I am only 44 years old and have suffered hip pain for years. I have tried everything short of surgery and am now to the point of needing to have both hips replaced. I am swimming to help tone the muscles around area, and meanwhile I am planning for the surgery...getting information, making meals ahead of time etc. I plan to put the surgery off for another 9 months so I can fit it into my schedule better (recuperation period). My question is this. Does anyone have advice on getting 2 hips done at once vs. doing them singly? Also, metal on metal replacements, any comments? Also, :confused: the surgery involves drilling the socket and deepening it because of a congenital malformation...did not fully develop. Has anyone experienced this? Does it add to the recovery time/pain level after surgery? One more concern I have is-how long will it be before I am driving and mobile again?
Thanks,
Rhianna

Hi, I'm 21 years old and have had both hips replaced, both elbows, right shoulder and right knee replaced. I thought about having both hips replaced at one time, but my doctors did not recommend that. I had my hips replaced in 2001 - four months apart - i was in so much pain before the surgery, that the only pain i had was from the incision. I would ask your doctors about having both replaced at once. I'm not sure if you would benefit more having both at once since there are new procedures where you can walk that same day or the following day. My recovery time was about 6 weeks and then i was doing great. A major factor of having both at one time is being over weight. Being over weight is definitely not good for arthritic patients. I hope everything goes well for you.

To Gabi05
Having all those joints replaced by that age is uncommon, but you said you felt great 6 weeks after having hip done...that is awesome. You are a real trooper. Hope my recovery is quick also. Life doesn't slow down and wait for you and I don't want to miss anything! You are right, I need to speak with the doctor about having both hips done at once or spacing out the surgeries...I just forgot to ask that important question (along with all the others I asked on the board ha ha). Even though I expected the news, I was still stunned when he told me the hips were terrible. So, I just sat there. Now I am playing catch up. ha ha. Doctor did say I would be up and walking first day, using a walker first and then a cane, and wearing some sort of splint or brace to help hold hip for awhile. I may eat my words, but I doubt the pain of recovery would top the "end of the day" pain I feel. Thanks for the input. Hope you are enjoying the new joints!

Rhianna~
When I had the first hip replaced they took x-rays of both hips two weeks before surgery and two weeks after the surgery my other hip had completely deteriorated. It's crazy how joints deteriorate so quickly. I was in so much pain morphine did not help! It's definitely tough, but in the end it is well worth it. I hope everything goes well for you. Let me know how you are doing once you have the surgery.

Thanks! It will be awhile yet. Hopefully I can hold out until then. It would be best for the family. I will let you know how surgery goes.
Rhianna

Hi, I had a LHR at the age of 40. This was due to a auto accident 25 yrs. earlier in which I messed my left leg up really bad. I am a very active person w/ a high threshold for pain, but it was getting really difficult to walk. My hip was very deformed because the original OS basically had to put me back together. I had a very small incision w/ the procedure. I did think I would bounce back very quickly, but my recovery was very slow. Patience is key. I was driving after about 3 weeks. I am very glad I had this done. The horrible pain is now gone.
Good Luck! Make sure you have an excellend doctor.

Thanks for the info on your recovery time before driving. I anticipate that being the big problem for my household. The taxi service needs to get up and running quickly! Sorry it took so long to post reply...Hurricane Katrina interrupted things. I originally thought I would wait 9 months for THR but will not be able to hold out that long. I think maybe another 2 months is all I will wait. Hope I am driving as soon as you were, but I did hear that the incision will be large, so I think that could affect things. Not sure. We will see.
Best of luck to you with your new painfree(?) hip. :bouncing: :bouncing:

i had my right hip done in march 1st. im 25 and i was sooo scared getting it done. i didnt understand how much pain i was gonna be in. the day of the op i just lay in bed and slept. it wasnt painful cos they jsut load you up on painkillers. the second day i stood up and walked a tiny put on a walk. the next day i was on two crutches and i left a week after the surery on 2 walkin sticks. the most painful part were my muscles. doing the physio i was using muscles i hadnt used in 10 years so that was very sore but i didnt need to take any painkillers for my hip after i left hospital. i was on 2 canes for a few days and then when walkin around the hosue i was using one cane. after baout 4 weeks i was walking perfectly with no aid. my 6 week appointment i walked in perfectly and the docs couldnt believe how well i was working. the pain i was in before the op and how i am now, i would recommend anyne to get it done as soon as they can . its amazing

Wow! I am so excited now! I can hardly believe you walked in to the dr. appt on your own, perfectly. I will look forward to doing the same. Right now, with 2 months to go I am torn between taking anti-inflammatory that makes me ill or go without and being in excruciating pain. Today, I took them, but have much regret. My hips say thank you, my stomach does not ha ha.
I have tried all the meds my insurance will pay for, so they say...
I will purchase a pretty cane, thanks for the info! Best of luck.

Hi Rhianna - I see that you started this thread quite awhile ago. It's great that you've had so much time to get ready for your operation by talking with other folks who've had the same procedure, etc. I had a negative experience with my hip replacement, but that's because of my unique medical condition. Even so, maybe I can give you a couple of tips to help your recovery time go a bit easier than mine. This may be a little lengthy, so I apologize at the beginning! I have autoimmune disease that consists of lupus (very, very mild), RA (serum positive 1 time, serum negative 2 times) and severe osteoporosis. I've been taking steroids (prednisone) for about 6 years to help the pain of my arthritis and to help with some lung problems that I have. I mention this because the prednisone greatly increases my bone loss and compromises my immune system even further.

Because of my osteoporosis I break bones spontaneously. I've broken almost all the vertabrae in my back (they are now fused), broken my foot 3 times, and last May I broke my right hip. I walked on it for 2 weeks in horrendous pain thinking it must just be really bad arthritis pain. Soon I couldn't walk at all. I had surgery to replace the hip. Because I'm so used to surgery and all the advice that the docs give you about what to do and not to do when you go home, I tend to ignore all that they say. I did much more than I should have and, as a consequence, I broke the femur in my leg on the same side as the hip replacement. This happened within 10 days of discharge. So back I went for another surgery to wire the femur and replace the hip which had slipped down into the leg when the femur broke. I went home and REALLY followed instructions this time. But, unfortunately, after having a few days of good recovery and pain relief my "femur" pain came back full-force! I was convinced that I had broken it again, although I couldn't imagine how since I'd stayed in bed 24/7 since the repair. I tried to ignore the pain and that was a very big mistake. By the time I got back to the hospital ER, my infected leg/hip had turned into a systemic infection that was threatening other organs in my body, especially my heart. :eek: The remedy? 30 days spent in hospital between ICU and Critical Care with very strong antibiotics as well as removal of my new hip and cleaning out the infected space. I went home with no hip and with a catheter inserted in my chest so that I could receive antibiotics twice a day for 6 weeks! I am sitting here typing this from my wheelchair where I've sat since I returned home on September 1, 2005. My surgery to get a hip is scheduled for sometime in March. You are probably asking yourself, "Why is this lady giving me this horror story? It doesn't apply to my situation." I guess it's because I wanted to illustrate to you and to other folks contemplating this surgery how important it is to FOLLOW YOUR DOCTOR'S instructions and orders! There is a reason that they send you home with a list of DO's and DON'Ts.... Also, DON'T ignore your pain! If you experience a new pain or an increase in existing pain, call your doctor right away. :nono: Don't try to be a martyr like I did, thinking how brave I was to suffer like that. It nearly killed me! I pray that when I get my new hip that I'll be able to go to rehab and learn how to walk again. I've never wanted anything so much as I do that new hip. I sure hope you will keep posting and tell us all how the surgery went. I bet you can give me some advice and tips that will help me be a better patient next time around! All the best - KathyMac :wave:

I am just 59 y.o., and, due to osteoarthritic deterioration of my hips, I have had 10+ years of pain and increasing limitations. Three months ago, I had my right hip replaced and am absolutely thrilled with the results. From day one post-op, I have experienced only slight discomfort and can hardly wait until April (6 months from the first op.) to have my left hip done also.
As for driving, I waited 4 weeks, on my dr.'s advice (for insurance purposes, he said). I was back at work in less than 6 weeks.
I am extremely grateful for my surgeon and for the hospital care I received during the 3 days I spent there post-op.

Thanks so much for the advice and the posts on hip replacement. I am going in on Valentines Day ( :rolleyes:) for my surgery on right hip. Hope to have a quick and easy recovery. Since reading the posts I am definitely going to heed the instructions for full recovery. I know the first little while is most critical because the hip easily slips out of place....ouch. I am looking forward to falling asleep without major pain, heating pad and propping pillows. Hopefully I will be free of that. Now if I don't sleep it is for some other reason ha ha ha. Right now I cannot lift weight (even a load of clothes from dryer) in front of my body. I guess that is because the hip cannot handle it or rather the muscles supporting it. Hope that changes after physical therapy. I have had pain for 17 years, so I am nervous about physical therapy as well as surgery. I hope the muscles do what I tell them to do. :bouncing: Will post an update after surgery. :wave:

Hi, Found your post informative, I'm having a right THR in May and a little nervous as well, but on the other hand I can't wait to not be in pain, except surgery pain,just do what the P.T. and O.T. advise and use the adaptive equipment needed so as not to dislocate the hip. I'm also having a left total knee replacement sometime after the hip replacement. I can't wait to start walking "normally" without limping. Keep me posted.

Hi all. If you haven't checked out the hip and knee replacement board, please go and read some of the posts. All the info and support you need can be found there. We started in Jan05 on the arthritis board and the responses were so incredible that our thread just kept growing. They gave us our own board and it has been very active since then. The "6 months after hip replacement" thread was the original thread and it contains so much info on THR and the recuperation. I'm one of the original posters at 10yrs post THR. There are many regulars that post frequently to update and help new-comers. Our experiences are there to read for anyone interested. You are not alone and we are here to help. Check it out and join the in. Hope to see you there....balleteach

Hi! Well, I had the THR of the right hip on Valentine's Day. It was cementless, which means I cannot place any weight on that side for 6 weeks. I am on toe-touch weight bearing only restriction. I am using a walker to get around, and I believe I will then move to a cane after 6 weeks. It is now the end of 3rd week. I am still only sitting in certain chairs, or in bed (sitting/laying). The hip needs this time to attach to bone, and also to heal without the "memory" of how it came to be placed there. Thus, I don't ever move my hip in certain positions. This is a little nerve wracking since I worry I will do it by mistake. The nurse comes out around 2-4 times per week drawing my blood to check my PT level because I take coumadin to thin the blood to reduce the risk of blood clot. It is standard procedure for hip surgery I understand. Nurse also was in charge of dressing changes when I first got out, but the incision is beautiful and not at all needing a dressing now. I also have a P.T. who comes out about 4 times per week to work me over ha ha ha. She is great even though I have incorporated her into my nightmares...P.T. is challenging, but rewarding. If you practice at all, there will be marked improvement the next time P.T. arrives. This is critical to the body to get its atrophied muscles back into correct working order. In my case, many many years had gone by with my muscles "compensating" for my hip, therefore, not being used, or not being used correctly. P.T. is the fix for this. I will continue P.T. when I am able to drive myself, but until then, insurance allows P.T. to come to the home.
Okay, as far as complications go, I am like the princess and the pea...I have a latex allergy which never really meant too much, except no latex could touch me for prolonged amounts of time. I usually remembered to tell surgeons about it before hand, although I don't remember being that aware of any real problem. THIS time however, I got excruciating and massive blisters all over my backside up my back and down my leg from silky tape used for holding the dressing around the drain. The tape stuck to my skin, made ugly blisters, then when the nurses tried to remedy the situation with paper tape, it furthered the blistering...anything that touched me from that point on blistered me further, because I was such a mess on that side. I hope there is no permanent scarring, but I finally had to discard and refuse all manner of remedies (gausey tapes, etc) in favor of just plain old airing out. I had to apply a free standing absorbant sponge to the drainhole until all was finished draining (a few days), keep bedding really clean and dry and just let air do its thing for me in the healing of blisters. I don't really know if the hip incision area was "painful" or not becasue between the blisters and a huge bruise I got from sitting on the grabber (graceful I am not), I was in pain ha ha. Today, day 20 I am only on tylenol arthritis, my first day without some sort of pain med. I am doing okay. Mainly stir crazy at being in the house, pain is nominal to medium depending on how much I try to do. Hope this helps someone else going through THR!

Just wondering does hip replacement affects the nerve that moves your toes/ankles etc?

It's amazing how surgery works... i would think that with are those tearing and cutting going on, the nerves would be damaged.

hi,

i like to know, does the incission done in the "front" or in the "back" of your bottom.

how do you guys go to "toliet"?

To answer questions, for me, no nerve damage to toes, ankles as far as i can tell yet. I am not aware of any. I have no indication of problems. It is like under the knee on down is same as ever, knee and above are not as cooperative until you tell the brain to work specific muscles and rehab with physical therapy. The incision is along the outside of the thigh for me. Imagine slapping your outer thigh, there is the incision. Slightly to the back of imaginary line of outside thigh in line with leg. (that doesn't sound right, but I can't explain that). Slicing an eggplant in half longwise, well, incision is only just slightly to rear of center cut longwise. (not much better explanation, oh well). Going to the bathroom is okay, using a high chair over toilet, called a bedside toilet. Just set over the real toilet, and it raises you to a height you can sit on (from walker). You won't love your first 3 weeks of surgery and rehab, but after a meltdown or two, things get simpler and having a new hip with wonderful painfree no anti inflammatory is a very strong vote of yes for me. You will need to arrange for help. I probably have failed in that area. You need someone to tend laundry, help keep house going, kids arranged daily, meals fixed for you someone staying there with you at first...spouses come in handy if you have one, otherwise, good friend or hired help I would say until you get more functionable. Everyday is better. Today, day 22 I cleaned out some space in refrigerator, straightened kitchen somewhat and made cereal on my own with a wheelchair loaned to me last night. I am very happy to be more independent. In 3 weeks I may be able to dine out and drive...can't imagine that right now. Resign yourself to the reality of surgery and what it takes to get a new start, implement a plan, and go for it if it is worth it to you. (I can say that, even though I had a meltdown yesterday ha haha). Good luck!

Hi all,

If you haven't checked out the hip/knee replacement board yet, I hope you will. That board and all the threads are so informative and supportive. As I posted previously, we originated on the arthritis board, but due to the incredible response and interest, we were assigned our own board. The original "six months after hip replacement" started it all. Anyway, even if you don't post, please check us out....balleteach

It has been 6 weeks since surgery, today, and since yesterday I have been learning how to walk on a cane, drive, bend and balance on both legs (distribute the weight more evenly). I can hold all but about 30 lbs on new hip. Muscles are still not all-together working properly, but P.T. is coming along well, moving towards outside P.T. instead of home health P.T. Yesterday I would have sworn I couldn't do any of this, except maybe a few unsteady steps with a cane, but today, after working hard yesterday, seems to be a different story. The walker is history. I can even sit in chairs most times. I won't have to take along a dense pillow unless I want to. I put my shoe and sock on my surgeried side myself this am. Things have really begun progressing! Hope this helps others with a post-op timeline.