Has anyone experienced upper leg swelling (knee upwards). I am 2 weeks post op and did not have much swelling until a few days ago. I have just started practising around the flat with one crutch and wonder if I am 'behind' others or should i be still on 2 until I have clips removed on Tuesday. I am thrilled to learn from reading your messages that some are already sleeping on their 'good' side within a couple of weeks as it is the single most trouble (apart from the swelling) sleeping on your back. Does anyone have any tips please about any of the above? Thank you so much. VivB
I think it depends on the type of approach you had done... I had anterior so my doc said from day 1 I could sleep on my non operated side... Then switch when I felt comfortable enough to put my weight on the other side... That was about 3-4 weeks after..
Good luck!
I'm 5 weeks post op and the swelling is awful , mine is the whole leg especially round my knee , I've heard if can take weeks for it to go down x
I had similar swelling from about the same point and it lasted about 10 days. I went down the ice and elevate route to help. I was also on one crutch at a similar point, with the the physio. I didn't sleep on my side until week 5, mainly cos I was too scared of dislocation! Good luck with your continuing recovery.
Thanks. I had an anterior (side?) approach. Thanks for your reply.
I feel the swelling is impeding my walking practice, bloody awful. What have you been doing for yours?
Good idea with the ice/elevation route and I think I will try that. Thanks.
I've tried heat and I've tried ice , I've only just been able to lay down flat and raise my legs high due to discomfort in my hip , but at the moment nothing seems to work , I also feel that the swelling is affecting how I'm able to do the exercises, but I'm just trying to carry on , I have bad knees anyway so I'm not sure that the swelling is all down to the thr or possibly a mixture of both x
My stomach, bum, and all down my legs were swollen for a good 5 weeks. My surgery was so complex which i think my swelling was so severe, i looked awful, my left thigh was around 3x larger than my right and i bought big knickers and they wwere to small because of the swelling in my butt and stomach had to get my mam to buy me a even bigger size.
I remember saying to the nurse, i swear im not usually this fat and the woman who was in the bed opossite said she felt the same haha. All of us are different so we all probably swell up different
Hello viv, I had that swelling, I pulled the sheets back in hospital and was so shocked by the size of my leg, I hobbled over to the nurse and lifted my nighty and asked her if that was normal, all she said was oh dear. My leg was swollen like that for the first week out of hospital, so I made the decision to take off the stocking they give you for dvt, I was taking the blood thinning injections so I wasn't too worried. The next day the swelling had gone down significantly. I still get the swelling at night in my foot and lower leg, I'm 3.5 weeks post op. You sound like you are doing very well, right on schedule for your recovery. Sleeping on your back is a bit of a nightmare, but I'm scared to go on my side just yet, dislocation is my biggest fear. Hope your swelling goes down soon chick. Warmest wishes Julia. Xxx
ICE, ICE, ICE! It really helped me. I iced the area twice a day for 20 minutes.
I was lucky as I had very little swelling. Here we're told to start with a walker. At 10 days I went to get my staples out and my surgeon told me to immediately stop using the walker and use a cane on the opposite side. A week later I walked without the cane and now at 4 weeks, 4 days it is feeling good. If I didn't have the issue of the other side needing done it would be great.
Sleeping has been a huge issue until the last week - there's hope! I was allowed on the non- op side immediately with a pillow between my legs to prevent crossing. He told me that I could sleep on the operated side as soon as I could tolerate it which has only been over the last week.
Good luck with everything!
Fiona
Here in the US the anterior approach to hip replacement is becoming more and more popular becuase the recovery is so much better. The scars are at the front of the thigh and no muscle is cut making it less painful. No staples - just surgical glue and dressing. Most people dont need a walker and go home with a cane or crutches after 1 or 2 days in the hospital. The problem I am having is muscular pain in my thigh but not at the site of the surgery.
Yes I had elephant leg too - but it has gone down now 16 days post op, I am only on one stick !!!! Just do what your body tells you. X
Hi vivb, I still have some swelling at 3.5 weeks. What I have now is around my hip area but not real bad. The worse was the second week for me with the swelling in my ankle it was so huge it hurt. At two weeks if you are able to walk with one crutch that is wonderful. Please remember to use your better judgement and if it starts to hurt listen to your body. I tried walking with a cane about a week ago, and used it all day long, but boy was I hurting that night. So I am using the crutches (two) but try to not really lean on them unless I have to. You will feel better once they get the staples out. For me the first two weeks were the very worse. As for sleeping on my good side I keep trying that since I am not a back sleeper either, but after a few minutes of laying this way I always start to hurt down the leg and it becomes uncomfortable. I have found for me when on my back if my legs/knees are bent up it relieves some of the pressure off of my hip. My legs don't want to stay in this position without support so I put pillows behind my knees and then relax my knees on them. That seems to work the best for me for now. Wishing you well on your recovery....Barb
I think side is lateral, anterior is front. Although I had anterior, I didn't take any risks and went slowly. I am 5 months post op. and have been able to sleep on either side for a long time
I didn't have any swelling so can't help you there.
You poor thing Sarah. Here's me moaning about from knee upwards on one leg!
I do agree Julia about dislocation being the biggest fear......stuff of nightmares. Thanks for your warmest wishes and good luck to you.
Aww hun dont be like that. I think everyone sweels different depending on how size, age, body sensativity, complexity of surgery and so on.
Either way swelling is not a nice thing to have hunnie but it goes away eventually 😊 x