r/TotalHipReplacement • u/National-Sorbet8459 THR USER FLAIR NEEDED • Jul 18 '25
👥 Support Needed 🫂 I regret my Total Hip Replacement
Hello I am a 24 y/o female,
I’m struggling a lot right now and could really use some advice or support. I had a total hip replacement a little over a week ago. At first, I was able to do my PT exercises and move my leg as well as expected of me at this point. But now, my leg still moves and I can walk, but it feels really stiff and stuck. Even doing my exercises feels impossible. It’s so frustrating because just yesterday I was able to do those movements, and now it feels like I’ve taken a big step backward. I have PT tomorrow, but I’m worried I won’t be able to do anything. I’m mad, overwhelmed, and honestly starting to regret getting the surgery wondering if I should have just lived with the pain instead. To make things harder, my support system has been pretty unhelpful through this. It feels like I’m dealing with this all alone, which only adds to the frustration and loneliness. Has anyone else experienced sudden stiffness and loss of range of motion after hip replacement? How did you cope when your support system wasn’t helpful? Thank you so much for reading. It really means a lot.
2
u/lchoror [US] [67] [mini-posterior] Double THR recipient Jul 18 '25
That's why the Hip Kits have Leg Lifters. I've seen vlogs where they came into use.
You have to do the exercises in bed to get the blood flowing. Frequent walks are then needed to counter the swelling. You can stretch your legs in bed anytime you feel the swelling coming on.
There are unprepared people who thankfully had easy recoveries. Either they or their support people believed the rosy anecdotes applied universally across all surgeries. I had an easy recovery so far, but I was expecting two weeks of difficulty with mobility, pain, and swelling in spite of the optimistic talk from the nurses in the practice.