going into surgery

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Wendi

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I am a 42 year old female going into surgery the beginning of July for a total hip. I also have severe Rheumatoid. Can anyone give me any advice?

Wendi
 
HEY WENDI,
I WOULD BE CONSIDERED AN OLDER HIPPY PERSON. I HAD MINE REPLACED IN LATE FEBRUARY. JUST GO DOWN THE THREADS AND YOU WILL FIND MANY ANSWERS TO MANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE....AND WE ALL AGREE THAT IT IS WORTH EVERY CENT NOT BE IN PAIN ANYMORE. WE ARE ALL HERE FOR YOU...patty
 
Hi Wendi,
Like Patti said so much info here. I had my right hip replaced last friday. I have endocrine/anemia/bone density and other health issues. I don't know about your arthritis although I have artiritis in knees, toes, spine and just turned 51.
The hip pain had been around at least 15 years. I am really swollen now which doesn't help any joints. I know rheumatoid involves swelling joints, possibly autoimmune?
Judy in So Cal
 
Hi Wendi

I am 35 year old female with osteo-arthritis and will be having a THR at the end of July unfortunately i do not know anything about your type of arthritis but hopefully there will be others who can help you.

Take care
Tracey
 
Tough call there, Wendi. What kind of stuff are you looking for? As Patty said, we have covered pretty much everything and more over the past year so spend some time reading and please come back with any questions you have. We'll be pleased to do our best to answer them.

How are you feeling? Getting anxious about it all? You got any particular things are making you anxious?
 
Thanks for helping with this. I am very anxious about the surgery and afterward. How long did it take for you to return to your normal routine?
Wendi
 
Wendi,
I just thought of the hospital joint replacement class I attended. Do you have one available. I suggest if you do go now, things yu may want to get at home before surgery, suggestions for what you need, what your hospital may supply. Mine also had different infor for different Doctors patients.

Knowing what type of procedure your doc is doing is important in planning. There are different hip precautions depending on how your doc is performing your surgery.

I had posterior and could not be at home without the raised potty seat. Also the hip kit I ordered on line. It has items as a reacher grabber, long shoe horn, long handled sponge.
Judy
 
Hi Wendi
One thing you will discover is that any estimate of time is based on the specific experience of that one person who is not just like you. You are going to heal at your own rate so be prepared for a wide range of possible "return to normal" dates. I've seen a lot of people write thst they could not return to work for 3, 4, 6 months. I had a typical posterior approach 2 weeks ago and have already been back to work 4 days and went dancing last night for my birthday( using crutches) and been walking 2 km most days. I might be lucky but I've read of a few others were on a faster track. But the vast majority have a longer recovery and more discomfort than I had...no pain medication since the operation.
One bit of advice I read often was getting in shape before the operation and if there is any extra weight, to lose it. It makes sense but it did not have much effect in my case because I had such limited mobility on my affected side that the only exercise I was able to do was limited walking and dancing a few times a week.
Another factor in recovery time is whether you have assistance at home afterwards. Some people have a lot of trouble doing even simple tasks for a while so need help and tools like reachers and sock tools. Again, I was a little different, with no one at home to help and no access to the tools so have assumed fairly normal life right away with cooking, cleaning(ok, pretty limited cleaning) laundry and grocery shopping. I had lots of friends volunteer but did not want to put anyone out. My girlfriend got a new job while I was in the hospital that keeps her too busy to help with daily household activities and I think that contributed to my rapid return to functionality.
I've had a lot of visitors but that adds to my work by preparing snacks, drinks and entertaining them and sometimes I think it would be better to have more peace and quiet.
The results of this operation will very likely mean a better quality of your life so the high cost and moderately long recovery time, for almost all who have had it done, was worth it. The typical comment is "I wish I did it years ago". I was dreading the operation, or more specifically the long recovery time that was the average reported but overall the anticipation and excuses for putting it off was much more of a big deal than the operation and hospital stay which for me was remarkably comfortable, pain free and actually a time of relaxation and enjoying being pampered by the hospital staff.
Good luck Wendi
 
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