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Putting on weight

Posted , 14 users are following.

david73016
david73016

Hi everyone

Eleven days post op now. During that time I have been doing the

exercises as suggested, walking around the house on crutches (a lot) and am making good progress. What I have noticed though is that I have gained a few pounds already.

Considering I have hardly had anything to eat since the operation I expected to lose weight at first not gain it!

Could the weight gain be down to all the painkillers we have to

take? The ones I am taking include tramadol, paracetamol,

Codein and ibuprofen. What do my fellow hippies reckon?

2 likes, 18 replies

18 Replies

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  • Loral
    Loral david73016

    Posted

    You could be retaining water, up to 5 pounds, and the prosthetics weigh about 7 pounds....
    • janie33718
      janie33718 Loral

      Posted

      Hmmmm...I hadn't even thought about how much the prosthetics weigh. Glad you mentioned this.  I have learned so much on here.  smile  
    • MichaelTN1UK
      MichaelTN1UK janie33718

      Posted

      I had read online (so it MUST be true) that you lose about 3 pounds of  bone and gain about 7 pounds with the prosthetic, so the balance is about a 4 pound gain. 
    • david73016
      david73016 Loral

      Posted

      I never thought about how much the new hip weighs! It begins

      to make sense now. All the best

      David

      England

    • colinTN17
      colinTN17 Loral

      Posted

      Hi loral 

      I've had the same problem with weight despite a sensible diet and plenty of exercise so asked the question a few weeks ago whether anyone knew how much the implant weighed. Nobody knew but some said the same as the bone it replaced but that couldn't be true as the density is so much higher. How did you find out the weight is 7lbs?

    • Loral
      Loral colinTN17

      Posted

      Hi Colin, I actually asked my surgeon, I was weighing 176 and all of a sudden 180,181....He said the implants weigh about 7lbs give and take based on size, but what he removed weighs less so he figures a gain of 4 or 5 lbs.
    • colinTN17
      colinTN17 Loral

      Posted

      Loral you don't know how good that makes me feel. I've got down to about 4lb or so of my normal fighting weight and could not understand why I couldn't go further. Had assumed that the hip would make a difference but couldn't be sure. Yipee! !
  • CelsB
    CelsB david73016

    Posted

    11 days is not long to determine whether or not you're gaining weight.  Maybe it's due to fluid retention, swelling or dare I say constipation?  I'm sure once you're properly up and about you'll be moving more and losing weight anyway.  I wouldn't worry.

    I expect to lose a bit of weight because I live alone and won't be able to jump in the and go to the shop whenever I fancy chocolate rolleyes

  • rose0000
    rose0000 david73016

    Posted

    My physio said weight gain is expected basis the case with most patients, but you must absolutely keep eating a full calorie diet as you need a good diet to heal, your body is using lots of reserves to get better. Even if we are moving around a lot, we are still not back to a normal activity level, so this is normal, she said any extra pounds will drop away as we recover fully. We do need to rest a lot with this operation and we are slow!!!

    I have decided not to worry and focus entirely on getting better. - fitness will follow a good recovery.

  • janie33718
    janie33718 david73016

    Posted

    I think it's possible that it's not real weight gain.  Could be due to the medications or as CelsB suggested, or the dreaded constipation.  I was barely able to eat at all for the first week and thought the scales would show a huge weight loss, but they didn't.  When I stopped the meds (due to nausea) I dropped 5 pounds in 2 days.     
  • DawnDedee
    DawnDedee david73016

    Posted

    I think everyone here has said it very well.  Our bodies have gone through trauma and will act differently until it settles back down.  I lost 12 pounds without effort a couple of months after surgery.  I have more to lose, but my situation is that I had to lay around for a year and a half prior to my revision, because of my first device coming loose and migrating out of place.  It hurt too badly to move.  Now I am 11 months post revision and have kept the 12 pounds off but seem to be in a holding pattern.  Not gaining, not losing.  It is now up to me to find the energy to burst through and fight the rest of the extra weight off.  

    Wishing you the best recovery!

    Dawn, USA

  • renee01952
    renee01952 david73016

    Posted

    Hi David, 

    I don;t know ... I have gained so much that it is not funny anymore - Round and potbellied while legs are still sticks due to loss of muscle --- cry

    2 THR surgeries, 2 sets of hard ware ... is that 12 pounds then? I know that one of the side effect of Celebrex might cause weight gain  - When I started taking pain meds I slowly started to gain weight - also got less and less active - 

    no chocolate or chips or even alcohol ( taste for it disappeared - now that is something sad and to worry about  - I loved my martini coctail)-

    oh well ... I give myself more time to recover -

    big warm hug

    renee

    • rose0000
      rose0000 renee01952

      Posted

      Renee ~ like a little bird with the stick legs, I am sure you look beautiful and bird like! 

      Shame about the martini cocktail but maybe that taste comes back in the summer months when you are feeling happy and well smile

       

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