Overweight

[basia54]

Hello.

I am about 50 pounds overweight and I have lost 25 so far. I considered waiting until next year to have my right hip replaced so I could lose the weight but my insurance will pay for this surgery and I have a 20% coinsurance as I have met all my Blue Cross family deductible. So I decided to have it August 18th of this year. What I am getting at is will my recovery be hampered by my excess weight? I intend to lose another 20 pounds by surgery. I am on a vegetarian diet and don't eat any junk food or candy, cookies, ice-cream (unless made from soy). It has worked so far and the weight is coming off.

 

[westexas]

Hi basia,
I am 50 and was a good 25 lbs overweight when I had my left THR on Feb. 26 I was so miserable from the pain that I knew I would have to deal with the weight issue afterwards. I lost about 15lbs after surgery and have put 5 unwanted lbs back on. I am really working on that and losing another 15 lbs. I think you are doing great with the weight because you have addressed the issue. As long as your health is good, I think you are doing the right thing. Believe me, being pain free is a great feeling. Goodluck and keep us posted on how you are progressing. Patty

 

[Eeyore346]

I am well over 50 pounds over weight. My surgeon told me the only difference was that my incision would be about 2 inches longer than a slim person. I had my right hip done 4 weeks ago and am having left one done in 2 weeks. I really didn't think the surgery was that bad.

My surgeon said that my hips haven't moved in 10-20 years and it was such a slow degeneration that I just compensated for it and didn't notice that my hips were bad. He said that when I heal I will be amazed at how well I can move. He said I will want to bike and dance and move. He said he thinks the weight will fly off of me as I will be so excited to be able to move again.

Good luck and don't worry, the weight didn't seem to make a difference in my situation.

Sandy

 

[clwhit]

I, too, am overweight. My OS required I lose some weight before my surgery. I did - 59 lbs to be exact. Like Sandy said, my incision is somewhat larger than most - about 9 inches. My recovery has been similar to most - the PT had me up the day following surgery and PT worked with me 3 days a week until last Friday (I'm 4 weeks post-op). My OS was a little more conservative in allowing me to go full weight-bearing. Until last Tuesday, I could only do 60-70% weight bearing with walker. He said I could start driving now but would prefer that I wait two more weeks since my THR is on the right side. I also won't be able to start using a cane until I'm 6 weeks out.

I want this to work more than anything so I'm following my OS's directives to a tee. Best wishes to you. You'll be fine!

~Carol

 

[ceci1957]

I'm 95 pounds overweight. I haven't been able to exercise for about three years. At first I thought it was bursitis but it never went away. I had RTHR on June 16. My OS said I would never lose weight (well, not a lot anyway) because I can't exercise. I suppose I could have starved myself to death. The surgery and recovery have been a breeze. I'm having the left one done on the 18th, too. And yes, I already feel like dancing; but I don't!

 

[Josephine]

Well, I was going to chime in but they all said it anyway!

 

[basia54]

Hi there.

Thank you all for replying about being overweight. I really hope this surgery works. It gets exhaustive knowing that every morning you have to go through another full day and night of pain. I put all my stress and worries in the hands of our Lord. I know He has guided me to this decision.

It's neat that some of you will be having your surgery the same day as me. We'll have to compare notes.

I heard that general anesthesia is a LOT safer than having a spinal because of complications from a spinal. Does anyone have any suggestions.

I dd have a spinal with my anal fissure surgery and I did experience an almost fainting spell when they tried to get me up and I also did throw up once or twice.

 

[westexas]

Hi Basia,
The only thing I can tell you is that I had an Epidural for my four kids and two did not work. So, we all went with the consensus that General Anethesia would be the route to go for me. Josephine will be able to better enlighten you on that one. No matter what, you will do good...Patty

 

[Josephine]

Well, you're supposed to lay flat(-sh) for at least 12 hours after a spinal/edpidural, so if they tried to get you up before that, your blood pressure would have dropped and that would account for the fainting. Also people get nauseous after all kinds of anaesthesia and it often goes along with the low blood pressure thing.

As far as which is the safer, spinal/edpidural is a LOT lot safer than a GA.

I found this list via Google on complications of GA

• Nausea and vomiting
• Allergic reaction to anesthetic used
• Nerve damage or skin breakdown from positioning on the operating table
• Sore throat or damage to throat, teeth, or vocal cords
• While rare, there is a small risk of the following complications, especially among the elderly or those with medical problems:
  • Lung infections
  • Stroke
  • Heart Attack
  • Death

and of spinal/epidural

• headache
• urinary retention
• rarely - neurological complications

Hope this settles your mind!

 

[ceci1957]

I would rather have a spinal than general anesthesia. I always throw up with general. I had no complications with the spinal and they didn't get me up until about 24 hours later.

 

[rejoyce318]

Dear Basia54,

I still need to lose about 25 lbs., almost 3 wks. post-op. Fortunately, I was able to lose close to 10 lbs. the 2 mos. before surgery. It was like being between a rock & a hard place before surgery - I got my eating under control, so the only way to lose weight was to exercise, except it hurt like blazes to do it! I used my NordicTrack 5 minutes on, 5 min off, because that was the only thing that seemed to work for me. Come to think of it, I think I worked my way UP to 5 min.! ;)

Joyce

 

[Eeyore346]

From October 07 to June 08 I lost about 40 pounds. I had joined Weight Watchers. Then I found out I needed the THR. The only exercise I could do was swim. Everything else hurt to bad. After looking at my hips the doctor said he couldn't believe I was able to lose any weight. He told me not to worry that after I have two THR the weight would fly off of me because I would be so excited at being able to move that I will be going crazy. Riding bikes, walking, dancing etc.

Good luck!
Sandy