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When the other hip hurts

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pharman

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I am 6 weeks out from a RTHR. My right hip is doing great - no pain other than the occasional soreness in the incision area. My left hip is the problem now. I also have OA in that hip and am going to have it replaced. My surgeon said "most" people like to wait about 6 months to do the 2nd one. Right now, the left hip is hurting so much I'm afraid it is impeding my recovery. I'm not on any pain meds and I really don't want to start any. Any suggestions on how to deal with a painful unoperated hip while recovering from hip replacement on the other side??
 
Only with pain meds, pharman! I would suggest that the 'people' who like to wait 6 months are the surgeons rather than the patients! If it's getting bad, nag him and see if he'll do it any earlier for you. You seem to be getting on pretty well.
 
Hi pharman

My sister had both her hips done – one three months after the other – the surgeon planned it that way.

Funny how when you get one hip fixed the one that is “not so bad” as far as pain goes starts playing up! I had a LTHR nearly four months ago and before that my right hip only had the occasional minor twinge, even though the x-rays show that it is not in great shape. Now my right hip and knee are hurting to the extent that I am Thinking about pain medication.

I agree with Jo, if you are in pain, talk to your surgeon about being scheduled sooner :)

All the best,
Monica
 
Pharman,
I had my left hip replaced in March 08 and my right hip replaced in June. It was 15 weeks between surgeries and I delayed the second surgery a couple weeks so that I could attend a wedding. My surgeon had told me that typically after the first surgery, people were even more eager to get the second done because of the tremendous improvement they saw. The only criteria he really had for the second surgery was that I was off coumadin for at least two weeks and that the first hip was strong enough to do the main work on stairs, etc while the second hip recovered. I had the same experience with recovery after the first surgery in that I was limited in how much I could do because the other hip was so painful. I think I would have been ready both physically and mentally for the second surgery at about 12 weeks.
Doug
PS - I was 56 at the time. I'm told people do recover at different rates at different ages.
 
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