34 year old new dad having hip resurfaced in 2 weeks!

[aqua_yeti]

Hey All,

I have been lurking on this forum for months and it's really helped me wrap my head around what to expect following my hip resurfacing.  I am young (though I don't feel like it) at 34 years old and have had diagnosed osteoarthritis since I was 26.  It's been an asymptotic curve of exercise limitation and increasing pain for the last 8 years.  I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro 18 months ago, and now I can't even push my 11 month-old around the block in his stroller!  I have terrible leg cramping, low back issues, haven't had a day without NSAIDs or painkillers in many years.  I walk with a bad limp pretty much all the time.

I am extremely excited about my BHR surgery, an Anterior approach scheduled for May 6th with Dr. Sanders in Torrance, CA (Los Angeles area).  I know it will be a long road of recovery, but I look forward to sometime this Fall/Winter when I have been medication free for sometime and can begin teaching my son all the things I have dreamed about teaching him.

I am a big guy, 6'5" 260, trying to get down to 250 for the surgery, with a post-op weight goal of 240 - haven't been that slim since the 8th grade!  I surf, bodysurf, swim, and bike primarily.  I used to trail run, play basketball, soccer, backpack, and more, but it's all gone bye bye as the hip has degraded.

I don't have any particular questions, just anxiety.  I can still ride my road bike 40-50 miles in a few hours, but I can't walk around the grocery store or up stairs without extreme effort and limping.  So, some days I am afraid I've waited too long, and others I think, "man, I can still swim and bike for hours, is this too soon??"  Then I get out of the ocean and it takes me many minutes to gimp across the sand to the parking lot.

If there are any other young athletic folks out there who can relate to this anxiety I would love to hear your experiences.  I'll be on crutches or a cane, at best, for my son's 1st birthday at the end of May (2.5 weeks post-op), which worries and depresses me, but I am bolstered by the hope that I might be wrestling with him and camping in the woods this Winter.

I'm hoping to use this post as a baseline and update again pre-op and then copiously as I recover and rehab through the Summer.

Thanks for a great forum!

[hernanu]

Welcome to the site...

It sounds like you're making the right call. I'm sure others will check in.

How many HR's has Dr. Sanders done?

As to being in crutches for his first birthday - you'll be on your way and able to run with him when he's able to run. Always a benefit.

Good luck!

[oldsoccerplayer]

Hey there,
it's easy to fall into the trap of second-guessing yourself about when's the right time for the surgery. You don't want to wait until it's so obvious (ie you're in constant pain and unable to move at all) that there's no decision to make. Sounds like you're ready for it, so try to put those thoughts aside.
Good luck and keep us posted.

[Pat Walter]

Hi
Welcome to Hip Talk.  This is a great group of folks who are very supportive and can answer a lot of questions.

Good Luck with your upcoming surgery.

Pat

[whyme]

Hi, it's not uncommon that you still can swim and cycle before the surgery, yet walking becomes a struggle. That was my case for example. There is always people that might question if is not too early, but they don't know what they are talking about.
You can have doubts too... nobody wants to go through this! But it is a solution, and -things going well- it should improve your quality of life once you start recovering.

Best of luck.

[Vinman]

Hi aqua,

I am a 38 year old male and 4 weeks post op.  I had been limping for 7 months and like you was struggling with timing on when to get done.  Bottom line is your symptoms are such that your quality of life is dramatically impacted and for most that is an indication that you should take action.  Thus in my opinion you are making the right choice.  You'll surely have some doubts until surgery.  BTW, don't get misled by the two days that you don't have pain and think that all is better and you are making a mistake.  You'll likely have that prior to surgery...I did but was reminded quickly a day later.  Bottom line is that the feeling when the pain is gone is a great one.  There is surgery pain, healing pain, recovery pain, etc.   All very manageable and much different then what you are currently experiencing.  Like me and many others on this board, you'll be so happy you got this done and won't be able to imagine you lived that way for so long.

Best of luck!

[evant]

Good luck with your forthcoming surgery.

Cycling and swimming also helped me sustain a decent level of fitness prior to surgery.

[brianebanta]

aqua-yeti,

Congrats on deciding to pull the trigger!  I was very much in the same boat as you and waited far to long to get the surgery done and finally did at 38.  I could go out and do a backpacking trip or play ultimate frisbee and then not be able to walk the next day.  I also was taking about 12 ibuprofen a day just to get through the day, and couldn't walk around the grocery store without pain. 

Also like you I am a dad to two kids 8 and 9, and I had many fears about that.  The most important thing for me was to be very clear with them that they needed to be very gentle with me while I healed.  I also had to do something I was not very comfortable with... asking for help, from my ex-wife, parents, friends, co-workers. 

My experience was that beyond the first 6 weeks my recovery was very fast which I attribute to several things:

1. Focusing primarily on resting and healing ("third nap of the day?... well, Dr's orders!)
2. Eating right
3. Following Dr's and Physical Therapy instructions religiously
4. Letting people do things for me

My long term recovery went extremely well, and given your youth yours will too.  Soon (In the long term) you will be back in the water, as well as enjoying all the activities you gave up on. 

Best of Luck!

-Brian

[nigel]

Hey aqua_yeti,

I  had the same sort of anxiety  prior to my operation last week, previously i'd had  the op scheduled a couple of times, the last time in November i cancelled it the night before  and was an emotional mess about the whole thing so i can really relate to what your going through. Its elective surgery and making the decision to let somebody cut you open etc is very very hard

I  have 3 kids 3, 5 and 7  and   so many times i wasn't sure the operation was the right thing to do, i could still play and kick a  ball about with all of them no problem.  Prior to the operation i wasn't in any hip  pain really if i didn't do too much or push it  and certainly don't think i was  in  any way near as bad condition  you  are now , so for me its sounds like a no-brainer for you to get it done mate. 

Beware that everytime i did schedule surgery  the hip/back/knee always felt better  before hand - its amazing how the mind can trick us! But ultimately the condition isn't improving and  is only going to get worse.

Don't worry about being on crutches  at your kids b'day,  at day 5 i can zip about reasonably well on them and my Doctor said probably 2 crutches for  2 or 3 weeks  and then 1 crutch for a couple of weeks   and then a cane for 2 weeks , he also said  that  a lot of the point of the crutches was to slow the patient down. The operation  and pain have all been pretty easy, certainly the hardest part for me was committing to it, but i can say at 5 days out i'm very glad i did.

Hopes this helps  to ease your mind in someway, any questions at all give me a shout mate

[aqua_yeti]

Hey All!

Man, what great comments from so many people!  I wrote this post and then just kinda walked away from my worries. Here I  now, 3 weeks post op, to the day, and feeling pretty good!

I was on the walker for about 4 days, then moved to the cane. I'm already losing the cane around the house, and practicing walking without it. I've been doing up to 3 miles of walking per day with the cane, staying active. Also, I drove my car for the first time today!

No joint pain. Just los I weird, hard, tingly and tender thigh muscles. Dr. Sanders says no more PT until 5-6 weeks post op, just keep walking for now. I wish I could stretch! My muscles are so tight!
Also, I have lost 18 lbs since the surgery, in a good way. Looking to lighten up by about 15 more to make this bionic hip last!

Thank you all so much for the encouragement!  I am excited for what is next. I can't wait to start rehab, lengthen my short muscles, and be an athlete again!

Thanks!
Aq

[kate71]

Hi

Great to hear things are going well. I had my right hip done when my daughter was 2 and I found it really hard not to pick her up for 6 weeks but we found ways round it and its amazing how kids adapt to help you, sensing things are different.  My life now at 1 year + a couple of weeks is amazingly different.  I am running after my now 3 year old and playing football with my 9 year old son; things which just could not have happened a year ago.I am firm believer now of making the most of every moment you have and that includes not being in constant pain so keep up the walking - which whilst sometimes boring and frustrating is worth it in the long run. as many lovely people on this site told me - slow and steady will win the race. good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
Kate :-)

[aqua_yeti]

Thanks Kate!

Can anyone chime in on how long their thigh felt hard and numb and sore following an anterior BHR?  Is it nerve damage or muscle trauma or both??

I don't think I feel any joint pain, just deep and weird soft tissue pains.

Thanks,
Andy.

[HowieF-16]

I'm at 4+ months and things are normal. Some of the pain is also related to the IT Band. It is very common for surface hippy's to have IT Band and associated knee pain. I was icing my hip and applying heat to my knee at the same time.

[23109VC]

Andy-

Your story about how your hip degraded sounds exactly like mine.. All except for the part about being 6 foot five..  ha ha I'm only 5'9"...

I had my hip resurfaced three years ago and it's doing great I just posted a video in the forums if you look under my name or search for your find it it'll give you an idea of where I was at before surgery and how I'm doing now at just over three years post surgery

I live not too far away from you I am in the inland Empire area in the city of temecula...although I flew all the way to South Carolina to have my hip resurfaced by Dr. Gross.

I found that my hip steadily improve over time and I would honestly say that I felt improvements in the first year the second year and even into the third year I felt that I made improvements in my ability to stretch and strength and endurance

For the past year I have gotten into weightlifting and cycling and I honestly think I'm in better shape now at 41 years old that I was what I was in my 20s or 30s.

Keep us posted on your progress just remember to not push things too fast.  You have plenty of time to get better!

Sean