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ForumUser

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Was reading through some threads to see what might have changed over the years. The concerns sound the same as mine. Fairydell's thread, in particular, sounded a bit like my recent experiences.

Quick story - left hip started being painful about three years ago. As it deteriorated over the next year, I looked at options, but had significant scheduling issues - had previously planned on changing job, selling the big house, selling the vacation house, etc - scheduling issues!

So, to buy time, I started corticosteroid injections - first one was wonderfully helpful and relieved all pain and stiffness, 5 months and second one worked really well, 5 months and the third worked well ... you can see the pattern ... finally clicking started and now the last two have not worked nearly as well. This simply means it's time to replace the hip. Scheduled for this spring.

Backstory - had always been active as a child, some sports, but lots of construction, farm work, etc. Horse rolled over on me when I was 16. Flew airplanes in the Navy, fell down some stairs on a ship, off a wing or two - just normal young man stuff. Stiffness started in the right hip around age 32 - had to stop playing racketball :). Got worse, left Navy after 20 years - but not because of the hip. Continued to worsen and after another 5-6 years, it was affecting my ability to be a good father with two sons ... doc said you'll know when you are ready. Started falling down - duh. Replaced hip.

Extraordinary return to normalcy! Back at work in three weeks. On a Jetski at five weeks. In a tree chainsawing branches at eight weeks. Zero side effects! 18 years ago.

Lessons:
1. Have your hip replaced earlier, rather than later - you will heal and recover faster.
2. Find a hip surgeon that is considered to be a "production" surgeon - i.e. one who does this all the time.
3. If you have a bad attitude about the procedure - get over it and get positive.
4. When you return home - walk. Do the stretching. Get up and get going!
 
Hello @ForumUser - and :welome:

Are you anticipating having another hip replacement?

What you advise may have worked for you, but it doesn't work well for everyone.

We don't advise getting up and getting going here on BoneSmart.
When you have a hip replacement, you suffer a major operation, that causes lots of trauma. Your body needs to rest at first, so it can start to heal.

And, as you'll see from the post-op advice we give, hip replacements don't need a lot of exercise to get better:
Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access these pages on the website

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Hmmm ... I can only tell you what worked for me. I like those comments you provided, but believe one needs to put a lot of mental effort into understanding this is an inflection point in your life - make it worth the cost and effort.

I have seen others sit around and complain about the pain ... don't do it. Be reasonable, but get moving. This is a huge opportunity for something really good to happen!

I forgot to mention, I lost about 20 pounds prior to the first op - 6'1" from 220 to 200 pounds. Anyone not working on their weight prior is missing a major point - ya don't have to work out, but lose the excess pounds and your recovery will be easier.

One final point - I used meds on a schedule and it zonked me ... I hated the feeling. I figured out the key - again, for me - was to accept a small amount of pain so that I knew where the "edge" was. Not having any pain means you may be overmedicated - just a thought.

Also forgot - thought it was clear.

After two years of shots to get through big life changes, the right hip is this spring.
 
Hi, @ForumUser
Thanks for joining us. Interesting post.
Please share the upcoming Spring date for your Left THR to be applied as your signature.

You mentioned your Recovery of 18 yrs ago. I'm sure you're aware that your experience is not the norm.
On a jet-ski at five weeks, in a tree at eight weeks. Many are still adhering to Hip precautions that early on, per their OS's instruction. We all know the greatest risk for dislocation is within the first few months.
What you've sited is risky behavior (that early on) and not chances I'd want to take, nor would I advise.
Each could cause a serious setback should an accident occur.

In addition, most aren't ready, nor physically able to return to work at only three weeks post op with all that it entails. Short term recovery is generally achieved within 10-12 weeks but complete healing of surgical wounds and soft tissue takes much longer. It's great your protocol worked for you, but I wouldn't recommend it for the majority.

Best Wishes on your upcoming surgery. I hope you find the information, support and commaraderie the forum provides beneficial as you move toward surgery and through recovery.
A great weekend to you!
 
Welcome to BoneSmart. We like to say to never compare recoveries ...person to person or hip to hip. They can be remarkably similar, or strikingly different depending on each individual and the wear on each bad hip.

Dont want you jinxing yourself:heehee:
Hope all goes just as smooth as the first!
 
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ForumUser, please do yourself a favor this time around and remember that you are a little older than the last time! I am 3 weeks out, was still walking up to 3 miles several times weekly just prior to surgery, so relatively active by hip replacement standards. Just returned from my longest walk to date - 3/4 mile. (I do have a friend who had her hip done 10 days before mine who has been released from PT and can walk 2 miles, but she’s a youngster at 64.) Just remember ya ain’t 20 anymore.
 
ForumUser, you make some interesting points. I think you are spot on about the weight loss. Personally I have decided that one of the best things I can do for myself and for my future (as I go further into my late 60s and then 70s and I hope, beyond), is to keep my weight down and even lose more weight the slow and steady and not depriving myself way. The other thing I liked was when you talked about the surgery being an inflection point in your life. I had a similar thought and even chose a theme song: One moment in time. Lyrics are here.
 
ForumUser Hi

You have an interesting story to tell, and I enjoyed reading it. I love the positive attitude, and look forward to hearing about your recovery after your THR. I wish you well for it.

I look forward to hearing how your experience differs from your first THR18 years ago, with all the advances in medical technology.

Anyway, I had a THR some 8 months ago. 3 days later, I climbed Kilimanjaro. My surgeon and his assistant accompanied me and we all had the greatest fun until day 3 when the surgeon got so drunk that he could not perform the revision I needed at base camp 3 after falling 334 meters into a snake infested ravine. Yawn. Anyway, as it turned out it wasn’t an issue as I was casavacced outta there in a 1963 model helicopter and the paramedic was able to do the hip replacement in mid air, using a turbine spanner and some aviation grease. The only thing I didn’t like about recovery is that it was all so boring.
 
Something important to keep in mind......not only is everyone different with their pre-op and post-op, but also keep in mind what my OS told me after my LTHR 5 years ago: don't expect the same exact outcome on your next hip. For me, I'm 5 years older now. There will be a difference even though my overall health is the same as before. The other important variable in play is that each hip is different, even when they are both your own! Both of my hips are (were) bone on bone. I can tell you that while both hips have been excruciatingly painful, they have both had their own "personalities". I could tell right away that what I am experiencing with my right hip was not the same as my left; pain in different areas, my gait was bad with my left but manageable but my right is hardly walkable. While I am still very positive about the surgery outcome, I have no dreamy expectations that this hip will be as easy as the first. So I thank my OS for having the forethought to tell me that it may be as easy as the first or it may NOT be better than the first. Whichever way it goes, it will be wonderful to have it done! A positive attitude is important but there's pain and anxiety here on the forum, compassion is key.
 
8 MONTHS!!! What took you so long? I did hear those mid air hip revisions are the ticket as you can't hear the hammering and drilling over the noise of the chopper.
 
I had a fast recovery from my first THR I put down to exercising to excess up to the day of the operation. Walking was painful but I could cycle so I would do 20 miles every night. Initial four days recovery was very painful as my muscle mass was in decent condition but ice and morphine helped and a week after the operation I was walking two miles a day and had (with a lot of help) got onto a motorcycle and rode a few miles. After two weeks I was riding a cycle for a few miles and after three weeks I was hill walking for 6 hours a day.
The advice on here may be to take a long recovery but that will not suit us all, in preparation for my second op I am working out hard by walking 11000 steps minimum per day and earlier this week I managed a 27K step hill walk, I check my weight daily and maintain a BMI of 22. I think weight is crucial to pre op preparation and post op recovery, I occasionally carry weights such as fuel cans or car batteries and can certainly feel the effect on the joint of the extra 10 or so Kg when I do and even a loaded shopping basket of rucksack can give a sharp reminder of why I need surgery.
 
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Anyway, I had a THR some 8 months ago. 3 days later, I climbed Kilimanjaro. My surgeon and his assistant accompanied me and we all had the greatest fun until day 3 when the surgeon got so drunk that he could not perform the revision I needed at base camp 3 after falling 334 meters into a snake infested ravine. Yawn. Anyway, as it turned out it wasn’t an issue as I was casavacced outta there in a 1963 model helicopter and the paramedic was able to do the hip replacement in mid air, using a turbine spanner and some aviation grease. The only thing I didn’t like about recovery is that it was all so boring.
:skep:
 
After two weeks I was riding a cycle for a few miles and after three weeks I was hill walking for 6 hours a day.
Just because we can, doesn't mean we should in my opinion.
Might alleviate some mental fears that we aren't "disabled" but I'm certain it isn't helpful to INJURED soft tissues and muscles and ligaments.
I'm glad it worked okay for you, but definitely not reasonable for most.
 
Just because we can, doesn't mean we should in my opinion.
Might alleviate some mental fears that we aren't "disabled" but I'm certain it isn't helpful to INJURED soft tissues and muscles and ligaments.
I'm glad it worked okay for you, but definitely not reasonable for most.
You are right but each of us has our own way of dealing with injury and mine is to deny and defy. I have broken bones racing bikes but still modified the bike, strapped up a wrist or tapped ribs and continued to race. We will see how this operation goes but my intention is to be working again within three weeks.
My last recovery was not against the advice of professionals, in fact just the opposite. I went to my GP surgery to get the staples removed at ten days on crutches and was asked if I needed them as I was moving well without and ended up leaving there behind when I left. My physio saw me once to assess my mobility and only made ongoing appointments to monitor an infection that she got me antibiotics for from A&E. Everyone will recover in their own time and way.
 
The advice on here may be to take a long recovery
I would dispute your observation of this. In my experience the "fast recovery" has very often led to complications that made the recovery longer - a LOT longer - whilst those who had followed our recommendation of NO exercise for a THR, actually DID get a faster recovery! Very few UK hip surgeons require excessive post-op therapy, just the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.
 
You can deny your injuries all you want but it's not going to make your body heal any more quickly.
Our bodies are wonderfully made and the healing process nothing short of amazing when you think about all that happens during a hip replacement surgery. Our body is in repair mode from the moment it's broken or invaded, but it is a process and it takes time.

If you're not fortunate enough to be able to take off more than three weeks of work for recovery and gradually phase back in, I hope that you're feeling strong and energetic enough to deal with your responsibilities when the time comes.

I have read of others ditching assistive devices earlier on than most, my 81 yr old mother being one and many recover without any physio because in most instances it's not needed anyway.

Wishing you a smooth surgery without complications and an uneventful recovery.
@Ariel
 

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