What does it really feel like?

[strost]

I've been spending hours reading posts on the site instead of doing my taxes. Figured I'd just ask the questions on my mind to get the responses together in one spot.

I know everyone has a different story - some incredible, some average, some not so good.

I've never had any metal implants in my body. I'm curious how they feel. How long it took to get used to them? Are there times when you notice them (sound, pain, temperature extremes, overdoing it)?

How long did it take for your body to adjust to the new range of motion and to get rid of the compensation patterns?

With the posterior approach - did you have much muscle damage or scar tissue? I do have a direct current device that can help get the muscles firing in the correct sequence to support the load/break up scar tissue as well as a pulsed magnetic field therapy that will help with the healing.

Anyone out there with knowledge about how having this device can impact the energetic flow within your body or how having the metal can impact the cellular level communications? From my background in energy work, these are definitely areas of concerns, but I'm not sure they outweigh the benefits of getting the range of motion back in my hip.

How long did it take you to not even think about your hip or even the surgery on a daily basis? When did you finally get your life back - like before your hip became such an issue.

On a scale of 1 to 10, what impact did getting the range of motion back have on tightness, stiffness and pain in other areas of your body?

What are the top 5 things you are doing now (or not doing) that make you happy you had your surgery? I made up my list of limitations the other day and it was more than I would like it to be.

Are there any critical questions I should ask my surgeon (Dr Gross)? I've been throwing Lee several emails based on things I encounter on this site and I've talked with him twice. I'm out of state so would only get to see him the day before the surgery in July. Just want to make sure I get answers to the most important questions.

Think that is it for now. Know I will have more questions down the road. Sure appreciate the insights!
Susan

[Lopsided]

Susan, I think you misunderstand.

It is not something that gets better and then you forget about it.

It is something that is better from the point it is implanted, and then becomes part of your life.

D.

[newdog]

I've never had any metal implants in my body. I'm curious how they feel. How long it took to get used to them? Are there times when you notice them (sound, pain, temperature extremes, overdoing it)?

I can't tell you how they feel because I can't tell they are there, ever. In the 10 weeks I have had them in me there is no sign that they are there. Maybe the doc forgot to install them in me!   

[einreb]

There is absolutely no sensation of any 'foreign' thing in my body.  At 5.5 weeks post op, there is simply no more joint pain.  Its serious surgery... there is obviously soft tissue damage and recovery, but the joint functions normally.

[maxi]

susan,
einreb has summed it up perfectly for you.   

im 7 weeks out and have nothing foreign in me, my prosthesis became part of me at surgery .... 

you will only return to normal when you are completly healed and strong again, everyone heals at different rates, no 2 surgeries are the same...

for me, i have a lot of soft tissue damage and have to work hard at PT, so i have had to adjust myself to accept that and get on with it ...  yeah it hurts but only muscular, much better than bone rubbing bone pain ...

[23109VC]

Steve/ Newdog -

You crack me up!  Did Dr. Gross forget to put mine in too??  I can't feel it either! Hey, I want a refund!  

Ok, seriously....

Everyone is right...you can't feel it.  I will admit, there are sensations that i feel now, like cramps or twinges that I did not feel before the surgery, but I'm only four weeks post op... That's normal.  Honestly, when I think about how invasive the surgery was, I'm surprised I don't have more weird sensations!

I'm only a month post op, and I have zero pain in my joint.  You will just feel "fixed".. You don't have any sensation that there is something in you.

What are you referring to when you ask how it effects the energetic flow within the body??? Is that some kind of spiritual thing!  All I can tell you is that before my surgery any "energetic flow" in my hip hurt like crazy 24/7, and now it's all good!  

Read up on this site, toms of info here to digest.Lee and Dr. Gross are great, they gave me my life back!  

[Dayton96]

 I just had my HR done with Dr. Gross (March 23) and there were a couple of surprises.  The first surprise was that I now have one leg (mildly) longer than the other. 

The other surprise was Dr. Gross' comment that only about half of his patients will reach a point where they will not notice the device at all.  He stressed that a metal device was going into your body and the wonder was that so many could forget it was there.

Mac

[hipnhop]

just had my surgery 7 days ago and the worst thing now is trying to avoid the 90 degree rule.  I just feel tight, like a bad charly horse. I want to stretch it out but still duner docs orders to take it easy. Can walk without crutches but advised not to till I see doc again.

[23109VC]

Mac...

I too had my hip done by Dr. Gross.  My op report says he lengthened my bad leg by 6mm.  I honestly can't say if my leg is longer or not...before surgery they seemed the same...but I know during the surgery he takes a measurement of some kind that is supposed to tell him wether or not he needs to lengthen it....  Imthink it might have something to do with that second puncture wound type thing we have up higher???

I am surprised that he thinks only half will kmow it's not there?  Maybe he means there will always be some sort of feeling or sensation that will always be "different"...   I sure can't feel the implant... But maybe there will always be a weird or odd sensation in some of the tissues around where the incision is?  I'm only  about 5 weeks post op, and I don't feel the implant, although I don't feel normal....I sure do feel tons better though?


Aside from my muscles still feeling tired, the off and on pain in my butt, i feel good.  I'll have to ask him about it when I do my six week follow up

[Dayton96]

Exactly so Sean.  I think your comments on feeling the implants down the road better reflect what Dr. Gross was trying to tell me.  You know I forgot about that smaller, upper incision.  I was wondering what it was for too.  As far as aches and pains.  My butt seems fine, but I do have some pain on the outside of the knee. 

Mac

[John C]

I believe that the small upper incision is where he inserts a small metal pin, which he uses to take exact measurements. Mine also came out 4mm (just over 1/10") longer. I felt it at in the first couple of weeks, but never been an issue since then.

[newdog]

Yes, the hole is caused by a pin used for that reason. Somewhere there is a video of him performing surgery and explaining that. Not sure where I saw it. Probably this website. Mine still itch at times. Weird.

[obxpelican]

I would only add one comment to the already existing ones. 

When you are first operated you might feel/hear some clunking or clicking, once the muscles tighten up that goes away.  Post op I noticed a sucking sensation in my hip joint, I asked Dr. Gross about it and he said it was normal.

After a few weeks you will never know it's there, in fact due to my arthritis in the rest of my joints my operated hip is my only good joint.

Chuck

[Dayton96]

Thanks John and Steve.  I got some clarification from Lee and it seems my leg was 0.5 mm short prior to surgery.  The post op doctor's notes were a little confusing to me.  Lee said the resurface has now balanced out my legs. 

I had no idea one leg was shorter than the other before the surgery.  My cup angle was 32 degrees.  I've reviewed a lot of posts over the past year and read a number of papers.  It seems to me there is a trend downward on the cup angles.  I thought Dr. Gross told me last year he aimed for 40 degrees, but I noticed from recent comments from Dr. Gross patients, that all of us seem to be getting a low 30s cup placement.

The whole process continues to evolve.

Mac 

[Tin Soldier]

I'll add a little about the clunk.  I'm 5 weeks post op and I still have a very slight "clunk" in the hip/pelvis when I do a deep knee bend, I'm pretty sure its from the implant.  It's just barely there and it bugged me at first, but I'm used to it now.  It might go away, I'm not too worried about it. 

I think the overall key to this whole thing is that you don't have much of a choice, if your hip joint is shot from OA, you're in pain, you've lost ROM,....I could go on.  Resurfacing is the best option for fixing all of that.  Sure we're gonna have some issues here and there, but I think most folks will agree that fixing the joint with HR is way better than not doing anything.  For a few days after surgery I'd say to myself, "what happens if I don't want this thing in me anymore?"  not sure why I would say that, probabaly a standard mental thing when you get a prosthesis, but I'd answer to myself, "what the hell can you do about it?"  nothing. 

Basically, the joint disease is part of us, the surgery becomes part of us, the implant becomes part of us, recovery,,.. part of us, so and so forth.  After awhile, I simply just got used to all of it.  This is part of my life and having a BHR in my left hip makes my life way better than it used to be.