warm and comfortable for sitting around in . The only thing I dont think anyone can do on their own is take off / put on the anti embolism socks if your surgeon makes you wear them ( I have to for 6weeks) - if anyone knows any tricks please tell me !
I would say that wherever you decide to 'be' after you are on your own depends on where you feel most comfortable. I didn't feel the need to stay in bed and liked to be on my sofa.
Wherever I went, even up to the loo, I took my mobile phone in a small shoulder bag along with my emergency rations (a mars bar) and pain relief in case I decided to stay upstairs.
The most important thing is to feel safe. I showered for the first week while my partner was still around or when he got home from work.
Socks annoyed me so I gave up on them for a few weeks as I needed help with them.
My wounds still leaking so still having to strip wash which I hate - as Im quite mobile I may just give up on the socks like you - they keep rolling then they cause deep grooves in my calves which I am sure is more likely to cause a DVT than prevent one , plus Im still on the injections so I may follow your lead ! The little bag idea really works - when I had my 2nd THR 2 years ago I had really steep stairs and no handrail so it was a godsend
The stairs were the ting that frightened me mostt, ours are very steep and narrow, I used to crawl up before the op, but we have a handrail. They won't let you out of hospital until you can do stairs. To be honest they were a lot easier than I thought they would be.
Also the occupational therapist brought me a commode for downstairs because of bladder problems. Might be something to think about.
I had someone about, so I was ok for tea and something to eat but you can get a special trolley, so you can get your own food and drink.
Grabbers essential, one upstairs and one down, sock puller if you want socks on, but you may find you swell up too much and they dig in, I didn't bother.
If you wear slippers they must be full slippers, safer than mules.
Long handled sponge for your legs. I have a bed hoist ladder because I struggle to sit up from laying on my back after being in bed a while.
Always carry your mobile on you in case of emergency.
Toilet raiser with frame, I couldn't use mine until I bought a frame off the internet. Tiny bathroom, they must of not had one to fit. I forced mine in.
Any thing that helps, go for it. Good luck.
Hello Fergal
My husband took a week off work after my return home from the hip op. It was a godsend he did as it helped me enormously, and we live in a bungalow, so no stairs to climb! Best of luck with it all and staying upstairs seems like a good idea. If your wife can take a few days off then this would be the best thing.
Dear Fergal,
what wonderful responses -
I have nothing to add ... I think the best way to go right now is to relax about it and play it by ear ... prepare as much as you can -
In the hospital you will get physical therapy and usually will be discharged when you master the stairs -
It seems daunting right now but it won't be as bad as you think -
You might need help with washing yourself or, if allowed, take a shower - Getting dressed maybe, eventhough with the grabber and sockaid and a lot of patience you'll manage - you need to move about anyway - do some of the exercises as taught by PT in hospital - sit in a chair - etc. to prevent DVT -
It will be fine Fergal
big warm hug
renee
Fergal,
You may find the stairs aren't as bad as you would think at first. I was frightened about negotiating them, but found them very easy. It could all depend on whether or not you are weight bearing. I found having a solid bannister and one stick made them so easy.
At best, you are going to have just one hand free to carry things, and probably no hands due to two sticks or crutches, so think about how you are going to carry food and drink from kitchen to chair (see my other posting and my website about this).
Graham - 🚀💃
thanks every1 for your help. looks like il stay upstairs for the first few days anyway. fingers crossed il have quick recovery. thanks again. this forum has been great to me
Hi Fergal,
I'm not it a hippee myself but OH is now 9 days post op. We have a toilet upstairs and down and I was able to take time off work so he's been able to be up and about downstairs in the daytime. I wouldn't have liked him to do the stairs alone to begin with and it would have worried me if I was out. Even doing them once a day I was going up behind him and coming down in front (with a firm grip on the rail in case I needed to help him). On d/c from the hospital he was using two crutches and he's now walking with one crutch and today we went waking outside for the first time.
I think with no downstairs toilet your plan to stay upstairs during the time your wife is at work is wise. You can come down when she is home and able to supervise you. Once you get your confidence you can base yourself down stairs (remember you can use a bottle to minimize toilet trips)
Wishing you the best for your op and recovery