Here comes a life adventure

[resonant]

Around Christmastime I get to have my right hip replaced.

I'm actually kind of thrilled about this. For literally years I've been slowly working on a lot of pain in my groin muscle. I thought it was tendinitis, and I was using massage and physical therapy and a hot tub and a lot of NSAIDs on the pain. Some movements were unlocking while others became inaccessible.

My own fault for not accessing actual medicine as soon as I should have, but my fellow Americans will understand why I didn't. (The physical therapist my doctor had sent me to had been treating six of us at the same time. "Here's a stretchy band. Follow this photocopied exercise sheet while I work with the person behind the next curtain.")

But now I've had an xray and I have surgery scheduled, and if all goes well then next year walking and yoga and swimming will come back into my life.

I work from home and have never met most of my coworkers; they know me from a headshot and a name, which happens to be one of the classic millennial names. I just put a note in one of my Teams chats: "In case youre confused because most people with this name are young ... I'm not."

If you have tips to share, bring 'em on!

Comments

[misbegotten]

Yay for a much needed surgery! Good luck!

[resonant]

Now that I know it's coming, I sort of wish I could do it like next week.

[ride_4ever]

Sending you good-health vibes for that hip surgery!

(And how is your hip currently like one of the Canadian bands on the due South soundtrack? I'll bet you can guess what I mean....)

[resonant]

Is it Tragically Hip?

[ride_4ever]

Yep, I knew you'd guess right!

[fox]

The only tip I’ve got is omg do the recovery exercises they give you, but that is based on observation of family members not doing them diligently and later wishing they had. Yay for a reduced-pain future!

[pallas_rose]

This!!! I cringe at that PT story, but get the hospital ones to teach you (they will!) and do them on your own!

[resonant]

The booklet has some exercises. It also mentions in-home PT, but I don't know if that applies to me. It's a great idea, though - all those loose rugs and cluttered rooms that are invisible to me until I fall over them.

[pallas_rose]

Usually, you qualify for in-home PT based on the evaluation and recommendations of the PT who sees you in the hospital post-op. So if you're strong and do well--that is, too well to qualify for in-home PT--they'll probably recommend outpatient therapy, meaning a clinic like the one where you were seen by one-sixth of a therapist. So I anticipate you needed to be a self-starter :/

Tripping and falling is indeed a hazard! Fall prevention is a science and there are tons of resources around about yes, rugs, but also shoes and other things--your PTs and the internet have some, and I can dig up some, too, if you like. (Aside: I am a trauma surgeon. Falls are indeed in my bailiwick, but usually the consequences thereof. Hip replacements... less so.)

But the primary concern for ensuring you do all your PT post op is that if you don't work the muscles supporting the joint, you'll get stiff, lose mobility, lose muscle mass, get weak--and then yes, fall. But those other things mean that you'll recover worse from subsequent falls, or other illnesses. Maintaining muscle mass, strength (especially core strength, and the muscles of the hip qualify) and balance are key as we get older.

It is indeed personally annoying that the body needs maintenance. I find it very annoying myself. But exercise and PT are so foundational, unfortunately.

[resonant]

My mom, who's in her eighties, once said, "I spend more time on body maintenance than a supermodel."

I giggled at 1/6 of a PT. I'm fairly certain that it *is* possible to get a whole PT, but I may have to go back to my GP or surgeon and ask for a different referral if the first one they offer turns out to be fractional.

[pallas_rose]

Your mother is wise!!!

[resonant]

I had a coworker who had surgery. He went back for his follow-up and the sector said,"What did you DO?"

"I just did the exercises."

"Nobody does those."

[celli]

Yay for walking and yoga and swimming! I hope it all goes well!!!

[resonant]

Thanks! I've been struggling with this for so long.

[out_there]

Oooh! That's exciting! The possibility of getting that movement back is a good thing.

[resonant]

I said, "How long before I can drive again?" and the surgeon said, "Hm, best to be cautious - you should wait at least a week."

[out_there]

Wow. That's a better recovery time than a ceasarian.

[resonant]

I imagine if I had to have hip replacement and give birth to an entire baby at the same time, recovery would take longer.

[out_there]

Hee! That's a good point. Here, at least, after a ceasarian you can't drive for 4 weeks or lift anything heavy for 6.

I just assumed your be off your feet for a hip replacement for much longer. So a week is great.

[pallas_rose]

[ bursts in like the kool-aid man ]

IT'S THE ABDOMINAL HERNIA RISK! Gotta let the belly wall heal. The orthopods mostly split the muscle fibers rather than cut them, and also your leg can't have a hernia... usually.

[ retreats into surgeon cave ]

[out_there]

Huh. That's cool to know!

[snowynight]

Good luck to your surgery!

A friend who did it told me that it was important to do the recovery exercise, and there were routines that you could do at home. You can ask the hospital therapists for instructions and diagrams.

[resonant]

They gave me a pre-surgery booklet with exercises I can start now! A lot of it assumes the patients will be a lot frailer than I am, though. The struggle for pre-surgery may be not to do too much and hurt myself.

[minoanmiss]

cheers

[resonant]

It's funny how "congratulations on your upcoming surgery" is absolutely the response I was looking for!

[minoanmiss]

It will improve your life! Of course this is something to celebrate!

[lunabee34]

I am so happy for you; I hope this will relieve your pain.

[resonant]

Thanks - me too. The kidlet said, "Bet you'll be surprised to see how much energy you were spending on it."

[kass]

No wisdom to offer, but I am glad that relief is on its way!

[resonant]

Thanks! Next step: find someone who will lend me things like a walker and a bath chair, and will promise to take them back afterwards!

[pallas_rose]

You can rent these! Ask the case manager/social worker in the hospital, or your surgeon's clinic staff.

[resonant]

Ooh, I didn't know that. I know the church I used to work for had an entire room full of donated home-health devices; can't go to them because I've moved away, but I was going to start with churches.

I'm supposed to get a call from a - I don't have the booklet with me so I don't remember the job title, but it sounded like a wedding planner only for surgery - that may be who I'm supposed to get this infofrom.

[spikedluv]

Yay! I'm glad the pain will be gone and you'll be able to do things you love again!

I second the 'do the exercises'. My aunt had knee surgery, didn't do the exercises and went downhill fast to the point that she's in a wheelchair now.

[resonant]

Wow, that's a dire warning.

They gave me a booklet, and among the presurgical tips are exercises to start doing beforehand, which is interesting.

There are a couple that involve lying down and sliding your foot across the floor in various directions; my current PT tried something similar with me, but it was too difficult on carpet. So I was impressed by the solution the booklet has: put a cookie sheet under your foot!

[pallas_rose]

Sorry to wander all over your comments! But the other thing we've shown to help recovery (other than "prehab" which is what you're doing now with PT!) is nutritional optimization. I think we've only seen it proven in gut surgeries, but in the lead up to your surgery focus on getting enough protein; in the recovery period, too.

[resonant]

I love you being all over my comments with your expertise! Also i love the word "prehab."

The booklet mentions protein afterwards but doesn't say anything about beforehand. How *far* beforehand? Luckily I eat meat, so it shouldn't be too complicated.

This is also the first time I've seen information about adding fiber to the diet to counteract the effects of the painkillers, which I appreciate. Normally they talk like adding another pill is all you need to do.

[sinensis]

Re: nutritional optimization--lots of leafy green vegetables are especially good for pre-op patients. And pineapple, if you can eat it, contains an enzyme that is anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving (as well as all the vitamins, etc.) It is good for both pre- and post-op diets.

So glad you're getting the surgery--wishing you the best! I know several people who had hip or knee replacements, and they were transformative.

[pallas_rose]

We have a ton of horrible names of things, so I do cherish when we come up with a good one!

Re: nutrition: honestly, no one knows for sure. The pancreatic surgery paper I think was on the order of a month; my guess is that's probably enough, unless you're malnourished in some way, which is unlikely?

Re: fiber: yes, absolutely! But depending on your colon and the amount of painkillers you take, it may not be enough. I trained in general surgery, so I'm obsessed with the guts and preventing constipation. My rule is anyone who is taking opiates also is offered a senna daily--prevention is better than cure, but we're biased: we are the ones who take out exploded colons (rare! not a threat!). My advice is to have a very itchy finger on the trigger of the back-up drugs :)

[spikedluv]

That probably did sound dire, lol! She's a worst-case-scenario cautionary tale, that's for sure. She just stopped trying and going out, so she quickly went from unassisted to cane to walker to wheelchair. (And by quickly I mean over the course of five-eight years or so, but that seems quick to me to be walking fine, and then not walking at all, especially since she was on the walker longer than she should have been, probably.)

It's great that they include helpful tips like that one!

[resonant]

When I was small, my grandmother had hip replacement and ended up permanently in a wheelchair, but I don't know what her story was.

I can see how rehab must be really hard, because we're told contradictory things about pain, and it's hard to know what's a "if it hurts then do it slower and stop half an inch sooner and then put some ice on it" and what's a "don't keep doing that! Pain means stop!"

[princessofgeeks]

I know one person who had both hips replaced and another who had one replaced and both had great experiences and said it was life changing.

Also they said the recovery time is less than for a knee replacement, which boggled me.

Good wishes to you!!!

[resonant]

I have three friends who've had knee replacement, and they said it was incredibly, unbelievably painful. Though one of them was dancing the next time I saw her, so I guess there are compensations.

[jesse_the_k]

Best wishes!

(Listening to podfic is how I get through my exercises)

[resonant]

Oh, good idea!

[adafrog]

Good.

[resonant]

Yes! Wish I didn't have to wait so long.