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Debating hip replacement

Joint Replacements | Last Active: Aug 26, 2023 | Replies (62)

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@celiak

I am 63 yrs old and just had a Left THR August 1st, anterior approach. When I woke up from surgery I felt absolutely fabulous....my head was so clear, no headache, no nausea, just fabulous. I was very happy. In recovery I got one or two low doses of fentanyl for a little annoying pain in my hip, it worked. The Doc put me on tramadol, 3 times a day, and PRN Norco for pain. I was able to walk and do stairs with therapy, and the only reason I had to stay over night was because I was retaining too much urine (anesthesia will do that). The next day, the NP took my bandage off, gave me some flomax and sent me home. My incision looked great, and so did my leg! Really, no swelling at all. My son was there to tend to me, but I got up, got around and did everything on my own at home. Then came the barrage of Home Health Care Worker phone calls. I saw the RN twice, the OT once, and the PT about 4 times. Fortunately the PT told me to expect more pain and swelling after just a few days, cuz that is exactly what happened. My leg swelled through my foot and bruising was scattered all over my leg...and, of course, the pain worsened. It really wasn't half as bad as I envisioned it could be, and after a week at most, I'd say my leg is down to normal. I feel like I'm having a great experience, I just started out-patient PT yesterday and am walking with a cane. I did have ONE bad experience so far which I'll tell you about next time. Wishing you all well!❤

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Replies to "I am 63 yrs old and just had a Left THR August 1st, anterior approach. When..."

I’m two months out from THR and doing great. No regrets.
The numbness in the thigh is weird, but not a problem.

I have had a great recovery. Went home same day and no need for pt. After a month I’m walking in the house with no cane and use cane outside, sometimes. I still don’t feel confident with stairs, since I don’t need to use them too often. Compared to my tkr, this is heaven

Here is the bad experience I mentioned. Upon leaving the hospital, I received one week of pain meds. So after one week, I had to call my Orthopod for refills. I only received a refill on one (tramadol 3×/day) I thought "well, that seems a bit rough, but, okay." A couple days later I felt like I had been run over by a truck! There was not one position that gave me relief or comfort, and the Tramadol had NO effect. I LITERALLY did not sleep for 2 nights. Although I had my 2 week post Op follow up appointment on Tuesday, I could not endure this one more day, so I called my Orthopod Monday. They said they indeed DID order both pain meds. The pharmacy, without notifying anyone rejected the Norco order because it was signed by a different person, (completely authorized to order and sign for this med) from my Orthopod's office. Unless these crazy rules have changed again, I call this Patient Abuse by a Pharmacist who doesn't know what they're doing, and is shaking in their boots!!! RIDICULOUS!!! It took me some time to get down to my semi-acceptable level of pain.😞