Week One

AKrunner907

Well folks last Monday the 15th I had my Anterior THA surgery, it was quite the adventure to say the least. I don’t remember coming out of the anesthesia but about an hour after surgery I was awake and they had me out of the bed with a walker shuffling to the bathroom and a short walk down the hall. Most of the time all I’ve been doing is sleeping, still not eating very much but my appetite is slowly returning. I flew back to Fairbanks from Anchorage Wednesday and flying right after surgery sucks! If I knew how miserable I would have been I would have waited a couple of day longer. The pain is fading quickly, I stopped taking the Oxycodone yesterday morning and have been using only Tramadol for pain. I’m walking or doing isometrics every hour. At times I feel like I’m not getting anywhere and then all of a sudden I can do something new! I’ll be using the walker this week and move on to crutches next week, though I have been using the crutches occasionally for ease and function, but they’re not as stable as the walker. with all the snow and ice outside I’ll probably stick to the walker outside and practice more with the crutches inside. I have my first full on PT appointment this morning, yay! Moving forward!

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    • February 19, 2021 at 10:37 am #19378
      AKrunner907
      Participant

      Well folks last Monday the 15th I had my Anterior THA surgery, it was quite the adventure to say the least. I don’t remember coming out of the anesthe
      [See the full post at: Week One]

    • February 19, 2021 at 5:56 pm #19379
      OB
      Participant

      Don’t rush it. Let your body be the guide. In a matter of a few weeks u will be feeling so much better.

    • February 20, 2021 at 6:38 pm #19381
      Hoppie
      Participant

      Glad to hear you’re on the “other side” of surgery, where your hip gets better every week instead of worse.

      I’m only 4 months post op myself, so I’ll pass on what I keep telling myself. Keep your eye on the prize–the best possible long term recovery.

    • February 21, 2021 at 6:29 am #19382
      WedgeC
      Participant

      So glad to hear it went well; the worst of it is behind you!!! You are on the other side and now what you see before you and feel each day is your reality! It is hard to put into words, but as you heal (and there will be ups and downs :-), your hip and movements will start feeling more “natural“… keep moving and strive to get feeling comfortable again! Interesting on the cane; with mine it was never even discussed??? I put the walker away 72 hours post op and now I only use it for doing dips in my own gym LOL!! Be careful but let your drive as a runner motivate your recovery! Tomorrow I am nine weeks post op, and this morning I “shuffled” 5.5 miles in 63 minutes… mostly shuffling intermixed with brisk walking… 90% plus on grass surface and fairly hill terrain … no joint pain, but noticeable muscle fatigue by the end…Comfortable, conversational pace… “Knowing thyself” in a holistic sense was hopefully something you were good at as an experienced runner, and now with the hip, will be even more important! “Shuffling“ at an 11 minute per mile pace, “feels right” for me right now… Understand that three months ago and easy run for me would be 8:30 per mile. My point and one of the greatest beauties of this blog is that we all are our own experiment… my hip replacement journey has been quite spiritual in nature… an awakening of sorts! Relish the journey, be patient, and reach out to this blog for guidance! What is the You Tube link so we can follow you ?

      • February 25, 2021 at 11:50 am #19399
        AKrunner907
        Participant

        Thanks for the update on your running progress, it’s giving me a lot to think about since all I’m doing right now is my PT exercises three times a day and not much else, I try to get out for walks on the crutches as much as possible. Being 10 days post-op I am getting impatient, I feel like I’m not doing enough to move forward, be walking without crutches and feeling a more normal walking gate. But I know I need to take it all in stride and respect the process, let the body heal and listen to my PT’s. 10 days out, I walk with a limp which is to be expected at this point, around the house I don’t use my crutch(single crutch) unless I am carrying something (Light) or going up or down stairs, then I’ll use one crutch to get around. Outside I’m using both crutches for stability, lots of new snow on the ground and clean walking isn’t an option, may try using my running poles for support outside instead of crutches? It’s a thought. My YouTube channel is called “AKtrailrunner” I have a vlog on it called “Hip Life” and that’s where I do all the boring talking about my hip surgery/recovery.

        Chris

    • February 21, 2021 at 10:28 am #19385
      shosking
      Participant

      Re: flying after surgery – indeed it sucks. I had to do a similar length flight after an ACL reconstruction (with 2 changeovers), which is a much lighter surgery. Could not have imagined flying 2 days after my THR.

      I’m 3 weeks further along in the process. Good luck with the PT! Mine has been a bit up & down, as my physio initially overestimated how quickly I could progress with exercises. My new motto is now “If in doubt, leave it out” and progress has been smoother.

      Personally I’ve found trekking poles (with rubber feet for pavement) great – not only allows me to walk further, but the extra arm movement really does give a tiny cardio boost.

    • February 25, 2021 at 8:45 am #19398
      Brian
      Participant

      That’s great AK! I’m also 4 months post and other than general soreness from workouts, I’m starting to feel incredibly “normal.” I can even touch my toes again 🙂

      Slow and steady is really accurate. Along with the other PT exercises, I’m jogging 4 x 3 minutes with 4 minutes of walking in between a couple of days/week and the quad and hamstring still get pretty sore.

      Good luck and keep posting updates!

      Brian

    • March 3, 2021 at 1:23 am #19413
      Petemeads
      Participant

      Hi Chris, just watched Episode 6 of your recovery vlog – you are doing well, and within a month you will be amazed at your improvement – don’t get too impatient but keep making the ‘marginal gains’ daily. I wore my Garmin through both recoveries so I have data to look back on, the rate of progress is near-exponential after the first couple of weeks. After my THR I was jogging before 6 weeks but I would never have guessed it from how Day 4 felt!

      Great videos, by the way,inspiring landscapes. You will have a great summer!

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