OK,
So clearly I didnt post every day or even every week. The thing is I didnt see a lot of interest in the blog so gave up a little but guess what….I remember most of it! So Il start with a brief run down to this point.
Week 1:Post Surgery…
Amazing, in the middle of the night after surgery I need to use the bathroom, the nurses are like, “let get you up then”. Crazy me thought there would be some kind of bed pan…Despite all I had been advised I still couldnt quite get my head around the fact that I was able to weight bear with crutches straight away. In hindsight of course that had to be the case with both hips being done at once. So they unhooked my oxygen and I (with a lot of support) very slowly made my way to the bathroom. By the time I got there I was very dizzy and white! They brought my oxygen over.. 🙂 This was just a post aneasthetic thing, nothing to do with my hips. Those were my first steps! They hurt a little, thats what happens when you have had approx 7 litres of saline pumped round your joint! It was still oozing out..yuck! Its funny it looked like blood but much waterier.. See photos at the bottom.
Life in hospital the next day was fine, I had my TV, my lovely partner to hang out with me, all my home made food I brought as well as AMAZING hospital food. Couldnt be happier, the pain meds were great they really helped me to feel comfortable. I really appreciated having two nights in hospital too, maybe thats because I am not from NZ and the nurses were so nice and mothery, I just felt really well cared for and that was what I was after 🙂
Week 1: Day 2 Ok so I had my surgery in Auckland and live in New Plymouth (4 hour drive). As you can imagine I was a little concerned about this drive but you know what? It was a breeze, we squidged me in really tight and bundled me up in duvets so that my legs couldnt move side to side, we even stopped in nandos for lunch and I crutched (albeit veery slowly) around from the car etc. What was clear though was that 1 x 5 minute jaunt had me spent! I think I slept most of the rest of the way home 🙂
Week 1 Day 3:
Aha…. Overdoing it… Im sure everyone does this at some point but the smart ones do it once 🙂 So I clambered my way into the shower, (no mean feat, claw foot bath, it was like yoga) washed my hair….nice…. put on a dress and had a friend pick me up for lunch. Now if this was my only activity for the day I would prob be fine but no… I then went to my partners parents for dinner, by this point I was feeling rotten so I did and eat and leave…a bit rude but the pain was getting to me by then and I wanted my bed…
Week 1: Day 6
This is the day I stopped painkillers, proper painkillers, I kind of weaned off them i.e just took them at night but then by Day 6 I was completely off them, just kept taking my Voltaren (diclofenac??) once a day for three weeks (something about stopping heterosofic ossification or something).
Week 2: Day 10
Stitches out….Yay!!! One wound was a bit oozy so I kept it covered for a few days extra and used steri strips on it…. Soon healed up fine.
Week 2: Day 12
I got my exercycle for the house, Im amazed…I can do it! It doesnt hurt to sit on the bike!!! (I thought it would..convinced myself..) So from this day started doing that for 30 mins a day. Also saw my physio, had been getting sore lower back and was kind of hunching over with my butt out…she did some release on my back to make me more comfortable and urged me to try to stand up straighter. I think at this point I emailed my surgeon, the thing was it hurt to stand up straight and tuck my bum under, so should I be doing it? He said that the illiopsoas would be rubbing over where the labrum repair was, and that would be getting tender, just to not worry too much about posture for a minute and the pain should settle then I can work on it more.
Ah yes and back to work!! Only 6 hour days this week to help me fit in rehab but its good to be back and using my brain. Sitting at a chair is fine but I do get stiff if I sit in the same position for too long. One thing I found frustrating was, ” What happened to you”, followed by, ” You’re too young for a hip operation”…Yes. Thats right. I am too young, my surgeon was really reluctant but I managed to convince him!!!!! Haha…I guess you have to just roll with it, its a weird injury too because 1) No one can see it 2) No one knows what it is. They just compare you to the old fat guy waddling around that had a total hip replacement…
Week 2: Day 13
I hit the pool!! Oh how I loved it….. The outdoor pool in the sun, I would crutch over to the edge, but once I was in the water, pool buoy between my legs, tentatively at first, I found I could still swim like a fish (more like a fish I guess that that I had ‘no legs’). Oh the joy, so I prob swam a km or so, then it was onto the hard work. Aqua jogging, lots of this and I was thrilled to feel the effects it had on my ROM, for some reason it was a lot easier in the pool to get more movement. So I did lots of standing exercises in here too, but wow it just felt so good to move. The pool kind of spelled the end of my back aches and my return to mobility. I love the pool, you should too if you have this surgery. I was so lucky as well we had 3 weeks of perfect sunshine here when I was doing rehab, so it felt like a real treat. Good tan lines 🙂
Week 3 – 6:
Physio twice a week, every week, exercise has tapered off a little but still in the pool a lot and and the bike a bit (should be more). By week 6 I was able to start gentle kick in the pool so started with kickboard and now can swim well again. I cant believe that. Week 6 I also took my horse out for a ride, was able to do gentle walk and canter. Also went for a night out and had a tiny boogie…. (I feel guilty writing this!!) My surgeon recommended no walking for leisure (I guess that includes dancing) for 12 weeks, this is to allow the cartillage to fully heal solidly. I am pretty goood, I avoid walking most of the time only the essentials but we all have our moments. My physio has been really good she does lots of quite firm release on my hip flexors, scars, and IT bands, my back if I need it too. She is great!!! Go New Plymouth Physiotherapy!! She has really helped me so much. Also had my post op X-rays at week 3 and spoke to my surgeon, they were all good.
I am joining the gym next week and am going to attempt cross trainer but by and large my life is back to normal aside from the few restrictions on walking/running. I can swim bike horseride… Oh Il have to be honest about this too, one of the major hip aggrevators is, umm….evenings with the boyfriend. There are ways around this 🙂 You can make it work from about week 2 if you are careful!!!! (Dont know about you guys :))
So now its all about increasing ROM, with work, this gets better every day, following my rehab programme carefully with my physio, and keeping motivated with all the exercises. Physio is always hard to find time for. I must be more dilligent!!! My FAI pain is gone…I dont get that same pain, now I get a little stiffness, but not the deep pain I used to. Its awesome. I am very excited about my recovery and now its all about patience and dilligence.
I will keep posting..any questions please ask..! Here are a couple photos of me in hospital yuck!!!
Me still asleep…
Yuck…Saline is oozing
Cleaned up on the other side ready to go home
Incisions…… 3 to match on the other side, they say symmetry is beauty 🙂
Im up!!! They say bring baggy trousers…nothing could prepare me for the size of my kardashian butt…Bring a skirt!!!
Gorgeous flowers from Mum when I got home. Thanks Mum!!
Simultaneous Bilateral Arthroscopy for FAI 