Hi - just joined this group as my hip replacement op is on 9th Sept. At first I was worried about the op but having read a few things it's the post op stuff - I didn't have a clue! Main concerns are my bedroom is in the attic so I'll have to move downstairs - worried about sleeping on back - someone suggested a recliner, Also no downstairs toilet and no shower! I'm a teacher so wonder if there are any other taechers out there and when they returned to work. ANY comments greatly appreciated.
Cheers
So worried about you and the bathroom thing. Get yourself a portable toilet with the raised hand rails and seat. We have rentals around here. CA.
Recliner is actually a good idea at first
. When you do move into a bed make sure you protect your leg. Whole getting in and out of bed. IF you had surgery on your left leG sleep on the left side so your left hip and leg are the first ones on the bed. Otherwise it is more difficult to slip that surgery leg over the edge of the bed, it's heavy and your muscles and tendons get weak and may get injured.
Laying on your back is fine and laying on the opposite side of you surgery with a pillow to keep the legs position neutral is fine too. I couldn't lay on my surgery side for maybe 6 weeks w/out pain. 😨
Hi Babe,
As everyone here continually (&, of course, quite correctly) says: "everyone is different". However, regarding your stairs ~ the hospital shouldn't let you go home (your "cheers!" makes me think you're a Brit?) until you've proven you can cope with stairs. My bog & bedroom are upstairs, but I quickly found that, having a handrail & with the help of a stick/crutch in my other hand, going up & down stairs, from the moment I got home, was absolutely no problem (indeed, it was easier than walking on the flat...). Hopefully you'll find the same?
I'm now 8 weeks out and what I can tell you is don't push it. I did anD I'm dealing with a huge setback and torn tendons in the front groin thigh area. Cant lift my leg off my bed. Cant go upstairs. I was walking the first week crutch free and just rushing the walking.
Good Luck!
Hi
I'll try to answer some of your questions.
Is there a problem in moving downstairs? If there is how many steps do you have to climb?
I sleep upstairs...not attic......I found it quite easy doing the stairs. The physiotherapist will show you how to do them. You put one foot the the stair above and bring the other foot up to join it, you go up the stairs like that for quite a while......basically like a baby LOL
I was told to remember it by thinking.....good leg {unoperated one} goes to heave and the bad leg [operated goes to hell 
So going up you lead with the good leg and the the other one joins it etc. Coming down its the opposite.....remember the bad one goes to hell so it leads going down LOL Thats the stairs...although you may have too many to cope with at first but the physiotherapist will help you with that.
Sleeping on your back.....cant help you...I've had 2 THR's and had problems with sleeping each time.....with me it was a matter of trial and error.....try pillows in different positions, if you have a recliner try it...I dont have one so that didnt come onto the scene.
A lot of people have no downstairs toilet...just a matter of using the stairs.
I dont know what your house is like, how many live there, and things like that so its hard. Do you have somwhere you could put a commode for a few weeks that would be fairly private? The Occupational therapist will provide you with one if you need it. Do you have someone living with you or are you on your onw? I'm not being nosey its just it makes a difference to your recovery.
As for the shower.....well I have a bath and a shower but the showeris an en-suite off a bedroom and it is tiny and I couldnt cope with it....dont like a shower at the best of times LOL prefer a bath.
So it was a matter of sitting and washing myself from top to toe......only thing is you need help with the bottom part.......you arent allowed to lean forward to wash {well I would say if your sitting.....from your knees down is pretty well impossible}
Thats one of the reasons I asked if you would have help.
Theother thing is where are you? UK? USA? or somewhere else.....we find that different countries have different ruls about post op.
Love
Eileen
Hi Eileen
Thanks for your info. My house is 3 storey and I have 3 sons and a husband - they are in for a shock! I think I can use my dining room for a commode and put a recliner in there - I've seen one in a charity shop for £40. I hate showers too! I'm in the UK.
vintagebabe
Good evening Vintage,
Eileen is correct in that each country seems to do things differently, but again within the same country different doctors give different advice...First thing I would do is make a list of questions i.e. recliner vs no recliner (my doctor said no but it seems other say yes) and remember each answer will depend on your particular health, what they actually had to do during the THR, etc., as each of are different and only your doctor knows your situation. Again good advice on the bathroom, I was home in 2 days and used the stairs no problem, would advise to get raised toilet seat though, Also ask for some physio exercises you can do before you start your formal physio (which is usually two weeks post op), or I've read here people were sent home with NO exercises or follow up physio - so again be prepared to put your doctor on notice and get answers to your questions. After surgery, it is pretty much a lottery how it turns out, same people here have had very positive experiences and others it is heartbreaking, but regardless of your outcome you will have lots of support on this forum...just listen to your doctor first and if for some reason you don't feel comfortable with his answer, ask for a second opinion, but generally I don't think a doctor will intentionally give you bad advice on exercises, what type of chair to sit in, etc.....best of luck , Patricia from Toronto P.S. I think ALL here have the sleeping on the back issues, I sure do, it is just something we all have to grin and bear and try to come up with what makes us feel most comfortable, what works for one may not work for all, it is trial and error...oh yes, don't worry about shower/tub, you will be not dirtier by having a good old fashion sponge bath with at some point being able to do your hair (I had my bunions done and it firm - NO bath/shower 8 weeks, and no one could tell the difference what type of bath I took or not! (or at least they never said anything!!!)
Hi,
Thanks for the reply. I'm so pleased you have some help......I had a commode when a car reversed over my ankle and smashed it....5 years later I still have a plate and pins etc in it LOL I was upstairs but to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night I had to use 2 crutches, non weight bearing on one leg, cross the landing, going past the top of the stairs before I got to the toilet. The OT said I needed a commode for a few weeks in the bedroom incase I went out in the middle of the night half sleeping, which is normal and fell down the stairs because of non weight bearing on one leg.
That was a smashed ankle nothing to do with a THR....I'm just explaining how I got a commode so easily from them. I needed my husband to empty it LOL {In sickness and in health is what the promises were LOL}
I'm in the North East bythe way.
Is it not possible to oust one of the sons out of his bedroom for a temporary {assuming his is upstairs and not the attic} period????
Good :Luck and you know I'm here if you want to ask any more questions
Love
Eileen
Hi thanks for all the info. By the way I saw a tv thing years back where a girl didn't wash her hair for 8 weeks and it looked gorgeous! Apparently your hair has self cleaning oils that kick in after a couple of weeks or so.
Also worried about being bored so I've stocked up on books and also thinking of learning Italian which I've been meaning to do for about 10 years. Desperately trying to see the positives of being stuck indoors.
Hi! Mine's this Saturday so I'll be a couple of weeks ahead of you. I'm in the UK and it's my first one, too, so I will keep you posted! Dreading having to sleep on my back and my surgeon is very strict about that. Apparently they don't let you go home until you can manage the stairs. As for the rest - watch this space! Good luck, too.
Good luck Sue and by the way Eileen I am in the northeast - sunny Whitley Bay!
Hi
Just to butt in a bit on Patricis post....not to argue...but just to put a few points forward that she has brought up and my experience of them
You dont mind do you Patricis
My OT/physio said no to a recliner and said it had to be a straight chair of a certain height....we had to measure it and they said if it was OK or not....the first one I had I didnt have a chair just 2 settees and they said no but provided a chair for me {temp}
Forgot about the raised toilet seat ......they should give you one of those as a matter of course over here. I had 2....One downstairs nd one upstairs.
You mentioned physio Patricis......I was one of the ones that was shown what to do, in hospital and then they gave me a piece of paper with the exercises on it to do myself and then nothing until theconsultant appointment 6 weeks later. From what I gather thats nor the norm over here...most people have a few physio visits at least.
Somethig else......what length is your hair.....mine is short so it made it easier to wash.....not at the beginning LOL
I went to the hairdressers where you lie back and thats OK {over here anyway} just not forward. I think I went about times.....cant really afford to go that often....normally once a month for a trim and blow dry and thats it but this made me feel so much better.
Get some dry shampoo in beforehand.....you can also buy "no water shampoo" online....I'd never heard of it before.
I sat down, and its a squeezy bottle, sqeezed some of the liquid over my hair then lathered it.....I was so surprised when it lathered LOL and you just towel it off.....ideally you do what you wouldn normally do after washing....with me....I juist ran my fingers through it and left it to dry
Love
Eileen
Sorry that last post I put in about doing your hair......there is something wrong with the digit FOUR on this stupid keyboard and it didnt come out, I think it was where I said I had gone to the hairdressers about FOUR LOL times
Sorry
Love
Eileen
What a good idea........you'll get through it with that attitude
Love
Eileen
Hi Eileen - I have heard that I will be given a commode and raised chair - the recliner would be for sleeping only to help stay on my back. By the way my hair is nearly waist length and I always wash and drip dry!
Hi Sue
Its normal to dread it but you'll wonder what you were dreading a few days after it
I agree about the sleeping.....but nothing can be done.....just trial and error to see what is the most confortable way FOR YOU
They had me doing the stairs as well but its not hard....honestly....you do it like a baby at first...one foot up and the other one onto the same step etc but thats all they expect and with a bannister and a stick/crutch you'll do it.
Have a look at one of my other posts about how to remember what leg goes first LOL
Love
Eileen
Hi and welcome..
it must be pretty tough for u to get up to the attic now...with the pain from the OA IN UR hip.& groin especially by the end of the day.. The pain gets so old.. And can wear u out.. This surgery is a big deal so take every precaution from UR doc and his team to help u with & remember that everyone is different thru recovery. U may elect to go to rehab rather than home after surgery, until UR well enough to maneuver in UR home. If u choose to be home then of course remember UR balance & walking is not very stable for the first few weeks then u need to have the area u live secure .Tripping is always a concern to clear UR home of anything u could trip over, our precious little for balls ...animals too!
My friend had her hip done & lives in a condo with several flights of steps to get up & down. She lives by herself. So she decided to go to rehab at the facility available in her area. U could look into that too. She was so glad she did!
If u feel safe being home after surgery there r many things u can do as u said move downstairs near potty cuz u will need to have one near or rent a potty chair by UR bed. There r many options just depends on how well u can prepare the area u live or if it's easier to stay in rehab..
Take care that's a lot to think about and plenty of experienced hippies here to help
you ! 
Hi Sue
Where are you having it done....North Tyneside?
I had mine done in Hehham.....I'min Prudhoe...married son is in North Shields
Small world isnt it?
Who's your consultant? Could be the same one because its likley to be the same authority.....they bounce around from Hexham to North Tyneside to Wansbeck
Love
Eileen
Hi - yeh North Tyneside - can't remember name of surgeon.
as you say small world!