3 Weeks (give or take) to go!

I am now 10 weeks post op from my right hip posterior replacement. I was in good shape going into surgery riding 150 to 200 miles per week on my tri bike. Following hip surgery I used a cane for a couple of weeks and only used Tylenol for pain. The biggest issue is that when I walked my knee wanted to turn inwards going up inclines and steps because of the lack of strength in the glutes following surgery. That is slowly getting better. At 3 weeks I was walking four miles slowly and staring to spin. At five weeks I was back in the pool swimming two to three times per week. Now at 10 weeks I am riding over 100 miles per week, walking 40 and swimming 3. My ability to go up steps is much better. I still keep a small pillow next to my bed in case of pain at night and find that ibuprofen before bed helps get me thru the night. We have tall toilets so didn’t need and attachments and I only used a walker the day of and day after surgery while in the recovery center.

Hey there! I installed grab bars in the bathroom to help me get on/off the toilet. They were life savers. You’ll be pretty happy not to feel the hip pain anymore but the dull surgery pain will be around for a while during recovery. Stay optimistic and positive. It goes away.

Congrats on making the decision to do the hip. I’m in week 9 and very happy. I’m able to use elliptical and stationary bike @ 90% of what I could before.

I guess what I wish I had done is the prep exercises my doc recommended prior to the surgery. I expect that would have helped. I worked out regularly up until the day before surgery (elliptical, weights) but didn’t do the hip flexor exercises. After surgery, I wasn’t good with icing, so I’d recommend doing that after surgery.

I didn’t get a toilet seat extender, couldn’t do it. But I’d say, I would have benefited from it.

Best of luck and give us an update.

Jonathan,
First of all good luck. You won’t regret it.

My surgery was in October 2019.The surgery was pretty easy. My only complaint was I was given too much pain/nerve block which caused me to spend an extra night in the hospital.

I had very little discomfort from the surgery itself. I did use ice afterward for the swelling, both in the hospital and at home.

I did a lot reading prior to my surgery and attended a “what to know” seminar, which was really helpful.

I used a walker and cane for a couple weeks after. I also used the elevated toilet seat, which was a great help.

Are you going to PT after? I went for 5 sessions.

I’m running a little and biking a lot.

Good luck and keep us updated.

Congratulations! My right THR was on July 1, 2020. I needed a walker for the first week, a cane for the second week and improved significantly and rapidly after that. I did buy a raised toilet seat and found it was very helpful for the first 3 weeks after surgery. I also made sure what the shower had a very good mat to keep me from slipping. Overall my THR was extremely successful as you will see in the post I have on this web site. Good luck to you!

Jonathan,
Good luck tomorrow!

Remember that you have a wonderful source of information here. We’ve all been there.

Ken