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THR VSlowLife's Pre-op Questions

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It's really hard to say. My left was completely different than my right. Nothing would stop my left from hurting in the socket at night when it really got inflamed. I was able to get by with ibuprofen and Aleve for quite some time to lessen the inflammation. My right is different in that the pain radiates more but I can find positions sometimes to lessen it. I can sit in dining room chair and be in severe pain and my hip will lock. I can go sit in the recliner and it will ease off. At night in bed certain positions will trigger it and I can get up and walk a little and it will calm down sometimes. A pillow between my legs while on my side helps to keep it from going to the bad spots.
 
The only thing that really helped me sleep at night was a body pillow made for pregnant women. It was huge, and U-shaped. I could lie on my back with my feet on the bottom of the U, or I could sleep on my side with the side of the U between my legs. It was a lifesaver!
 
@Eman85 thank you for responding. I am familiar with two different hip issues, as well.So sorry to hear that one of your hips locks!
My right is cam impinged and the worse of the two. A pillow between my legs had worked, for a while, but not anymore. I tried a more dense kind of neck pillow and that is not working either. Inflamed is the right word, for sure. I think it will take weeks to calm down. It’s been a long time since I have I have had this problem, so I have an idea what I am in for. It’s so bad my teeth clench, which is not good for my teeth or gums. I may need to start using my cane and walker again.
It does sound like your recliner helps your locking hip to relax a bit.
 
@kernsac thank you for that suggestion! I will look into one. I am wondering if I can basting stitch a few pillows together to get the same effect?
 
I loved my lift recliner for both hip recoveries.
I opted to rent one from a health supply company. After a month I was ready to sleep in my own bed and could sit on the couch.
But the first 2 weeks!? The chair was wonderful!
 
@CricketHip thank you for responding. I am concerned that while on heavy pain meds I will have a difficult time controlling the chair, so I do not break any restrictions., especially in the middle of the night to use the restroom. My current bed is a pillow top and I sink in a bit, so it is not a good firm mattress top. I looked at the Golden 505 with preprogrammed buttons. I did find it online for much less than it is sold locally. The chair they rent out does not have preprogrammed buttons. I live close enough that they can easily deliver a rental. I will need to go to a larger town and see if they offer preprogrammed, controller rentals.
 
I doubt that you will be that zoned out on meds that you cannot control the chair.. What approach are you having? When I was using mine at first I liked the infinite number of graduated positions.. Just changing foot or head one inch made a difference.

I had no restrictions from the get go with anterolateral.. They said whatever is comfortable.

It's true your bed may not be comfortable at first.. Back sleeping is most pain free and lots of us can't do that. Except in a recliner we can.

Try the "zero gravity" chair. We have an outdoor one and it is unsettling when the head goes way back.. Feels like you will get dumped on your head upside down.
 
Ahhh, I see what you mean, if it is pre programmed then you won't worry about going in any direction too far. Understandable. I didn't have restrictions so it wasn't a concern for me.

If I had room enough for a recliner I would have happily purchased one and kept it, especially if I found a good price.
 
Morning @VSlowLife. I found elevating my legs with a couple pillows in bed helped in pre op. The meloxicam doesn't help with the bad hip pain much. Have you tried Tylenol arthritis? With the meloxicam it could take more of the pain away. Tramadol helped to get me through a work day the last month waiting for surgery. Does icing or heat help? Ice does help with inflammation. At this point it's whatever we can find to help with sleep and the chores that "have" to be done that we can do without aggravating the hip over the top. I had to have family and friends help with some chores that would push my hip to screaming all night. Do you have a date for surgery? It does help to have a date set like the count down to Christmas in younger days. Take it easy on yourself, use any aides now to lighten the load on the hip.
 
@julesglass I hesitated to mix the multiple OTC and RX until I spoke with my arthritis doc and you are spot on the same as my experience.. I am using the meloxicam in the AM and adding/ keeping under 3000 mg tylenol throughout the day and using Tramadol every other day one time, along with lidocaine patches. Trying not to build up a resistance to the RX drugs for post op. though there are days my referred pain is screaming.. On the same general topic.. has anybody else used a regular recliner post op? I have one at home but its not on my recovery floor ( bi level home)
 
@Steelmanpa I remember several members posting about using their regular recliners and what they did to make them more comfortable. Several put risers under the chair to have it sit higher. The biggest concern for many was if they could manually, with their legs, push the foot rest portion down to get out of the chair.. keeping in mind your particular type of restrictions, also.
I wimped out and rented the electric lift chair, it was so nice to have that first month!
 
Yes on the recliner in post op. I spent 2 weeks sleeping in it and most time there even napping after I was able to get into my bed. I go with cause with all meds, scripts and over the counter.
 
@VSlowLife
It seems you have time to shop for a recliner .
Here is what I learned the hard way
Have a controller that is not hair trigger sensitive. Mine changes positions if the blanket touches it
Have a controller that you can get to if you drop it. Or have a pocket for it high up.
Avoid recliners you need to apply foot pressure to to rise. Early you won't be able to do that
 
My GP recommended I try Aleve, 2 in the morning and 2 more 12hrs later. I do this for a few days if the inflammation gets real bad and it clears up until I abuse it again. I only do this in extreme circumstances but it does work. I've had hip pain and problems for over 50 years now. Down to 1 and hopefully it will be done in Nov.
As far as recliners go many don't think about post op. Rocking recliners don't work too good and you want one with sturdy arms so you can lift yourself up. Recliners that require pushing down with your legs to unrecline aren't good either. I have a cheaper simple electric recliner, not one that stands you up, and it works good but it has no battery backup. I have been reclined when the power went out!,luckily not during THR recovery.
 
Thank you all for the wonderful ideas and conversations mainegirl1, CricketHip, julesglass, Steelmanpam, Eman!
mainegirl1 I am hoping to have the direct superior/SuperCap/Superpath type of surgery, however, since being educated from all the comments I have read from Bonesmarties and the moderators, I am aware that for some reason during surgery, the surgeon may need to revert to a posterior approach. I have two dates this month to see surgeons at the same hospital. It was a 2 1/2 month wait to see one of them ( the direct superior surgeon). I am having both hips evaluated, because I think the left is not too far behind in also needing surgery.

Unfortunately, I just learned this hospital was cited as having one of the worse infection rates, comparably to others in the metropolitan area, in 2018, as reported in a newspaper. I have learned from reading the moderator comments that you should find the best surgeon, at a hospital with a low infection rate. Sigh! I know someone who had surgery with the doctor who took 2 1/2 months to get an appointment with, and she liked him much better than her first hip surgeon.

I am wondering if the hip/ knee surgical suites and care are somewhat separated from the rest of the hospital statistics? I will have to seriously consider another hospital, too.
Calling Medicare tomorrow to find out how many consults you are allowed. I think I have read just two, in someone’s comments, so if I get a third it will be out of pocket, which is worth it to me at this point.

Thank you for the suggestion about the zero gravity chair. I do have an outdoor lounge chair that does this, but it would not be study enough to use indoors post surgery.
Meanwhile, since It takes me so long to get things done, I am prepping my house and life so that I will be ready for a surgery date when it comes. At this point I am eating more frozen “healthy meals, just to give me a little more time to get “life maintenance “ done as I think @gertie had stated in one of her posts.My daughter visits on some weekends to help me do the things I once did without help. I do mostly online shopping. I have a robot vacuum, which helps, too.
 
@VSlowLife I rented a recliner--power, lift. I didn't have any problems with breaking precautions--in fact I think standing up with the assistance of a lift chair is less likely to cause a greater than 90 degree bend than standing up without the lift assistance (if you follow that). The problem is that it also doesn't work your quads. With my first THR, the PT wanted me to stand without the lift assistance once the first week passed so that I'd start to fire the quad muscles again.

I didn't think the rental chair was all that comfortable so I didn't use it very often. I was comfortable sleeping in my bed and spent days camped out on my back porch or on hot days, on the couch w AC on.
 
@julesglass Right now it is the top of my hips which are screaming, more so than the groin pains once did. Figure this must be my new bone on bone area. I did rest with my legs elevated by a pillow, but lately this seems to make my hips worse. I have an electric mattress heating pad for my side of the bed, which I use in the colder months. It has helped me sleep better with the pain. Ice does not seem to speed up the time I need to stay off my legs to manage the pain, but it does temporarily numb it.

I have appointments with two surgeons this month, so surgery would most likely be in a few months. Seeing my new dentist tomorrow and discussing what may need to be done before surgery. My old dentist left the area. Not expecting to need very much other than a cleaning, but you never know. I go every 6 months.

I have not tried Tylenol arthritis pills,yet. I am willing to try anything at this point. Thank you for the suggestion. I had been on tramadol some years ago, and I felt a bit better, so I stayed on my feet longer. Then they had to put me on a higher dose within 3 months because it was not working. Then it stopped working about two months later, it was not easy to get off no matter how slowly I titrated it. I was down to 1/8 of a pill every other day, and when I totally stopped, I had the worse headache for a day. I had a friend stay with me and almost went to the ER.I must metabolize it differently.
I wish my diagnosing OS would have told me I could modulate the pain if I took rest periods! Live and learn.

It will take me 5 weeks to online order the neutral color I want if I decide to buy a lift recliner, rather than rent. I do have a small home, so renting is a good possibility. I saw the rental chair this past week, and it was not the model with the pre-programmed positions. The programmed chair model elevates your legs so much above the heart, which would be great for those swelling days post surgery. I will have to revisit the plastic coated, rental model and evaluate that difference.

I was on heavy pain meds after my spine surgery, and even with my recent, little neck surgery, my brain was not good for the first week, so that is why I am being cautious about considering a pre-programmed recliner.
 
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