Loss of appetite after THR?

Hi Carol well done. I live on my own and did exactly the same.

Quick and easy meals will suit. I was told to eat protien as it helps body heal.

Good luck with your op. Oh and a good body moisturizer I recommend as I did get dry itchy legs. It's difficult to reach for a while.🇬🇧

Dear Carol

You seem to have everything sorted but I wonder if you have got the following in place. A stool in your bathroom to sit on when drying off and perhaps a long handled back sponge for the shower and a tool for drying between your toes. A picking up tool can be a great help and a sock aid will even cope with putting on those stretch stockings.

Best of luck

Richard

Good luck with the op Carol. I borrowed a tea trolley off my brother so that I could transport food and drink to another room as you can't do crutches and carry. I had no appetite in hospital and ate lots of cheese and crackers when I really couldn't face much. It came back after a couple of weeks. And yes moisturiser for legs they get really dry and flakey.

Julie

Wow Carol

You are well prepared - far more than I was.

Here are some other things that you may need to look at:

Have you organised a raised loo seat and chair blocks (if appropriate) or got a firm cushion for your favourite chair (available from Amazon).

Have you checked that your bed is at the correct height?

Is your bathroom near your bedroom - if it's not, then you will need buy a bucket (also Amazon) and pretend you're glamping as you will find bladder control difficult for the first 2 weeks. (From a previous post on this forum, I understand it is due to the internal swelling having to come out somewhere!)

Do you have a walk in shower or a shower over the bath.  If you have a walk in shower then you are fine, if on the other hand you have a shower over the bath then forget it for at least 6 weeks - you simply won't be able to lift your leg high enough to get into the bath.  You will have to make do with a strip wash.

Last but not least, as you will find reaching for things (especially stuff on the floor) nigh on impossible, I suggest that you buy long handled grabbers for each of your main rooms.  I ended up buying 3 (for living room/bedroom/bathroom) as trying to negotiate moving around with a bad leg, crutches AND carrying a grabber was a receipe for disaster (and nearly was in my case).

Food wise - well - you are already prepared for that.  Personally I found that I had no appetite for about 2 weeks, and then I only fancied something light, like a chicken salad.

Good luck with your operation and let us know how you get on.

Hi Carol

It sounds like you are really organised and I have learned tips from you as hope to have hip No 2 replaced in a month or so.

The only additional tip I would add is for baby wipes or something similar. I found they were really useful for a quick freshen-up when not wanting to go to bathroom. This was a tip passed on to me which I reallyappreciated.

Good luck with it all. I am overjoyed with No 1 replacement and now just need No 2 to get back to normal life.

dear carol, 

well, altered appetite, bowel habits (constipation) and mood swings are indeed quite common after hip replacement. 

Some people just sail through it without any of these symptoms though ... 

'I craved chocolate covered rice cakes  (???)  - Stomach was a bit upset from GA and medications - not too bad though ...

It is going to be interesting - get your favorite snacks - can be anything -

oh, and take some snacks with you to the hospital - and a favorite beverage -

it will be okay, darling ...

stay with us ..

big warm ug

renee

All surgery elicits powerful psychosocial and physiological responses, which vary from one person to another. These responses are normal, and we will help you get through them. It takes time for the body, mind, and soul to recover from any invasive operation.

 

Completely normal as are messed up sleep patterns. My orthopedic surgeon has his hip replacement patients drink high protein Ensure 6 weeks prior to the replacement and then 6 weeks afterward also. The appetite will gradually improve as does the sleep pattern. HTH

Take care Vickie

Hello Carol

 My appetite was pretty much unaffected, but restricted activity meant smaller portions was a good idea anyway.  A well as all the kit everyone has already mentioned, I found a long shoe horn was very helpful when the time came to put on outdoor shoes. A cross-body capacious bag for carrying things around while using your crutches/stick is also handy. If your op is on the NHS in the UK you will be given a toilet seat raiser, sock aid and grabber on discharge if you ask for them. For my second hip op in a few months I'm going to get a loofah shower mat for cleaning the soles of my feet while in the shower!

Best of luck with your op.

 

THANK YOU,!!

What a great response and so much advice and information.

ive been shopping on Amazon and think I've ordered everything?

had no idea how much would be needed but can really see how everything will make things so very much easier .

thank you all once again!

 

Lots of good advice here. I also was on my own. One item I found really useful - resistance bands. Good for exercise. Double as leg lifters in the initial stages when it may be hard or painful to lift the operated leg - just loop over the foot and use hands and the tension to lift the leg. Cheap and multi purpose! They are also great grippers for sick jar lids!

Also a perching stool or two - I had one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen. 

I didn't have any loss of appetite, but that may be because I was fortunate to have a close friend down the road who cooked me amazing curries every single evening. I don't think you can order those on Amazon! She was even difficult to "sack" when I could manage without her - she said nobody in her family appreciated het cooking like I did! I am booking her again for my ankle surgery when it happens ....