Well I scheduled my hip replacements

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Eeyore346

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I scheduled my hip replacements today and had all my questions (for now) answered. I am having my right hip done June 30th and the left on August 11 (6 weeks later) They are being done laterally from the outside with no staples the doctor's assistant said.

She said I will be able to work from home in my recliner at week 3. I can work 6 hours per day at work at week 5 (there are no steps and I sit at work) She said I might have to do 3 hours go home for break and then another 3 hours. Then just when I am able to work normal hours I will start all over again.

This sounds like a fun summer. But what is getting me through this is I am only 46. Far too young to be this miserable. The doctor said by next summer I can ride a bike and dance! He said I will be able to move more than I have in the last 10-20 years.

Thank you all for all the great information I have gotten from you. I knew all the questions to ask to be well informed.

Thanks!
Sandy
 
Excellent, eeyore! I am delighted for you. Isn't it good when we can go into something like that already well informed!
 
Eeyore, I am so happy for you. I haven't had surgery yet and I'm already saying, "I wish I had done it sooner". Two weeks from today I will have a new hip. I hope all goes well for both of us and we can stick to our pre-arranged schedules. Tomorrow morning I have labs (where I hope I can store some blood), surgical class and ortho class. I hope to be back to work by 11:00. Ah, here's a question: when did work become so important to me? I'm fortunate that I don't have to work.
 
Conratulations Eeyore346!
I wish I had done it sooner myslef after years of putting it off. I had mine on the 29th of May and from day one did a few hours of work on my computer from my hospital bed. Don't be surprised if you can do a lot more than imagined. How comfortable to sit will depend on where your incision is, mine is on the side and causes no discomfort. I was dreading getting behind in my work and used that as an additional reason to delay my operation. As it turns out my staff is sending their overload tasks to me because I've been able to keep up with my own. I really don't have my "own " work, everything that someone needs help with or something that has never been done before comes to me.
I might be leaving the hospital to head home tomorrow, and my nurse came in to announce no more injections or samples this morning so I am offically Not a pincushion anymore Yippee!!
Keep busy and do the exercises and everything falls into place quickly. Good luck!
 
Thanks Stanj for your post. I was going to ask my boss to let me borrow a laptop for while I was in the hospital in case i felt up to using it. One of the things that my boss needs help with is simply forwarding the work orders to the techs when he is out of the office. Takes like 5 min. and almost no thinking. He is such a nice guy. He said maybe the first week home I could answer the phone (He would forward to my house) We really don't get that many calls. I think he is trying to help me to not miss too many hours of work because he knows I can't afford it.

I have been in so much pain for so many years that I am hoping the pain from surgery will be easier to handle than the pain I am in now.

Thanks again for your encouraging post.

Sandy
 
Congratulations. Yes you did make the right decision. Keep that in mind over the next month. The pain your in now is never ending and making you worse, the pain after surgery will make you better and will end. The insidious thing about our medical condition is that we all continually go slower and slower with the quality of our lives disappearing ever so slowly that we really don't realize it happening. Once you get those joints fixed, make it through the temporary pain, you will actually experience progress within yourself. It might be something very silly that you couldn't do the day before but now you can.
 
But..... don't be in too much of a rush to get back to work. I am sitting at my desk in the office and the parade of questions and problems just ended for a few minutes. Been back for a week after the May 29 surgery and now wish I was back in the hospital;>) There I was pampered, visited with visitors, read a good book that was waiting for me to find time......waiting 6 months, being fed 3 decent but not great meals, and flirting shamelessly with the pretty young nurses. It was like a mini-vacation.
So consider this as your mini-vacation and indulge yourself, have all your friends you have cared for over the years come help or just visit, relax and enjoy one of the few periods when no one expects anything from you. you will be in better shape than they think but don't tell them otherwise or else you will get hit with the problems they think is easier to ask you to do than did it themselves. When you do go back, they might appreciate your efforts more.
Besides you have an important full time job already: healing yourself, exercising, eating right, shedding as much stress as possible. Your body is going to be working overtime fixing the assault that it has suffered in the operation. If you get bored and have done your self-pampering and exercises, like I should be doing now instead of sitting in the office, only then consider doing some "second job" work.
Good luck
 
Awesome advice Stanj,
I wondered why you went back so soon. I know you were doing awesome. I am enjoying having no responsibility except to myself.
I will be fortunate as my school district fired me when I was on medical leave for arthroscopic hip surgery. ( I have to look at it as fortunate) So, I did not go back and my docs kept me on medical leave until the hip replacement. I have the summer.
I am not even going to look for a job until I feel really strong and have climbed a few (short) mountains.
Also I will not lift a finger at home . As soon as I do, the little help I get will be gone. Also something I read after having my firts child, do not get dressed as then husband's especially think you are now fine.

The not invited back for next school year (as my employer put it) was because I work really hard in advocating for my special needs kiddos. They want me to play the game here in California, be quiet and do the minimum for the kids, anything else will cost more money!!!
Judy in Ca
 
Hi there.

I am having a right hip replacement on Monday, August 18th. I have hip arthritis and hip bursitis. This all started about two years ago...I would be at a restaurant and when I'd get up from the chair I felt like I was 90...I'm 53. It felt like someone was trying to push me back down when I would try to get up. Everything hurted when I tried to get up. Then my knees started to hurt more and about 6 months ago I started feelng groin pain...I went in for tests and they found out I had a tear in my labrum....they couldn't fix it as I had too much arthritis in my hip...therefore, the doc said I would be a great candidate for hip replacement. He left it up to me though. I waited for about one month before going back and saying yes to it. He said that I will be asking why I waited so long. It is horrible driving right now...it's a good thing I only have about a 40 minute drive to work and back. It hurts to accelerate. Some days I use my cane to give my foot a break. I have pain my foot now too...sometimes in my shin and mostly in my hip and right knee.

I use a heating pad and fold a body pillow underneath my knees to go to sleep every night. Rarely do I sleep through the night...I normally wake up after about 4 hours and then I have to get comfortable again. It literally sucks.

I am taking 12 weeks of short term disability at work. My boss told me to take as long as I needed before coming back because I have exhausted all but 4 hours of vacation time to go to doctors, etc. This way I will get about 60% of my pay, my health benefits, and FMLA Act will protect my job until I get back. Thankfully, a girl in my dept. is covering for me and also doing her job as well. I am certain they will give her a nice bonus so that's great news. I like my job and hopefully this hip replacement will get me out of the pain I'm in. I can't concentrate at work sometimes when the pain flares. I take Darvocet every 4 hours but it doesn't really help...it just makes me more tired. I found hot/cold compresses help most. Plus the heating pad.

I don't know what the doc is going to put inside me but I will find out tomorrow when I call. I am also going to view a movie about my surgery at the hospital on August 4th with my husband and other people that are having the same surgery as me.

I am nervous but I can't go on like this. My brother has the same thing only he doesn't have it all the time. He takes Celebrex when he has trouble moving. My dad had RA so we both have inherited his arthritis but thankfully, for now anyways, its osteoarthritis.

I love this board and will be on here regularly...even after my surgery. My prayers go out to all that are experiencing this pain. It's no fun for sure!

We went out yesterday to Art Van and bought two recliners that actually vibrate, heat, and at the touch of a button. They were on sale and just came in too. We are donating our couch...that thing is a sinker!! These chairs are great but I will probably need to get firm cushions to put on them as well as I read that you need to sit on a high chair, at least 9 inches. I was thinking of getting a 4 inch cushion somewhere. Has anyone purchased one and used it and where did you buy it?
 
Basia,
Sounds like you are very prepared and will be very happy. When you mentioned the driving part, I remember how much I dreaded driving before the surgery.
You will be so happy you did this. I was a little apprehensive after my hospital class, but in reality thousands have gone through this and it is so doable.
The chairs sound great. I bought a recliner last summer for recovery from cervical spine surgery. It is in reality the only piece or furniture I can sit in in the house. I am always kicking my 13 year old out of it as I can sit no where else. The home pt was not thrilled with its height. I had been home from the hosital only 1 day when she first came. I had to demonstrate gettin in and out of it and never did require a pillow. I used my arms and other leg to get in and out.
I did work on arm strength for the month before surgery and glad I did.
Good Luck and we are here for any questions.
Feel freee to open a new thread with questions as you may get more response that way.
Judy
 
The recliner is a great idea for the first few weeks. It is good to keep your legs elevated. We bought some bed risers to place the recliner on and it raised it up to a very comfortable height. I am 6'4", so I definitely needed a taller chair. You can get them for about $15 at Linens and Things or someplace similar.
Good Luck,
Doug
 
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