Hi everyone, I am a 20 year old student who is finishing up a finance degree and is scheduled for two total hip replacements during summer break. I have had difficulty finding anyone around my age who has ever been in a similar situation, but I would certainly like to hear from a younger person who has experienced THP.
I was reluctant at first to have the operation done, as I would prefer to work in finance over the summer, but my surgeon believes I will not have much of a choice. Right now, even things like standing in a line or walking a rather short distance requires a lot out of me. I was diagnosed with a rare form of skeletal dyspepsia back in 2002, after years of testing to find a diagnosis for my pain. My cartilage has mostly worn away, and my pelvic bone has grown in an abnormal shape. The left joint replacement will be a specially engineered joint because the standard artificial joints will not fit correctly.
Fortunately, this problem has not heavily impacted the quality of my studies, as I have still managed to be a good student and have been able to still work quite a bit. I do get nervous about the surgery, but I take comfort in knowing that my family and significant other will be there for me during recovery. Fortunately, because of my younger age and relatively good flexibility, I hope that my recovery will be smooth.
As mentioned before, I would love to hear from a younger person who has experienced THP but also any person who could give me some support, encouragement and general tips would be very appreciated.
Hey littleone, wish I could give you some good advice other than to tell you how far they have come with this type of surgery. A possitive attitude will be a big help but reaching out to a forum like this will also be a big benifit. Wishing you a speedy recovery with a minimal amount of pain.
Hi liitleone....just look through other discussions on this forum for lots of tips and support..I'm sure it will be easier at your age! I had my op 2 weeks ago and I'm unbelievably well.Far less scary than I ever imagined.
Although I'm a very young 63 I like to think that my positive happy outlook has helped...focus on the future and how much better everything will be!!
Keep posting on here and we'll do our best to reassure you....
Chris
Number one your young & that's a positive in terms of recovery. Younger people recover better than older folk. Don't get me wrong it's a shame that your having to go thru this at ur age but try to be philosophical about it.
Not easy I know. I'm in my 50s & got both done in dec but your way ahead in terms of rehab/ recovery time.
You will certainly notice a difference post op. Your walking, standing etc will improve dramatically.
All the best
Hi Littleone. I am new to this forum as well. I am a young 57yr old and my new hip is 3 weeks old and doing
Well. I have done Pilates for 7 years and this helped me no end because after the op all of the exercise that they have given me are Pilates ones and being taught how to breathe properly was a great help to me.
After the op I never had any real pain just discomfort more than anything. You are young which is a plus point for you. Good luck and anything else that worries you then the more help you can get from any of us the
Better.
Best wishes Anita
Hi Littleone, I was 26 years old when I had a total hip replacement due to A-vascular necrosis due to steroids that were given to me to treat Leukemia. I hate to say this but I regret ever doing it. I was in pain for many years do to tight ligaments and muscles. I was told after the fact that I was too young and should never had done it . Every time I sneezed if I didn't pull up my leg in time - kinda like a flamingo- I would be in horrible pain. now 20 years later it has worn out and I need to replace it again. On top of that I have been dealing with my left leg which has been affected by A-vascular necrosis as well- I have done substantial research on revision surgery and it is not an easy surgery and has many complications. Most implants do not last more than a decade or two if your lucky than you would have to go through with it all over again. One of the things that has been helping me delay surgery and lessen the pain substantially at least on my left leg has been supplements such as large doses of Omega 3 and large doses of Vitamin D3 and other supplements.I can't advice you about supplements , but I can tell you that you should really research this out before you decide to go ahead with it. I have done a lot of research and practiced what it has taught me and that has bought me time.
Don't take it lightly. I was under the impression that I would be like a bionic woman...That is far from reality.
There is a book out that I think you should read that might help you with the pain, it talks about Vitamin D3 by Jeff T Bowles. Buy yourself some time...Do research . .Ask questions to your doctor -such as how long will this last...complications...etc. Good luck and take care if you have any questions Ill try to answer them
Hi littleone. this forum is invaluable and keep posting, everyone is different with different problems and different recovery. Barbara you've been very unlucky and no wonder you regret having the op. Littleone, there is a total hip replacement forum on Facebook which I'm sure you will find very helpful, very diverse and many young people who will be able to share their experiences with you. I urge you to join. Post if you have difficulty finding it.and good luck with your decision. Keep posting.
Thanks for the advice and comments everyone. It appears that some people have had really bad experiences, along with a lot of positive experiences. I would postpone the surgery if I possibly could, but if I don't, my pelvic bones will start to break down and I will no longer be able to walk and the damage will be irreversible. I'm a very healthy person, but no amount of Vitamin D3 is going to grow bone or cartilage back.
Just go for it and don't look back!!!
Chris
I agree, go for it, you could frighten yourself to death by reading all the scary stuff, I deliberately didn't read
too much on the Internet pre surgery as you could end up terrified. Remember there are thousands of folk who have no problems post op & are delighted they did it. Your probably more at risk if you don't do it.
Hello Littleone,
I'm a little closer to your age however I can bet these folks above are much more happy then me. I am 4 weeks P.O from a Right Side THR. My Doctor used a Ceramic prosthetic that is supposed to last a very long time for US folks 20/30's. After going from orthopedic to orthopedic I chose my Doc because he was utterly brutal.You would think I'd choose the nice one, but that's not me. I like to hear honest and damn right worse case scenarios. Any who, he told me if I'm not active runner & I don't do much hiking ,(which I don't) my prosthetic will probably last me a lifetime. Don't be scared of people in there 60's. A lot has changed since there time, including technique. I stuck to traditional because I felt minimally invasive has not proven to change much. Truth is, the smaller the incision the less that can be seen inside the bone. My scar isn't large though. It's a little over 4 inches. It will be different for you because of your circumstance. At this moment the best thing I can tell you is make sure you get some heavy duty pain management. I am still in so much pain and my Doc says it's normal. I hate it, my leg has turned in like I'm pigeon toed and just hoping it will go back. I'm still hopeful & truly believe, this surgery will make both our lives better. Best of luck.
Barbara, I developed AV Necrosis from Steroids as well. Can I ask if you know which one? Or was it a series of them. I was on Decadron. It almost drove me craxy... then the cherry on top, I got AV :-(.
Thank you msmarcie! What kind of heavy duty pain management do you recommend? Is there anything I should be doing in pre-op?
Littleone,
Hmm Probably I would have you ask your Doctor to Discharge you on different meds that you haven't been taking. That's why I'm in pain, I have become tolerant to the Meds he gave me. They were the same Meds I was talking before surgery. Not a good idea. As far as prep, I don't know who does your cleaning but I washed & cleaned every part of my house like it was the last time. I purchased a whole bunch of comfort food & fiber with protein shakes. I bought a body pillow along with eggroll pillows I can place between my legs. Just for aesthetics I did all my girly stuff. Waxing, hair dye, shaving, Pedi/Mani. You probably don't need to know that, however I know Dudes who do. Eat really good food & take vitamins to prepare your body for trauma. If you can, exercise your leg muscles. Pretty much that's all I got for you. Ask for a walker rather than crutches. ..my armpits got raw. If you have any other appointments Dental etc: Do it now. Your pretty much going to be stuck at home for at least 1 month.
Pre op excersise is good as it builds up ur muscles, I got on an excersise bike & did my best as couldn't do it fully due to pain. Post op within first 48hrs you should receive iv painkillers ie morphine vie a patient
controlled syringe pump plus any oral pain killers like cocodamol, tramadol, voltarol, etc. pain relieve is paramount within the first 48/72 hrs, after that in my experience the pain lessened but still needed to be controlled.
In terms of pre op prep get yourself ready , raised seat, bed, toilet, get a grabber to save bending down, car
journey not a prob as long as u prepare, stairs not a prob with crutches,
Don't bend more than 90 degrees, walk frequently.
Your young, you'll do well
I also had some post op morphine but then just ibuprofen, paracetamol and tramadol...still taking early morning and last thing at night and not much pain at all...
I got as much stuff to help as I could...some from ebay!....raised loo seat with a frame, grabber and hookey stick thing....big v shaped cushion, little tv table for meals and a perching chair....use a bin bag to slide in and out of the car and even help in and out of bed until you have a bit more movement. a long handled handled sponge is useful too for the obvious personal hygiene use!! Elbow crutches are easy to use and quite comfortable the hospital should give you these...
..hope this helps....
Hi,
I can relate, I had my hip replacement surgery(right hip only) in 2009 at Chicago, USA when I was 23 years old. Before I had my surgery I was nervous and felt discouraged that I had to go through THP at such a young age, wondering how things will turn out. Reading forums and previous experiences I felt like my active life was pretty much over and that I was going to be a 'patient' for the rest of my life.
You will be glad to know that this is NOT true. My pre surgery experience was much much worse that my post surgery experience, I was always in pain and began to limp with pain, so I decided to go through the surgery.
Guess what? Everything turned out just fine. Had my surgery in mid 2009, went through Physical Therapy. In my experience this is key, luckily I went to a couple good physical therapists. The exercises after hurts pretty bad, but just get through this phase and everything turns out great. By mid 2010, a year later I was able to swim, do rock climbing go to the gym every alternate day. By 2011 I began to just run on the tread mill and it din't hurt.
I do not run much based on my doctors advice, but I work out. My life turned out better in one way, I began to work out more because I believed that now this was more of a necessity than an optional choice. Most times these days I forget that I have an implant and am relatively active. No contact sports though, but I play tennis and swim.
Good Luck. Let me know if you have any questions anytime.
Hi littleone2
I had a hip replacement at 33 years old and, to cut a very long story short, have gone on to experience a life that I could never have expected before.
I got to the point where I could barely walk and, actually, the initial prognosis was that I would not benefit from a THR - instead, I was told to start "wheelchair shopping".
Contrary to that diagnosis, I have gone on to become a qualified fitness instructor, cyclists, swimmer and triathlete - I am competing in an Ironman Triathlon later in the year.
Whilst I am not suggesting that you will necessarily want to do some of the things that I have done, I would urge you to see this as a hugely positive thing in your life.
My wife and I have literally just (yesterday!) launched a charity (Honeybones) dedicated to suporting people who have joint and bone related issues and I'd be thrilled if you would take a look at the website and the forum.
Perhaps you could get involved in helping us to get the forum off of the ground?
Phil
Hi all,
As another user commented on this discussion going off topic I have moved all of the posts in reply to Phil re the charity to the discussion he posted here https://patient.info/forums/discuss/support-charity-124380.
Regards,
Alan
Emis Moderator
Hi littleone2, I'm 32 and had my hip replaced 5 weeks go and am just starting to get back on my feet an feeling good. I'd been waiting 20 years for it to be done so wasn't straight forward as with yours. I've got so much more movement already and all I can say is do your exercises and good luck!!!!!! YOU WE FEEL LIKE A NEW LADY😊😊😊