2.5 weeks out, any last minute advice?

[ecchastang]

I fly from Denver to Atlanta two weeks from tomorrow, where my mom will pick me up and drive me to Columbia to have Dr. Gross perform my hip resurfacing on Wed Apr 8th.  I am getting really excited, having gone through a gamut of emotions in the last few weeks.  First, being told I am not a candidate, then being told I am, but that It would be June or July, to then finding out due to a cancellation, I can have surgery in less than three weeks. 

Due to the Master's taking place just down the road in Augusta, and with such short notice, the Marriotts near Providence are all booked up, but I did find a room not too far away.  I contacted my airline and have wheelchair service and bulkhead seating arranged for Friday evening Apr 10th. 

Feel free to give me any advice that any of you can think of.

[Arrojo]

Good luck!  My advice is to get your upper body in shape. 2 1/2 weeks is not a lot of time, but push-ups, pull-ups, and crunches will help. You will be using only upper body for the first few days getting in and out of bed.

[ecchastang]

Good luck!  My advice is to get your upper body in shape. 2 1/2 weeks is not a lot of time, but push-ups, pull-ups, and crunches will help. You will be using only upper body for the first few days getting in and out of bed.

Got that one covered.  I am an avid rock climber and bench only powerlifter, so upper body is my strength.  Also, picked up a zero gravity chair today. 

[Comfortably Numb]

"Due to the Master's taking place just down the road in Augusta, and with such short notice, the Marriotts near Providence are all booked up, but I did find a room not too far away."

Either of these two motels would be just as good as the "Mariott near Providence," and you will be in a much quieter, less congested environment.  You'll only be about 3 or 4 miles up I-77 from Providence.  Well worth considering if you haven't already found these:

http://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/blythewood/blwsc/hoteldetail

http://www.comfortinnblythewoodsc.com/

[Clarkefan]

I agree on the upper body advice -- the better shape you're in, the better. Don't overlook abductor and adductor exercises if your pain allows; it will help in recovery.

Also, buy those little things you'll need around the house in advance (Amazon helped me out): grabber, sock assist device, raised toilet seat, crutches, etc.

And, video games and long extension cords for the hospital; depending on post-op meds, you may not be too interested in reading or watching TV, but a good iPhone game or two can help.

Additionally, I brought ear plugs and eye shades to help sleep in the noisy hospital environment.

Above all... just relax.

[MPH]

I agree with all the advice. Get your core strong, plus quads, gluteus and hamstrings as much as the pain will help. I'm almost 10 weeks post op and swam 1km this morning, followed by 45mins hard graft on the elliptical (keeping HR at 80%) then came home and walked the dog along a coastal path for 3.5 miles.. No reaction with pain or stiffness. I'm sure its because of pre op conditioning. Hydrotherapy has been a huge accelerator in recovery.

You can do a fair bit in 2.5 weeks, take the pain meds to get in as good condition as you can. so my advice is do as much as you can!! Good luck and I'm sure you'll be fine

[ecchastang]

Thanks for all the advice.  I was still doing a lot of leg strengthening and conditioning up until about 2 months ago, and just started back Thursday after setting the surgery date.  I will make sure to hit it hard and just deal with the pain, knowing that it will help on the back side of this. 

[JT_here]

Hello everyone ,  I am 3 weeks post surgery and it went very well with no complications.  However, after 2 weeks my bandage was changed by my surgeon and he said I was having an allergic reaction probably to one of the medications.  My symptoms were bumps/rashes on various parts of the body and the worst was my lips, tongue, and gums were very sensitive especially in the morning .  I woke a couple mornings and my lips were actually numb feeling and my tongue and gums were so sensitive that it was painful to eat or drink.  Things are getting better now but I would love to hear any feedback ??   Has anyone experienced these symptoms ?   Thanks ! 

[royash]

Three years ago I had the BHR done by Dr. Gross. This website was instrumental in choosing to have this procedure done and to select Dr. Gross as the surgeon. I contacted a member of surface hippy and he provided very specific details on the surgery, recovery process, and results. I feel I need to give back as well to tell people my story.

I am 50 years old male who could not tie his shoe before I had BHR done on my left hip. 9 months and 1 day after I was back to playing hockey. Today I play as hard and fast (with mostly 20 year old kids) as before the arthritis set in. This winter I went skiing out west and skied most of the double black diamonds trails on Lone Peak at Big sky and spent more time on moguls than groomed trails. I cant be happier with my decision to have the procedure done and to select Dr. Gross as my surgeon. (Yes the 6 hour post surgery drive home was miserable but well worth it!). My only regret is waiting as long as I did. I hope my story is as helpful to others as the input I received from this website  when I was making my decision on which path to take.

[JHippy]

Great to hear, royash! Love when people check in after many years, good to see how everyone is doing longer term.

[royash]

Thanks- In my haste to post I realize two mistakes I made in the post:
1: It was Biomet not BHR that Dr Gross used. At this point I couldn't tell you the difference but I could 3 years ago.
2: It was 6 months + 1 day that I was back to playing hockey. (6 months was my restriction- felt like I could have played 3 months post op).

[MattJersey]

Great to hear. I'm 5 weeks away from the start line. I hope I get a similar outcome (not sure about hockey though  ) and can tell a positive story down the line.

[Dannywayoflife]

Not had a reaction like that my allergic reaction was more seizure and cardiac arrest based. Hope you get well soon

Danny

[ecchastang]

Glad to hear your story.  I am 15 days from my resurfacing with Dr. Gross and also hope to be able to tell of success down the road. 

[JT_here]

Thanks Danny,  I believe I am coming off the allergic reaction.  Stopped taking all meds and things are getting better.  Have a great week !

[Dannywayoflife]

Sounds like you may be allergic to one of the meds then buddy. Hope you get well soon buddy

[hernanu]

Good luck, only one piece of advice - there's no rush.

Take your time to do exercises right, ice to get your swelling down when it comes, hydrate as much as you can (I had a water bottle continually next to me), do your exercise religiously and relax religiously. Use your crutches for as long as needed - you don't want to have a bad gait because you dropped them early.

There's several things going on simultaneously here:

- the most important is healing the bone / device connection. This can't be rushed but can be helped with walking, nutrition, rest.

- Less in importance until your bone / device is set is muscular healing. It is important once you get the Ok from the doctor to expand your activities.

- Emotional - keep positive and get as many support people around you to talk to, text, etc. Treat yourself well and don't stint on games / movies / books while recouping.

Most of all listen to your body. If something feels painful, it's your body telling you not to do it. You can't power through this.

[JHippy]

JT, you probably don't need the pain meds at this point but check with your Dr on any others if you haven't already. Blood thinners are important to avoid clots, and anti-inflammatory is not only for inflammation but also helps prevent Heterotopic Ossification. Not sure what your Dr prescribes but I was on a small cocktail of meds for a while, not all related to pain. Glad to hear you're doing better!

[oldsoccerplayer]

I might have said this before, but if you have  one of those electric icing machines connect it to an extension cord with an on / off switch that is within easy reach from where you'll be sitting or laying down for the first few days post-op. The one I had did not have its own switch and bending down every 20 mins to plug / unplug it was not possible. I plugged it into an extension cord on a table next to my recliner so I just had to reach over to turn it on or off.
Best of luck ...

[hernanu]

Congrats royash! I'm closing in on five years with great results so far. Enjoy the days.