New hip yesterday.

charis

Hello, I'm home now a day after a very successful hip operation. I've been looked after very well, have my exercises all written down for me, and my home has been kitted out for my recovery. I am strangely tiered, as in, there's a lorry parked on top of me! Could you please let me know of any foods I should be eating to help myself and is this fairly common?

Yours Sincerely,

Charis.😁

Lilymary

Hi Charis, congratulations on your new hip! I'm pleased to hear it's gone well. While it is now "routine" surgery, it's still a major operation and a big shock to the body, (Can you imagine having an accident that would do that sort of damage to your femur and hip and surrounding tissues? Just because it was scheduled surgery doesn't mean it's that much easier on your body). It will have a lot of rebuilding to do, which will take it out of you. The worst of the tiredness will probably last for a few weeks, so cut yourself a bit of slack, although to be honest I was pretty wiped out for longer than that, but everyone's different.

Just east healthily, basically. Plenty of protein to help the body rebuild itself, keep the fluids going, add chocolate as necessary for your sanity.

Seriously, be kind to yourself and your body. It's just been through a lot. We all heal at different rates, it's not a race to get rid of the crutches, listen to your body and gradually encourage it back into walking mode again.

helpline_team

Hello Charis,

Thank you for posting on the Helpline forum. I am glad to hear that you are now home after your hip replacement surgery and that so far all has gone well and the operation seems to be successful. Although, this surgery is often thought of as routine, it is still a big operation which takes its toll on your body. You have been discharged from hospital very quickly and you do need to take care and give yourself time to recover. I hope you have enough help and support at home while you recuperate.

It is good that you have all the equipment you need, and you have been given details of the exercises you need to do to help your recovery. Eating a healthy balanced diet and keeping a healthy weight will help to put less strain on your joints.

I hope the information given below will be of some help.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/surgery/hip-replacement-surgery/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/diet/

If at any point you would like to talk things through informally and in confidence, you are welcome to call our Free Helpline on 0800 520 0520 weekdays 9am – 6pm. 

Best wishes,

Fiona, Helpline Advisor