I am back on board!!!!

[Asalisbu]

I was scheduled for a bi-lat almost two years ago with Dr. Gross but unfortunately I got detailed out of town for work and had to cancel.   I am back and just had my consult with Dr. Gross and he told me its looks like somebody sneezed on the x ray's were my hip joints are supposed to be (I might be paraphrasing).    The good news is that since my hips already looked like a really bad Jackson Pollock painting (or a really good one, who can even tell) on my first consult I was already braced for the fact my hips didn't magically get better.  I'm working a little reverse psychology on myself and have taken solace in the fact that I had been so dedicated to my activities that I managed to completely shred both of those bad boys by age 43.   Beat that Tom Brady!!!

The even better news is that I am still a candidate and scheduled for the double surgery over the course of week in late October.   I am at the point that I just want to get started so the five months sucks, but if I learned anything on this forum its to make sure you get a skilled surgeon, so Dr. Gross is worth the wait (and he takes my insurance).

Enough with my prattle, I am curious to hear from you experience hippies out there how long should I have someone with me at home afterwards before I am relatively functional and able to be on my own (wife works five minutes away if absolutely needed)?

Is there anything that I should be doing, eating, buying etc this far ahead to start preparing for this?  Is Trying to keep strong and working out as much as tolerated important? Not sure if it is because I am back and moving forward on this, but lately my joints are really bad and I don't feel like doing much even though I am still pushing.

Appreciate any advice and love this forum, both cathartic and informative.

[John C]

Congratulations on being set on your path. Here are a few thoughts on your questions.
1. Yes, absolutely work out as much as you can before surgery, even if it means needing to take more Tylenol to get through it. It is not just so your muscles will be in better shape to get you through the process (which will be more critical as a short spaced bilateral), but my own experience shows that it can make a difference in your bone density, which will determine how fast or slow a rehab course Dr Gross will put you on.
2. As far as buying stuff; Dr Gross will have many things available for sale out of his office if you want to go that route; crutches, hip kit, polar care ice machine. They will have a walker available when you are in the hospital, though you would need to ask some other bilats if you would want one at home, which to me would seem like a good idea. For one thing, if you put a basket on it, you will be much more self sufficient about being able to carry things around the house. A raised toilet seat for your home is a must. Slip on shoes since you will not be touching any shoe laces for at least six weeks.
3. Help at home is very personal. I really appreciated help for the first week, it was a nice to have for the second week, and after that you can probably make due with some good planning before your wife heads out for the day.
4. I take my hat off to you guys that do both hips within the same week. I have had both of mine done by Dr Gross, ten years apart, and neither time can I imagine surviving both in one week. There are many people on this site that have done it, so it was clearly possible for them, but I would suggest having a heart to heart talk with yourself to make sure that you are up for it. You do have youth on your side, which is no small thing. For my own wimpy self, three weeks would be doable, two weeks would be challenging, and one week would present me with more obstacles than I can picture dealing with. I am certainly not suggesting changing your plans, since Dr Gross has gotten lots of people through your schedule, so he can give you realistic expectations. I would just suggest messaging some other bilats to see what they can share with you about the process, and then decide what you are comfortable tackling. My belief is that resurfacing is a much more challenging recovery for the first couple of weeks than total hips, but very worth it in the long run.
You are in the best of hands, and Dr Gross fully expects these to last a lifetime, so I think you have a lot to look forward to in the long run.

[Asalisbu]

Thanks for the reply John much appreciated.

Dr. Gross did originally say that he doesn't do very man bi-lats in the same week anymore, like when I was scheduled two years ago.   He said lately that he does one then the other one six weeks later, but said its purely a logistical thing about getting space and time at the hospital versus the surgery center which is where he said he does the bulk of his procedures.   He said doing it at the hospital would just take longer to schedule, hence the five months.   He did say that it has no effect on the outcomes or success rate, just logistics and the obvious getting around is much more difficult.   

For me the thought of just getting it over and looking forward on the whole healing process instead of the lingering thought that crap I still have do this again in six weeks did not appeal, plus the double trip to SC family, work, and financially made one trip more appealing. 

That said you make good points as to the ambition of doing it one week and I will reach out to the other bi-lats.  Not by way of bragging, my pain tolerance in general is rather high, which I don't think is always a good thing because the first time I walked into a doctor's office with any pain is when I was told I am bone on bone in both hips (I was stunned wondering how it went from zero to 100 like that).   While my pain tolerance might be high (which is about to be tested with this), I am actually quite the paranoid patient.  Every twitch, wiggle, flare up, sound, surge, clunk, pain etc will send my mind down the path that the surgery was screwed up or I messed it up so doubling that paranoia could be fun for my poor wife and Dr. Gross' staff.   This site has actually been great at mentally preparing myself for that but its still going to happen to some degree.

Will troll around the bi-lat site here and see what they say.

[blinky]

Another bilat in the making! Welcome aboard.


I had to wait a good three months two and half years ago, so sounds like as Dr Gross moves to more and more out patient surgeries, the bilat wait is growing.


But it is worth it. Absolutely. One recovery. One trip. One big disruption in everyone's lives.


Read my report for all the gory details as they were unfolding, but I recall needing help for about a week. My poor husband, bless his heart, I scheduled babysitters for myself so he could have a few evenings off. And he wasn't with me 24/7, not even when we were in the hotel the day after the second surgery. He could take me to pee, then set me up with water, snacks, phone, TV remote, and leave me for a few hours (two at first then up to four). I just had to promise not to go wild in his absence. He did act as my lifeguard when I was showering the first week and walking outside ( first week? I did start going rogue at a certain point).


Helpful tools? Raised potty seat, ice machine, grabber. I went with crutches over walker, but that is your preference. I didn't wear socks so no need for sock device, and I didn't use the leg lifter because a robe belt would do and besides with two legs weak, I really just had to wait. I slept in the recliner. Something to sit on in the shower at first, that will depend on your bathroom set up. Plan ahead and put the stuff you use and need up high enough you won't have to bend over.


This will be great!

[blinky]

Ack! Replied too quickly.


The hardest part was traveling home. I was weak and rather helpless. Think ahead and plan as much of that trip as you can. My experience was that people want to help, so don't be afraid to ask for help.


Focus on your gains. Keep your sense of humor about you. There will be surprises and crazy stuff will happen, count on it. I can remember dropping a potato in the grocery store and not being able to pick it up. I felt like everyone was looking at me, wondering why the hell that woman didn't pick up that potato. Because I had to text my son to come do it, that's why. Or dropping my cane when out for a walk and being stuck at the end of the driveway. Yeah, I had to call my son for a rescue then, too.

[moe]

Hey there, I had my hips done on the same day when I was 56 years old. It was tough, I was in the hospital for a few days and went from there to another hospital for rehab for about another week. I was very weak from the surgery and I was athletic and strong going into it. You will need lots of help for a few weeks at least in my experience. Bilat is not to be underestimated. My hips since then have been fantastic. Good luck.


Edit. I just wanted to add that I was riding my road bike at 8 weeks.

[John C]

I wanted to share a couple of more thoughts. One thing that I did this time around was to put up some grab bars in our shower for stability and ease of getting in and out. I found a brand called "No Drilling Required", which allows you to put up grab bars that are very solid (only if you dig into the online suggested details on how to put them up correctly), and then they can later be easily removed leaving no marks if you don't like them or want to sell the house.
I appreciated your self knowledge in terms of pain tolerance, as well as freaking out over every odd sensation; sounds pretty familiar. What I wanted to share was that, at least for me, pain during those first few weeks is really not a problem with Dr Gross's pain regimen. The challenge for many of us is that the operated leg is what we call "log leg", meaning that it feels like an unresponsive piece of wood attached to us that does not respond to our wishes, nor willingly move or bend in any direction. For example getting a leg in or out of bed requires either using some sort of leg lifting device that you can lasso your foot with and swing it around, or having someone grab your leg and move it on or off the bed for you. For getting up or down from a chair or toilet, my operated leg was totally worthless, and just stuck out in front while I used my good leg and some arm supports to get up and down. For negotiating airline seats and onboard restrooms, it really helped to have one working leg that I could support myself on while I twisted and contorted. By the way, even if it is the only time in your life that you fly first class, do it for the return trip home. My advice is to try and get an aisle seat in the second row. The first row has no leg room, and you want to be as close as possible to the forward restrooms since things can be pretty unpredictable during that first week or so. Even just for walking, it was a while before I was comfortable trusting the operated leg to support and balance my full weight, which is not so bad if you have one good leg to stand and balance on.
I have no doubts that you can pull it off, but when you are trying to picture the challenges, I expect that  pain is not something that you will find to be a big obstacle, but more the mobility challenges of having two "log legs", neither of which wants to move or support you. You sound like the kind of guy who is up for a challenge, so you might kind of enjoy figuring out how to make things work now that you might have a better sense of just what those challenges might be.

[karlos.bell]

  Congrats on the new hip John Cheers K.AsalisbuKeep your hips moving as much as allowable. It is hard due to the pain. Good luck.