One Boomer At Large

Day 4: Update
 

This entry is part of a series:  Hips Replacement

can’t believe it’s only been four days I can’t believe it’s only been four days since the surgery. It seems like a month, already.

Recovery has been touch and go. Some days better, some worse.

I’m on minimal pain meds (I might have touched on this before…): I don’t want to use any of the opioid-based pain relievers because they’re notorious for inducing constipation, and I have enough of a problem with that right now — mainly due to adjusting thyroid replacement hormone levels that are still fluctuating.

(There’s always something…)

Ibuprofen is out because I’m on Eliquis (blood thinner), so that leaves Tylenol.

Not the most robust of pain meds, but when it kicks in, it works and I’m ok.

Who Are These People?

YouTube and med sites are prolific with videos showing patients immediately after hip replacement surgery up and walking around with no support and with big smiles on their faces.

Not my experience.

Well, I do still have a smile on my face, if sometimes combined with a grimace…

So, this morning (on the fourth day), has been a bit challenging. Some form of rigormortis seems to set in while I’m sleeping and the initial movement of lifting my legs to get out of bed has been quite painful. That compounded with the fact that I’m only a half hour away from my next Tylenol dose means I’m on the down-side of the previous dose. At that point, the pain is pretty noticable.

Bruising

Another thing that is more evident four days in is bruises that have come to the fore. My left side, in particular, seems to have sustained a lot of bruising — big black and blue areas that have surfaced over the last few days.

It makes me wonder if they had some trouble with the left side? I do notice that the left hip feels weaker than the right as I walk. I’ll have to ask the PA when I see him next, although I don’t know if he’ll be forthcoming: “What happens in the operating room stays in the operating room,” to paraphrase a Sin City quote.

Home Health Care

The Home Health Care folks have been coming around, a nurse to check and change the dressings and a physical therapist to get me moving. I think part of the reason I’m so sore today is I’ve been doing some of the exercises from the PT session. Might be contributing to the discomfort.

What else? The nurse wants me to ice my thighs for twenty minutes every hour. Between that and the walking and the exercises and an occasional meal, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for much else. I know it’s my job right now and all, but it’s hard to maintain a strict schedule.

Ultimately, I do the best I can.

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Return to series topic page:  Hips Replacement
More entries in this series:
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Day 4: Update —> (This entry)
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After 12 weeks, I feel like I can synopsize the experience
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