RE: Re: THR with complications--exercise advice sought

[Guest guest]

Hi, it has been almost 3 months for me since I had my

THR and I'm still having trouble walking and my leg is

still swollen. Talk about losing muscle, the thing

is, will I ever get it back. I'm doing physio everyday

and still my leg is very heavy. I will see my doctor

on Feb 7 so hopefully he'll tell me what's going on. I

was non weight bearing also for 8 weeks. I'm still off

work and probably will be for another month. I have

titanium with poly hip, uncemented. I'm now 47 years

old. At this point, I see no end to this. Has anyone

had a 6 month recovery?

--- Margaret <zztinau@...> wrote:

---------------------------------

Ok you lot, stop complaining about 6 weeks non

weightbearing.

It ended up being 8 weeks for me.

And yes, it nearly killed me too. I kept worrying

about

loosing muscle tone.

Getting back to work makes the time go better.

Especially

if you love your work.

School is back, so that means the year for everyone,

in

Australia, is now in full swing.

Have a great day.

Margaret

Re: THR with

complications--exercise advice sought

> I too was 6 weeks no weight bearing. It was a very

long

6 weeks. I

> had to use a walker and got the worst blisters and

calouses on my

> palms. I finally got smart and got some biking

gloves

that were

> padded, so that helped a bit. When people ask me

if TKR

or THR was

> the hardest, I have to say the TKR had a more

painful

recovery, but

> the 6 weeks no weight bearing on THR was harder

emotionally,,,very

> frustrating.

>

> But I survived, and you will too!

>

> Valeri

[Guest guest]

I am 34 and a full left hip replacement

and bone grafting 04/10/04 due to congenital hip disorder/dysplasia and on Wednesday

I went back to ington

Hospital where I had my

op and I was told that I don’t need physio. I have been told to use my

crutches until I need them, go back to work when I’m ready and that just

everyday exercise is enough to get my hip back to normal! Oh and then to go

back again for a follow up appointment 25/01/06. I have struggled thru the

last nearly four without so much as seeing a doctor (my GP says I should see specialist

and specialist says to see GP, What to do?) and now I am much the same position

for the next 12 months. Had I known the level of aftercare I would receive

after such a “big op” (doc’s words not mine and I’m

sick of hearing them- so big no-one will see me) I really wouldn’t have

had the op at all. When I think of the length of time I had to struggle to get

anyone to help me in the first place (5-6years of being passed from Doc to doc)

it depresses me even more and I wonder why I bothered!

I feel the same way regarding walking. My

family all tell me that I am getting better all the time but I can’t see

it myself. The whole process seems really slow and difficult and the lack of

sleep doesn’t help. Do you still sleep on your back or have you tried sleeping

on your side? I have really bad back pain and also mild pain in my right hip(

according to doc this normal and can last up to 12 months) but I try to avoid

using pain killers as I now suffer form IBS due to overuse over the years. Don’t

ask me how I cope with the pain as I just somehow seem to have learnt to block

it out. This came in very helpful when I had my little boy two years ago –

the midwife was amazed!!

I think it is basically a case of just

listening to your body and letting it recover at it’s own pace.

I would be interested to hear what others

think of the advice given by the hospital as I feel it is incorrect and a load

of rubbish!!

Jo (very fed up with the whole situation)

Ps This is my first post but I have been reading

thru the posting for a while now.

From:

Margaret [mailto:zztinau@...]

Sent: 28 January 2005 07:43

To:

Joint Replacement

Subject: Re:

Re: THR with complications--exercise advice sought

The instructions were that I was not to put weight on it

until I saw the surgeon again. Unfortunately

he couldn't

fit me in for 8 weeks.

At 23 weeks I am still having pain, although the

musculo-skeletal doctor seems to be sorting that

out with

trigger point injections of local

anesthetic. I have had 4

sessions and he has booked another two for me

today. While

I say the walking isn't better, others think I am

walking

much better. I guess over the last week I

have taken

brufen two or 3 times, and one night I took some

tramadol

after a heavy day at work.

I actually slept for 4.5 hours straight on

Wednesday night.

The first time I have done that without drugs.

I made sure I didn't hop. I feel that that

could be as bad

as puting weight on it. Just my feeling, no

one has said

it to me. Would be interested in what the

physio

therapists say about that. I can remember

doing it with

the first hip, and I am not sure what made me not

do it

this time. I don't remember making a

conscious decision

about it.

I am off to enjoy a weekend of parties, dinners

and even a

breakfast with friends this weekend. Hope

you have a great

weekend too.

Margaret from Australia

Re: THR

with

> complications--exercise advice sought

>

>

>

> > I too was 6 weeks no weight

bearing. It was a very

long

> 6 weeks. I

> > had to use a walker and got the worst

blisters and

> calouses on my

> > palms. I finally got smart and got

some biking gloves

> that were

> > padded, so that helped a

bit. When people ask me if

TKR

> or THR was

> > the hardest, I have to say the TKR

had a more painful

> recovery, but

> > the 6 weeks no weight bearing on THR was

harder

> emotionally,,,very

> > frustrating.

> >

> > But I survived, and you will too!

> >

> > Valeri

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I had my revision done on 18 August, and it took me until 1

Jan to get back to work. It is slower for some, and I

guess the trick is to take it in your stride, and hope the

money holds out.

I still have a very very serious gait problem. I am

working with a musculo skeletal specialist on it, but that

is the thing that is scaring me most at the moment. The

problem gait makes my shoulders, back, hip, knees and even

my ankle ache if I do any more than a few hundred meters.

Them's the breaks

Margaret from Australia

Re: THR with

> complications--exercise advice sought

>

>

>

> > I too was 6 weeks no weight bearing. It was a very

> long

> 6 weeks. I

> > had to use a walker and got the worst blisters and

> calouses on my

> > palms. I finally got smart and got some biking

> gloves

> that were

> > padded, so that helped a bit. When people ask me

> if TKR

> or THR was

> > the hardest, I have to say the TKR had a more

> painful

> recovery, but

> > the 6 weeks no weight bearing on THR was harder

> emotionally,,,very

> > frustrating.

> >

> > But I survived, and you will too!

> >

> > Valeri

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Jo,

It seems that you and I might both have the same problem.

Lack of physio!!

While I do do my exercises how do I know I am doing them

correctly? Which ones do I need to pay more attention on

because of my physical problems? Which ones are causing

the problems?

It is all very well to say physio is an exercise based

program that doesn't need supervision.

Something hasn't worked in my case, and I am still of the

opinion that it is that it is muscular, and not a fault in

the actual prosthesis or the way it has been put in. My

surgeon acknowledges the problem, but says to hope it will

come good. The musculo skeletal specialist is thinking we

are making slow progress but he too seems concerned at the

slowness of it.

Margaret from Australia

RE: Re: THR with

complications--exercise advice sought

I am 34 and a full left hip replacement and bone grafting

04/10/04 due to

congenital hip disorder/dysplasia and on Wednesday I went

back to

ington Hospital where I had my op and I was told that

I don’t need

physio. I have been told to use my crutches until I need

them, go back to

work when I’m ready and that just everyday exercise is

enough to get my hip

back to normal! Oh and then to go back again for a follow

up appointment

25/01/06. I have struggled thru the last nearly four

without so much as

seeing a doctor (my GP says I should see specialist and

specialist says to

see GP, What to do?) and now I am much the same position

for the next 12

months. Had I known the level of aftercare I would receive

after such a

“big op” (doc’s words not mine and I’m sick of hearing

them- so big no-one

will see me) I really wouldn’t have had the op at all.

When I think of the

length of time I had to struggle to get anyone to help me

in the first place

(5-6years of being passed from Doc to doc) it depresses me

even more and I

wonder why I bothered!

I feel the same way regarding walking. My family all tell

me that I am

getting better all the time but I can’t see it myself. The

whole process

seems really slow and difficult and the lack of sleep doesn

’t help. Do you

still sleep on your back or have you tried sleeping on your

side? I have

really bad back pain and also mild pain in my right hip(

according to doc

this normal and can last up to 12 months) but I try to

avoid using pain

killers as I now suffer form IBS due to overuse over the

years. Don’t ask me

how I cope with the pain as I just somehow seem to have

learnt to block it

out. This came in very helpful when I had my little boy

two years ago – the

midwife was amazed!!

I think it is basically a case of just listening to your

body and letting it

recover at it’s own pace.

I would be interested to hear what others think of the

advice given by the

hospital as I feel it is incorrect and a load of rubbish!!

Jo (very fed up with the whole situation)

Ps This is my first post but I have been reading thru the

posting for a

while now.

[Guest guest]

Carmel:

Did you have a lot of reconstructive work done at the time of your

surgery? Your leg should go down with walking and exercise. You may

have to elevate it on pillows for an hour or so each day to keep the

swelling down, or go back to the TED hose. Your doctor should have some

suggestions next week. What is your Physical Therapist saying about

your leg?

Everyone heals at different rates, and everyone interprets their

pain/disability differently. Surely hope you are doing a lot better soon.

Marilyn

Carmel Santos wrote:

[Guest guest]

Hi Margaret,

I am considering going to my local gym as they have a physio team and a

hydro pool and stuff so it may be worth a go. I'm going to get in touch

with them this week and see what they suggest. Do you have anywhere near

you like this? It may be worth looking into.

I think the recovery time depends a lot on the type of surgery that you

have. I had to have bone grafting as well as the joint replacement and it

looks like the have had to cut thru quite a bit of tissue and muscle as my

scare is about 10 inches long.

I still think it is really odd that they say that I don't need physio as

I've said before. I'm glad it's not just me having these problems. I was

beginning to wonder if I was just expecting too much too soon. Maybe I am!!

Bye for now and good luck

Jo

Re: Re: THR with complications--exercise

advice sought

Hi Jo,

It seems that you and I might both have the same problem.

Lack of physio!!

While I do do my exercises how do I know I am doing them

correctly? Which ones do I need to pay more attention on

because of my physical problems? Which ones are causing

the problems?

It is all very well to say physio is an exercise based

program that doesn't need supervision.

Something hasn't worked in my case, and I am still of the

opinion that it is that it is muscular, and not a fault in

the actual prosthesis or the way it has been put in. My

surgeon acknowledges the problem, but says to hope it will

come good. The musculo skeletal specialist is thinking we

are making slow progress but he too seems concerned at the

slowness of it.

Margaret from Australia

RE: Re: THR with

complications--exercise advice sought

I am 34 and a full left hip replacement and bone grafting

04/10/04 due to

congenital hip disorder/dysplasia and on Wednesday I went

back to

ington Hospital where I had my op and I was told that

I don’t need

physio. I have been told to use my crutches until I need

them, go back to

work when I’m ready and that just everyday exercise is

enough to get my hip

back to normal! Oh and then to go back again for a follow

up appointment

25/01/06. I have struggled thru the last nearly four

without so much as

seeing a doctor (my GP says I should see specialist and

specialist says to

see GP, What to do?) and now I am much the same position

for the next 12

months. Had I known the level of aftercare I would receive

after such a

“big op” (doc’s words not mine and I’m sick of hearing

them- so big no-one

will see me) I really wouldn’t have had the op at all.

When I think of the

length of time I had to struggle to get anyone to help me

in the first place

(5-6years of being passed from Doc to doc) it depresses me

even more and I

wonder why I bothered!

I feel the same way regarding walking. My family all tell

me that I am

getting better all the time but I can’t see it myself. The

whole process

seems really slow and difficult and the lack of sleep doesn

’t help. Do you

still sleep on your back or have you tried sleeping on your

side? I have

really bad back pain and also mild pain in my right hip(

according to doc

this normal and can last up to 12 months) but I try to

avoid using pain

killers as I now suffer form IBS due to overuse over the

years. Don’t ask me

how I cope with the pain as I just somehow seem to have

learnt to block it

out. This came in very helpful when I had my little boy

two years ago – the

midwife was amazed!!

I think it is basically a case of just listening to your

body and letting it

recover at it’s own pace.

I would be interested to hear what others think of the

advice given by the

hospital as I feel it is incorrect and a load of rubbish!!

Jo (very fed up with the whole situation)

Ps This is my first post but I have been reading thru the

posting for a

while now.

[Guest guest]

Hi Jo,

Here in the U.S., you can't just go to a physical therapist without a doctor's prescription, especially if you expect your insurance to pay for it.

I don't know what the hydro pool is, but I've heard of people who walked on a treadmill while in a pool/tank and how it helped them get really strong.

I don't know how anyone could recover from this type of surgery (and expect a normal life) without physical therapy.

Best of luck,

Carol

Joanne Barlow <finneybarlow@...> wrote:

Hi Margaret,I am considering going to my local gym as they have a physio team and ahydro pool and stuff so it may be worth a go. I'm going to get in touchwith them this week and see what they suggest. Do you have anywhere nearyou like this? It may be worth looking into.I think the recovery time depends a lot on the type of surgery that youhave. I had to have bone grafting as well as the joint replacement and itlooks like the have had to cut thru quite a bit of tissue and muscle as myscare is about 10 inches long.I still think it is really odd that they say that I don't need physio asI've said before. I'm glad it's not just me having these problems. I wasbeginning to wonder if I was just expecting too much too soon. Maybe I am!!Bye for now and good luckJo-----Original Message-----From: Margaret

[mailto:zztinau@...] Sent: 30 January 2005 10:12Joint Replacement Subject: Re: Re: THR with complications--exerciseadvice soughtHi Jo,It seems that you and I might both have the same problem.Lack of physio!!While I do do my exercises how do I know I am doing themcorrectly? Which ones do I need to pay more attention onbecause of my physical problems? Which ones are causingthe problems?It is all very well to say physio is an exercise basedprogram that doesn't need supervision.Something hasn't worked in my case, and I am still of theopinion that it is that it is muscular, and not a fault inthe actual prosthesis or the way it has been put in. Mysurgeon acknowledges the problem, but says to hope it willcome good. The musculo skeletal specialist is thinking weare making slow progress but he too seems concerned at

theslowness of it.Margaret from Australia RE: Re: THR withcomplications--exercise advice soughtI am 34 and a full left hip replacement and bone grafting04/10/04 due tocongenital hip disorder/dysplasia and on Wednesday I wentback toington Hospital where I had my op and I was told thatI don’t needphysio. I have been told to use my crutches until I needthem, go back towork when I’m ready and that just everyday exercise isenough to get my hipback to normal! Oh and then to go back again for a followup appointment25/01/06. I have struggled thru the last nearly fourwithout so much asseeing a doctor (my GP says I should see specialist andspecialist says tosee GP, What to

do?) and now I am much the same positionfor the next 12months. Had I known the level of aftercare I would receiveafter such a“big op” (doc’s words not mine and I’m sick of hearingthem- so big no-onewill see me) I really wouldn’t have had the op at all.When I think of thelength of time I had to struggle to get anyone to help mein the first place(5-6years of being passed from Doc to doc) it depresses meeven more and Iwonder why I bothered!I feel the same way regarding walking. My family all tellme that I amgetting better all the time but I can’t see it myself. Thewhole processseems really slow and difficult and the lack of sleep doesn’t help. Do youstill sleep on your back or have you tried sleeping on yourside? I havereally bad back pain and also mild pain in my right hip(according to docthis normal and can last up to 12 months) but I try toavoid using painkillers as I now suffer

form IBS due to overuse over theyears. Don’t ask mehow I cope with the pain as I just somehow seem to havelearnt to block itout. This came in very helpful when I had my little boytwo years ago – themidwife was amazed!!I think it is basically a case of just listening to yourbody and letting itrecover at it’s own pace.I would be interested to hear what others think of theadvice given by thehospital as I feel it is incorrect and a load of rubbish!!Jo (very fed up with the whole situation)Ps This is my first post but I have been reading thru theposting for awhile now.

[Guest guest]

Dear Jo,

Certainly in the hospital I was in, we can

ask for extra physio if we feel we need it, and in my

case after my first operation it was forthcoming. I explained that I didn’t

feel I knew what I was doing well enough and what I had been doing didn’t

seem to be working very well. Also, my GP would have referred me to the

Community Physio if I felt I needed it and wasn’t

getting it at the hospital, but then I have an excellent listening GP.

This time, (I had my op 6 weeks ago, but

have been non-weight bearing because of a fractured femur) I telephoned the physio department at the hospital to discuss my

difficulties. They told me to make

sure to ask for a physio referral when I see my

consultant which happens to be tomorrow.

Also, if I feel I need to see the consultant again earlier than

scheduled, I ask, and it has always been granted. In my case there were special problems—I

wrote to him and then followed it up with a telephone call to his secretary and

was booked in. One must be quite

proactive with one’s care, I think.

Specialists are very busy and unless one is clear that you feel you need

to be seen and why, it is easy for them to hope all will be well with the

minimum input. I work in a hospital

(old age psychiatry) and the suggestion to write to the consultant with a

follow-up phone call was made by one of the consultants with whom I work. Doctors are good at knowing how to get

through to other doctors.

Eleanor

Ps What is IBS?

-----Original

Message-----

From: Joanne Barlow

[mailto:finneybarlow@...]

Sent: 28 January 2005 12:45

To:

Joint Replacement

Subject: RE:

Re: THR with complications--exercise advice sought

I am 34

and a full left hip replacement and bone grafting 04/10/04 due to congenital

hip disorder/dysplasia and on Wednesday I went back to ington Hospital

where I had my op and I was told that I don’t need physio. I have

been told to use my crutches until I need them, go back to work when I’m

ready and that just everyday exercise is enough to get my hip back to

normal! Oh and then to go back again for a follow up appointment

25/01/06. I have struggled thru the last nearly four without so much as seeing

a doctor (my GP says I should see specialist and specialist says to see GP,

What to do?) and now I am much the same position for the next 12 months.

Had I known the level of aftercare I would receive after such a “big

op” (doc’s words not mine and I’m sick of hearing them- so

big no-one will see me) I really wouldn’t have had the op at all.

When I think of the length of time I had to struggle to get anyone to help me

in the first place (5-6years of being passed from Doc to doc) it depresses me

even more and I wonder why I bothered!

I feel

the same way regarding walking. My family all tell me that I am getting better

all the time but I can’t see it myself. The whole process seems

really slow and difficult and the lack of sleep doesn’t help. Do

you still sleep on your back or have you tried sleeping on your side? I

have really bad back pain and also mild pain in my right hip( according to doc

this normal and can last up to 12 months) but I try to avoid using pain killers

as I now suffer form IBS due to overuse over the years. Don’t ask me how

I cope with the pain as I just somehow seem to have learnt to block it

out. This came in very helpful when I had my little boy two years ago

– the midwife was amazed!!

I think

it is basically a case of just listening to your body and letting it recover at

it’s own pace.

I would

be interested to hear what others think of the advice given by the hospital as

I feel it is incorrect and a load of rubbish!!

Jo (very

fed up with the whole situation)

Ps This

is my first post but I have been reading thru the posting for a while now.

From:

Margaret [mailto:zztinau@...]

Sent: 28 January 2005 07:43

To:

Joint Replacement

Subject: Re:

Re: THR with complications--exercise advice sought

The instructions were that I was not to put weight on

it

until I saw the surgeon again. Unfortunately

he couldn't

fit me in for 8 weeks.

At 23 weeks I am still having pain, although the

musculo-skeletal doctor seems to be sorting that

out with

trigger point injections of local

anesthetic. I have had 4

sessions and he has booked another two for me

today. While

I say the walking isn't better, others think I am

walking

much better. I guess over the last week I

have taken

brufen two or 3 times, and one night I took some

tramadol

after a heavy day at work.

I actually slept for 4.5 hours straight on

Wednesday night.

The first time I have done that without drugs.

I made sure I didn't hop. I feel that that could

be as bad

as puting weight on it. Just my feeling, no

one has said

it to me. Would be interested in what the

physio

therapists say about that. I can remember

doing it with

the first hip, and I am not sure what made me not

do it

this time. I don't remember making a

conscious decision

about it.

I am off to enjoy a weekend of parties, dinners

and even a

breakfast with friends this weekend. Hope

you have a great

weekend too.

Margaret from Australia

Re: THR

with

> complications--exercise advice sought

>

>

>

> > I too was 6 weeks no weight

bearing. It was a very

long

> 6 weeks. I

> > had to use a walker and got the worst

blisters and

> calouses on my

> > palms. I finally got smart and got

some biking gloves

> that were

> > padded, so that helped a

bit. When people ask me if

TKR

> or THR was

> > the hardest, I have to say the TKR

had a more painful

> recovery, but

> > the 6 weeks no weight bearing on THR was

harder

> emotionally,,,very

> > frustrating.

> >

> > But I survived, and you will too!

> >

> > Valeri

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I had a bone graph done as well when I had my hip replaced and some pins put in. I'm finding in the morning I'm very stiff and my foot is also very swollen. I'm still taking pain medication. I have elevated my leg and wore the stocking but I stopped wearing it. Next week will be three months for me. I'm still not walking very well and limping. I do exercises everyday but maybe not enough. I have physio coming into my home and she said that it takes some people longer to heal. I still can't drive until the doctor sees me next week and hopefully he will lift some of my restrictions. With my leg still swollen, it's hard to bend my leg. How long does it take for a muscle to get back into shape? We have quite a bit of snow here and I don't want to chance going out with crutches and falling. I guess until I see the doctor and see the xrays and make sure everything is okay, I won't

do anything I shouldn't. Only another week.

Thanks, CarmelMarilyn <mwelton@...> wrote:

Carmel:Did you have a lot of reconstructive work done at the time of your surgery? Your leg should go down with walking and exercise. You may have to elevate it on pillows for an hour or so each day to keep the swelling down, or go back to the TED hose. Your doctor should have some suggestions next week. What is your Physical Therapist saying about your leg? Everyone heals at different rates, and everyone interprets their pain/disability differently. Surely hope you are doing a lot better soon.MarilynCarmel Santos wrote: