I'm 6 days from having my second HR. It's my Christmas present :) and it's coming right on time. My left hip has deteriorated much faster than I ever expected. The cold weather this past week has really caused me to ache and limp badly. I'm sure I've finally worn away whatever little cartridge was left!
While I'm not looking forward to the first few weeks of recovery, I am ready to move forward and a recovery that will lead me into a great summer. I'll keep you all posted on "the second time around".
What a great way to start the New Year! you will be thrilled! I became bilateral at the end of June having had my first one done in 2010. I had lived in denial for quite some time and once I made the decision and DID it I felt as though I had gone through a renaissance! 2nd time round I have found that I am not so paranoid about recovery issues I don't wake up any more in the middle of the night freaking out! It's over, I've Done it! Now 5 1/2 months on I am doing all the wonderful things that basically I haven't been able to do for 5 years. You are going to be So happy! Merry Christmas!!!!!
By the way my left hip ( the one that I have just had done) went from being bearable to actually rendering me incapacitated in a very short space of time, literally within a few months I could barely walk. I suppose that if this was "us" 20 or 30 years ago we would be wheelchair bound!
Thanks for the reassurance! It has been amazing how quickly the left went down hill. This past few weeks have been especially bad --- I am walking with quite a limp! Excited to be done.
My second one (resurfaced in October) also went bad very quickly. In may I was climbing mountains and enjoying it, by mid-September I did not want to walk 100 yards on the flat.
All the best for your surgery.
David
Juno, You are going to rock 2014. Look at what you accomplished in 2013! Looking for a good report in a few days!
Lauren
Juno, I have not had a resurfacing, but by Wednesday I will be bi-lateral too, and as you know, same place as you. Take care and hope to meet you next week.
Munch --- good luck to you! I assume you are already in Columbia and waiting for Monday morning. Keep a positive spirit. You'll do great.
Hi Juno-
By now you are just two days out from becoming bilateral, joining good company. The wonderful news is that you will soon have two good hips, which will get you through... You already know what to expect... And, you are going to have a fabulous future, unburdened by physical constraints!!!
Merry Christmas and take care. I will be thinking about you!
Reno
Good luck Juno! I think today is the day, hope every little thing went well.
Juno - By now I believe you are on the other side!
From one Bilateral to another - Welcome! Hope all went well and you can now feel the relief!
Munch - Best wishes on your first tomorrow!
Looking forward to hearing progress reports!
Happy Holidays!
Hello out there. I am a newbie and am very nervous about my upcoming hip resurfacing on Dec 18th with Dr. Gross. I am a 28 year old male and am having to have a left hip resurfacing bc of avascular necrosis. I am extremely nervous about what I am going to expect living with this implant and have questions about how the implant is going to wear and tear over the years. I have been able to do minimal activity due to the pain. However, I feel like I am to young for this and that I should just call off the surgery. I know thats not the best Idea but can someone out there give me some insight on what to expect.
Dear Juno! all the best!!! soon I will follow
@ rysnowman24
I am also very new on this site, that's why my only advice can be: read, read, read.... here are great people with a lot of experience and we are all on the same track. I forgot where, but I read about some guys, all around 30. so you are not alone anymore!
here I found a post about pre-op jitters. believe me, I have it also
http://surfacehippy.info/hiptalk/emotional-issues/pre-op-jitters/
Thank you for the well wishes. Surgery was completed this morning....I officially have two new hips! Dr. Gross said that my left hip was a bit worse than the right (which was completed exactly 5 months ago). He said I was truly bone on bone.
So far so good though. If all goes well, I hope to be discharged tomorrow afternoon.
I'll touch back in later this week with a report.
Thanks,
Juno
Welcome (once again) to the other side! I hope things continue to go well and wishing you a safe and comfortable trip home. Keep us posted.
Great to hear you are done and ready for healing.
Good Luck.
Pat
;D
Congrats Juno! welcome to the bi hippy club....
Congrats Juno! Sorry I didn't get to meet you this week. I had my left hip done Monday and right hip Wednesday (yesterday). Tuesday walking with crutches was not so bad but today even with a walker it has been slow and incredibly hard to get up and down out of a chair. Hopefully I'll get past this total invalid stage soon...man. But the important thing is that both surgeries went without a hitch and it's done. Dr gross' team and the Providence Northeast Hospital have been everything I could ask for.. I'll contribute a more thorough account of all f this when I have more energy, but thanks to everyone on this forum for the great well wishes and comments.
Hi Munch....sorry I missed you in group PT today. Unfortunately I ams still here at the hospital (was hoping to go home this afternoon). I had a hypotensive episode while in radiology getting my postop X-ray. I passed out and had to brought into the ER --- you may have heard them call a Code White---well, that was me! I woke up to find a dozen nurses and doctors standing over me, checking EKG, drawing blood etc. my blood pressure dropped to 75/30.
I am doing fine now...had to get another liter of fluids. Lee and Dr. Gross ordered for me to stay over one more night. Hoping to drive home tomorrow morning.
It sounds like you're doing well. Don't be fooled, this a rough surgical recovery. But we will feel better in a few shorts weeks.
Good luck!
Wow, scary but I'm glad to hear you're stable and can go home tomorrow. I'm still in hospital tonight and my wife and I move to marriott for tomorrow night and fly home Saturday. I guess I'll get wheelchair assist for sure. The bilateral is intense right now. Good luck to you for a speedy recovery!
Goodluck on everyone's recovery!
I would love to have both my hips done in the same week but I don't think Dr Brooks at the Cleveland Clinic does that.
Would like to hear from any of the "bilaterals" who have had their HR done same day/same week- why did you do it so close and if you had to do it over again would you want to have a few months between the surgeries.
My right hip will be first, but as time goes on, they are both beginning to hurt equally. I called today and literally begged to be seen sooner. I was able to change my appointment from 1/10 to 1/6! I was happy- 4 days is 4 days when your hurting.
Hi Beth, as I posted, I just did bilateral just 2 days apart. I'm glad I had one day to try walking with one operated hip, and yesterday was really tough mobility wise. It was fine when I was in bed or sitting in a chair. Tuesday with one. "Good" leg I did pretty well on crutches but Thursday I was slow with a walker and by far the toughest thing was getting up and down. I'll try to share my progress report for how the next few days and weeks go. As hard as this is, the positive trade off is to get the really hard part over with in one go round. When I hit the 6 week mark it Will be for BOTH hips so I can hopefully progress to stationary biking and swimming and at 3 months golf and by summer be cleared for all activities. I could have waited for the 2ND operation but would have had another 6 months of slowly progressing through the rehab stages.
Being at the bottom right now, I can see the benefit of spacing things by 6 weeks. Then you've got a much stronger post operative leg to stand on when you do your second, and only slow thinks down by 6 weeks. Anyway I'm just rambling now but I'll try to post after a week or so when I can give a lot more perspective on bilateral recovery curve.
One cool thing I can already feel is that the one that was done Monday is stronger than the Wednesday, so just 2 days make for marked improvement. :)
Juno, sorry to hear about that. Like you mentioned, several of us have had episodes of different types, the outcome is hopefully good.
Munch - congrats on the two. I spaced mine out, hope your recovery is great.
I can now say I am officially "on the other side"! Was able to be discharged this morning (although Dr. Gross gave me the option of one more day). I didn't feel that I needed it. My BP stayed around 95/50 all night and I slept as well as could expected. I managed a shower and a walk down the hallway this morning.
We got home about an hour ago and I'm sitting in my recliner sipping hot tea. Dr. Gross did put me on 5 days of Flexeril for muscle spasms. You many recall I had terrible spasms at about day 5 with my right hip. We are hoping to avoid that scenario again.
Otherwise, all went well despite the low BP / passing out episode. Once again, I had excellent care at Providence Hospital. They have Dr. Gross' surgical protocol down to a science. Everything from pre op to discharge was good.
So, the goal now is to rest over these next few weeks, do the few PT exercises prescribed and walk. Lee reminded that less is more when it comes to rehabbing from a HR. since I've been through it once before, I have to agree with her. I'm going to try very hard to not get frustrated! Lol!
Thank you all for being so supportive!
Hey Munch! I hope you were able to be discharged this morning as well. I know you have a plane ride to get home. You're going to do great! We can commiserate together.
Juno
Hi Juno, Glad to hear you are home and all is now going well. I can remember when you had the 1st one done, which was 4 weeks after mine. Being that I don't check in as much as I should, I didn't realize you needed another until a few days ago. Anyway, glad to hear from you.
God Bless,
Bob
Hi Juno-
All is well that ends well, although it sounds like a scary experience, waking up with nurses and doctors all looking down at you. YIKES! It sounds like you are on your way now and I wish you a speedy and uneventful recovery for your second hip.
Well, second time around is going ok. Day 5 post op. I am trying to learn from my previous experience and do a few things a little differently this time.
1. Staying on the pain meds! Last time I took myself off all pain meds (except tylenol) by day 4. This time I plan to take whatever I need and stay as comfortable as possible....especially at night so I sleep better.
2. Take the muscle relaxers as needed. No spasms so far, thus I think the Flexeril is helping. Thanks goodness.
3. Sleep more.
4. Do the prescribed exercises as tolerated and don't push it. Who cares if right now I only do 12 glute squeezes and not 20? Slow and steady. I've got lots of time to rehab.
So that is where my mind is right now. Forgot how darn swollen by thigh and butt would get! Yikes.
Thanks for all your encouragement.
Hi Juno and welcome home. Glad to hear you finally made it out of the hospital and now home relaxing. I, too, had a similar experience with my blood pressure - seems I had a resting pressure of 87/70 - they didn't know what to do about it as I seemed just fine! By the time I left, it climbed to 90/70 and they said good enough!
Take it slow with recovery - I had my first set back, maybe because I was feeling too comfortable and pushed further than I should have.
Since you are a bitateral for Christmas, why not put two big red bows on those new hips and take a picture! Perfect gift for yourself! :D
Munch - Congrats on your new hips and welcome to the world of bilaterals!
I'm always amazed how this could be done on the same day, a few days apart or a few weeks apart! Good luck with your recovery and keep us posted!
Juno, Mend strong! Sounds like you have a good plan there!
Enjoy the holidays and just take it easy. Lauren
Hi keepmovin, thanks for the positive thoughts! And Juno, glad to hear you're in a good place now.
Quick update:
I am now 8 days post left hip and 6 days past right. Today was a bit of a breakthrough on pain. Only one 50 mg nucynta ER for all day and that's also helped my stomach feel better than it has in a while. It still hurts a lot getting up and changing positions....I am quite an invalid with not much progress on that front (slow but there is progress).
I do plan to post a timeline of my bilateral recovery once I get to a decent level of normalcy (6 weeks?). Right now just taking it one day at a time. And hoping I can enjoy Christmas Day with the family. Happy holidays everyone!
Good to hear from you Munch! You will be amazed at how much better you will feel by Christmas Day -- two weeks is a turning point.
I will admit that yesterday was my day to have a little pity party of my own. One week post op and all I kept thinking about was that I was right back where I started back in July with hip #1. Looking on the bright side though --- I am ahead of the game a bit since last time. I am almost ready to drop one crutch and feel relatively steady on my feet. The pain is minimal and I am off narcotics during the day. I am taking one long acting pain med to help with sleep. Tomorrow one of my RN friends is coming over to remove the adherent dressing --- I know that will make me feel better too.
Quick question though -- my right hip is suddenly clunking quite a bit. Any thoughts? I'm wondering if it is because I'm not walking or using those muscle very much right now?
One day at time.
Hey Juno, glad you're down to one crutch...way ahead of me! Good idea to take pain med at night. I tried to go the night without one and had a nightmare directly related to the hip pain and a terrible night of sleep. The day has gone ok with just a couple of Tylenol ES so hopefully a better night tonight. Also thanks for the positive thought on that 2 week mark. I hope that's right and that I can also enjoy New Years with family.
Of course I am total novice on clunking...hope that goes away soon for you, which it sounds like it will from what I've read here.
Munch -- I imagine you'll be on two crutches for a bit longer :)....but you're a bad-ass having both hips done at the same time, so we will give you a break! Lol! Sounds like you're right on schedule.
Minor set back #1
So much for really planning to take it easy.... Yesterday felt so good. A friend came over with lunch, I walked around all day with one crutch and felt really good. Only took Tylenol despite knowing tha I pushed just a little bit too hard (one my feet longer than normal, up/down the stairs about 8x, did a load of laundry, emptied the dishwasher) --- you know, all stuff that requires twisting movements, slight bending. So, let's just say... Stupid! There I got it out of my system!
At about 11:30, while trying to fall asleep, I could feel the muscles slightly twitch in the glute and was antsy--- just couldn't settle. I tried the bed, the recliner and walking. It wasn't terrible, more annoying than anything else. My husband (aka. The best guy ever), stayed with me while I barked and complained about how frustrated I was until 2:30am when I finally broke down and took a muscle relaxer and a Vicodin. At 3:00, I finally settled and slept.
I'm fine and all is good. I write this to help me remember the feeling, but to also hopefully let others know that even though you feel good at day 10 (and you want to be superman/woman) you need to continue to let others help you and to just take the darn meds so you can sleep!!!
Thanks for listening. I've scolded myself publicly! Lol!
LOL...
Hopefully, today you don't have any residual effects from your Superwoman stunt yesterday. :-)
It does sound you are doing quite well. You just have to remember to follow your plan.
Have a wonderful Holiday Season, Juno.
Take care!
Congratulations bilateral Juno!!!! 8)
I hope you have a lovely Christmas with your feet up. Take it steady, Anna
Juno, hope after all that you got a good night sleep and feel better on this new day.
I've been feeling a lot better every day as well ( for those that haven't followed this thread, my second op was same day as Juno's recent surgery...December 11). I'm down to just Tylenol. Yesterday for the first time I walked to the end of my block and back, which I guesstimate is about a third of a mile for the round trip. I have heard so much about not overdoing it, so I left it at that and happy to say no adverse effects. It's been raining this morning but I hope to walk at least a half mile when it stops raining. FYI, this is still slow with 2 crutches.
The first week post op on my bilateral felt long and tough but week 2, so far, every day is a lot stronger and I feel good about the decision to deal with both at once.
Happy Christmas to all hippies out there! Juno, I hope you feel great by Wednesday. I feel good about my chances of enjoying the day, which will be exactly 2 weeks post op.
Congratulations to you too Munch! Sounds like you are doing great. Merry Christmas! ;D
Juno, that sounds so familiar! Typical of the 'rollercoaster' recovery experience. I think it's a 6-step program (or programme)
1. You feel so much better
2. You overdo it
3. You regret it
4. Your recovery is set back a few day days until you catch up
5. You tell yourself "I've learned my lesson, won't do that again."
6. Within a week or two you do it again, go back to step 1, rinse and repeat ;D
But you're not stuck in the same cycle; over time you can do more and more, "overdoing" it is relative to where you are. This time around it's the mundane household tasks that are pushing your limits. Soon you'll be doing those things easily and pushing yourself will involve activities you can't even think of doing today.
Thanks for reading, responding, and commiserating! It helps. :)
Anna -- good to see you in the board. How are you doing? How far along are you now? I hope it's all going well.
Happy to see every one is progressing. This past Friday was four weeks for my first hip. My grandchildren spent the night Thursday and Friday morning as I was walking around the house my six year old grandaughter had this remark. Pop, you don't walk like this anymore (as she mimicked my old walk). Made me feel everything was worth it.
Richard
Anna, thanks for the thought! Juno, glad you're back on track.
Richard, that's great to hear of your 4 week accomplishments ...best walk since before surgery, eh? I've had a progressively worse limp for over 10 years, long enough that myn14 year old son has ever seen me walk without one. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll hear someing like what you just heard.
Not there yet though, if I try to walk without crutches I look like a slow and unsteady penguin right now. With my 2 crutches though, I'm happy to say that yesterday I walked a half mile (10 days post op bilateral) and today a bit further. I don't want to overdo it but feel like I should be able to walk a mile pretty soon. And no narcotics since one week post op.
I hope these updates might help others looking ahead to what a bilateral recovery might be like..and they'll be good for me to look back on when i write up my whole recovery timeline.
I'm 4 1/2 months now Juno. I'm doing pretty well. Everyday tasks are fine now apart from my ROM is still not great. I strain to put my socks on but I'm getting there. I can walk for miles which is great but my hip doesn't seem to be warming to my bike much. I went out yesterday and I'm just getting pain after a few miles. Guess I need to rest a bit more and not push it too much!
Munch, I meant to respond to you earlier. Since we are both recent bi lateral by the same Dr.
I don't know if it made a different in my recovery but I never used crutches. I had two walkers, one without wheels and one with 4" wheels a seat and brakes. I found for outside walks the wheeled walker was much easier then crutches. Also with the seat I could put stuff on it and move it in the house if I needed to. Also I had an electric lift chair that I used. It was great to sleep in and made it easy to get up. Today is 4 weeks since my right hip. I am progressing so well, somedays I think I am dreaming. The weather in South Carolina is so mild right now it is great for getting outside and walking.
Richard
Hi Richard, thanks for the post. I can see how a walker with wheels could be nice. I went to the grocery store yesterday and walking while holding the shopping cart felt very fluid vs jerking one crutch with opposite foot and the the other..but I am getting more fluid on the crutches so will likely stay with what I've got. And boy do I look forward to being as far past surgery as you are!
Best, Charlie
Well, post op three weeks today! Happy New Year to all :)
I've noticed how much easier this second surgery has been for me. I think it has to do with knowing what to expect an also to decreasing my expectations! I've been kinder to my body this time and it has paid off. I transitioned from one crutch to the cane 5 days ago and haven't looked back. I'm walking around the house with no cane and no limp. When I go outside for my longer walks I use the cane. Very little muscle pain and ROM is coming back quicker this time. Sleeping well and while I'm still not turning onto the operated side, I'll be able to do that soon enough. I'm off work for two more weeks and confident ill be feeling increasingly stronger by then.
So, all in all--- good news!
Glad to hear things are going well! It is nice to read an upbeat post. As I will soon be having my second hip done (and am not looking forward to it, unlike with the first) your post came at the right time.
Happy New Year!
Mike