I have one week left before my new hip, 11/10/11. Getting the RBHR at Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA, Dr Specht and Tilzey. Can't wait, but I am really nervous about surgery, I have never been under the knife before. Went on a great vacation last week to Aruba to prepare myself mentally. Walked on the beach every day. One day we walked about 2 miles in the sand, I paid for that the next day, but it was well worth the pain. I'll be back to Aruba in May with my new hip, security should be interesting leaving Aruba as they don't have body scanners. Hope to walk on the sand every day pain free. The down part of the trip is I caught a cold from the flight home, very congested. I hope I can shake it over the weekend so the surgery isn't postponed.
I'll try to post updates after surgery. This forum has been very helpful on preparing myself for this procedure, especially the post op posts. I just watched a couple of youtube videos of postop progress, it gives me an idea of what to expect. Thank you to all who have posted their experiences.
Best of luck with your surgery next week! Hope you do get over your cold!
Flying out of airports without full body scanners is fun after resurfacing - you will get the pleasure of experiencing the dreaded pat-down! Actually, is not that bad. You just have to allow 5-10 extra minutes to get through the checkpoint. :)
Good Luck on your upcoming surgery. I hope you can get over your cold quickly.
Looking forward to your posts after surgery.
Pat
Last few January's we flew to Florida and I got to have that full pat down, it was so good I smoked a cigarette afterwards. I think in some cultures I would be married to those TSA agents now LOL
Chuck
Quote from: Anniee on November 03, 2011, 05:43:58 PM
Best of luck with your surgery next week! Hope you do get over your cold!
Flying out of airports without full body scanners is fun after resurfacing - you will get the pleasure of experiencing the dreaded pat-down! Actually, is not that bad. You just have to allow 5-10 extra minutes to get through the checkpoint. :)
Cantab,
the next time you go to a beach you'll be able to walk all day and half the night without paying for it the next day. You're almost home! good luck on you surgery. There are a bunch of us going this month, no doubt planned so we can be recovered for the Spring. Lot's of positive energy. We're all nervous. Read the positive stories posted on this website whoever you feel anxious. So many people have gone before us and have wonderful stories of great recoveries and restored lives. We just need to follow the Hippys.
Hang in there. We'll look forward to your posts from the other side. You'll be guiding me and the other Newbies in a week!
Boomer
Best wishes on your surgery. It will be behind you before you know it.
I am working out with a vengeance with very little aching afterwards. You will be walking before you know it.
Check back in with us.
Dan
Cantab, the Lahey clinic's excellent. Good luck, hope for only good things ahead for you. Love the old Pats avatar.
Beat of luck with your surgery. I'll be following right behind you on 11/15 in NYC
Go Giants this Sunday (9 point dogs, no way!)
Best wishes for a speedy recovery! I'm at 9 weeks now and swimming, biking, and walking lots. Feels good. Just think about your next trip to Aruba.
Luanna
Good luck on your surgery. I'm in the same boat as you except mine is on Monday and I'm also from the Boston area. I too am getting over a cold and ear infection but things are fine right now. Good luck.
Good luck mate! It looks like we both have surgery the same day! Just separated by about 3000 miles:-) best of luck mate and keep us posted on your recovery!
Danny
Thanks for all the support. I seem to be on the upside of the headcold, can at least breath a little now.
Good luck to all the others that are getting there hips fixed at the same time. Your right I did plan it for this time of year to bother my golf game the least, hope to play in May, but that might be wishful thinking.
Go Pats! (that was for woodstock hippy, still depressed here over that superbowl loss)
I'm going to play in a Turkey shoot-out with family at week 7 in mid Nov. I'm excited and nervous. Dr. Gross usually lets patients do that after 6 week checkup. The good news is that I won't be tempted to overswing and should stay off my right side...FORE!!! Curt
Good luck with your surgery tomorrow. You will do great. The first 2 days are a bit difficult but by day 3 you will feel so much better. I'm on my 3rd day now and feel so much better than I did on Mon, and Tuesday. You will do great and be in great hands for sure. Keep us posted on your progress.
Good Luck, Cantab! Turn the nervousness around and start to get excited about getting you life back and putting hip pain behind you! Thinking of you, Lu
Good luck today, Cantab! Let us know how you're doing.
Cantab, hopefully right now your "socks" are puffing away on your calves and you are in dreamy happy land following a very successful surgery. Let us know how its going! Congrats! Curt
Finally got the internet to work in my room. Surgery went great, I spoke to the Dr. the next day and his quote was "you had some gnarly arthiritis in there but everything went great"
Firstnight was tough,just Sitting in the bed for hours on my ass was worse than the operation. Like every one says, leg felt like a lead balloon,but not much pain.Dr Specht and Lahey area bit conservative in the amount of activity,so I din't getout of bed until day 2,and then only to the chair. Today I got to go on a long walk of about 25 yds,butdid fine with the crutches. Hopefully I can get home tmorrow. No PT though until afterweek two. We'll see if that lasts,but i just need to follow the restrictions. Hope Pistol Pete and the rest of the November 2011 Hippies are getting along as well as I am. I'll keep every one posted and will be checking everyone elses progress here. Thaks again for the support
Good news, Cantab. Each doctor follows their own procedure, in the end it seems to work out.
Sounds like it went really well, great news! Curt
I just had my first visit with the visiting nurse, blood pressure was up, but I explained I had just gotten off the phone with Blue Cross, so that explains the elevation. No problems with the paying of the bills but BCBS was trying to "educate" me on what to expect from the surgery. I told them that i had received the OK for the surgery from them, dated the day after surgery had occurred. They had all sorts of questions, I finally got tired of them and told them my Dr. could answer any questions I had, and I also had you guys to run stuff by. I am real tired of the bureaucracies of BCBS, I am fighting with them over my acid reflux disease and the med, nexium, which needs to be approved by BCBS every year now. They keep changing the rules but won't tell you about the change until you ask.
My recent updates are, got home yesterday, ride wasn't bad but getting out of the car was an adventure. After the whole day and finally relaxing in my new recliner, the leg was sore and swollen. Tried to sleep in the bed and woke up about two hours later, both legs wore sore from not moving at all. I had to pee and it took awhile to get the strength up in the leg to get out of bed. I then took a pain med and went out to my recliner, soooooo comfy, I slept through the rest of the night. The recliner will be home for the foreseeable future. can walk with the two crutches now, occasionally get a twinge of pain, but still no strength. Doing quad sets now as I write this. Tomorrow is first PT session at home, hopefully i get the OK to do the exercises I have seen here from McMinn Centre, we'll see. Next Wed. is the next appt. with the Dr., 13 days post op. , and will get the 28 staples removed from my 33cm wound. Is this average for BHR? I'll post if anything else comes up before Wed, 11/23.
Niiiiice recliner, good recliner! Whatever it take Cantab!! The strength comes back slowly and surely, a little more each day. I too had trouble swinging my leg out of bed to get up and pee. Found that using my arms and pull my butt deeper into the bed and then turning 90 degrees (keeping the two legs more or less together) allowed me to ease the operated leg over the side and onto the floor. As with most things the first 3 weeks, up and down are easier than anything lateral. Hang tough and easy does it! Curt
Just had my first visit from PT. She was shocked that I had'nt been shown any exercises at the hospital. Lucky I found the basic exercises here and did some ankle pumps, quad sets and glut sets the last few days. The PT says I am doing fine and walked me through the exercises for now, will continue them the next few days until my next Dr apt. next Wed.
Feel so much better , blood pressure was normal today and FINALLY had a bowel movement. I needed to take some dulcolax instead of colace, that worked. I'm done with the pain meds, except tylonol, unless I really hurt after PT. Its a long road but I think I am on the right road.
I got real sore today on the outside of the operated on leg. I think my IT band is inflamed, it's sore to the touch at the knee, and just above in the quad area. I might have overdone it with the PT, I'll keep doing pt but tone down the range for now see if this helps, I definately don't want to take another pain med if I can help it.
Just play it by ear, I think rest should do it, but definitely take the meds if needed. If you have any IT issues, when the incision is fully healed and you can bear it, I'd recommend using a roller to deal with the IT band (and other muscles). I had IT problems, and the roller did a great job with it. It's cheap and effective. Again - only when you're ready for it.
An example only (I think you can get'em in a lot of places):
http://www.amazon.com/fit-Basic-White-Foam-Roller/dp/B000WG0L74/ref=pd_sim_shoe_51 (http://www.amazon.com/fit-Basic-White-Foam-Roller/dp/B000WG0L74/ref=pd_sim_shoe_51)
Is the IT band the muscle that runs along the outside of your quad or behind your knee? Both areas of mine on my operated leg are really tight and have been for a few days.
Pete-
The IT band isn't a muscle so it can't be stretched per se. It does run from inside your hip down along the outside of your quad and attaches under the knee. "Stretching" the IT band really stretches the muscle that attaches it to the hip.
I have had tight IT bands since I was a kid. After surgery I had alot of soreness for weeks with the IT band and muscles on the inside of my leg. I am sure this was because my leg was moving back to a normal tracking and these muscles needed to adjust to this change. I have virtually no problems now.
Best wishes.
Dan
3 weeks post op.
Sorry I haven't posted on my progress, but everyday is better than the day before. Some small and some large improvements. For those that are preop, it does get better everyday after surgery.
Started outpatient Pt on Monday, 12/28, 18 days post op. First day on the bike and could only do half rotation, 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock then backwards to 9 o'clock again. By Wednesday could go all the way around and rode the bike for 7 minutes, 0 resistance. Did lots of VERY light weight training on the leg muscles and some exercises. The tightness in the quad and IT band are holding me back, for now.
I was able to sleep on my side for first time during week 2, pillow between my legs for support so legs don't cross. It felt great and helped me sleep for longer than a couple of hours at a time. Still a little swelling in the hip itself , but I think this is the IT band. The surgeon did tell me he had to split it and sew it back together to get at the hip.
I started with the cane on Monday around the house and Wed. no crutches at all, I now use the cane exclusively. I was 3 weeks postop on Thursday, 12/1. I tried the no cane thing at home Friday, the first few steps are huge limp, until I concentrate on a normal gate. Went to the gym today for the first time and rode the bike for ten minutes. I used the machines for upper body, light weight, and did my pt exercises. My gym is 3 levels and for the first time I walked the stairs in a normal fashion, one leg after the other. I felt great, finally some normalcy, so I told my wife I would drive home. It was no problem at all, except getting out of the car on the drivers side. My IT band and quad are still tight and the knee doesn't bend all the way, so I have to really push those leg muscles to contract enough to get out of the car. It might be that I drive a sports car, G35, it's big but kind of low to the ground. But I did it and this will give me so much more freedom. Will be at the gym every day now for my exercises and bike, this should help with the recovery.
This is awesome news. Sounds like you're really making progress. I haven't started outpatient PT and won't for at least 2 more weeks. I'm going to hit the gym starting tomorrow and ride the bike and also do some upper body exercises. Glad you're finally driving. Going up and down stairs normal is AWESOME. Congrats on that. Keep it up and keep us posted.