Ping Thip -Hip replacemnt

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

dBo - 02 Feb 2009 23:40 GMT

Hey Thipper, I went thru this last year, on year post- tx.

They had told me a couple of years before that I had hardly any
cartiledge left in my left hip and that was where it would end up, in
replacement. I was told that at 53, this, was in my future.....all I
can say is that I come from a long line of arthritic joints, my
grandfather had one of the first hip replacements done way back in the
60's - yeah it made me feel old. But the bottom line is that I had
been in pain for so long, worse and worse, to the point where I had to
use a cane (at 54!) and could not roll over in bed with out the pain
waking me up, using the "good leg" to heave the "bad leg" up and over.
I felt like a mermaid. So I got my new hip at 55.

The surgery was scary, but went well, I recovered quickly and can only
tell you that it is the best thing I've ever done for myself.....quite
miraculous frankly. I became like "new" within a few weeks.
I was facing becoming a grandmother for the first time, and decided
that if I was going to be a Grandma, I was going to be able to get
down on the floor and play with my grandson, chase him and all the
fun stuff. I had basically become a cripple pre - surgery and it
still amazes me how great I have done since having the surgery. No
problems at all, thanks to insurance, short term disability etc etc...

VERY glad I went ahead and did this!!! Having a replace hip does not
make me feel "old" - being a cripple made me feel "old"!!!!

Reply to this Message

Thip - 03 Feb 2009 02:00 GMT

> Hey Thipper, I went thru this last year, on year post- tx.

Wow, thanks so much, dBo! You described perfectly what has happened to me,
except it literally happened overnight. I got out of bed one morning and my
hip was killing me (yes, rolling over is an art form). It's only been a few
weeks and I'm already sick of it, so I can't imagine living this way for
years. I actually have to sit in my vehicle and physically pick my leg up
to set it on the floorboard. The painkillers really aren't working--I was
told they have a cumulative effect, but you'd think they'd do *something*
after 5 days--and I don't want to depend on pills to keep going when I'll
end up having the surgery anyway. I'm trying to get all my duckies in a row
so I can just get it over with and get on with life. After reading your
post I'm really comfortable with the decision. I really, really appreciate
it.

Reply to this Message

Dwight - 03 Feb 2009 05:06 GMT

>> Hey Thipper, I went thru this last year, on year post- tx.
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> post I'm really comfortable with the decision. I really, really appreciate
> it.

Thip, sorry to hear about your hip. I was just in my orthopedic doctor's
office this afternoon to talk to him about my knee. Last Monday a
student turned in front of me in the hallway and hooked my foot with
hers' as I was stepping down. My knee was twisted as I put my weight
down and I saw stars and tears when landed. The ortho told me I'm
looking at a knee replacement now. He doesn't think worker's
compensation will cover it since I have had surgery on the knee before.
The pain killers work, just can't take them and go to school. I can't
imagine trying to teach after taking one of them. I took one an hour ago
and am having trouble just typing. Hope this makes sense, I've been
known to write some very off the wall posts after taking a pain killer
before. I'm supposed to be going on a cruise for spring break (five
weeks away) so I really don't want to have the surgery before I go.
Can't really afford it at this time either.

Dwight

Reply to this Message

dBo - 03 Feb 2009 21:17 GMT

Yeah, Thip, my hip problem manfested as GROIN pain that would not go
away initially- but when it decided it had had enough, it went
downhill very very quickly... a matter of a few months and I was READY
to do it, but put if off till summer so I would not have to worry
about shoes and socks etc. Besides, if I was going to have to take a
leave of absence on short term disability to heal/rehab, what better
time than summer? ;)

A few tips for you if you are not already doing these things....

Getting in the car - get in butt first, back into the seat THEN swing
your legs around and in together - the Meraid Move again....an if you
are having a problem reaching the door to pull it shut behind you,
straighten a coat hanger and keep it on the front seat, use to to
reach out and grab the door handle and give it a yank to pull it shut.

Stairs - the Rule is "Heaven Heading up and Hell Heading Down". I was
one-stepping the stairs before I ever heard that, but it was what I
had figured out for myself - one step at a time, going up lead with
the good leg, going down lead with the bum leg....

Just use a little Yankee Ingenuity to figure out how to avoid the
things that cause the most pain. Ibuprophen, I could take five or six
and get little relief, so I did not take either. My PCP would not give
me anything stronger, recommended PHYSICAL THERAPY - I laughed at that
- "Why will more exericse make the cartiledge grow back???" DOH!

Good luck with the hip, Thip, stay in touch! :) (Doesn't getting old
just suck???)

Reply to this Message

Thip - 07 Feb 2009 01:03 GMT

Ack, I just got back online! Talk about major withdrawal. I love it when
Tech Support can't solve it and I can, even if it did take me a couple
days.....

I have to pick up my wayward leg when I get in my vehicle. Slide in, butt
against the seat, right foot planted, pick up left leg and position it near
the clutch. Oddly enough, shifting doesn't bother me, I think because the
motion is really from the knee down.

I wish I could go UP. Up is my problem. I have to climb a really steep
ramp from the parking lot at work to the road (crossing the road is a whole
'nuther experience). Now, I've been running up and down this friggin' ramp
for 10 years and never realized til recently that the handrail ends about 5
feet before the ramp does. Teeter, teeter. The Weeble wobbles but so far
she hasn't fallen down. Yet. The entire prison is built on nothing but
hills and for some reason lately they all seem to go up instead of down.

This is THE worst time for me to take any leave from work. They handed me a
pilot program to develop a couple years or so ago, and I've sweated and
nursed this baby along, and it's just fixin' to take off. We put 700 women
through it last year and now people on the outside are looking at it. I
don't care about getting personal recognition; I've put my heart into making
it a good program and I want it to be better. So I'll probably be lying in
bed instead of schmoozing people I never thought would look at it twice.
What's really funny is that the Georgia Dept. of Corrections took great
pride in not giving me a darned nickel--my budget was ZERO--and now all of a
sudden they're buying me stuff. Books, videos, TV, VCR/DVD. It's a hoot.

I have decided to tell BCLD (in this case it's Big Chief Leg Doc) I will
spend one night in the hospital and two weeks recovering. Think he'll go
for that? ;-)

Reply to this Message