5 weeks post-op, Conserve+, RA case

May 6, 2001

Hey hippies!

Just documenting my progress for those of you who may find it useful.

I am 5 weeks post-op from JRI as of tomorrow and I am very happy with

my progress. My hip replacement was needed due to my Rheumatoid

Arthritis. Apparently in comparison to others my RA seems to be a

fairly mild case. Since the first week after surgery I have been

taking only Tylenol for pain, and I am happy to report that many days

I am only taking one dose or none at all. Either there is very little

pain anywhere, or I have developed an extremely high tolerance. My

arthritis was almost absent for the first four weeks post-op. With RA

this happens whenver the immune system has a real job to do. In this

case it was healing my hip incision and therefore couldn't go out and

attack my healthy joints. So to any RA patients going in for hip

surgery, I would like to tell you that you will probably experience

some remission afterward. It's been an unexpected relief.

I went back to work part-time this past week at a desk job. For the

first time I had some days where I was out of bed for 10 hours of the

day. By the end of the week I was finally making friends with my

crutches. (My arms must have gained strength and so it's not as

uncomfortable.) Also by Friday I found I had more energy. One of my

friends told me that every day you are in bed all day you lose like a

weeks worth of conditioning. So I feel like I should plan on 28 weeks

of daily activity before my muscles are back to normal. I hope to

start on intense physical therapy after 6 weeks so I not only regain

function, but lose weight and add physical fitness. It's just this

last week of crutches that will be a challenge. Almost every night I

have dreams I am walking without crutches and then I feel guilty. By

the way, I have been sleeping on my un-operated side many hours a

night now because I have a very difficult time on my back. Previously

I never slept on my back. Anyway, the biggest challenge for this

sixth week will be holding myself back, and continuing to remember the

bending limitations. I feel like a horse chomping on the bit.

My two questions that I would like to pose to other recovered surface

hippies are these: How long until the scar fades noticeably? And

what lotions or oils if any have proved to be of help in fading?

I think there are scar fading agents on the market, but I haven't

thought to go out shopping for one yet. I think my scar is over 12 "

long. I will measure it later today. Any comments would be

appreciated. My email is angella34@....

Best wishes to all,

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