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Hip replacement

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pam39536
pam39536

hello , I am 69 f . And had total hip replacement 9 days ago . I am doing ok , but I am not sure how much walking I should be doing at this point .The leg is swollen ti just below the knee  I feel I should keep it elevated but also know I must move around , but what is necessary ? 

Thanks Pam 

2 likes, 18 replies

18 Replies

  • Fernlady
    Fernlady pam39536

    Posted

    Hi Pam & welcome to the forum. My surgeon & Physio said to walk little & often & when resting to keep your leg elevated. Try not to sit for longer than an hour without getting up & use plenty of ice (I used frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel). Best wishes x

    • pam39536
      pam39536 Fernlady

      Posted

      The only place to comfortably elevate is on my bed !!  I have just walked around upstairs and done my exercises at the banister .i can do the stairs , so I will just do a bit more and stay up here a while , thank you 
    • renee01952
      renee01952 pam39536

      Posted

      Hi Pam,

      Warm welcome to this wonderful forum from and by hippies in all stages of this journey - still on the fence, pre-op, post-op, 2nd THR - 

      You just started your healing process after major surgery - Your hip joint needed to be forcefully removed/dislocated ; hip and thigh bone were prepared for prothesis - all in all, brutal - if you are up to it, maybe you want to watch the video on youtube ...it is not for the squeemish - there is also a 3D animated version -

      Swelling is normal - my swelling started above knee and moved to ankle where it stayed for 2 weeks - 

      if it swollen or red and you have a fever , please call your surgeon -

      Are you full weight bearing?  

      I didn't really go outside to walk at 9 days post-op - maybe 20 meters behind my rollator, 2-3 times a day - After clips were removed (around 14 days p/o) I was advised to go for 10 minutes walks 2-3 times a day - 

      how are you doing otherwise? you sound pretty good !!!!

      big warm hug

      renee

    • pam39536
      pam39536 renee01952

      Posted

      Hi Renee, 

      i am weight bearing mostly and on the whole quite good .. I have X minor infection around some clips , so a bit tender, and feels like I am sitting on a railway track lol , other than that pretty good. .if infection is clear , clips will be removed on Monday .hope you are doing well xx

  • valerie01319
    valerie01319 pam39536

    Posted

    Hi Pam, my knee was extremely swollen and bruised, but the more i moved around the quicker the swelling went down. But don't over do it. Just potter about. Do you have pain in your leg pam , mine is still very painfull .x

    • pam39536
      pam39536 valerie01319

      Posted

      No not really painful , I can feel it when I put weight on it but that's all. Tender when I sit on the clips lol  thank you x

  • renee01952
    renee01952 pam39536

    Posted

    Hi again Pam, 

    Please go to :

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/thr-useful-resources-487147 where you can find great information - This site is created by one of our valued members Graham, aka Rocketman , who took it upon him to gather information from discussions of forum members, added his own research , et voila , a incredible source of information -

    And of course you can alwasy come here if you have any questions, concerns or just want to chat ---

     

  • noplaybarbie
    noplaybarbie pam39536

    Posted

    Hi Pam:

    The swelling is pretty normal about this time. Is hard to decide what is the right amount of moving and resting with the elevated leg for sure. You are still really early in the healing process. I would say at this point do the exercises that were given you (if you were given some by PT) and rest. You still need lots of rest and if you are on your feet to much the swelling will get worse. My leg and ankle swelled up pretty big about that time and my PT told me that I had been on it to much. Wishing you well....Barb

    • pam39536
      pam39536 noplaybarbie

      Posted

      thank you , that makes sense . I do have exercises I am doing . I have physio visit on Tuesday , and hopefully clips out on Minday , although I have a bit of infection so it needs checking first xx
  • Leslie4077
    Leslie4077 pam39536

    Posted

    Hi Pam and welcome to this wonderful forum.  I am 5-weeks post-op today. I had some information from somewhere (can't remember now -- I think maybe off the BoneSmart website), that said:  Week ! -- walk to the bathroom and back.  Week 2 -- walk to the bathroom and to the kitchen and back.  So not a whole lot of walking.  I pretty much followed that -- your body will tell you what you can do.   At week 5 now, I'm feeling stronger and stronger all the time and the other day walked for 45 minutes (using my walker) outside.  I live in a condo with a long hallway and I try to do at least 3-10 minute walks up and down the hallway every day.  Couldn't do that at all in Week 2!

    For the swelling, I was advised to massage my leg in upward movements.  Was told that the lymph nodes that do the drainage job are sluggish after surgery.  So massage the stomach and groin.  Then massage the thigh in upward movements toward the groin.   My swelling was gone within a day or two.  I looked at YouTube videos to demonstrate this.    Good luck with all this!    Leslie

    • pam39536
      pam39536 Leslie4077

      Posted

      thank you I will have a look . The Walm to kitchen and bathroom makes sense . I now have physio app, so should find out a bit more xx
  • brenda92532
    brenda92532 pam39536

    Posted

    Hi Pam welcome to the forum. 9 days is no time at all and I noticed you have had plenty of advice from other members. If you follow the advice you should be fine. You sound as if things are healing well and good luck with your progress.
  • pam39536
    pam39536

    Posted

    good morning . Yesterday was a day of utter exhaustion , I just wanted to sleep , so I rested a lot . I lost a lot of blood during the op and has to have transfusions, so I was expecting to feel more tired than I have.

    I am keeping my legs very elevated and I think it is working because every 2 hours I need the loo lol..

    Clips are due out tomorrow but as I have an infection around some  clips I

    will have to wait and see. , Although a couple of. Hiccups, I think it has been worthwhile , I will report on how clips went and pray the infection is gone .

    pam xx

    • renee01952
      renee01952 pam39536

      Posted

      hi Pam ,

      frequent trips to the bathroom are normal as well .... 

      good, rest and sleep allowing your body to heal ... 

      are getting anything for the infection around some of clips?  they might wait to take those one s out or put sressing on it - I had that post-op 2nd THR ----

      sitting on golfball, wallett, bag of pebbles etc. is normal too - uncomfortable and sometimes even with some stabbing , all healing of tissues etc ....

      be gentle with yourself -

      angel blessing

      renee

    • Leslie4077
      Leslie4077 pam39536

      Posted

      Overall, I have had a fairly easy recovery, Pam, but I still have some of those days of utter exhaustion.  I decided not to fight them.  Just to listen to my body and take it very easy that day.  It sounds like you are doing the same.  It can be hard to give ourselves permission to do nothing -- but often that is just what we need during this recovery process.     Look forward to hearing about your clip removal and if there is still infection.  Good luck with that.    Leslie
    • pam39536
      pam39536 Leslie4077

      Posted

      The infection was/is still there , now on co-amoxilanclav , something like that .,every other clip was removed , 21 left and I go back tomorrow to get those removed , and hopefully the infection will have cleared up . Moving around, I am doing ok Pam 
    • pam39536
      pam39536

      Posted

      The clips are all out , I have to go for another swab to check if the infection has gone .. I am walking pretty well,not much pain , but just exhausted , I could happily just stay in bed .. I hope this passes soon 

      Pam 17 days post op 

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