THR Heal first, then exercise, then dance!

[An54]

re: "I've got a good surgeon, I know the drill, so hopefully by this time next year I will be reporting on the swing dance that was The. Best. Ever."

Just recalled it's only March. Revising that to June, 2020.

 

[Going4fun]

@An54, totally get the frustration and more that can come from thinking your dancing will be disrupted. I'm really hoping my physical therapy has answers and that my problems are soft tissue only ... But I get how disorienting it can be (even if you catch yourself--as you did) ... to imagine going on without losing yourself in dancing. Sounds you are really hearing the left hip calling for attention ... sooner, of course, than you had hoped ...

BTW: it IS a loud signal to feel stymied on the dance floor as opposed to feeling stiff and achy afterwards. A little over a year ago, I was out dancing with a friend ... and my left hip and right knee just so hobbled me ... made my movement so noticeably stiff that my partner stopped and said, "we can slow down." That was a turning point ... I knew I needed to get knee meniscus surgery on my right knee and get the hip done ...

 

[An54]

Could someone in admin please edit my thread title to "Heal first, then exercise, then dance!"
That's my plan, and I'm sticking to it.

 

[Layla]

I'm sorry Lefty is already raining on your parade. Hopefully it's only intermittent and not full on misery for quite some time yet. Your thread title will be changed to the title you requested.
A peaceful evening to you @An54

 

[Pumpkin]

Your thread title has been changed, glad to hear you are doing well.

 

[Debru4]

You sound so disillusioned, and I don't blame you. I think you may be right....if it is just a matter of time, and if it will be a 6 month wait once you commit, you might want to get ahead of it. If you do, I'm sure you'll have moments of "buyers' remorse" but if you don't, you might end up being in agony for months.

On the flip side, is there any chance this is related to your recent illness, and maybe you felt so weak/bad because you are still recovering?

There were a a couple of moments I was kicking myself for postponing my surgery....once while I was crawling (and crying as I went) up the steps at my daughter's home one night, while I stayed with them to help with their newborn. Another time I was in Croatia the night they played the semi-final World Cup match. We were downtown while everyone watched, and then celebrated the win. It was rainy and I was unable to take a step without nearly dropping in pain---instead of reveling in the moment, I wanted to fly back home. But I couldn't even imagine getting on the plane and making it home. Fortunately, both times the crisis passed, but I don't think I'll ever let myself get back into a spot like that if I can help it. I suspect if I'd had the surgery when he first suggested it, I might have been able to travel anyway, and have had less pain. (Or maybe not?!?!)

But I didn't have any way of knowing----it seems none of us do. I had an easy time this hip---very lucky. Another hip, another time, might be totally different. I'm ambivalent about how much they should tell you, but I do believe they should tell you the range, so you can be better prepared in terms of having help/support available, and not feeling like you did anything wrong if things take more time.

 

[SurreyGirl]

It is tough to have to contemplate going through it all again but how do you think leftie will be in a years time? If you make the decision to go ahead and leftie starts playing up at least you know there is an end date to the pain.

Has your OS confirmed it needs doing. Dancing like you do you can probably tell straightaway if something is off. Very frustrating for you.

 

[An54]

On the flip side, is there any chance this is related to your recent illness, and maybe you felt so weak/bad because you are still recovering?

@Debru4 , Actually, as I had a good walk yesterday without tweaks and twinges, I wondered the same thing--not so much about the recent illness, but rather the possibility that it was just a bad day for my left leg, and maybe I was over-reacting, choosing the time for the next THR. I have a couple more months to see how it goes before I would initiate the steps (haha) needed for a January 2020 surgery date, so we'll see what unfolds.

Has your OS confirmed it needs doing. Dancing like you do you can probably tell straightaway if something is off.

@SurreyGirl , when I had my hips XRayed at the OASIS clinic about 2.5 years ago, the left one clocked in at "moderately severe" and the right one as "severe". I took a couple screen shots of the clinic's computer screen (so quality of images are a bit compromised) but I'll dig up those images and post them here. I have no experience reading XRays, but I inferred that both would need fixing, righty first.

 

[An54]

xrays taken August 4th, 2016

 

[Jaycey]

Ouch! Which is the left x-ray?

 

[An54]

Ouch! Which is the left x-ray?

I have edited the post above. I believe the top XRay is the left side.

 

[SaraK]

I feel your pain on the dancing. I hadn't been dancing in at least 20 years (my ex didn't like to dance) before my first THR. I found a dancing group (mainly freestyle) after my surgery and decided to use it for rehab. I had so much fun but a few months later, the other hip started acting up, primarily after a night of dancing. It would hurt so bad it would take me hours to get to sleep even if I used the painkillers I had left from the first surgery. I didn't want to give up dancing, so I pranced my way to the doctor's office and got it scheduled! The pain with dancing was the first sign, though, and it deteriorated significantly in the 6 weeks or so that I waited for the surgery. By the day of the surgery, I couldn't walk more than a block or so without significant pain. Even though I had some complications that slowed me up in other ways, I'm so glad I didn't wait until the hip got worse to get things scheduled!

 

[Barbaraj]

Hi, @An54. Nice to read that after all your concern that things were heading rapidly downhill after an evening of dancing, you were able to get out and talk a walk without any real discomfort. I think that is how many folks experience hip pain--both good days and bad. I guess the time to schedule a second surgery is when the bad days are starting to be more prevalent than the good days! I agree that timing is tough to anticipate. I had to wait four months for surgery after my initial diagnosis, but I could have agreed (although I declined) to take a cancelation before then to move it up. I think once I've made the decision, and with my OS's agreement, to move forward with #2 I will definitely put myself on the cancelation list. Like everyone else, I'm hoping the second surgery will be like the first one (uneventful and fairly straightforward, especially now that I'm not obsessing about sedation/spinal). In the meantime, just keep monitoring yourself to see how you're doing--I'm hoping that leftie was just having a grumpy day and that you'll be feeling much improved today.

 

[Debru4]

Before my surgery, my insurance required an X-ray of my other hip as well. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure why, and I was in such a state at the time, I didn't ask. I was a nervous wreck that they would see that my left hip was deteriorating as well---I had next to no warning on the right. ( One day I was hiking, feeling just fine. The next week my leg was giving out and I was in horrendous pain. The surgeon said sometimes it happens like that---just comes on quickly. )

The left Xray showed plenty of space, and only mild arthritis--I was very relieved, and now am glad they did it, because I probably would have wondered otherwise. I do wonder what makes one hip go out and not the other?

 

[Layla]

@Debru4
I believe it's standard procedure to have both joints x-rayed even if you're only complaining about one.
Hips, Knees etc. It is my understanding they do it for comparison sake. They could be looking for a defect, genetic or otherwise. As far as one joint deteriorating over another, one may not have formed properly, or taken on extra stress over the other through activity. Josephine could elaborate on this more but I'm assuming you get the general idea.

Sorry for that little derail to Deb @An54
I hope you're having a good day. I understand those x-rays are 2.5 yrs old but let's see what @Josephine has to say, she's great at reading x-rays. That's IF they are of the quality she needs to comment.
Enjoy the evening!

 

[Josephine]

I believe the top xray is the left side.

I've edited and marked your xrays.

 

[An54]

I've edited and marked your xrays.

thank you @Josephine
And I guess what I am wondering is, despite the fact that they are not current XRays, is whether the left one looks "moderately severe" as it was described to me at the time. And could it remain stable since those images were taken, or would the normal wear and tear mean that it would likely have deteriorated a lot since then. Thanks

(Editing this to add-- at the end of the day I guess it's neither here nor there how 'stable' or how much the left hip has deteriorated since the XRays were taken. It's how much disability/pain I feel that will decide the matter. )

 

[An54]

The pain with dancing was the first sign, though, and it deteriorated significantly in the 6 weeks or so that I waited for the surgery. By the day of the surgery, I couldn't walk more than a block or so without significant pain.

Yikes, @SaraK , guess I will be keeping a close eye on the left hip.

A few days ago returning home from the dancing evening, I was deciding on what month I should have the next THR (January 2020). That night I didn't know if I would be in bad pain, so kept the Tylonel 3's on hand on my nightstand. However, I didn't need to take one. I was fine. The next day I walked a mile or two, and wondered if I was over-reacting; after all, knee pain might be just that--originating in the knee itself after I twisted it a bit or something; it wasn't necessarily referred pain from the hip. Might have nothing to do with the hip! But then today when walking, I'm aware of the left hip again. Even right now, as I'm sitting typing this, there is a .. not pain, barely discomfort ...but like the physical equivalent of a low hum in both left hip and left knee. Or possibly I am so neurotic, I am creating everything.

I'm not even sure why I posted those old XRays now; what can they tell me about my present state? Likely nothing.

I envy you having only to wait six weeks; I will have a six month wait after I invoke article THR leftie, so to speak.

 

[An54]

The left Xray showed plenty of space, and only mild arthritis--I was very relieved, and now am glad they did it, because I probably would have wondered otherwise. I do wonder what makes one hip go out and not the other?

@Debru4 , I suspect in my case I had some kind of congenital weakness in my hips. I suspected even when I was in my 20's that my hips would be the first part of me to go. And sure enough they are.

 

[Debru4]

I had a similar feeling about my back---from the time I was in my 20's and was much more active and fit than I am now, my back would ache at times. Years later when I was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and a herniated disk, the doctor commented that I also had slight scoliosis---not sure if that contributed to it or not. I had back surgery about 9 years ago. It was successful---a smooth recovery and much improved in terms of pain, even though there still is some stenosis and a couple of other bulging disks causing some pain---but no sciatica or excruciating pain.

In terms of this hip---I had maybe a little ache or pain with weather changes in recent years, but never a problem----until the day it decided it was done. It was kind of funny....in a sad way. At first I went to a chiropractor thinking I may have gotten something out of whack with my hiking the week before. After a couple of treatments he said he really thought I should get a hip and knee Xray before he did any more adjustments. So off I went to the orthopedic specialist. They took the Xray and he came in described how bad it was. I naively asked when I could start PT to fix it, and he actually laughed...in a nice, not mean, way. He explained my options were to live with the pain, or have a hip replacement, and said he could do in within a couple weeks. I was totally unprepared for this news and ended up postponing several long, achy months.

I did end up getting two steroid injections and using a low dose of Tramadol (as well as ice and a myriad of other stop gap measures) during those weeks. One thing I appreciated was that he said as bad as it was, he would not prescribe a stronger narcotic as it would simply be adding another potential problem to a bad hip----that if I needed narcotics I should move up my surgery. Given all of the nationwide problems with opioids, it made sense. (I am unable to take opioids/traditional narcotics, due to an intolerance, but I still understood and appreciated his point.)

This is a very long winded way of asking you if you run into big time pain issues, do you have options, like a steroid injection or medications that you would be able to do to bridge what could be a long gap of time if things go south quickly?