Hi all now two weeks in like the last post and today the dressing came off, and it was all OK, and was the first day with no Painkillers of any type, just hung about indoors,, as it was a wet old day in Blackpool, so wil get out on Saturday, wonder if I can get to sleep without the Trammies... Well we will see, just been reading and sleeping all day, gonna do a late night dinner small one, watch TV, and check in here till about 4am, all gong to plan, and will get back with any new developments as soon as they happen. So far ..so good.... Chat soon Ian. +++
Hi Ian,
Great news dressing off and all is well. Good to not need painkillers anymore. My dressing comes off next Tuesday. Can't wait. Off painkillers too. It sounds like you do a lot more walking than I do though. I think I might still need paracetamol if I walked outside as far as you have walked. Hope you sleep well tonight without the meds.
Jeanne
Hi Jeanne, I only go about a mile, Half there and half back, just to the Sainsburys Supermarket hare in Blackpool, I think that the little extra weight of the shopping helps, and If I need space I carry a carrierbag, with the stuff that wont fit nicely in the backpack, Hope all gpes well and you are off crutches as soon as I was. Ian.
Great news Ian, sounds like all is going to plan. It feels great to be off the hard stuff......I stopped then but had to go back on a light day dose because as I upped my exercise I was sore again.
Hope you slept soundly 🌈
Dear Ian ,
Goodness ... has it been 2 weeks already ? or only?
Were you able to do all these things after your first THR? I mean, you were out and about last week, just one week post-op and now you are walking to the grocery store and back -
How does this 2nd THR compare to the 1st one ... I know, it is and will be different for all of us -
two thumb up !!!!
warm hug
renee
Hi Renee Yes it is going the same way as last time, and the right side is getting very much to the way it should be, getting up stairs now properly too, going very well so far, but I have been eating a very hight protine diet, Fish and meat, every day, and not much carbs..
Few squirrel shots from a while ago, to show interested people,
Thanks for lookiing in again Ian.
The day the dressing goes is great.
aww Ian ... love them squirrels -
I have lived in Malibu ( I know) for 8 years and had squirrels in the back yard - very mischievous as they were trying to throw pinecones in my coffee - chattering and high fiving when they were successful -
I hope to see them here soon too -
Note to self : get a good camera
Big hug
renee
Good Morning Ian,
Hope you had a restful and painfree night.
Love the squirrel pictures. Spent time in England(loved it) years ago and didn't remember the squirrels being so different looking than the ones in the U.S. On the eastcoast anyway, our squirrels are very grey and not nearly as attractive as the ones in your photos. They are cute critters.
I am amazed by your progress. I could not walk half a mile and certainly couldn't carry a backpack. Also remember you saying you stood for 2 hours taking photos. I can't imagine doing any of thar even in the next four weeks. Was your surgery anterior? I believe you (54?)are quite a bit younger than me(66yrs) and more fit but its still quite incredible how quickly you are recovering.
I am having difficulty sitting in a regular chair. Have been using a lift chair and perhaps have done myself a disservice. It is quite painful to sit for more than 10 minutes in dining chair. Have tried adding a gel cushion etc but nothing seems to help. Will see the surgeon on Tuesday to have staples removed and ask about this. Also what exercises are you doing? I have not seen a physio except in the hospital and was given exercises to do on my own at home. Have mastered most of them although they are still somewhat painful to do. Cannot do a striaght leg lift off the bed without help from hubby. Any advice to improve healing?
Sorry for rambling. Had some lower back stiffness and couldn't fall back to sleep since 3 am I am barely coherent. Thanks.
Jeanne
Jeanne
Hi Jeanene, I do quite a lot of foot pumps, on each side, say 20 or thirty, then press my legs into the bed, and hold for five secs, I do 3 sets of that, and quite tireing, but it could be in the breathing as I do pressurise myself, as in Chinese KiGung Excersices, it is the same thing, but you move your mind to the wound site, when you are squeezing, thus forcing the oxygen inot the healing area, and then you have to rebreath again deeply to repressurise your system, sounds wierd, but it sort of works, there are lots of vids on KiGung on Youtube, Ben Clearey has some good ones, and his DVD explains it all very very well, I have a book called Iron Shirt KiGung and will find it online for you and message you a link, if I find it, Also eat a high protine diet, Steak, one day fish the next, chicken the next, it was expensive, Dont tell the wife, but I feel that has helped too.
Will find that book for you and message soon.
Ian +++
Hi Ian,
Thanks so much.I will increase the exercises. Perhaps I am not doing as many reps as I shoud be. I usually do 15x each and find that tireing but will try to do some more. I probably need to push myself a little harder-just worry about over doing. Wish I had Physio coming in to guide me. I will try the moving my mind to the wound site. I have done a little Qi Gong years ago. Am very interested in using it to heal more quickly. Will be on the lookout for the link to that book.
Have been trying to eat more protein, not my fav thing to eat, I am Italian(American) and love my pasta, bread etc. Will add more protein in as you suggest as I do know it is good for muscle and tissue repair. Just read in a health magazine that pure maple syrup helps muscle repair. Have been using it in my tea. Does that make you an every Brit on this site want to throw me in the Thames? Sorry if I offended anyone.
regards,
Jeanne
Hi Ian - sounds like you are doing really well. I'm just home today after my second hip replacement on Thursday. Such a relief to now be able to concentrate on getting better. Hope your recovery continues well. X
Sally/jeanne, I'm so glad I saw your comment. You indicated that it is painful to sit in a diningroom chair for more than 10 minutes, is that because of groin pain?
Also not being able to do straight leg lifts, that is a strong indicator for Tendonitis of the Psoas muscle. I know I had it. Google Tendonitis of the Psoas muscle after total hip replacement.
The protocal for healing tendonitis of the Psoas Muscle is to not do anything to aggrivate it, anything that hurts. Me too I couldn't sit, upon rising I had a lot of groin pain. So I laid on the sofa or laid in bed, I didnt sit.
Tendonitis is little rips, tears in the tendon/muscle. What you want is for those little rips/tears to heal up. When you exercize, most people think, "Oh I just have to stretch that more, I'll exercize more," when actually what you are doing is deeping the tears and adding new ones. Rest it don't do anything that aggrivates it and let it heal. Mine healed up in about 3 1/2 weeks. Any physical therapist will be able to put their fingers right on the muscle and ask you, "Is this where it hurts?"
If you have tendonitis of the Psoas Muscle and you continue to "push it" you run the risk of NEVER healing from this, the rips get scar tissue on them and you have a permenet condition, it turns into tendonosis. I know I had tendonosis of my IT Band which runs on the outside of your leg from the hip to the knee, I can rub my hand down that very large tendon and actually feel the scar tissue. I had never had tendonitis before and I made a mistake by keeping doing what I was doing and I hurt myself pretty bad. By the time I went to the doctor there was nothing they could do. My surgeon did something during my THR and fixed it. So please be careful, get it checked out if it is groin pain. The not being able to do straight leg lifts is a huge indicator. Best of luck to you.
Now thats one thing I just do not do raise my leg off of the bed, I do plenty of knee rises holding on to the Kitchen Units in a coaner, and then leg swings, with the aductor ligament, to the left then the right I do about 15 in a set, and try to do three sets in a session, just every other day, not every hour like they say on the sheet, if you did all that they suggest, you would never stop excersising, and I think that is where the experts are going wrong...Too much...For normal people...
But I was strong before I got all of this, much stronger than normal people, but I wore myself out getting to that very fit state, I am sure of it.... Ian+++
Jodi
Thank you ever so much. Yes it is groin pain. I will not try the leg raises again. I have a lift chair that I sit in fairly comfortably and won't try sitting in the dining chair again. Should I continue doing the other exercises that are easier to do? I do ankle pumps, butt squeezes, slide heel up so knee is raised, heel abductors, push knee flat into bed.
I will be meeting with the Ortho's PA on Tuesday. Don't know how much she will know about this.This ortho doen't recommend seeing a physio therapist but I may insist they prescribe it so Medicare will pay for it.
Again thanks for the info. I will heed your warning until I see my surgeon.
Jeanne
Hi Jodie,
It took me to week 6 to do straight leg raises. I had groin pain when I over did things.
i had physio weekly and hydrotherapy all on Medicare as part of my aftercare.
Good luck with your rehabilitation.
🌈💌🌈💌
Go ahead and do any other exercises that does not hurt your groin muscle.
that reclining lift chair is the best thing you can do, I wish I would have had one. You should have physical therapy, they come to your home and Medicare pays for it. Don't let any physical therapist talk you into anything that gives you the groin pain. The really GOOD news is it WILL heal, mine healed in about 3 1/2 weeks but my physical therapist diagnosed it immediately and right from the start I didn't do any further damage to the tendons/muscle. If you have been doing exercises (like most people who are unaware) and have been damaging it you may take longer to heal. But it will heal up. After 3/4/5/6 weeks you can try a straight leg lift and see if it is still giving you pain, one day you will be able to do a straight leg lift while laying flat on your back and it will only give you a very slight pain. At that point try doing leg lifts again, but easy into it, just 3 straight leg lifts then wait a few hours before you try it again. Gradually build up. Now that you know what is going on I'm sure you will be able to know your own body and figure it out.
pity you did not have physical therapist ear.ier as they would have known right away that it was tendinitis of the psoas muscle. Good luck to you.
I am glad your psoas muscle finally healed up.
just curious, did your physical therapist push you to do exercises that hurt your groin doing them? My physical therapist totally stopped exercises that gave me groin pain.
Hi Ian,
Your post is so encouraging no pain meds is a big deal after THR. Means you have managed to heal and move on your way to a normal life.
I have had 3 THR and each recovery was different. You sound so positive and I like the way you used the symbols in your post some made me laugh!
Happy healing and cintinued success. I hope you sleep better tonite.
Hope xxxx
Hi,
You have a the ability to have a healthy positive attitude....it is contagious.
High protien diet is a good idea. My doc told me to drink protien shakes too. After any major surgery the body needs 2100 calories a day to heal.
"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
Lou Holtz
The benefits of positive thinking after surgery may include:
Increased life span
Lower rates of depression
Lower levels of distress
Greater resistance to the common cold
Better psychological and physical well-being
• Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
I have not heard of KiGung...will have to check it out.
Oh and don't forget to add those butt squeezes that the best exercise to strengthen core muscles and I band.
Healling blessings.