I am thinking of getting both hips resurfaced at the same time. Is there anything I need to be concerned about in doing this? I spoke with a doctor and he told me you have to limit the amount of beer you drink once you have a hip implant. He said it will limit the amount of blood supply to the bone and it will die. My brother talked to his doctor which is going to preform a total hip replacement on him. His doctor told him you can drink all you want?
You have to limit the amount you fall over in a drunken stupor. (I am not a drinking man, so do not have much sympathy.)
There seems to be a misapprehension by many doctors and surgeons that don't and can't do resurfacing, that for some reason, the bone dies afterwards.
I cut my beer consumption quite a bit, but I'm also drinking more wine.
Quote from: lopsided on September 19, 2011, 10:46:35 AM
You have to limit the amount you fall over in a drunken stupor.
;D Lop, only you! ;D
Sorry bri, we like to have fun here.
Alcohol will not cause the bone to die. Don't waste your time speaking with doctors who don't do or who know nothing about hip resurfacing. They are very misinformed about HR and have a prejudice against it. Look around this site and keep coming back with your questions. You'll get lots of help here.
I'm doing my own research on this and will get back to the group on my results. 8)
Boy weren't those the days when we could come home in the evening, drink a 12 pack with our best buds, watch the hockey game, pass out on the couch, and sleep in till 2 the next afternoon? But I digress.
This IS somewhat of an unusual, (but nonetheless interesting) question on this forum because so many people here are active athletes who don't drink alot. From your name (bri) and the fact that you spelled it with all small letters I am guessing you are a woman. (Hope I am not being chauvenist here.) Anyway, if you are a woman you probably don't drink that much to begin with so I don't know that I would worry about this issue. But supposing that, irregardless of your gender, (and if you are a man, no insult intended, but bri?? Makes me think of Bridgette. NOT that there's anything wrong with that,) you really like to throw them back. You know like 12 beers/day or more. I don't think that there is any good evidence to suggest that the "bone will die" from drinking too much beer after a resurf surgery. I believe that what the good doctor was referring to was a bone illness that is called "avascular necrosis" of the femoral head. This is seen more often in chronic users/abusers of alcohol than in non-users/abusers, but here we are talking about patients who have not been resurfaced. There is a small percentage of resurfaced patients who do seem to go on to develop a variant of avascular necrosis in their resurfaced femoral heads, with sometimes dire consequences such as fractures in the femoral neck or collapse and failure of the head. The exact cause of this rare complication is currently unknown, but may be due to extrinsic factors such as the surgeon being overly aggressive in his operative dissection or being overly slow in performing the surgery. You probably do not have to worry about this if you are being operated upon by an experienced surgeon.
Having said all the above, the usual potential serious consequences of alcohol use/abuse (ie, other health issues, familial dysfunction, job loss etc) will still apply to you in the post resurf period just as they do in the pre resurf period.
Anyone up for a few Corona's tonight?
Quote from: Eitan on September 19, 2011, 04:32:05 PM
Anyone up for a few Corona's tonight?
I'm heading to a jazz concert right after work, and I may not be able to avoid it.
;)
I don't really like beer, so not sure what it does to the hips (except perhaps make them fatter and probably more prone to falling and breaking something if you have too much). I love wine, and usually have a glass or two with my dinner. Does not seem to have had any effect on my healing.
Hernan, when can we expect your report on your research?
Still in the formative stages, working on the abstract, but like all good research, I intend to cover all statistical possibilites. Have decided to work following the alphabet, am up to 'C'.
See bri, there are others on here who will give you all kinds of attention and information. And they are smarter than me! ;D Looking forward to the research results.
Eitan, I have got to take you up on this one.
Quote from: Eitan on September 19, 2011, 04:32:05 PM
From your name (bri) and the fact that you spelled it with all small letters I am guessing you are a woman.
Usually your posts are well informed and include useful technical details. But what's all this? I don't know why
bri should be female, and I really don't think you do either. I can think of both boys' and girls' names that begin with b-r-i, and it might stand for anything else. And as for the small letters ..! Have you not considered, that after having been told by his doctor to limit his beer, his choice of name on this form was influenced by his state of intoxication?
I believe you have a history of wrestling, Eitan. I don't. But I am glad that I have slammed you down now.
D.
Hernanu-
I look forward to your results too. Because you know all good research should be able to be duplicated. And I will offer to verify your results.
Good beer or good wine, it doesn't matter.
Dan
Slammed so many times on my head I no longer think straight.
I still think bri is a woman until she/he proves me otherwise.
Now, back to the research.
in my thinking, the original question can be answered with .... "whats your body used tooo .." ;)
its not as if the blood supply has been withdrawn from the op site ..
i backed off in the first 6 weeks or so but at 7.5 mths out im enjoying a beer again ... as amost aussies do .. ;D
cheers Maxi
Not so concerned about the drinking part, I usually just drink on weekends. More concerned about getting both hips done at the same time.Complications,discomfort,may not be able to roll to one side while sleeping,recovery slower,ect? I just have not heard much info on this.Is it wise to do this? I would have to wait a year to get the other one done do to the amount of vacation time I have at work.By the way, I am a man.
How you recover after surgery has a lot to do with attitude, condition of the hips pre-op, your general health, how well your surgeon does the job and many other factors. You will also need to consider what type of work you are going back to as to how quickly you will be able to get back to it as well. There are quite a few people here who have had their surgeries a couple of days apart and less that have had them done on the same day and there are a lot of differences on the length of recovery but I think that the common consensus is that we were all glad to have done it this way for various different reasons.
I don't think my rehab was twice as hard as one side at a time and even though I did have some minor complications that held this up, I would have had these had I just had one done and I would have had major pain on the un-operated leg trying to be the support for the other. Discomfort sleeping seems to be pretty common for one or two - it's just something that you have to get through. I could tolerate sleeping on my side at about 4 or 5 weeks. I did need to have the pillow between them to make sure that I didn't cross the midline but I had slept that way for almost 20 years as it was the only way that I was comfortable so it wasn't a big deal. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think the sleeping discomfort was enough to make me say don't do it.
If you are aiming for a fast recovery, I'd be doing as much as you can to get as fit and healthy as you can pre-op to set yourself up for the best possible outcomes. This is one factor that you at least have some control of going in.
Corona? Corona? CORONA?!?!
I have to say I definitely looked forward to ending the Oxycontin so I could have a glass of wine.
Dan
Bri, I knew when I had my right hip done that my left one would need resurfacing also. Because it was not hurting (or I did not notice pain in it) at the time, I did not consider having it done at the same time, or discuss it with my doctor. Many times during the first few weeks of recovery, I was happy that I had only the right hip done, so that I still had one strong leg, one good side to sleep on, etc. I do think recovery would have been quite a bit tougher if I had had both sides resurfaced at the same time.
On the other hand, as my right hip started feeling really good and strong, and my left hip was deteriorating and causing more and more pain, I kinda wish I had had both fixed at the same time. Yes, I would have been on crutches for more than a few days, probably not been able to drive after 5 days, and had to stay off work longer (darn). Also, I would have had to sleep on my back for at least 3-4 weeks (the sleeping thing was hard for me - could not get comfortable). On the other hand, by now I would have had two good hips, instead of basically going back to square one.
For myself, I'm not sure I would have been tough enough to have bilateral surgery. Recovery is tougher and longer, but after you recover you're done!
Lori Cee, I still have to use the pillow at night - now it's for my unoperated hip! I'm ready to get rid of that thing!
Dan, I'm with you on the wine. I tried a little once while I was still on the Oxycontin - it did not taste good. Not even food tasted good on Oxycontin. I was glad to be able to stop taking it after a few days!
bri,
I had both done within 3 days of the same week. First one Monday then the second one done on Wednesday. I'm glad I had it done that way and would do it again. My surgeon is very experienced at doing bilats that way. It was a challenge with mobility at times but nothing I could not deal with. If you have any questions just ask.
Why did you not get both done on the same day? How long before you could walk? Take pain meds?I work at a computer most of the time.How long do you estimate before I could go back to work? I only get 2 weeks of vacation, the rest I am going to have to work from home. I need to get back as soon as I can. How long were your scars?Is it extremely painfull or do pain meds do a pretty good job? How long did you have pain?
Quote from: Lori Cee on September 20, 2011, 09:20:39 AM
How you recover after surgery has a lot to do with attitude, condition of the hips pre-op, your general health, how well your surgeon does the job and many other factors. You will also need to consider what type of work you are going back to as to how quickly you will be able to get back to it as well. There are quite a few people here who have had their surgeries a couple of days apart and less that have had them done on the same day and there are a lot of differences on the length of recovery but I think that the common consensus is that we were all glad to have done it this way for various different reasons.
I don't think my rehab was twice as hard as one side at a time and even though I did have some minor complications that held this up, I would have had these had I just had one done and I would have had major pain on the un-operated leg trying to be the support for the other. Discomfort sleeping seems to be pretty common for one or two - it's just something that you have to get through. I could tolerate sleeping on my side at about 4 or 5 weeks. I did need to have the pillow between them to make sure that I didn't cross the midline but I had slept that way for almost 20 years as it was the only way that I was comfortable so it wasn't a big deal. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think the sleeping discomfort was enough to make me say don't do it.
If you are aiming for a fast recovery, I'd be doing as much as you can to get as fit and healthy as you can pre-op to set yourself up for the best possible outcomes. This is one factor that you at least have some control of going in.
Annie: I don't think I'll ever get rid of the pillow. I'm too used to it and it feels really strange not to have it. I guess it's like any habit now - if I don't have one, I can't sleep. I also need one to hug and my head height needs to be just right too!
Bri: Some surgeons prefer to do the surgeries over a couple of days, this isn't uncommon. It would probably be about as common as doing them both in the same surgery.
Pain really wasn't an issue for me - it was just discomfort, lack of strength and fatigue more than anything else. I am allergic to endone and oxycontin so my pain meds consisted of brufen (nurofen) and panadeine forte - so nothing too strong.
Having said that, I think that two weeks is a little optimistic even for one side but I may not be the best one to offer an opinion on that since I had a few more strikes against me going in. Did anyone go back that soon?
I'd question how you'd go energy wise working fulltime and getting all your rehab done. Interesting in hearing other hippies comment on this one. Maybe a really fit person with lots of ticks against their names going in could do it so I won't be completely surprised to hear a couple of you guys say you did it :)
Quote from: bri on September 21, 2011, 08:21:20 AM
Why did you not get both done on the same day? How long before you could walk? Take pain meds?I work at a computer most of the time.How long do you estimate before I could go back to work? I only get 2 weeks of vacation, the rest I am going to have to work from home. I need to get back as soon as I can. How long were your scars?Is it extremely painfull or do pain meds do a pretty good job? How long did you have pain?
bri, do you have short term disability at your work? I went on that for both surgeries; that's what it's for, medical procedures. In my work, we have to use one week for each absence, but then the disability kicks in for the rest. I was out for 5 weeks per surgery, 1 week vacation + 4 disability.
I know people here have gone back to work earlier, and more power to them, but that felt right to me. I also think you'll need more time if you're doing both... will they let you do some work from home?
Bri,
Im no surgeon but I think one of the main reasons that lots of them don't do both hips the same day is because it massively increases the chances of having to have a blood transfusion. I think Derrick mcminn mentions this in one of his video interviews with Vicky marlow.
I would also think that 2 short surgeorys is less stressful on the body than one long one.
Bri-
I am only had one hip done so take that in to account.
I was able to get around with one crutch after a couple of days except for long walks. I was using a cane after a couple of weeks.
I never really had a problem with pain. I was off of the Oxycodone 24 hours after surgery and off the Oxycontin 84 hours after surgery. After that it was acetaminophen as needed. Ice is a really good painkiller as well.
I was working on my computer from home just a few days after surgery. I couldn't focus for long periods but could get probably 3 hours of work done at first. By the third week I was getting about 6-7 hours of work done from home. The fourth week I was working at the office about 6 hours a day. And the fifth week I was back fulltime but it was not easy. I work at a desk for the most part.
There is a poll on this site about length of scars. Mine is about 7 inches long.
Dan
Dannywayoflife is correct. The reason is because of the increased chance of needing a transfusion because of excessive blood loss. Also it is much less stressful on the body to have them done separately. Dr. Gross must have it right or at least right for him because he rarely if ever has to transfuse anyone. As of September 1, 2010 he could not even remember the last time he had to. That's the day he called me on the phone and we dicussed my surgery. He said to me and this is not a quote, I just don't have to do a transfusion anymore. He doesn't even have blood collected from the patient before the surgery(s). Even if I wanted to have both done the same day, he would not do it. Personally I wouldn't do it that way anyway, but that's me. There are a few on this forum who had both done the same day.
I was on two crutches two weeks, one crutch almost one week and used a cane for one and one half weeks. That was not the doc's schedule, that was just the way it worked out for me. At four and one half weeks I dropped the cane and never looked back. I carried it along with me in my vehicle when I went out somewhere just in case I needed it but I never did. I walked with a very slight limp that didn't last very long but did quite well other than that.
Heavy pain meds were taken for one week then I switched to X-strength Tylenol two tablets three times a day then weened off of them over time. I was never, NEVER in any kind of awful pain.
The time off depends on the individual. If I had a job that I could be free to sit and get up and move around when I needed to, I suppose two weeks off minimum then limited hours such as half days, I don't really know for sure. Everyone is different and have different experiences with pain and discomfort. There is no way I could have gone back to my job in one or two weeks. I am a CNC programmer/machinist at a major university research shop and there is a lot of walking, lifting, stretching, etc. and all on a concrete floor. My surgeon wanted me to take off work for 6 weeks minimum. He cleared me to go back after that but I stayed off for another 4 weeks. If I had to I could have gone back at 6 weeks but I wanted the extra time to rehab and recover.
My scars are both 4 inches long, they have a slight curve at the one end. Plus there is a small scar about 1 inch above the main scars. That was where a metal rod was inserted and removed. The rod was used for measurement. Can't remember now what it measured. I love my scars! :)
Dr. Gross has a very effective pain protocol during the stay in the hospital and after. As I said before I was never in any bad pain. Mostly there was what I would call discomfort around the incisions. Just a little soreness. I was up walking within hours after both surgeries. Slow and a unsteady but with a walker I loved gimping around the hospital floor that I was staying on. I walked it a few times a day.
Keep sending the questions, that's what this web site is all about.
Oh, I forgot, ICE, ICE, ICE. Ice is VERY important and helps a lot with discomfort and swelling.
Steve, the little extra scar is from the pin Dr. Gross puts in to check leg length. That one was a surprise to may fate I woke up enough to check out my hip after surgery! We had very similar experiences, I'm sure because we have the same surgeon. Dr. Gross put me on iron supplements before the first surgery, and I'm back on them now. This is to avoid transfusion in case there is some major blood loss, which I did not have for the first hip.
I think that if I had absolutely had to, I could have gone back to work after two weeks. However, my energy level was still pretty low then, and working would not have left me time to do the required walking and post surgery PT. I went back to work after 4 1/2 weeks, and I was ready.
Lori Cee, I think I keep waking up at night because the darned pillow falls on the floor and then my leg hurts. I want to be able to sleep without pain!
Anniee, I couldn't remember what measurement the rod was used for. Thanks. You can see the rod being inserted in Dr. G's surgery videos. I was put on iron supplements for 30 days after my surgeries to build my hemoglobin back to a normal level. There was some blood loss but not enough to require a transfusion. If you look at our surgery reports there is an amount of blood loss listed. I believe it is an estimated amount measured in cc's. I did read mine, but I can't remember what it said.