THR THR June 12 - AVN

KisstheskyBrace

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I'm 28 years old and getting my left total hip replacement on June 12. I was diagnosed with avascular necrosis (AVN) in February. Many people wait years after their diagnosis to get their new hip, and everyone I've talked to says, "I wish I'd done it sooner!" While my mom and family feel I'm too young for THR, I know that truly I'm too young to live with such pain. That being said, I am absolutely terrified to get the actual procedure done.
I did my research and found a surgeon I like and asked all the questions...now that the date has been set and is fast approaching I keep coming up with more and more questions!!
Do I need to get my own walker prior to going in for surgery? Where does one even get a walker??!
Do I need special shoes for post surgery?
Am I going to be able to wear regular clothes? Should I buy a bunch of $10 Old Navy sundresses and wear those?
Do I need to get any special equipment to help me shower? or sit on the toilet?

I'll read another few posts and come up with even more questions. I'm trying to write them down and keep track. But the more questions I have the less prepared I feel:boohoo:
 
Hello @KisstheskyBrace - and :welome:

Here is some pre-op information to help you prepare for your surgery, including suggestoins for equipment you may need:

Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?

If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:
Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced hip, take a look at the posts and threads from other BoneSmarties provided in this link:
Stories of amazing hip recoveries
 
@KisstheskyBrace Welcome! Celle has already given you some very good information. And I can confirm that getting that hip replaced sooner rather than later will mean a much simpler recovery. People don't realise the impact of limping around on other parts of the body. You won't have that to deal with.

I look forward to following your journey!
 
Welcome and keep asking questions and reading and you will learn all you need. It is quite normal to be terrified. It is a major surgery even though many people go home the same day these days. I was in overnight both times but out of the hospital by noonish the next day. The loss of pain after surgery in the hip is what I focused on to help me through the worries and fears. I read a lot of the recovery stories here and realized most people do really well and regain their mobility and life back.

You asked some questions:
Do I need to get my own walker prior to going in for surgery? Where does one even get a walker??!
My walker was provided by the insurance company and delivered to me at the hospital prior to discharge.
Do I need special shoes for post surgery?
No special shoes though many of us find that if we have been having issues for a long time a new pair of shoes helps if our old shoes soles were worn on one side more than the other.
Am I going to be able to wear regular clothes? Should I buy a bunch of $10 Old Navy sundresses and wear those?
I am not a sundress person but more of a shorts and t shirts or loose tops or sweatpants since my surgeries were done in the fall and winter and I live in the northeast. I know many people have found sundresses easier to deal with and to put on but I had no issues with my loose sweats.
Do I need to get any special equipment to help me shower? or sit on the toilet?
I think if you read some of the articles you will see that it depends. I have a walk in shower with only a 4" step so did not need anything to get in the shower and I have found it easier to just stand and shower quickly vs sitting down but we are all different. As for the toilet, again the hospital arranged that I get a commode that you basically take the bucket out of and set over the toilet so that you are sitting higher plus you have arms like a chair to use to push off with to stand up or hold unto for sitting down slowly.

Talk to your OS office and hospital and see what they arrange. My hospital has a whole program for total joints so they collect information as to what is needed and arrange with a distributor to bring it in before discharge.
 
@KisstheskyBrace do you have a pre-op assessment or Joint Class scheduled before your op date? If so be sure and take your list of questions to that appointment. It is very common to have lots of questions in the run up to surgery. Staff are more than happy to answer.
 
There are hip recovery kits online say from Amazon. They usually include a sock aid, a long handled bath sponge, and a shoe horn. Being summer, you may just wear sandals or flats but they need to be easy to put on and supportive. I got slip on Sketchers which were great. Loose and comfortable clothes are the name of the game. A long handled grabber is a must. I purchased a cane-there are some really beautiful ones out there. I also got a large gel pack for icing. They usually have the disposable ice packs at the facility. I would ask for an extra one, if you can. The fun part for me was setting up my recovery “nest.” It’s the place you’ll spend most of your recovery day For a while. Mine was the living room recliner: close to the kitchen and bathroom. We moved our bedroom down to the family room. It had already been used for that purpose a couple of times and had a door.
I hope it’s some consolation that a lot of us were terrified, too. If anyone understands, it’s the people here. You have the reassurance that we felt it, had the surgery, came out the other side, and are now back to living the life we love. You will, too. Keep asking questions. We’ll be here for you. ❤️
 
@KisstheskyBrace :wave: and welcome to Bone Smart, you've come to the right place. I think pretty much everyone of us was terrified at some point leading up to surgery. Then some of us just get to the point of just take this thing out! :snork: I was one of them.

I basically just wore t-shirts and pull on shorts the entire summer. Either went shoeless in the house or had the little gripper bottomed slippers. When I went out I had slip on Bob's Skechers that worked great. You want to avoid flip flops and things with open backs, you don't want to risk sliding out of your shoe.

Multiple gel type ice packs make it easier to switch them out so you always have one ready to go. Lots of pillows was also something that was helpful. I'm not a back sleeper but that's usually how they want you to sleep. You can use the pillows all around you to prop you up, keep you from rolling around, etc.
 
:wave: and :welome:
I'm sorry you are so nervous but you can do this and the anxiety of waiting is definitely the worst part.
You have great info from all the folks above but, for what its worth....
Should I buy a bunch of $10 Old Navy sundresses and wear those?
I love this idea.
I found sundresses much easier to deal with and nothing to rub.
Lots of great advice and encouragement here so stick around and share your journey with us.:friends:
 
@KisstheskyBrace do you have a pre-op assessment or Joint Class scheduled before your op date? If so be sure and take your list of questions to that appointment. It is very common to have lots of questions in the run up to surgery. Staff are more than happy to answer.

My pre-op appointment is the day before my surgery. So while I will certainly be bringing my questions with me, I would just hate to discover I need to scramble to get things done the day before my surgery and I'd much rather it already be done by that day.
 
Turns out we were all on the same page regarding my clothing options... My girlfriend bought me 3 sundresses and my mom bought me 4 more so I think I'm prepared with my clothing now
I'm still on the hunt for some new shoes.

Looking on the bright side of things, it's nice that we're all out of work right now because I have my girlfriend and my mom to help with my recovery at home for as long as needed. I think we're just about as ready as we can be right now - including having gotten a friend to stay at our house to feed the cat for a couple days. LOL

Thanks everyone for the replies and support.
 
Today is the big day! Possibly surgery is already behind you and you’re resting comfortably. Will look forward to following your journey on the recovery side.
Hope to see you there soon! :)
@KisstheskyBrace
 
@KisstheskyBrace I laughed out loud at the sundress saga. I am currently (post abdominal surgery) wearing the thrift shop sundress I bought for my first hip 7 years ago. My reasoning was, everybody here who has anterior says it's.....interesting.... to bend the hip too far, and I don't want to be having to drag pants up off the floor. Also I had a lot of swelling, more for the first, and double also the dress has two giant pockets. I'll look for you on the other side!
 
Today is the big day! Possibly surgery is already behind you and you’re resting comfortably. Will look forward to following your journey on the recovery side.
Hope to see you there soon! :)
@KisstheskyBrace

Thank you!!! My report time for surgery was 545 am. I was in the OR around 830 I think... I don't remember anything after IV sedation for my nerve blocker I was in recovery about 11. I was in pretty "bad" pain for a couple hours. But it kept getting better just throughout the day!!

It took me until about 10 pm for it to reallllyy sink in that the only pain I'm feeling is where the incision is and I have no more AVN Pain!!?? Many happy tears were cried!!!

I was supposed to have my first PT yesterday but had orthostatic hypotension. My BP dropped drastically as soon as I sat up straight. Standing was 100% out of the question, I almost passed out. I finally sat on the side of the bed no problems around 930!! So hopefully I'll be up and walking to go home today!!
 
@KisstheskyBrace I laughed out loud at the sundress saga. I am currently (post abdominal surgery) wearing the thrift shop sundress I bought for my first hip 7 years ago. My reasoning was, everybody here who has anterior says it's.....interesting.... to bend the hip too far, and I don't want to be having to drag pants up off the floor. Also I had a lot of swelling, more for the first, and double also the dress has two giant pockets. I'll look for you on the other side!


I ended up with so many sundresses!! It's a very good thing I live in FL
 
Congratulations on your shiny new hip. I hope you get to go home soon since there is no place like home. Need some pictures of you modeling all those sundresses when you are up to it
 

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