I am an active and busy 37 year old elementary school principal and mother of 5 who had THR on my right hip three weeks ago. Reading posts of people my age and even younger has reassured me that I am not alone. I ran my first (and probably last) marathon last November and that's when the pain in my right hip started. X-rays confirmed I had no cartilage left in the joint (how is that even possible!) and I could take pain pills to deal with it or have surgery. After much research on the internet and hearing personal stories, I decided to go for the surgery.
It has been 23 days since my surgery and I am walking with stiffness, but considerably less pain than pre-surgery. However, I am trying to adjust to the "new normal" and have a few questions.
Will I always feel the strangeness of a foreign object in my hip when I first wake up and stretch? I swear I can feel the joint.
Do people ever stop treating you like an invalid, like by asking "should you be doing that" or "why didn't you ask for help?"
Will people ever get over the shock of a young person needing a new hip? I feel like an alien specimen.
Do you ever just "forget" you have a titanium joint? Should you? The one time I let it slip my mind, I sat on the driveway to do sidewalk chalk with my 9 year old and was scared to death I had popped it out of joint.
Will there come a time when I won't worry about popping it out of joint!
I haven't had any side effects to the metal that I am aware of, but could I develop an allergy over time?
These are just a few of my thoughts as a new surface hippy. Any words of wisdom (or comfort) are welcome. Thanks!