Trying to not chicken out this time, any help?

[Joeski]

I don't know anybody who have not had fear with this. However now I am pain free. In fact most of the time I forget that I have a different hip that I was not born with. It will be 2 years old this September, so glad I also had my knees done. Tomorrow my right knee will be three years old. Wow time flies when you are having fun. Please do it so you can get out of pain,. That alone is enough to have it done, Keep us posted on how you are doing. Take care. Tashia

Thanks for the encouragement tashia, I see 1 hip & 2 knees. Do you think you may need to complete the2 pairs with 1 more hip? Is that arthritis doing that to you if I may ask? And I'm so glad you beat cancer

 

[Joeski]

That's a good point - we have some videos on the website: have a look at them and all the quotes from the forum

Thank you once more Josephine.

 

[Jaycey]

Hi Joe, sorry you have a bit more of a wait. But I am very glad you were able to come to terms with all this! Well done! This time next year you will be posting how great life is without all that pain!

 

[rac]

hi joe
i too did not want this done ..
i put it off for 6 years .
the pain got so bad so days ,pain killers did not touch the agony.
my hip even locked on twice , once of a motorcycle doing 80mph +.
had to stop and try and get off ,had to be the opposite side that i normally get off.
i nearly passed out with the pain , had to sit down and went all faint.
second time i was walking across a car park ,and it done its trick.
had to hang on a car to stand up and then worried about it going clunk back.
had pains shooting down leg and up back for 1 hour after.
took two weeks to get normal again . that was the final straw for me .
have it done mate . my pain has gone ..
cheers r.

 

[Elosarabrab]

Hi Joe, yes not sleeping makes everything harder. Lack of concentration and energy are the main ones. I found myself sitting down to watch something then waking up at the end titles Yet when I got to bed it was straight to sleep and then wake up every couple of hours after that.
Barbara

 

[mjmrphy55]

Joe,
Sorry to hear about your delay. Stay positive. From one chicken to another YOU CAN DO IT!!!

MJ

 

[Jojool]

Joeski, I am brand new to this forum and I, too, am terrified of the surgery. It's almost irrational at this point. I haven't even met with the surgeon yet, and I'm scared to the point of panic attacks when I really sit down and think about the surgery.

I am living like a shut in too, can't do anything but sit on the couch or lay in bed, and even that hurts.

I hope finding this site will help with my fears...... I don't even know what I'm afraid of, really. I'm afraid of pain I guess, but it's an irrational fear and I don't know how to deal with it.

I hope you find your answers, and me too!!

 

[octopus]

Hi Jojool

I've just had my replacement this week, and I can say that the pain is less than I had pre surgery. It was quite sharp to begin with, but well managed. But today less than a week later, it's hurting less and less each day. In the beginning I could hardly put my foot down, but now can bear some weight. It sounds like your are currently in a lot of pain, you will find such a difference afterwards. Talk to your surgeon and your doctor abut how you feel. Im sure they will be able to help in some way.

Best wishes, it is not an easy time pre surgery, but stick around and everyone here will help you get there.

Start your own thread, and plenty of people will be by to encourage and advise you.

 

[Joeski]

Hi Joe, sorry you have a bit more of a wait. But I am very glad you were able to come to terms with all this! Well done! This time next year you will be posting how great life is without all that pain!

Well that will be great! I imagine 1 year out I'll be completely healed and caught up on my sleep loss and be doing great.

 

[Joeski]

hi joe
i too did not want this done ..We are the same here
i put it off for 6 years . Isn't amazing how we did that for so long?
the pain got so bad so days ,pain killers did not touch the agony.
my hip even locked on twice , once of a motorcycle doing 80mph +.
had to stop and try and get off ,had to be the opposite side that i normally get off.
i nearly passed out with the pain , had to sit down and went all faint.
second time i was walking across a car park ,and it done its trick.
had to hang on a car to stand up and then worried about it going clunk back.
had pains shooting down leg and up back for 1 hour after.
took two weeks to get normal again . that was the final straw for me .
have it done mate . my pain has gone .. And being pain free everything is easier for you know, Am I correct in thinking that?
cheers r.

 

[Joeski]

Joe,
Sorry to hear about your delay. Stay positive. From one chicken to another YOU CAN DO IT!!!

MJ

Thank you fellow chicken.

 

[octopus]

I've just noticed that your surgery has been delayed. This is frustrating, but I did find that after I accepted my delay that I was grateful for the extra couple of weeks preparation time I got. I'm so excited to see the difference in your posts since you joined!

 

[Joeski]

Joeski, I am brand new to this forum and I, too, am terrified of the surgery. I too was terrified but this site has changed all that just by reading, reading & more reading. There are also video's to watch from hip patients. It's almost irrational at this point. I was irrational beyond help or so I thought until I found BoneSmart. Within about 3 days I realized this is going to be OK. I haven't even met with the surgeon yet, and I'm scared to the point of panic attacks when I really sit down and think about the surgery. I think if you get a book called "Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster" which BarbaraR recommended to me you'll get some better feelings. Also if you read some of the hip recovery threads you'll see that a lot of people do really well with this.

I am living like a shut in too, can't do anything but sit on the couch or lay in bed, and even that hurts. There is a list of activities and abilities that when I printed out and checked to see how much I don't do I knew I have to fix this ASAP. I am thinking now that I will finally get it done I will start checking off what I can restart to do and I know I will be getting happier & happier because of it.

I hope finding this site will help with my fears...... I don't even know what I'm afraid of, really. I'm afraid of pain I guess, but it's an irrational fear and I don't know how to deal with it. You have what I had. Maybe reread this thread and every link in it and start your own thread and get an X-ray of your hip to see what is wrong.

I hope you find your answers, I did and on March 27th I will be starting a recovery that I can't wait to begin. and me too!!

 

[Joeski]

I've just noticed that your surgery has been delayed. This is frustrating, but I did find that after I accepted my delay that I was grateful for the extra couple of weeks preparation time I got. I'm so excited to see the difference in your posts since you joined!

Hi octopus,
I was so bummed out when I found out it got delayed one week. My wife thought I had chickened out again and I did the delaying. She wanted to punch me if I did. I don't blame her one bit. The frustrating part was so weird because every time I delayed or canceled in the past I got a big sigh of relieve. But it really wasn't relieve it was me prolonging my misery. I kept tricking myself into thinking I could & should live with needing a new hip. Now all I can say is "Joe how did you do that to yourself?" I think I was crazy.

I am still excited that I readjusted my attitude toward getting fixed. This BoneSmart.org is truly amazing!

 

[octopus]

I felt many things when I was phoned the day before surgery and advised of the delay, relief was certainly one of them. I have a feeling there's going to be no changing your mind now!

 

[ByGosh]

Hi Joeski, please don't be so hard on yourself about avoiding the surgery because of your phobias. It's not your fault, it wasn't in your control then, or you would've done it. I'm phobic about some medical things, too. Taking new medications causes me anxiety, having any procedure done to me causes me anxiety, (I avoid it -took me 10 years to get my first colonoscopy because I avoided it.), lots of the stuff I had to let them do to me caused me fear and panic - from the MRIs over the summer, right up to having the surgery and being in the hospital. But I did it because I had to do it. I got through it and you will, too. Don't concentrate on the phobia or the panic or the fear. Think of the better quality of life you'll enjoy once you've recovered. And ask the doc for something to calm you down now, too. A little mild tranq may do you wonders!

You still have a few weeks, so do some deep breathing and relaxation for a few mins a day. Think good thoughts, imagine yourself someplace you've wanted to go but couldn't because of pain. You'll be able to go there soon! Wow! I can't wait to get my life back.
Also, a technical question - how do you put the little bits of info at the bottom of your posts? I'll give it a try, but don't think it'll come out as good as yours.
So take care of yourself, don't be so hard on yourself, you're a wonderful person doing your best, reaching out for help- give yourself some credit for finally facing your fears after so long! That's hard work. Being panicked about something is very draining emotionally, but you've now opened up and let people in to help you. Congratulations! Good for you! You're brave and strong and human and you're gonna be a winner!

ByGosh
Rapidly Progressing Osteoarthritis-First symptom March 2012
BTHR 3/4/13

 

[rac]

hi joeski
yes every thing is much easier, can walk now and no grinding and horrible pain after, the worse thing for me was the sleep at night , would just nod off and then whaaaaaaaam. ache terrible , lose sleep twisting around try to get comfortable...DID NOT HAPPEN.got to sleep in the end and awoke worn out. this went on for 3 years , meanwhile still went running ,walking etc . got much worse i could of cried many times. felt like a child trapped.
i used to get in the car ,go one mile and the pain used to make me feel sick , when i moved it used to go crack and hurt even more . then i used to limp about ... i used to tell myself i could deal with it ... it gets so bad you cannot.
getting out of low seats was terrible pain.
i am sure there are many on forum that has gone through the same things as myself. i work for myself so time out was a big deal for me ... everyone telling me that i would have to have 12 weeks off.. impossible for me . i settled for 6 week min , i have never sat around for long ,so to take even six weeks , how would i ever keep still.
i had some serious telling offs by everyone , doctors as well ...
10 days i went to work . 2 days a week first 2 weeks .then 3 days for two weeks ,then 6 days a week.
now if i had sick pay ? . i would have had more time out ... .. still think it would of been hard to sit still.
you will be glad its done .
cheers r.

 

[Joeski]

Hi everyone. I've been very busy. My wife had a TRK revision yesterday to straighten out her leg. It turned to be an about 3 hour and 30 minute operation. From what I learned on here myself, son & the one OR nurse convinced my wife to have an epidural. She felt so much better compared to the general anesthesia. What had happened to Kelly, that's her name is I gave up my Jan 9th 2012 hip date to her for her RTKR since I could quickly chicken out back then and she was all into getting on with getting fixed. Something happened that caused one of the 3 pegs of the knee cap to pop out of place. X-rays & MRI's can't see this. On Sept 14th 2012 a new knee cap was put in. Sorry I'm getting very sleepy I'll finish this post tomorrow .

Back at the hospital. Kelly is doing very well. She will be going home tomorrow between 10 & 12 in the morning. Two to four weeks of home nursing & physical therapy.

 

[BarbaraR]

Hi Joeski , I hope your wife is feeling well soon.

 

[sissy46]

Oh, poor Kelly. I hope this does the trick for her. Maybe a good thing your surgery got put back a week, after all, so you can take care of her and get her in shape to take care of you.
Good for you, knowing enough to influence her anesthesia in a positive way! Knowledge is power.