THR Frustrated

[anny]

Now in bed, having showered and used those sticky chlorhexidine wipes (much prefer my body lotion!).....setting alarm for about 4.30 am as I have to report in at 6.45 and have to do shower and hairwash before we leave. The anaesthetist phoned a couple of hours ago to discuss the anaesthetic, and gave me the choice of general, spinal or epidural. I HATE them giving me a choice....I overthink it then can't make any decision.....I could make a career out of dithering! I told him I'd think about it overnight and let him know in the morning, which probably means I won't sleep I thought I'd decided on a spinal, but he said you don't quite go to sleep with the sedative, just recline in fluffiness, listening to music and maybe occasionally hearing workshop noises but being very relaxed and uncaring, and then not remembering anything afterwards......but it's the noises I don't like at the dentist....hear the drill and my imagination takes flight.....so now I'm thinking about a general....but so many people are enthuisiastic about the spinal I'll keep the surprise up my sleeve for when I'm able to post again

I think I now have every symptom of nerves that I've read on BS....I could probably even squeeze out a tear or two. The thought of handing over control to other people is quite confronting.....after 50 years or so of being your own boss, and then being responsible for family, it's like turning the clock back. Must be a lesson in humility there somewhere Hopefully see you all on the other side, partly a new person

 

[Mojo333]

Vulnerability was a super foreign feeling for me too, Anny.
You are giving yourself a gift... a hip pain free life.
I am sending super healing mojo your way.
We will be waiting to hear how things are on the healing side.

 

[Cassidy]

Thinking of you @anny. You and @AJinNH are my partners in crime! @AJinNH has busted through, seemingly relatively unscathed (fingers crossed) and you'll be following shortly. I'm straggling far behind, but aim to learn from your combined experiences - all good ones, of course! xx

 

[Bumblebee]

Choose whatever anesthesia your gut (or the voices inside your head) is telling you to take. You will be fine, either way you will not be aware of the time elapsed. See you soon.

 

[Jaycey]

I thought I'd decided on a spinal, but he said you don't quite go to sleep with the sedative, just recline in fluffiness, listening to music and maybe occasionally hearing workshop noises but being very relaxed and uncaring, and then not remembering anything afterwards.

Just tell the anaesthetist you want a spinal with sedation and that you don't want to see or hear anything. They will keep you comfortable and just under the level where you would hear things.

 

[AJinNH]

Hey @anny I was disappointed at first that my OS preferred general anesthesia, but it wasn’t bad at all. They gave me a ‘cocktail’ shortly before taking me to the OR and I have absolutely no memory of going to the OR, just waking up in recovery. I’d ask both your OS and anesthesiologist if they have a preference or see patients recovering faster/better with one of them. The reason my OS prefers a general is because he feels the muscles won’t spasm. That was good enough for me.

You’re going to do fantastic tomorrow! I worried about everything, but fortunately none of the things I was concerned about happened. I can’t get over how great I feel just 4 days after surgery. I showered this morning, blew my hair dry, got myself dressed and have been up and walking around every hour. My pain level varies from nonexistent to very low. I’m on a very low dose of pain medication. No problem going to the bathroom. I’ve been eating small, light meals and that’s working well.

The first couple of days were the roughest, but even so they weren’t terrible. You’re going to be fine. And all of the presurgical worrying will be over. You’ve got this!

I’ll be waiting for you on the other side. Sending hugs

 

[NanaMama]

@anny - You may be out of surgery already - the 18 hour time difference makes it almost lunch time in NZ. I pray you slept well last night and had the same peace that I had when checking into pre-op. Nothing (you sleep through) can be anywhere near as bad as the pain you've endured the past many months/years. We'll see you on the other side! God bless you!

 

[AJinNH]

Hoping all is well @anny you’re my hipster buddy. I’ll keep looking for you. Sending you hugs and healing thoughts.

 

[Layla]

Hi @anny
With the time difference I'm guessing surgery may be behind you
If so, I hope your pain is well managed and that you're resting comfortably.

Ice like crazy....it truly helps. Post when you're able. We'll be waiting to hear
your story and cheer you on as you move through recovery
Sending a hug

 

[AJinNH]

Hey @anny wondering how you’re doing? I hope that everything went well and you’re resting comfortably. First few days are the roughest, but it gets better. I can see daily improvements, hang in there.

Sending hugs

 

[Mojo333]

Hey @anny .
Breaking through to the healing side and hopefully resting.
We all have our healing hands together for you.
Post when you are able. Hugs!

 

[BeBe]

Hi @anny
Posting here because I can't find you! We miss you and hope your doing ok post op. Post when you can. Praying for you.

 

[Bumblebee]

Ahhhh @anny ....we are all like your dog Joey in your avatar sitting and waiting to hear from you! Hope to hear from you soon.

 

[anny]

taadaa....well here I am,folks, got home about an hour ago. Sorry I didn't post from hospital, I fully intended to, but the meds must have hit me rather hard and it was impossible to do a readable text let alone a posting for half the world to see!

I was taken straight to my room and had about half an hour to organise my stuff (oh my goodness, decisions decisions.....which drawer shall I put my knickers in, I can't decide ). Then the nurse came back to do another session of wipes before I put on their very unbecoming backless gown, and my bed was wheeled off to the op Suite (that's when I sent my husband home, didn't want to have to make conversation for a bit afterwards). The anaesthetist came to see me (I decided to go for General in the end....my mind said I wanted spinal but whenever I thought about having it my gut feeling was thinking General). So my trolley was wheeled into this vast room with floor to ceiling windows and a narrow bench in the middle, (nothing like the OR's in Grey's Anatomy!)and I climbed onto that after they promised they wouldn't let me fall off the other side and the anaesthetist said he was going put a small cannula in my arm and a bigger one when I was under. Ten seconds later I was asleep, and a couple of minutes later I was waking up in Recovery.....my, how time flies in hospitals! I lay there for a bit listening to the nurses chatting then they brought me an ice lolly as my mouth was so dry....I'd just about finished and brought it all up again, and that sort of set the tone for the next couple of days.

I'm really lucky cos I had very little pain.....usually about 2 when still and up to 4 after a hard physio session, so I had 24 hrs on a PCA then paracetamol and occasionally tramadol. I also had every anti-emetic they could think of including the patch and half a zopiclone to help me sleep. There seemed to be someone dishing out pills every hour so it's a good job I trusted them, there,s no way I could keep track! The food was good too, which was disappointing as I had no appetite was just throwing up even water. My BP was quite low too (went down to about 90/53 at its worst, and I'm usually the standard 120/80, so maybe that didn't help the nausea either. All the staff were lovely, there were only two of us in as it was a weekend, so we were well looked after. I was supposed to be out on Monday morning but my surgeon wanted me to stay an extra day, in view of the sickness and lightheadedness. I had physio once a day on op day, then twice a day, and once again on discharge day. The hardest bit, I found, was simply shuffling my bum over the bed to get on and off....felt as if it was made of lead, but by the time I left I could do it without too much trouble....isn't the human body wonderful! I'll leave it there at the moment, my eyes are drooping, but if anyone wants to ask anything I'll catch you after a little siesta

 

[Layla]

Hi @anny
Welcome to Recovery and Congratulations on the new hip!
I'm going to leave the Recovery Article here for you to read but please start a thread
on the recovery side. You'll get a lot more responses and we'd love for you to join us there!

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

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

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.

 

[Bumblebee]

she's back!! Get your rest.

 

[AgilityDog]

Yippee So glad that you are on the side!

 

[MajorHeidi]

Hi @anny Glad to hear you are in recovery and getting along!
The days will pass quickly and you are on your way....
My surgery is Thursday. wish me well!

 

[anny]

@Layla @Bumblebee @AgilityDog thank you for your welcome back, it makes all the difference from people who have done it themselves....non-hippies tend to treat it as a 2day wonder, ten we should be back to normal and stop boring them with the details. Took me an hour to get to bed tonight, with me giving instructions and sitting on my hands (bless him, he's willing but he isn't a natural Florence Nightingale ) Hopefully once I've unpacked properly from the hospital the routine willfall into place.....until then there'll be some heated 'discussions'

@AJinNH how are you doing ? Hope you're feeling strong and painfree, will catch up with your recovery thread when I can focus better

@MajorHeidi you're very close now and probably half pleased and half wishing it wa still 6 months away, Everyone's right, it IS the anticipation that's worse....on the actual day you're too busy telling hundreds of people your name and dob to worry, then suddenly you're waking up and taking control (sort of) your life again. Grit your teeth and you'll sail thro it and be joining in the moaning about physio regimes in no time, I'm now seeing double am goin g to stop but ask me any qs you wanr before you gin (or even go in thothe gin sounds more interesting!

 

[Mojo333]

So happy you are on the healing side.
You sound positive and upbeat which will serve you well.
Healing hugs!