anyone here have experience with this, either personally or as a care giver?

My dad had a total hip replacement 6 days ago, I am helping my mom get him through the recovery process. He's impatient and thinks he should be doing more than he is able to. (he's 77 years old)

any personal experience or words of encouragement are welcome!

Thank you!

I worked in a hospital as an orderly quite a while back. The people like your dad that want to get up and do more are great. They seem to be home and back to enjoying life soon. The folks who don't just seem to give up. Whatever the doctors say he can do, I'd let him.

I guess the problem is that he thinks he should be able to do more than he can BUT he doesn't want to do the prescribed exercises. I know it hurts to do them, but he's supposed to do them several times a day.

He is walking around more, doesn't want to do the leg lifts and other isolated exercise because it really hurts him and mom and I need to actually move his leg for him. I keep telling him that he has to do them, and that eventually it won't hurt as much and he'll be able to do them alone but it's hard to boss your dad around

My dad is a John Wayne, Paul Newman kind of guy.... not typically a wimp and part of it is that he thinks he should be able to just DO IT. He's mad that he can't so he quit trying.

He may not want to follow the prescribed plan but at least he's not quitting. He'll get there.

Cindy,

Working in the EMS field and also assisting at the Nursing Home and Hospital, I can say that it is tough to get the older people to do what they need to do.

In order for the hip to heal properly and decrease the chance of dislocation or breaking again, the exercises are much needed as it builds back the necassary muscles to help secure the hip into place.

For Example:
We have a gal here who we pick up at least every three months, she is a teacher and is in her late 40's. Besides other health issues, that we do not pick her up for, we pick her up for her hip either popping out or snapping off because she moved incorrectly. And I am not kidding, it is for the hip every time, quite often. You would think that she would get sick of either A) us having to drug her and pop the hip back in (which rarely happens since replacements are not good to do that with) or B) we have to transport her to the major hospital 2.5 hrs away (in pain from the roads) so that she can have yet ANOTHER surgery to fix it.

This is not due to bad surgery, but rather because she refuses to do the prescribed therapy because it hurts.

It does hurt, and will for a while, BUT, the more the exercises are done, the less the pain will be as the muscles get stronger.

I am sure you have explained all this to your dad, and I totally understand where you are with him. My dad had triple bypass in April and has since had some issues, mainly with his diabetes, because he refuses to follow the rules.

I tried to be the "diabetes" police for a while, and it got me no where, so instead, I said nothing. Pretty soon, he started to follow the rules and then tell me about it to get my approval since he knew I was not happy with him.

Maybe some sort of reverse psychology would help?

(I agree with Steve, at least he is doing something instead of sitting and doing nothing at all....)

Has he tried taking his pain meds an hour or so before exercise?

I had a hard time bossing my dad when he had some medical issues too. He would just smile and say okay and then do what he wanted.

Is it possible to get a home health type service to send a traveling PT to come to the house?

I'm a nurse on an ortho/neuro/trauma floor, and we deal with total hip replacement patients all the time. Every patient is so different with how they respond to the pain and recovery period. Just remind him: they did major surgery. I saw the actual surgery performed a couple of years ago, it IS a big deal. They cut through muscle (before literally sawing off the bad hip!) and move around tissue causing significant trauma to the area.

It takes time for the body to heal itself. Right now it's busy focusing on healing, so he'll probably feel a lot more tired than he's used to. That's totally normal. He won't be able to do certain activities that require using those cut muscles, that's where the rehab comes in. It's really important to use the pain medications so that he's able to do the exercise, but he needs to pace himself at the same time!

Is he supposed to be following hip precautions? They have different tecniques now, and some procedures don't require the usual "hip precautions." If he needs to follow them, that is REALLY important, so he doesn't dislocate and damage that new hip.

The one thing most of us nurses lament about is that it seems that the doctors need to spend a little more time discussing the actual expected recovery time (and possible pain associated with the surgery.) Older people take longer to regain their strength, but it will happen, and he'll most likely be so glad he had this surgery.

It must be so hard, though, for a guy used to being independent and strong. Just keep encouraging him to do the exercises. They are the key and it WILL get easier.

Carole,
I tried to be the "diabetes" police for a while, and it got me no where, so instead, I said nothing. Pretty soon, he started to follow the rules and then tell me about it to get my approval since he knew I was not happy with him. End quote.

Isn't that called negative inforcement???!! Good stuff!

Cindy,
When he's able and even if he doesn't play, have have him go, or take him, down to the local golf course (hmmm, try the middle of the day)(or first ask the pro, he'll tell you when the seniors come around), he'll be able to meet a lot of golfers to give testiment to the value of 'do'n the work', and how good it can work out in the end. I've met many you still wouldn't want to give any strokes to!!

"Rage against the dying of the light".
Randy

My niece's husband had both hips replaced, about 18 months apart. He is in his early 40's and says the pain can be bad. He had to take it slow and easy, but he felt it important to do the exercises.

I don't know your situation, but people don't like giving up control of their lives as they get older. I've been through this with my mom and older relatives, and it is hard for them. So my advice would be to make him think everything is his idea.

And, again, I don't know your situation, but maybe you can get him in touch with another, older man, who has been through the same thing. So he is talking to someone who has been through what he is going through, and who belongs to the same generation. I was in my 50's when my mom died, I don't think she ever thought that I knew what I was talking about

My dad (very young looking and fit)just turned 72 in September. He had a total left hip replacement in February 2007. The pain of the recovery was nothing compared to the 1 1/2 years of previous agony he was in. I saw his x-rays and his left hip looked like Swiss cheese.
It's just my dad and I (my mother died 7 years ago and we live together), so we were both concerned about the surgery and recovery. However, like I said, he was pretty depressed about his limitations before he finally found out he needed a hip replacement. The hospital had a hip clinic for patients and their caregivers before the surgery so we kind of knew what to expect and we made sure we had the equipment ready for when he came home.
He was home after 4 days, and I took 2 weeks off of work to ease him into a routine.
Yes it hurt to do the exercises, but my dad is a disciplined person and he knew he had to do them. He was also a little panicked because he thought he should be getting better faster.

The muscles were painful, but the actual hip socket had no pain. He was amazed. I kept on him to do his exercises and made sure he did not move the hip and leg out of position. That is VERY important. In the 3 month healing time you better listen to the doctor on how you can and can't move. The surgeon told us a story of a woman who came with her husband for her 6-week checkup. She was healing great and got a very good report. Then when she was in the car she leaned over to open the door for her husband and the new hip popped out of joint. She had to go back to square one and have it re-set.

My dad now walks without a cane, can dance again, and has no pain. He has full mobility in his new joint. He really misses playing hockey (he has played his whole life) and curling. However, we are both not willing to take a chance on the possibility of him falling on ice.

If your dad follows the program, in 3 months he'll be almost good as new and by 6 months he'll be just fine. It seems like a long time, but my dad is living proof and he has talked to other people about the miracles of hip replacement as well.