12 Tips for Hip Surgery Recovery

If you are having hip surgery and have to remain non-weight bearing for a length of time:

1) Prepare before surgery to have some upper body strength. Walking - hopping with a walker is tiring and using crutches takes practice.

Get some muscle and do some practice before surgery.

2) Don't live in a condo that has 23 steps up from the garage.

:0) For four weeks I went up and down these stairs on my ass.

3) Be prepared to be in excruciating pain for the first week.

YIKES!!!

4) Make sure your husband or caregiver knows the difference between flexeril (muscle relaxant) and oxycotine (pain killer). Haha! Bob was medicating me without his reading glasses - kept giving me oxy when I needed the flexeril. No wonder I was sleeping so much! ;0)

5) Be prepared to binge watch some awesome series. Get some books from the library, download Candy Crush and/or Royal Match. Buy some adult coloring books or a sketch pad or you can prepare to be bored out of your freakin' mind.

6) If your husband goes off on a fishing trip and leaves you after 3 weeks - subscribe to a meal plan or premake meals or buy microwavable meals because standing in the kitchen or carry food on crutches is difficult and as I found out dangerous.

7) Do not under any circumstances subscribe to G-Plan prepared meals. They are horrible. The "fit chicken" was like rubber. The more I chewed the worse it got. The veggies in this meal were inedible. The meatloaf and mac was neither meat or mac - not sure what it was. The Chicken Parmesan was so bad - I gagged on the first bite and threw it directly into the trash.

Our dogs have been known to pull out everything from the trash and eat cardboard boxes, molding bread and spoiled meat, but this time when I left to go to physical therapy, they ate everything in the trash, except the Chicken Parmesan. Customer service is nonexistent. I called three times a day for three days. I finally had to have my credit card replaced to stop the flow of these horrid meals. The bank couldn't get customer service either.

8) Do not rush your recovery. Go up each step using your good hip first. I rushed it and pulled my groin on my bad side.

9) Do not skip out on physical therapy. It may seem like the exercises are wimpy, but these people know what they are doing and they are very helpful.

10) Do not under any circumstances try walking your dog on a leash with crutches.

It is quite dangerous and you'll look really foolish doing it, especially going down 23 steps.

11) Be prepared to feel oh so much better after six weeks and practice a lot of self-care.

Give yourself facials, get your mani/pedis. At six weeks go for a gentle relaxing massage. At seven weeks go for a lymphatic massage.

12) Make sure you do't stay cooped up alone. Have friends over. Have a wheelchair available - use the motorized carts at the grocery store and WalMart. They're kind of fun and make you feel like you can still participate in your life.