Had posterior approach THR 9 days ago. Not very good care post op if I’m honest, sent home on day of my blood transfusion when my blood was still not up to normal and discharged without any pain killers.
Had a painful weekend, developed something called restless leg so off the bed on the bed off the bed on etc etc all night long and got no actual sleep. I’ve also got spinal stenosis so back pain as well esp. in buttock and on my god what a horrible weekend. Phoned surgery this morning feeling really nauseous, doc horrified I was sent home with nothing, had prescribed diazepam 1 at night to help with the need to keep moving my legs and co codamol 4 times a day. Both to be delivered bless her.
Dear Sarah
Glad that the doctor was horrified, that was really very poor management. Hope all goes well for you now.
Cheers Richard
Thank you Richard, time goes by so slowly when you’re in constant pain
Dear Sarah
Pain can take over your life, I do understand. The restless leg problem could be solved perhaps by taking magnesium citrate tablets. I suffered from this and taking one 100mg before retiring to bed worked or me although the recommendation was one three times a day.
Keep ahead of your pain and try to do any exercises that you can do. It is vitally important that you move forward with strengthening your muscles.
All the best, Richard
Richard my GP called my restless legs as “twitching”. They don’t. It’s just a feeling that i MUST move them. Then when I have I get the same feeling in them again. Is this how yours is? Last night I just got up and walked and walked. It was a total waste of time even trying to lie down.
Dear Sarah
Mine actually felt twitchy as in uncomfortable muscles and led to actual twitching. The tablets made a lot of difference but I've managed to reduce the frequency of taking them to one every two or three days.
Good luck.
Richard
Hi Sarah I found that ice packs helped with the restless leg. I used to put them on about an hour before bed,then take them off when I was ready for bed. It worked for me maybe worth a try. I can't believe either that you were sent home without anything to help you. Maybe you should contact PALS and complain.
Hope your feeling better today
Love Gill xxx
What a total disregard for your wellbeing. It infuriates me, but this level of patient care post-op is so common.
Thank goodness your surgery doctor seems so good.
Sarah, there should have been better aftercare. I was sent home with all my pain meds and had the early discharge team out to me the next day and two further visits from them after that. I also had the ward call me a few days later to check if everything was ok. You need to put in a complaint and suggest ways forward to ensure that proper pathways are in place. I had terrible back pain too and I used to place a rolled up towel in the hollow of my back to help. with the pain in the bum, press in where the pain is most prevalent and massage, it does help. My osteopath knew exactly where to press when I said I had the pain there. Things will get better and you will look back in time and think hey mu hip is great now it was worth what I went through. I have found that because of the pain I was in post op around the side of thigh, other surgery since has resulted in my brain not recognising the pain as it was not at that level, so had a foot op with bone chopped away and screws put in an hardly needed paracetamol. just over two years on I love my hip!
Thank goodness you are getting some proper pain control. If it's not strong enough and it's out of hours ring the ward or the 111 service for advice. Hopefully you will feel a lot better now. Drinking tonic water can help with restless legs, there is quinine in it. I would definitely be contacting PALS at the hospital to complain that you were sent home without any pain control. That is scandalous. Hopefully if you complain you can prevent that happening to anyone else.
Regards
Ann
Dear Auntiebeanie
I can attest to the value of pressure points as well as I've mentioned here over the last ten months I've been on this forum.
Understanding about pressure points is a very powerful way of controlling pain that anyone can quite easily learn how to do for themselves. I learnt about the technique from my chiropractor twenty five years ago simply because I was curious about what he was doing to me at times.
In the several years I was waiting for my hip surgery I could be in the middle of a shopping trip for example and suddenly suffer the most horrible pain from my hip that would cause me to stop in mid step.
I would if possible limp to one side to get out of peoples way and then quickly apply pressure to the pressure point I thought appropriate for perhaps less than a minute. I could then carry on as if nothing had happened for the rest if the trip. Very powerful and can be used for many body pains.
Cheers, Richard
Dear Annie
Interesting because I and several others find that quinine is effective for cramp. I find that it has an almost immediate positive effect.
Cheers Richard
Are you saying they did not give you any pain killer at all even paracetamol? It is almost as if they forgot. Did they give you a discharge pack? How did they sign you out of the hospital?
Hiya Richard.
These pressure points sound very interesting, you got any more info on them. 😀
Stay safe
Pete
They don’t give paracetamol anymore and because morphine was on my GP repeat prescription they said they don’t give out repeat prescription drugs. I’ve now got co codamol thank goodness.
Dear Pete
How about putting chiropractor pressure points for muscle spasm to get you started.
Please be aware that I am not a professional and that you are doing this entirely at your own risk!
Once you find a point if it is correct and appropriate for the pain area you have you will feel discomfort or pain as you exert pressure with your fingers or nuckles. Keep pressing hard which I find should generally be as hard as you can reasonably tolerate.
Hold the pressure for perhaps a minute or more and at some point suddenly your muscles will relax and you will feel a wonderful sense of relief. If you wish you can repeat this.
Keep searching for more of these sensitive areas to work on. Be aware that the right area may be in a totally different area of your body to where the pain is.
For the hips and thighs you can search the lower back area in addition to your hip area.
Happy hunting and please let me know how you get on.
Cheers Richard
Oops. You need to put that search criteria into Google!
Cheers Richard
Dear Pete
This should be of interest to anyone interested in pressure points. Put the following into Google.
The complete guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain
I would have liked to have given the actual link but very likely it would have been stopped by the mods.
Cheers, Richard