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Association members. Of course, you are always urged to seek and follow the advice of your own physician, but we have found these hints and tips to be of great help. |
Many of these following tips are things I learned from other THR, TKR, and TSR patients and some I found out on my own. The point is to get your living space as convenient and safe for you as possible before your actual surgery. If you need help in doing this, now is the time to ask! * Before your surgery, you may want to rearrange some things in your home to make it easier for you when you return home. For example, put often-used things within easy reach. This includes food, toiletries, and personal items such as clothing, paper products, cleaning supplies, pet needs, and so on. * Another good tip is to lay in a supply of books, video tapes, craft supplies, etc., ahead of time. Whatever your hobby or favorite pastime, make sure you get what you need before your surgery and store them in easy-to-reach places. * Speaking of laying in supplies, a good idea is to stock up on frozen convenience foods, or foods you made yourself and put in the freezer. Today's commercial selections rival most restaurant foods (TGIF's, Boston Market, Stouffers and many more excellent brands) and when you are tired and hungry, they take far less time to heat up or cook. My personal favorites are Stouffers Macaroni and Cheese, and most of the excellent chicken filets, wings, tenders, etc. I find that shopping at a warehouse discount place, such as Sam's Club or BJ's saves me money in the end. The packages are a lot bigger, so you don't have to shop as often. When you are in pain and yet hungry, what a blessing to just pop something in the Microwave or regular oven without the fuss and muss of cooking a whole meal! And, don't forget the paper and toiletries supplies! Toilet paper, paper towels, shaving, shampooing, dental care products can be bought in bulk today, too, saving time and energy later on. furniture, even on an extra cushion, was extremely uncomfortable. I rented a hip chair from our one, get a "hip chair". I thought I could manage without one, but found out that sitting in regular furniture, even on an extra cushion, was extremely uncomfortable. I rented a hip chair from our local local medical supply house for a couple of months. It was well worth the investment! This is a higher medical supply house for a couple of months. It was well worth the investment! This is a higher than higher than regular chair and is sloped appropriately for the right angle, making sitting a little more regular chair and is sloped appropriately for the right angle, making sitting a little more comfortable and safer. more comfortable and safer. and safer. * Make a list of all doctor, hospital, and rehab center numbers and keep them handy by your phone. A good idea is to make the font nice and large because sometimes pain medications can affect our eyesight or perception temporarily. If possible get a cell phone, or a good quality portable phone, if your finances allow. Keep that phone with you where ever you go; you never know when you may need it, and if someone else calls you, you don't have far to go to answer the phone. * Other very helpful tools: When you return home, you may need a raised toilet seat, and depending on how well you can stand or for how long you can stand, you may need a bath chair (see below). I used mine for both my THR and my TKRs, and it was a very big help. Also, I found that a "grabber tool", a long handled shoe horn, and a small basket or apron with the deep pockets were tremendously helpful. With two 6 inch long pieces of Velcro, you can attach a small basket to your walker which will help you transport small items from room to room. Just wrap the Velcro strips around the walker and through the basket. I attached my grabber tool to my apron using a piece of string and a safety pin. The tool went with me all over the house and was right by my side in case I dropped something and needed to pick it up. This saved me many, many steps! For THR people: You can also get a "leg lifter", a special tool to help lift your leg onto the bed. It almost reminded me of one of those trick "invisible dog on a leash" gizmos, but it is great for assisting that operated leg onto a higher surface. There is also a great little gizmo called the "sock putter on-er", that makes putting on a pair of socks much easier. It takes a bit of practice to get used to it, but it really does work. Another great tool is the hand-held shower head for the bath. The less moving around in the tub, the safer for you. Additionally, there is the shower /bath chair, with a wider seat, and specially designed legs to avoid the chair's sliding in the tub. This makes taking a shower a lot safer since you do not have to move around as much. Also, make sure you have a bath mat in your tub so that you do not slip. Make an inexpensive and quick soap-on-a-rope from a discarded pair of pantyhose and a bar of soap. Cut off one of the legs from the pantyhose, place soap inside and tie to your shower head. The soap is safely within your reach and it dries perfectly, too, with no mush, slipper soap dish to mess with. Special foam cushion for your wheelchair or other chairs (see below). This is especially helpful for hip replacement patients. * My rehab center gave me a special padded cushion to bring home with me which I used for sitting in a car, in my wheelchair, or temporarily on regular furniture (such as when I visit a family member or friend). This cushion is about four inches high and filled with a high-quality, sponge-like foam. If you can get or make one, cut a piece of plywood to fit the seat of your wheelchair and place the cushion on that. Since rolling the hip to the inside is to be avoided, this board makes sitting much more comfortable by preventing that rolling action. All chairs and seats sag somewhat, so this board gives a little extra strength to the seat or cushion. * Enlist family and friends' help with things like cleaning, shopping, going to the drugstore, and similar errands for the first few weeks after you return home. I found that letting them know ahead of time (asking them if they would be able to help) helped me to coordinate things a lot better. For example, one neighbor of mine always goes grocery shopping on the same day each week. I knew that I could ask her to pick something up for me on that day, and that system worked out great for both of us. If you have no one to help you, let your doctor know and he can write a letter to your insurance company requesting some in-home help from an agency. * Here is something I didn't think of before my surgery: clip your toe nails before surgery, or treat yourself to a good pedicure, because you probably will not be able to bend over to reach them for quite a while afterwards! And, for you ladies: if you are placed on Coumadin (blood thinner to prevent clots), your doctor may tell you not to shave your legs to avoid knicks and cuts. Just live with it for a few weeks, or get a lotion depilatory -it's a lot better than the alternative! __________________________________________________________ When you return home, here are some helpful things to know: ~ Home Again After Surgery ~ Almost before you know it, you're back home again! Happy to be out of the hospital at last you may be tempted to do more than you can actually do. Take it from me, take your time! The most important thing you can do is to pay attention to everything you were taught to do, assuming you were lucky enough to have adequate instruction. Things In General: I know I am not alone in saying that energy levels are going to be on the low side for a while. However, we do have one member in our group who somehow managed to go golfing within a couple of weeks after her return home. From what most people write and tell me, this is not the norm! In my own experience, I found that I spent more time in bed than out of it for the first couple of weeks. Day by day, I found more of my strength slowly returning. The key here is not to rush things, because I found that every time I did push myself too hard, I wound up in trouble. It's only human nature to want to get better in a hurry, but if you're going to err it's best to err on the side of caution. As I mentioned earlier, for THR surgery patients, a hip chair is a great thing to have if you can get ahold of one. This special chair is designed especially for those with an artificial hip and makes sitting a lot more comfortable and safe. They can cost upwards of $350.00, however many medical supply houses will rent them. I rented one for a few months until such time as I could sit on my own furniture comfortably. Also, I was very fortunate in that we have a very high bed in our spare bedroom because the water bed we normally sleep on is off-limits to me now. It is simply too low to the floor to get in and out of safely. One of our members who has had at least three or four hip operations rented a hospital bed for a while, and I can understand why! I was told by my physical therapists that if the surface is at knee level or below, then the surface is too low to sit upon safely. They told me that some people put an extra mattress on their beds to raise it up to a safe and comfortable level. Another very good idea is to remove throw rugs from bedroom, all hallway, or bathroom floors. It's very easy to get crutches or canes tangled in them, and also very easy for them to slip out from underneath you. If you have pets, make very sure they are not under foot when you attempt to walk. My cat used to love to weave in and out between my feet, so I always gave myself a few seconds' time to make sure she was not there. Needless to say, you should have a good supply of light bulbs on hand to replace burned out ones so that you never have to walk in the dark. (I always keep a spare in my night stand drawer). Keeping a flashlight nearby might also be another good idea. At the very least, go to the dollar store and get a good supply of those little night lights and small bulbs, and don't forget batteries for the flash lights. Place the night lights in the hallway, stairways, any dark area for safety's sake. ___________________________________________________________________ Help At Home: Of course, the ideal situation would be to have someone stay with you the first few days or even weeks after you first come home. For most of us, this is the "impossible dream", or at least very, very difficult to obtain. I had my hubby home with me my first day home from the hospital, and after that, I was on my own. It took a lot of skillful arranging (and in some instances, rearranging) of the house and household articles and tasks, but we managed. Occasionally, my mom or daughter would stop by and help out with picking things up for me at the store and with more difficult household chores (vacuuming, floor washing, hanging up laundry, etc.) Usually, I waited for my husband to come home to help out with these every day chores, and that worked out best for us. Again, if you can get the help, that's fine, but if you can't, you can hopefully find ways to make things work out. I've never tried it, but if you are truly all alone (no family, friends close by, or no neighbors to lend a hand), perhaps you can call your doctor and ask for in-home help from an agency (IF your insurance company allows!)...or, try calling your church or any of the great community groups (Elks Club, Lions Club, etc.). If anyone has done this successfully, please write to me and let me know so that I can pass this information on to others. ___________________________________________________________________ The Bathroom: I was advised to use (and purchased) a raised toilet seat, which adds five inches to the height of the bowl. This cost me about $55 and is worth every penny! This special arm rests that it has are tremendous help, too, and of course make the bathroom experience a whole lot safer. Additionally, I purchased a special bath chair on the advice of my physical therapists because my "standing time" upon my release from the hospital was not very long at all (I have AVN of both knees and lower tibias as well). The seat of this chair is wider than other chairs to allow the patient to more easily slide in and out of the bathtub. It cost around $50 and I'm sure has helped to save me from many a nasty fall in a slippery bathtub. Remember that you probably will not be able to bend way over from the waist for quite a while, so keep all toiletry articles within easy reach (enlist the aid of a family member here to help you). Also, it's a good idea to have a soap on a rope in the shower but if you don't have one, you can make one very easily with a leg from an old pair of pantyhose! Just snip off a leg and place a bar of soap in it, and attach to something solid-a faucet handle, your bath chair, whatever is stationary. I also found that I needed my "grabber tool" with me in the bathroom, to pick up things that I dropped: wash rags, towels, brush, comb, deodorant, etc. My hospital provided me with this valuable tool for a cost of around $16. It, too, has been worth it's weight in gold! If you do not have a wall-to-wall rug on your bathroom floor, make sure the floor is not wet before walking on it. Also, make sure you have a sturdy bath mat in the tub to guard against slipping. ___________________________________________________________________ The Kitchen: My husband and I found it much easier to order out the first couple of weeks. We got tired of pizza, sandwiches, and similar food but it was far better than the stress of cooking and then cleaning up a messy kitchen afterwards! I did prepare and freeze some meals ahead of time and that was a valuable help, too. But there were some evenings when the two of us were just too tired to bother, so "take out" was a life-saver! If you can afford it, ordering your main meal out saves a lot of stress. Just a word of caution here: I was on some pretty heavy-duty medication when I first came home and found it to my advantage to remain in the kitchen while the stove was on. I found that sometimes this medication would make me sleepy, or forgetful, which is not a good idea when you are trying to cook, or heat up water for tea, soup, coffee, etc. ___________________________________________________________________ Family, Friends, and Company and Visitors: Do not be afraid to tell people that you are tired or in pain. The first few weeks I was home, when family and friends stopped by to see me, I would find that I would tire very quickly. In the beginning, even sitting on a hip chair for any length of time gets very uncomfortable and the temptation to sit and visit (translation: sit and yak away!) is too great. It actually became a necessity to go lie down, and I was not embarrassed to do so. I remain this way to this day, because some days are better than others and if I feel the need to rest, that's what I do: rest! I have a couple of friends who really mean well but they actually raise my stress level by urging me to "get out more". They do not seem to understand that artificial joint surgery is a very big deal and takes a lot out of a person. Your body will let you know when it feels ready to do things like go for outings. Don't rush it-you'll get there sooner or later, and not because somebody tells you to! Don't allow them to lay a false guilt trip on you ("Oh come on, now...don't baby yourself!") and remember that if they were in your position they would look at things in a whole new light! ___________________________________________________________________ Driving: As far is traveling as a passenger in a car, you may need the cushion I spoke about before. The higher a car seat is, the easier it may be for you. Be very mindful of the precautions as far as the positioning of your foot and/or leg. Personally, I would be very careful about driving if your leg is the least bit sluggish. If you suddenly needed to stop, as in avoiding an accident or a child darting into the road, you could wind up hurting someone else as well as yourself, and risk landing in big trouble legally. It was a good many years before I was able to drive again. For me, I had to wait until both knees and one hip were replaced, and my legs healed as much as possible. I found that having a written approval from my doctor to return to driving my car was very helpful This way, should something happen, I was covered. No matter what, I don't think any of us would want to compromise someone else's safety nor our own, so please don't rush it. ___________________________________________________________________ Physical Therapy and Exercises: Once your doctor orders it, get started with a good physical therapy program and stick with it. Again, I'm very fortunate that my medical insurance company provides for PT, and I take full advantage of it. The result is I got stronger day by day and learned to live with my THR successfully. My own THR was nine years ago, and today it feels so natural to me that I am hardly ever aware it's there! The same goes for my new knees, which are seven and three years old. I'm very happy that I had them done and to be free of the pain from AVN in my hip and knees. I make it a point to get some exercise every single day, regardless of the weather or how I am feeling. Even if the exercises are sometimes just isometric, they are still working my muscles and keeping them in good tone. This is very important not only for now, but for any future surgeries that may need to be done. ___________________________________________________________________ On the Mend: What ever you do, be patient with yourself. Surgery is neither something we look forward to nor like, but when it becomes necessary we really have little choice. Just take things step-by-step and know that one day soon you're going to be feeling a whole lot better. Stay in contact with your doctor and always report any strange or unusual symptoms. Think of your doctor and you as a "team"---a team that wants you to get well again. If you are unhappy about something, let him know. If you have any questions, problems, or fears, call him. That's what he's there for and what he's being paid for. It's your body and up to you to take care of it. Above all, be patient with yourself and realize that your body is going to need a good deal of time to heal. Do not get discouraged, do all appropriate exercises, and take as much time as you need to get back on your feet again. God bless all of you and good luck with your joint replacement surgeries. Please know you have an entire group behind you, praying for you, and wishing you well! |
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| Before and After Surgery Hints and Tips |
The ON/AVN Support Group Int'l Association, Inc. Association Osteonecrosis - Avascular necrosis support |
