Question
Sharon you have been so good to me, I have a few more questions. I have been almost going all day long, I have some muscle strain behind the knees  on left hip sometimes right. Is it common for knee muscles to be this tight, Im doing all I can it pulls on the hamstrings. I am going to slow down, is muscle pain common ..I know Ill not get back to normal, I can tell that already..how much level of activity will I have to sacrifice for comfort...my mind says go the body says Whoa...about every other day, not every day I can slowly walk about a half a mile or twenty minutes...my doctor says thats okay, on the days Im suffering with tight knees, I slow down Ive also had a knee replacement and the other knee has arthritis in it. I cant shake the arthritis...tried everything...glucosamine losing weight, youre such an encouragement, can you do any walking for a distance..I have to stretch the alternate days...
and still take some dDarvocet or Ibuprofen for a little pain, not bad pain. Six months post op second hip.Had worse time with second hip, lot of blood loss...first hip was okay, second one had to have three units of blood.Thank you for your answers, youre a blessing

Answer
Hey Susan

It's my pleasure to speak with you and I hope I am answering all your questions.

You sound very upset and frightened.  Just slow down.  You are not that far out of surgery and you'll find a niche for yourself eventually. Take things slow, if you go to fast, you run the risk of injury.  You have to realize there are not your native hips and it takes getting used to.  Decide what is more important to you, being pain free or pushing things to try to get back to what you did before surgery?  I say being pain free is more important to me.  There are things you can do to exercise that might be different than you did in the past, but learn to enjoy them.  Swim, ride a bike, do tai chi as long as it does not put you at risk.

I don't walk long distances.  I just do daily activities and sometimes ride a tricycle. I used to swim but I really don't do it much anymore.  I know I should be exercising more, but at heart, I'm just lazy. After working a full day, the last thing I want to do is go to a gym and swim.

On the weekends, I'll ride an adult tricycle or use a stationery bike.

You had a large blood loss, and that takes time to recoup and repair itself.  Give yourself time.  You have knee replacements also which was not easy for you.  I don't have knee replacements, but I know people who had them and I know it's a hard operation.

We all age, and partially you thought that this surgery would clear up everything and it doesn't.  He helps you to be pain free as long as you make adjustments in what you do insofar as keeping active.
Darvocet is not a strong drug, so you are lucky that it works for you.

Slow down, look into the possibility of seeing a therapist.  I am a huge believer in emotional counseling and I still see a counselor on a regular basis.  It helps to talk to someone who can listen to you without judging.  You might also want to look into the possibility of having a therapist who can prescribe anti depressants.  I go on and off them for times such as you are going through.  It does help.  It's not forever, only until you heal.  Then you can wean off.

You had major surgery on hips and knees, give yourself time, stop being so hard on yourself.  I'm here if you need me.

sharon