Getting ready to begin my hip resurfacing journey

[dmather]

Hi all,

I have been reading this and related web sites for several months now and since I am less than a month away from my first hip resurfacing thought I would post and ask a question or two.

On March 17 I am scheduled to have my right hip resurfaced with Dr. Clarke in Syracuse, NY. The left hip is scheduled to be resurfaced on May 5. Does anyone have any advice on how to best recover from the first operation to prepare for the second?

I guess it would be good to give a little background, I am 50 and have been having hip issues now over a dozen years. I have always tried to exercise, doing both cardio and strenght training, but the last few years have been extremely tough going. I am now getting around using crutches, still try to ride a stationary bike occasionally but find I have to take several days off afterwards before I can do it again. I was originally scheduled for a THR back in December but an Occupational therapist suggested I look into HR, I did and decided it was the direction I wanted to take. I have been very encouraged by the many success stories I have read and am lookiing forward to hopefully being pain free or at least able to move freely again after many years.

[Pat Walter]

Hi

Welcome to Hip Talk.  There are a lot of bilaterals here than can tell you about their experiences.

The best advice I can give is to stay positive and let your body heal.  Don't push yourself too much to the point of anything hurting.  You body will heal at it's own speed no matter what your mind wants.  Just be conservative and take it easy.  Many surgeons just suggest walking.  Depends on what your surgeon suggests.  Aggressive PT or other activities won't make your body heal faster - if anything it can cause problems that will slow it down.

Take things as they come and stay positive.

We look forward to getting some updates when you get your new hips.  Meanwhile, Good Luck and stay in touch.

Pat

[Tarhoo2]

Just turned 50 and am celebrating 2 years on BHR's.  I could not be happier with the results.  I understand very well where you are with things, as I resigned myself to a cane by the time I went in for my first BHR (left) in 12/07.  Felt better in the recovery room than I did before surgery.  Some issues with swelling for 1-2 weeks afterward -- lesson: ice and elevate!  Was fortunate to have excellent home nurse and therapist.  I was religious about my therapy and walking.  Back to work in 5 weeks and started weekly PT sessions at the OS's offices.  Right hip deteriorated rapidly and we decided to do right hip 4/08.  Having had a good experience with the first, I actually looked forward to having the second done.  Experience with that one was pretty much the same, except I already knew how to move around and knew to ICE and ELEVATE!

There are alot of folks here who have been through it and we're all happy to try to help out and answer questions you may have.

Best of luck to you!

Jim

[The Kid]

Hi dmather...Although I only had one hip done I just wanted to wish you the best and say that I think you will be very happy with the experience in the long run.  This site is awesome, I've found so much inspiration, motivation and information that has helped me tremendously.  I hope that you too find it helpful.  Best of luck...Tom

[roosevelt heights]

Hi Dmather...I had R hip done on 2/8, and L hip scheduled for 4/5... I have very little to add to what has been mentioned this far, but what I will mention is that if you continue to view your procedures as a journey (minus detours and dead ends) it will be a wonderful experience...SO FAR SO GOOD ! 

While I am awaiting the next procedure, the constant pain in my L hip is a reminder of the discomfort I used to feel...I am looking forward to walking pain free and according to old college buddies, not walking like Fred Sanford.

Your day is coming soon, stay encouraged, by any means neccessary...

[dmather]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, it is very much appreciated! I have passed all the pre-testing blood work and will be headed to the hospital tomorrow, suppose to be there at 10:30 AM so I am guessing that if all goes as scheduled I will be out of surgery sometime between 12 and 1. As much as I am not looking forward to significant surgery I am pretty excited at the prospect of not having joint pain in my right hip for the first time in over a dozen years. I will be following teh rehap plan very religeously since I want to be in the best condition possible for the left hip on May 5th. Thanks once again for the support and special thanks to you Pat for putting together and maintaining such a great resource!

Dale

[Pat Walter]

Good Luck Dale.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.  Let us know how things went when you get a chance.  Stay positive!

Pat

[dmather]

Hi everyone,

Just a little over 7 1/2 hours post-op and thought I would give a quick update.

I arrived at the hospital at 10:00 AM, was taken into be prepped right at 10:30. They gave me the choice between general anesthesia and a spinal, I chose the spinal.

I was in surgery just slightly longer than normal, Dr. Clarke said I was extremely tight. Was in the recovery for about 45 minutes then up to my room.

So far everything is going great! Any pain is mostly from the incision, of course I am on pain killers so we'll see how things are as the day progress. But I am already MUCH happier and optimistic than I was before surgery.

The wireless internet in the hospital is also a major plus for me!!! 

Many thanks to one and all who have posted to tell their stories as it definitely helped me to make the decision to go with the resurfacing.

I will post more later to give further updates.

Dale

[Tarhoo2]

Congratulations and welcome to "the other side."  We look forward to hearing of your progress and are here if you have questions during your recovery.

You will hear different points of view here on post-op physical therapy; i.e., whether or not a formal program is necessary.  In my case, I believe that the formal PT program I went through after my BHR's (3-1/2 months apart) was an essential part of what I consider to have been a successful -- and uneventful, in terms of problems -- recovery.

The best advice I can give for the next few weeks, based on my experience, is: perservere but don't overdo and give your body a chance to heal; enjoy walking without pain (even though it may be with crutch(es) or cane); and, again, ice and elevate.

Best wishes!

[DirkV]

Hi Dale,
Congrats! I'm a bilat too. I had mine done 5 weeks apart, and I'm now between my 2 yr anniversaries for righty and lefty.
At 3 months post-op, I was better than pre-op. At 1 year post op, much better. And at 2 years, it's still much better than after 1 year. It has given my back an active lifestyle. There are so many anecdotes. You do things that you don't think of at the time, and then later think what a joy to be able to do those things. Working around the yard recently and jumping off the bed of the truck. A family member commented, "not bad for fake hips." I hadn't thought about it, but not bad indeed!

A word of advice/preparation. My first recovery was piece of cake - back to work (from home, but full days) within the first week; good energy, all things considered. The second one hit a bit harder - not unexpected considering fairly recent major surgery, or maybe the recoveries were just different. Anyhow, it might help to be mentally prepared for the 2nd one to be a bit harder. It's one of those things that makes sense in retrospect, but it caught me by surprise.

Keep lookin up,
-Dirk

[dmather]

Hi again all,

Thanks for the input Dirk, I will definitely keep that in mind as I progress through both procedures. It is encouraging to hear that you are doing so well!

Just a quick update;

It was kind of a long night, I got two units of blood during the night, my blood pressure went down quite low. Consequently the nurses came in a couple of times each hour to take my temperature and blood pressure. Other than that I am feeling great! The site of the incision is very sore but certainly bearable. I have been  doing some of the exercises (ankle extensions, tightening the thigh muscles, etc....) and although stiff and achy the is no real pain. I'm getting excited about getting out of bed this morning. I will post again after my first physical therapy session.

Thanks again for the words of encouragment!

Dale

[emaxwell]

congratulations, I am 2 weeks away from my one year anniversary and couldn't be happier with the results. I had bilateral done 2 days apart. The first few weeks were tough but by week 4 I was getting around pretty good. Take the pain meds, use lots of ice, keep you legs elevated and you'll get through it.

[dmather]

Thanks for more good advice!

Just got back from my first time being out of bed and my first walk, walked about 200 ft. My hip is very stiff and a little sore, but it sure felt great being up and moving around. I would say that by the end of the walk I was putting between 80 to 100% body weight on it (probably less than 100% but I put as much weight on it as I could).

Now I get to sit in a chair for a few hours and then go for another walk, I'm pretty excited because other than the stiffness and soreness the typical pain that I have had trying to move is gone! I can hardly wait to go for another walk, though my left hip isn't too happy about (oh well, another 7 weeks and that one will get the attention it needs).

Dale

[Pat Walter]

Hi Dale

Glad you have wi fi and are able to let us know how you are doing. Sounds like you are doing well.  Just be patient and take it easy, you will have lots of time to test the new hips this summer.

Good Luck and keep in touch.

Pat

[obxpelican]

Great news--- hey sit in the chair as long as you feel comfortable, make sure to stay as active as you can, even if that means just doing foot pumps in bed, as Pat said just don't go too crazy.

Walking is good at this point.  It's cool walking without that shooting pain.

Chuck

Thanks for more good advice!

Just got back from my first time being out of bed and my first walk, walked about 200 ft. My hip is very stiff and a little sore, but it sure felt great being up and moving around. I would say that by the end of the walk I was putting between 80 to 100% body weight on it (probably less than 100% but I put as much weight on it as I could).

Now I get to sit in a chair for a few hours and then go for another walk, I'm pretty excited because other than the stiffness and soreness the typical pain that I have had trying to move is gone! I can hardly wait to go for another walk, though my left hip isn't too happy about (oh well, another 7 weeks and that one will get the attention it needs).

Dale

[dmather]

Hi Pat and Chuck,

Thanks so much for the words of wisdom, it's always appreciated and valued to get input from experienced and knowledgeable people.

Latest update;

I had the occupational therapist in this afternoon, she was showing me how to use the device that helps to put socks on. As we were going through this execise there was a loud pop and I could feel my hip make what felt like considerable movement. I had some pretty intense pain for about 5 minutes and then that subsided, she had me sit back in the chair and stay there while she went to get my nurse who then got ahold of a PA who ordered x-rays.

The scary part was when I got up to get on the gurney I experienced some real intense pain and was having a hard time putting any weight on my hip.

The x-rays were taken, looked at by the radiologist, PA and Dr Clarke and there was no movement in the device at all. That is a huge relief!!! I am in a much more significant amount of pain than I was and moving is hurting quite a bit, but I am happy things are still OK and feel certain I will make progress.

I guess this highlights the advice to be patient and go slowly at first!

Dale

[obxpelican]

If they allow it, ice the heck out of your hip, sorry to hear about the setback. Ice keeps swelling down and helps with pain, glad nothing is wrong. 

That is scary when stuff happens, when I was walking outside of my work early on I slipped on some wet cardboard and fell right on my hip, I was shook up for sure, but after the pain went away I walked on it and all was fine.


Chuck

[dmather]

I do believe they allow icing the area, I'll inquire about it. Thanks again Chuck.

Well, I've been in a bit more pain since that little incident but since I was told everything was where it is suppose to be, I asked my nurse if I could go out and walk the halls some more. She agreed and so I did another 200 ft, it was a little more painful but by the time I was done I felt like my hip was less stiff than when I started. So that is very encouraging!

Tomorrow I start twice a day physical therapy and I am very much looking forward to it.

Dale RBHR Dr. Clarke 3/10/2010

[obxpelican]

By all means, get them to give you ice, ice up tonight and tomorrow.  It will help and it will keep the swelling and pain down.

Glad to hear that you are doing better.


Chuck

[Pat Walter]

Hi Dale

Sometimes strange things happen after surgery.  On the second day after my surgery, I was still using the bedpan in the early morning.  When they put me on the bedpan, the somehow placed it so it really hurt my operated hip.  Not sure how it happened, but within a few minutes after removing the bedpan I was in terrible pain and crying.  In Belgium, they don't wait and call doctors -  they take action.  They came in with a big shot of morphone and gave it to me in my thigh - like you see in the war movies.  Very quickly I was smiling and then out.  After that they did an x-ray which was interesting since I was really in a drunk state after the morphine.  I have the story in my book. Two nurses had to hold me on the rotating table since I could not even stand up.  It was a table you stand on then it tips back.  The one nurse started riding the table with me - then yelled to stop the table so she could get off.  It was really funny.  

Anyways, my hip was fine.  But the pain when it happened was beyond belief.  I was held back a day in my recovery since the morphine really did me in.  

So strange things can happen.  Fortunately, they generally turn out OK.

Stay positve and stay in touch when you can.

Pat