My hip is done

Day 8

Thank you everyone.

Each day I get a little bit better but still need to keep up the pain relief regularly as well as ice packs when I need. Nights are better than the first time, I can even lie on my good side for a short time which relieves the pain a bit, I put a pillow between my legs to support the hip. I could not do that for four weeks with the other leg because my right leg was too painful. After the op the pain is different, more bearable as mostly it is muscle pain. I have a lot more bruising coming out this time.

I struggled a few days ago with the socks, Neither of us could pull one on the good leg and after a few tries my husband refused to even attempt it on the operated leg. My legs were a bit swollen so I went to bed and raised up my legs on pillows for a while.

The nurse called me from the hospital to ask how I was doing and she said forget the socks and just exercise, use the ice packs if I need and not to worry.

Today I went to my GP's surgery to make an appointment to have the clips out next week and they had no appointments available so I have to go to the next town to get them out, Only fifteen minutes down the road but a bit annoying. I shouldn't complain really.

Tummy injections finish tomorrow thank goodness then I start the aspirin.

@ Nurina thanks. I still have a couple of scabby bits on the scar and I am fairly sure one is actually a stitch. My daughter in law said it's not unusual for them to do the last bit as a stitch rather than a clip. She's going to have a look in a day or two.

@JPT I'm just coming out the other side of the cold now thankfully.

@Bevdav123 I am feeling a lot better now thanks.

@Trish9556 I bruise so easily my whole tummy would have been black after 28 days of injections .

@Trish9556 I've just had a look at it and I think I caught it just in time. It was white not yellow thankfully. It has now shrunk in depth so not far off the surface of my skin and it looks clean, the redness is now a faded pink with a bit of redness inside the wound bit. That was where I cleaned it back to raw skin. I did show it to my daughter in law who has done nursing and she said keep an eye on it and call the surgery if it didn't look right. It looks like it should with a thin smooth scab over it now.

@ Janlyn my other leg was absolutely fine and this one was fine over all the staples and that part has healed beautifully but the stitch they put in at the end must have been deeper. I'm still battling a sore throat so I know my immune system isn't right yet. It is not helped by having to take lansoprazole and I know from my last blood results that it caused my white cells to be a little low. I only have today and tomorrow of aspirin then i'm knocking the lot off. I can take paracetamol if needed as well as codeine if its bad. I can use voltarol sparingly on my knees but I have found a knee sleeve that helps a lot so now my hips are ok I may just use that and exercises.

I saw a physiotherapist today and he is pleased at how well I'm doing. He has advised not to go swimming until the last bit has healed completely which I knew anyway. I have some new exercises to strengthen my leg muscles and he has also said he would prefer I use at least one crutch if not both when I'm out and about which I agree with. We also discussed my knees and having them replaced. He said it would be best to put it off for at least six months so my hips heal well and the muscles have time to be stronger. I can do whatever it takes to ease the pain in my knees such as wearing a knee sleeve and using pain relief regularly and keeping them mobile. I also need to raise my feet more often in the day for a while as my ankles were slightly swollen.

@Janlyn He had a look at the scab and said it looked ok but repeated to keep an eye on it. It looks as though it is healing nicely now. I am glad the tablets are finished with now including the naproxen. I have some if I'm really desperate but I hope I don't need it. It will take a little while for my tummy to get back to normal as I've gone from one extreme to the other. Its happened each time I've stopped taking the medications in preparation for each operation.

9th week update of my right hip replacement.

I am back to the swimming pool three times a week now doing some of my physio in the water as well as walking and sculling on my back. I am getting a bit stronger and can walk a bit better with a much straighter stance. My knees are my biggest problem now with stiffness and cracking and grating.

I see the physiotherapist again on Monday. I still struggle with a couple of the exercises he gave me as they are painful and that makes me cry, not as much as at first but enough to wonder if they should have been a bit further down the recovery road. I didn't have these particular ones with my left hip.

I am feeling much better in myself now. I ended up researching what else I could do to boost my immune system as I already have a good diet and came up with probiotics so checked what kind to look for. Probiotics with prebiotics and high numbers were recommended. I found some on amazon, not expensive and good reviews so I went for a 2 month pack to see if they made a difference. There has definitely been an improvement, especially in my gut. I knew the pain relief and protector tablets caused me problems but the difference now is amazing.

I am a much more smiley person now and friends have commented on it. We don't realise ourselves just how much chronic pain affects us over the years.

@ Trish9556 Thank you. I was worrying about getting told off, I think because its a different physiotherapist with a different manner and a man. The other one , a young woman, was more considerate of my age and the other problems affecting my legs. I will cut the repeats down to 15 instead of 30 till I feel more comfortable. It was the Hip Abduction-side lying that is most painful to do, so lying on my side, raising and lowering my leg using the weight of my leg to build strength. I can do the same movement standing with no problems.

On another note. I drove the car today!!!!! I didn't drive far, just a loop round town then up to the Spar shop, back into town to pick someone up then back home. It didn't hurt my legs at all and I was fine with the driving, I thought I would be nervous after so long not driving.