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Overweight and in desperate need of TRHR

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My hip surgery is finally coming up this month! My surgeon also would not do my surgery until I got my BMI close to 40. It really ticked this 46 year old lady off at the time! I had already started Weight Watchers on my own before I saw the surgeon. I have now lost 51 pounds between March 2014 and now - Jan. 2015. I have done NO exercising at all....have not been able to with my hip bone on bone and associated knee pain. For me the doc telling me NO motivated me to get serious about my weight loss I guess. I am hoping to have lost a few more pounds by the time I go in for surgery. I like Weight Watchers because I can eat like a normal person and even have a Reeses Cup now and then!
I have not attended meetings....just used the phone app which is great. I wish everyone here good luck with your upcoming surgery!
 
@1 hip wonder I have read most of the posts and want to share my story. First I am so sorry for all you are going thru. I would definitely have the surgeon and your PCP appeal to the insurance company and fight till you get approved.
I have been overweight all my life. lose, gain, lose then Rheumatoid Arthritis hit with a vengeance. In the past two years I gained 100 pounds not being able to work out anymore and due to steroid use for the RA. I am 5 foot 5 inches and 318 pounds. I went to a surgeon in my HMO network and he looked at me and said I am not putting you on my OR table you will not make it off you will die. His exact words. I looked at him and said I never asked for surgery I wanted a diagnosis and that was it. I walked out, my hubby was beyond furious. I waited another year continued to treat the RA and suffer with hip pain. I ended up on crutches and found out thru our local ER that I have Avascular Necrosis (AVN) in the right hip from all the steroids. I was at the point where I needed the surgery now not later. I went to another surgeon in our HMO network and I was terrified of how he would treat me because of my weight. My husband went with me and this surgeon was amazing. We told him what had happened with the other surgeon and he said oh I know who that was. He went over all the additional risks with us and scheduled me right away. He said that not doing the surgery due to weight is in humane. Get the new hip get out of pain then you can exercise again and lose the weight.
I fell in love with him lol. I had the surgery on December 2, 2014. I am 6 weeks post op this coming Tuesday. I have no regrets. My surgery was more difficult because my muscle tore from the bone so he had to fix that too. But all in all my only pain on the right is the muscle. The bone on bone pain was gone instantly. I have lost 32 pounds since July 2014. I am on the road to walking into the Gym again once this muscle heals. I cant wait.
Never give up keep pushing. As my surgeon said it becomes a quality of life issue at a certain point if I did not have the procedure I would have been in a wheel chair very soon.
Please keep fighting for you quality of life and keep us posted.
 
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@tandmcox88 ,

Hi, nice to meet you!! As you have read my story, it's quite a sad tale isn't? On the flip side,
Congratulations on your hip replacement!!
I am sure you feel like a new person. I am curious, what was your weight at the time of surgery? I am still trying to find a way to have the surgery..I have lost a little more weight, but nowhere the 30 lbs my HMO wants me to lose. So, I continue to fight on!
Welcome to BS! This forum is really phenomenal; so much support and where else can you go and meet thousands of your closest friends?
I look forward to chatting with you.

@MariaJ,
Hi and nice to meet you. Congrats on your upcoming THR, I am sure you can't wait to be pain free! I will follow your progress on the board.

Take care,

Kim
 
@ 1 Hip Wonder.
I weighed the same as I do now 318. I'm about 5 feet 6 inches give or take an inch or to. Keep pushing the insurance company. I am happy with my hip just not my muscles. Surgery was rough but I'll get thru it. My family is beside me every step of the way. Today I actually held my two year old grad daughter's hand and took about 5-6 steps without my walker. Shocked my daughter. Wishing you the best of luck. Keep us posted.
 
Wow, that's wonderful that your HMO covered your current weight.
And do you think it was because of your weight?
 
As far as I know it was never an issue. My surgeon requested the author and it was approved right away.
 
I am very lucky. My husband was in the US Navy for 20 years so we have his insurance. Tricare Prime. It is truly a life saver for us. I really don't know what we would do without it.
 
Hi, @MariaJ .... welcome to the forum! Why don't you start a thread of your own and tell us more about yourself. We love gettiing to know our new members.
 
@1_HIP_I_wonder,

Hello! I have been reading through your thread and the agony of your hip pain. I weighed 435 pounds when I had my knees replaced and knew because of 6 previous MRSA infections that the risk of of infection was 50/50. The OS did my left knee first, only had MRSA pneumonia, and at six week check up scheduled the second surgery. Two weeks later "The Story of My Knees" was born. MRSA set in.

Let me fast forward to now. I am out living life having fun and trying things I never would have dreamed possible! Stay positive, find an OS who believes in you, and get your hip replaced. You are not in the high risk category like I was, but as my doctor said, "Do you want to live a life of quality or merely quantity?"

I chose quality and I am currently at 245 and dropping!:happydance:
 
@RestAssured
Hi! Nice to meet you. Your story is encouraging and I am still looking for a doctor to help me with the hip replacement.
Thanks for reaching out to me.
Take care,
Kim
 
@1_HIP_I_wonder

You are welcome! If you give @Jamie an idea of where you live, she might be able to help you locate an OS that is in your Network.

The first OS I went to to told me I needed "gastric bypass" first, and I told him, "no, I need a dr. who believes in me without requiring extra surgery!"
 
Hi again,

I think I provided my location in a previous post, but, I live in Columbia, MD; 20 minutes outside of Baltimore, Md and about 30 minutes from D.C.

That reference to " gastric bypass" is very familiar to me because my insurance company suggested I do the same and I was not interested in the possibility of dealing with complications for the rest of my life.

So, I forge ahead looking for a Dr and trying to figure out how to pay for it. I did locate a dr. In South Dakota who would do it and he wanted $28,000! As if!!!
 
@1_HIP_I_wonder

You live very close to where one of my aunts live! I was in that area a few years back and had fun! Anyway, look at the clinic locator at the top of the page and see if anything pops up for you!

I don't fault people who choose gastric bypass; I just have the opinion, I put it on, I will take it back off! :happydance:

Good luck in your search, and keep us posted. We care about both sides of the board!:console2:

I looked up clinics in Maryland alone, using the clinic locator and found 124. Sort through them, call ask questions, and find the best choice for you.
 
Check out the clinic locator first and see if you like any of the doctors you read about there. If you can get a list of 5 or 6, you can call and ask if they work with overweight patients and it will save you an office visit. There are surgeons out there who understand that it's not always possible for someone to take off the weight first. I can help you find a surgeon if you run into problems. I would just need your zip code.
 
@Jamie,

thanks so much! I will do that. According to the locator, there are plenty of orthopedic doctors in my area. However, the issue will be whether any of them work on overweight patients.

My ZIP Code is 21045.

Thanks.
 
First, let me say I hope you find the ability to have your surgery as soon as possible and that it works out amazingly for you. I can sympathize with you regarding most of what you're saying. It's heartbreaking and soul shattering when you're in this much pain and no one will help you - even though there's a way, they just won't do it. I'm 5'10 and 370 - I've lost 80lbs already and still no one will do the THR for me. I've been to so many doctors where the first thing out of their mouth is: Have you thought about bariatric surgery? My insurance will not cover it, regardless if it's medically necessary. I'm bone on bone, cysts and spurs covering the entire surface of my hip joint, joint is collapsing, cane or walker most of the time. I barely sleep due to pain, I'm falling because my leg is giving out randomly. I can only hope and pray you find some answer to this issue that will help you sooner rather than later. Just wanted you to know I do understand and will be praying for a positive turn for you. :)
 
Hello @1_HIP_I_wonder

I have been reading your threads and feel like we are twins! I have the same exact issues. Had a bit less weight to lose (started at 248)

Am down to 229 and just at the weight that my surgeon feels is safe for my surgery. (bMI 39)

I am still working on the weight loss as I have 5 weeks until my pre-op. At this point, I have gotten very strict. Am doing very minimal carbs (no bread/bagels/rolls/pasta/rice) and no extra sweets other than fresh fruit. I have also started supplementing my diet with Boost Glucose Contol as a meal replacement for breakfast and sometimes lunch. Staying on a strict 1200 calorie per day diet and tracking with my fitness pal. I am also getting to the pool (although it now really hurts) at least 4 mornings a week for pool walking and some swimming.

I hope to lose another 10 lbs before my July 20 surgery. I have also told my family that between now and then (7 weeks) I will not be eating out or bringing home take out food. We live like monks for 8 weeks!!! Lol Hubby can stand to lose a few pounds too, and the kids need to learn to eat healthy as well. (14 and 6 year old girls - they are my everything and help me so much!!!)

I am also pretty young (47) and am tired of being the mom who can't get around. I recently ordered baby shower and a child's birthday gift from amazon just so that I did not have to walk in to a store after work. My friends are running marathons, so I need to get this taken care of.

Best wishes to you. Would love to hear how you have progressed!
 
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