night sweats/dry skin

[Todd]

OK,

I've been ignoring it for a couple of weeks, but ever since I got home from the hospital, I've woke at least once/night drenched in sweat.   I don't have a fever, I feel fine otherwise, the house isn't any warmer than usual, I'm off meds except for ibuprofen.  The other part of this is that my face is also dry and peeling.  This has never happened before.  Anyone have anything similar happen to them?  Perhaps my body is compensating trying to repair things from surgery and I'm not yet in sync?  I'd hate to find an alergy to the new hip--although I think I'd prefer the sweating and peeling as opposed to losing my BHR. I do meet with my family doctor on Friday and maybe she'll have some insight.  It's just kind of strange...
todd

[Pat Walter]

Hi Todd

It takes some time for people to get all the anasthesia and meds out of their bodies.  Many people have experienced the drenching night sweats, you are not alone. 

An allergy to your BHR would not normally show up as sweating.  It would normally show up as extra swelling, pain, infection and movement problems.  It is normally painful and not anything like normal post op recovery.

Good Luck and just be patient.  You body is working on getting back to normal.

Pat

[obxpelican]

Todd,

The next couple of days, try increasing your fluid intake, if you drink one bottle of water make it two.  For whatever reason, call it flushing out your system or whatever,  I've seen that work really well.


Chuck

OK,

I've been ignoring it for a couple of weeks, but ever since I got home from the hospital, I've woke at least once/night drenched in sweat.   I don't have a fever, I feel fine otherwise, the house isn't any warmer than usual, I'm off meds except for ibuprofen.  The other part of this is that my face is also dry and peeling.  This has never happened before.  Anyone have anything similar happen to them?  Perhaps my body is compensating trying to repair things from surgery and I'm not yet in sync?  I'd hate to find an alergy to the new hip--although I think I'd prefer the sweating and peeling as opposed to losing my BHR. I do meet with my family doctor on Friday and maybe she'll have some insight.  It's just kind of strange...
todd

[Todd]

Thanks for the suggestions and explanation.  I'll try to be patient and we'll see how it goes.  How comforting it is to have you people out there with some personal insight and understanding.  Much appreciated!
todd

[blmjumper]

I had the same thing....but it's been two months since my surgery and I can't remember the last night sweat, been a couple of weeks at least.

[Bionic]

I have to wonder whether THR patients experience night sweats as well, or whether it's just us surface hippies.

Night sweats do suggest perhaps that the body is trying to eliminate something.  Do you think it could possibly be metal ions?

If it is metal ions, it kind of makes sense that the body would adjust after 6 weeks or so, since it's about this time that the joint capsule heals and supposedly becomes less permeable to the ions.

On the other hand, there are a lot of different processes that take place over the initial 6 weeks, so maybe I've just got ions on the brain .

[Todd]

At 4 weeks, my night sweats have stopped for the most part.  I missed Dr. Schmalzried's chat last night and was going to inquire about probable causes.  I'll try to catch Dr. Rogerson on 2/9.

[Bionic]

I asked Dr. Schmalzreid about night sweats and dry skin, and he said he was not familiar with that complaint.

[Pat Walter]

Hi

Over the last 4 years, I have read about many Surface Hippies having heavy night sweats post op.  Usually it was from the pain meds and anasthesia. Your body is trying to get rid of all the extra stuff used to keep you comfortable. It has a lot of healing to do.

It seems for awhile that no one talks about having sweats - then all of a sudden, everyone is having heavy sweats.  It is just another personal thing that happens post op and there is no way of telling if you will have that particular problem or not.

I was very, very thirsty and drank and drank water after surgery.  I think my body was trying to flush all the stuff out.

When you are in the middle of those bad sweats - just think of how it will feel this summer when the sweat is from you exerercising and having a lot of fun in the heat of summer!

Pat

[Pat Walter]

Bionic

Don't worry about the metal ions.  You are using one of the best surgeons in the world who knows how to place acetabular cups properly.  That is the most predominant reason for high metal ions - cups not properly placed at the correct angle that causes additional wear.

I know of no one that had night sweats from metal ions.  Never in almost 4 years of reading ever even heard the hint of such thing from patients or the medical literature.  You would have a difficult time generating high metal ions a few days or even weeks post op because you just can't move enough to have that new MOM bearing rub enough to generate those ions.  There is a break in period - but it is not going to happen until you get active.  Then you are way past the night sweats.

Relax - you are going to be in good hands.

Pat

[obxpelican]

I think Bionic is doing the same thing I did right before my surgery, I was looking at all the bad things that might happen.  For me it was a worry that I was going to have those bad headaches from the spinal.... thank God I had people around that could explain to me what it was about.

Post-Op my worry was infection, then I read all of Spencers posts about what he went through..... I had a red area on my incision I was worried about but it turned out that I scratched a scab and inflamed it.

I think we all line up things to worry about pre-op.... what Bionic has to worry about is that I paid Dr. Gross to have a barber come in to give him a mohawk while he's under.   

Keep worrying Bionic, it gives you something to do pre-op, but you'll be fine, you have one of the best guys around doing the surgery.


Chuck

[Bionic]

I think we all line up things to worry about pre-op.... what Bionic has to worry about is that I paid Dr. Gross to have a barber come in to give him a mohawk while he's under.   

My kids will think that is just soooo cool!

[Bionic]

Don't worry about the metal ions.  You are using one of the best surgeons in the world who knows how to place acetabular cups properly.  That is the most predominant reason for high metal ions - cups not properly placed at the correct angle that causes additional wear.

I'm not really worried, but the issue has been on my mind.  I was browsing WebMD yesterday and came upon a post by a surgeon who was very suspicious of resurfacing.  He pushed the concern about metal ions bigtime.  Although the surgeon was roundly criticised by subsequent posters, two people appreared to agree with his concerns and cited their own horror stories, if you can believe them, about metal ions.  Perhaps the posters were imposters (or even the original surgeon posing as a patient). 

If you page down to the bottom of the page, you can read my post attempting to clear up the issue.  Here's what I wrote:

I think people should beware of all medical procedures. Traditional, small ball THRs involve a risk of dislocation and early failure in young, active patients. Small ball ceramic implants (the only kind currently available in the US) and highly crosslinked polyethylene liners involve a risk of dislocation and fracture.

Metal-on-metal implants are the only type that can avoid these mechanical risks. But they carry a potential risk of high metal ions.

The question is, how can one receive the mechanical advantages of metal-on-metal without taking on excessive risk from the ions? The answer, in my opinion, is by selecting a highly skilled surgeon.

Studies have shown that metal ion concentration after surgery is directly related to the angle of placement of the acetabular implant. If the angle is too steep, the edge of the acetabular component can rub harshly against the femoral component, leading to a large release of particles. This may be the cause of the high ion count reported by some of the posters above.

See http://www.jbjs.org.uk/cgi/content/short/90-B/10/1291

Hip resurfacing is not an easy operation, even for a skilled orthopedic surgeon. Component placement is especially difficult. This is why, if you're going to have a resurfacing, you want to pick a surgeon with a lot of experience doing these operations successfully.

Problems like rubbing components and mismatched leg lengths are virtually unheard of in the patients of experienced resurfacing docs.

The problem seems to be that many docs are now jumping on the bandwagon and doing these surgeries. This leads to a plethora of inexperienced resurfacing docs.

To the people reporting high ion levels, please get a post-op x-ray and have your component placement checked. Properly positioned and seated components should glide over each other with minimal contact. In fact, synovial fluid lubricates the bearing so they often don't even directly touch.

Also, please have your kidney function checked. Chromium and cobolt are normally excreted by the kidneys. If your serum levels are so high, there's a possibility of kidney trouble.

I am not a doctor, just a prospective patient who has been doing a lot of homework.

For a good, organized source of resurfacing information, visit www.surfacehippy.info.

Here is a great source of information on the metal ion issue:
http://www.surfacehippy.info/metalioninformation.php


You can see I gave you a plug, Pat.  Here's the link:  http://blogs.webmd.com/arthritis-and-joint-replacement/2006/07/hip-resurfacing-beware.html

[sroberts]

Bionic,

Regarding te WebMD blog:
That was Dr. Ira's blog, right? He had a guest blogger Dr Roth, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong.

They don't know squat about current hip resurfacing methodology or outcome literature. Arrogant sob's with their head up their a**.

sorry for the rant.

spencer

[Bionic]

This was on Dr. Kirschenbaum's blog, Spencer.  The funny thing is, the doctor's attempt to foment fear actually backfired, and he was overwhelmingly panned.

[obxpelican]

Bionic,

They don't know squat about current hip resurfacing methodology or outcome literature. Arrogant sob's with their head up their a**.

Come on Spencer, tell us how you really feel.   


Chuck

[sroberts]

Yes his name is Dr Ira Kirschenbaum. I sent him a few choice words on that blog. So did a few friends. Oh and one good question to ask is what company pays him to use their THR's?


I'll step off my soapbox now.


spencer