Monday was my first physio session. The physio came to the house and assessed me for all sorts of things such as walking, going up and downstairs, getting on and off the bed and he also checked the wound and checked my legs for thrombosis.
Thrombosis is a serious problem for people who have had lower limb surgery. There are several things you need to do after surgery,
1. You have to wear some very long sexy stockings to wear for 28 days. I'm assuming they compress the legs and help keep the blood flowing. They are a nightmare to get on, it’s a good job I’ve got someone to help me as I couldn’t so them myself.
2. I also have to inject a drug called Clexane everyday for 28 days.
3. I have been told to get up and move around every 40 minutes.
4. I also have to pump my ankles up and down.
Following all these things and I should be ok.
There are also several precautions I have to follow to keep the hip in place and stop it from dislocating.
1. No bending further than 90 degrees, so the angle between your torso and thigh should be no less than 90 degrees.
2. No twisting.
3. No crossing legs, including crossing your ankles.
4. No lying on side in bed.
The hardest one is lying on my back in bed as it bloody hurts. I think I may have had a little bit of sciatica before the op and this is only aggravating it.
The physio gave me 4 exercises to do 3-4 times a day. They are all bed exercises. I was given some standing exercises at the hospital and I had been doing them but the physio who came on Monday said I should do a week of bed exercises. I wish they'd sing from the same hymn sheet. I was also told I could lie on my operated side in bed once the wound had stopped hurting, only then to be told I have to lie on my back for 3 months.
After the physio left I went upstairs to have my rest but as I was walking I got an intense pain in my hip. I think it was a nerve pain. I thought I had dislocated my hip but my Mum said that if I had I wouldn’t be walking on it, which was a very good point I’m glad she made! The physio who came scared me to be honest, by telling me I should be doing the exercising I had been doing etc etc, so for the rest of the day I was panicking that it was going to come out.
I also had a referral to an occupational therapist, who came to see me the very next morning. She bought me another raised toilet seat. Now, as we don’t have a downstairs toilet I was asked if I wanted a commode. I said no as my Mum and Dad have a camping toilet which I thought would be better and a little cleaner. It’s been a bit of a godsend, particularly when the pain has been bad. She also bought a second pair of crutches. I always have to have someone to carry my crutches upstairs which could be a pain so I keep one pair upstairs and one pair downstairs.
I haven’t knitted much or read much, and today is the first day I’ve been on my laptop. I just haven’t got the motivation.
