THR Scheduled for 6th Feb (UK)

itsahippy

junior member
Joined
Nov 15, 2018
Messages
58
Age
55
Been putting it off for a long time but I waved the white flag & somehow its just over a week away!

Anxious is an understatement... how do you force yourself to focus on the pain free life ahead when you can’t shift the worries about;

- The op itself
- The possibility of things going wrong
- The difficulties & hard graft of recovery
- overall long term outcome

I know it’s a routine op these days but first ever major surgery for me & as I’m 50 I’m really hoping All goes ok so i can have a good active life afterwards
 
Anxious is a bit of a understatement in my opinion. I have a bit longer wait than you but have had a number of major surgeries in my life so have some idea of what to expect. I think my best advice is to put your energy into planning for your hospital stay and first 2-3 weeks at home. (Where you will be at home during the day/night; clothes for hospital, getting home, meals, help, music you find relaxing, etc.)

A forum advisor will be along very soon to leave a list of articles to read that I think you will find very helpful but also keep asking here, lots of us will offer support and encouragement to get you through the wait!
:flwrysmile:
 
@itsahippy
Welcome to BoneSmart, Glad you joined us!

Be sure to join the February Valentines, where you will find members going through THR the same time as you.
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads...are-you-having-hip-surgery-in-february.51007/

Here is the pre op reading for you:
If you are at the stage where you have joint pain but don't know for sure if you are ready to have surgery, these links may help:
Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic hip?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
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

With your surgery coming up next week, here is a link to the post op guidelines to help you prepare for recovery.
The articles are short and will not take long to read.

Hip Recovery: The Guidelines

1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Activity progression for THRs
Pain management and the pain chart
Healing: how long does it take?
Chart representation of THR recovery

Dislocation risk and 90 degree rule
Energy drain for THRs
Pain and swelling control: elevation is the key

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

BIG TIP: Hips actually don't need any exercise to get better. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Trouble is, people don't give them a chance and end up with all sorts of aches and pains and sore spots. All they need is the best therapy which is walking and even then not to excess.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
For me I can make the analogy of getting on an airplane; you can worry about will there be an issue with taking off (you've already been waiting to take off on the tarmac cuz of a delay), the flight in a general, and then the landing (one of the most crucial parts of a the flight). At the time they were wheeling me into surgery I was like, this is going to happen, it's out of my hands my now, IT will be better afterwards. Kinda like being on a rollercoaster at an amusement park (could be Disneyland), there's all this antse and anxiety, but you know what, just close your eyes (and if you don't, they will be closed for you at the hospital) and let it happen...all will be good. That coaster will stop, you will get off, out of your seat and you'll be like...wow, what a great ride! And many here (I think me too) will be, let's do this again!
 
:hi:I know you are anxious but I am certainly living proof that THR is life changing!
Bilateral THR at 53...surgery day now a blur..certainly some struggles...but absolutely no where near the struggles pre-op with pain and lack of sleep and depression from dealing with it all.
Certainly no-one wants their hip replaced but
It won't get better by itself and we want our life back.:tada:
We will all be rooting for you, and the advice and encouragement I found here made my recovery much easier!:thumb:
 
Anxious is a bit of a understatement in my opinion. I have a bit longer wait than you but have had a number of major surgeries in my life so have some idea of what to expect. I think my best advice is to put your energy into planning for your hospital stay and first 2-3 weeks at home. (Where you will be at home during the day/night; clothes for hospital, getting home, meals, help, music you find relaxing, etc.)

A forum advisor will be along very soon to leave a list of articles to read that I think you will find very helpful but also keep asking here, lots of us will offer support and encouragement to get you through the wait!
:flwrysmile:
Thanks for the reply! much appreciated
 
Thanks all for comments & info! Plenty to read with the links

Finding navigating the forum a bit tricky not obvious how to reply to individual comments without quoting all of it & app doesn’t work but will do my best!

Yikes a week to go
 
If you want to reply to a particular comment you can type the @ symbol followed by their username; the usernames will pop up and just click on the one you want.
If you just type a general reply, no worries; we'll figure it out!
 
lotus, you will do fine, promise *cross my heart, hope to...uh...cross my heart*.

I got in a bit of a funk over the holidays thinking about the pending surgery. There was down time, so had more time to think. Then after the same, was running around with my head cut off getting things done (physically) before surgery. Didn't get everything done, but as best I could. And, you're doing all this while in pain!

So of course don't dwell on it, cuz you will continue to think about it, just stay busy and use that as a distraction. I was probably in some of my worst pain pre-surgery, shaking my head thinking, man, I can't believe this is going to happen, but like mojo outlines, it WILL be one of your best decision! My recovery has gone as best as it can, but I still think, dang, and I probably have to look forward to another one of these down the road???
 
@Wayfarer Thank you! Yes I seem to be in the worst pain these last few weeks than I have ever been.The days I swim and the day after I feel better as I have stretched out but mostly I am in pain 24 hours a day. I am taking pain medication and it sometimes works well but lately not so well. I still have a month to go and wouldn't want it sooner as there is a lot to prepare for but I finally after 2 1/2 years of pain am looking forward to being on the other side! Thank you for the kind words and encouragement!
I'll know next week if I am retiring and won't go back to work or waiting until July/August.
Mostly looking forward to a pain free life.
 
lotus, you are braver than I am. I lasted a little over a year and six months of that was that I wanted the surgery after the first of the year cuz is was slower workwise for me. And I kept thinking, okay, this isn't that bad, I can baby this along for a while, right? Nope, it was the right decision. Drive around the country, can't do anything like hike a trail, see a site cuz you are in pain.

"They" always say, you will know when it's time. I mentioned to my surgeon right before surgery, when they come around during pre-op workup, that I've been in more pain leading up to this thing (like the last couple weeks) and I don't know if it is real or in my head. He kind of nodded/shrugged that it could be in my head. Same thing after the surgery; was it a bad hip? It's like you wanna hear from the surgeon, man, that was one of the worse hips I've ever seen!

I like to think that I have a decent acceptance of pain, but it was ridiculous: I mean I could function, but I was just always in this nagging state of pain.

Not to be nosey, but have you thought about going through recovery and going back to work and then going out (retirement) on your own health-terms? Like, I'm healthy, in no pain, and I can retire.
 
Aww, my heart goes out to you. So many of us know those feelings of anxiety, fear and the worry and concerns over all. It was a first surgery for me also and actually for many. We put it off due to all the unknowns. Let me tell you though, once you're on the healing side...and you will be, you'll wonder why you waited so long. You'll be free of the pain and you'll recapture life as you knew it before your hip deteriorated. We'll walk with you to the day of surgery and be waiting for you on the healing side to offer support and encouragement.
Wishing you comfort and peace of mind as you await the 6th.
Big hugs.
@itsahippy
 
Thank you @Layla and all of you - these posts REALLY help! It’s as much mental stress as physical + all the prep to get ready especially when your still working si reading positive posts forces me to be positive too
 
@itsahippy Don't worry about practicing any exercises now because you honestly don't need them for a long time. PT at the hospital will likely get you walking a bit and might show you how to do stairs (especially if you have them at home). Other than that, just stick to a bit of walking around the house for personal needs and ankle pumps.
:flwrysmile:
 
Hi - I had my hip replacement 3 months ago in the UK. Like you it was my first operation and I thought I would be very nervous. I was actually surprisingly calm on the day. I knew I had to have the operation and the hospital staff were very good at looking after me. I also found it very reassuring that older and much less healthy people have successful THRs.

I chose to have an epidural with heavy sedation so I fell asleep before going to theatre and woke up in the recovery room. Some people like to stay awake for it - not me. And medication meant that there wasn't bad pain in the following days.

I was booked in for four nights and released after three. US folk seem to go home much earlier. I found that the advantages of the longer stay were that I was getting reasonably mobile by the time I got back home - eg no problem going up and down stairs (slowly), able to shower by myself etc - and the nurses helped with the medication.

6 weeks later I was back driving, swimming and in the gym. But the full recovery seems to take longer than some suggest (including the NHS website). The muscles can take well over a year to fully heal and I have twinges and stiffness from time to time. So you have to be patient.

Looking back the most annoying things were having a massage machine on my feet for the first night making sleep difficult, wearing TED stockings for 6 weeks and the blood thinning injections for 20 days.

Good luck - the only regret that I hear from hippies is that they should have had the op earlier.
 
all the prep to get ready
- I was surprised at how little prep was needed in practice. You need to have chairs which allow you to sit without breaking the 90% rule - I bought an old person's armchair from Emmaus and got out cushions to boost the dining chairs. The hospital gave my a toilet seat booster. And I bought a couple of pairs of Sketchers slip on shoes (as not possible to tie laces for a few weeks. Nothing else was needed but maybe our house is fairly ergonomic for hippies. Some people have grabbers to pick things up from the floor - I didn't need one and used my stick to get trousers on etc.
 
Thanks @Carriemay60 yes I have been told occupational therapy will go through that before I leave hospital

Also know that ‘technically’ I’m fit for the op but I do wish I’d managed to get fitter & dropped some lbs before the op!
 
Thanks @HertsHippy !! Sounds very similar to me & unless anything changes I’ll be having the epidural + sedation too

Hopefully pain will be controlled post op but I find it hard to imagine what it will feel like when i first begin to feel my legs again - must be able to feel you have an implant?

How does it feel to try & move your operated leg first time?

I am a bit worried about accidentally dislocating it in the first few days / weeks by forgetting & moving in the wrong way !
 

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