Three weeks post THR

Drinie

Hi all,

I am post op three weeks after posterior THR and lateral tendon reattachment of same hip.. I felt it started off so well, felt all previous arthritic, tendon pain seemed to be gone and now just experiencing the surgical pain which was to be expected.

Five days after op, I developed a hematoma, and pain became relentless.. I felt contestant, aching, more swelling and groin pain, I felt uncomfortable on my back and could not sleep. So after five days of this constant pain, worn down and drained, very emotional I decided that I needed to go back to hospital. They did a CT scan which confirmed hematoma, ordered bed rest and stopped all physical therapy only allowing short little walks in hospital passage.i spent the next five days in hospital and returned home feeling able to manage and more in control of pain with anti inflammatories and paracetamol. I do not tolerate opioids of any kind so only this combination was prescribed to aid pain. i actually felt good and was able to sit up in my lounge with some visitors. I have stairs in my house, so have tried to keep going up and down to minimal trips as this was painful for me and would leave me in pain after getting back up bed.

Two days after coming out of hospital, I sat on edge of bed after my morning wash routine and accidently slipped off the bed onto my opposite hip.. I was so grateful it was not onto my operated hip however did feel pain my operated hip afterwards. My pain has returned to full extent previously on going to hospital..

I am now at a loss as I read all your above posts of wonderful recoveries and progress made by other patients, and I feel that I am suffering a great deal. I have a high threshold of pain as my pain before my HR was chronic as I also suffer from poly arthritis rheumatica.. so was used to that pain..

My specialist has been away for holidays, but I did visit my GP as I was a little concerned about the fall I had had. She assured me that my hip was oka but did detect a urinary tract infection in my urine . This is common after this surgery as it is routine to insert a catheter while under the anaesthetic.. I am now on antibiotics and the shivery cold feelings are much better.. generally the sick feeling not there anymore. However my pain is not better, I feel debilitated by the ache in my groin..

I honestly do not understand what is going on, and feel very down as I feel I am deteriorating. I am goi v to context my specialist on Tuesday when he gets back. Has anyone experienced this? Or has is it normal progression. I understand for the posts I have read, improvement is normal more upward at different progression, but generally people experience day by day improvement in pain.

Hopefully someone can relate to my experience.. I feel anxious and tired.

Wishing You all a speedy recovery!

Drinie

Sorry for typo errors.

lynnyh

I’m so so sorry to read this. It sounds like you’ve had a really difficult time and have been very unlucky. I totally understand where you are coming from regarding how amazing others have felt etc I’m 7 weeks post right THR tomorrow. All I would say is that things will get better, but just maybe not as fast as we’d like. All you can do is your level best to do the exercises as best you can, and go for walks as much as you can. I too had groin pain and had a stage where I thought I’d gone backwards… but stick with it. Things will get better. Last week is the first time I’ve been able to go for my walk and feel totally pain free, during and afterwards. I know for some it’s miraculous and that they are walking without sticks etc from very early in, and that’s fantastic. But my physio was very reassuring, and pointed out that like most things in life you’ll hear the tales of either amazing recovery or disastrous recovery. But not much from the swathe of people in the middle if that makes sense?! I can see progress now every week…… maybe not every day….. and I’ve decided to stop comparing myself with others on the same pathway. We are all different. Some people may not perhaps have waited so long before surgery for example so they are starting recovery from a better standpoint. I had to wait nearly 2 years and my muscles were shot really so I now have Trendelenberg gait. Fondly known in my family as “wonky walk”. It will hopefully get better, in fact my daughter said today she thought it was. But my physio has advised me that full musculoskeletal recovery can take up to 18 months post hip surgery. So in that context I think it’s very early days for both of us! I personally hated the 6 week post op landmark as it seemed like everything I read implied I’d be back to normal. My 6 week OPA with surgeon went well. He’s happy with the joint and he’s done his bit. Now I’m doing the work so as to “French polish the carpentry” (physio’s words). Apologies for the length of this post but I just wanted to say “hang in there, you’ll get there”. Wishing you all the very best for a better time of it moving forward, and be kind to yourself. It’s major surgery.

Drinie

Thank you for your kind answer, really reassuring! sorry about all the errors.. I live in Switzerland and strangely, my phone seems to have a mind of its own! Your message is comforting to me as I feel really alone on this journey, I don’t think anyone who has not gone through this operation will be able to understand, even if they really want to. My children say” but mom you are so strong, just be positive! “. So I feel bad voicing how I really feel! I am grateful for your reply. I wish you continued steady progress and all the best with your healing journey! Thank you.

Nurina

Hi. I'm so sorry to hear about everything that is happening to you. I hope that everything goes better from now.

About normal progression, I don't think there is a "normal progression" I'm in week 8 and my recovery has been good but I'm very far from being "normal" yet. I've read that many people don't use sticks on week 6 and they are pain free. Well, I still walk with crutches, two of them if I want to walk longer, and I will be using them for a long time due to my other hip. When I walk or do the exercises, I'm in pain.

I've walked with a Trendelenburg gait for a year, due to the weakness of the hip muscles and it started to dissappear a couple of weeks ago thanks to the physiotherapy exercises. My knees still collapse making my feet going outwards. The exercise to correct that is so painful. At the moment, I can do a lot of things more than before the surgery and I feel lucky and thankful but I'm not ok. Recovery is slow, much slower than we expect. It needs a ton of patience and hard work.

Please, tell us about your visit to the specialist. Good luck.

Janlyn

@Drinie I’m so sorry to read your post. @Nurina is so right to say there is no such thing as normal progression. We’ve all gone into this in a different state and we’ll come out of it differently. Three steps forward, two back, or vice versa.

Although at just over 11 weeks I am grateful I can do so much more than before surgery I know I’ve a long way to go. It was sobering when my physio said my muscles were so out of use that it would be 12-18 months to my full potential. I do think I am so grateful to be on the other side of surgery that I am thinking I’m better than I am, and it’s essential to keep reminding ourselves it will take as long as it takes. I’ve had to realise this weekend after travelling on my first long trip that I’ve to take it easier than I had been. Pulling a wheeled suitcase was silly and my foot immediately turned inwards.

I do hope you will be coping better soon and apologies if my story is one that is making it look as though all is easier than it is. I have always tried to see the positive side of things and it isn’t always helpful. It’s hard though when the world seems to expect us to be back to normal so quickly.

Please take care.