This is probably the last post for me until after I get out of the hospital on Wed or Thursday. RBHR is schedule for Tuesday and my wife and I will be heading to Seattle tomorrow early to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. We'll spend a couple days before surgery having some fun. I won't have access to a decent keyboard or connection, so you guys can be spared from my long-winded rants and speculation for a couple days. I know, darn. But, you can check out my blog at:
http://onehipdude.blogspot.com/ (http://onehipdude.blogspot.com/) Might need to change the name to 2hipdude or Too Hip, Dude!
Thanks for everyone's support and experience. I'll see you guys on the other side.
Dan - I'll say Hi to Pritchett for you when he's writing on my ass cheek.
God luck with your surgery and have a great time in Seattle before!
Good Luck Tin!
Hope everything goes well. Best of luck!
Tin-
I have been thinking about you this weekend. Best wishes. At least you know the drill this time.
So you are trying to get Dr. P to associate my name with your ass?! Yes, say hi to everyone that took care of me during my very short stay. Especially Megan and Mandy (I believe) that were especially helpful. Tell them I am doing great.
Look forward to hearing from you on the other side.
Dan
Tin, I am right behind you. Have fun and don't party too hard. I'll be waiting for the update. This one will be better than the first. We know what to expect.
Take care,
HipnHop
ed
I vote for Too Hip! Best of luck!
Tin,
Listen to you! You're heading for surgery on Tuesday and your main concern with us is you won't have access to a keyboard until afterwards.
Now listen up newbies, this is what we veteran Hippys have been trying to tell you. The surgery is nothing to be scared about. It just isn't the way you think it will be. I hope I said all that right.
Happy Anniversary and I look forward to your post surgery posts. Take care. :)
Steve (newdog)
I vote for "Too Hip, Dude!" :)
Sending you lots of positive thoughts. Looking forward to hearing your new story :D
I'm with 2hip... good luck and I know you'll feel like I felt (you know among the other feelings)... I'm done!
Waiting to hear from you...
Good luck Tin and hip.
You're gonna do great!!
Hey hip... when is yours?
Hern, I am schedule for early October. Waiting for the date now.
Tin, just think - next summer you will be doing things you haven't in years. Oh man, what a joy.
Send me your address via the message center so I can send you some of my delicious Brownies to eat during recovery. Only for Bi-Lats - sorry guys!!!
Hey Tin!
Thinking of you today! Have another sucessful sx and speedy recovery!! Lu
tin.
hope everything goes well like you i will be bi-lat in late sept sootie
Tin-
I woke up thinking about your surgery. I think you told me you were scheduled for 7:40am.
I hope you are resting comfortably in your room. PT should be on its way.
Dan
Thanks everyone. I actually checked here on Monday night (before surgery) and saw lots of of great supportive posts. I needed that because, eventhough I had done this before, I was really anxious. Not sure why, maybe that's just what surgery does to you. I'll provide a "blow by blow" account of the surgery in my blog tomorrow.
Anyway, I made it out sooner than expected (29 hours, not that I was competing). I'm home (after a 6 hour drive) and feeling pretty good. Last Oxy hit was at about 10 am and I think I may be go strictly to acetimenophen and ice tonight. This hip was surprisingly less painful after surgery. It's weird. This whole surgery and initial recovery, barring the pre-surgery jitters, seemed much easier and quicker and less painful. I'll probabaly be totally stiff tomorrow morning for saying it was easy. :o
Thanks again everyone, it's nice to know that there are folks here that you don't even know that well, thinking about you when you go under. You guys are great.
BTW - Dan - I said hi to Pritchett when he initialed my arse. His reply was short, but he remembers you.
BTW - I should have started a new title. "Joined the Bilat Club", or "Happy Bilat", or "Easier the Second Time Around Bilat".
Great news! Wow, I thought I was discharged quickly. You know you were working to beat me. I bet you even told Pritchett! My record only lasted three weeks!
I can't believe you drove all that way home today. My two hour drive wasn't bad even with the hassle at the border. But I can't imagine sitting for six hours. And that is great time also. Your wife must be a great driver.
Get healing. You know the drill.
Best wishes.
Dan
Great to hear you came through it well. Funny how different hips react differently. My left had NO pain after surgery, my right hurt quite a bit for the first day. Fast forward 4 weeks, and my right is solid as a rock, but the left is still pretty sore...... Oh well. You know the recovery drill; would be great if you can avoid the big pain meds. Hated those things....:(
Richard
Great news Tin! I'll send you the bilat membership kit, with the secret handshake and the membership card.
Sounds like you're off to a good start, happy to hear that the pain is low.
Thanks guys. Yeah I think the fact that the right hip was not as badly degenerated (bone was bad, but now obvious soft-tissues tears), made for an easier first few days. I think the doc injects a long-acting numbing agent too, which may actually take a couple days to go away. Narcotics do me in badly, so yeah, I agree. I'm happy with aceteminophen and ice.
On the drive, we stopped 3 times and I crutched around a little at each one. The weather was great and the traffic was surprisingly mellow, oh and my wife is a good driver. That all helps to make the trip easier.
Tin, that is wonderful! I've been wondering when you would give us a report! The difference between hips is interesting. I had a very easy time with my right hip, and I was hoping the left one would be the same. Now I'm getting a little worried...
So glad you are doing well and are home safely!
Hey Tin!!
Horrah for good Oregon weather!! Even though it's a bummer to be "out" in the summer... at least you have the sun on your side. I had the good fortune of having last summer to do my rehab walks outside. Mall walking does not sound like fun.
I think they wrote a song about the 2nd hip being easier; The First Cut is the Deepest or was it Two and the Knee ain't Bad or??? (any help out there?-blame it on too much sun!!)
Here's hoping you're not too stiff and the healing goes fast. Lu
Tin, I am so glad to hear it all went well. I was at the Gym thinking of you. Thanks for paving the way. You gave me more confidence. Rest up my brother. We got some healing to do then a painfree, active lifestyle.
Send me your address so I can send you a card and some Brownies. hit me up at edwarddejesusseminars@gmail.com. I'm in the card and gift business.
Good job Tin! Glad all is well with you. ;D
Quick report (6 days post-op) - Don't slow down too quickly on the acetaminophen, and don't do too much on your crutches in the early days. I "overdid" it yesterday. Dropped off on the acetaminophen to about a 1/3 of what I was taking (max at 4 g/day), mostly because I forgot. Also I laid on the hard floor doing my hospital-weight PT for a couple hours just listening to music and "playing" with the dogs. Then before bed, I thought I should get one more icing session in and grabbed the new blue gel and put it in a pillow case and sat on it. Being a little aggressive, I wasn't paying attention to how thin the pillow case was and my ass turned into a rock. The pain was akin to the pain in your feet when you initially stand in the ocean (the Pacific in Oregon, at least). Like an ice cream headache for your butt.
A little tough getting comfortable last night in bed, and the idiot neighbors came home after the bars closed and made a bunch of noise. Torqued my wife and made the dogs bark, so she yelled at them and they went inside. Awesome wife.
In short - the honeymoon phase is over. Want to lay on my stomach, tired of using crutches, want to do something other than pilot the recliner,....I know it will change, most of you folks know that. It's just a bump in the road.
Oh that is all too familiar Tin. I never laid on the floor to do my exercises though because I wasn't sure how to get up. The icing experience is definitely familiar. And I overdid it a little and backed off the acetaminophen too quickly although I never took more than 1.5 g in a day. Sleep was the hardest thing.
This week I finally feel a return to normalcy. I don't use support much to walk around the house and I can sleep on all sides except the operated one. I haven't acetaminophen in two days and am only icing after working out.
Best wishes.
Dan