Hi. Just over six weeks now and little pain and mobility increasing.
Yet I am feeling awful if I am totally honest. This last week has been horrible. Has anybody struggled with this?
I'm thinking along the lines of a bit of Cabin Fever which is getting me down.
Have my six week check tomorrow.
Kevo
It will get better. Just keep doing the exercises. Walk every day and stay positive. I am six months down the line now, and my life has changed dramatically for the better. I see a personal trainer once a week, and between times I walk, exercise at home or go to the gym. Feeling physically fit makes you feel much better mentally. I too felt very low and vulnerable during the first few weeks. It's the uncertainty of everything that gets to you, and as you say, 'cabin fever'. Look after yourself, eat well and rest when you need to, as well as keeping up the exercise and the benefits will follow.
Thanks Patricia. Been so happy to be pain free (from the hip!) and feels weird that all that has gone. Like you say, the more active I will get the better I will feel. Sometimes helps hearing other people saying it.
Cabin fever...know what you mean .....its lack of independence got me!! Soon as you're driving again it will feel better...we went off to Cornwall for a week for a change of scenery....did make a difference....office fever for me tomorrow Kev!!!
A few good TV box sets helped too!!
Good luck tomorrow Chris. You show them how a Hippie does things Thanks
Yep, cabin fever is a distinct possibility. You get the relief and uplift of coming out of the op with pain under control and, in my case, much easier mobilisation than I expected, coupled with the tiredness of post op reaction. Then you get the continual small achievements over the first few weeks. Then you suddenly start to think about what you can't do and get bored with rehab on your own. In my case I had walked every road within range, couldn't drive, couldn't use public transport and live alone. I was ready to scream. A kind neighbour took me down to a local river walk which gave me a new view on life.
I missed stupid things, like choosing my own apples in the supermarket, being able to use the main oven, only having one pair of shoes I could get on by myself etc, etc. Yes, now there are big jumps - getting behind the wheel again, going shopping and frustrating days when you have to back off the rehab, get tired and achey and everything seems a massive effort. But hang in there, you start to move on again. That is where a good friend or supportive family can help to pull you through, make you concentrate on how far you've come not how far behind your super-fit neighbour you are.
Think about a silly little treat you can work towards - meal out, modest retail therapy (you can tell I'm female), visit somewhere or someone etc. If it persists have a word with your GP, sometimes a poor mood can be due to drugs, post-op anaemia, or the op may have triggered a lurking treatable something or other. Don't let feeling low become a habit.
The chances are that in a day or two you will look back and think 'what was that all about'. So good luck and hang in there
Yes. Christie is right. The day I got back in the drivers seat was amazing. I felt so proud!
Thanks Ros. Will pass on the retail therapy (you can tell I am a man!)
Feeling better already having just typed it out and then the usual sensible answers.
Lucky people arent we
Hi, You just had a major operation with significant trauma to mind body and spirit. Be very kind to yourself and know that what you are feeling is totally normal. Soon you will enjoy a summer without pain. It's a slow recovery..Treat yourself to something you like and enjoy and congratulate yourself for getting to where you are.
Thanks Juliette. Weird how when other people say things I seem to have known it all along anyway. If I get the go ahead to drive tomorrow that what I will do.....drrrive
I drove round Asda car park after hours to see how I could do emergency stops...no stopping me now....100 mile round trips...get a bit stiff though!!!
Sounds like bliss
you mean the after hours Asda or the 100 mile drive....lol!!!
I was feeling great at 6 weeks and at 7 and at 8, and then overnight relapsed badly with groin pain that has not left me since. So be careful with exercise, go slow even if you think you can do more or faster. I overdid with mine and i am paying for it now. There is a fine line between too much and not enough and it is hard to know where it is exactly..
Sorry to hear that. Thanks for replying. I am trying to listen to my body especially with the resting bit as I have got that sorted with cumfy cushions etc. Hope you feel better soon. Thanks again
Why are we having pain deep in our butt cheeks, in that hipocket?
Don't they line that hip pocket with something
I realize I am exposing the fact that I just got a hip replaced and I really didn't get the details. Most of that is because I had it done in France and my French language skills are poor. I figured he was Chair of the Orthopedic Dept he knows what he is doing.
i understand how they saw off you fewer and drive a new artificial ball joint in there, but that is not at all where my pain comes from, down in the femer, it seems like that new ball is banging on the hip socket wall and irritating it, but again don't they cover/line that hip socket with something?
What do you think causes our pain?
OK Jodi, they dislocate the hip and cut off the ball at the top of the femur then insert an artificial one made of metal or a ceramic ball on a metal stem. Because they want something low friction and if you have arthritis the cartilage of the acetabulum (the socket) is worn away they normally take away what is left and put in a plastic or occasionally a ceramic liner. For engineering reasons the artificial ball is usually smaller than the natural one and the liner thicker. Your own joint develops and so is very well fitting and stable. The artificial ones are made in two pieces which have to be joined at operation and so are a bit less stable, especially since they have had to cut through the surrounding soft tissues which are intact in your natural joint.
So, you can get the feeling of 'clunk' sometimes while everything is settling in and the soft tissues healing up - the reason for all those pesky restrictions on bending, twisting etc. I'm told it should diminish and certainly I have to do more vigorous activities before I notice it now. The pain in the femur may come from the fact that metal is stiff compared with bone and so the way the load on your hip is transferred to the bone has changed. Fortunately bones respond to load by changing shape and density so over a few weeks to months the structure of your femur adapts and most people find that residual pain subsides. So far I haven't got any (fingers crossed for the future) but it isn't uncommon and designs which don't use bone cement seem to be more prone to it initially than those which use cement although the later results are similar and some surgeons believe the very long term results are better.
The stems are quite long which may explain why you feel the pain part way down your femur - it's possibly a bit of high load at the tip of the stem. Providing the overall position is OK the bone will adapt and the pain subside but think of it as something like the healing of a broken bone so it can take a good few weeks.
I used to work as a Bioengineer - quite a lot on joint replacement over the years, mainly analysing failed prostheses. I had to spend quite a bit of time reminding myself of all the ones I never got to see because they were still happily functioning inside the patient. This is a very brief summary, there are books on the subject but I hope it helps.
Of course - just think the first patients to get a joint replacement were on bed rest for 3 months and rehab took another 3. The early ones were doing well if they lasted 10 years, 5-7 was typical. We are expecting 15+ years and 25 is not unusual, we are walking in 3 days in many cases and resuming many activities within 3 weeks. Be thankful you weren't going through it in the 50s and 60s.