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THR Newbie needing help!

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Zauberflote and Kiwigirl -- thanks for your responses. I have this prescription from my OS for www.gameready.com. - which is a sleeve for my hip which dispenses compression and circulates cold water, really cool. It isolates the hip, and sort of pushes remaining swelling down my leg to my knee. Icing my knee doesn't really help, although I'm about to stop with the Game Ready as I have to return the equipment, and start wiTh ice packs. We'll see but my knee is swollen. I'm going to start doing ice on the knee more frequently.

I am taking 2 aspirins a day do deal with blood lot issues, and I guess I should get up to the max for Tylenol/advils. Funny thing is, the knee pain only hurts when I put weight on it.

I agree Kiwigirl, cane is worthless to me, I'm pretty good with the crutches, although I'm starting to get a callous on my left palm.

I'm still patient, but admit I'm getting a little frustrated.

Kay
 
i was recently told by my primary care that I must only take 3000mg of tylenol per day. next day I heard from another patient of my OS, who was told to take up to 4000mg. Go figure!​
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As I understand it, the safe amount is 4000mg. But in the US, the recommendation was lowered to 3000mg because so many other drugs also contain tylenol.....ie norco or vicodin, many cold remedies, etc. The concern is that patients won't realize how much they are taking and will end up going over the 4000. Total from ALL sources should not exceed 4000.

Sharon
 
Hmmm, just been reading through lots of posts and was thinking about all the differences there are between patients and also countries in respect to post op meds, physio etc which got me thinking......$$$$$ I have searched cost but that didnt satisfy me lol. I received my account, thankfully fully covered by private insurance and the total was $24 900.00. I am intriqued as to what might be charged somewhere like the USA? Anyone?
 
Kiwigirl, there have been a number of articles published recently in Time Magazine, and some newspapers where journalists have been investigating the wide disparity in costs for medical procedures all across the US. Hip replacements is one of the examples that has been used. The costs range far and wide....depending on whether it is done in a big city vs small city, whether it is a public vs private hospital, whether it is in the north or south or east or west, whether the ouija board said yes or no that morning, and so on.

My first hip....in a smaller metropolitan area in Michigan....cost a grand total of $19,000. I paid exactly $600 of that total. Insurance covered the rest. That was the total from my first official office visit to schedule the procedure through to the 6 week post op visit. That included the surgery itself, the anesthesiolist, and the hospital. PT was separate, but the $600 I paid covered my deductible and co-pay maximums for the year, so I didn't have any out-of-pocket cost for PT....or any other medical bills I had for the rest of the year.

If I lived in a different area of Michigan, it might have cost $54,000. I would still have only had to pay the $600 myself; my insurance would have covered the rest. If I lived in New York City, or Los Angeles, California, the tab might have been upwards of $70,000. I think my brother in Sacramento, California had a $64,000 tab....but his insurance covered all but his deductible and co-pay maximums as well.

Pretty crazy. All of it. Health care in America. Wonderful for those of us who lucked into great insurance. Not so wonderful for everyone else.

Sharon
 
Wow sharonslp.....that's exactly what I was intrigued with. Boy oh boy such a different system than here in NZ. I wonder what happens to those that cannot afford insurance then? Here lots of people don't have insurance, not because of financial reasons but because we still have a very good public health system. There are the moaners of course lol. Here if you don't have insurance you go on the public waiting list, a friend waited about 7mths for his hip replacement. It is totally covered by tax payers ( all of us) and you don't get any say in who your surgeon is and you are on a ward in a public hospital. If you have insurance you get to select who, when and where lol, I literally booked mine for two weeks time once I finally had the courage ;) I am amazed at the difference between different parts of America, now that truly is a scam. Thanks for relying, to me, it is interesting stuff!!
 
Kiwigirl, Hi. I became very interested in the topic of cost, as my insurance here in New York does not cover all hospitals and doctors. Bordering on obcessive, I started to ask a lot of questions, trying to figure out what my cost, after insurance was going to be. While I don't know yet, it's not something I'll talk about here.

But ...

I did download the data base that Sharon referred to that came from Medicare, and agency of the US Govt for all significant procedures done in hospitals in the US in 2011. Its 167,000 records ! Here's a link to a page that has an Excel link that will allow you to download the database.

https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/

I looked up several hospitals in NY City and found that the range - at least in terms of the hospitals that I might have ended up at - for 'major joint replacements' had a retail sticker cost ranging from $55,000 (US) to $80,000. That does not include the doctors surgical fee or the anesthesiologist. Surgeons charge up to $20,000.

That said, they readily accept from insurance companies and Medicare, something on the order of one - sixth to one-seventh those amounts as final payments. If you're not insured, they chase you for full payment, which is a primary reason there are so many personal bankruptcies in the US. There's no one on the other side of the table negotiating fees -- that's if you even can find out what they are -- other than the insurance companies.

It's really hard to get information, even when you ask a lot of questions here. I'm still waiting to get the mail each day to find out what's up.

Kay
 
kiwigirl, my THR cost AU$27,000, but even with private insurance I had to pay quite a few thousand..
 
Kay NY said:
I am taking 2 aspirins a day do deal with blood lot issues, and I guess I should get up to the max for Tylenol/advils. Funny thing is, the knee pain only hurts when I put weight on it.
Click to expand...
I was told no advil with my aspirin...I never take aspirin any more but this is rx for anti-clot. So I will be a good girl.

sharonslp said:
As I understand it, the safe amount is 4000mg. But in the US, the recommendation was lowered to 3000mg because so many other drugs also contain tylenol.....ie norco or vicodin, many cold remedies, etc. The concern is that patients won't realize how much they are taking.
Click to expand...
I did mention that to him, but he was adamant.So I may be stuck with that for now :) Liver damage R NOT us!
That "mixed drugs" started when my kids were little, and it drove me NUTS when I was trying to medicate for a cold or cough. I became quite the expert at knowing which were the "single ingredient" medicines, and I'm afraid I gave many lectures to other parents of young children when asked LOL.
heh heh I just deleted another lecture:rotfl:
 
Kay NY zauberflöte

Advil is ibuprofen. Ibuprofen and aspirin are both are Nsaids which is why they should not be taken together. A lot of people take low-dose aspirin for anti-clotting effects but adding ibuprofen should only be done at the express instructions of your doctor.

Tylenol is NOT an Nsaid. It is okay to mix with aspirin. If you need the tylenol for pain relief, take an effective dose consistently. If you can tough it out without the pain relief...that's a valid option.

Chris, you are in the commonplace space between the rock and the hard stuff. You know what your doctor is saying. You know what Bonesmart folks are pointing out. You are a formidably intelligent human being. You decide where your comfort zone is. I followed some of my doc's restrictions even though I didn't think they were all really necessary. I did skip a few because I didn't think they were all really necessary. My doc's backside was covered. I stayed firmly inside MY comfort zone. Another example: I just had a teeth cleaning. I am not at all convinced the preventive antibiotic is necessary. I don't like to take unnecessary antibiotics. I took it anyway. At some point, I suspect I will stop....but I have no idea when that point will be. When it's within my comfort zone, I guess.

Clear as mud, right?

kiwigirl I am so happy for your toenails!! :)

Sharon
 
sharonslp - I only heard about the antibiotic/dental work thing on line here my OS has not mentioned it yet. If I had known earlier I would have had my teeth done before my op just to avoid a round of antibiotics. The whole thing makes me nervous.
 
kiwigirl I am in NYC. My surgeon cost $15,000 and I paid $200. I know the insurer negotiated the surgeon's payment down, but not sure how much. I have not been billed yet from the hospital or anesthesia.

Congratulations on the toenails. I am at six weeks today, and can file them but not cut.
 
beckylou....I asked my surgeon about antibiotics and he said, don't worry about it lol. I choose to be on the hip register and it sends alert through to dentist, drs etc etc ??
 
There are several factors to consider when we start a discussion regarding medications, whether they are over the counter or prescribed.

It is preferred and always the recommendation of BoneSmart that you check with your specific medical and prescribing physician as there are interactions between medications and with other personal health issues to be considered that we may not be privy to here on the forum.

Josephine is qualified and the one to discuss medications with and she doesn't mind being tagged to come have a chat about meds.. Josephine
 
kiwigirl - I will ask when I see my OS next week. I also joined the joint registry but not sure what it is all about.
Poppet. Thanks, no doubt there are several opinions on the matter!
 
Yes, many, many different protocols when it comes to meds :)
 
sharonslp said:
Clear as mud, right?
Click to expand...
I like your mud, but i would have to beg to differ with your formidable choice of adjectives:heehee: Persistent to the point of, well, whatever the end point of that is, is more my speed LOL.
I've taken clindamycin before teeth cleaning for almost 30 years, for my heart. Don't wanna mess with heart valve infections, so one dose is easy. I am one of those HORRIBLE moms who agreed t give their tiny ones prophylactic amoxycillin (teehee my spellcheck wants me to put 'amontillado'...) all winter long b/c they were so very prone to ear infections. So here i am, a contributor to that which I am violently opposed to now-- but back then, late 80's, early 90's was right before the resistant strains were showing up, I think. Or so I believed. By the time they were middle school age, their same pediatrician was advocating for waiting till you really knew it was bacterial before you took the drug. Apparently still, here in the States, there are people who will demand antibiotics b/c they believe it will make their cold feel better. Under-educated...
 
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