Change

[lily77]

Well I officially changed my surgery date to 12/18/12. Mostly due to financial reasons. If I put it out until then my PTO (paid time off) will restart in January and I wont have to take so many days unpaid as I would if I do it in November like I had originally planned. Plus my hubby and kids will have 2 weeks off and can help me I feel good about it. Hoping my pain isn't too unbearable and I regret pushing it off till then. Ice, rest and meds should get me through!

 

[debkakes]

It sounds like you're doing the right thing: being able to have worry-free recovery time, esp. with the assistance of your helpmeets for two whole weeks, will make your recovery so much more relaxed! Not to be negative, but I did find that the last month or so before my surgery, my pain seemed to get worse (I had a three-month wait from scheduling to surgery), and I was really anxious to just GET IT DONE by the time THR-day rolled around! But the advantage of having the time to prepare my home environment and be on this forum to get all the information I could was invaluable. Good luck with your pain control! If you can, do what activity you can to strengthen your leg muscles in the coming months (swimming and aqua classes were the best I could do). I'm curious, Kelsey: did you know you had dysplasia before you were diagnosed by your surgeon? I had NO idea until he took detailed x-rays of my hip, I just thought it was arthritis.

 

[lily77]

Thank you for the reply debkakes! I didn't know what exactly was the problem with my hip before I sought out a specialist, but I knew it was BAD! I was honestly scared to go. I too thought that it was probably just arthritis, but I am pretty young for it so I thought maybe there was an under lying issue that caused the early onset osteoarthritis. I am glad I did seek help and that there IS help for it! Just still pretty nervous for the recovery! How is your recovery going? Looks like you are just a couple months out. You feeling pretty good?

 

[debkakes]

Kelsey, you can see my recovery thread in the Recovery area, "Aloha from the Other Side." But the upshot: I am doing quite well, but the process, for me, is requiring more patience than I thought it would. I expected to be further along, walking without a cane, and riding my bike by now. My hip, OTOH, had a different agenda! I have some scar adhesion, which makes walking unaided painful. My PT is working on it, and in the meantime we are doing gentle strengthening work on land in the pool. I am THRILLED with so much that is going right. No more awful arthritis pain, and I believe a major milestone will be met in the coming two or three weeks, as I do feel stronger every day. It's just a little slower than I thought it would be after the four-week mark. I've heard this from many people -- you improve by leaps and bounds in the first weeks, then it CAN slow down. Everyone is different, you could be up and walking without a cane in three weeks! Do you know which approach your surgeon uses (anterior, posterior, lateral)?

 

[lily77]

Ya know I am not 100% positive on his approach. I know that he does all, just depending on the patients circumstance I think.

 

[Jaycey]

Glad you set your date and feel good about it. Fingers crossed your hip will cooperate. One tip - take it very easy on that hip. No big lift or moving furniture until you are well clear of your THR. Unfortunately I am speaking from experience - easy does it.

 

[tashia]

Jaycey, I so agree. Why is it we have to do before we learn or is that is the way we learn so we can pass out knowledge to other people so they don't do the same.? I am glad you changed your date and that you will have some help. I would make it much easier to have help. I did it by myself and it was ruff. Do take care and do be careful.Tashia