Lazy Neighbour Post THR

elainebadknee
elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
edited 31. Dec 2012, 12:41 in Living with Arthritis archive
Hi

My neighbour had his hip replacement over 3 weeks ago...Our family got involved as he had been on the waiting list for surgery from as early as feb 2012 and his operation got cancelled twice....My dad said he would take him for his operation (we live in kendal the operation was in barrow) and bring him home as he does have sons but they couldnt get the appropriate time off to do so...He had also been interested in me and phoned me whilst I had my TKR over 8 weeks ago....
This guy is over cautious, he called the hopsital the night before and morning of surgery to check it was still okay to come in, when he wanted to come home he was texting me at 8am in the morning to tell me to call him....He has been home for 9 days now and he is not doing his exercises as he phoned one night to ask me about his medication he had run out of (god only knows why) and I joking had said to him he needed to be walking outside even if it was only to the top of his driveway to ours....He did but cos I had joked with him but me and my dad who has had THR noted he wasnt walking with his crutches the right way....He also isnt doing the exercises the hospital tells you to do once home but states he is walking round the house a lot....I fear he is doing some damage, or rather dont feel he will get much better if he doesnt do his outside walks a bit more....
I know its hard, when i was discharged it was frosty and cold but I went outside if only for ten mins, my dad took me too..It was hard and it was cold, a lot more colder than it is now but I knew I needed to do this exercise otherwise my new joint wouldnt get stronger...
I dont want to get involved anymore with this chap, its getting too long winded now and wish him all the best but it does worry me his lack of willingness to do the exercises post op..

Elainexx

Comments

  • Helenbothknees
    Helenbothknees Member Posts: 487
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Elaine, I don't know what exercises you do after a THR; are you supposed to exercise as much as after a TKR? But anyway, I gather this sort of thing is quite common. The physios in the hospital were amazed that I exercised from the day of the op, despite having an exercise sheet which told me to do so, as hardly anyone else did. And an acquaintance of mine who is about to have a TKR, when I told her the importance of exercising, looked doubtful and said she hated exercise. People like you and me seem to be relatively rare. To me it's a no brainer - we went through hell with arthritis and having the op, why not do a few minutes a day exercising to give yourself the best chance of success? But it seems not everyone thinks that way, and we can't change the world. :?
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Helen

    Dad did the same as me with the board and the doughnut under your heel to get the joint flexion/straight leg raises and bent leg ones..He also walked everyday outside which is essential and not the same as indoor walking....
    Our neighbour should have prepared for this operation he had so much time but instead he has sat about letting his muscles waste...He could have gone to hydrotherapy too but didnt...Its half the battle if you prepare for an operation and its for your own good..

    Baffles me...

    Elainexx
    Elaine, I don't know what exercises you do after a THR; are you supposed to exercise as much as after a TKR? But anyway, I gather this sort of thing is quite common. The physios in the hospital were amazed that I exercised from the day of the op, despite having an exercise sheet which told me to do so, as hardly anyone else did. And an acquaintance of mine who is about to have a TKR, when I told her the importance of exercising, looked doubtful and said she hated exercise. People like you and me seem to be relatively rare. To me it's a no brainer - we went through hell with arthritis and having the op, why not do a few minutes a day exercising to give yourself the best chance of success? But it seems not everyone thinks that way, and we can't change the world. :?
  • tkachev
    tkachev Member Posts: 8,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    As long as he is walking about indoors and not spending too much time in bed then he is keeping the circulation going and using his new joint and strengthening the muscles, but he does need to do the exercises prescribed to ease into recovery. The hospital physio staff should have checked he could use his crutches correctly and if he's not comfortable then he will be struggling.
    maybe he hasn't gained his confidence yet because of this?

    It was only 3 weeks ago that he had his operation and I can remember being worried about recovery at this stage. Does he live alone? If you've helped him so far and his Sons couldn't be around to help he may be leaning on you as you've been so kind and helped him a lot.

    Elizabeth x
    Never be bullied into silence.
    Never allow yourself to be made a victim.
    Accept no ones definition of your life

    Define yourself........

    Harvey Fierstein
  • barbara12
    barbara12 Member Posts: 21,280
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Elaine
    What good neighbours you are, he is very lucky to have you, if it was me I wouldnt give up on him, he is obviously lonely, I would certainly tell him how he should be using the crutches , but has for the rest , you will have to leave him to it...maybe he doesn't want to go outside just yet...you can only do so much.x
    Love
    Barbara
  • Helenbothknees
    Helenbothknees Member Posts: 487
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I don't remember specifically being told I had to walk OUTSIDE. Why is it different from walking inside?
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    You can take a horse to water etc. Actually, like Helen, I don’t understand why it’s so essential to walk outside. I was never told to do this after any of my THRs or TKRs. In fact, I love hospital corridors because they are so long and flat. Walking outside is harder because of the unevenness of the ground but I’d have thought that’s all the more reason for getting the muscles strong by exercises before doing so, especially for those of us with other mobility problems.

    I’ve always put great store by the exercises and always had great results but I know someone with a recent THR from a major ortho hospital who, allegedly, was simply discharged with the instructions to walk a little further every day, no exercises necessary. He’s having a lot of problems.

    When's your friend's follow-up physio appt?
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Elizabeth

    He doesnt live alone, he has a wife who walks everywhere but she does as she is told too ie he tells her what he thinks is right and she follows suit....He is only sitting in his armchair, not doing exercises at all inside only walking to kitchen and the loo...
    I dont think im really the person to ask about meds etc as ive only just had my op...

    Elainexx
    tkachev wrote:
    As long as he is walking about indoors and not spending too much time in bed then he is keeping the circulation going and using his new joint and strengthening the muscles, but he does need to do the exercises prescribed to ease into recovery. The hospital physio staff should have checked he could use his crutches correctly and if he's not comfortable then he will be struggling.
    maybe he hasn't gained his confidence yet because of this?

    It was only 3 weeks ago that he had his operation and I can remember being worried about recovery at this stage. Does he live alone? If you've helped him so far and his Sons couldn't be around to help he may be leaning on you as you've been so kind and helped him a lot.

    Elizabeth x
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Barbara

    I remember doing my exercises in the house and crying cos my leg wouldnt lift off the board but I had to keep trying/my dad more or less told me I had to....Same as when I went out for my walks round cul-de-sac when it was frosty, I had to even though I didnt want to...

    Elainexx
    barbara12 wrote:
    Hi Elaine
    What good neighbours you are, he is very lucky to have you, if it was me I wouldnt give up on him, he is obviously lonely, I would certainly tell him how he should be using the crutches , but has for the rest , you will have to leave him to it...maybe he doesn't want to go outside just yet...you can only do so much.x
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Helen

    Walking outside on the harder and uneven surfaces helps the muscles...The soft floors inside are not as good...I think to me with bunions I can walk barefoot inside but couldnt go on hard floors (even bathroom tiles) with barefeet as it hurts and is harsh...

    Elainexx
    I don't remember specifically being told I had to walk OUTSIDE. Why is it different from walking inside?
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Sticky

    I did get told in Wrightington to walk outside was told it was something I needed to do...Hospital corridors are long and smooth so quite good too...Our cul-de-sac is smooth and is quiet most of the time so thats what im trying to get at, you can walk up and down it safely in sight of your own home....Unevenness is an issue but then again that is bound to happen to anyone...
    We dont get physio follow ups here in Cumbria, its not how they do it...He has follow up with consultant on 21-1-13....
    I just feel he could do that bit and that this will hamper his recovery in the long run.....Its all well intended...


    Elainexx
    You can take a horse to water etc. Actually, like Helen, I don’t understand why it’s so essential to walk outside. I was never told to do this after any of my THRs or TKRs. In fact, I love hospital corridors because they are so long and flat. Walking outside is harder because of the unevenness of the ground but I’d have thought that’s all the more reason for getting the muscles strong by exercises before doing so, especially for those of us with other mobility problems.

    I’ve always put great store by the exercises and always had great results but I know someone with a recent THR from a major ortho hospital who, allegedly, was simply discharged with the instructions to walk a little further every day, no exercises necessary. He’s having a lot of problems.

    When's your friend's follow-up physio appt?
  • hileena111
    hileena111 Member Posts: 7,099
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi
    That puts a different slant on it.....It sounded as if he was on his own...but he has a wife??
    I wasnt told to walk outside after my THR......just move about inside and do the exercises
    We dont have physio follow up after THR in Northumberland. You are given a sheet of paper, told to do the exercises and then you see the consultant at your 6 week check up. Its much harder because if you aren't motivated by having to to back to the physio you are {I am} more likely to let the exercises slip.
    Someone needs to talk to him about what will/might happen if he doesnt do the exercises.
    Any way theat he would come on here
    Love
    Hileena
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hileena

    Yes, John does not live alone, his wife Heidi is never in the house, always cleaning for the church, visiting other folk etc..She is a real roadrunner and he has always been a proverbial tortoise....She wont however tell him he needs to do these exercises (the sheet of paper that you, my dad and I had on discharge)....
    I had to see a physio as I didnt have normal flexion of knee upon discharge and I got the head woman up at Kendal who was firm but good with me...She recognised id been through a fair bit with all my swelling and bruising on my leg and she said I was a young one to have a total knee!! It did motivate me, as did my dad saying "right, come one lets go do the exercises...He watched me do them for the first 2 weeks and I was crying sometimes as my leg wouldnt move at all, ice was my saviour)...I can also see how much John is sitting about (sorry its a small space we live in and its not being nosey), he has also had district nurses in 4 times to date (dad and me had 2 to change dressings)...He is just so cautious, Id say overly so...Like i said also he sat around waiting for this and has gotten weaker all the time, should have done exercises beforehand....
    I just hope the district nurses are talking to him, telling him he has to help himself....I hope so...

    Elainexx
    hileena111 wrote:
    Hi
    That puts a different slant on it.....It sounded as if he was on his own...but he has a wife??
    I wasnt told to walk outside after my THR......just move about inside and do the exercises
    We dont have physio follow up after THR in Northumberland. You are given a sheet of paper, told to do the exercises and then you see the consultant at your 6 week check up. Its much harder because if you aren't motivated by having to to back to the physio you are {I am} more likely to let the exercises slip.
    Someone needs to talk to him about what will/might happen if he doesnt do the exercises.
    Any way theat he would come on here
    Love
    Hileena
  • GraceB
    GraceB Member Posts: 1,595
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Elaine,
    I have to say my gut feeling is the same as yours but I don't know this person or his circumstances. It sounds as if his confidence has completely gone.

    I had a partial knee replacement and on the day of the surgery was wanting to get out of bed and onto my leg. Not allowed. I was told on discharge to do my post-op exercises twice daily which I knew wasn't enough.

    Sure enough, when I saw my phsyio locally after the clips were taken out my knee bend was down to 50degrees. I then pestered the department and got into sessions twice weekly by ringing to see if they'd had a 'no-show' for a clinic and then got to my hospital within 10 minutes - living locally helped. As a result, my knee bend was 90 degrees three weeks later. However, at home I was using my slide board (TKR's will know only too well what that is!!) every hour during the day.

    I fully believe that when joints are replaced and you sign consent for the surgery you should also be signing a contract saying you recognise the work the surgeon and his team will be doing and as a result your commitment is to follow through with the post-op physio.

    My replaced knee now has a knee bend of 125 degrees; my unoperated leg is 130 degrees. If I hadn't worked so hard on the phsyio I'd have only got a 90 degree bend as my hospital predicted.

    You get out of life what you put into it.

    I sincerely hope that your neighbour makes a full recovery, even if it is slower.

    In the meantime, keep going yourself - perhaps if your neighbour sees your progress you might inspire him.

    Take care
    GraceB
    Turn a negative into a positive!
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Grace

    Our neighbour is just a very cautious person who seems to just have accepted he needed a new hip but waited around for the operation and didnt prepare for it properly (thats my view alone).....Because I had to lose weight I was exercising 4 times a week for about 4 hours in total (gym and hydro) so I believe i supported the muscles that had to be cut through during surgery....Its not just me, my dad who has had THR and TKR was also an active man despite being over 10 years older than our neighbour so he recovered well too...
    I dont think John (neighbour) has any issues with confidence as he tells his wife what to do, she cant operate mobile phone etc and has even told me on phone "he is walking around the house a lot"....Maybe my therapy education session at Wrightington helped me too, I dont know...I do beleive he isnt doing the surgeon's work justice as you say...
    Its great to read of your story and how your bend of 50% eventually reached 125%, well done you for perservering...One thing i dont understand why they dont use ice in hospitals as it would get people up and around earlier due to swelling? I also know about the slide board as ive inherited my dad's but I made my own doughnut...
    Thanks for telling me about your story....

    Elainexx
    GraceB wrote:
    Elaine,
    I have to say my gut feeling is the same as yours but I don't know this person or his circumstances. It sounds as if his confidence has completely gone.

    I had a partial knee replacement and on the day of the surgery was wanting to get out of bed and onto my leg. Not allowed. I was told on discharge to do my post-op exercises twice daily which I knew wasn't enough.

    Sure enough, when I saw my phsyio locally after the clips were taken out my knee bend was down to 50degrees. I then pestered the department and got into sessions twice weekly by ringing to see if they'd had a 'no-show' for a clinic and then got to my hospital within 10 minutes - living locally helped. As a result, my knee bend was 90 degrees three weeks later. However, at home I was using my slide board (TKR's will know only too well what that is!!) every hour during the day.

    I fully believe that when joints are replaced and you sign consent for the surgery you should also be signing a contract saying you recognise the work the surgeon and his team will be doing and as a result your commitment is to follow through with the post-op physio.

    My replaced knee now has a knee bend of 125 degrees; my unoperated leg is 130 degrees. If I hadn't worked so hard on the phsyio I'd have only got a 90 degree bend as my hospital predicted.

    You get out of life what you put into it.

    I sincerely hope that your neighbour makes a full recovery, even if it is slower.

    In the meantime, keep going yourself - perhaps if your neighbour sees your progress you might inspire him.

    Take care
    GraceB
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    GraceB wrote:
    I fully believe that when joints are replaced and you sign consent for the surgery you should also be signing a contract saying you recognise the work the surgeon and his team will be doing and as a result your commitment is to follow through with the post-op physio.

    Very wise words, Grace. It would have the added benefit of ensuring follow-up physio too, which some hospitals don't seem to offer. I think many do regard a new joint as a right rather than a privilege. With so many people desperate for TKRs and THRs it ill-behoves any of us to take ours for granted.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I think surgeons should make more mention of post-op physio etc than they do (well, the ones I've met have never mentioned it). I had seven months of it after the first synovectomy (weekly visits to the department and home exercises) three months (ditto) after the second. Anyhoo, it's his joint and ergo his choice as to what he does or doesn't do with it. He could also still be coming to terms with the 'shock' of the surgery. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Helenbothknees
    Helenbothknees Member Posts: 487
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    He may also be walking round the house a lot, as in really, really a LOT! I don't know, and even Elaine doesn't unless she looks through the window every five minutes. I was never told to walk much, just do the exercises - and I did loads, but no-one knew as I did them all in my bedroom whenever I got out of bed.

    Look, I don't want to criticise anyone here, and I'm sure we all have this man's best interests at heart, but this conversation is making me slightly uncomfortable. Who are we to criticise someone who says they're doing all they can, in their own way? What business is it of ours, any of us? Just my gut feeling on this, anyway....carry on talking all you like. :)
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I agree. It's hugely important for all of us to play our part in making our new joints succeed but none of us can judge what an individual is or isn't doing on that score.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Helen

    If its coming across as just pure criticism then that is incorrect....It is concern that he may do some damage, or that may end up just as bad after having this operation.....
    I do know how much exercise he is doing as we get texts from him and speak to him and his wife...Also my dad has run him in the car for few things (meds) and he is walking worse at the moment...We didnt ask to get involved with this man but have ended up somehow...

    Elainexx
    He may also be walking round the house a lot, as in really, really a LOT! I don't know, and even Elaine doesn't unless she looks through the window every five minutes. I was never told to walk much, just do the exercises - and I did loads, but no-one knew as I did them all in my bedroom whenever I got out of bed.

    Look, I don't want to criticise anyone here, and I'm sure we all have this man's best interests at heart, but this conversation is making me slightly uncomfortable. Who are we to criticise someone who says they're doing all they can, in their own way? What business is it of ours, any of us? Just my gut feeling on this, anyway....carry on talking all you like. :)
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Grace

    You did put it down really well, perhaps better than I could have expressed myself...

    Elainexx
    GraceB wrote:
    I fully believe that when joints are replaced and you sign consent for the surgery you should also be signing a contract saying you recognise the work the surgeon and his team will be doing and as a result your commitment is to follow through with the post-op physio.

    Very wise words, Grace. It would have the added benefit of ensuring follow-up physio too, which some hospitals don't seem to offer. I think many do regard a new joint as a right rather than a privilege. With so many people desperate for TKRs and THRs it ill-behoves any of us to take ours for granted.
  • elainebadknee
    elainebadknee Bots Posts: 3,703
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    SW

    Yes it is our part to play and its maybe not emphasied how important it is!

    Elainexx
    I agree. It's hugely important for all of us to play our part in making our new joints succeed but none of us can judge what an individual is or isn't doing on that score.