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THR Déjà Vu: Squirrellymom's Right THR & Her Left THR

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@Squirrellymom been there and done that. I had the same thought between my two surgeries wanted to get the operated leg strength build up before the next one was done. My arthritic hip was grinding bone on bone when I went out to do my walking to get my operated hip strengthened. My goal was to take a one mile walk each day in addition to my normal daily routine walking. I considered going to paddling and my OS advised against it, he recommended that even though I had ditched my cane he recommended that I go back to using it. It took a little bit of experimenting but I was able to use the cane and it was able to continue walking until my second surgery. My OS said he recommends that plan to many people who have a two staged bilateral.
 
Be careful with that left hip. I can't imagine going from two bad hips, to one good and one bad. It would be a tad frustrating knowing that one was working good now, but the 2nd was holding you back. You have all my good wishes on that one!!
 
Julie, so excited for you...April 11! I must wait till May 26 for hip 2! And that unop hip is making itself felt now that I am getting a bit more active, grrrr. Have to dial it back, I guess. Have a great week!


RTHR 1/15/2016. Posterior approach. Due to AVN. LTHR in my future.
 
I agree @Cynthia777. I know there are a few of "us" Uni-Hips anticipating two-staged bilateral on the recovery side. I don't see a tag/flag for anything other than simply bilateral. It would be lovely to continue to connect as one heals and the other awaits repair. I didn't even think about my left hip for the first few weeks into recovery. I was resting and taking meds and doing very little walking. There were a few times that I actually thought about putting off the other hip for as long as a year and then .... I started walking, going out into the 'real' world and that nasty aching, grinding pain reared it's head on the left side. Please, I thought, I just want to walk without any pain. I want to forget that my hips don't work. I want to be DONE - and it wouldn't hurt if I could get both legs back to the same length. By the time I went for my six week check-up last Thursday and the OS asked me when I would be ready for the other hip op, boy I didn't hesitate - Now, ASAP! The only thing holding me back is the Medicare requirement that I must wait 90 days. I don't know why that is required and I haven't looked into it. I believe that should be between me and my doctor but, if I want to have this paid for, I will have to do as they say.

Hey, Bonesmart admins! Is it possible to get a tag applied to threads that would indicate 'staged bilateral'. I read the threads with just 'bilateral' but they had them both done at the same time. I'm finding a whole set of unique experiences for those of us who must wait and then do it all again.

Getting on the pedal pusher machine now. I need a video of a beautiful scenic roadway so I can feel the freedom. I could put a fan blowing on me and feel the wind whipping through my hair as I pedal off into the sunset. Thanks again @CatLady1. Also, I believe you must have had your op at the same hospital where my son & my daughter were born many years ago. I looked up your doctor to see where his practice is (I have a friend in Atl who will be having THR within the next year.) and it looks like his practice is where I lived for many years. We lived in Georgia for 27 years. We moved three times with our last Georgia home closer to the Athens area. I thought I wouldn't miss any of the Atl area because of the congestion, but Nashville's traffic is getting as bad as I ever experienced around 285. ;) --julie
 
Beautifully put Julie! Why wait and stretch out the worst part of the entire process (the anxiety filled pre-op wait)? I'm so ready to get it done and over with!

What a great idea having a tag for those of us who are having two-staged THR's! Boy, would it ever be helpful! So with that said, I second the motion! Maybe @Jaycey (she's my pet moderator :heehee:) can help us on this one?
 
Congrats on your April 11th surgery date @Squirrellymom! Excited for you. We can do this all over again together! Hopefully it'll be easier the 2nd time around? I definitely don't have that anxiety of the horrible unknown like I did the first time. I am mostly worried about not getting nauseous again, but still able to control pain without the opiates.

It does feel a bit like Lopsided Lulu while waiting to get #2 fixed. Like you, I am trying to get stronger but the un-op leg is a such a drag. Good luck with the bike! I'm not doing a bike. I hope it feels good and works well for you.
 
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On my two-stage bilateral now I am 7 months and 3 months post op. I just graduated from walking 2 miles a day at the mall to hiking a mile and a half each day on our farm. Yesterday I took to my grandchildren ages 4 & 3 along for a mile and a half hIke I left them lead the way and I followed it was great. It is only been the last couple days that I am completely pain free and after many years it's like heaven.
 
@Squirrellymom - you must have lived in the Marietta area near Kennestone Hospital (where I had surgery). We used to live in Cartersville before we moved about 35 miles north up 411 to our cabin (near Carters' Lake / Hwy 136 area.) I can't sing enough praises about my surgeon -- he was great and has made the whole 'event' less stressful than it could have been (although, I have to admit, I am one who would have worried - and did - that Dr. Kim wouldn't remember all the details about what I needed done and would leave me with a partially repaired hip. Of course, none of that happened in spite of my concerns. Just another of the silly things we worry about pre-op.)

So how are you managing riding the bike without stressing your bad hip? Can you pedal one legged, or get the bike seat high enough so that your bad hip isn't tortured so much? We parked the stationary bike in front of the LR fireplace facing the tv (yes, I'm hoping the groundhog was right and that spring will arrive early, and we won't need anymore winter fires) -- I find myself riding my minutes while watching news. I would imagine when I progress to riding 15 minutes per session that the TV will be more important as a distraction.
You need to get the BikeOVision DVD's that are sold on Amazon -- how about riding the California Coast??

During the summer of 2015 our son got married, and one of the wedding week events was a 5k "run/walk to the wedding party". Of course, I wasn't going to walk a 5k (and I should have done something back then about the bad hip, but didn't realize it was so bad at that stage, or that it was a hip problem), so I opted to ride a 10 speed bike for part of the 5k. And paid for it with more pain the next day too. I REALLY am looking forward to being able to get on a real bike and ride it soon. -- Sheryl
 
Cynthia777 said:
What a great idea having a tag for those of us who are having two-staged THR's! Boy, would it ever be helpful! So with that said, I second the motion!
Click to expand...
Not my call I am afraid but I will take it up with the administrators.
 
Squirrellymom said:
I know there are a few of "us" Uni-Hips anticipating two-staged bilateral on the recovery side. I don't see a tag/flag for anything other than simply bilateral.
Click to expand...
There's no such thing as a 'two stage bilateral'. Bilateral by it's very nature means two surgeries performed at the same time. So what you are undergoing is two unilateral surgeries and it's not possible to create a prefix for that without it being a yard long!
 
Geeze, its been a while since I checked all the BS posts. When you are off a while a lot happens on here. My DH bought a Macbook Air for my next recovery. I hate, hate, hate the I-pad (Apple, we do exist) and I finally gave it to my son to use when he does DJ events. I don't know exactly what it is that I didn't like but it seemed slow and it was just difficult to type. Frustrating. So, I have been using my not so intelligent phone and that is also frustrating. We have a desktop in an office in our basement and during early recovery I didn't go up and down the steps and I also found sitting at a desk was not comfortable. Now, with an actual computer in my lap, I'm ready to recover with Hip #2. Bring it on (April 11).

I passed the two month date last Friday, March 4. Most of the time I am not aware of the right hip. Sometimes I get a twinge or an ache, but with my left hip reminding me all the time of what real hip pain is, I realize how pain free I would be if both were done. April can't come soon enough. I am pedaling almost every day on the stationary bike. I pedal on no resistance setting for about 10 minutes. I really don't feel any pain afterward and at least I'm moving my legs. I'm not doing my PT exercises every day, but I try to do some every other day just to stretch out and maybe strengthen both sides before 2nd surgery. Yesterday, I walked a mile in my neighborhood. We rescued another little doggie a couple of weeks ago. This makes dog #4. I wish I weren't a soft touch for taking in a foster or saying yes to just one more, but here we are neutering, worming, training a two year old Lhasa Apso/Yorkie mix. I also have a rescued Shih Tzu who is now ten years old (she was eight when we answered the call to foster) and, since I had my first hip surgery two months ago, she has put on some weight and looks like a small watermelon with fur. I need to take her for a walk or two every day to get some weight off as do I. I've started wearing clothes again, well bluejeans and not so much elastic waist warm up pants, and I was shocked to see how tight my jeans have become around the middle. Oh woe is me. Well, a nice walk in the sun was just what Zoe and I needed yesterday, but I paid the price last night. I didn't feel the pain until I sat down for a while and got back up and tried to walk. The worn out left hip just didn't want to cooperate and the pain was pretty bad. I may try a walk again today and use my cane and see how far I can make it. Spring is putting out some signs of arriving soon and my green thumb is sprouting. I want to prune crepe myrtles and uncover daylilies and all the other fun stuff but I feel like I have a concrete block tied onto my left side. I truly believe that a bilateral hip replacement would have been welcome.

Yes, @CatLady1, I lived in Marietta (city of) for 12 years and then in Kennesaw for five years. We moved to a small town out I20 (Social Circle) to restore a 100 year old house and we lived there for about 10 years. We've been in Middle Tennessee for 11 years and that is just about the time I started experiencing back and hip problems. I have fought the pain and treated symptoms for about eight years. I spent a few years getting shots for pain for bursitis, having off and on PT and seeing a chiropractor. I blamed a lot of problems on low back as that was where a lot of my pain was, but my right hip replacement has eliminated most of that back pain so I think the hips were the cause of the back trouble.

I have pre-op for hip #2 on March 21. I won't have the training class on what to expect during surgery or what to prepare at home for after surgery. I will have blood work done again and X-rays. As I've mentioned before, my OS said he built up my right hip for the implant and that has made me about 1cm taller on the right than the left so he will measure again and build up the left so I match. I'm surprised at how I can feel the 1cm difference when I stand. It's weird. I could live with it if I weren't needing the left hip replaced but I'm glad he can make them the same.

I'm getting ready to make a list of everyone having another hip replacement so I can "follow" you. I never remember who needs two and I really want to keep up with differences, if any. I wanted to get the 2nd one done at about six weeks but Medicare says it has to be 90 days between them. At two months out, I am not feeling the energy drain so much anymore and I rarely need to nap, so perhaps this is a good idea waiting three months to reclaim the energy necessary to heal all over again. Que sera sera. --julie
 
What a lovely post Julie! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. You describe my recovery so far, when describing your recovery (although I am a month behind you). I so want to get the other hip done ASAP and begin working towards being pain and limp free again (I also notice my LLD). I'm hoping for o get my second THR date when I see my OS on the 14th of March (it can't come soon enough). Hugs! :-)
 
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