THR Missy45 Recovery: Surgery wasn’t so bad!

[Pumpkin]

@Missy45
I forgot to mention the cortisone shots in my hip, this one has lasted over 6 months, the previous shot lasted 18 months. The are done with fluoroscopy, to insure they are in the joint capsule.
Your doctor can order the injection into your joint capsule.

 

[Missy45]

@Pumpkln That is great! I have a feeling that is going to be what he recommends on the 7th. I’m a little nervous about the injection itself being painful. I had an epidural in January with no anesthesia and that was horrible! I have been told that the hip is nowhere near that painful, but I’m still considering requesting to be at least somewhat knocked out for it.

 

[Chaotic]

This really is the best place on the internet for joint replacement support! Patience is not my forte, but I’m trying to be better this time around

 

[Schaargi]

Hi @Missy45

I had a left THR last year and have had trouble with my right hip for a few months now. I just got the results of the MRI with contrast and I have a labral tear in 3 places. I was braced for a conversation with the surgeon whom I thought was going to suggest another THR. But, no! I have very little arthritis and he is suggesting a labral repair.

So, I'm with you!

I need to research labral repairs. I had ruled the procedure out on my other hip early on, so any info you can point me to would be helpful.

Hang in there!

 

[Teresa17]

I had a labral tear and arthritis in my right hip. I did some research before I went to a surgeon that specialised in labral repairs. He said if there’s arthritis in the hip, he will not repair the labral because it accelerates the arthritis and the hip would have to be replaced in less than 2 years (this confirmed the research I had read). That’s one of the reasons I had THR.

Good luck at your doctor appt. and please give us an update.

 

[Missy45]

@Teresa17 Thanks, I had heard that they won’t do the repair with arthritis in the hip, but I didn’t know why! That’s good to know.

I am still having some pain on the right side, but it does seem to be improving. Today hasn’t been the best, but I haven’t been to physical therapy since Friday due to the holiday. I’will definitely give an update after my appointment. I’m really hoping he says that it doesn’t look like I need any surgery.

 

[Missy45]

Hello again! Well, it takes a lot to shake me up, but I am cranky today!

I got a call from the office of the specialist I have been waiting a month to see for my right hip. My appointment is coming up on Monday and the message said he would be out of the office all next week. I could either see his PA or call to reschedule with the doctor. I’m not sure if this is for a vacation or a medical convention, but I do find it inappropriate to cancel a full week of appointments with patients with only a week’s notice rather than blocking the week off ahead of time! In any case, I called to reschedule and they tried to push me to the end of the month. I told them I have to be 2 hours north for my 3 month follow up for my hip replacement at the end of the month and asked if they could schedule me sooner. They said they would fit me in on the 14th.

I took the appointment for the 14th, but I don’t like the idea of being fit in. This is important and I don’t want to be rushed with the doctor. I feel like I need and deserve the time I originally scheduled! I thought about it a minute, then called the University of Miami Sports Medicine Center. The lady I spoke to there was very nice and took all my information. She is going to call me tomorrow and let me know if they will accept me. If so, she said they will get me in very quickly. I’m feeling better knowing that is a possibility now.

I was really unhappy with the conversation I had with the office staff that called to cancel my appointment. The whole situation has just caused me to lose faith in that doctor. I don’t know if that is warranted or not, but I was so hopeful about seeing him and I just feel like I wasn’t even given a second though there. I know it wasn’t personal, but after everything I have been through this year, it came across as such an insult!

I think they will see me at UM. Now I’m excited about that! I know I have to manage my expectations until I actually have an appointment, though. I just wish I had called them in the first place.

Well, I will post again tomorrow when I find out. Fingers crossed!

 

[Mojo333]

too

 

[Layla]

I understand you’re frustrated, Missy. I’m sorry you’re feeling that way.
Try to look at it this way...What if the appointment with the specialist was canceled due to something personal he is dealing with either himself, or with a family member, and not a convention or vacation? It could be that this is a “one off“ and not something he does habitually.

They said they would fit me in on the 14th. I took the appointment for the 14th, but I don’t like the idea of being fit in. This is important and I don’t want to be rushed with the doctor. I feel like I need and deserve the time I originally scheduled!

Possibly they shouldn’t have used the language “fit you in” but if they said “we’ll make room” or “Uh oh, missed it....we actually do have a spot“ it would still be easy to feel like an afterthought. I’m guessing there is a certain amount of time they set aside for emergencies that crop up and possibly an unhappy patient is taken into consideration for those appointments. I wouldn’t assume that the specialist will be any less attentive to your needs or that your appointment time will be minimized.

I hope you’re feeling less stressed about the scheduling debacle today and your pain is manageable until you’re able to learn it’s origin and a solution to remedy it. If surgery becomes necessary we’ll be here to support and encourage you all the way.

Wishing you comfort and a good day!
@Missy45

 

[Missy45]

@Layla Thank you, I am trying to have a positive attitude about it. I have not cancelled that appointment, but I will if they accept me at UM. I’m just not feeling the same about him, which is too bad! I saw that his office called me yesterday but did not leave a message. I haven’t heard back from UM yet, so I didn’t call his office back. My guess is that someone there didn’t know I had already been rescheduled.

To be honest, I have had the worst experiences with every type of medical care here in Miami. I won’t go into it, but it borders on incompetence with offices not knowing how to work with insurance, consistently failing to send records, and messing up appointment times. I also feel like I’m being treated like a criminal when I go in and cannot even wait to see a doctor until I’ve paid the full amount due first. I had gotten so used to it in my 15 years here that it was a shock when I was at my mom and was expected to pay for services after receiving them. That’s the way it had always been in my life, I had just forgotten!

In any case, I suspect that my experience at UM might be a bit better. If I don’t get in there, they do have the right kind of specialist at the clinic where my surgeon is located. He is actually the doctor that I first called to get an appointment with, but he didn’t have anything for a month and I couldn’t wait to treat the left hip. I could wait now, though. I really want to get the right hip treated in Miami, but I’m going to keep an open mind about possibly going back up to my mom’s for this, too. I’m going to see what happens this week and make a decision over the weekend, I think.

On a lighter note, I got my scooter out in my neighborhood for the first time yesterday and oh boy, that was fun! We’re having a lot of rain, but I’m going to try to get it out again today. I think I have a new hobby and I love it!!!

 

[Layla]

I hope all works out perfectly for you and you end up with the best of care feeling confident about your choice. It’s good to hear you had fun on your scooter yesterday and hopefully will again today if the rain let’s up enough for you.
Stay in touch....we care.
@Missy45

 

[Missy45]

Hello, I have some good news! I got into UM for my right hip, though my appointment isn’t until July 6. I believe I can make it ok. Today has had a disturbing amount of groin pain on the right, I usually don’t have that. Also some burning pain on the side of that hip. I’m a little surprised. It had not been bothering me much at all lately. The left hip has been ok, a little soreness in the thigh and a bit of groin pain with kickbacks. I’m just going to take it easy this weekend and hope that next week is better!

Question: Would it be really dumb to move at about 4 months post surgery if it is not absolutely necessary?
My current apartment is a bit small for me and my upstairs neighbors make far too much noise! There is a great apartment available in another building that would be a better fit. I could get the keys on August 16 and would move slowly through the end of that month. The building is constructed differently and attracts different people, so I’m not so worried about the noise. I actually lived in that community for 9 years before coming to this place. I’ve been here about a year and a half. The new place would be quite a bit more expensive, but a much better fit.

So there’s all the regular pros and cons to consider. But is the real issue that I just had a THR and I’m kidding myself that this could be a possibility?
I’d appreciate any advice!

 

[Pumpkin]

But is the real issue that I just had a THR and I’m kidding myself that this could be a possibility?

Sorry you are unhappy in your present apartment.
Wether to move or not soon after THR, while not knowing what is going on with your Right hip, it may be too soon to consider moving.

 

[Missy45]

@Pumpkln Thank you...I suspect you are right. I really want to talk myself into it, but that still voice inside is telling me this is not the time to take risks! If it were anything other than major surgery, I would probably make the less practical decision.

 

[Layla]

That is playing it safe, which is wise, but I’m wondering how badly you want this new apartment? If the thought of losing it saddens you, could you enlist enough help, lightening your load to make it happen. I believe, @Jaycey moved early on during one of her recoveries. I always trust her advice and am curious about her thoughts since she experienced a move early on herself.

 

[Schaargi]

@Missy45

Yes, if you are not going to get a chance at a place in your preferred area, I would enlist some help and go for it. I, too, am contemplating a move and I don't have control over the timing. I'm not at 4 months, though, but I am having issues with my formerly "good" hip. Tough decision. You would need help for sure.

 

[Missy45]

That is playing it safe, which is wise, but I’m wondering how badly you want this new apartment? If the thought of losing it saddens you, could you enlist enough help, lightening your load to make it happen. I believe, @Jaycey moved early on during one of her recoveries. I always trust her advice and am curious about her thoughts since she experienced a move early on herself.

Thanks Layla, I think Pumpkin is right that it would be better to know what’s going on with my right hip before making a decision. I don’t see that doctor until July 6. I was supposed to see someone on Monday, but that didn’t work out so it’s been pushed back a month.
The move is still floating around in my head, but I’m wondering if I can use this as an opportunity to practice giving up control over something. I always do what I want, and sometimes against better advice. I’m learning from this surgery, though. I’m not fully sure of everything I’m learning yet, but I can feel a change coming!

 

[Missy45]

@Missy45

Yes, if you are not going to get a chance at a place in your preferred area, I would enlist some help and go for it. I, too, am contemplating a move and I don't have control over the timing. I'm not at 4 months, though, but I am having issues with my formerly "good" hip. Tough decision. You would need help for sure.

Thanks, Schaargi. Moving is always hard! I am still going back and forth with the regular pros and cons, aside from the impact of the surgery. Maybe it’s not bad to think about those things regardless of what I end up doing. It’s nice to think of life outside of my hips! But the nagging pain on the right side does make that hard.
You are right, the apartment may get rented by someone else if I don’t make a decision pretty soon. However, I could wait until that person moves out if I really want that one. There’s a few occupied places around that I like, but this is the one that’s going to be available and it seems really great for me! It’s $350/month more than where I am, though. I’d also be giving up the gym, pool table, and nicer swimming pool at my current community. Oh, but the people above me are so loud! The manager did threaten to evict them a couple of days ago, so maybe that will help. Also, the neighbor next to me is going over the manager’s head on Monday to complain to the corporate office. Maybe that will accomplish something.
But again, I could use this as an opportunity to give up control over something. There might be greater benefits from that than if I did move over there and everything was even better than expected!
My mom said “don’t do it” too, so that’s something to consider.

 

[Missy45]

Well, I’m a blubbering mess this evening. I’m finding myself sobbing deeply and crying out things like, “God no! Please let me save my right hip!” I’ll be feeling like I’m suffering such a crisis that no one could possibly understand. Then I come here and read a lot of posts and see all these signatures of not just people who have had both hips replaced, but both hips and both knees, several surgeries on each hip, replacements within a few months of one another, etc., and I think, “Ok, this is bad and it’s going to be hard, but I can find a way to make it through somehow.”

When I first came here and made a pre-op post just a few months ago, I thought there was absolutely nothing wrong with my right hip. Now I’m starting to feel that I am in the very, very early stages of accepting that a RTHR is coming. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I know what I’ve been through with the left and what I’m feeling now on the right.

I also spend hours reading the threads of so many people here that span years and you know from their signature that another THR is coming and when it happens, but you also know from the post you’re reading that they have no idea at that time. I can’t help help but think, “Yep, that’s me.”

Ok, I just needed to get that out.

 

[Layla]

Whew! I hope letting it out released some of the pressure and anxiety for you. IF it becomes necessary to go through a second THR, you’ll make it through just as you’re doing now, with the support of loved ones. Also, you know we’re always here to offer encouragement and advice when needed. You’re as young as you’ll ever be and most likely as strong also. As you mentioned, people are going through second, third and fourth joint replacements all the time, most with normal recoveries.

Joint replacement surgery is one of the most prevalent surgeries performed world wide. The outcomes of these surgeries have become excellent based on a number of techniques changing over the years. The implants are durable and long lasting, with longevity much greater than before, offering an increase in the likelihood you’ll never have to experience this procedure again. Encouraging thoughts! I hope it puts your mind at ease.
Have a great Sunday!
@Missy45