A soon to be newbie who's scared out of his mind

[poppydan]

Hello All,
This is my first post on any kind of web site. Please be gentle. Here's my story. I'm male, 54 years old, overweight and I had a coronary stint implanted about 2.5 years ago. Just had a stress test, and my Cardiologist says that everything is normal. Scheduled for left hip resurfacing on March 30. I know I have to do this because the pain is awful, and it's taken a lot of phone out of my life. How did all of you put the fear aside and just go with it.

[mslendzion]

When your lifestyle starts changing because of the pain and you are restricted doing the things you love.  For me, walking my dogs and sleeping.  The longer you wait the less oppertunites you have to enjoy life to the fullest.  I was really, really scared as well worring that the end state after the surgery would be worse but so far it is much better.

[obxpelican]

I did it by reading all the people and their recoveries.  A huge majority of the people on the different forums had really good results.

This is nothing you are going to die from, it's some cartlidge you are missing the stint you had done was far more serious than what you will have done in so far as the risk.

Just think of how much you will be doing pain free post-op.

Chuck

Hello All,
This is my first post on any kind of web site. Please be gentle. Here's my story. I'm male, 54 years old, overweight and I had a coronary stint implanted about 2.5 years ago. Just had a stress test, and my Cardiologist says that everything is normal. Scheduled for left hip resurfacing on March 30. I know I have to do this because the pain is awful, and it's taken a lot of phone out of my life. How did all of you put the fear aside and just go with it.

[midiowa]

4 weeks  since i felt the same as you,  now no pain in hip, walking one crutch , 2 weeks no crutch , then a few more months to full recovery.  it is a no decision if you want your freedom of pain and mobility back, its not as bad as you think, you will be fine and looking back just like iam now knowing the right choice was made. the pain has been very minimal its just getting the muscle strength back, and it comes back very fast.  good luck and use this site its very helpful just look at my post and you can see how much support you get from the hippies. brad.

[curt]

     The pain was bad enough and impacted everything to the point that I was afraid that there was nothing I could do to make it stop.  The chance for HR was a blessing and while I was nervous about getting a good outcome, I was more happy than afraid.  It has been better than I could have ever imagined or hoped for.  You'll be amazed and grateful....best of luck!

Curt

[WTW15]

Keep looking around this site.  There were several of us in Jan and Feb who were in your exact shoes, but now we are on the other side and no longer scared or have that O/A pain.  The recovery is long- but worth it.  I'd never had any surgery before and I am so happy I did this, regardless of how scared I was, how much I did not sleep the night before surgery, etc....  once they put in the spinal and other nighty-nite meds, it was done - I woke up in recovery and just thrilled I got the BHR!!! 

Good Luck and take solace that you are not alone. 

[imgetinold]

Poppy,

I was very scared, and posted at least three times about "when did you decide", or "when to pull the trigger", etc..

My hip was only intermittently bad.  I would have a month of constant pain (walking, sitting, standing, sleeping), and other times with no pain, despite some serious workouts.  But, the periods of "good" were starting to be outweighed by periods of "bad".  And, I found that I started to avoid activity during the "good" times just to avoid even the possibility of pain.

But, mostly, I went forward because I was not doing what I wanted to be doing, and that is "whatever I want, whenever I want".  Of course I mean that from an activity standpoint.

If the fun is leaving your life, believe me, this surgery is but a very little thing in your life.  I'm 8 weeks out this week, and I hiked 4 miles with my kids over hill terrain Sunday and didn't even think that I had an implant in my body the whole time.  Felt totally normal.  No pain during or - more importantly - after.

It is much less scary than you think it's going to be.

[poppydan]

Dear Everyone,

Thank you so much for all your help and thoughts. 2.5 weeks away, and it doesn't seem so scary. I start the "pregame" preparations next week.

Thanks to All,

Poppydan

[AlanN]

Dear Everyone,

Thank you so much for all your help and thoughts. 2.5 weeks away, and it doesn't seem so scary. I start the "pregame" preparations next week.

Thanks to All,

Poppydan

Good luck and I'm sure you'll be fine.

Just look around the site, it's full of truly inspirational stories and not to mention people!
I'm at 14 months now and totally loving it.

The only thing you will regret afterwards is waiting so long, I know I did.

[hernanu]

Dear Everyone,

Thank you so much for all your help and thoughts. 2.5 weeks away, and it doesn't seem so scary. I start the "pregame" preparations next week.

Thanks to All,

Poppydan

That's a good way to treat it. It's preparation for a good thing, the lifting of this cloud. Make your arrangements for what you need, clear areas you might need to, maybe start practicing on your crutches, buy movies, etc.  All necessary and all good to get your game face on and be ready for the recovery.

The operation, while major surgery is over very quickly. You can read in all of our posts our different experiences, but the predominant result is a positive, burgeoning release from the OA pain you've grown to despise.

[luann again]

Hi Poppydan!
  I was scared, too. For me, the extreme fear (I'll admit, I was still very anxious) went away when the fear of what would happen if I DIDN'T have the surgery (ie- pain increase, loss of all activity, killing liver and kidneys with pain meds, hopelessness, etc.) outweighed the fear of having the surgery. I am 1 yr and 10 months out now, and doing everything and anything I want to. I rarely even think about my hip anymore. Good Luck!!  Get excited!!! Lu

[Jbennett]

I'm 43 and 6 days post op. I wasn't that nervous really. Was ready to get my life back. Choose a good doctor and relax. I remember a cute nurse prepping me for surgery then I woke up in the recovery room. 6 days in and I feel remarkably good. I've ben posting in the Hip Stories section if you want to read it but don't worry too much about it. It's worth the discomfort for a short time to be rid of the OA pain and get active again.
Jeff

[MrHappy]

The only thing you re going to say is:

Why didn't I do this sooner!

Relax and get healthy!

Good luck!

[hipnhop]

It is one of the safest operations you can have.  You will pull through and be pain free. I am a bilat hippy and I dont regret a minute of it.

[ctb]

Hi Poppy, I am one day post op and I have to tell you, like many other folks have already said, the procedure is a breeze.  My main concern has been post op and after only a couple PT sessions I am getting stronger and stronger.  The after pain the first night was mostly a dull ache, which beats the heck out of the sharp stabbing pains I was having prior to surgery.  I haven't had really any pain today except when I am pushing myself in PT, but I know it's worth it and it still isn't as bad as preop.   I don't know who your surgeon is, but I highly recommend the polar ice machine that Dr Gross recommends.  I believe it helps immensely with the swelling, I haven't had much at all.  Good luck!