THR my new life as a bionic person

Janlyn

@Nurina I hope the nausea and brain fog goes soon now you're down to paracetamol and blood thinners, that's exactly what I did, but afterwards I started to question myself as to whether it had been the anaesthetic. Either way I'm sure it will clear soon and you'll be feeling better. The soreness from your wound, if it's like mine, is so much easier to deal with than the previous pain.

I think our body craves what it needs - I wonder if yours is asking for salt? I found I really couldn't stop eating oranges and drinking orange juice, both of which I had previously had only occasionally - I assumed my body was asking for Vitamin C. Once I started feeling better the cravings stopped although my appetite is still good, fortunately mainly for good foods, so that's okay.

I understand organised life but I find I have given myself permission to 'recover' however my body and mind prefers. Plenty of time to get organised once this priority is over. Sleep seems to be essential and when my body requests it I cannot resist and yesterday had three long naps during the day. Last night I slept better than usual, it's still difficult at night and I spend most nights listening to the radio and waiting until it's time to get up.

Good luck with remembering your which foot first on the steps, it is difficult but I found if I made a mistake I soon knew about it. Now I can't believe my luck that I can go up and down stairs normally.

@swimmer60 - I genuinely wondered whether they would let me home alone and fortunately had a neighbour who would have stayed for the first 24 hours if I needed her to. I had also looked on booking myself into a care home but the attitude seemed to be to get back to normal as quickly as possible and that they wouldn't let me home until I was safe. I honestly didn't feel safe for the first 24 hours but actually looking back I was. I had worried I would pass out or fall on my way to the bathroom in the night. Actually I was so slow getting out of bed and I didn't sleep properly so I seemed to manage well. I had been in so much pain and walking in such a stooped way pre-op that I had been very unsteady on my feet, but once operated on was much steadier. I won't say I wouldn't have given anything for someone with me though for the first few days!

corinneyvonne

Hi Nurina

Your story is encouraging so thank you and keep going this way 😁

I am just over seven weeks to my scheduled RTHR and seriously counting the days. I am seeing my consultant on Friday and going to ask can he bring it forward. This means that may be out and about by late Spring. I really want to return to work as being at home (despite the pain) is really stressful. A trip to Aldi is my highlight of the week 😂.

Sending you lots of positive vibes.

lynnyh

Hello all, so interesting and also heartening to read these posts. I had my RTHR on Monday 15th so I am day 2 post op. Came home yesterday afternoon and like you felt overwhelmed. Hardest things for me so far? Getting in and out of bed, and getting to the loo on time. I’ve struggled with urge incontinence and this has really been highlighted due to my inability to get to the loo on time. So pee pants it is for now! I’m walking with two sticks and trying to do my exercises little and often as advised. Thankfully my husband has got some time off so he is cook and bottle washer for now. I think he’s finding it quite hard to see me struggling bless him. But I focus on each day getting better. Don’t get me started about night times and sleeping on my back!!! I’m a side sleeper and missing that dreadfully. So like you am resorting to naps as and when. It’s a real balance between activity and rest isn’t it? Highs and lows but that awful constant pain has gone. Now it’s surgical pain, and this will pass. Taking pain relief regularly helps. I’ve set my phone alarm! Wishing everyone a speedy and good recovery and here’s to a better 2024!

Nurina

Thanks for taking your time to drop me a line @lynnyh and @corinneyvonne .

@lynnyh It's good to share our experience because we are the only ones to understand, aren't we?. I don't have incontinence and I was pee pants the first three days 😂. My husband and I giggled every time I shouted at him "Again! Please, bring the mop upstairs!". I think it was the anaesthetic that was wearing off mixed with the struggle to use the raised toilet which is a device from hell. Lesson learned, I go to the toilet when I think I should go without waiting for the nature call.

@corinneyvonne I totally understand you and everybody here would do too. During my waiting for the surgery I thought I was about to get mad, honestly. I couldn't even go to Tesco on my own and it's just crossing the road. My husband "walked" me in the evenings after his work so I could breath some fresh air and see people. I'm self employed and I have a studio nor far from home but I couldn't go there in the last three months. I was working from home but I couldn't concentrate. Everything, every thought was around the pain and my bad luck. If you keep reading our diaries, or any other from previous users, you'll see that, give or take, the patterns are very alike so you'll know what to expect. It was very helpful for me and I didn't feel I was on my own. Perhaps I'm slightly intense (sorry administrators 😬) but I don't want to miss any detail. Good luck on Friday and keep us posted! X

Nurina

Thanks @swimmer60 I asked a nurse about why injections/tablets, tights/No-tights, ice/no-ice and many other differences and she said that there is not better or worse. All depends on the Health Board you belong or just the consultant preferences. I felt slightly annoyed with the response, to be honest 😂

Sheila1959

I can echo at lot of what's been said here - and 8 months in what a life changer! I still have knee problems and some brain fog, but so value just being able to pop to the shops, gentle countryside walks, going upstairs to the toilet - everything had become an ordeal. We shouldn't underestimate how much we have to bear before we have the op - and getting through the first couple of weeks afterwards too.

I love the community feel of this site - not being alone really has helped. Thanks to all my fellow arthrees (I made a new word for us)

Nurina

@Sheila1959 Awww Pop to the shops, countryside walks, going upstairs...How to explain the joy that brings to us?. That's the real happiness!

I miss going to town with my husband when we had a day off. It's just a little stroll of 2 miles from home, but we went crossing the park because it's more beautiful. We used to do some clothes browsing in shops trying to find a bargain, then a lunch in a traditional pub and after that, a quiet coffee in one of the arcades with jazz music in the background...I don't want more...just that.

Ribble

So glad to hear that your pain has gone after a hip replacement. Marvellous isn’t it! I had my left hip replaced ten years ago and it’s still going strong. It certainly made a difference. I now have a right total knee replacement as well and that’s a year old. It certainly took the discomfort away. Take things steadily and I’m sure it will be all back to normal soon.

Nurina

Thanks @Ribble That means a lot to me. I don't limp anymore even in these early days. My back and knees pain have disappeared. My other leg moves freely without the muscles and nerves caught in the other hip. This is bliss.

Nurina

Night 5 and 6

Slow but steady I'm noticing the improvements. I'm so happy. I'm having a patience I've never had before, maybe because my life has been "almost" the same for the last months. Bed to sofa, sofa to bed. I say "almost" because I walk much better now, without pain, just discomfort from what feels like a hard wood cilinder inside my leg. During day time, I barely have pain with just paracetamol. Pavements are frozen and too slippery to attempt a walk outside at the moment. It's ok. I've been in good spirit, entertained, walking with the sticks, trying just one (too soon), doing the exercises, having supper and chat with my family.

And then, a change of scenario, The night comes slow heavy, sad, lonely, dark... painful OUCH!.

It doesn't matter what tablets I've taken before. The problem is just me and my stubbornness: I can't sleep on my back. One pillow under my knees, two pillows on both sides, three pillows on my back "and a partridge in a pear tree". I feel immobilised like I'm strapped to the bed wearing a straitjacket. The mattress, which is a brand new superfoam bla, bla, bla feels like it's filled with tennis balls. Lovely and soft in the past, bed sheets feels sticky and made of sandpaper. The pain radiates from the hip to the rest of my body like a submarine radar. By the way, sleeping on the back is a Tiktok trend for generation Z to stop wrinkles. You can buy strange pillows, like torture devices from Middle Ages to keep your head straight. It works for them but when I was 15 years old, I didn't have wrinkles sleeping on my side either.

Last night, at 4am I was walking with the frame around the room, getting to tackle the next round. Two paracetamols, one Ibuprofen and breathing exercises. From my phone, a playlist of rainforest and nature sounds. Pain didn't disappear but my exhaustion won. I woke up five hours later. Jumped out from the bed without holding my bad leg with a strap.

Note for stubborn side sleepers who are having their surgeries soon: Train yourself to sleep on your back as soon as possible. You'll probably have better nights and less wrinkles. X

Denis68

It was interesting for me, I'm definitely a side sleeper but over the three nights I was in hospital I learnt to sleep on my back ok by having the bed not quite flat at the knees. Once I got home I was ok on my back until the first time I found myself on my good side, about day 10 or 11 I think. After that there's not a chance I'll fall asleep on my back!!

I don't seem to be suffering any ill effects from it, I'm not achy when I wake up. I haven't tried my operated side yet, I'll probably just wait for that to happen naturally.

Looking back, I think it may have helped me if I'd had a practice at back sleeping pre Op.

Nurina

Thanks @Denis68 Where you allowed to sleep on your side on 11th day? 😳Actually, nobody told me about how long I have to sleep on my back. My discharge nurse said I'll have my answers on my first visit to the physio in two weeks and, until then, rules were sleep on my back, exercises and beware of the 90º. :)

Denis68

@Nurina I was told very little, essentially no deep squats and don't cross your legs and don't get it wet and then do the exercises and the blood thinners. The rest I've picked up from how my body felt and comments people have made on here.

It really does seem there's so much different information given out to different people in different areas it's quite mind boggling. I think a lot must be down to the area or consultant opinions.

An illustration of the different things is that my first physio appointment is at the 6 week point until then I'm only seeing the local practice nurse to get my dressing changed.

Nurina

So true @Denis68 Same hip replacement, different rules. I think when there aren't global rules about something it's because they don't even have an answer. It's like the Covid jabs. In different places, different rules. Is it not the same virus?.

When I was discharged from hospital, they barely explained anything. Physio walked with me to the stairs talking about his kids and I was handled a booklet with very simple instructions. Maybe they thought I was clever enough or maybe I haven't understood anything and I'm now having a bath with my legs crossed and bent at 45º 😂

Janlyn

@Nurina @Denis68 I came home with my instructions as to what to do and what not to do, but I found after a week or two that I didn't really know when I could start to do things. I knew a shower was two weeks but not much else. I promoted myself to going up and down fairly shallow steps normally after around three weeks. My sticks have been redundant for some time now although I take one with me outside, just in case ...

The last few nights I have allowed myself to trial side-sleeping although it's a bit of a cross between back and side with my shaped pillow between my knees. Since then I am finding my hip/wound/groin (muscle?) seems to ache more but that could be from being on my feet for longer and walking more. I suppose listening to our bodies and remembering it's a marathon and not a sprint and that we'll all get back to our previous levels of fitness in our own good time is important. My physio made the point that my muscles hadn't been working properly for so long that it would take me longer than I imagined to get them back to their full potential.

Nurina

Day 7

I can't say time flies because it has been one of the slowest weeks in my life

At the end, the garden chair was too low and dangerous @Janlyn

Slightly desperate, I'm very tired of all the fuss around me. I've decided I have to start having a normal life. I washed my hair in the sink without asking for help. My husband told me off. I just did just what I've done before many times. I stood on a big non-slip bath mat to avoid accidents.

About sleeping. I removed all the pillows and cushions from my bed just leaving one under my knees and another one by my side. I put my normal pyjamas and not the annoying gown that rolls under my back. I imagined I was normal in my normal bed. I slept eight normal hours waking up just one time.

My pain is slowly dissappearing to reveal that my old arthritic pain has gone for good. I have more mobility than ever. I found myself trying to walk without sticks 😬. My leg is just slightly swollen by the knee without bruises. I have a big bruise on the other leg though. Cold and sunny in Cardiff. Have a nice day! :)

Nurina

Update:

The day was too beautiful. With the help of the sock aid, I put my own socks and it was hilarious. My husband is willing to help me but has to come back to his job and I need to be independent . We went for a walk and a coffee to an Arts Centre near our home. I walked 1023 steps! Who could've imagine I could do that after the surgery last Friday? I'm so happy, beyond belief. Look out @Janlyn I'm behind you! 😜 I had a chat with a couple of friends, have a laugh talking about the Spanish Armada and Brexit. Pure bliss ❤️

Janlyn

I totally get your path back to 'normal' life @Nurina that's how I've tended to do it. A quick wonder how I will manage, then a quick plan/practice, then do it! You're definitely ahead of me - I was nearly two weeks before I washed my hair. I really didn't think I could go so long, I'm sure it was a lifetime record!

Wow, well done for sleeping too, that's amazing! It's so good when the pain, weakness and numbness starts to disappear and suddenly you realise you haven't got the old pain, and what discomfort you have will go in time, and even if it doesn't you're in a better position than pre-op.

But the best bit - going for a walk and coffee - 1023 steps on Day 7 is brilliant - I've just had to look back to see it was Day 11 before I went outside. You'll be overtaking me soon.

Hope you manage to get your socks off!

Denis68

@Nurina @Janlyn you are both flying along and a great inspiration and comfort to others with your diaries.

I have found I've managed to do quite a few things by refusing to accept the idea that I couldn't. I almost asked for help with my hair but was stood at the sink washing one morning and remembered I'd spent half my childhood washing my hair over the sink! I was off from then and it's amazing how I remembered the technique from forty years ago

Take care and have a good weekend

Nurina

@Denis68 Thanks for your encouragement to keep writing my diary. I hope I'm helping people who are having the same surgery and are as frightened as I was. I hope too that nobody compares their evolution with me, because, everyone here are different. Like a SATNav, we'll reach the same city but choosing different routes: A) fast route more unsafe B) Common route or C) slow route, enjoying the views.

@Janlyn I don't think I'm ahead of you. I have the help of my husband who is my trapeze net and that's cheating.

Day 8

Like an atomic watch, I woke up every three hours. I'm painless during the day, with just the discomfort of the tennis ball in my bum and the unresponsive wooden leg. Nights are completely different. Now I get why people preferred to potter around the house than being in bed. I'm taking two paracetamols every 6 hours and at night I can't forget it. The immobility in bed and the stiffness on the leg, make my nights very uncomfortable but improving every day though. Who knows? Maybe, one day , I'll love to sleep on my back.

Last night, when I got into the bed, my husband and son looked at me with the mouth open. My husband said: "Do you know what you have done right now?" And I didn't know what he meant. He said: "you lifted your both legs at the same time to get under the duvet". And that triggered a concern. I'll tell you why.

I remember when I got my driving licence. My father said that serious accidents don't happen when you start driving a car because you go slow, you are aware of everything surrounding you, the mirrors, the traffic lights, the old lady crossing the road. The serious accidents happen when you think you think you know how to drive but you don't. And those words come to my head now. I can do things much faster than a week ago but I'm not healed, not even close. With my pain dissappearing and my mobility improving, I'm starting to do normal things without thinking. But wound is there, tender tissues damaged, bone cut and, don't forget a foreign piece of metal in my side. I have to slow down and not speed up (I know, the marathon...). I'll sing the "hand-crutch-hell" going downstairs for a long time.

Have a nice day! X

Denis68

Yeah, I hear that @Nurina . After a few days completely pain free I've rediscovered ache this weekend. I'm sure part of it is doing more things naturally and subconsciously rather than carefully.

I need to keep reminding myself I'm two days short of five weeks not five months post Op! I'm on the road to recovery, I haven't reached recovered yet 🙂

Janlyn

@Denis68 I'm two days ahead of you and would you believe I could have written what you have just written a couple of days ago! I had been so pain free and doing more and then suddenly started to ache. I've started to pace myself and it seems to be working, fingers crossed.

@Nurina - so many true words spoken by you and I agree - I've compared it to driving and realised that I am doing more things almost automatically. I'm making a list of questions for my physio and consultant who I will be seeing in the next couple of weeks or so. It's getting that balance between progress and being cautiously kind to ourselves isn't it?

Take care, x

swimmer60

@Nurina

I totally get where you're coming from! I'm week 13 now but still worry about what I should/shouldn't be doing. The first time I got on the floor I kept thinking what if...what if....I also crossed my legs, so easy to forget, and that caused pain in my hip, so that was a lesson well learnt. I feel am I getting too confident or too cocky!

@Janlyn

Good morning! It was warmer yesterday so I did some gardening, hard to do without bending too much, but I think I was quite careful and seem OK today🤞Also took those elastic laces out of my trainers, they didn't work for me and kept popping out, so it's back to ordinary laces! No toe nail cutting quite yet!

I caught a cold in the hairdresser's, everyone was coughing and sneezing, and that set me back a bit, very tired and achy for a few days. But back to the gym/swim now. I was very pigeon toed before the op., and still a bit and I think the cross trainer and treadmill are really helping that as they force your feet to be straight.

Onwards and upwards! x

PS my email got scammed from this site, which was very worrying. I reported it straight away, but haven't heard anything more other than an initial acknowledgement. Am wondering if its happened to anyone else.

Nurina

Nurina

(I can't delete the posts sent by mistake sorry)

@swimmer60 the floor looks very far from my crutches. I wonder if someday I'll be able to come back to my yoga but I'm doing things now that looked impossible a week ago. I haven't used the elastic laces. I'm doing fine with the laces sligtly loose and shoe horn.

I think we all like to cross the line a couple of inches more than we are allowed so physios can't let us do whatever we want openly. We need to live in fear to avoid crossing the line until it's too late. They can't say: return to your normal activity because my normal activity could be doing pilates but for others, it's parachute jumping. So they keep us very far from the line to avoid temptations at least until is safe to cross it, even for parachute jumpers.