recovering from surgery

[Dutch445]

well, might as well post something here, won't be able to follow up every day for a while, but eventually i wil.
l
monday i underwent bilateral hip replacement. turned 50 3 weeks ago. problem has stemmed from a growth
issue while i was a young teen. at that point i had 2 surgeries, placing pins to keep the ball from moving
on the end of the femur. the only problem was there was no alignment to be done, so the joints have been
misaligned for 35 years or so, finally causing me some aches 4 years ago, into a fairly good limp and some real
bad days this past summer
i bit the bullet, and chose to have 1 day of surgery, doing both hips, with 1 recovery and 1 stay out of work
on disability. Most of my care providers ask me if i am nuts to do it this way, but many understand the theory.

my surgery went well monday, later in the day due to the complexity of it (removing pins in the process) and i
expect a couple more days here in the hospital. i have been walking since tuesday, short jaunts out of the room
with a walker, but it's all key to my rehab and getting out of here, with more therapy at home for a few more weeks,
i am able to rest comfortably, but getting up gets things riled up as expected. everybody says i am doing great,
but, i'm hard on myself thinking i should be playing hockey again this weekend (just kidding)

so anyway, i'll update every few days for now, then more as i get more time to sit with the computer on my
lap or next to me in bed.

later

 

[ljohnson778]

Glad you're making progress, keep your head up! I wish you a speedy recovery!

 

[vwnotrunning]

Great to hear all went well. Keep us posted. I am close in age and have a steel plate in right hip, so I can see myself in your shoes - hopefully along time in the future.

 

[Dutch445]

thanks all

 

[Bird]

Both hips the same day? That sounds a little tougher to me than my one knee replacement. Hope the recovery continues to go well.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I had a friend who's hip joints were destroyed by chemo undergo a double replacement. I think this was after the cancer came back the second time. He went through four rounds before the lost he fight.

Had a neighbor lady go through a single at age 90. Was not long and she was out and about.

Doing the recommended therapy plus has worked for me. Get well soon.

 

[dave1949]

Good luck! Sounds like it should improve your mobility once you get past the therapy and healing.

 

[jinman]

I'm very lucky to be 65 and almost no joint pain at all. Unfortunately, I inherited really bad veins in my legs and have had problems with blood clots since I was 27 years old. They first tried removing veins (stripping) and that just caused my other veins to go berserk, become inflamed, and make more clots. Because the valves have been wiped out in many of my leg veins, I get fluid pooling in my feet/ankles. This leads to stasis ulcers and lots of swelling and pain. Wearing shoes at times is unbelievably painful.

Here's the good news. If I keep my weight around 200 or less, my problems seem to go away. Actually, my heart medications seem to have improved the condition favorably to the point that I can walk, work, and do most anything within reason. Unfortunately, I also inherited a tendency to easily gain weight. This last summer I was around 260 and my legs were going to pot. I also was a mess because of low stamina and even walking around stores had to be done carefully or I'd get short of breath. I've been on a diet since August and have lost about 45 lb. Just that amount has changed my life. My legs are almost healed up and I walk around without getting winded.

There are many of us who have things we have to overcome, but it seems that often you don't have to look far to see somebody with similar or worse problems. I don't know what it would be like to have joint replacements, but I can sure identify with having to set your mind to do something and make it happen.

Dutch, good luck with your rehab. Hang in there and you'll wonder why you didn't do this sooner. I'm sure pullin' for your continued improvement.

 

[Looking4new]

Good luck with the rehab, Dutch.

 

[hosspuller]

Had a Birmingham hip resurfacing 5 years ago. Best thing to happen to me. Follow the hip precautions and don't push the recovery too fast. Joint Pain free 7 weeks after the surgery lead to a pulled hamstring muscle. I was taking the stairs two at a time again.

 

[sodamo]

Best of luck with rehab and recovery.

David

David Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[ronjhall]

Best to you Dutch. TBN is good therapy during recovery.

 

[MarkV]

Glad the surgery went well Dutch. My best advice is to not skimp on the rehab. I know several who reached a point where they didn't think they needed to do what the therapists recommended when they started feeling better and it bit them in the butt. Keep us posted as you can.

MarkV

 

[Western]

That's great!! Glad it has gone well so far. Both hips is a pretty major undertaking too. My dad had his done last year, they get you up and moving almost as fast as the anesthesia wears off:laughing:

 

[TripleR]

Wishing you a speedy recovery; you're tougher than I with two at once.

 

[Dutch445]

Thanks again all. Had a good walk around the floor here and that feels very good. Been struggling with some other issues, but I think I made some progress today. I will check in later from the laptop. (Not easy w blackberry)

 

[creekbend]

Best wishes. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

 

[dmccarty]

I am very impressed you are walking so soon and so far after getting new hips. That is amazing.

A family member is going for a new knee in a week. I hope it goes well for her as it has for TBNers.

Later,
Dan

 

[Dutch445]

today i had my incision areas re-wrapped with a different dressing to catch some drainage.
where's that backhoe when i need it!
but now they need to watch and see how these dressing work, supposed to add more
pressure to reduce the drainage.
the physical therapy part is going well, actually did a flight of stairs yesterday, up and then down,
using the railings instead of a walker.
so i have a low hematocrit count which they are watching. I went back on solid food today after a day off,
so hopefully everything improves. i'm sure the drainage isn't helping that situation.
so my hopes to go home tomorrow may be a little far fetched, know more in the morning
when they check these new bandages. calling it a spica cast?

 

[Dutch445]

came home sunday, 7 days after surgery. blood count had stabilized and drainage was low enough to use
these aqua-cil ? bandages. go back tomorrow for follow up with doc, hopefully remove staples.
i am doing PT every day, with a home visit therapist, next week i should start outpatient PT
at a local place. I can get around ok, dropped from walker to crutches, and going to start weaning
off them this weekend. feeling better all the time, although the middle of the night bathroom break
is quite a challenge. things don't feel all that great getting up like that after a few hours of sleep.
i still spend a good part of the day either in bed of in a chair with my feet up, the physical therapist says that
is what i need, rest, walks, therapy, and more rest. feet up helps control swelling. i still sit with the ice
packs on my hips, and am wearing the teds stockings all to help control swelling. the swelling has reduced
significantly since last week, but it's still there, esp close the the surgery areas.