Am I ready for a THR at 58?

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Whats happening with me....Well
*I'm waiting to hear from the OS secretary with a list of available surgery dates
*I'm summoning up the courage to go to the dentist-thought I should check this out before I hit the OR table...I have a few sensitive teeth
*I'm teaching (primary school) on a casual basis..tomorrow I've got a really difficult class so I'll be knackered at the end of the day, Nic is in childcare a few days a week and I have an incredibly generous friend who minds him on other days for me if I get work
*I did a swan dive on the lounge room floor (stepped on one of nics cars) ....survived ...not too much pain. Interesting thing was I HAD a ganglion (a great big ugly lump of no great medical consequence)on my wrist. When I fell I came down on that wrist, The ganglion swelled up a little and now the swelling has gone down its disappeared! Folklore used to recommend "banging them with a bible", and I guess in some way, slamming myself to the floor has achieved the same thing!
*Went fishing today with the kids (no bites)
*Hip is achey
*I feel perpetually tired...hip?, diet ? actually the fact that I do little exercise means that I don't get the energy boost attributed to exercise. I am a little worried about how I'll fit regular exercise into my days activities as I won't be able to easily take nic for a walk. I live in a hilly area and walking will be a challenge , let alone pushing a pram or chasing a 2 year old....and swimming with a 2 year old isn't really swimming at all....
* I keep on talking about hip replacements to everybody (and anybody)
*actually I should go and get my blood checked etc
*I'm doing school assignments on antarctica, Aussie culture, science, Anzac day, .....no they are not my assignments but lets not pretend that when a kid has assignments that they do it entirely by themselves!
* and all of that is on top of normal life.....
Life is good and I am grateful that I'm not in the pain that some people are experiencing. I always said that I would have THR when I felt dangerous driving...I don't feel dangerous but I do find sitting and driving can cause pain in the hip and back ache and stiffness.... but none of this compares with the level of pain that some people here describe and whilst I feel for everybody I'm grateful that I can't feel it too. I rarely take any drugs....an occasional paracetemol or ibuprofen, but not everyday. This is more a lifestyle choice rather than a pain issue....
Stay happy
Rachel
 
You ARE lucky that pain isn't a real issue - but lifestyle limitations can be just as hard to deal with. Here's hoping you get a date for surgery SOON! Are you going through the public system? I'm thinking that must be why you have to wait to hear about a date? Hang in there - you won't know yourself once you've had this done - you WILL have your life back. I "pinky" promise! :) In the meantime get to the dentist and maybe your GP to make sure nothing else is causing the tiredness?
You sound like a busy lady - make sure to set aside time for looking after you! Oh - and good luck with all those assignments - I well remember going through all that.....!

Peta
 
No, I'm actually going private, but the OS needed to check when he had space in his surgery times....actually Im really lucky because between my health fund and medicare I won't have any out of pocket expenses (escept the anaesthetist and perhaps physio). I'm aiming for late April/early May, as I need to be back on deck for my 8yr old daughters first communion at the end of June. Otherwise I'll be opting for after June...I also want to have the surgery during school term so that my children are at school and there is less childcare to organise.
The problem with this decision making process is that it takes up all my thinking time...when I'm not doing everything else I'm thinking about THR, I'm monitoring what I currently can and can't do , pain levels, contemplating the logistics of 5 kids and hospital stays etc. I kind of resent how much time I am compelled to put into a totally defective joint....other people consider their latest cake recipe or the state of the nation or whatever....
Anyway , I'm off to watch some mindless murder mystery on the Box
Rachel
 
Kangaroo....you certainly have the right attitude about your hip replacement! I say go for it!!! Hopefully you'll be crossing over to the other side soon and well on your way to doing the things you want to in life. The surgery is such a blessing!!
 
Rachel, I think your case is closer to mine than many others. I decided for THR due to lifestyle limitations more than the pain itself. Last night, in the middle of the night I started having major second thoughts about my upcoming surgery (April 2). I felt no pain at all in the hip while lying in bed. I got up at 3Am to have some herbal tea and had no pain going down stairs and back up again. This morning I have no pain walking around the house. I can pick up things off the floor; I can tie my shoe, I can almost touch my toes with straight legs, etc. It makes me wonder why I am going to have things taken apart and put back together. I guess I need to go for a long walk in the woods to remind myself of what I can't do. Have you had these doubts yourself? How did you rationalize your decision? What is your age if you don't mind my asking? Are you concerned about needing a revision down the road? I know I'm supposed to be thinking positively, but it is a major decision which the doctors can't make for me.
Gail
 
It's happening to me too, Gail. I have been cleaning the house and packing for my departure on Tuesday and what's hurt more than my knee is my back! Apart from a couple of occasions when I stubbed my foot and the air was very blue! But the pain was there and gone again within an instant. But it's just mind games. Some of the old endorphines kick in because you're anxious and hyped up about having it done and they mask a lot of problems. I have to keep remining myself of the things I have given up to accomodate this dodgy knee.
 
They may not lie, Judles, but they are sometimes "economical with the truth"!
ai21.photobucket.com_albums_b286_flagady15_smilies_heehee.jpg

 
What is funny about that statement Judles is my imaging showed no DJD, then about 9 months later a little mild DJD, but whent the dr. did the hip scope, there was severe arthritis on all the weight bearing surfaces!!!

Oh yes I remember the second guessing and doubts. I went for a long strenuous hike the day before my THR. So much for getting the house ready. I knew the family would have plenty of time to destroy it while I was in the hospital, so I did not bother!!!

Gail, just go for it. I think in my case I had chronic low grade pain for at least 15 years, more like 25 and has just accepted that level as part of life . I only had the more severe symptoms for a few months and they were not all the time. Keep that date Gail, you will not regret it., Keep posting all your concerns and doubts.

Rachel
I hope to hear a date for you sooner verses later. You need a break from the kids!!! They will survive. You can still control things from your recliner when you get home!!!
judy
 
Thanks for all the comments. It helps to vent on this forum so I don't drive my surgeon's office completely crazy.
Judy, the image of my right hip showed "a really bad hip" in the OS's words. He came into the office, looked at me, and even went back for a second look to be sure it was my hip, I suppose because of my age. "It's bone-on-bone and been that way for a while." The head of the femur is flattened and the cup is starting to wear on one edge. He said the hip replacement results are better the less bone destruction there is. He couldn't think of an advantage in waiting. Can anyone elaborate on what the problems are if the cup has become degraded? It does makes sense that the better the foundation you're working with, the better the result. What I'm trying to reconcile is why I don't have even more pain than I do given how bad the hip looks in the xray. I even wondered if he was looking at the correct image! This problem has been brewing for at least 3-4 years as I remember clinging to my husband's elbow as a crutch when we were touring college campuses with our twin sons.

We just returned from walking our yellow lab back in the woods. On the return trip, the old aches and pains made themselves known. It's a 3/4 mile circuit. On a related note, our lab is 9-1/2 years old, has fairly severe hip dysplasia, but so far has shown no signs of limping and still chases squirrels, just not as aggressively as 5 years ago. She has had glucosamine/chondroitin every day of her life since she was 3 and we keep her very lean. It looks as if she won't need hip surgery!

I'm going to contact the surgeon's office tomorrow to get more details on the risks of waiting, i.e. more bone destruction. That could help dispel any lingering doubts.

Gail
 
The condition of the acetabulum makes little or no difference to the outcome, Gail. Just means it takes him a couple of minutes longer to reform the socket to take the implant. Many people have deformed acetabulums.
 
Gail
Why would you wait? I can understand if someone has a big wedding, graduation or some other life event coming up soon. Maybe even some child care issues that make a certain time of year better than others. I remember when I told me doc, lets do it, then I said I just have to figure out when. He said, if you already made the decision to do it, why wait?? I thought for a second and said, you are right and got on his schedule for 5 weeks later.
judy
 
Rachel, I think your case is closer to mine than many others. I decided for THR due to lifestyle limitations more than the pain itself. Last night, in the middle of the night I started having major second thoughts about my upcoming surgery (April 2). I felt no pain at all in the hip while lying in bed. I got up at 3Am to have some herbal tea and had no pain going down stairs and back up again. This morning I have no pain walking around the house. I can pick up things off the floor; I can tie my shoe, I can almost touch my toes with straight legs, etc. It makes me wonder why I am going to have things taken apart and put back together. I guess I need to go for a long walk in the woods to remind myself of what I can't do. Have you had these doubts yourself? How did you rationalize your decision? What is your age if you don't mind my asking? Are you concerned about needing a revision down the road? I know I'm supposed to be thinking positively, but it is a major decision which the doctors can't make for me.
Gail

Hi Gail,
I'm 42 and I have 5 children and since I've started posting I've virtually had no pain at all. ....I've walked around the park, I've been to the shops, gone fishing...I've even tried to push myself just to experience pain so that I know its still there. and I too, think at times that I must be nuts....!Why on earth would I allow the dr to cut out a functional albeit defective hip joint, endure weeks of pain and inconvenience ,risk that I could get any number of rare but nasty sounding complications, and have my family thrown out of wack, .....? I agree it sounds like mad talk. And then I think maybe its just attention seeking....Maybe I'm lonely and just need some bonesmart friends....Maybe its just another project...patchwork quilting but I'm the fabric (you know the definition of Patchwork...take perfectly good pieces of material, cut them up and then put them back together again!)

But then I sit back and consider my childrens mother whom they see as being unable to get into the groove, play soccer, ride bikes etc . I consider my relationship with my husband and ALL that this entails, I look with envy at other women that i know who go to the gym or for a run or go dancing or whatever and I once again have an excuse for not getting into life. I'm just tired of sitting on the sidelines, I almost feel guilty if I feel happy, I seem to only be able to whinge and complain and before I became seriously affected by this hip (in terms of mobility) I was always jovial and genuinly carefree. I guess I want that person back . Have I lost my sense of self because of my hip, or because of all that life entails? Who Knows?!

My OS reckons I shouldn't need a revision until I'm 70, if at all and although he can't guarantee this, I am a betting lady (not literally) . I figure I'm willing to take a risk that I'll get 30 years rather than be sure I'll get 15. No I'm not worried about a revision, that may or maynot happen, and by then technology continues to advance.

Am I worried about surgery...not really...just not keen on pain or the after effects of anaesthetic and I'm not a good worker when it comes to boring physio exercises!

So Gail, yes I have had second thoughts but it is time.....time to "get on with it", time to embrace life and time to let go of the crutch thats holding me back....bring it on, game on!
Rachel
 
Excellent post, Rachel!! Your perspective (so well put) should be a great benefit to those who wonder if surgery is the right thing to do.
 
Oh Rachel! So right you are. I just went out to the shops and was not only walking around ok but not even with a crutch! I too keep thinking I must be nuts to go through with this. Why chop up a 'perfectly good' knee when I can get around like this?

Then on the way home, I started listing the things I have given up to accomodate this
'perfectly good' knee which included

~ gardening - spent a lot of time building my garden from scratch and right now I should be preparing it for the year's fruit and veg harvest
~ flag worship - my commission and love. I am in the middle of a prilgrimage of flag worship the Lord had me start. I know He wants me to finish it.
~ driving for any distance. I love driving!
~ visiting relatives in distant parts
~ just going somewhere, like to London, for the heck of it

That's too much of my life to put on hold at my age just so I can sit here and convince myself I don't need to do this thing tomorrow!
 
Atta girl, JO!!!!!
 
Judles, I am as ready as I ever will be. I was reminded several times today by my achy hip why I need this. Today, I picked up my shower chair, commode, and walker from the local loan closet. My son's first floor bedroom is ready for me with a nice high mattress. Tomorrow, I'm going to a public lecture given by my surgeon on hip treatment options. I will finally get to see the hardware he plans to use. I'm a little surprised he is using a non-FDA-approved combination of materials (this is slated for next year), but I like what I have read about it. It will be ceramic ball on metal cup with uncemented implants. It is supposed to have 1/10th the metal ion loading compared to metal-on-metal. I'm "almost" looking forward to getting on with the recovery and rehab. I just remembered I need to get my tax returns filed before my big day. I don't want that job hanging over my head!
Gail
 
You're definitely taking steps in the right
Direction!!!! Instead of worrying, you can
be healing!!! :)
 
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