Happy 3 Month Hippiversary to Lefty!

The best ice pack

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These cooling gel mats from #dollarama are the best #hipreplacement ice packs when frozen because they cover a lot of surface area and have three panels. #recovery #icepack #iceislife

A post shared by Trenna Schram (@trenna.so.hip) on May 31, 2019 at 10:19am PDT

Wanting to break restrictions

I'm at that stage where I want to break my 50% weight restriction. It's annoying because I know I'm not quite ready to, but I want freedom from the crutches. I have to be careful not to break other restrictions too because my hips feel better than they have in my entire life.

Now, I did something to my right hip today trying to sit down. I went for the couch knee first and felt something twist. The pain has been relatively low, maybe a 2,but it's more than I've had in a few days. I'm keeping an eye on it and will go to the hospital if anything feels off. 

I had a full 7 hours of sleep last night! Victory is mine. Mind you I went shopping yesterday for my 3 week right hipiversary and treated myself to a pair of new pants that fit my new hips. 

I can't believe that getting my hips replaced changed my body shape and my hyperlordosis is starting to self-correct.

Pain & Fatigue

Last couple of nights have been miserable as I've been repeatedly woken up by pain. And I'm having swelling issues again. It's all bunching up in my upper thigh and along the incision site. Temperature wise, it feels no different from the rest of my skin so I'm not terribly worried about it. I've just been icing, acetaminophen(1200mg) during the day and percocet(10mg/650mg) at night.

Some of it I think has to do with the weather, and some of the pain has to be from a different activity level. There are more stairs at my parents place, the house is longer and walking on uneven ground instead of city sidewalks.

I'm still resting a lot. Fatigue hits me hard maybe half an hour after an activity and I have to lay down and rest, if not fully sleep for a half hour or so. My dad's chair is mine for now, as he built a raiser platform under it because of his knees. I wish my sleep wasn't so broken at night.

Look what I can do!!!!!!!!

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This is the most I've been able to spread my legs in as long as I can remember. I was actually embarrassed to even take a pre-op video because I had so little movement. #hipreplacement #hipreplacementrecovery

A post shared by Trenna Schram (@trenna.so.hip) on May 24, 2019 at 5:07pm PDT

Staples Removed and Vacation!

My staples are out! They were so ready to come out that they were all pushing out of my skin. The incision looks fantastic. My surgeon said that the implant is fixing well to the bone. Another 2 weeks of 50% weight bearing, and then a week 75% before going to 100%.

Then he said physio after June 4th for muscle strengthening and gait training, down to using no walking aids. I see him again in 6 weeks.

My mom took me to the country to her and dad's place. I've got a few more stairs to climb but it's a nice break from the city. My Aunt called and said her and Gramma were going to visit me tonight (they were going to drive 2hrs to the city and were super pleased to find out they only had to drive half an hour to mom's place.)

Everyone was actually surprised that I was visibly taller when I stood next to mom. And that my posture looks better because the hyperlordosis caused by my old hips is starting to self-correct and it doesn't look like I have a shelf at the bottom of my lower back.

I also got to cuddle the cats because they both ambushed me before I got in the house.

 

i hate sitting!

I hate sitting right now. My hips immediately let me know when I'm too close to 90°. My tailbone and pelvis are miserable. My back dislikes the "lounging" position that makes my hips feel good. I have about 5 pillows out and about in the various chairs I sit in and on the end of the couch. 
Any time I sit for half an hour, I then have to lay out for an hour to get rid of the pain. 

My sleep is still a mess because I'm dealing with night pain and crashing from fatigue during the day. I'm hoping to sleep better tomorrow night because I picked up a new to me mattress that is only 4 years old and hasn't been slept on in 3 years compared to my idk how old it is mattress from the last time I moved and had to leave my bed behind and this was provided free of charge. 

The swelling has finally gone down!That has lowered my average daily pain down a lot. I
wish I would have measured my leg at the various points of swelling. I ended up taking one 250mg ibuprofen tab, 2 days in a row on top of endless ice, and elevation. I also didn't eat any salt heavy foods. I think it was a combination of all of the above that helped. 

I'm at the weird stage of trying to balance activities with fatigue. 

I have started washing dishes again. My mom sorts them all out and opens the cupboard under the sink, and pulls up the backed barstools. I sit on the stool, put my legs in the cupboard and pull up to the sink. Then I wash all of the light dishes and set them on the counter for someone else to dry and put away.