Meeting the orthopedic surgeon on Monday

Oh, my goodness. I JUST GOT MY DATE!!! I'll be having the first hip replacement done on MARCH 9th!! Excited, nervous, and completely overwhelmed at all I have to get done in the next month!!! :wowspring::happydance::shocked:
 
Try to relax! There's plenty of time to get things ready (and Amazon for anything you forget). Congrats on getting to this point!
 
Super exciting...a light at the end of the tunnel! I'm happy for you.
You'll have plenty of time to get all your pre-op prepping done.
Don't rush, let it serve as a healthy distraction over the next month.
We'll add your surgery date as your signature.
Stop back often with questions or concerns...you know we're never short on advice here :heehee:
May not be professional advice but experience holds some credibility in my eyes.
A great week to you!
@ladylorn
 
:yahoo:Yay, for Bye Bye Hip Pain!
I know that you are happy to have a date!
Onward.....:) :-) (:
 
Hi @ladylorn glad you’re going to get sorted soon. It will be life changing. Like you, it came as somewhat of a surprise when I was told I needed a new hip, after all I was able to commute an hour each way to work and put in a full 12 hour shift- albeit with significant pain. However friend and colleagues kept telling me I was walking badly- even when I thought I was ok! Now 3 and a half months out, I can see they were right. Things are improving daily, and looking back I can see how restricted my life was before. Keep using Bonesmart, it’s an excellent resource for information and support. Wish I’d found it sooner.
 
So glad they got you on the schedule. You now have an end in sight. I know surgeons are concerned wth length of time people are under anesthesia. Good he not making you wait overly long between the two.
 
Well, guys, I'm in the final countdown!!! Apologies on being so absent from the forum, but it feels as though I've been on a major roller coaster ride (note: I hate roller coasters :yikes:); I've been so swamped that I've been slacking off here (and being here provides a great measure of comfort to me).

Anyways (preparing for vent): My rheumatologist has been trying to suss out the rheumatologic element of why my hips have collapsed (and the pain and and and); In doing so, sent me for a chest x-ray last Thursday "just to be on the safe side". In said x-ray, they thought they saw "something" (scar? nodule? who knows?); so I had to go for a second x-ray today, which came out clear.

However, upon hearing about it, my orthopedic surgeon announced that he wouldn't do the surgery unless I had a CAT SCAN :thud:). So now, in addition to having to get my office ready for my absence (my boss has agreed to let me work from home for a while because of that long bus commute I have; but there's still a lot of things that I want to get cleared up so that I can have that first week off completely), I have to squeeze a CT scan in on Wednesday (and hope they don't find anything that would deter the OS), finish getting my apartment ready, and KEEP CALM.

In case you couldn't guess, I'm having some trouble with that last one - as I told my boss, while I seem to be great at it, I very much dislike juggling.:tiredwheel:

One good thing - I got my lift chair (and I L-O-V-E it), and most of my other supplies are coming in this week; so I'll have my home prepped and ready to go for a full recovery!

Anyways, I just needed to vent a bit; I still believe that I will be getting my first new hip on this Friday, because it's the only birthday present I've promised myself (and I like to keep my promises). I hope each of you is doing well on your Hippie path!!
 
Yay for the bestest birthday present ever...though you may not agree for a few months.
It will certainly be nice to lose that horrid hip pain.
I'm ever grateful for my replacements.
:ok:
 
Hi @ladylorn
Thinking your surgery was today?
You didn't update since your last post where you wrote surgery was hinging on a CT scan on Wednesday.
Hoping you're on schedule and possibly even in recovery.
Update us on the Recovery side when you're able. We'd love to follow your journey!
 
Hoping all is well...as can be at this point.
We will be waiting for you on the healing side!:ice:
 
Hi, @Layla and all, I'm back.... and I have a new hip!!! Apologies on taking so long to update - I tried to use the app right after the surgery, but couldn't log in for whatever reason. Since I'd already been exhausted before I went in for surgery (add that to the surgery and post-surgery stuff), you can hopefully understand why I've been pretty silent on the internet lately - it took a while to get the energy up to be on the computer for more than a few minutes.

So here's the tale of WHOA: that last week pre-surgery was insanely chaotic - follow-ups with the rheumatologist (who withheld final approval 'til I got the CT scan - which was clear), coordinating with friends as to who would be where when, and finishing up my work at the office (including training a temp at the last minute).

I was actually looking forward to being in the hospital just to get some rest! :loll:

My friend came down from CT, picked me up, and drove me to the hospital, where I was quickly checked in and taken to the pre-op waiting area. My nurse Tamieka, who did the intake, was lovely; and gave clear instructions/details, answering any questions we might have had. I'd already known I would be getting a spinal, rather than general, anesthesia; she detailed the cocktail that would be given to me, then left me to get ready (wiping down with the special antiseptic cloths, then putting on the gown, socks, and cap, etc.), after which I was bundled into a warming blanket (that I wanted to take home with me; so much better than an electric one!) and left to wait for the OS and anesthesiologist to check in with me. They both came and chatted and further explained what would happen; and then I, my friend and one of my "sisters", waited... and waited... and waited.

My friend wound up having to leave (I'd known that she was going and that sister-friend was staying) because there was such a delay (my surgery time was 1.45; I was eventually wheeled in to surgery at around 3, I believe - luckily, they'd given me the initial "relaxation" meds, and my sister-friend has always had a calming influence on me, so I wasn't stressing).

Once I was in the room, they had me sit on the table and put my head in a head rest and arms over rests (kind of like one of those upright massage table things); told me I'd feel a prick.... And I woke up as they wheeled me into recovery.

I was told that the damage was more extensive than showed on the x-rays, so the surgery went longer, but that I came out of it well/with no problems, and should still be able to go home the next day. I was eventually taken to my hospital room (around 8pm, I think), where my sis got me settled before leaving for the night. It was an okay night... until I lost my lunch. I'd told the nurse's aide that I was hungry, so she'd gotten me a turkey sandwich, apple juice, and peppermint tea (pretty much the same thing they'd given to my hospital roommate); but it would appear that my system, despite having not had anything since midnight the night before, was not up for food, because it all came right back up within 15-30 minutes of my having eaten it. I'd been trying to get the nurse, Narwin, before it happened, but couldn't hold it and wound up needing new bedding and gown, because she took a very long time to get to me (she seemed to do that pretty consistently; the same thing happened when I rang for pain meds at 5am - another nurse finally came to administer something at 5.30 when they realized I was lying there in tears - they seemed to have no idea where Narwin had gone).

Anyways, those were my two rough spots in the hospital. The next day, I worked with the PT a couple of times and was released, so my sister came to take me home. My OS' app told me that he used a zipline enclosure (instead of staples) and covered it with an Aquacel bandage, which my inner nerd loved researching (I just found out from the visiting nurse that I actually DO have staples, with the Aquacel dressing; calling my doc's office to find out why the mix-up).

I'm doing PT now (overdid it yesterday; he's trying to get the adductor muscles - which were tight/locked well before the surgery - to release, so gave me a couple of new gentle stretches to do. My body protested; but I'm icing the heck out of myself and keeping my feet elevated when I'm not walking up and down my apartment hallway). The visiting nurse is on the way now, to change the bandage and check the wound; so, I guess that's it for now.

Hope all my fellow March hippies have had good/positive experiences; can't wait to catch up on their stories!
 
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@ladylorn!!
Oh my goodness! We don't hear from you for awhile and boom you go and have surgery!

I do understand how sometimes the last thing on your mind would be online pursuits.
So happy to hear you made it through with just a couple bumps and are back home. Do you have someone staying with you for awhile? Take it easy with the PT - no sense in overdoing at this early stage.

Hopefully someone will move you over to the recovery side of the forum - don't want to have you hiding over here with the wanna-be's

Best wishes to you!
 
Hi and Welcome to Recovery! :welome:
Please find the Recovery Article below. You may have read it in the past but I'd advise
going through it again. Lots of useful info within.
Your update was wonderful. Thanks for sharing. It's great to hear you're home and resting comfortably.
Please stay in touch, we'd love to offer support while you're healing.

We ask that you please start a thread on the recovery side. I think you'll get many more responses there.
A wonderful weekend to you!

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each, member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
So glad you are done...such a helpless feeling at hospital, or it was for me.
Home brought comfort and some sense of normalcy. Might want to let things settle a bit more before PT gets its hooks in you.
Sure there will be work to do, but nothing that can't wait for some healing to happen.
Do what feels right and doesn't add to your already traumatized leg.
Yeah for life without hip pain, all else is almost certainly temporary!
Healing hugs:friends:
 

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