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THR LHR 29th August and terrified

@Jaycey thank you. I may give my doctor a phone then on Monday morning. I'll certainly tell them all on the morning of operation but I think they'll see that as I was in tears going in with both knees and in hysterics when getting the spinal.
It's mad because one of my biggest fears is the length of recovery. I don't do being immobile and laid up. I want back out power waking ASAP. Am I silly in aiming for a 10k race in March in Cyprus? I walked it this year with my walking pole and did a very good time. I'd like to do it next year again. If needs be I'd drop to the 5k but I'm hoping I'll be fit for the 10k.
The nurse I saw worries I'll overdo things but as I've a very low pain threshold I'll not be doing anything that hurts.
 
Mollymax said:
one of my biggest fears is the length of recovery. I don't do being immobile and laid up.
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It is all temporary! You need to take this recovery one step at a time. You are setting yourself up for frustration if you are determined to fight recovery. Go into this positive and accept your body will need time to heal.
Mollymax said:
Am I silly in aiming for a 10k race in March in Cyprus?
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Yes, you are not being realistic. At only 7 months out you will not be power walking. Better to plan on the next year being top fit. Soft tissues and muscles need to firm up around the joint. If you try and push you may suffer consequences and cause yourself needless complications.
 
Hi! I was really worried re my second op which took place on Wednesday. The pain relief now I can self Medicate is fine and icing the hip is a godsend. Trust me in that the patients who had had a knee op were in a far worse state than us hippies.

I have a very old school consultant. No bending at the waist and I have to sleep on my back for 6 weeks but it is doable… even three days in I am now so glad I got it done. Like a previous poster here I siezed up when just walking to the postbox! I’m already walking straighter, albeit with crutches. I know there will be twists and turns in the recovery but I also know what my end goal is…

The worry and anxiety leading up to the op the worst part! I had one rough day due to timings of meds in the hospital but now I can self Medicate all is fine. Go for it! You will get your life back.
 
@Mollymax , I share your fear of needles. I don’t know about you, but mine is a full blown phobia. I tried everything over the years…sheer will power, mantras, relaxation techniques, distraction, even hypnosis. Nothing worked. I would have a panic attack arriving at the Dr for anything involving a needle. It was humiliating for me crying and shaking and hyperventilating. Although I knew it wasn’t logical, I couldn’t prevent it from happening.

My secret weapon now is anti anxiety drugs, and I wish I had tried them years ago. I don’t like taking drugs at all so I resisted, but now I realize that life is too short to suffer that kind of terror when you don’t have to. Most surgeons are happy to prescribe something for you to take before you leave your house.

I also had a long phone conversation with the anesthesiologist before my PKR and really stressed that I had severe anxiety about the needles, the spinal, and of being aware of what was happening during surgery. She was wonderful and understanding, and assured me that they would keep me comfortable and blissfully unaware. She had no issue with me taking something first at home (it is important that everyone on your care team is aware of what you are taking and how much).

I think if you are honest about your situation and advocate for yourself, you’ll find the surgical team will do anything they can to help your procedure go smoothly.

Sending you peace and comfort for your upcoming surgery ❤️
 
Thanks everyone. I guess I thought I'd be back on my feet and back to my power walking in 3 or 4 months. I knew I wouldn't be riding my motorbike until next spring as I always put it off the road for the winter anyway but walking is important to me so I had hoped or thought it would be a faster recovery.
I see the surgeon on Thursday so I'll see what he says about everything. I'll tell him about my needle phobia and fears, my walking and my motorbike riding.
I'm getting very depressed and worrying about the whole thing. It's getting me down and stupidly I'm considering not getting it and carrying on as I am but I know my hip will continue to deteriorate if I don't go ahead. I really just want to cry I am that mixed up about it all.
 
Mollymax said:
stupidly I'm considering not getting it and carrying on as I am but I know my hip will continue to deteriorate if I don't go ahead
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Don't make the mistake I made. I ignored the symptoms and tried to power through. I was in pain for over three years. My symptoms were always assumed to be spinal issues. After a house move my left hip collapsed. Believe me, you don't want to experience that pain. I was on crutches for 6 months waiting for surgery.

Surgery on a collapsed hip is more complex. And recovery takes longer if you are limping around pre-op.

You want to get back to an active lifestyle. The way forward is THR and a slow and steady recovery. That hip will only get worse and it can go from tolerable to horrid very quickly. Get this done and get on with living again.
 
Mine went from ok - I can manage this & do difficult hikes / exercise, to I can hang on and do this, to this is bad & I need it done, to really painful and walking was torture, in about 1.5 years. When I got to "this is bad & I need it done", I had to delay because of a family problem. It would've been nice to have gotten the replacement done then. It went to really painful between the time we agreed to do it & set a surgery date, & the actual surgery.
There doesn't seem to be any natural coming back from hip arthritis & paracetamol works only so much,
especially in that terminal phase.

Everybody's recovery is individual but I am pretty functional just a few weeks down. I am trying to restrain myself
from doing things that I might normally do, & I'm sort of deconditioned from the last few months anyway.
5k-10k doesn't sound unreasonable for a 6 mos goal but you do have to follow your doctors' advice on your
progress.
 
nasruddin said:
5k-10k doesn't sound unreasonable for a 6 mos goal but you do have to follow your doctors' advice on your
progress.
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Please don't forget that you will need time to train to get to the point where you can do any distance. This is just not going to happen in the 6 first months of recovery. Any PT or exercise will be to get traumatised soft tissues, muscles and tendons active again. I'm certainly not trying to discourage you. But setting reasonable expectations means you won't be frustrated or disappointed.

What we see here far too often is surgeons who have not gone through the recovery or who have not nursed someone who has gone through it just hand out unrealistic goals. This is exactly why BoneSmart was created.

Just remember - any mobility issues will be temporary!
 
Well I saw surgeon today and he couldn't have been nicer. Explained all pros and cons and said I don't need to go ahead with operation of I don't want to. Explained the dangers but most were all 1% or 2% chance of failure or problems.
I explained about fear of needles and he said to speak to anesthetist on morning of op. I totally forgot to speak to him about no staples but I've phoned his secretary and she'll ask him and get back to me tomorrow.
He said he expects me to be back doing what I usually do within 6 weeks to 3 months although it a a year for full recovery. He said I can be back riding my motorbike next spring as I don't ride during the winter and said yes to power walking by 3 months.
In all very positive but if course nothing will get ride of my fears. I am still terrified of the pain of recovery. He said id be in for 2 or 3 days.
The one thing I'm not happy with us the 4 weeks of injections I have to give myself. I told him I can't do that and he's asked if I'd try as he prefers that to the tablets. I said I'd try in hospital but I don't think I can do it.
 
@Mollymax Only a couple more days now. It's natural to be nervous and afraid of the unknown. I was a nervous wreck but reminding myself what I was going to gain seemed to help a bit. The pain of recovery has an improving trajectory to it with an endpoint versus the pre-op pain which has a spiral down with no endpoint. There are definite ways to deal with the recovery pain. You have the surgery to regain your life and the recovery is what you will deal with to get there. It is temporary.

I wouldn't worry about the injections. I'm glad your are willing to try. It is a very small, fine needle and you might find it is not as bad as you anticipate. If you can't, you can't. Luckily, there are other very viable options. Best wishes for a smooth surgery and a good start to the healing journey.
 
Your surgeon sounds very kind. That is a big plus!
Wishing you a calm couple of days leading up to your surgery date. You will do just fine!
 
Well that's me back from hospital. Went in at 7.30 saw surgeon and anesthetist, got all prepared and told second on list so would be taken about 11am just for at 9.30 came and told me it was cancelled due to staff shortages and I was sent home. Angry and upset. Now got to wait for new date..
 
So sorry to read that this happened to you, @Mollymax. You have every right to be upset. Hope you get a new date soon.

Sending hugs
:console2:
 
@Mollymax Oh, no! How frustrating. That's so difficult when you are psychologically and physically prepared just to have the rug yanked out from underneath you. Hopefully, they will make it up to you with a quick reschedule. hang in there. We're here for you. <Hugs>
 
Hello MollyMax, I truly regret that you were sent home due to staff shortages. You have worked so hard to prepare yourself emotionally. Please maintain your poise and your hard-fought perspective and do this with grace and humor. Wishing you well and God bless you.
 
:tantrum: How very frustrating for you @Mollymax ! I do hope you get that date soon. Please keep us updated!
 
Only a few days away now and I'm terrified. To make things worse I did a 21 mile charity walk on Sunday in shoes I'd only worn twice instead of the well worn in ones I'd used the month before on a 20 mile charity walk. The result is blisters on both feet. Nothing serious except the one under a toe nail on opposite leg from one getting hip replacement. The big toes are more hard skin which look like blood blisters but aren't really. Is this going to stop the operation going ahead? I've been soaking them in Epsom salts and putting sudacrem on them. As if I'm not terrified enough I've got the worry of getting there and being sent home again.
 
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Mollymax said:
Nothing serious except the one under a toe nail on opposite leg
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Can you take a picture of it and send it to the surgical team? ( Call them first, of course. ) They may want to take an in-person look before your surgery date.
 
Obviously it’s too late now, but it was very unwise for you to have done something like this walk when you were so close to your surgery. If any of your blisters are open sores, it could delay the procedure. You need to contact your surgeon for advice.
 
Hey @Mollymax as a fellow Scot I remember following your story when I had my knees done. I just want to give you some reassurance going forward to having your hip replaced.
Like you I was dreading having my hip replaced after the knees. I had my right hip replaced in May last year. I went into hospital in the morning and discharged in the evening and I’ve never looked back. It was so much easier than having knee replacements and a lot less painful. I mobilised in the afternoon as soon as the spinal wore off and went home on crutches in the evening. I’ve never looked back and I can truthfully say that apart from the scar I’d never know it was a replacement hip.
Wishing you all the best for your surgery and hope it goes ahead as planned.
 
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