Terrible experience so far hip op recovery - will it get better?

The only thing they would give me 12 hours after a C section was paracetomol. Medical staff have a touching faith in its effectiveness.

I’m glad to hear things are slowly improving. I think one of the hardest things is getting the right amount of pain relief. Sounds like you have a supportive GP which helps.

Good to read your update, I'm glad she's getting on a lot better.

My mother was discharged with paracetamol and codeine - but that was ten days after surgery, not 24 hours.

My Mum went straight from hospital (private but NHS paid for the op) where she'd been for two days after the op to a residential care home which she paid for herself. She stayed there for two weeks. She needed help with meals and initially with getting out of bed etc and no family members lived nearby to help. She had to arrange it all herself though, it was just assumed by the hospital she'd go home and someone would be around to help her!

The sections related to anaesthesia in that booklet are really quite old fashioned. Can’t comment on the physio/rehab side of things though.

My mum (78) had a hip replacement in November. She went in on a Saturday for the op and was discharged on the Monday. She had full time help at home from family for two weeks. She did physio exercises from Day 1 at home and used crutches, then went on to a stick. It's a difficult balance between learning to move again so you don't seize up and you strengthen all your muscles and resting so you can recover adequately and don't over do it.

My DM had a replacement last year. She paid for it as the nhs wait was ridiculous and she was becoming immobile with the pain.

She was in hospital for 4 days and then went to a private rehab clinic for a week. She had physio twice a day and nursing care if needed. It worked v well and she left not really needing her crutches, but used one for a short time afterwards.

Discharging after a few hours doesn't sound like good practice at all.

Should have added, private hospital refused to operate on my mother because of her other health conditions and NHS put her in high dependency for a few days but she did fine.

My mother had a hip op at 83 and had a good if slow recovery. She was in hospital for a few days as she had multiple comorbidities and was high risk for the anaesthetic but once home did her exercised and was independent again fairly quickly.

My MIL had an operation about the same time (not hip) and had a bad reaction to the anaesthetic despite being a lot healthier - she as very confused for nearly a week so there may be a few things going on with your mother.

This is a VERY informative 40-page guide, from one of the Canadian health authorities. Lots of very sensible advice, what to expect, etc etc.

https://www.saskhealthauthority.ca/sites/default/files/2022-02/CS-PIER-0115-Booklet-Hip-Replacement.pdf

I had hip op and was in 4 nights, had a reaction to pain meds. No crutches, had 2 sticks, saw physio daily while in hosp. Once home def needed help to get in and out of bed etc. No surgical stockings just had tablets to take. If using sticks it is so easy to drop them so I attached wrist straps/loops to them so couldn’t drop them and get stuck. Really have to do the exercises. Hope your mum improves.

I will need a new right hip. My osteopath says my right leg is very weak now because of this. I'm doing all the exercises, gritted teeth. But imagine if your leg is weakened how much harder it is to get going again

In answer to the timing, there was a post on MN recently from a lady who'd had a double replacement and could walk unaided on the second day. That makes food a lot easier as you can shuffle around with a plate.

Otherwise you might be able to free up a spare hand if you can drop to one crutch after a couple of weeks.

From what I was told, most people have at least some help at home. But obviously not everyone.

A friend's mum in her 80s recently had a hip revision (which is a bigger operation) and the family dropped in to help with meals a couple of times a day. It's carrying hot drinks in mugs and food on plates that's hard. I have a sock device but needed help to remove the compression socks for a shower (people who live on their own don't have to wear these as you're not allowed to bend over).

You're not usually discharged until you're able to walk up and down stairs with crutches. You're encouraged to get up the same day in hospital so you should be able to manage the loo on your own using a frame or crutches (and a raised loo seat). Getting out of bed can be trickier if the bed is low so they advise to put it on blocks. And having a high-ish chair with arms to sit in during the day.

Cutting a long answer short, I think you can get by if someone makes you a hot meal a day. But the pain medication should be adequate to cope.

Hi, Yes I was quoting another contributor and making the same point as you about the differences.

as per @LeroyJenkinssss , enhanced recovery hips are often achievable (inc same day becoming more common). There are definite benefits to getting out quickly, particularly for older folk, however, occasionally it won’t go to plan and people will need readmitting. A UTI would be hard to predict unless a pre-op sample grew something. Enhanced recovery arthroplasty and GA is an unusual combination unless there was a particular reason to avoid a spinal.

Also worth reiterating that hip surgery for fractures is not at all comparable with elective hip replacement. Hip fractures are often multi-factorial injuries that have high morbidity and mortality even when managed really well.

Hope she’s back on track soon.

I couldn’t find much about the realities of hip ops online esp at an older age and there was one thread on mumsnet saying the recovery was nothing compared to a knee replacement, which she had a few years back.

Funnily enough, I had this chat with my surgeon a few weeks ago as I was questioning why his older patients seemed to be recovering more quickly than I was. (Not that I begrudge them in any way).

He said that hip replacements often bring more immediate relief to his older patients and they're in a better position than before surgery a month or so later. (Whereas the younger patients often have a history of childhood arthritis which can slow their recovery).

The physios say that knee replacements are more painful than hips but definitely worth getting sufficient painkillers. The lack of sleep can be really hard to handle too (I was given sleeping tablets reluctantly after a month of broken sleep).

I feel for her, it is really tough for the first few weeks.

I'm sorry to hear about your mother OP, to me that certainly sounds like an unsafe discharge from the private hospital.

My mother fell and broke her hip four years ago, she was 83. She was already frail and in a care home, but had been able to walk around fairly comfortably. She had a hip replacement and was kept in the (NHS) hospital for ten days. The nurse in charge said 10 days was the average for her age group. She was on a ward with others who had had the same op - they ALL used walking frames to mobilise the whole time they were on the ward. In fact to move my mother to the loo for a few days after surgery, they used a Sara Stedy.

Rehabbing her wasn't easy because she has cognitive problems, but her care home did a brilliant job, and within 4 weeks she had regained mobility and had stopped using walking aids. Obviously the care home had all the necessary kit - wheelchair, walking frames, a lift to take her upstairs - and a team of carers.

Hopefully now your mother is under NHS care she will have better pain relief and will be able to start mobilising successfully over the next week or two - and hopefully they will send her home with a walking frame.

Sadly familiar. MIL paid for a private hip replacement and ended up back in an NHS hospital where they picked up the pieces. It seems they're happy to take the money for the op but not interested in recovery.
Crutches are extremely difficult to use. My 20 year old fit DS found them very hard work. No way a frail elderly person could manage, they require a lot of strength.