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THR Progress Reports

Thanks for the great update! Glad you're doing so well.
Getting up off the floor can take a little time and I can't say I've fully mastered it, at least not in a ladylike style, lol.
I guess I don't get down on the floor as much now that grandkids are grown, so therefore, very little practice.
Best Wishes for your appointment with the foot / ankle surgeon next month. Happy Summer to you! :SUNsmile:
@Newhip_Pol
 
Good luck with your ankle visit, if you can avoid surgery do so at all cost. My ankle recovery was worse than my hip. Not painful just depressing when you can't walk. At least with the hip you are up and walking with a walker.
Honestly anything that keeps me sidelined make me depressed! I wanna go-go-go!
Keep us posted!
 
Thanks for the good wishes @Layla and @myglasshalffull - it's the non-weightbearing aspect of recovery that worries me. I'm not sure my right hip is ready to take the extra load and I'm also concerned my arms aren't strong enough either. Cannot imagine how I would tackle the stairs at home which are difficult enough now! Will wait to see what the surgeon suggests - he has a very good reputation.
 
Six months update. I wake up feeling good and I'm back to being me! This means I'm back to spending more time at the computer doing family stuff (photo books, history, finances etc) as well as driving grandkids to various places as their parents are working through summer hols. Trying to go swimming but it's now down to once a week cos I'm less focused on me and my exercise! My new goal is to get some balance and try to include more exercise!
We enjoyed a few days break in Northern Ireland during the sunny hot weather spell mid-June, although things were greatly complicated by OH having a ruptured Baker's cyst that was excruciatingly painful and of course suspected to be DVT. This was the Sunday evening before the ferry on Tuesday. Luckily managed to get scan, diagnosis and treatment in time to get the ferry but it was a dramatic few days! He needed a crutch to get about but thankfully it is much better now, pain and swelling subsided but muscles still rock-like in places.
We have since been swimming a few times, to the theatre a few times, meals out with family and a brief visit to museum with grand-kids yesterday. Life is good.
PS Eldest grandchild played the lead role (Galileo) in school production of We Will Rock You. Brilliant, most of cast were seniors but he is only S2 although tall for his age. Proud grandparents
 
Appointment with Foot and Ankle surgeon yesterday (20th July) went well. X-rays show virtually no joint space at all medially and osteophytes anteriorly that further inhibit flexion. Deterioration since last x-rays (March 2019) as I expected and of course it will only get worse. I have been to the gym recently to try some strengthening exercises as I did at the end of last year before the RTHR. Just 30 or 40 mins including recumbent cycle - hip is fine but ankle is worse. It's now almost always painful when standing and beginning to be an issue when I'm doing my few slow laps swimming.
Surgeon confirms that the crunching and bumping I feel in the joint is real as the bones shift out of the grooves that have been ground down!
So total ankle replacement is on the horizon - STAR - with a waiting list of approx. one year although I'm hoping for a cancellation before then.
 
Nine months update: The hip joint is doing well, the scar is now a purple-pink line, still tender to pressure (still some healing going on) but otherwise ok. I do get the occasional aches and pains esp. around the outer thigh / trochanter region in both legs if I sit around too much and forget to move. Walking is now very limited because of the ankle (and the dreadful weather we've been having) but today was a glorious day - a chilly wind but bright sunshine and warm water in the outdoor pool at our local club - alone in the pool I managed 20 x20m lengths, the furthest I have swum since pre-op. Feeling good. :SUNsmile:
 
Greetings all hippies.
Hips as described previously and happily swimming - occasional twinges at greater trochanter or iliac crest which I mostly ignore. Trying to remember to move more during my frequent at home days!

My latest news is finding the TAR waiting list is more like 2 years than one - apparently some people ahead of me have been waiting since 2021. Private costs are prohibitive but I'm starting to save just in case.

Meanwhile I have to decide if I want to pay for a tooth implant - the tooth definitely has to come out - the 'niggle' I'm feeling is due to infection beneath a tooth that's had previous root canal treatment and is now cracked. (Age not a factor - I did ask - the dental surgeon said his oldest patient with a successful outcome was a women aged 97)

Also having always had a slightly wonky jaw that effectively dislocates if I have to open wide (for years I assumed this was normal :heehee:) the deviation is now more pronounced and there's crepitus in the joint (I can hear crackling and the dentist can feel it) so it seems there's arthritis there too! I am being referred to the maxillofacial team in the neurology/neurosurgical unit at our large teaching hospital - they have an excellent (world-wide) reputation. Waiting list not as long as orthopaedics apparently! Wish me luck.
 
Newhip_Pol said:
My latest news is finding the TAR waiting list is more like 2 years than one - apparently some people ahead of me have been waiting since 2021. Private costs are prohibitive but I'm starting to save just in case.
Click to expand...
It so sad to see so many orthopaedic patients on endless wait lists. For most, private is not a possibility. Hang in there!
 
@Newhip_Pol i’m not familiar with your healthcare system. Do you to see your dr? Or is it any Dr? What’s a TAR?

It’s so crazy, I have health insurance through work for my family with a large deductible, so my out of pocket for my hip was about $8000 (because no one else had expenses last year) but then my hubby has a hernia surgery in the same year and it cost about $300 my mom is on Medicare and she had her hip done and it costs her $250.
I when I finally decided to get an x-ray, I saw the ortho in April, Surgeon in May and operation was June. With a surgeon I picked. My company does contribute to an HSA and I put money in that account so it’s not taxed.

Do you have to wait for all visits? Even when sick, or is this just for procedures not defined as a priority?
 
dnordo220 said:
Do you to see your dr? Or is it any Dr? What’s a TAR?
Click to expand...
In the UK your GP (family doctor) must refer you to any specialist - like an orthopaedic surgeon.

TAR = Total Ankle Replacement
dnordo220 said:
Do you have to wait for all visits? Even when sick, or is this just for procedures not defined as a priority?
Click to expand...
Many patients have to wait - even for an appointment with their GP. But patients with life threatening illness such as cancer have priority.

Unfortunately the backlog of surgery needed is now critical here. Staff shortages, overcrowded hospitals and just the sheer number of patients needing treatment are roadblocks to care.
 
Hi @dnordo220
Visits to an NHS general practitioner here in the UK are free of charge and for certain categories (children, elderly) prescriptions and drugs are free of charge too. Acute emergencies are dealt with by NHS hospitals also free of charge (the NHS is funded through our taxes and makes up a huge proportion of government spend).
The problems with waiting lists arise with so-called 'elective' surgery i.e not life threatening. With an increasing elderly population there are increasing demands and orthopaedic surgery in particular is struggling - all such operations were cancelled during the COVID lockdowns and now there is a massive backlog.
TAR is total ankle replacement. I've had two hip replacements, one NHS, one private which thankfully I was able to afford. Many people are unable to afford private care.
 
Newhip_Pol said:
Meanwhile I have to decide if I want to pay for a tooth implant - the tooth definitely has to come out - the 'niggle' I'm feeling is due to infection beneath a tooth that's had previous root canal treatment and is now cracked. (Age not a factor - I did ask - the dental surgeon said his oldest patient with a successful outcome was a women aged 97)
Click to expand...
Oh I have to get an implant also. It will be started in Jan. Good luck!
 
Update:
1.I finally declined the tooth extraction and implant and that jaw is now better rather than worse with continuing interdental hygiene.
Referral for temporomandibular joint problems on that side confirmed arthritis (!) but no major issues that would benefit from treatment.
2. Both hips doing well, occasional twinge probably relates to the lack of exercise due to ankle and recurrent bunion problems. Swimming still helps but now out of bounds for a few more weeks >>
3. The waiting for Total Ankle Replacement finally ended after two years. Surgery was 22nd August 2025.
See my other thread -> HERE
 
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