Probably doing a hip resurfing in December

[Caroline109]

I posted a message about a month or so ago about thinking about having a hip resurfacing, but not sure of a time frame then. My hip is now keeping me up and waking me up at night and I'm getting tired of it. I'm seeing my rheumatologist PA on Wednesday for the 1st of 5 Supartz shots for my non-replaced knee and will be discussing this with her. I'll probably come home from that and make a call to my ortho office for a consultation on the hip resurfacing, hoping to get it done sometime in DEcember, preferably after Christmas, before the new year. Doing it then, too, will save us thousands of dollars since we've reached our out-of-pocket max for the year. I already have a good idea of questions to ask at the consultation (the hip version of the questions I asked about knee replacement when I had that consultation), including the number of these procedures he has done. Although I live 60 miles from NYC, I would prefer to do the surgery locally since it's much easier on family and friends and I had no problems with the surgery done at my local hospital that is highly rated in orthopedics in the state of CT.

[bothdone]

Hope everything goes well, Caroline.

Ed

[Caroline109]

Thanks, Ed.
Earlier this afternoon, I made an appointment for a surgical consultation with my ortho who did my knee replacement. I'll be seeing him bright and early Thursday morning. I'm supposed to bring the MRI scan disk with the pictures with me. The report is already in my records. This office is completely computerized and I was surprised to learn today (even though I've been going there for years) that although the pictures are on a disk, they don't upload them into my record, only the report! So that's done. I'll be putting together a list of questions (based on the questions I asked about my PKR consultation) to bring too. Now I just have to wait until Thursday...

[Caroline109]

Replying to myself. I am seeing my ortho tomorrow morning early! I saw the PA at the rheumatology office today while having a Supartz shot for my non-replaced knee. She concurred about thinking about the hip resurfacing. She said that the spot where I am missing the cartilage is probably where I need it the most, hence the pain when I do a lot of things, including one I forgot about: getting out of the car. She called my ortho the hip guy, although he did my knee too.  I have my questions ready for the doctor, an altered version of the questions I asked the same doctor when I was considering knee replacement. The CD with my early-July hip MRI scans is in a folder along with my question paper so I think I am ready to go.. My appointment is at 8:40AM and I have to be at work at 11, so I may or may not be back here to report on what he said until I finish work at 4PM.

[pamela1130]

Well, let us know how it goes with you in the morning.   I hope all goes well and that you have  a good consulation with your doctor.  Good Luck!!!  Pam

[Caroline109]

I saw the ortho.. He says it's not time to do surgery yet. The damage is, on a scale from 0-10 (10 being the worst), about a 1 despite the pain I have. He said he knew it is his job to operate on people, but at this point, he really thinks I should wait. So for now, we're putting things off. So I will sit back and observe here for now. Thanks all.

[pamela1130]

Oh wow!!  I guess that is good news, but sorry to hear that you are in pain. 

[Pat Walter]

Hi Caroline

Did you ortho suggest steroid shot in the hip capsule for the pain?  That is a standard treatment.  I had one. It helped for awhile.

Is your surgeon very experienced in hip resurfacing?  I ask because if he/she is not, they might just decide waiting is fine since they prefer to do THRs.  If you want a free second opinion, you can email Dr. Mont of MD and/or Dr. Gross of SC.  If you send them a copy of your x-rays in a digital format as a .jpg, they can give you a second and third opinion about hip resurfacing. 

It is good to not need surgery, but you want to make sure you don't miss the window of opportunity for hip resurfacing if that is what you want. 

Pat

[Caroline109]

Pat, I had a steroid shot in the hip (done at our local hospital) this past summer. It lasted about 2 weeks. Having gone through what I did with my knee, I know when things start to get out of hand as far as pain etcetera go, so I will be vigilant in keeping an eye on the pain level, etcetera. I know when your life gets disrupted by pain and you can't do things because of it, then you need to do something NOW! I see this same doctor in January for a check up on my knee and I'm sure he'll ask (and I'm sure I'll answer) about my hip.

[Foosball]

If I could make a suggestion.  I read (I think on this site somewhere) that someone used a recliner to recoup in after the surgery.  I asked my surgeon and he said that was fine. 

The night before my surgery I borrowed a recliner from a friend and we moved it into my bedroom.

After the surgery, I could easily sleep for 6 hours at a time in the recliner.  Had I used my bed, I don't think I would have been able to sleep more than 2 hours at a time, because of the restrictions.

I will say it is a little difficult getting up out of the recliner, however, I'm in pretty good shape so I had no problems.

I can't tell you how much easier it made my recovery.

I wish you the best!