Sean’s Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Gross 2011
I am 38 and have been dealing with hip pain for
the past ten years… It’s been a gradual onset. and the past year
or two have been pretty bad… Like many of you, I’m at the point
where if I walk any major distance, I usually have tons of pain in
the bad hip… I have a pretty restricted range of motion with the
bad leg and getting pants on, or putting on / tying shoes is a real
challenge… at least on my bad side…
I’m going
to be traveling from San Diego to South Carolina to see Dr. Gross
for my surgery.
February 23, 2011
I have joined the surface hippy club! I’m done! Everything went as
planned! It feels great.
Everyone was so right, it was virtually pain free…I’m sitting here
in my hospital bed typing on my iPad…. No pain. Maybe some minor
soreness in my hip area, but nothing that bothers me. I think
getting the IV was maybe the most painful part….and that was just
a little pin prick….
When I got to the hospital I checked in with admitting. Then waited
for them to come get me. They put me in preop, and did the standard
stiff. blood pressure , temp,
They gave me some pills right away. Some Celebrex and oxycontin. I
didn’t feel much except some grogginess…very minor. The IV was put
in, and they put so anti bacterial swabs in my nose. I got an anti
nausea patch behind my ear.
They let my wife come back and sit with me afterward…and she was
with me almost 30-45 minutes. Maybe an hour? It was great to have
her there with me for support.
The profusions came in with a big scary needle, but it ended up not
hurting. It looked a lot worse than it really was. and they had
given me some happy juice by then so I was fine. It was a big tube
of blood they took to use in the surgery…they do something. To
that blood and then jee it to aid bone growth and healing. That’s
what the profusions said at least…
I have no memory of the surgery…the whole thing went on while I
was sleeping.
I remember going to the operating room and moving off the gurney and
onto the surgery table. I remember the anesthesiologist telling me
to bend forward and a nurse helped ,e lean forward….that’s the
last thing I remember. I have no memory of the spinal itself.
I woke up and though “I’m done???”. Weird feeling! But a good
weird….I almost got tears in my eyes…I was so happy. I have
started to realize that getting this surgery is going to be a life
changing event in my life and my family’s life too. Instead of being
so limited, I’ll be able to participate in so much more with my
entire family! The realization of that makes me emotional at
times….it’s good emotion….
I’m now sitting in recovery. I apparently missed dinner so all I’ll
get is a snack…but they said I can eat what I want so my wife went
to grab me something to eat…
This whole thing was a million times easier than. I ever thought it
would be. It was not bad at all. I am not in pain as I type this.
I’m excited to see how my hew hip feels! The numbing effect is still
there. So I can’t really feel my feet 100%. When I first woke up I
could barely wiggle my toes…that is wearing off and I can move my
legs a bit more…. I can now move my operated leg side to side and
a bit up and down. I don’t feel ANY joint pain!
I was able to call my family members and tell them everything was
fine. I didn’t talk to Dr. Gross but he went to talk to my wife
after the surgery…she was waiting in the hospital, and told her
everything went well.
I want to thank all of you who responded to my posts, emailed me,
and offer words of encouragement! I really appreciate the support.
This website has been wonderful too…providing valuable info to
help me research hip resurfacing!
I AM DONE! WOO! HOO!
February 25, 2011
Pain has been very tolerable. I’m taking two oxycontins a dat..one
in am, one at night. I have another pain medic called Nucynta which
I can take if I need it. The worst pain has simply been a general
feeling of stiffness or puffiness? Not any sharp pain, just a dull
kind of ache. Not bad at all. When I first woke up from surgery I
had zero pain, but the spinal was still working. The worst the pain
has ever been is a 3 or 4? Nothing bad. By taking the meds, the pain
has been kept in check.
Today I did some PT in my room in the am, then in the pm we had
group physical therapy. That was fun vc I got to talk with the other
people who had it done same day I did. There were five of us in
total. Everyone there had travelled to see Dr. Gross. One man was
from Ohio, a spam from Colorado, one patient was a doctor
himself…an ophthalmologist who came from north Carolina.
It was fun to be with other people who had just been through the
same thing. Yes, there was that feeling of us all being in the same
boat. everyone shared stories of how their hip went bad…
I also got to meet “Newdog” in person! He was in town for his 6 week
follow-up and he stopped at the hospital to say hi to me. That was
great to put a face to the posts and emails we shared!
I made several trips around the hospital hallways on my crutches. I
can say that my hip pain is really gone. It is an amazing feeling to
know the pain is gone. I still don’t have great range of motion.
that will come in time…but, I have been able to sit up straight
and be in a position that normally would have made my hip joint give
off sharp pain…and now….nothing. zero pain!! There is the
incision pain…but it is different. The awful pain inside my hip
ismgome! Hasta la vista…baby!
I do think the stiffness and sore feeling in my hip is worse tonight
than it was before. so if you do this, know that it hurts a bit more
on day 2.. But still…its not bad.
Dr. Gross stopped in to see me in the am. I talked to him a fee
minutes and he told me the surgery went great! I asked him how much
the implant costs…silly question, but I was curious. He said the
actual hospital cost is $7,000. Pricey little sucker eh?
The food here is fine. Nothing to write home about, but it is not
bad…I’ve had worse hospital food. You will be happy with the meals
Free wifi in my room…but some cites were blocked…and no. I
wasn’t trying to surf porn…I tried to watch a Netflix movie with
my iPad.no luck, Netflix blocked. I can, however, acres most
websites…check email, etc. Nice.
I’ll get released tomorrow. I’ll keep posting my progress. Bottom
line. I am so glad, I did this. Having my hip pain gone is going to
be life changing!
February 26, 2011
Well, last night was my first night out of the hospital. I will
admit, last night it hurt a bit. Nothing agonizing, but it hurt.
When I first woke up on the hospital I was pain free so a zero out
of ten.
The next day in the hospital, it was a bit sore, maybe a 2-3/10. Lt
night was probably a 4-5. I may have fallen behind on the
meds…when I went to bed in took my two oxycontins and it was ok.
When insole up I was sore again, but once I took my meds it was
ok..but it was still sore. I’d describe it as my leg feeling tight
and kind of puffy.
During the day I felt better and my wife and I drove to downtown
Columbia and went to one of the museums and had pizza. There is a
little organic pizza shop called Z pizza…it was pretty good. By
the end of that little trip my leg had swollen a little, so back to
the hotel. I’ve had it on ice and it’s back to normal.
The polar care ice machine is great!
I bumped into another Dr. Gross patient in my hotel hallway. She had
her hip done the same day as me, and we were in group PT together.
It’s nice to see some one else who understands what I. Going through
ace to face. The staff at my hotel has also been very helpful. Some
of the staff have commented that they often see guests on crutches
who are having procedures done across the street at the
hospital…..probably other Gross hippies!
I’m taking it easy the rest of the night. Will lay in bed, watch a
movie, and go to bed. I’m hoping to be out of here Tuesday at the
latest.
I can still tell that my hip pain is gone, and I’m excited for my
leg to stop swelling, heal, and feel back to normal. IRS going to be
so great to walk around, laying bed, walk up stairs, etc etc and
have no pain.
Dr. Gross really does give you your life back. I already feel more
cheerful and happy!
March 1, 2011
I am back home in southern California! It feels so good to be home!
I managed to make the flight home on day 5 post op. Surgery was last
we’d, and we flew out Monday.
When I got to the Columbia airport and was walking into security on
my crutches, the TSA person says to me, “Dr. Gross’ patient?”. I was
surprised to see even the airport personnel know about him! I told
her yes….they sent me to secondary where I was patted down by a
TSA guy…. I honestly didn’t think it was all that invasive…but I
guess I will probably have to do that whenever I travel now… I had
iced all morning knowing I had a lot of time ahead of me on a plane.
The 30 minute flight from Columbia to Charlotte was easy. The plane
was half full so I had mo one next me and could stretch out…
We had a couple hour layover in Charlotte and ate lunch. We got on
our flight to san Diego and I till felt ok. The flight was set to be
about 5.5 hours. I planned my medication so I could take my
oxycontin before I got on the plane, so it would be in my system
during the flight…. It started raining, and the baggage crew got
delayed…we boarded the plane.. which was packed….and we sat at
the gate for 1.5 hours….just sitting…. That stunk. So my 5.5
hour flight turned into 7-7.5…. I asked the stewardess if I could
move to an aisle or bulkhead seat.. but the plane I was on had no
empty seats. The stewardess basically said it would be up to me to
ask someone if they would volunteer to give me their seat….I
looked at the bulkhead sears and they had no more legroom than the
regular seats…..the best seats were I. The emergency exit…but of
course I couldn’t sit there because I was on crutches… So I stuck
it out in my coach seat.. I had a center seat which was not good,
but luckily I was sitting next to two small people…so I had space
to spread, out. I explained to the people next to me that I was 5
days post op from hip resurfacing and they were very accommodating.
I also hot several bags of ice from the stewardess to use to ice my
hip. I wore loose fitting silky workout pants…and NO UNDERWEAR….
My hip was swollen enough wearing undies felt tight on my
thigh….so I just pulled the waistband open and shoved the bag of
ice on the outside of my hip and had the cold bag of ice directly on
my hip…I basically had a bag of ice in my pants the whole flight!
It sure helped.
Taking my meds when the flight started helped to. It knocked me out
for part of the flight which made it go faster. The elate hour or so
my leg started to feel pretty swollen….I got up and just stood I
the aisle for about 30 minutes a couple times during the flight too.
I was a bit worried about whether the flight home would be too
difficult, but it was ok. I think a first class seat would have been
better…but it was fine. I made it and I was on the plane almost 8
hours…. I fm the flight had bgwm 3-4 joursmit would have
been a piece of cake.
My hip is still sore, but only when off the ice too long or when my
meds wear off.
I can walk on my hip…I can walk short distances with out the
crutches but limp. But the pain is not from my hip, it’s the tissue
soreness from surgery. I was actually somewhat more comfortable on
the flight back VS the flight TO the surgery, because before the
surgery, if I sat up…like how you are forced to sit on an airline
seat…my hip hurt because of my reduced range of motion. Now, pos
top, I can sit up, and at 90 degrees there is no more hip pain! It’s
strange to sit up and expect to feel the pain I’ve felt for so
long…but it’s not there!
I’m still using my ice machine. slept last night with it hooked up
overnight. I think my leg got swollen even though I had ice on it I
flight, because it wasn’t elevated…. The overnight icing in bed
with elevation really helped.
I am surprised how good I I feel at only 5 days. I can’t wait to see
how I am as time progresses.
March 4, 2011
DAY 8 POST OP
well, here is a summary of how I felt on day 8.
On day 7 I think I agitated my incision using the bathroom, but
today it felt better. After that “incident” I had my wife head out
to Wal-Mart for a raised toilet seat, the one thing I had neglected
to buy. Boy did that make things easier!
I iced my leg in the am. At lunch we to the kids out to a local
dairy that sells fresh milk and freshly made chocolate milk…wow
was it good. They also have some small pens with little goats that
the kids can feed through the fence…..kids had a good time and it
was good to get out of the house. We stopped at Costco for a hot
dog, some quick groceries. and I managed to do all right. We only
needed coffee and I just waited near the front of the store….I
really didn’t feel like trekking al over Costco on my crutches… So
mo..it wasn’t a usual Costco run with a fully loaded shopping
cart….
I rested back at home.
I only took one nucynta around lunch….this was my first day
totally off oxycontin…and normally I had ramen several nucynta
along with the oxy throughout the day…so this was a big reduction
in pain medicine.
I would describe the pain as manageable. It was more of a soreness
and stiffness near the incision. I felt a little more discomfort
late in the evening, but nothing terrible.
The area that hurts is my incision. I have had some pain in my knee
at time, but it seems to set in in the evening after a day of
activity. not siren if it is from being tired, or from walking ,
limping around on it. The knee that hurts is on the operated leg.
I have some discomfort in the hamstring muscle on my operated leg. I
can feel that is seems weak. I also feel that I have a lot of
weakness in the muscles that pull the hip up. like if you were
standing up and tried to raise your knee up…those muscles…I had
a real loss of range of motion in that area before the surgery, so
I’m sire they were weak to start with, but they seem weaker. If I am
getting into bed and trying to het my legs situated, to is very hard
to move my left leg because the muscles that would raise it up don’t
want to do it. so I usually use my arms, grab my leg and physically
lift it up. Sometimes when I do that I notice a small pain in my
hip…not sure what it is…but I’ll watch it….
Overall I’d say it was a good day. Perhaps slightly more discomfort
than some prior days, BUT day 8 was pretty much pain med free and
the prior days I was pretty medicated so the same pains were there
but just masked.
All in al, I feel pretty good for being 8’days post op from a
surgery like what I had, I’m able to motor around on two crutches
easily. I can walk on one crutch fine too. I will intermittently
stop using one crutch and rake a handful of steps on one crutch to
see how I do. It feels ok. I can keep a somewhat more normal gait by
using the one crutch on the opposite side as the bad leg. I’m trying
to walk without any crutch I can do it but limp quite a bit. The
muscles aren’t quite ready for that yet. My joint feels good though,
and the only real pain I feel when putting a lot of weight onto the
operated leg is the incision. It’s like a big dull tugging, puffy,
soreness. Not a sharp pain that hurts…just a constant dull one
reminding me that I still have a ways to go before I’m all better.
I also have noticed a slight rash on my operated leg. It almost
looks like my hair follicles are just red or agitated…it’s not
just where they shaved my leg…they kind if itch…I think it may
be from the medicine? But it’s only on the operated leg… Any of
you get something like that?
I’m take it a day at a time and feel good. Those old sharp arthritic
pains are gone…. That is nice. Like many have said…there is
still pain, but it is different and I know this pain will go away.
It will feel so amazing when I am finally able to walk without the
crutches, more a cane, without pain…and actually feel like I am
“fixed”!!!
I will get there.. today or tomorrow, but I will get there.
March 11, 2011
TWO WEEK
UPDATE
I am now slightly past the two week mark, but rather than post every
day at this point, I figured I’d slow down and post weekly.
At about the two week point I think one noticeable change for me is
that when I am out of the house walking around now, I am only using
one crutch. Before, I found it necessary to use two for going out to
a store, and things like that. Now, my leg seems to have improved to
where I can go lager distances and only use one.
Around the house I am walking without any crutch, but I limp still.
I still have pain in the incision site, and I still feel a weird
weakness and numb type sensation in my leg at times. If I sit in a
chair for too long, my leg feels weird, and weak when. I get up. If
I am up on it, it feels better.
I don’t notice any pain in my hip like I used to!
I’m not taking the narcotic pain meds, and were off those around day
5 or 6 after I was out of the hospital. I am still taking Tylenol
and that seems to be enough. I ran out of Tylenol yesterday and
didn’t get more until this evening. Being off it all day, I do think
I detected slightly more discomfort in my leg, but nothing
substantial.
I’m hoping to go into work on a limited part time basis next
week….I think I’ll do fine…I just won’t sit in one place too
long!
March 21, 2011
ONE
MONTH UPDATE
Ok, I’m a Couple days early, but this Wednesday will be the one
month mark!
I have continued to improve gradually. The little nagging pains and
sensations are lessening. They are still there, but they seem less
noticeable.
I am still on Celebrex for a few more days until my prescription
runs put, and the only pain med I am taking is Tylenol.
I have totally stopped using crutches and have been using the cane
for the past week or so. I can tell my walking has improved a lot
since going to the cane. I think since you can’t put as much weight
on the cane, it’s making my leg do more work and get stronger?
I take the cane when I leave the house, but I only use it off and on
in the house.
Yesterday my wife and took the kids to the wild animal park, we live
near san Diego and the park is close to out house and we have
passes…so I’ve walked there many times before the surgery…..this
was my first time there post op. If have been there, you know it has
a lot of hills.
I used the cane, but there were a few times where I picked the cane
up, and just walked on my own. At one point I was going up a mild
incline, did not use my cane, and started smiling…because I was
walking uphill with no assistance and for one of the first times in
as long as I can remember, I had no pain!!
Everyone probably had unique things that really hurt their hip…for
me it was walking uphill. I could walk on flat ground and it was
ok….uphill HURT. To be able to walk uphill, put weight on my hip,
and feel normal….it was Unbelievable!
I still get a slightly weird sensation in my left butt…deep in the
glut…I don’t think it’s my implant, I think it’s the muscle…it
comes and goes. and I notice it less than I used to….but it
reminds me I am not totally better…and I have no plans to push
things. My walk at the animal park was not all day, we were there a
few hours and I had chances to sit. The tram ride was all sitting,
but it was a fair amount of walking.
Having dealt with pain for so long, and after compromising so many
aspects of my life due to that pain…that one moment of walking
uphill without pain – felt great!!
Things are only going to get better!
March 30,
2011
FIVE WEEK UPDATE
Well, today is the fifth week! wow, time has gone by so quickly. It
is hard to believe that six weeks have already gone by…. and when
I think about how good I feel right now….it’s amazing how fast my
body has recovered!
This week has been my first official week back to work. I have done
really well. One thing I’ve noticed at work is that sitting too long
really makes my hip sore. I have a desk job. and sit a lot. I have
tried to get up and just walk about, but there were times where I
saw in my work chair for a couple hours straight, and when I got up,
my leg muscles felt sore and I had my limp back. After walking
around for 10 minutes though, I felt fine and almost felt like my
limp was gone. So it’s NOT the joint and there’s nothing wrong with
my recovery…but sitting agitates things!
I used my cane on Friday, and a bit over the weekend. When I went to
work on Monday, I didn’t use it. I left it in the car. It has STAYED
in the car all week. I keep bringing it as a sort of security
blanket, but I feel good enough to walk without it. I think I am
getting very close to not needing the cane at all. If I was going to
walk a LONG distance, I think I’d still want it and would use it.
Monday night we went for a walk. My community is built around a man
made lake. and the lake is very close to my house. If I walk to the
lake, around the lake, and back home, it’s maybe a total of 3/4 of a
mile, maybe a mile max. We took the kids, the stroller for the
little guy, and I tossed my fold up cane in the bottom of the
stroller. I walked almost the entire way without the cane. I walked
to the lake and around the lake without the cane. I even pushed the
stroller a while. I remember commenting to my wife how it was first
time I had walked around the lake and not had pain in my hip! and
that was the truth. I have been TO the lake since my surgery… but
only on the crutches and we drove there… yes, we drove down the
street to the lake. a place we usually walked to…Monday was the
first time I walked around it after surgery. When we moved to this
community I had plenty of hip pain and every time we walked it….it
hurt. Monday night was fun. I walked around my pretty lake and never
once thought “ouch”. you all know what I’m talking about!!! at least
you who are POST OP do!
Toward the end of that walk my hip did get tired. I could have
pushed myself and tried to “make it”. but I’m not out to prove
anything, so I unfolded the cane and used it the last few hundred
yards… the next time we do the lake, maybe I will finish it sans
cane! something to look forward to.
the funky pain in the back of my butt seems to be subsiding. I feel
it now and then, but I think it’s going away…
I feel so much better. like I said, sitting too long makes my hip
sore and the limp come back. walking helps. I honestly feel l like
if I am up on m y feet for a while, I can almost walk with zero
limp.. not quite…but I’m getting there. I feel so much better than
before my surgery it is amazing. living without pain is a blessing.
if you are one of the people who is on this website, living with hip
pain that is affecting your quality of life, and reading all of the
posts.. jus like I was about a year ago… don’t wait. go get your
hip fixed. I should have done this sooner. I have read other people
say that they should have fixed their hip sooner, but waited out of
fear regarding the surgery, and now I know exactly what they mean.
the surgery was NOTHING. I don’t even remember it. I remember
getting an IV, and I have a vague recollection of someone telling me
to sit up.. the next thing I knew I was waking up, NOG in pain, and
over the past 5 weeks I have steadily become better, stronger, and
the horrible pain that lived with day in and day out is HASTA LA
VISTA!
I’m going to restring my racquetball racquet soon, and start making
plans for my racquetball debut in about 5 more months.
April 22, 2011
I’m about
8 weeks post op.
At about the six week point I was feeling really good….I had
minimal pain in my hip. If I sat down a while, it hurt when I got
up, but after a minute or two of walking it didn’t hurt much at all.
I was taking Tylenol throughout the day…but whatever pain I was
feeling was very mild if at all.
At six weeks I had relatives visit and they all went to Disneyland.
I felt great and thought I was up to it. I walked ALL over the place
that day…I must have done 5 or more miles…..by the end of the
day my hip was very sore. The next 4-5 days it was sore. I even
worried maybe I did something to it. By a week and a half it was
gradually getting better. I was having pain on the side of my hip,
near the incision but more forward….like where the seam of your
pants would be. the pain was vertical feeling…. My neighbor is a
physical therapist and he said the way I described the pain, it
sounded like maybe bursitis.
At about 7-8 days after that major walking day at Disneyland my hip
seemed better but not 100%. I never felt any sharp pains or anything
I the joint…the funky butt pain I had came back, but it has
gradually gone away.
In some ways, over the past two weeks, post Disney, my hip feels
better and stronger. I am mow able to put my pants on and stand and
balance on my new hip while I put my leg into the pant leg….I
could only do that in the past few days…that is without using any
support…purely balancing on my operated leg….I can feel the
muscles feel stronger and I can walk up hills without pain…but I
get this off and on pain on the outside of my hip….it feels like
it is on the outside near the surface of my skin….
Is this bursitis? Can they fix this? Will it go away with icing? For
a couple days it went away, the it came back the last couple aye. Is
not a sharp pain, more of a dull one…
If I take a couple aspirin it is muted and not that noticeable. but
as the airin wears it’s there.
I recently did my 6 week x-rays.. I didn’t get them until 7 weeks,
and then did my PT veal, and I’m about to mail it off to dr. Gross.
I’ll see what he says, but u till hear good news from him, I thought
I’d see what all the hippies think.
I have had ups and downs before six weeks. so I’m too terribly
freaked out. but before I walked my a$$ off at Disneyland eland I
didn’t have this odd pain in the outside of my hip. I had pain in
the direct spot of the incision….and now that is fading even
more…but this outside of my hip. near where my pants seam is…it
seems new. Maybe Disneyland and walking everywhere agitated this and
maybe I would have got it anyway.
I’m hoping it’s just normal healing pain and it will go away.
Tonight I had to walk up a big hill. a good 10-20 steps
uphill….before surgery that would have been miserable…tonight I
walked up it pain free….that pain in my side wasn’t even
there…then an hour later it was there….since it’s off and on,
I’m assuming it’s not something “bad”. But I still really wish it
was gone and I was not having it.
May 27, 2011
THREE MONTH UPDATE
Today is about the three month mark for me. I’m doing GREAT!!!
It’s really amazing how the human body recovers. At the one month
mark I was mobile but nothing like I am now. I have no doubt that if
I wanted I could take off and run full speed….but I haven’t tried
it because Dr. Gross says not to until six months…I can wait!
I go up and down stairs with no problem. I can squat down and tie my
shoes with ease.
I still get pain and minor stiffness after sitting down…but it
goes away after I walk for a short distance. I have had several
coworkers comment that they have really noticed my walking has
become virtually normal with zero limp. Very cool compliment!
I’m doing the phase 2 physical therapy which is really just leg
lifts and some stretching. I noticed when I first started that my
leg was really weak. The leg lifts hurt after 5 reps…now I’m doing
20-30 reps and it’s not nearly as hard.
My life has literally transformed from being partially crippled and
horribly limited to being virtually normal and almost entirely pain
free. I feel so amazing. I have zero regrets about having
surgery…it was the best damn thing I have ever done. In three more
months I’m going to be running, playing racquetball, and who knows
what else. I think I will not go crazy. I don’t plan to run or jog
as a main exercise activity…I’ll try bikes and swimming…but I
will do it pain free.
If you have hip pain and are sick of living in 24/7 pain…and you
area candidate for thus surgery…get it fixed. I watched the
YouTube videos of the surgery, was all freaked out by how gross it
looked, and put off surgery at least a year or two…I wish I had
done it sooner. The surgery was apiece of cake. The most painful
part was the IV. Seriously, it was not bad. I was out before
anything scary happened and when I woke up I felt fine.
Now at three mo this post op I feel so great. I’m anxious to hit the
six month hark so I have the green light to really try my new hip
out!
August 30, 2011
I’m just past
the six month post op point….
Dr. Gross gave me the OK to start running or jogging and other
sports at six months. I’ve gone bike riding a couple times and that
was great. That giant pinching pain I would get as my left leg
extended upward is GONE. Very nice. After that first bike ride,
about a week or so ago, I also tried a short run. My legs were tired
from the bike ride…and my muscles felt weird… like they were
trying to run, but they had forgotten how to do it…
I had to quit jogging about 5 years ago because of the pain. and
really… I have not run at all in about that long. Any attempt at
really running was impossible.. before my surgery, all I was capable
of was more like fast hobbling…
Well a few nights ago I went out for another jog… I alternated
between jogging and walking. I swear at times I was kind of scared
to jog just out of fear that “something” might break.. it was a very
weird feeling to jog around and not feel pain. I was excited to be
moving that fast. but I never really got going at what I would call
a full blown run. When I got home my legs were tired…I could tell
my muscles were still acclimating to moving that fast. Whatever
muscles are firing, or the way they are firing when you run is not
the same as walking… and my body is trying to learn to do it
again. The next day I had some minor stiffness or mild soreness in
the tissue, but no joint pain or anything. It felt really good.
Well tonight I went out for another run. I alternated between
jogging and walking. I could really feel that my leg was stronger.
Amazing what just a couple trips out makes.. well I got more
comfortable… and at one point I pushed myself a bit harder and got
going pretty fast….. I would say for about 30 seconds I was at a
full on RUN.
It was such an amazing feeling. I have not been able to do that in
at least 5 years.. maybe longer. I swear I almost got tears in my
eyes. I think I actually did get them… a little bit. I’m sure to
the few people who were out, I just looked like some middle aged guy
“sort of” running.. but to me it felt like I was on top of the
world!
I came home and told my wife…. but I had to get on here and share
this. I know those of you who are fellow hippies have had a similar
moment and know exactly what I’m talking about and how it felt.
Absolutely amazing.
I used to jog a fair amount before I had hip problems…. if I’m
able to resume the activity as a way to burn off stress and keep the
weight off, it will be so great. I don’t know what the long term
impact will or won’t be on my implant’s lifespan if I run a lot…
to me running a “lot” would be like doing a couple miles a few times
a week… no marathons in my future.. a 5 mile run would be a LONG
run for me….
All I can say is tonight was a VERY good night.
December 22, 2011
I’m at
10 months post op…. and I feel like the past few months have
continued to bring additional strength and endurance in my new hip.
At the 6 month mark I started running again, but my leg felt week. I
think a lot of that was due to how long my hip had been hurting and
just how weak my leg had become…. by about month 7-8 I was doing
short jogs, but after running short distances, I still felt like I
got a slight pulling sensation in my hip.. not the joint… but the
soft tissues around the incision… I have no idea what was causing
the sensations.. and I would not call it painful… nothing like my
old hip pain.. but I could tell something didn’t like the running…
I kept running to a minimum but continued elliptical and my PT,
along with weight training.
at about the 9 month mark I really felt like my hip was almost at
100%…. I barely felt any twinges or anything. now at 10 months, it
still feels great. I did a short run the other day and went about a
mile…. at the very end, I felt a slight soreness in the soft
tissue that went away once I stopped and the next day I had zero
residual pain… at months 6.. if I ran a mile, my hip was kind of
sore for a day or two… subjectively, I can tell my hip is much
stronger and less sensitive at months 9-10 vs. month 6-7..
Dr. Gross and his staff had told me that I will continue to heal and
make improvements up to about a year. My local orthopedic doctor,
who I have continued to see a couple times – has confirmed that and
said once you get to 12 months, that’s about as good as you get. I
still have two months to get BETTER.. and now at month 10, I
consider myself 100%.. ok.. maybe 90%…. but 1000000% better than
before surgery!!
for anyone contemplating surgery… or just out of surgery.. I take
with a grain of salt, any stories about people going mountain biking
at 2 months post op and stuff like that….
for me.. I felt “better” the day after surgery than I did the day
before… I had surgical pain.. but the bone on bone pain was gone.
I quickly made a lot of improvements… but when you are on
crutches… suddenly being able to walk on a cane, then no cane…
those are BIG improvements… by 3 months I felt really good and at
6 months I felt great.. but certain motions or angles still bothered
my hip. if I stood on my operated leg and put all my weight on that
leg.. it felt solid.. but then when I went back to two legs.. and
the weight came off my operated leg.. I’d feel “something”.. not
pain.. just a weird sensation…. the muscles and soft tissue
adjusting… it wasn’t pain. it just felt “different”. not at 10
months, I can support myself on my operated leg.. hop on it… and I
don’t feel anything. every now and then I still get than title
twinge.. or something… but 99% of the time, my operated hip feels
as good or BETTER than my “good” one…
I’d say a safe bet is that in 6 months you will feel amazing…. but
if you want to go run, play a hard core sport.. etc… give it a
year. I was easily cycling at 6 months with ZERO pain.. but the
impact stuff like running… I can tell I feel BETTER now at 10
months than I did at 6……
Getting my hip fixed was the best thing I have ever done
medically… it literally transformed the quality of my life. I wish
I had done it sooner. I hope anyone reading this site.. who is in
the kind of pain I was in 10 months ago – gets it FIXED and get your
life back!!! I have ZERO regrets!!
March 18, 2012
I’m one
year post op.
When I was in the first few months post op period =- I had a lot of
weird pains and sensations. I went though a period where I had a
weird pain in my knee… then I had a weird pain in my butt.. I
can’t recall if I had groin pain.. but I do know that there were a
few periods where I OVERDID it… and I ended up having “new”
pains… or recurrence of pains that had gone away.
each time I would be nervous.. and think I hurt something.. and
wonder if I caused some kind of irreparable damage…. there was one
time where about 6 weeks I went to Disneyland… maybe a bad idea
but I wanted to go because a bunch of family were in town and they
were all going. I did take it easy.. took my cane even… though I
was off it… but by the end of the day I know I walked WAY WAY too
far. I never went on any hard core rides.. but in retrospect it was
too much too soon.
my hip started hurting by the end of the day.. at 6 weeks . I was
feeling GREAT.. and then after this trip.. I had pain deep in my
buttocks… and it didn’t go away… I was really nervous. it took
almost 2 weeks for it to be gone.. but it did go away.
fast forward to today.. I’m great. no pain.. my operated hip IS
better than my non operated hip.. I feel like a million dollars…
my advice is that if YOU think it’s worrisome – call your doctor,
get an x-ray.. an MRI.. whatever. (you CAN do an MRI with a hip
implant.. I had one already to examine my other hip recently)… so
don’t worry about the MRI doing anything.. but talk to your doctor
and follow their advice.
BUT.. don’t freak out over every little pain you get. you will get
them, and they will go away. I think the implant is so jammed on our
bones.. that to knock it loose you’d need to jump off your roof…
the soft tissue can get agitated… even though we feel great
shortly after surgery.. all those tissues inside are healing.. and
in reality.. it probably takes 6-12 months to really be fully healed
up…. so take it easy. you have your whole life to push it.. take
it easy in the beginning and don’t let the aches/pains of the
healing process panic you.
I found my own healing process to be an up/down process. at times I
was feeling better…then I’d do too much and take a short setback..
but I’d recover.. overall.. it’s all uphill.. but you will have
ups/downs along the way… keep that in the back of your mind and
don’t panic about the pains or soreness…
February 21, 2013
I can’t
believe it has been two years already!
I turned 40 this year. I had my hip done when I was 38. My hip
started bugging me when I was in my late 20s. it started out mild,
it was more of a mild discomfort. I still played racquetball,
jogged, and did whatever I wanted. by the time I was in my early
30s, it was clearly a problem. I gave up most sports, and was
limited to the stairmaster for aerobic exercise. I am an attorney
and work at a desk or in a courtroom so I can get by without being
physically fit in terms of work. I sort of adapted to being more
sedentary and dealt with the pain by popping aleve and other anti
inflammatories. My doctor suggested a hip resurfacing, and I watched
a youtube video about how the surgery was done – that freaked me out
as I was so grossed out by the procedure…that alone made me put
off surgery at least a year or two. 🙂 The pain was constant but
manageable..at least I thought it was. I have three small kids and
it was becoming obvious that I wasn’t able to play sports with them
the way I wanted. There were times when just pushing the kids
stroller was too painful and I had to have my wife do it. When it
finally got to where I was having a continual problem getting my
shoes tied or cutting toenails that I really started realizing how
debilitated I had become. One time in my late 30s my youngest son
who was about 3 took off running, he was headed toward the street
and I was worried a car might hit him. I tried to run after him and
I literally could not catch up to him. My wife outran me and got
him. All of these issues forced me to face the reality that surgery
was for me. I started researching doctors and did some local
consults. I found this website, learned a lot, and also found Dr.
Gross. My pain levels started getting even worse and I was scared
about the surgery but knew I had to do it.
Now that I have had it done – wow. I am SO happy I did it, and I
wish I had done it a year or two sooner. I suffered pretty badly the
last year and I could have avoided that had I done it quicker.
As to my current condition – In a nutshell, there are many days
where I never even think about my hip. When I do think about it –
it’s usually to stop and appreciate how great it feels, and to
appreciate what Dr. Gross did for me and to truly appreciate how it
feels to be pain free. When I bend down to tie my shoe, I still
think about the old me…and really do appreciate how great it is to
be “normal” and pain free.
Lying in bed at night, as I am about to doze off to sleep I *really*
appreciate the new hip. I can still remember tossing and turning,
being unable to get comfortable in any position, popping aleves to
make the pain go away.. heck I used to eat aleve like it was
candy… I don’t take them anymore…. Now, instead of feeling a
painful throbbing hip…my hip is “quiet”…and I can relax and
enjoy dozing off to sleep. 🙂 Stuff that other people take for
granted or like falling asleep pain free, I still stop and
appreciate.
I am able to do so many things that I could not do before my
surgery. I am pretty much 100% pain free. There are rare times where
I feel some kind of twinge, or if I sit too long on a really hard
surface I feel a slight discomfort… but I’m being hypercritical. I
essentially live my day to day life pain free. I am getting pain in
the OTHER hip, but that’s because whatever went wrong with hip #1 is
slowly affecting hip #2… but the hip that Dr. Gross fixed is
wonderful. It is my BETTER hip!
As to my activity level – put it this way – last weekend I played
basketball for about an hour with my son, who is 11, and my nephew
who is 17. I’m 40, and probably 15-20 lbs overweight. I’m not some
super jock – but I am perfectly capable of running around with my
kid and having a good time. My 17 year old nephew can beat me one on
one..but the fact that I could play with him, run all around, and
just have fun, was a testament to how great my hip feels. I had zero
pain while playing, zero pain that night, and no pain in the days
after. It was great.
I will admit, though, my hip is not 100% perfect. I am limited in my
ability to RUN long distances. I can run fine. I can run as fast as
I can possibly make myself go – and have NO pain. If someone was
trying to get me, or a car was about to run me over – and I had to
sprint 100 yards, I could run as fast as I could and I would have
zero pain. The problem is when I run for longer distances. Around
the 3/4 mile mark, I start to notice some discomfort in my hip near
the incision. I don’t want to push things…as soon as it starts to
hurt I stop. As soon as I stop the pain disappears. The pain does
not persist, it’s not like something is damaged. it’s like my hip or
soft tissue just doesn’t like the repetitive pounding of running.
I’ve thought of buying really good shoes, or just pushing through
the pain to see if I could make it better, but honestly, I never
liked running that much anyway.. 🙂 so I just don’t run. I can
cycle, do the elliptical, even play basketball and I don’t have
pain… I’m not sure why basketball doesn’t hurt but running does…
I figure if I can play basket ball and NOT have pain – then my hip
is doing alright! 🙂 Granted I’m not playing 60 minute games and
kiling myself but I can run all over with my son and nephew which is
good enough for me! I know there are people who have hip resurfacing
and they are doing marathons…for whatever reason that is not the
case with me.
I have emailed Dr. Gross / Lee Webb about this issue and was told
that some patients experience this sort of discomfort. If I was a
hardcore runner I could see how it would be an issue, but given that
I can do pretty much everything else, I don’t really worry about it.
I can’t say how much I appreciate my new hip. I wish I never needed
it, but the fact that there is the ability to fix it and to
basically make it feel virtually as good as new – is great.
Anyone suffering through hip pain should get it fixed. The surgery
really was like magic. One day I was limping and in 24/7 pain,
popping aleive like they were tic tacs, and after surgery the pain
was totally gone. once I was recovered from the surgery, I really
felt like I was as good as new.
I made a video around 7-8 months post-op but I never got around to
posting it. With my two year anniversary just days away, it got me
thinking about my hip and about how great it has been. I dug up the
old video and loaded it to youtube. Watching it again reminded me
how screwed up my hip was and how much it hurt… it almost hurt
just to watch the video.. my facial expressions, sighs of pain… oh
how I remember how that felt! I’ll have to do another video soon…
I am even better off now at 2 years than I was at 7-8 months.
I wanted to say thanks again to everone on this site who was so
helpful to me before my surfery – like newdog! I was really nervous
about surgery, about all the what-ifs…and a lot of people here who
had been through it reassured me how well it would all go. Of course
they were right. I”m sure going to see a pro like Dr. Gross didn’t
hurt either. 🙂 His team, his whole setup, is just top notch. I
really felt like I was in good hands the whole way through. I was
really scared stuff would hurt – like needles or the back
injection.. and it was all in my head. If any of you are worrying
about the surgery, scared you are going to have some horribly
painful experience… I can tell you the most painful thing I
remember was just the IV getting put in my arm.. oh and the catheter
getting pulled out of Mr. Happy after I was recovering. 🙂 I was
actually surprised that during my recovery I wasn’t in any serious
pain given that my bones were drilled on and metal pounded onto
them.
thanks again to Dr. Gross! You gave me my life back. My quality of
life is so much better after having my hip fixed. I really do
appreciate it.
Here is that video.