It’s been almost a month since I had my hip replacement, which you can catch up with here. Read on to find out how I found the first few weeks of my recovery at home.
It wasn’t long after arriving home that I realised how much pain I was in, without the hospital providing me with the strongest painkillers every 2 hours, I really struggled to manage the pain and was going through my Oxycodone supply quite quickly.
I was sent home with quite a few medications
I decided to write on each box how many times a day I should be taking them and how many of each. This made it a lot easier to manage, I keep them all next to the bed as I can be a bit forgetful when it comes to taking medication.
The first week was tough for me, I felt like I had been stripped of my independence, I needed help with everything and Neil had to do so much for me. Due to my hip precautions, I’m not allowed to climb in our out of the bath and whilst I still had the dressing on and clips in, I wasn’t allowed to get the wound wet so a shower was out of the question anyway. I had been provided with a perching stool so I was at least able to give myself a really good wash each day, we managed to wash my hair over the bath – with Neil holding the shower head and me ensuring I don’t bend too much I can at least wash my hair as often as I want (well, provided Neil is home obviously!).
I had a lot of company from the cats – Figaro must have missed me whilst I was in hospital
I was able to get myself dressed although I can’t put socks or shoes on myself, after a few days of freezing feet, Neil started putting on my socks whilst I was still in bed before he leaves for work. I can manage to get my own slippers on. Getting dressed isn’t too bad, I get all my clothes together and use my special “helping hand” to pull my pants and leggings on.
The helping hand is also for picking up things that you’ve dropped or are on the floor, unfortunately it isn’t very good at picking things up off the floor – it’s a bit flimsy and generally I have to wait for Neil to pick things up for me!
Once washed and dressed I was able to head downstairs, I watched a lot of Come Dine With Me and Four in a Bed those first two weeks. The wonderful Stacey over at Unicorn Fairy sent me a huge box of goodies to keep me occupied and my friend Katie sent me a box of gluten free treats.
I’ve been doing a few bits and pieces to keep my mind busy. I did some embroidery and played with some very bossy sticker books.
I also treated myself to a new bobble hat (and some other bits and pieces)
14 days after the operation (which was the start of week 2 at home) I went to have the stitches out, well clips – which are like big staples. I went to my GP surgery for this, the nurse removed the big dressing and checked the wound wasn’t leaking or open. I had 35 clips in total (for those of a nervous disposition, I would scroll past the picture).
The bruising was pretty minimal and it hadn’t really bled or anything. The nurse was really pleased with how it looked. She started by removing every other stitch – this is in case it starts to open, they can then leave the rest of the clips for a few more days if needed. As it was, all of mine were able to be removed. A new dressing was applied and I was advised to keep it on and dry until the end of the week (so still no chance of a proper bloody shower!!).
It felt a lot better after the clips were out, a bit less tight. At the end of the second week, we went to my mums and I was able take the second dressing off and have a shower – mum has a walk in shower which is ideal.
The wound was looking good and hadn’t reopened so luckily it didn’t have to be redressed (again, scroll past if you need too).
In the afternoons, each day I have to go back up to bed and get my feet up and rest – in all honesty, I have struggled to do this, once I get on the bed I tend to fall asleep and I’ve been sleeping badly at night so I didn’t want to sleep in the day. I was able to watch a few things on Netflix (when I was awake), I caught Stranger Things which was pretty good. I usually stay upstairs until Neil gets home. I then head back down and Neil gets my tea together. I’m usually in a lot of pain by the end of day so I tend to go back upstairs again after I’ve eaten.
I had a visit from some of the ladies I work with and my best friend Helen visited with baby James and Pete which was lovely.
At the end of the second week, I decided to buy myself some craft kits to keep myself busy with.
Hopefully this will keep me occupied!
Recovery was set back at the end of week 2 – my ongoing bladder stone started to act up and I have been in agony 24/7 ever since.
If I am completely honest with myself, I have pushed myself too much these first two weeks at home. I struggle with having my independence stripped away and having to rely on Neil or my mum and dad to do things for me, even to get a drink has been so frustrating.
I think I am feeling some of the pain from trying to do too much too soon now and I am trying to relax a little and look after myself better now.
Keep an eye out for further updates coming soon. Do you have any self care advise? Get in touch below.
Hi I had a hip replacement done 6 years ago now and like u all people said was your young to have that done! However it’s the best thing I every had done . I still get a bit of arthritis pain but that’s nothing compared to just before I had the op. Also I had 52 staples but scar not bad. Good luck with your recovery x
52 staples?! Wow ! I thought I had a lot at 30 odd! Thank you for the luck. It’s long, but I think I’m getting there now! Xx