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THR Second THR only 8 weeks from first

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@Sunny girl, yes, you had that horrible jolt as you jumped off of that box. I felt so terrible for you when I read that. Take heart knowing that posting about your painful experience may have saved many of us readers from a similar fate. I sure hope things heal quickly and that "deep, penetrating pain" (gulp) disappears soon.

In answer to your question about me, today is the best I have felt since surgery! And I did so much...trip to local mall to go to the Apple Store for new battery in phone and ordering an Apple Watch (mainly for fitness purposes), Bath and Body Works (to smell wonderful holiday scents), Crate and Barrel (for 40% off ornaments - I'm addicted!!!), and tonight to a local classic cinema to see an old, black-and-white Christmas movie with my sis and hubby. And I'm not even that tired! A miracle!

And today I was walking more without my aids in the house, and it felt great! Outdoors is a nightmare of ice and snow, as we got another 8 inches over the weekend), and I took tiny two inch steps while holding on to crutches for dear life, while my sister walked ahead of me spreading calcium chloride pellets -- just to get from my house to the garage! At the mall things were fine. I'm going to copy this for my own thread. I am so excited about those few steps I can take on my own!
 
Thank you so much for looking in and your good wishes @Krista, @Tweetybrd and @SwimGirl - I really appreciate your kindness and understanding re my 'mishap' - which shall be forthwith referred to as 'the jolt'. I've waited to reply until I knew more.

Good news. The xray result states that the implant is in exactly the same position as the 6 week post-surgery xray, and there is no mention of the bone being compromised. Phew!! So all the repercussions from the jolt that I'm feeling are soft tissue/muscle. Though it does feel like shooting bone pain to me! The GP said to rest for one week to allow all the swelling, bruising and tenderness to settle down. She palpated around the joint itself ...ouch ... very, very tender, spreading down into the thigh (I find it truly worrying, after doing so well.) If I place my wrist at the top of the anterior incision, the most painful area of my thigh is just larger than the size of my hand spread wide. This seems to correlate with the position of the implant. Also hurts all along the outer edge of the thigh (area of greater trochanter) a bit of the pelvic girdle and even part of the glute. Plus I have this horrible deeper internal pain and sharp sense of 'bone ache'. I mention all this for others in case of the same jolt. She suggested I ice, take Mobic and paracetamol (which I have been doing) and later get some physio such as tens machine onto it down the track. She said I was very lucky the impact of the jolt was 'downwards' rather than skewed at an angle. My OS is away at the moment, but the xray and result have been forwarded to him. Not sure if I will get to speak to him about it (as per the explanation below).

Please, please everyone - let this be a warning - don't do anything silly in the spur of the moment! Stay mindful and conscious of your hip even when it's feeling good.

Ah, the public system ... in Australia @SwimGirl, the term 'public system' means that hospital treatment and surgery is free in the big hospitals for everyone. A sort of government organised health service. A bit like the National Health Service in the UK. However, there are long waiting lists for elective (so-called non-emergency) surgery such as THR (unless you are deemed category 1 which is usually a broken hip) and many, many other surgeries and day procedures. And you have no choice over your surgeon, or whether indeed a registrar might perform the surgery under the eye of the surgeon as part of their training. So there are good reasons why people take out private health insurance, the main one to reduce waiting time. However the public hospitals are so well established, their systems and processes fine tuned, the doctors are highly experienced and very efficient due to the sheer patient load - and all doctors start off in the public system. Plus the nursing care in public hospitals in my past experience has been second to none.

If you have private health insurance, you can get surgery pretty fast here in a private hospital and with a surgeon of your choice. Many people have had life-long private insurance but if you are new to insurance, there is a waiting period of 1 year before you're allowed to get surgery. Often the insurance doesn't adequately cover all the fees (not all doctors charge the 'standard' fees) and you have to pay the dreaded 'gap' fee. I didn't have insurance and looked into taking it out for my bilateral THRs, but didn't take the plunge. In the case of THR I was quoted a $10,000 gap to pay out of my own pocket per THR. Plus a year of very expensive weekly premiums (there are no favours to older people taking out insurance for the first time). This cost wasn't possible for me.

I decided I'd better get on the public list quick smart!! Unbeknown to me (no-one tells you this stuff) because the public lists in my state are so long, the health service is currently hiring beds in private hospitals. Was just incredibly lucky to be forwarded to an outsourced newish (ergo empty) private hospital fairly quickly for my surgery and got a young private surgeon who specialises in anterior THR. The private hospital 'billed' the health service/government for the job. So I didn't have to pay a cent. Sorry for the long-winded dissertation! So I don't know who or where I'll be done for the second THR!! I really want my original surgeon!!!! I even dreamed about him last night.

Is insurance the only means to get surgery in the US? It certainly seems a complex system there.

@Krista, it warmed the cockles of my heart to hear of your happy time out and about, you so deserve these magical moments of 'normality' after living under such duress for so long. Good on you! May each day bring forth even greater progress, comfort and freedom.

Thanks again Tweetybrd, Swimgirl and Krista for you support and warmth, it really helped in a time of need xxx
 
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@Sunny girl Your system certainly sounds better than what we have. Most people here have private insurance through their jobs, We pay a premium every month to insurance and it is not cheap. Then once a surgery is deemed necessary it must have an adequate diagnosis code sent to insurance company by surgeon before it can be approved. Finally there is an out of pocket payment made by the individual before insurance even kicks in.
I do not know how people who cannot afford insurance manage. I suppose medicaid covers the cost or if old enough Medicare. The only benefit that I can see with private insurance is that once you see the surgeon the wait time is generally a month no longer. There is still an anesthesia bill and an OS bill on top of hospital costs.
Insurance covers some,but not all of this.

You were lucky to have a good surgeon who did anterior approach. I understand now why you were so upset not to have been able to have both hips done at once. Will pray that you get on a fast moving list with a great surgeon who knows anterior approach! I wonder what you consider a long waiting list time to be? 3 months? 6 months? A year?
 
You are so welcome, @Sunny girl! You are such a warm, caring support for so many on this forum. You deserve the same! Your pain sounds pretty bad, and, even though you've gotten good news from the x-ray, that feeling of bone pain would worry me, too! Wishing you all the best as you rest and heal. Rest, ice and elevation should help with all that soft tissue damage. Just know that we all are taking your advice to heart, and will think twice or three times before we do something potentially dangerous. ♥︎♥︎♥︎
 
Nice to hear from you again @SwimGirl :-) have been reading your updates via other posts, you sound pretty good and hope all is going well! Could be a 365 day wait - but my first THR worked out a bit quicker than that due to the intervention of the private hospital. At first I was told three years, which is why I looked into the private system! Been thinking of you as the lights go up, and am sure you are enjoying all your decorations :-)
 
Hi so sorry about your setback. We all do the most stupid thing thinking it will be ok just this once. I'm sure you will feel better soon as you are such a positive person. Am sorry you're having to wait so long for your new hip and have had to go on the waiting list again. We are soooo lucky here in the UK. All our treatment is free. Can't imagine paying out loads of money like you have to. We also have great surgeons and after care if needed. We do have to wait like you do but if it's really bad we jump the list. I hope you can get some relief from the pain in your other hip and maybe get it done sooner. Don't feel bad about being negative on here everyone is so understanding cos they've been there at some time or other. You have lots of support.
 
Hello, and thanks for your lovely message @Krista - I've really appreciated your care and input through my mishap. You yourself are a wonderful support for all here and help so many others feel not so alone and anxious. Your natural kindness really shines through in your face!

Retaining mindfulness is essential at all times, isn't it? This is the body we live in, we have a responsibility to be good to it. I have cared for my new hip like it was Ming china, so this was a horrible aberration!

All this rest is helping, and I have started to feel improvements. Hope you are feeling well and comfortable? I must read your thread sometime :-)Take care, thinking of you x
 
Hi @Cas, how lovely to hear from you. I've seen your name pop up many times across the forum and hope all is going well at this 6 week mark. It's a lovely point to be at, as you can really judge your progress from day one. I agree, the NHS is a fantastic system (I'm originally from the UK). My brother-in-law broke his hip and NHS installed everything he needed after surgery in the home for free, including a great big upright chair to sit on!

Cas said:
We all do the most stupid thing thinking it will be ok just this once.
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Thank you - glad I'm not the only one! I've been a real downer on myself for this.

Thanks also for your wishes for my 'old' left hip. I'm seeing my GP tomorrow and hoping he can advocate in some way for me. The system is a little impenetrable. OSs office say they have no influence and can't make requests to the health service, and patient admissions say 'You get who you get, when we say - this is the way it is.' They don't take into account that 2 hips were meant to be all done by now. Will update if I hear anything.

Good luck with your recovery, keep safe and well!
 
@Sunny girl 365 days? Bummer! Hope things move faster for you! Sounds like every country has a different way to handle medical differently. I guess there is no perfect system! Yeah, tonite I was sitting outside in the 60 something weather in my lounge chair shivering while I enjoyed my house Christmas lights! Brrr! No sweater needed. Refreshing! Thanks for following me. I am doing okay. Have been out walking and walking while Christmas shopping! Start formal PT in January. Have been doing very minimal exercises!

No more taking pictures from high places!!! Take care! We are still in recovery for up to one year!
 
@sunnygirl. I appreciate your posts about your journey and things you have learned. I too was very devastated by a set back due to a hip dislocation right when things were going well with my THR and beginning to do more activities. But not as difficult as yours. I found it so helpful to get advice here and hear some positive things. So I am starting over with this and can't do much right now. My other hip is also aggravated due to all the weight that needs to go on it due to the hip precautions. On the past I found PT not helpful. I finally have a really helpful one. I pressed for strategies to use to get up off the floor, swimming, and a good explanation about why it would take a year to get hopefully get back to normal. And taking baby steps. Being an active person, I like you have found it so hard. But I'm wondering if getting some additional information about good strategies that may help so you /we don't have to figure this all out ourselves, which I felt before. Seeing the light at the end of tunnel even if it is a ways off helps. That some action will be taken so the quality of life will be much better at some point.
 
Cas said:
We are soooo lucky here in the UK. All our treatment is free. Can't imagine paying out loads of money like you have to.
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@Cas - Sorry but I have to put the record straight here. Our treatment in UK is not free. I've been paying National Insurance contributions for 46 odd years (as does anyone over 16 and taking a small salary or if they're self-employed making a small profit) and I'm sure you have too. It is a common misconception that we don't pay for our treatment because we overlook the monthly contributions taken at source from our salaries.

A bit of a political soapbox moment here - it is true to say that our Health System was founded on admirable moral grounds, which have sadly been misused to the detriment of those who have systematically paid into a fund over the years and get aggravated when others who have put nothing in the pot are able to queue jump.

I suspect you meant we don't get billed personally for our THRs. I've benefitted from two wonderful new hips which I'm delighted with, but I didn't get them free of charge.
 
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@Miss Muffet sorry if I upset you I know we have paid for it over the years but just meant we suddenly didn't have to find thousands all at once. I suppose I must have paid for several hip replacements over the years LOL ! It does take the worry off your shoulders.
 
No offence taken at all @Cas - I just wouldn't want our overseas cousins thinking we get everything completely free of charge, that's all. Looking at our combined ages I agree, we have probably funded a lot of others' medical care! I guess that's why I got particularly wound up when I was battling prolonged pain and waiting anxiously for an Op which I knew would deal with it, while others were dealt with ahead of me. It would actually be interesting to work out our contributions over those years to weigh them up with private health insurance.

Your Op was only a couple of days before mine - how are you doing now and have you reduced your meds yet? I was struck with 'flu from Christmas Eve and just getting over it. I was forced to choose between my "hip meds" and "flu meds" as I couldn't do both. Flu won and today I'm back on the hip meds. The couple of days without them were uncomfortable. I dearly want to cut down and off them completely and would love to know how you're coping. And whereabouts in Yorkshire are you? :friends:
 
@Miss Muffet hi yes we are close together re op. I am an hour from York near Bridlington in a small village. I'm off the strong painkillers - I stopped them about week 6 just taking the odd dose plus paracetamol and brufen. Now am on paracetamol 2 of 500 x twice a day and brufen 400 once a day - more if needed. Though if I needed stronger pain control I have some on standby in the drawer. Am driving again though not long distance LOL. It's great to be out and about again. Still have my stick with me as I feel safer with it when out and about. I'm walking better and keep reminding myself not to limp. Went up to Lake Windermere in the lakes and took a boat ride on Saturday-really did too much that day but feel ok now. I still get the stiffness and buttock pain on occasion but they are getting less. I went through 3 weeks of swelling in both legs and feet - like an elephant ! That was a bad time as I hurt and itched and felt miserable but now I have good days and bad - up days and down days emotionally so am still in recovery and know it's a long road ahead. Looking forward to next Christmas when I will, hopefully, be all healed and can climb ladders and walk for hours without thinking about it ! Am following your thread so keep me posted how you get on. By the way have had holiday cottage in Derbyshire and also did B&B with dogs of course!
 
I understand your conundrum. I am almost 6 weeks post anterior THR & will need to do the other one sooner than later BUT my surgeon said he recommended waiting 4-5 months between surgeries. He was willing to do them both at the same time but the scheduler was unable to find a date that was close enough for me to habe any quality of life. I was beyond denial & in constant pain. I have had a very smooth recovery from this surgery & although not looking forward to another long recovery period, I am at least ready for what to expect & have more realistic expectations. I didn't need anything stronger than ES Tylenol after the 1st week either. Ice is still my go to when I overdo the stairs & getting in & out of the car.

It sucks not to have the mobility I had before & I am bored out of my mind.....BUT so looking forward to getting back to some normalcy & work & driving & the gym!!! I will allow myself permission to let the new hip completely recover before I put myself at risk of going looney.......having to use a cane now intermittently is not as bad as I thought it would be. I feel blessed that I am at least halfway in this journey to 2 bionic hips!

Good luck & here's to a pain free 2017! :reindeer:
 
Hello @bonnied999, lovely to hear from you and thanks for your kindness. Gosh, I think your disaster of dislocation is far, far worse than my situation (hobbling on decrepit old left hip with new right hip instated, then foolishly landing from a height on new hip to save old hip!! It was a horrible set back though, and a true worry until I got xrays back). I hope that things are getting better for you day by day. Must look into your thread to catch up, I have certainly looked in previously. It must be very difficult relying on your other hip in order to protect the one that dislocated. Every move must be fraught and make you very nervous. I think I will follow your advice re finding some strategies from a professional for strengthening my RTHR which take the poor old left hip into account. I feel I'm at a standstill! Though, to put it all into perspective, my mobility is far greater than pre-surgery, something to celebrate :)


@oznut - thanks and good luck to you too! This is interesting -
oznut said:
my surgeon said he recommended waiting 4-5 months between surgeries
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From my reading on the forum, OS's views vary so widely on appropriate times between surgeries, but that time lapse would certainly allow for a thorough recovery. It's major surgery after all, and duress for the whole system. Your initial recovery from anterior THR sounds great - as was mine. Comfortable, pain free. At least we know what to expect next time re the actual surgery/hospital. But I've read that recoveries can vary a lot between hips, hope ours is just as good as the first.

Next time I will experiment with coming off meds earlier. I was quite religious with mine, but around 3 weeks tapered off gradually. Incredible how you were just on regular pain killers so early on. I'm praying I get this approach next time, and the same OS. Do you have a date yet? And when was your first THR (your signature doesn't have your op details). Thanks for being in touch :)
 
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@Cas, you're making me homesick with tales of Lake Windermere and boats, and holiday cottages in Derbyshire. Re your elephant-type swelling, understand you - I had a massive thigh too, double the normal size (and normal is fairly generous!) I still have some swelling at 12 weeks (most noticeable the inner thigh left of incision) GP mentioned lymph glands still playing a part. Also with blood loss, the tissues get a bit 'saturated'. My underwear seams still leave deep impressions on the side of operated leg!
 
Hello to @Sunny girl I wanted to join in on your discussion. I believe that we all have massive swelling after surgery. This is why ice is the wonderful answer following surgery. This is probably why my sutures busted postop. My problem once the swelling went down of course as you know is the puckered suture line. As healing occurs this is resolving as well. My follow up appointment was hurried but I still have reservations about the healing on my left hip. Was told by OS that my prostheses was one size larger than on right hip. Like your ring size differs from one hand to another. I wonder if this is the norm? We all have some strange thing specific to ourselvesI Nonetheless, I am moving well and was planning to return to PT however now I am without insurance to do so. Thank Goodness for Josephine reporting that it is not so necessary as it would seem! Hope your swelling resolves soon. Our bodies do their own thing to get back to the norm!
 
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