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Scared newbie... Hip is shot. What if it doesn't work!!??

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Poppet... Well, that's what he said ACTUAL surgery time is. Maybe he exaggerated? He did sound very definite and matter-of-fact, though.
 
Hello everybody... Whew!! Getting closer to scheduling a date. Thinking early January. Reason is hubby finishes radiation tomorrow for early, non-aggressive prostate cancer and we won't know for 2 months whether the radiation was effective. He's in very good physical shape, but we want to make sure he has no residual side effects from the treatment so he can be my "servant" post-op. Anyway, I'm working on myself to make "The Call"very soon. Scarrrrrrry!

Josephine... Please help. I'm a little nervous because Butterfly said her OS prefers to do posterior surgery because of her age (67) and "thinning" bones. But my doc plans on MAKOplasty using anterior approach. I have " mild osteoporosis" and am 69. What do you think?
Thanks for your thoughts.

Ellen
 
Ellen you surgeon will use the approach and technique that he/she is most experienced in given your own situation. Please don't compare your situation to any other members. If you have concerns about your surgeon's choice, please talk to him/her. In the end you need to trust what is recommended.
 
I don't agree with what Butterfly's surgeon said. I've seen anteriors being used on the 'elderly' and posteriors used on the very young (20yrs!). You'll be fine, don't give it another thought.
 
Josephine and Jaycey... Thanks from a 'hip-o-chondriac' for the comforting responses . You both made me feel better. I am confident in this surgeon; he is one of only 3 in this area specializing in MAKO/minimally invasive with anterior approach. He seemed very forthright and definite. According to him, no restrictions whatsoever. This is quite a journey, isn't it? BS alleviates so much anxiety.
 
So if you think you can hide over here with the other pre-ops ghess again.Im on you like white on rice.Make the date your husband will be fine.Just think of how much stronger of a team you will be when your whole again.I hung out here for a couple of months.The other side,you know,those post op snobs,they seem to be much more comfortable.MAKE THE DATE.You can and you will.See you over there.Peace and Love.
Billy
 
I DID IT!!! I've scheduled my LTHR -- January 17, 2014. Two weeks before my biiiiig birthday. What a present to ME!
 
Way to go Shrinkette!
I did my bilat 2 weeks after my big b'day, 50!

Roofmaster, you see this???
you gave her a little nudge and she's scheduled!
 
Well to be fair cnydutch she has 3 pages of "nudges" ahead of me so Im just glad she did it,finally.Way to go shrinkette.Im beaming with smiles for you Ellen.You and your husband deserve this.Now youve got something to look forward to,relief.Good girl.
 
Fantastic to finally schedule your date.. Jan 2014 will come around quickly :)
 
Hi everyone! I have a rather silly-sounding question. I'm curious to know whether others with arthritis in the hip have difficulty moving legs apart, including when standing. I haven't seen that mentioned specifically... Just wanna know if others experience it. This is apart from buttock, thigh, and near-groin pain. Used the wheelchair yesterday for the theatre -- it helped. Thanks.
 
@ Shrinkette I did. particularly moving the left leg away from the body. If I would step to the left side for some reason, I would howl in pain. Arthritis just screws up all the movement in the hips. Because of my post-op restrictions, I am supposed to avoid that movement for a while. I think it's because I had a posterio-lateral incision.

How are you doing? I am progressing, I think. Having trouble with my hands due to the walker. Have you had any of that?

Peace and love to you.
 
Greetings, my fluttering friend, Butterfly. Thanks for the quick response. Glad to know I'm not alone. And yes, when I put my weight on my left foot (which is also shorter, causing me to kind of "sink"), I have a lot of pain. Getting my legs apart is torture, so need I say more about enduring a Pap!? Not to be unduly graphic, it was near impossible and humiliating despite the kindness of the female doctor.

My hands haven't troubled me from the walker, but I believe that its use contributed to shoulder pain, especially when I lay on that shoulder in bed. A kind of arthritic ache, I would say, but it seems to have pretty much resolved.

Very glad to hear of your progress. Are you ready for the next installment? Keep up that courage... I need your inspiration.

I'm in a lot of pain except when lying down on one side or another, or sitting. Mornings -- don't ask! I'm pretty much hobbling around. Doing less and less, as I find that everything is exhausting and just takes longer. You know how it goes. I can't make up my mind about getting another opinion in spite of the fact that the surgeon I chose comes recommended by my knee surgeon (doesn't do hips), is at the same excellent hospital, has great reviews, and a wonderful manner. I really liked him and his staff @ felt comfortable. We"ll see.

This whole business just seems to take over your life somehow, doesn't it? I don't think I was ever as self-absorbed as I've become. Grrrr!
Love & kisses.

Ellem
 
shrinkette Had the pap experience, too! Thought I'd pass out or throw up.

As to the hands -- I've a history of carpal tunnel issues (no surgery!) and the walker is causing a serious flare up and I do not need it added to everythig else. Besides, it kind of scares me. (Everything kind of scares me anymore.)

You are SO right about becoming self-absorbed -- but then, when you can't really engage in anything meaningful because of pain, and you can't even just BE without pain, there isn't much of anything BESIDES yourself to become absorbed in. Everything in your entire life, down to the smallest detail, revolves around your pain and immobility. And then you start to worry about the smallest change in yout body (OMG, is it getting worse? have I done more damage to myself? has something else gone wrong? etc.). And I certainly understand about doing less and less. That's what I was doing, down to almost nothing, because everything HURT so much.

You know, about the second opinion --- if you are pleased with this guy and he has a good rep and comes recommended, I'd just go with him. That's what I did. I thought about getting a second opinion, but I KNEW I needed the surgery (both my GP and my chiropractor had already told me that, in no uncertain terms, and even my untrained eye could see that my x-rays were awful) and my OS was recommended by both of them, so I finally figured out that my "second opinion" thoughts were just am attempt to postpone the inevitable. Besides, I didn't know what I'd learn from a second opinion -- I certainly can't determine surgical expertise by just looking at the guy, and I already knew I was "doomed" to hip replacement, so I decided there wasn't any point i seeing another OS. I'm very pleased with my surgeon, though I cannot abide his crabby secretary. I was pleased with the hospital I was in and the nursing care there, and OS's medical techs and x-ray folks are nice, competent, friendly people. I almost think too much shopping around in a case like this is just confusing, unless you have really bad vibes with the OS or he isn't highly recommended. And I SO desperately wanted to get on the road to being pain free!

Hope you go ahead with this in the near future. You'll be surprised how much better you feel, and from what I read on this forum, recovery is a lot easer than from a knee replacement.

PS: I am not the least bit courageous -- it s just that I had gotten to the point that I couldn't live with the pain anymore, and I saw my life clrcling the drain, and that's why I made the decision to go ahead with the surgery.

Peace and love to you.
 
Ah, Butterfly. Of course a flare-up of carpal tunnel is the last thing you need these days, but what to do about it? You definitely feel its related to the walker? I guess, though, at some point after the next surgery you will become walker-free, which will hopefully solve THAT problem. Gosh, I sure hope so.

You really put that self-absorption issue into perspective. Right on the mark... Great perspective. Kind of makes me feel validated. Us, really.

I think you're right about the 2nd opinion thing. Thanks for the input.

Yes, I've heard hips are easier than knees. With knees, they're very concerned about ROM, getting your knee bent to a retain angle, and boy they put you through the mill in PT. I'm hoping I won't have to do an in-patient rehab like I did with the knee & can return home. That would be lovely. Did you finally resolve your differences or problems with the home PT? Did a nurse also visit you? Are you feeling any stronger and more able to function? Are you more or less anxious about the op now that you know what it entails? Perhaps some mixed feelings?

Well, sweetie, i believe it's later here on the east coast, so think I'll call it a night. Lets try to keep our respective chins up (I certainly have a few myself!!!). Ciao for now.
 
shrinkette Actually I'm doing very well with my in-home PT, after we resolved the issue that grey hair does not make you incompetent or incontinent. Hip PT doesn't involve a whole lot, and I've just politely declined to do the ones that hurt -- the ones that hurt usually involve the right leg, which is the unoperated one, and it still hurts a lot and I just refuse to make it more painful. No nurse visited, because I didn't need one. The anticoagulant I take is Xarelto, a new oral med that doesn't require blood monitoring like coumadin.

In general I am less anxious about this next hip. I just want it all over with so I can get on with a normal (whatever that means) life. I do not like all this medical stuff; it generally scares me and I do not like tests, even blood tests (I get all wrapped around the axle about the results and what they mean). I do not like doctors in general, either. I am feeling uneasy today for some reason -- just unsettled. I went in today for pre-op stuff for the second surgery and that's probably why.

Are you doing OK? Are you as sick of the walker as I am? It is clumsy and awkward and I hate it -- I know it is necessary, though. Guess I am just grumpy -- saw too many white coats today.

Peace and love to you.
 
Butterfly. Well, glad you got the pre-op stuff done. I know what you mean about feeling "uneasy": for me, it's kind of like waiting for the other shoe to drop... Wondering and stewing over whether something NEW is wrong or abnormal and what THAT would mean. Horrible feeling, isn't it?

Glad to hear your PT is going well & happy to hear that you put your foot down (haha, no pun intended!) when some exercise is just too painful. Josephine would be proud!

I guess a nurse would be coming in and maybe a lab because I do take Coumadin. so they'd want to monitor it. They sent in all these folks after my knee op.

Today is not a good one for me, either. Lot of pain, feeling very dependent... But most of all because in looking up an OS who had been recommended to me by knee surgeon (one of several including the guy I plan to use), I found a blog written by the one who I actually had made an appt with as that second opinion. It's entitled something like "Why I no longer use the anterior approach"!!! And goes on to explain. He's a top doc here. I'm very upset after reading it. I still have that appt. next week, which I was going to cancel. I would like to send Josephine the article to get her point of view because it really spells out his reasons. Now I don't know what to do.

Sorry, Butterfly -- I know you have your own problems, particularly today, & I wasn't gonna write about this yet. I'm now feeling at loose ends & wondering about my decision. I think I'll finish the good book I'm reading & try to forget about hips. You rest and relax after this anxiety-riddled day & just think you're almost there AND have gotten thru it once!! That, to me, is an enviable place to be. Goodnight. my friend.
 
@ Shrinkette -- OK to write with problems of your own. Sometimes it takes my focus off of my own.

Was iot the doctor you liked (the first one) who wrote that article, or the second opinion guy that wrote the article? Were his reasons valid or reasonable?

Here'sthe good news in all this, I had the posterio-lateral approach and have had no problems with it. Yes, there are restrictions, but as a matter of fact I was having to follow most of them anyway -- don't bend over from the waist to pick somethig up (haven't been able to do that in years, anyway), don't cross your legs (ditto). The only one that annoys me is the sleeping on your back part. I am a side sleeper and have a hard time really sleeping on my back. BUT, a good trade-off for the lack of he screaming pain however I tried to lay. I am not sure there's all that much practical difference in which one you have. I have to have the same approach for the second one because my socket part (whatever the fancy name for it) has deteriorated and he will probably have to do some repairs in there before he can put in the implant. Josephine got me off he ceiling about not having the anterior approach by telling me the doctor would do what was best for me in my situation and did I really want him operating in a manner he didn't feel was the best, safest way for me? No, of course. I probably have a longer incision that the one you are contemplating, but it hasn't bothered me. I was utterly surprised at how little post op pain I had. And of course the bone on bone pain was instantly gone -- the bone on bone parts weren't there anymore! My scar will not exactly be a thing of beauty in all likelihood, but then I am long past my bikini days. I live alone and the only people who see my butt are my labrador retrievers, my doctors and once in a while my daughter in law, but none of them seem shocked by it.

About the getting into a higher bed -- someone told me to put a plastioc bag on the bed where I was going to sit down it and it makes it SOOO much easier to make the turn and swing your legs up on the bed, because your jammies or underwear or whatever don't hang up on the sheets or blanket and you just swing right around where you want to be. HUGE help for me. Try it and see.

It has indeed been a yuck day. They found some red blood cells microscopically in my urine test and now I am all worried about that. Don't really know if it means anything or not, but of course I HAD to look it up on the net, only to find that it might be a sign of bladder cancer -- of course it could also be nothing, or a UTI, butI have to latch on the cancer fear. And of course the internet is all over the place about how many cells are reallly worrisome. And can I reach my doc to ask -- of course not. Neither of them were around this afternoon. It is just all so stressful..

I think I'll just close up this day and try to sleep. Try the plastic bag trick. It was a lifesaver for me.

Tomorrow will be a betterday for both of us, I hope!

Peace and love to you.
 
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