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THR A Matching Pair of Hips! RTHR

Amazing that the wound isn’t painful to sit on. If I every have to have any other surgery maybe I'll ask them to scrape it and see if it feels better afterwards……or maybe not!
You have such a positive attitude, well done and excellent that you walked 2000 steps.
 
@IndigoKnee Here's how I see it on balance. They have a call to make and everything has some associated risk. Of course they could have opted for Staples but I'm sure there are also risks. Just off the tip of my head, what about the metal? I have reacted to jewelry in the past... Minor but still a reaction.

Maybe they are more guilty of failing to talk details and flag their decision making tree. On a practical level... Do they realistically have time? Would too much information cause anxiety and concern? They have spent years developing their skills and learning to balance risk and make tough decisions.

I believe I would usually opt for maximum safety potential over temporary discomfort. I would have gone for the scraping based on their take on why they thought it best.

On the one hand we need to try and trust their expertise but on the other know we have a say and legitimate voice and have a right to use it. It's OK to question, prod and repeat yourself even to a top surgeon. Any medical professional. There's often the option to put things in writing or seek a more confident family member or friend to be with you. Maybe prompting them to ask certain questions based on your medical history and personal circumstances. Again, be the expert on you... Maybe that is sometimes knowing in advance you don't have enough confidence.

Not always feasible to plan ahead but often there is time.
 
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My wound was closed with stitches. I wonder if sometimes it’s down to what a particular surgeon prefers?
I agree that it is always sensible to question if you are unsure about something or want to check they have correct information about you. As long as it is done politely then it should be accepted. I do sometimes wonder though if my notes have a code words on them, like 'well informed patient' which actually mean 'be careful of this one she can be difficult':loll:
 
Hi Denni, sorry to hear about your 'setbacks'... You're such a positive person it sounds as though you will beat this.
Sending gentle healing hugs...x
 
Tuppence71 said:
I think it is that word, “scraping” *shudders*. Could they not maybe have ‘caressed’ it off?
Click to expand...

@Deni444….I think Tuppence71 may have been trying to inject a little humor into the procedure you needed to remove the glue by suggesting that when they scraped they just referred to it as “caressing.” Sometimes words can make a big difference in how something is perceived by a patient.

It was obvious by the result of the scraping that it was the right move to get you back on track. You have a great medical team that really seems to know their stuff.
 
@Jamie Coincidentally, the humour hit upon what appears after personal searching for information to be a genuinely unusual approach by my team based on how to remove the glue. I took it at face value at the time, assuming the 'aggressive scraping' was the norm, having no experience or point of reference. In fact the more gentle approach from what I gather is in fact more usual.

I wanted to capture that in case anyone else had experienced different protocols. Also address the previous comment Tuppence made regarding how gruesome it sounded and about it being a bit of a scary experience. I'd love to hear from others who may have experienced a surgical glue allergy and be able to compare.

Purely out of curiosity, I'll ask my surgeon when I see him next. The only reference to the method I came across was in relation to cancer. As he's listed as treating such cases I'm wondering if it's a method quite particular to him that he's adapted. I have total confidence that he has a very good reason and as you say it worked. Just in hindsight a little baffled by it.
 
@Deni444 And all this time I was all worried and apologetic for FLAKING surgical glue all over the floor of my surgeon's office! :heehee:

Seriously, I'm glad you got that situation under control. What a crazy thing to happen but unfortunately, that's often how these things present themselves: out of the blue, even with no previous problem. You were great at advocating for yourself. I agree that having an extra set of eyes and ears (and mouth) can help with a physician encounter. My family often asks me to fill that role, being the medical experienced person. I'm just not sure which one of those extra sets they're counting on but I have my suspicions. :) :-) (:

Continued good healing from here on out and more and more shut-eye. Blessings.
 
@Hip4life I'm seeing that FLAKING in my minds eye :heehee:. Seriously, I'll confess that my positivity, tendency to be a bit assertive and confidence to speak, coupled with sleep deprivation presented like a hyperactive spaniel on this particular occasion :dogwalk:. I'm booking you an international flight out to Blighty for my next appointment!

I've been in a kind of emotional recovery since first finding BS and come a long way but my personal hercules heel is medical procedure anxiety... It's a big part of why I chose to delay surgery for much too long. Long story but I had a traumatic dentist experience almost 30 years ago now. To this day, I shake uncontrollably in a dentist chair if they have to treat me. Often to the point they can't treat me. I'm better if it's a hospital but often wish I had an advocate. My usual go to rock, hubby has an adversion to hospital settings due to his own personal experience of surviving cancer as a teenager (what a pair).

The cover doesn't always adequately depict the book. I really do empathise with people who struggle. Fortunately, I ended up telling my surgeon about my issues and he understands and ignores my incessant nervous chatter. Hilariously, the nurses haven't a clue and the picture on their face is often priceless as I try to explain, I talk a lot when I'm nervous... Imagine monumental nurse professionalism with an undercurrent of, get her out of here my ears are bleeding :sos:

So many words to simply say... I understand it's incredibly difficult for many of us.
 
The saga continues unfortunately...

SWAB results back showing what my GP described as an unusual/funny skin bacteria. He had to look it up, unfortunately I forget the name. It's not any of the nasty ones associated with hospital more external environment.

That's all I know for now. Awaiting a call from the hospital. I'll keep you posted.
 
Oh no! Let us all know when you hear back.

On the dentist note, I too am very nervous at the dentist and needed sedation for an extraction. I found a very calming dentist who isn’t the closest and is more expensive than most but he is brilliant and really understanding.
 
Sorry to hear you are having a challenging time @Deni444. I can see how having underlying anxiety about procedures, on top of allergies and underlying immune issues adds a whole layer of complexity to this that some of us are lucky not to have. Hopefully the antibiotics you have are effective on the bacteria they have found, and that with glue and dressings off, things do improve for you.
 
Thank you @IndigoKnee I did eventually find a dentist who was as gentle and compassionate as they get. I subsequently improved over a few years with her gentle care. I can now tolerate treatment better but remain nervous enough to cope by being overly chatty to take my mind off whatever. Not so bad really. I'm just prone to avoid intervention, like major joints surgery :heehee:

@Coddfish @myglasshalffull
I'm hopeful it's something pretty insignificant and maybe the antibiotics I've had will have been adequate. Could actually explain some of my skin sensitivity generally... Who knows?
 
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@Deni444
You have been through a lot with your hip the last week. Hope all that is behind you and you can start healing.
Glad you found a dentist that you can work with, dental work is one of those things we all have to do, even if you avoid it you eventually end up in a dental chair.
Continued healing,
Chris
 
Thank you @Pumpkin Thankfully, I believe it's an insignificant bacteria but I'll feel better when they confirm the blood works.
 
Hi @Deni444 here's hoping the bacteria are just along for the ride and not out to cause trouble.
I can identify with the dental problems you and others have described, again having had several bad experiences. I finally found a dentist qualified in hypnotherapy and specialising in treating fearful patients - it costs to stay with this private practice but for me it works because they adjust treatment to suit, explain what they are doing and why, work at my pace and stop if I ask.
 
Finally a happy update about SLEEPING :zzz:

Exactly 3 weeks to the day sleep was forthcoming. I went to bed at 10:00 pm and awoke after a blissful full night of sleep at 6:30 am. For both of my hip replacements, sleep has been without a doubt the recovery symptom that I've found hardest.

What sleeplessness and insomnia did to me personally.

Some headline generally documented consequences of sleeplessness I experienced:

Micro sleeping: It's when you suddenly fall asleep just for a moment without being aware. I had that frequently. Obviously, no way I was fit to drive.

Concentration: Central nervous system is the main information highway of our body. Adequate sleep is necessary to maintain normal functioning. I was increasingly finding it difficult to make informed decisions... Should I take my painkiller now or later? Is a walk a good idea? will it be ok to bend and do a thing? Should I call the hospital? What should I say? How do I navigate this step I've climbed loads of times before?Just a few of many normally easy decisions becoming harder and harder as sleep deprivation went from days to weeks. I was so not normal for me.

Mood Swings: I was increasingly oscillating between my more usual positivity to varying degrees of desperation, impatience and confusion. My usual comfort from engaging in creative thinking, replaced with a tendency to not want to think at all or become frustrated. I suddenly didn't want to chat to family.

Immune System: Without getting too technical, it's commonly understood that sleep is an important and complex aspect of the bodies ability to heal. For example to fight off potential invaders. As my recent thread pinpoints. I've increasingly experienced immune related symptoms. Hopefully, minor and temporary and very specific to my personal body sensitivity and history.

I'll stop there because I could go on and on but SLEEP is so important and I hope this is a genuine turning point in my personal recovery. For any sleepless friends who may read now or in the future... All a normal part of recovery and although a really horrible part of recovery, sleep generally gets back to normal. I'm hoping I'm not celebrating prematurely but when I suddenly was able to sleep all night without a toilet break with hip #1, I was back to normal on going. If not today... Soon!

Personally, I found nothing much helped to resolve my sleeplessness. All that helped was a focus on counteracting a lack of sleep by giving my poor system as much rest and relaxing, water and beneficial nutrition as I could whilst awake.

There are tips galore on how others have managed if you use the BoneSmart search feature. Take a look at the articles available on here and also some great threads in the Community area to provide distraction and light entertainment.
 
I think we all underestimate the importance of sleep to health. It’s almost as if the body can’t get to work on healing until you are asleep. I liken my white blood cells to workmen’s little white vans that don’t set off to their destination until the roads are quiet. As someone with a range of (generally well controlled) inflammatory issues caused by my immunotherapy (cancer treatment) adverse event, I know they flare up when I don’t sleep well. Unfortunately that same event damaged my kidneys such that it’s not possible for me to get through the night without at least 2 loo visits. I do find it critical to get straight back to sleep. I would love to be able to sleep straight through the night. Menopause, cancer treatments, previously arthritic hips and the above kidney damage have conspired against that for some years. Here’s hoping it becomes routine for you.
 
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