5 days out

[Denver_wrench]

I've been following this site for a while, but haven't posted. I get my new hip on June 9th. On one hand, it can't come soon enough. On the other, I'm anxious, maybe more so since I quit smoking cigarettes last month (just need to get off the nictonine gum). I think I've gotten pretty good instructions on what supplies to get (bath bench, toilet seat, reacher, shoehorn & sock puller). I'd like to get something to elevate my car seat, and if anyone has any other advice it would be most welcome. I've never had surgery before so not quite sure what to expect. At 50 years old I feel I'm too young for this, but apparently it's not my decision. I'm an HVAC tech with my own business, did my last job (I hope) yesterday. Hoping my business survives, and would also like to hear from any other tradespeople on how they got back to work, issues with ladders, lifting, bending, etc. Thanks!

[FlbrkMike]

Welcome aboard, Denver_wrench.  I think that all of us were anxious to some degree before our surgery but 99.999% have had positive experiences and are 110% glad that we did it.

As far as the supplies go, if you have somebody that can help you out my advice is to wait until you get released from the hospital before deciding what to buy.  Locate the places where you can get them and, if you have somebody to help you, you can send them for supplies when you get home.  I found that I didn't need any of those things except for the reacher (to help put pants on), and the hospital sent one of them home with me.  If you have a 90 degree flexion restriction you might need the toilet seat.  I had a 120 degree limit and was using the toilet in the hospital without one (though with some effort) before I went home on the third day.  Everybody is different, but there's no point in having a bunch of extra stuff laying around that you don't need.

I found, after my second hip, that one of these really helps if you need to sleep on your back:



(I'm talking about the bed wedge, not the pair of feminine legs...)


Good luck with your surgery.  You'll love your new hip!!

[lori.36]

Hi Denver,  welcome to the other side.  Who was your doc?
I am three weeks out and all I can say is you need ice.  So I e every 30 minutes and take 30 minute breaks.  I am now walking w/ a cane inside and outside.
Keep us posted.

[hernanu]

Double and triple agree with Lori about the ice. I think also some stretch laces for your sneakers so you can just slip those on and off without needing help to tie laces. I used the grabber and the sock puller (especially for the TEDS socks). I bought but didn't use the tub seat and had no need of the toilet seat (no 90 degrees restriction).

[Denver_wrench]

Hey, thanks everyone! Good advice and also putting my mind at ease. My Doc is John Gargaro, w/ Kaiser. Too bad those legs don't come with that wedge, though.

[nekko]

Good Luck Denver for the 9 of June. After that you will get your life back !

[Anniee]

I used the grabber, the toilet seat and the Polar Care machine (for icing) and found them extremely helpful.   Did not need socks because it is warm here, so I did not use the sock contraption but they showed me how to use it in the hospital before I left.  I packed up all this "stuff" after my 6 weeks post-op visit last week.  I have to figure out a place to keep it until my next hip in October.

I may get one of those wedge pillows (for my own legs) before my next surgery.  My biggest problem for the first couple of weeks was getting comfortable enough to sleep.

Good luck with your surgery next week!!  Make sure you do not go back lifting, bending, etc. too soon after your surgery - you do need some time to rest and heal!

[hipnhop]

Denver, take your time on the recovery. I'm not a tradesman am self-employed. Taking time off really hurts the pocket but not the hip.  Can u hire someone to help?

good luck

[Denver_wrench]

Definitely good advice and it helps to hear some things more than once as I'm a bit scattered. I think Tramadol is making me a bit loopy, but the whole anxiety thing is beginning to lessen. I've got a guy hired but will still take a hit on the business...just the way it is, and the trade is too complex to hire someone cheap. But, hey, lot's of people have it worse, and at least this problem has a solution.

[Tin Soldier]

Hey Denver - that Flbrmike is a pretty funny guy, huh?

Totally agree on the leg raiser in bed, that's huge.  I didn't have one, but I used pillows and it took about 3 weeks before I could sleep on my back without the raised legs. 

I got the raised toilet, the grabber, but did not get the sock put-r-on-r.  Kinda wish I did, it's been almost 3 months and my flexion is not good enough to easilly put my sock on.  I think that has more to do with 3 or more years of poor ROM prior to surgery. 

On the subject of flexion, I'm not a tradesman, other than being skillful in writing technical reports , but I do spend lots of time working on my house and landscaping,...  climbing ladders and trees was a pain before surgery, yes flexion is still not awesome, but I can climb ladders and trees pretty well now.  I can even crawl in the crawl space without tons of pain.  For my real job, I'll go in the field once in awhile and sometimes I have to lift heavy stuff, or pick stuff up off the ground and it's better now, but my back gets tired quick because I'm not bending the right way.  That's something to keep in mind.  However, you may be different.  Your capsule may not be as tight as mine.   

[hernanu]

Your procedure is tomorrow, good luck and keep us posted!

[Lori Cee]

Sending best wishes your way for tomorrow.  Look forward to hearing your post-op updates!

[maxi]

good luck and best wishes with the life changing op mate   

[ScubaDuck]

May your surgery go smoothly.  Soon you will be on your way to hippy heaven.

Dan

[Lori Cee]

Hope it all went well and you are flying through the rehab process. 
Sending lots of good wishes your way!

Look forward to hearing how it all went.

[Hippy spouse]

My husband (Bobby) is 53 and had his surgery 5/16 and is also self employed ( 30 years as a small commercial/industrial sandblasting & spray painting business in SC), but fortunately our son also works at the company and can do the physical labor. After the first week or so Bobby took care of the paperwork, phone calls, etc and our son took care of the outside work (and in some other recent posts you've heard the temps here in SC have been around 100 for a number of days since his 5/16 surgery so both of them have had their issues .)

In addition to having a very physical job, my husband loves to hunt, fish, and work around our farm. As mentioned in some of my prior posts, he is on the slow recovery track and tomorrow can finally start increasing more than 10% weight bearing on the operated leg. I think mentally things have been harder than physically during the last few weeks in a number of ways. If you are a small business or a one man show you are so used to doing what you need to do at a pretty fast pace so sitting still may be required/necessary, but it requires a whole new mindset, at least for a few weeks. I can tell you prayer is a wonderful thing and I honestly believe his quiet time has been a great help to him in getting through this adjustment. God has a reason for all the things that come into our life and I can't wait to see where this takes us.

I hope you the best during your recovery! Be sure and post an update.

Hippy Spouse

[ScubaDuck]

I hear you about the small business aspects.  I have a small staff That are very good but still rely on me for some things.  Fortunately there isn't anything that I have to be involved in.  What concerns me is that we will get slammed about the time I go in.  In fact Friday we were asked for a quote on a very large order to be delivered in August.  My surgery is scheduled August 1st.

I am trying to line up work to do on my laptop and iPad during recovery.  I know I will want to stay busy.  It sounds like I better not try to make any big decisions while I am on the heavy duty pain killers.

I hope your husband's recovery continues to go well.

Dan

[Denver_wrench]

Yes, the temptation to take the reigns again is high, the pitfalls of on demand wireless internet access and pain medications have been explored and hopefully learned from, but I have my new hip and the physical hardships have been less than expected; since I've never had any surgery before it was an unknown, but that is where this forum was an invaluable resource. I'm very grateful. I suppose it's off to the rahab part of the board.

[hernanu]

How did it go and how are you feeling?

[Denver_wrench]

It went very well, Hernanu! 7 days out and getting around for the most part on one crutch, pain is less than I would have expected, and attitude great! Gotta do. those. exercises. Do those exercises!