👯‍♀️ 👯‍♀️ 👯‍♀️ 👯‍♀️ Hips and knees part 6 👯‍♀️ 👯‍♀️

bea you’re doing really well. The stairs are scary the first time you do them, but once you know you can do them you’ll be fine. You just have to take your time with them. I hope tonight’s pain plan eases your pain and you get some sleep. I think it took a few days before my leg felt part of me again, although it wasn’t numb, it just felt like a lump of lead.
The worst is over now, just take your time recovering.
We’ve all been there and know what you’re going through, and have survived!

You’re doing far better than you think bea. There’s always a risk of feeling down and almost defeated post op, any op. There’s understanding support being offered at the hospital which is wonderful. Tomorrow is another day. Things will feel more manageable soon. Keep reminding yourself of what you’ve accomplished, it will help. Sleep well tonight. All the best for tomorrow.

So … spoke too soon .. had oral morphine last night about 11:30 after cocktail of drugs between 9&11pm staff nurse put bed in better position which created a ridge to support back of knee which think at home will be a pillow .. fell asleep just after the oramorph but, damm bladder woke me up at 1;30 - had to press call button because the bed needed to be flat for me to get out.. waited ages but finally had assistance out of bed but my leg didn’t want to move .. with gritted teeth and few choice swear words just made it to bathroom. Best feeling ever but can’t open bowels despite the senna pods and loads of fruit/roughage…
Then made way back not bed but couldn’t get in bed -pressed call button again … I really don’t know how my petite size DD is going to assist her heavy 14 and half stone mum… another teary outburst .. staff nurse offered me more oramorph to settle me back to sleep .. that was an hr ago and here I am typing up the latest revelations .. 🙏

The first day or two I was really fed up with having to walk to the WC but it will pass Bea. I hope your are are asleep now.

Bea, I relived all my experiences as I read your last post. Believe me, your bowels will probably remain stubbornly shut until you get back to the comfort of your own loo. As regards getting back into bed, a nurse gave me a really good tip which worked for me. She unthreaded the belt from my dressing gown which was quite long & tied the ends together making a big loop which I then hooked round the foot of my operated leg. I could then half sit/lean on the bed & haul my leg up. It worked a treat! Honestly Bea, this is the worst part which will pass, and just sleep when you can.

bea I found getting back into bed really hard. The nurses helped me the first night, but refused to help after that. Cruel to be kind? It did get easier after a few nights, so please don’t worry, you will get used to doing it and as you get stronger you’ll find it easier to do.

Hope you did get back to sleep eventually Bea.
When are you being discharged? I had a mere 36 hours, but when home you will get into a routine of sorts.
Maybe we forget the first few days post op, it’s a big procedure so there will be problems but like babies we soon forget the pain for all the joy it brings.
Your dd won’t have to do too much in the way of lifting apart from your leg perhaps though with a leg lifter as described by Grammargran you will find it easier every fsu. If your bed is high get a stool to stand on as you get in, it helps.

I really sympathise, Bea. I don't think anything really prepares you for the experience of coming round from the op with a leg which feels like a useless lump of flesh, when before the op it did at least function, even if painfully and not very well.

But, of course it gets better as you learn to cope with it and the muscles which have been disturbed, and possibly slightly damaged, during the op regain their strength. Knowing it will get better is a great motivator through those first few days and weeks when you think about its pre op state, which was only ever going to get worse and worse.

With regard to hoisting your leg onto the bed, if you don't have a handy dressing gown cord the crook of a walking stick is an alternative aid. Or a strong scarf if you have neither cord nor sticks...

I'm sure that you've found that when you mention 'hip replacement' in a group of 'elderly people a good many of them have various replacement hips and knees They're all hopping around like youngsters on them. Pretty soon you will be, too.

Bea If it gives any hope or is of interest I have had two longish painfree walks this week, along the beautiful south coast, one about 9 miles and yesterday another 5 miles.
Take each day at a time you will be fine and keep in touch with us.

🙏🙏 discharged at 1pm… home now and had a nap… can see DD already getting frustrated with situation ..only been few hours..used a couple of black bin liners to scoot across bed…but I though DD was meant to pull me …
Made a call to community nurses for a home assessment as live alone ..was told someone would get back to me as she asked few questions she said she would do referral via GP.
Anyone received any support like this and if so, how long does it take for an actual OH nurse to visit me?🤔

Forgive me another ? How did you get on with the daily tummy injection to prevent DVTs… they showed me what to do but am wimping out a bit as have to do this every evening at the same time..think you have to pinch the skin and push down in straight…alternating the sides each time left to right…

bea I was lucky in that I stayed at DD1’s house for seven weeks after my operation and my lovely son in law did the injections for me. You have to pinch the skin on your tummy and push down. You alternate the sides, but you will probably have bruises on your tummy. Try to find a bruise free site each time. Good luck with them. I asked if I could have blood thinning tablets instead, but was told no!

[Redcar] Yes I was a bit puzzled as to why I couldn’t restart the clopidogrel tablet and didn’t really get an answer but you have to do the injections for ?6 weeks.. must recheck summary discharge letter…

I live on my own, and after my last knee replacement in 2018, Somebody arrived within a couple of days of my discharge. Sorry I cannot remember who she was.

It was to decide if I needed a carer, so one came for around 20 minutes, but I would have to pay if required after 6 weeks.

Your tum will be sore towards the end of the injections because you will run out of unbruised skin.

I feel you have been discharged too soon, but please get in touch with your surgery if you have any concerns. We are always here.

I hope you get some sleep tonight. How long is your daughter staying?

That’s right, Bea, can’t escape those injections! What I couldn’t understand was that when I was in hospital and the nurse administered them, I never had a single bruise. Start to do them myself and I finish up with a line of them around my middle (again spot on, alternate sides) They really are a pain (not literally) and I hated doing them. I think it was for about four weeks - oh the joy when I plunged the last one in!

grammargran and bea my injections were for 28 days, including those I had in hospital. NHS in England can usually arrange for someone to come in and do the injections for you. You have to pay if you need them after 6 weeks.

I'm 55 yrs and I have been told I have moderate hip arthritis and severe lower back arthritis.
My hip is fairly recent and has significantly impacted on my usual activities (ie walking and yoga). I find it hard to play with and pick up my toddler GC. It's painful to walk up stairs, put on my shoes and socks, get in and out of the car, and walking up even the slightest gradient is almost I'm possible it's so painful at times. It's hard to get comfortable at night and I am often disturbed in my sleep by the pain.
I am.tryimg to build the muscles by doing low impact aerobic machines in the gym and swimming and I am.tryimg to lose some weight (I'm not hugely overweight but would like to lose a stone.
I'm just wondering if I should be considering a hip replacement?

I definitely think so, especially as the pain is affecting you at night. Unless you are very lucky, depending on which part of the country you live in, you will wait months to be seen and then be on the waiting list for many more. Yout hip will get worse during that time.

Google local orthopaedic consultants and try to find one. You can then suggest your GP contacts to set the ball rolling.

Good luck, help is at hand here if required.

{foxglove and roses} in total waiting time from being referred via NHS , to scans and MRIs and the physio apts to be done b4 you get a consultant appt - can take few years so if I were u, would start process now
Also, hip ops get cancelled a lot so that’s why I think my treatment was picked up by Priory/Spire teams ..
Just had a Twirl bar to help with ongoing constipation - have tried to joke with daughter that roles R reversed and my loo visits are every 2-3 hrs where her feeding times were almost the same🤗
Warm hugs🤗to anybody in pain or even GNs who can’t sleep

bea hopefully as you ease off with the painkillers, your constipation will improve, also moving around will help. I was awake at 4.00 this morning, I should have checked Gransnet to see if anyone was awake and posting!

Hi everyone nearly 3 years since RTHR and it’s great! Now back on the road to having L hip done , off tomorrow for another injection under X-RAY this time as different consultant is convinced that it will help 🙄. Apparently I still have quite good movement in my joint even though I have awful pain. So this will be the last attempt but wish they would put me on the list now to get things moving.
I also have to starve from midnight in case I can’t keep still during the injection and I need sedation!!
Thank goodness my knees are OK and I’m certainly not going to even think about shoulder replacement. I was so active up until I was 71 can’t believe I’m relying on gardeners and family to help .

Yes it’s nearly 3 years for me too, 13 th April, a date I won’t forget.
Really hope the injection helps, I was just unlucky that mine didnt, but the actual guided injection wasn’t painful at all.

Hope you get an early date, keep in touch Susie.

Anyone awake… I had to call a social services adult care no to initiate a referral for the 6wk care package…but was asked why the referral wasn’t made by hospital on discharge…seems all the nhs trusts have different protocols but neighbour nurse friend said it shouldn’t be the patient referring themselves…so now I must wait till next week..am fearful of going downstairs so will stay upstairs until OH Assessment done…did anyone else have to self refer?

Absolutely not Bea. It was done prior to my discharge after my last knee replacement. Admittedly I wasn't thrown out of the door as you were, not exactly the best treatment.

It is major surgery, and in some places, it is more DIY post-op. It is a good job that your daughter is there.

Sorry I was slumbering away when you were wide awake and worrying.

No referral to OH at all for me, but the hospital knew I was going to stay with my DD1 and her family so no referral deemed necessary. She and her husband managed the injections and compression stockings between them and supervised me using the stairs.