Hello All,
I am new to this. I had bi-lateral THR 7 weeks ago age 50, did great with getting back on my feet, doing the exercises and drinking water. Now it seems the more I move, like walking more & up/down stairs, I am getting more and more swollen. I hit the gel Ice pack 1 x day for 30 min. That is the only issue that I have. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi, Ruth, sorry you are having this trouble! My suggestion would be to stay off of your feet as much as you can for a few days, and elevate and ice frequently. See if that makes any difference. This swelling might be an indication that you are doing too much too soon. There is still a lot of healing going on in your hips, both in bone and soft tissue.
hi ruth,
warm welcome to this hippies forum where we come in all ages, stages and from all over the world ..
sounds like you are doing great at 7 weeks post-=op from bi-lateral THR surgery ..
I am assuming that you are full weight bearing ? Are you walking without aids, aka assisting walking devices ?
You are still kind of early in recovering from this major surgery while at the same time your body is trying to adapt to the new you - new posture, walking properly etc ..
A great deal of the recovery takes place in the first two months, but complete return to normal takes longer. Bone around the metal parts keeps changing and remodeling for 1 to 2 years after surgery - hence the swelling sometimes -
As AnnieK mentioned, you might be doing too much ...
do you have physical therapy?
when is your follow up appointment?
Please come back here and let us know hw you are getting on, okay ?
Love to have you here
big warm hug
renee
Hi Ruth, I had bi lateral 16 weeks ago and still get some swelling if I over do it....
The best thing is to sit with legs raised when resting, and I still have a pillow under my legs some nights when I am suffering from swelling.
I do have bursitis on both sides which causes pain but nothing like I was sufferring before..
The swelling is just protection and your body telling you to rest up, I was recently told I was 14 weeks not 52 weeks post op by my GP and that the body has gone through a major trauma and that I was expecting a little to much.
Hope this puts your mind at rest.. good luck with the recovery. I am 56 yrs young...
Hi Ruth
It sounds like you are doing great. As others have said, the swelling is the bodies natural reaction to protect itself. But just one point - you need to hydrate but be careful not to overdo it! There is actually such a thing as too much hydration, and that itself can lead to swelling! The general advice is two litres of fluid a day, but everyone is different, and different circumstances (like activity levels) make a difference too. Unless you feel thirsty, you might try dialling back the fluids just a little bit, and see if that helps. Since you currently aren't very active, you may find that your personal requirements are a little less than you are providing for.
Simple answer is that your doing too much too soon. After a few days I had the same happen to me, doing all sorts getting about here there and everywhere and thinking how well I was doing and thinking to myself "I don't know what all the fuss is about" Then like you the swelling came back and I knew I had done too much. Just put your feet up for a couple of days, raise your swollen leg and you'll be fine. Take it a bit more easier in future, it's not a race to get well quicker than your body is ready too.
That is true but it feels so good to be able to do things without the pain that I had previously.
Thank you Renee,
Full weight bearing, home excecises have had one follow up the next is Tuesday. It just feels so good to be able to move without pain that I have been most likely "overdueing" it.
Thanks for all the information here this is a great help.