So sorry to hear you are going through this. I almost had to go to Rehab as well but thankfully doing well at home 3 months after my first surgery. I know it is hard but you need to move as much as possible and allowed by therapy. I think that is why after 3 months (still with an articulating) spacer) I am independent in all of my ADL’s except tying my right shoe. My Doc and Therapist have been amazed at my independence. Although I was fiercely independent before this and I hate asking for help. I walk (even if it is just around my house) at least every hour and now am able to get out and about but do need help with transportation for now. The first two weeks after surgery are grueling in terms of pain. Ice packs and hot showers were my saving grace. Gabapentin and muscle relaxers have also helped so see if your Doc will call those in as well. Most other pain meds were too constipating for me so unless I was in excruciating pain I avoided them. Good Luck.

I had a debridement 3 months ago, and it was at that point that my surgeon decided he was uncomfortable removing the spacer, and that began the process of finding and approving another surgeon. That process is thankfully, but slowly, underway.

The initial removal of my prosthesis and replacement with the hip spacer was painful beyond belief. It took days for the anesthesia to wear off and once it did I was not ready for the pain. I was on Oxycodone and acetaminophen, and it seemed like even under the maximum prescribed dosage for both I only found relief about 50% of the time. Turning on my side to get my wound dressing replaced was the worst. It's a good thing the wound nurse is a veteran with combat experience so he didn't flinch while I was groaning.

Overall I had to balance pain management and narcotic side effects. I'm really uncomfortable with the woozy "out of it" feeling of the narcotics but for pain relief I just tried to focus only on the relief. After about I month I tapered off the pain relief and at about six weeks I was off them completely. There is still pain around my hip joint, especially when moving, but as my surgeon would say, I'm 'managing'.

Keeping myself engaged in something and background music helped. I'm finally learning how to use Photoshop and using Duolingo to learn language. The pain moves to the background when my mind is engaged. It's like I'll try anything!