hi all
i go in for my left hip to be replaced on the 4th sept and am dreading it scared isnt the word, any advice would be much appreciated.at the moment i am sleeping on the settee as bed is too painful will i be able to do this when i come home also i have heard a recliner chair would be good to sleep in help please.
GOOD LUCK Hippy!
will think of you at that time xxx
thank you marey xx
welcome!
you getting yourself all organised? got a plan?
Hippy, you can re-read some of the comments made on this forum as they are full of very good advice, support and everyone is willing to share their experiences. As far as the settee,I'm thinking you will be better in bed as you need a hard surface with somewhat more width than a sofa would provide...I did stairs after 3 days in hospital so you will be ok if you have stairs.....the recliner I have heard and read over and over again this is bad as it puts your hip in a awkward position, but I guess that is something you willhave to ask your Dr. (mine sent home a booklet of do's and don't and recliners were in the don'ts....They shold also give you a list of equpment i.e raised toilet seat (my best friend), walker or crutches or cane (i loved the walker, save me more balance and could carry things around the house in the little pouch I attached to it, a reacher is a must and some people swear by the foam cushion......get a place in the house that you will sitting in most of the day and have a table to hold your water, magazines, phone, etc. ....again read this faithfully and before your surgery date you will be very informed...where are you from? Patricia from Toronto
Hello, Patricia, Mum heads in for surgery later this year. You raise a great point re. recliners. There are two in the front room: a huge "stand you up" chair my dad uses and a swanky Ekornes leather recliner my mum likes. you know if both varieties are deemed "bad" for the recovering hip patient? Is that a forever thing, or just during theh first 3 months?
I can only re-iterate the comments of Patricia. This time last month I was terrified about impending surgery a couple of days later . Now, even if not completely all over I can walk to the pub, half mile each way, survive falling out of bed, stand and cook a meal for over an hour, it seems almost back to normal compared to before. I would certainly consider investing in a new firm bed, which should be more comfortable than any chair or recliner and try and sleep in the centre. Even at 78, the op is proving worthwhile.
Brian from the U.K.
Brian, how many weeks ago did you have your surgery....I'm only ll days out and I can't imagine in 2.5 more weeks I'll be where you are with walking unaided....hopefully yes....it's nice to have your life back egh? (that is a Canadian egh for you)...Patricia from Toronto
Hi Hippy.
I know it's very scarry just take a day at a time, just think you'll be out of pain or the pain will not be as bad as what am going through now.
I think a bed would be better to sleep on as you'll need to streatch your legs out, you'll have to do some of the exercise on the bed.
There're some good tips on your question.
Good Luck!
Hi Hippy, I know exactly how you feel, 8 more days till my surgery. Joining this forum has been the best thing for me and I know it will help you as well. Sorry I can't help re: the recliner, but at my information session they did stress the need for a good bed. I go for my final pre-op meeting on Wednesday, I am not comfortable in any medical setting, so this whole thing stresses me out. One of my new formum friends said that becoming informed had helped her a lot and I am finding that to be true. Are you in the U.K.?
Stay strong.
Lorraine from Vancouver, Canada.
Hippy, I think I forgot to ask if you are having a spinal or general...I took general but really thinking about spinal for my left hip next year...will be looking forward to your experiences if you do get the spinal..heard good things about it....there were too many side effects from the painkillers, etc. with the general for me this time.
On the 16th July. I have chosen one of the best if not the best hip surgeon in the U.K and then spent 2 weeks in a re-cuperation home with 2 bouts of physio, one pool, one dry land each day except Sunday. Back home Tuesday last week with just me and a TED stocking changer daily. Providing I am careful can manage most things but avoid the vacuum cleaner completely. Acquired all the recommended accoutrements, but providing one sticks back the operated leg, taking all the weight on the unoperated leg whilst holding on can now manage most things off the floor but take extreme caution. However much improved as one might feel, one is no longer a bouncing 2 year old.
English Brian
See my reply to Hippy ! I have replied to the wrong person. I do not walk unaided but with sticks outside, but am O.K. without indoors and can manage the stairs L.R.L.R..
Chin up Lorraine, just keep thinking of the pain that will disappear after. That is what is keeping me going x
hippy, there was no one more scared than me, but honestly and truethfully, the waiting is the worse part, they will get you up usually tge first day, and yes you will feel like your leg is heavy, the worse bit is the getting in and out of bed, but by day 3 you will wonder what all the fuss was about, I am in France and the care here is amazing been in Rehab since day 3 with daily PT I am 3 weeks tomorrow. all the best love. x
Thanks for this, Brian.
All I can say, 4 yrs soon post op with the Anterior....and once I decided I was not scared but optimistic and lots of good HOPE......
I had horrid groin pain and that is what pushed me into this at age 72 in 2010...
I had a pretty great recovery for the first 5 months, home alone right from hospital and no crutch, a walker for a couple days and cane a short time when outside....
I'm fine in the house, do what I need to do, but long distance walking is a thing of the past for this body.
I deal with too much other body OA and all pretty worse since surgery.....but NO GROIN pain and I sleep good in my great Sleep Number bed.....but always wake up STIFF......good ole arthritis.
My comment after all this is Hope For The Best and don't be suprised with the detours....it takes a LOT of time to heal....
Hope all goes good for you. joy in So. Calif. U.S.
PS: I've often thought, would I have done this IF I had read all the hip boards BEFORE the replacement? I did NOT read any boards, just read about the surgery procedure and about the surgeon and talked to 3-4 people who did the Anterior and felt good with their results....
I did NOT love the idea of surgery trauma as dealing with lots of OA and Fibro, my body is full of chronic pain anyway, and added trauma....good grief....
But thinking back, the groin pain kept me awake some nights and that's when I knew something was WRONG....then I proceeded to the surgeon's office and saw the xrays of the groin. The rest is history.
As I said, Be Prepared and HOPE for the best outcome......
Hi Hippy
It would be easy for us all to say don't be scared, don't worry etc - but I remember back and I was TERRIFIED!
I had my left hip replaced on 25th April 2014 just over 3 months ago now. I remember being where you are now, scared, frightened it would be worse not better, scared I won't be able to sleep or use the stairs etc etc.
I don't know how old you are or what your mobility was like before the hip pain, but I know that I went to sleep that day in agony and woke up after the op pain free!
Ok so there is stiffness at first and lack of muscle strength, and bruised pain, but nothing at all like the pain of a clapped out joint.
Things move quickly too. I am just over three months along and walk unaided, dance at weddings, skip along and use go up and down the stairs like normal. I can do pretty much everything I could do before the op (in fact I walk much much better) and with no pain at all.
My suggestion to you is to put a note in your diary for 4 months after your op with a question - was it worth it. I bet you answer yes yes yes when that day comes.
In the meantime if you are worried about sleeping don't get a pillow to put between your knees, and just put up with the first couple of weeks when you sleep on your back. The pain when sleeping is so much better than before, or it was for me.
Good luck and god bless x
there should be a comma after don't! You should get the pillow /cushion to put between your legs to keep them apart - just read that and without the comma it says don't get a cushion - hahaha what am I like - idiot! TTFN! x