Hi all
Ive been lurking for a few weeks ahead of my LTHR after having perthes as a youngster. Still only 38 now but it needed to be done so I can enjoy the kids growing up without being in pain.
Anyway, had my op last Thursday and thought I’d help out a few other lurkers with what to expect.
Day One. The op lasted 5 hours due to the state of my hip before had the epidural and GA. a combination I highly recommend as the extra pain relief is something that you’ll need. Was a bit sick from the GA and struggled to keep the good pain killers (Oxycodone) down at first as a result. My wife and dad visited that night but I don’t think I was much company. Had a struggle sleeping that night but always do on my back.
Day 2- here comes the physios and pain. My torchurers had me up and out of bed at 9am with a zimmer, not a good look for a 30 something. Managed a few steps out to the ward then onto the chair and out of bed. I’ll be honest. Not the most comfortable experience I’ve ever had. Sat up for an hour or two whilst they gave me a pressure mattress. (Turned out not to be the best move). Then came the toilet trauma. One of the nurses came in and asked if I had had a pee. By this time I haven’t so they promptly gave me a 30 minute deadline or I was having a tube. My reply was, pass me 2 jugs of water and a bottle and I’ll see what I can do. Anyway, I managed it thankfully and avoided that trauma. That night I think was the most horrendous night ever. My operated leg started to spasm uncontrollably which left me in screaming pain. This coincided with the nurse change over which left me without pain control for 2 hours. Not a plesent experience which had me messaging the other half for help because the staff seemed to ignore my buzzer. Like I said, not an experience I would like to repeat.
Day 3. Up and moving and 9 am with physios. Onto the zimmer again and walked half the length of the ward. All good and was feeling better, if still in a fair bit of pain. Changed my meds to paracetamol and codine with Oxycodone as a backup. As long it stayed on schedule it was fine, that was until the night shift who didn’t seem to know what a schedule one. The spasms were still there and still bloody painful. Trying to have a conversation with visitors then suddenly grabbing the rails of the bed in pain gave everyone a shock I think. That was about every 20 minutes by this time.
Day 4 - up and about early again for physio. Onto the crutches then back to sitting in the chair for a few hours. First day I felt kind of human and managed to eat something. By this time the spasms had calmed down a fair bit but still painful when they happened. I’m convinced it was the pressure mattress they gave me causing them as they only seemed to happen when in bed but it was too uncomfortable to sit in the chair for any extended period. The rest of the day went ok. By this time I had slept a total of 2 hours a night and was loving the chance for an afternoon nap when i wasn’t being disturbed for blood pressure tests.
Day 5. Woke up and was in my chair long before physio arrived at 9. Did the stairs first time, walked the full length of the ward and was given the all clear to go home woohoooo!!! Was offered a proper transport home to save the risk of getting into a car which I duly accepted. When it arrived I was shocked to say the least. They turned up with the lowest wheelchair I think they could find with nowhere to rest my leg so I had to hold it out so I didn’t break the 90 degree rule for the whole trip through the hospital. Not what I needed. Once I made it outside I was presented with a minibus which I had to get up the steps on my crutches. Not the easiest of challenges to take on. Once on it was like being on the mad mouse at Blackpool. No suspension and no slowing for corners. Somehow got Home in one peice. Felt so much better to be back with family. Still no appetite by this stage but nice to be back.
Day 6. Spent most of the day in bed, getting up for an hour. The chairs provided by the NHS aren’t what you would call comfortable but getting up and moving around helps. Finally managed a good 5 hours sleep in my own bed made a massive difference. Still on a lot of pain killers at this stage, 23 tablets a day in total. Family are my rock and helping me get through the tough days ahead.
Day 7. Still struggling to get up by myself but moving a bit better today. By now I have a pain so bad just above my knee I had to ring the consultant to see what was going on as it was really starting to slow me down. Turns out it was to do with the manipulation of my leg (they added 4 1/2 cm to my operated leg) so the grip and pulling methods they had to use would have caused a fair few strains and pulls elsewhere. One to be aware of for anyone else having a similar experience. Managed a few hours in the chair on the morning and in the evening so all good. Even slept for 8 hours. Thought I’d been in a coma.
Day 8. Pretty much the same as day 7 with less pain killers. Everything was starting to ease off so decided to rest up and hope for a better day tomorrow. So glad I did.
Day 9. This was a big leap forward. Went out for my first walk since the op with my wife. Only 10 minutes but not bad for a first attempt. Managed a few steps with one crutch but sticking with 2 for now. Spent a good 6 hours downstairs with my family. Getting up and down the stairs without much issue and also managing to get in and out of bed by myself now. The big spasms stopped although I still get a lot of restless leg syndrome which is annoying. Still getting a bit of pain above my knee and in the new joint but all bearable. Down to a single ibuprofen and paracetamol every 6 hours now. All good so far
Hope my ramblings haven’t bored you all too much but will try to keep up updated on my recovery if your interested. Thanks to all the other posters who helped my get ready for what to expect. Although every op is different, it’s good to get all the experiences out there.
Andy,
Poor you, you did seem to have a bad experience. I do not think yours is normal and therefore a little unfair to tell people this is what to expect.
I went in Wednesday, out Friday no pain at all since op. Only paracetamol as a precaution when I got home which I realised was stupid as I had no pain. Yes a couple of days with contipation and slight sickness from the tablets in hospital. One month of fragmin injections, no stockings. The nurses and physio's were lovely.
I would like to think my experience was more normal than the unfortunate experience you had.
Hi Jen decided when I have mine I'm opting for your version, I don't want Andie's too grueling LOL but us women are so much hardier, I'm sorry cause I know Andie's is not a normal procedure so I forgive him 🤣
No keep on posting Andy it has to get better I'm sure, the spasms are horrendous I know from experience, mine were caused by hip fracture, what did they say caused yours.
I think your doing well considering the initial reason for replacement
Your first 4 days in hospital were EXACTLY like mine including horrendous spasms and screaming pain and neglectful student nurse!!!
Im so glad you posted as I was feeling like I was the only one.
Im now at 6 weeks and doing so much better.
Hang in there Andy!!
Keep posting as your REAL account is what some of us need to feel not alone!!
Continued healing and success to you!♡
Hi Alexandra
Thanks for your reply. My spasms were caused by the stretch in my muscle with the leg extention and it trying to get back to how it was according to my surgeon. Its still really tight now but feeling better. Plenty of stretching exercises and a pillow under my leg at night have worked wonders.
Hi Jen
Like I said. They are all different. The reason I posted my experience was because my experience is quite a rare one so I thought it would be useful for a different op. Not many with perthes so every bit of info helps those waiting. On the injections now with one stocking to prevent clots. Other than that all good today.
Thanks Yabut
Was starting to wonder the same. Now 10 days post op and feeling a million times better. The pain has calmed down a lot and I have the best nurse at home.
Bet your glad to get to the 6 week mark. That's my first big target and hoping to get my life back on track, back to work and driving by then.
How's yours going? Are you crutches free yet?
I am really glad you have had a good day and hopefully you will be on the way up now. My problem with your post was because people have come on here really scared of the operation and to read how bad it was for you is I thought is really aleviating their fear. I was terrified of the op I had never been in hospital therefore was pleasantly surprised at how easy everything was. I appreciate not everyone has it so good but I may have cancelled reading your post.
Hi. Still using one crutch but walking much easier. I am driving as well. Freedom at last! I've had very little pain and my range of motion is nothing short of miraculous compared to my arthritic hip. Im 52 years old for point of reference.
Every day gets better and better!
Hi Andy
I’m sorry you had such a rough time initially, and I’m glad that you’re feeling so much better now.
I was lucky, had a much more straightforward recovery, loads better than I was expecting. The hospital staff were great, and I was out on day 2.
Everyone has a slightly different experience.
Good luck to everyone about to have surgery.
Actually your post was real for the majority compared to Andie's but he's right their are people out their with perthes and will at some point have the op and there reality will possibly be like Andie's, not everyone sales through it as easily as it should be, I'm like you absolutely petrified but I'm just praying it will be like the majority who have it done.
People want just read one thread they will read lots and figure out how they can benefit from a mixture
For restless leg syndrom use Diclofenac pain cream. Rub it all over the leg, feet, ankles, knee, just slather it on. It will take 30/35 minutes to kick in so note the time when you rub it in as you will be laying there thinking it isn't working but around half an hour later you are going to realize that hey it's working. This will calm down oyur restless leg syndrome, I had that real bad and it was so annoying.
Hello Andy-I was so sorry to hear of the problems you had following your hip replacement.
I had bi-lateral hip replacements at the age of 42,this was rather hard and I would not recommend having both hips done at the same time! I also had problems with staff changeovers-pain relief was the last thing on their minds.
I used to dread the nights because of this. I was in hospital for longer that I should have been,and the reasons were because I had lost a copious amount of blood during the surgery,so that on the first day after surgery,plus my wounds were gaping so I had to be re-stitched (on the ward,no less!) which my Surgeon was not happy about-he stated that I should have been taken back to theatre to have the re-stitching done.,When the Physiotherapists came round to me,tried to get me up and I promptly fainted-this happened for the next three days.Of course,I was getting rather upset because everyone who had had surgery at the same time ( and after) me was up and getting around! Me-I was still stuck in bed,doing my exercises but unable to get up.When my Surgeon came on his rounds on the fourth day,he stated " I bet you feel so much better now that you are up and walking"...I just burst into tears.Then he proceeded to look at my blood test results and was shocked at how low my blood count was-I was extremely anaemic due to the blood loss.He immediately instructed the nurses on duty to arrange a blood transfusion. ( this proved to be very difficult as I have extremely bad veins-so bad,in fact,that a Doctor from Paediactrics had to come a set up the lines for the transfusion-this did take a long time but he did succeed in the end! ).My Surgeon visited the next day and said that I must feel so much better after having had the transfusion-I am afraid to say that no-body had bothered to do it-the line was put in but that is as far as it got!
My Surgeon was so angry-he ordered a nurse then and there to " Go and get this woman some blood NOW !-he was very angry.Of course,now the line had blocked so I had to go through many needles again to set the lines up.Finally,I got the blood transfusion I needed and was up the next day,although it was made more difficult because of the lapse in time between the surgery and me being able to get up and walk.Since having the first hip replacements done ( I am now 60 ), I have had so much pain and numbness and tingling-I have had a Tendon Easement which did not help at all. So,I am still on crutches-and a walker on bad days.I have had a Hip Revision surgery on my right hip due to a bone infection and the breaking down of the bone in the hip-I have had the hip rebuilt but still there is pain.I am now awaiting the second part of a hip revision on my left hip-I have an antibiotic spacer in the left hip( unfortunately I have been waiting for two years for the second part of the surgery).I next see my surgeon on 4th June and I do hope that he will decide to complete the revision surgery as I do believe that the spacer is now failing.I am back,yet once again,on a walker...on bad days I have to use a wheelchair.
I think that I am just unlucky as I have had bone infections three times now.
Watch this space-I will post more once I have seen my surgeon on 4th June.
Good Luck Andy and I hope and pray that everyone has a good and happy recovery.'
Hi Jodi
Thanks for the tip. Seems to be a nightly occurrence and is driving me mad.
Hi Laura
And I though my experience was bad. Sounds like you have had an absolute nightmare. Fingers crossed the revision will help you no end. The point of my post initially was so people know not to always expect the sugarcoated version of a hip replacement and your experience is a prime example of that. Please make sure you post more after seeing the surgeon and let us know how it goes. I have everything crossed (except my legs of course), for you here.
Hear hear to that. Good luck to everyone having surgery. I hope they are all in the majority and it goes smoothly.
Tha ks for the message. Getting better and better by the day now.
I'm sure yours will be in the majority. I'm not trying to. Scare anyone with my post. If anything it should be seen as positive in my opinion because even if it was rough to start with it soon gets much better. I'm now on day 11 and able to function fairly well, if a little stiff. To all those out there waiting. It does get better. It might not feel like it in the first couple of days but it will.
Hi Andy,
I have restless legs, it is really horrid. I take magnesium citrate everyday. Initally I took it to lower blood pressure and found it stopped the restless legs. I am a big advocate for magnesium for general health, at pre op I was told to stop taking it two weeks before hip op as it thins the blood, another plus for it. It is a safe and natural cure.