THR Back again....
- Thread starter scorow
- Start date
Zorro
Former BoneSmart Staff Member
Hello Scorow,
Use these remaining two and a half weeks to fortify yourself and visualize the most perfect outcome.
You are correct: this is just "carpentry."
All of your friends at BoneSmart are pulling for you! God bless.
Use these remaining two and a half weeks to fortify yourself and visualize the most perfect outcome.
You are correct: this is just "carpentry."
All of your friends at BoneSmart are pulling for you! God bless.
The carpentry comment makes me laugh. You go in the operating theatre and see the tools they use, they are really not that different to what you might need to replace the leg on a table. And if the sedation level is light enough, you can hear the actual DIY. Unfortunately the table, once repaired, is repaired. We need time to heal. If my car was able to talk to me, it really wouldn’t understand why human part replacement isn’t a close and go job. Those 2 weeks will pass really fast.
Coddfish - I read in your recovery post how you were able to hear the "carpentry" sounds during your first THR. I was happy to be fully sedated on my first, as I would not want to hear those sounds at all. It was intimidating enough to see the torture chamber equipment in the operating room and know how it was going to be used.
Less than 2 weeks away now. Pre-testing next Wednesday. I recall these feelings from last time - questioning whether I really need to do this (it's not always that bad!) and dreading what I know is to come (feeling worse before better and being restricted for an extended period of time).
Less than 2 weeks away now. Pre-testing next Wednesday. I recall these feelings from last time - questioning whether I really need to do this (it's not always that bad!) and dreading what I know is to come (feeling worse before better and being restricted for an extended period of time).
Definitely park those worries about whether you really need to do it. The challenge with going through it a second time is how you suddenly start to remember the worst bits, the bits you had parked and moved on from. As a woman I would say childbirth is similarly something you forget until you are right there facing it again. One day at a time gets you through it.
Deni444
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I definitely didn't want to hear anything and thankfully with full sedation, I didn't. I've just hit my two month anniversary and all I can say is that those early days of recovery are already a very distant memory. Before you know it you'll be home and from thereon you'll be focusing on recovery. Each day, you get better and that's the wonderful thing about recovering, it's all about achievement. You've got this!
Legseleven
BoneSmart Staff
Completed the pre-screening today at the hospital. Surgery one week from today. It is annoying that the hip has actually felt pretty good the last several of days. I mowed the lawn this evening with just a little discomfort. I keep reminding myself how bad it is when it's bad. During those times I said that I would have it done the next day if it was possible. It would be easier if it felt that way here in these last days before surgery.
This happened last time as well - worrying in the last couple of weeks whether this is premature as its not "that" bad some of the time and doesn't seem as bad as it sounds like other's hips are when they finally decide to have the surgery. The swings between bad and pretty OK just really feed the doubts. Right now, I'm actually happy when it hurts.
Sorry - Really just venting in a "dear diary" way right now. Even having gone through this before, the psychological part of this process is challenging.
This happened last time as well - worrying in the last couple of weeks whether this is premature as its not "that" bad some of the time and doesn't seem as bad as it sounds like other's hips are when they finally decide to have the surgery. The swings between bad and pretty OK just really feed the doubts. Right now, I'm actually happy when it hurts.
Sorry - Really just venting in a "dear diary" way right now. Even having gone through this before, the psychological part of this process is challenging.
It is so common that our trashed joints somehow know their days are limited and they suddenly perk up and fly right in the weeks before surgery. Hang in there....when a joint is bad, it needs to be replaced. It's never going to get better....only worse. You are doing the right thing and will be able to look forward to life without your hip being on your mind all the time.
Legseleven
BoneSmart Staff
Please vent away, it sure is challenging and that’s why this forum is so good. I have the same thoughts and feelings re my knees. We’re all here for you. x
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Good Morning scorow,
It's completely normal to have second thoughts, especially when you have a few good days. I remember this well. However, those good days are usually the exception, not the rule. You're not imagining the pain, nor the limitations. Bone on bone isn't going to reverse itself and you'll soon be living without pain and have a better quality of life. You're making a proactive decision to invest in the rest of your life. You deserve to be able to move, sleep and live without the pain.
Come and vent here anytime. We're here for you and we understand. Wishing you comfort and peace of mind.
Brighter days are on the way!
@scorow
It's completely normal to have second thoughts, especially when you have a few good days. I remember this well. However, those good days are usually the exception, not the rule. You're not imagining the pain, nor the limitations. Bone on bone isn't going to reverse itself and you'll soon be living without pain and have a better quality of life. You're making a proactive decision to invest in the rest of your life. You deserve to be able to move, sleep and live without the pain.
Come and vent here anytime. We're here for you and we understand. Wishing you comfort and peace of mind.
Brighter days are on the way!
@scorow
I'm right there with you. In fact, I think we all do this 11th hour second guessing as the surgery date approaches.
Each time that happens to me, I pull up my radiology report and look at the words "severe left hip arthrosis with bone-on-bone apposition" to remind myself how bad it really is.
You've got this, @scorow!
To put some context onto those worries that you can just carry on for longer…. I went for a walk at a local beauty spot this morning. I was out for 2 hours with 3 rest stops. This is day 13 for me. I saw a woman clearly struggling with her hip walking the same route and we started to chat. She was waiting for an assessment appointment (this being the UK, NHS waiting times can be long). It was very obvious that I was in less pain than her and moving more easily than her. 2 weeks ago I don’t think I could have walked the distance we both walked. The horrible early recovery period is really very brief as I am sure you know from hip number 1. It will get a lot better, probably very quickly. Looking forward to seeing you on the other side.
Thanks, all. Your thoughts and kind words are helpful.
As I mentioned before, my xrays didn't look too bad and my MRI report stated only "moderate left hip arthrosis" in the Conclusions. But the report also said in the description "Full-thickness chondral loss and exposed bone over the anterior and posterior acetabular dome and anterosuperior femoral head. Partial-thickness chondral loss over the posterior superior femoral head." So I think what's going on is similar to what it was in my other hip - some areas are relatively OK but there are areas that are bad. I feel and function OK until those "bad" areas get inflamed, and then its really bad for some time.
Mentioning my specifics in case someone reading this at some point has a similar ambiguity in symptoms.
As I mentioned before, my xrays didn't look too bad and my MRI report stated only "moderate left hip arthrosis" in the Conclusions. But the report also said in the description "Full-thickness chondral loss and exposed bone over the anterior and posterior acetabular dome and anterosuperior femoral head. Partial-thickness chondral loss over the posterior superior femoral head." So I think what's going on is similar to what it was in my other hip - some areas are relatively OK but there are areas that are bad. I feel and function OK until those "bad" areas get inflamed, and then its really bad for some time.
Mentioning my specifics in case someone reading this at some point has a similar ambiguity in symptoms.
Thanks, Layla. I was just about to post that I'm heading out this afternoon for the hotel where I'll stay in advance of the surgery tomorrow (in a different city about a 2 hour drive away).
We had a quick anniversary trip over the weekend and I did a couple of short (1 mile), hilly hikes and did some other things fairly pain free which reinforced those doubts. But (thankfully) the hip flared up yesterday. I am fairly comfortable that these "cycles" of bad stretches and "OK" stretches that I have experienced are a result of the nature of my issue (localized cartilage loss as I described above) as opposed to the more typical loss of cartilage/joint space usually seen on plain x-rays.
It won't get any better and it will certainly get worse over time. I'm not totally at peace with it, but ready to get it done.
Thanks for the support.
We had a quick anniversary trip over the weekend and I did a couple of short (1 mile), hilly hikes and did some other things fairly pain free which reinforced those doubts. But (thankfully) the hip flared up yesterday. I am fairly comfortable that these "cycles" of bad stretches and "OK" stretches that I have experienced are a result of the nature of my issue (localized cartilage loss as I described above) as opposed to the more typical loss of cartilage/joint space usually seen on plain x-rays.
It won't get any better and it will certainly get worse over time. I'm not totally at peace with it, but ready to get it done.
Thanks for the support.
