How bad is your post op pain?

As stated by others, pain free just means that it's actually a gradually decreasing, comletely different kind of pain you're in after thr op.

Was I pain free? By no means. However, I went from pain that was just always THERE to pain when moving, pain when doing something wrong. That's the big difference, it became managable but mostly, it's decreasing daily for me. So while the past 4 weeks had pain in them, I still claim to be without actual pain. I don't know, maybe my concept of what pain is has shifted a little as well.

Sorry you're feeling rough/disappointed at the moment.  Just to be clear, I'm 4 weeks post op after the wonderful superPath approach and I still have pain, it is just very different from the constant, grinding pre-op pain.  I have been able to drop a few doses of pain meds, but I am still on 30mg co-codamol and paracetomol.  I also have the buttock ache, quite deep in the muscle, so although I can sit for longer now, I am still a fidget, always trying to find a new comfortable position.  Also, there is the stiffness, particularly when having been sitting in the car.  This is normal, I am told, regardless of surgical method, because of what they have had to do to remove the old hip and put the new one in.  I'm a bit squeamish, so I don't like to dwell on what was involved, but when I have my "I'm really tired but I don't feel like I've done anything" days, I try to remind myself of it.  It is major surgery and Week 1 is the hardest.  It will get better.  I certainly didn't have the bruising that you did, which in itself must really hurt/ache.  I just know that I feel so much better now.  Hope that you will soon start to feel the same.

all the best

Cheryl

The pain you are experiencing sounds normal to me - having had two previous hip operations (pins and removal) I seem to remember the buttock pain taking around 3 months or so before it reached the point where I didn't notice it anymore.

Just keep doing the exercises - they are very important in order to ensure the muscles recover fully and are stretched and flexible.

i'm also a week post op. I am taking tramadol and paracetamol 4 times a day for pain and although the pain is a little less each day, I do still need this amount of analgesia. Although I don't have the arthritis pain in my groin any more, I do have quite a lot of muscle/ligament pain there. I had to change my dressing yesterday and since then the pain from the wound has virtually gone, presumably the wound was stuck to the dressing and being pulled every time I moved, which it's not now. I guess it just comes down to the fact that we're all different, had the op at different stages of the disease and at different fitness levels and have differing tolerance to pain.

Just be sure to keep up with got pain medicine. You are very early in recovery do expect pain. best to you.

I had superpath and it is still painfull at times during recovery of course, but you manage the pain with drugs and its ok, then at two weeks forget to take and realise it doesnt hurt any more. I am three month post op now and the only pain i get is from muscles around knee when i lead with op side up stairs and vice verse. Occassional muscle aches in thigh and at op site, but nothing too bad and still getting better by the day. Pain needing drugs after a few weeks post op probably means youve done a bit too much rest a day, but at one week healing is painfull. I saved two of the five morphine sulphate tablets i got to take on bad nights after day three at home. Used one that week, still got the other.

Every one is different tho all the best, Jason.