Surgery tomorrow with Dr. Brooks

[patm]

Right hip problems for 3 years, dx with a torn labrum ,some arthritis, but the labrum causes the worst problems. Also have a bad left shoulder and a bad left knee -  both arthritis and recent right plantar fasciitis which is quite painful. I am now 58 and seemed to fall apart in the last few years.i don't do competitive sports, but used to be quite active outside hiking, gardening and showing my dogs. Now can't even walk the length of the local mall. Saw Dr. Brooks last Feb and he said that I was appropriate for an HR, but at the time my knee was so bad that I looked into possibly having that replaced first, instead had a series of the " chicken fat " shots and got an unloaded brace. I kept remembering Dr.Brooks last words to me-" don't put it off too long" So tomorrow at noon, I will hopefully be on my way to being a member of the HR group. I have learned so much from this website and am very thankful that I found it. Will keep you all updated.

[Marco Polo]

Good luck Pat.  You are in good hands with Dr. Brooks.  Looking forward to your update when you are "on the other side."

[bestbob]

Hi Patm, I am 4 weeks out to the day, and with Dr. Brooks also. I was released on Fri from Euclid General and am doing fine. I to had mlld to moderate OA and by itself was not enough to make me a RBHR candidate. I also had a torn/detached labrum which did make me a candidate. The operation took a bit longer than planned due to my hip being worse than what the xrays/MRI showed, but never the less it was a success. Just a couple of things about the hospital stay that I experienced,
- started with pain med's every 2 hours, and they tried to wean me off sooner than I felt I should be, so I had to stay on top of the nurses for the med's.
- PT was good, but they didn't show how to get in/out of a car
- Constipation, I had to have some help with this before leaving (suppository) I know gross
- I did have a private room, the food was tolerable
- Get rest, and don't be shy asking for ICE. For me the swelling started on the 2nd day

Keep up on the PT, but don't overdue it in my opinion.

I am very much pleased with the results to-date, and even though Brooks is very conservative on restrictions, please try to follow them.

Bob

[packman]

Good luck Patm - you are in great hands with Dr. Brooks a Canadian trained and exported surgeon. Our general nature is to be a little more cautious than the norm and I look forward to your future updates

[Pat Walter]

Good Luck with your surgery.  Dr. Brooks is one of the best hip resurfacing surgeons in the US.

Looking forward to reading your posts as you recover. Just take it easy and you will be active and out of pain soon.

Pat

[Miguelito]

Good luck today! As an aside, though it is probably less likley from your description, my knee (on same side as hip) improved immeasurably following hip-surgery. Took a few weeks but that was the most surprising benefit of hip surgery.
Mike

[hernanu]

Good luck tomorrow, Pat - like Mike mentioned, there are other benefits that you may get outside of the main one. I got rid of a lot of pains, aches, tightness that I also thought was just part of falling apart.

[patm]

4hours out from surgery, waiting for dinner and my first pain med- just a pretty good burning pain at the incision area- all parts working and feeling again. DR. said all went well Yeah! Feeling surprisingly chipper and awake. Worse thing so far was getting the IV in. Everyone very friendly and helpful

[bestbob]

Hi Patm- A walk in the park.    Keep us updated how things are going,  and welcome to the other side. Like Pat and others have said, other aches and pains may also go away and only time will tell. Get plenty of rest and use that ice up.

Bob

[Pat Walter]

Congratulations on the new hip.  Take it easy and you will be up and "running" soon.

Keep us updated when you can.  Meanwhile, Good Luck.

Pat

[Jaks111]

All the best do keep us updated due to have mine soon I do not have much choice now.

[Juno]

Best of luck! I hope you are feelings better soon!

[Anna]

Congratulations Pat!!! Hope you have a speedy recovery 

[hernanu]

Congrats Pat! It's not easy, but all good from here on.

[Dan L]

Congrats Pat;

You are in very good hands.  Just remember to ice, do the exercises religiously, stay ahead of the pain in the early stages, try not to let the post surgery blues take you too far down, because in no time, you'll be doing fantastic.

Best regards,

Dan

[Reno]

Hi PatM and All-

I hope by now you are doing well in your recovery.  For me, you are a role model and I am definitely following your progress!


When last I wrote I was in agony from my the pain in my left hip and leg, and as well I was feeling somewhat hopeless because my surgery was not scheduled until Oct 7th!  And, there is a wait list of over 40 people on the waitlist!!!  My hip is fractured with a collapsed femoral head; all because of avascular necrosis.  I am 67 years old and I am scheduled for a THR.

I got the most wonderful news last Friday!  There was a cancellation and the date was given to me.  I don't know why, but I feel so very blessed...  So, I am having my surgery in 17 days, on Aug 26th!.  Hurray.  While I am so happy about the pending surgery, I am scared to death as well.  Scared about making it through the surgery without any complications (I am prone to complications  :-(     Scared about getting through the rehab.  Because of my condition I have been practically immobile for the past three months and I have so little energy.  How am I going to get through the rehab???  Also, I have been having trouble with the prescribed pain meds.  I am allergic to most of them... itching, can't sleep, mini seizures...  So, for the past four days I have been trying to tough it out without any prescribed pain meds.  But, I am sure I will need something to get through the initial post-surgery days and during rehab. 

Has anyone else had problems with taking pain meds and how did you address it?

[fenceman]

Hi Reno,  I had a left BHR 5 years ago and a right BHR 8 months ago.  My first one, I was given oxycodone in the hospital and to take at home for pain.  It made me nauseous, clammy and so prone to motion sickness that I threw up in the car on the way home. 

When I let the nurse know this during my 2nd hip she put a wrist band on me that said no oxycocodone.  The nurse and doctors then worked with me right after the surgery to find the right dose and kind of pain medication to keep me comfortable.  I ended up with a muscle relaxer, tylenol, and a small dose of Vicodin.  It made my stay so much better.  I was really happy with the staff at Euclid Hospital and how they took care of me. 

Make sure you communicate with the doctors and nurses that you have had problems with pain meds.  There are a lot of different types and combinations that will hopefully not make you sick.
Bill

[Reno]

Hi Fenceman-

Unfortunately, I am allergic to any meds containing codeine, and it seems that many pain meds contain it. I have tried Oxycodone, Vicodin, and Percocet, which all made me itch and hyper. Then my doctor prescribed Tramadol, which I felt was a good match until it caused me to have a mini seizure. Yikes!  Last week my doctor prescribed a very low dose of Dilaladid and after the second dose it made me extremely dizzy and I had to lay down for two hours to keep the room from spinning.  What a mess. That is when I decided to tough it out as best I can with Advil until my surgery. And, I am concerned about it as well because of possible liver damage. 

I will definitely take your advice, Fenceman, and discuss how I will manage pain with my doctors. I really appreciate your input!!!  Thanks much.