Future “Hippy”

[Dbmiv]

Hello fellow hippies - long time lurker, and first time contributor.

As of today, I’m officially 5 weeks out from getting my left HR from Dr. Gross in South Carolina.  I’m a 33 yo athletic male who was in complete denial, anger, depression about having to do this surgery.  I was a high school and college athlete who was in the gym 5 days a week and playing basketball 3 nights a week.  I was born with “tight hips” according to my football coach, and started feeling discomfort in 2015 which I associated with a muscle strain.  That progressed to a limp/lack of ROM and pain.  My MRI in 2017 showed CAM impingement on both hips, and bone on bone in the left.  I had an FAI surgery in October 2017 with the expectation that I had found the “fix”!  Even though my surgeon had recommended a THR, and was skeptical that this would momentarily work at best.  After that surgery, I dedicated myself to PT, soft tissue massage, Pilates, and acupuncture - all in an effort to get me back on the basketball court, and back into the gym the way I used to train.  Even with continued pain, lack of ROM, and discomfort - I was convinced it was a soft tissue concern and not the bone on bone reality I was enduring. 

The doubt and denial of next steps these past 9 months has been excruciating.  I would have “good days” where I felt I was turning the corner, and bad days which we all can relate to.  I’ve never had constant pain from walking distance, which I qualified as something to justify the surgery.  Instead, I compromised on every activity I enjoyed - which should be the REAL reason to go ahead with something like this. 

So, this is my first post to let this group know how thankful I am for your contributions.  Without this site, I would not have even learned about HR and would be having a THR here in Los Angeles under the advisement of my original surgeon.  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but am consciously trying to lean into the “hope’”.  There are so many activities I want to get back to, and after the failed FAI I have been compromising on quality of life.  I believe that this is a way to get back to living the life I’m missing. 

I will try and give back to this community by sharing my experience.  Hopefully, it will help someone else the way your stories have helped me. 

I did want to ask the community if there are any supplements/vitamins, or foods that have helped with inflamation and bone regeneration?  Apologies if this has been answered elsewhere. 

David.

[blinky]

Welcome! I look forward to reading about your experiences.Dr Gross is great. I remember reading here about how great he is and thinking "he can't be that good; these people sound like a cult." But he is that good.

About what to eat. There is a calcium supplement he recommends and I bet it is on the website. If not, ask him. I took iron pre op and post op and I think it helped. (Blood loss and getting that heme up to feel good.) Otherwise, I just tried to eat a healthy balanced diet with plenty of lean protein, fruits and veggies, and whole grains. I have a sweet tooth, so tried to stay away from desserts until after I had eaten healthy foods. Post op I didn't have much appetite due to moving less and the dreaded opioid induced constipation, so I focused on eating protein first, then veggies, then the rest if I had room. Do you live alone? If yes, plan ahead how to provide yourself with meals and snacks.

[Pat Walter]

Welcome to the Hip Talk Discussion Group.

I am sure you are excited and a bit nervous waiting for your surgery. That is not unusual. Dr. Gross is one off best surgeons in the US. He does a lot of men with CAM impingement.

I wish you the very best and look forward to reading about your recovery.
Pat

[catfriend]

It's truly miracle surgery. One thing that helped me in the very early recovery was having snacks available to me at all hours. In bed I would even eat just a handful of almonds or a single size container or applesauce or a package of craisins. It's very helpful for energy in those first few days.

[Rn2md]

Hey,
I used Dr. Gross as well and I’m just shy of 6 months out. I’ve returned to all activities except running and weighted squats. But that’s mainly out of respect for the post op guidelines. I get mild soreness intermittently on the operated hip after a day of heavy use, but nothing requiring medication to deal with, I believe it is still internally healing though, and will be for at least 1 year.
All in all, I think it’s a great operation to help ultimately recover at least some of the activities that one may have had to give up due to OA pain.
My full recovery story is listed under the Dr. Gross section if interested.
Good luck. I think Gross is a great surgeon.

[ahausheer]

If you are otherwise healthy, eat decently, and don't have any known absorption issues you shouldn't need any supplements, especially at your age.  Having said that my surgeon recommended a Calcium and Vit D supplement (the Vit D greatly aids Calcium absorption).

In terms of at home inflammation care it seems many of Dr. Gross' patients do well with NSAIDs or tylenol. Turmeric is similar to NSAIDs and seems to help some people. 

The best anti inflammatory is ice. 

Post op you will get to a point where you feel well enough to be non compliant with the Dr's. rehab protocol.  Stay compliant, 60 year old you wants you to :-)

Oh and get all the little things in order the day before surgery - stock up on easy meals, snacks, do all the laundry, bed sheets, trash out etc.  That way you can come home and just plop down and not feel pressure to do anything but focus on you and your rehab.

You will be in very good hands, don't stress.