👯‍♀️ 👯‍♀️ Hips and knees Part 5 👯‍♀️ 👯‍♀️

I know you want to walk unaided. Please put that idea on the back burner for now Grammargran. You are doing very well at present.

Any excuse for new shoes 😂

grammargran I have constant back pain due to osteoporosis/spinal fractures and other issues with my vertebrae, I am becoming resigned to the fact that I’ll always need some sort of walking aid to keep me upright! I’m doing exercises for my back, I’ll investigate the aquacise classes at the local gym. I can walk around indoors without crutches, but only for a limited time. New shoes sound a good idea!

Just came back to say the same thing, Silverlining48. Excellent idea, Aveline.

Redcar and Charliegirl5, I’ll report back after tomorrow. You’re much more stoical than I am, Redcar, I suspect your back gives you far more pain than mine does me.

The weather for my area tomorrow will be -4C, so I will not even be putting the rubbish out.

That sounded like an order from Aveline 🤣😅
New 👞 👟 🩰
My breakthrough today was getting dressed, all by myself.
I looked a bit strange, in long skirt and baggy socks. I have ordered a sockaid but it's not arrived yet.

Tomorrow I am going to the hairdresser to have my hair washed. He's only about 100yards away but it will be my first outing and the snow is deep and impacted.

Re hydrotherapy: it's wonderful. I've tried it before for back pain. Highly recommended.

My aftercare is finished now. I have been signed off.

For goodness sake be careful Grammaretto. Please tell me someone’s going with you, surely it’s not three weeks since your op? No snow here just a very hard frost, temp is -4. Hope it warms up a bit before my physio this afternoon! Take care all of you.

I shall be very careful grammargran
If I get stuck halfway along my garden path I shall phone the hairdresser to rescue me. It's 10 days since my op.

How did you manage to get physio?
I believe here you get given a sheet of exercises to do.....

Admittedly, I have not tried it, but have you used your picker-upper to retrieve something from the freezer?

Could you ask her to stand in front of your freezer, holding on to a worktop surface, and slowly slide her supposed operated leg back straight and attempt to grab something from the freezer? It's better for an able-bodied person to try it rather than you to start with. She will be able to tell you how she felt and you will see if you could do it.

Ladies, those of you who are seeing a physio, could you ask their opinion? This was something we taught 50 years ago but times change.

Charleygirl I did ask my physio last time about the 90 degree rule and she advised doing a small squat before bending but admittedly I was nearly six weeks post-op by then & that was picking things up from the floor not from a freezer. Grammaretto I am almost ashamed to admit that I paid for my THR and the package included (I think!) six half hour physio sessions at the private hospital. This afternoon will be my fourth. I’m not sure what the position is NHS wise in this area, I’ll ask around.

Grammargran. Ask your physio this afternoon, she will know what’s available locally. My op was in a private hospital but under the nhs and my ‘private’ physio ( 6 sessions) told me that I could self refer by phoning my local hospital.

silver lining There are pros and cons to being treated as an NHS patient in a private hospital, and in my professional and personal opinion, the cons outweigh the pros. You have been exceptionally fortunate.

I Woukd have preferred to be treated at our local hospital but when my pain substantially increased I phoned the hospital to find they didn’t have my referral and I was asked to contact gp again and Woukd be put at the end of the very long queue.
I had a copy of the referral and coukdnt believe my ears.

So I contacted my surgery for an explanation and asked if there was anything that coukd be done and they contacted the private hospital.
It wasn’t a great experience, the hospital was fairly shabby and the surgeon was quite rude to me so it wasn’t the bright shiny place I imagined it to be.
I woukd always prefer my local general hospital because one of the cons in a private hospital is there is limited night cover by medical staff and if anything goes wrong patients are shipped off in an ambulance to the nearest nhs hospital.
On follow up appointments, during the day, there were generally nhs ambulances outside waiting.

I couldn't fault my experience of NHS in a private hospital. There's even a hotel attached for the night before plus for any relatives.

Gone are the days of convalescent homes, unfortunately.
When DM had major back surgery in the 1980s not only did she have 10 days in hospital, it was followed by 2 weeks at a convalescent home by the sea! All courtesy of the NHS.

There's been a call to bring back convalescent homes for patients leaving hospital as a cheaper and better option both for their recovery and also to stop bed blocking.

I think a couple of weeks of convalescence elsewhere, always was a good idea and makes complete sense now given all the current problems. I really feel for the staff and patients too of course.

I have an operation on Monday morning at a hospital some distance away, and wanting to divert my thoughts away from that, have spent the morning on GN……

Well, ladies, just got back from my physio, highly reassured. She told me not to forget the surgeon had merely replaced my hip, not the muscles which had become badly weakened by several years of trying to cope with an arthritic hip and in this weakened state was now trying to cope with a brand new one. It was their job to build up and strengthen the muscles. Trying to walk without my stick has not helped my back one jot as that muscle was just not ready. (Thank you all you wise women out there who kept telling me this in so many words!)

I also found out that because I am self funding, the physio is limitless, and I can have as many sessions as I wish - all part of the package. I feel very blessed here, that I was able to pay. What I didn’t have was time - at 85 and with an 18 month waiting list here in Gloucestershire, I would’ve been in my late 80s by the time a slot came up and practically in a wheelchair. I do feel guilty, but perhaps I’ve released a spot for someone else …….

PS - hope all goes well on Monday Silverlining, keep in touch.

grammargran I’m pleased your physiotherapist was reassuring today. She told you what I was told by my physio some weeks ago. It will take us both a while to strengthen those poor muscles. I was also self funding, but had the first hip replaced on the nhs in the same private hospital that I paid for this time! There was no difference in my treatment, although Molton Brown toiletries were provided this time!
silverlining hope your operation goes well on Monday, will be thinking of you.

I don't blame you at all grammargran I am glad you have plenty of physio too.
Quality of life is so important.
Most of us are bad at looking after our own health and wellbeing where we wouldn't hesitate if it were a child.

Good luck Silverlining for your op on Monday🤞

I totally agree, good luck for Monday silverlining.

Unfortunately, we are no longer 50 years younger, so it takes longer for our muscles to remember what they are there for.

I found myself a physiotherapist this morning and I feel it was so worthwhile. She was impressed with my range of movement (110 after 18 days!) and gave me guidance on how to improve my exercises. They should be a little uncomfortable but not really painful. I came home feeling very reassured and more confident.
We both had a dreadful night’s sleep so I shall retire shortly, in the hope of a better sleep tonight. I hope you are all having a good night.

Nannytopsy That is very reassuring and appears to be well worth the money. How often are you going to see your newly found physio?

When July arrives, all ladies who have recently had knees or hips replaced will have almost forgotten about it.

That’s good to know Charleygirl - roll on July!
I’m going to see her again in 2 weeks, by which time I should know when my follow up with the surgeon will be.