2 weeks post RPAO

2 week comparison of the LPAO vs RPAO:

Pain issues for the LPAO at 2 weeks were my butt and extreme stiffness in the morning when waking up. For the RPAO it's my anterior hip region (especially going down steps) and SI joint/tailbone.  For the LPAO, I was having body image issues because my hips were so off balance and everything looked really wonky. Not the case this time. I am swollen but don't have the issue with one hip being higher than the other or completely misshapen. Eating and showering by myself were just starting to happen at week 2 for the LPAO and I've been doing well with both since the day I left the hospital this time. I was still unable to do the figure 4 at 2 weeks for the LPAO, but have done the figure 4 since the last day in the hospital for the right hip. For the LPAO at this time I was really exhausted after crutching from the front of the house to the back and did not go venturing out to stores yet; I've already been out to stores for errands 3 times now since home (albeit very short trips) and sat out on the deck in an anti-gravity chair. I do find that I'm sleeping A LOT more with this recovery though...good, bad? I remember having certain movements provoke breathtaking pain last time and I have not experienced that this time. The only thing that makes me clench my teeth now is if I accidentally lift my right leg up, actively using the quads. The area around the scope portals and the incision for the PAO is extremely sore and tight from swelling. I am also lucky in the fact that coughing does not cause near as much discomfort to my incision as it did last time (but I haven't sneezed yet)!

2 weeks down:

I don't really have any new accomplishments to post currently because most of them I obtained in the hospital and last week.
Currently at 2 weeks, the left hip is still doing very well. It's no more sore than last week and although I have lots of popping and clicking going on between the knee and hip, most of it is benign. I have not experienced any giving out at the hip or anything that causes "apprehension" pains. The knee doesn't sway in as much when crutching now and it helps if I walk with my toes pointed out. The muscle fatigue in the thigh prior to the LPAO is no longer there which means I can stand for longer periods of time, which is nice! I feel this in my calf now, but that's not as detrimental to me. The steri-strips are still in place over the site of the screw removal, so I haven't yet seen the new incision. Basically, the PAO is holding up very well!

It's too early to tell how the right hip really feels. When I had the SDD done, I had immediate relief of the pulsing, stabbing pain from the labral tears and impingement and only experienced surgical pain in the first few weeks. Then the hip was back and forth, good and bad, until the PAO. Now, because a PAO is so much more invasive than a femoral surgery, it does seem like it's taking a little longer to see benefits. Add to that the scope and arthrotomy and I was told to expect a little bit longer of a recovery time due to extra soft tissue inflammation. (The LPAO was just a basic PAO, no arthrotomy or scope, and since I barely had a left socket, I feel like I felt the benefits of stability much sooner). Granted, my mobility and ROM this time are through the roof, and I am getting around so much easier and more confidently than last time that it's almost hard to believe I had major hip surgery again!
The steri-strips on both my scope incisions have fallen off and there are little bumps under the incision of each, so I hope those will flatten down as time goes on. They look pretty good otherwise! I still have all the steri-strips on my big incision, which for the LPAO at the 2 week period I think most of the strips were gone. So I don't know what the incision for this side looks like yet. I'm much more patient this time to wait for them to come off on their own so I'm not picking at them. Plus keeping them on longer helps the incision to heal better. Once the strips are off, a new picture will be posted.
The CPM is set to be returned by Saturday but I'm probably done with it tonight or tomorrow because the last two nights I've tried sleeping out of it and felt pretty decent. I'm not waking up stiff like I did last year and I don't need as many pillows. I even turned to my left side for a little bit! I don't like the way my knee feels in the CPM anyway, so it's time for it to go away.
My headache seems to have disappeared finally a couple days ago! One less thing to be treating! My bowels have (knock on wood) calmed down too. My left hand is also feeling better, the painful spot has gotten smaller so I'm not too worried about it anymore.
Steps are an issue for me. Not going up them, but going down them. This activity is enough to bring tears to my eyes. The pain is right around the area of the muscle detachment/reattachment and where the hip meets the leg. It started hurting last week when I went out on an errand but I didn't do anything different! This I can't figure out. I did everything the same as the LPAO and for the left this didn't hurt at all or at least not to any extent that I can remember. This is bad. It's really about the only thing that I can say really spikes the pain other than when I accidentally actively use my quads. It's possible that it's connected?
I have my post op follow up next Monday and I'm looking forward to seeing Dr. Z and discussing the outcome and seeing the xrays. I can't picture what difference is really going to be there as far as coverage goes because the dysplasia was pretty mild on this side compared to the left hip. I also want to know when I'm allowed to drive again.

Emotionally I feel really good about the whole experience. Sure, having surgery after surgery sucks and it definately puts a cramp on your lifestyle, but there are ways to deal with it and meet all the challenges head on. It means missing out on a lot of the things and having to wait to do what you want but there is an end to it. We all go through rough spots but to me there is always something to be grateful for. I am looking forward to being recovered from this and starting the next phase of my life, whatever that will be!

Goals for the rest of the week:
-Sleep soundly through the night without the CPM
-cut down usage of vicodin, start using it only at bedtime or first thing in the morning