One Week to Go and I am ... NOT Ready! Cancel or Not Cancel That is the question

[way2slow]

  OK, my level of turmoil is at an all time high. I am 54 yrs old and have LBHR scheduled for next week and my hip knows it. The last month it has been at its best behavior and the last 2 weeks Ive tried to annoy it. That would include two 2 hr hikes, jogging..kinda for 40 minutes, sprints on the bicycle. But still it behaves well w no aches at night etc, crap.
  So now the background: 2001 had hip pain and trouble sleeping one night after a ten mile jog(longer than normal). Went another yr with some naggin pain until my wife got me to go the the OS. To my amazement he said I had bone on bone contact and asked if I'd been in a car wreck(knees to the dashboard)! He said no more jogging and that I would get hips replaced in my life, OUCH. His advice was basically "go til you blow" then get THR.That was the last day I jogged, hiked and have since turned into a cyclist.
  Fast forward to now and hip pain waves in and out sometimes lasting 1-2 weeks w poor sleep(ache-> roll, ache->roll...). After a  July '10 acheing bout while on vacation (thanks hips) I found this site and info on HRS. Wow, you can wait too long, yikes. Dr Rogerson looked at my xrays but said he needed a CT scan before making the call on BHR. CT scan showed tops of femurs good but some holes in the acetabulum w lots of bone spurs on femurs and acetabulum. Bone densities are low normal -.6 and -.9. Hey this is cathartic, this writing out my history. With not having pain ...at the moment,  I m not driven to get this done but dont want to wait too long and mess it up.  Anyone had similar misgivings?

[Lopsided]

Certainly do not cancel!

I had very little pain before surgery, and the day before I walked from the clinic to the hospital and back, about six kilometres easily. I felt as if I could possibly go on for a few years.

After surgery, the doctor told me he had done a bone graft on a cyst. So I was wearing a hole in my bone and did not know it.

Now two months out and my operated hip is the best joint in my body.

Leave your turmoil behind!

[pblythswood]

Totally agree with lopsided, don't cancel.

 I'm the same as you, 54 very active and a cyclist. I trained up until the day before my op, but some of my training was limited because of my hip problem although the pain has always been manageable.
Now 12 days post op already walking a mile a day and no back pain for the first time in 2 years, it's the right thing to do, dont' have any misgivings, get it done.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Regards
Paul

[Gino]

Don't cancel!!!

I'm 54 too, had the right one done end of June, left one in two weeks. Just get it over with, you'll be very glad you did.

[stevel]

I had a LBHR at age 55 after my local Dr. recommended a THR, one year earlier due to bone on bone with lots of bone spurs and osteophytes.  Pain was mild to moderate but loss of function increased the Summer before as I needed a cane to walk a few blocks.  The left leg was about 3/8 inch shorter.  Now at two years post-op, I can do everything as before;  downhill ski, hunting, racquetball and running.  Had I known about resurfacing, I'd had it done a few years earlier, and not suffer after athletic activities, and not gradually reduce my activities.  I recommend you proceed with resurfacing while you have remaining quality bone.

[roosevelt heights]

My bi-lateral hips are 8 and 6 months old...never felt better...Gettum Done !

[way2slow]

Thanks everybody!!!! Your input is really what I needed.

OK here is a tidbit of info as to why my hips may be doing so well at the moment and thus masking my underlying need. You can believe it or not. My wife went to a life style/healthy living conference in June where one speaker, Chris Johnson from On Target Living, provided healthy eating/lifestyle choices. One recommend he gave was .... cod liver oil. He generally will not recommend brands but not in this case. He was very specific. The oil is from Norway and its in liquid form, green glass bottle. I think the name is Carlsons. Whole Foods carries it. We started taking it at the end of June and have kept with it ever since, one tblspoon daily. Its the only thing that Ive changed to my diet in eons. So my wife is right now in Phoenix attending the followup meeting to their June meeting. She got a moment and was able to speak w Chris re my hips and the resurfacing technique. She mentioned how much better my hips felt these days. He said unequivocally that the cold liver oil was the reason. So either its just happen stance that my hips feel better or this is the reason. I will continue to use this product and would recommend it to all of you. Give it a month or two.

[pc]

Not sure about the oil treatment, but I can make a comment regarding the the lack of pain leading up to the surgery. In my case my hip had a miraculous recovery three days before surgery. In fact, so much so that I was convinced the morning of surgery that I could postpone surgery to another time. My wife, at the hospital, reminded meof the x rays, mri's etc. that told a different story. Long story short, I went ahead with the surgery! After the surgery Dr. Hickman advised me that I was totally locked up and had started to do extensive damage to the hip. apparently, bone on bone isn't a good thing. 5 weeks after surgery I am actually pain free, and not just in my mind, biking a hour a day, walking 4-8 miles daily and well on my way to a rejuvenated life. Lesson; our minds can be pretty powerful and adrenaline can mask a lot pain through an increase of endorphins. Trust the cat scan, x ray and mri. Good luck!

[Lopsided]

  OK, my level of turmoil is at an all time high. I am 54 yrs old and have LBHR scheduled for next week and my hip knows it. The last month it has been at its best behavior and the last 2 weeks Ive tried to annoy it. That would include two 2 hr hikes, jogging..kinda for 40 minutes, sprints on the bicycle. But still it behaves well w no aches at night etc, crap.
  So now the background: 2001 had hip pain and trouble sleeping one night after a ten mile jog(longer than normal). Went another yr with some naggin pain until my wife got me to go the the OS. To my amazement he said I had bone on bone contact and asked if I'd been in a car wreck(knees to the dashboard)! He said no more jogging and that I would get hips replaced in my life, OUCH. His advice was basically "go til you blow" then get THR.That was the last day I jogged, hiked and have since turned into a cyclist.
  Fast forward to now and hip pain waves in and out sometimes lasting 1-2 weeks w poor sleep(ache-> roll, ache->roll...). After a  July '10 acheing bout while on vacation (thanks hips) I found this site and info on HRS. Wow, you can wait too long, yikes. Dr Rogerson looked at my xrays but said he needed a CT scan before making the call on BHR. CT scan showed tops of femurs good but some holes in the acetabulum w lots of bone spurs on femurs and acetabulum. Bone densities are low normal -.6 and -.9. Hey this is cathartic, this writing out my history. With not having pain ...at the moment,  I m not driven to get this done but dont want to wait too long and mess it up.  Anyone had similar misgivings?
Thanks everybody!!!! Your input is really what I needed.

OK here is a tidbit of info as to why my hips may be doing so well at the moment and thus masking my underlying need. You can believe it or not. My wife went to a life style/healthy living conference in June where one speaker, Chris Johnson from On Target Living, provided healthy eating/lifestyle choices. One recommend he gave was .... cod liver oil. He generally will not recommend brands but not in this case. He was very specific. The oil is from Norway and its in liquid form, green glass bottle. I think the name is Carlsons. Whole Foods carries it. We started taking it at the end of June and have kept with it ever since, one tblspoon daily. Its the only thing that Ive changed to my diet in eons. So my wife is right now in Phoenix attending the followup meeting to their June meeting. She got a moment and was able to speak w Chris re my hips and the resurfacing technique. She mentioned how much better my hips felt these days. He said unequivocally that the cold liver oil was the reason. So either its just happen stance that my hips feel better or this is the reason. I will continue to use this product and would recommend it to all of you. Give it a month or two.

If you seriously believe cold liver oil in green bottles will help the holes in your acetabulum and bone spurs, then maybe you should cancel your surgery.

I did not know that this forum was to be used for a sales pitch.

[newdog]

way2slow,
I'm just a newbie on this forum but I know a liitle bit. I too experience days when I question my sanity about going through with this surgery because I have some somewhat "good" days. The bad days far outnumber the good. I think back to when I asked my surgeon, "If you did not know anything about me, my age, gender, history, and so forth and someone layed my x-rays in front of you, what would you say?" His reply was, "Your hips look terrible. You have to be in some kind of pain. Don't worry, you are not rushing into this surgery". Even when the pain may be at a low, I still have very limited range of motion and if I move the wrong way..OWWW! It kind of sounds like you are getting "cold feet". Cod liver oil will not regrow lost and damaged cartilidge or lube your joints. I like the reply of a previous post "Gettum done".

[moe]

Thanks everybody!!!! Your input is really what I needed.

OK here is a tidbit of info as to why my hips may be doing so well at the moment and thus masking my underlying need. You can believe it or not. My wife went to a life style/healthy living conference in June where one speaker, Chris Johnson from On Target Living, provided healthy eating/lifestyle choices. One recommend he gave was .... cod liver oil. He generally will not recommend brands but not in this case. He was very specific. The oil is from Norway and its in liquid form, green glass bottle. I think the name is Carlsons. Whole Foods carries it. We started taking it at the end of June and have kept with it ever since, one tblspoon daily. Its the only thing that Ive changed to my diet in eons. So my wife is right now in Phoenix attending the followup meeting to their June meeting. She got a moment and was able to speak w Chris re my hips and the resurfacing technique. She mentioned how much better my hips felt these days. He said unequivocally that the cold liver oil was the reason. So either its just happen stance that my hips feel better or this is the reason. I will continue to use this product and would recommend it to all of you. Give it a month or two.

Sounds fishy. 

[littleb]

The day I made the appointment for surgery was unreal for me. Seemed that the process from "what do you think Dr. Su?" to sitting down with his staff to make a date that was already months away. I made the appointment with a clear idea that I could always cancel. After all I was only 53 and the original recommendation was for THR. If I had to have a THR, why the rush. I did a lot of research including writing to Dr. DeSmet finally going back to Dr.Su where it was decided that he would try for resurfacing but if he didn't like what he saw it was a THR. Still I was not convinced I would go through with the surgery. I had herniated a disk in my back so was convincing myself that any pain I had now was from that and not my hip. I was on vicodin so I'm sure that was weighing in. It was finally my PT who put things into better perspective. My herniating a disk was not surprising he said giving the condition of my hip. I hadn't been walking correctly for years, other parts of my body would end up paying as well. I think I finally got over my fear and settled on I am really going to do this about 3 days before the surgical date. Before that it was going through the motions. I have not regretted it and will be 8 weeks tomorrow. Not at full perfection yet but the improvement in my life already is amazing.

[angelena99]

Yeah, symptoms may come and go, but bone on bone is only going to get worse. 

[Luann]

Hey WAY!
 I agree with everyone here!!! I actually canceled a surgery I had made last March, because I was suddenly feeling so much better! I was terrified of having a HR at just 45!! Then the bad days came again, and I had had enough!! Then about 2 weeks before that date, I felt great! I think that is what they call Murphey's Law???
 Well, I could have had a rainy spring "down time", but because I put it off, I missed out on summer!
 I was not even bone-on-bone as you are!
 If it were as easy as taking fish oil (which out of desparation and against all common sense, I even took for awhile!!) then all of the world would be taking it, with never a joint ailment. You are just postponing the inevitable. If you do cancel the sx, next time you have a bad day, write it all down. Read it on a good day.
 I am sooo glad I did not cancel it the second time.   Good Luck, Lu

[gary2010]

I have been taking cod liver oil since my 20s, I've used glucosamine sulphate for 15 years, I've also tried MSM ,chondroitin and SAM-e; none of this stopped my cartilage wearing out, because of the underlying mechanical problem.