Hip advice, please

NotTooOld, My DH has had both hips replaced and both ops were a great success. He had an epidural with sedative rather than a general anaesthetic and was back home after three days. They give you lots of advice about what you can and can't do for six weeks after the op so don't be scared just think about being free of pain and much more mobile.

Good Luck.

NotTooOld its a frightening prospect I know , I had my right hip replaced and several years ago and the relief from the grinding pain makes it so worth overcoming your fears for..
Mine was a great success and the recovery was good I was back at work on light duties after 2 mths and driving after 6wks. They will get you on your feet very quickly and home again to recover. I also had the epidural with sedative and was very scared but it was fine I didn't remember a thing about the surgery.
Don't put it off just go for it as soon as they offer you the surgery you won't regret it.

Thank you very much, merlotgran and tanith. Your positive comments are very reassuring. I didn't know you could have an epidural. I rather think I might prefer the general anaesthetic so I do not know what is going on, coward that I am.

I haven't had a hip but have had both knees replaced in the last seven month. I had spinal anaesthetic and a sedative. I was barely aware that anything was happening and no after effects. Of course the recovery and exercise programs are not without discomfort but the relief of not being in constant pain is well wort it.

My sis-in-law had a general, NotTooOld and her recovery period was nowhere near as straightforward. DH had a sedative with his first hip replacement and was so drowsy he wasn't really aware of anything going on. I rang the hospital expecting to be told not to visit until the following day but they told me I could go in as soon as I liked because he was sitting up in bed watching the Test Match!!

It was such a success he didn't bother with the sedative for the next hip. He chatted to the anaesthetist throughout the op and although he couldn't feel anything he could hear the equipment being used but that didn't bother him.

Having had three general anaesthetics myself for various ops I would be only too happy to avoid them if possible.

I'm sure you will get lots of advice and tips from others on here.

I know several people who have had hips done.
There isnt a single one of them that regrets it.

I suspect in a few weeks time, you will be wanting to know where your x ray appointment is, and waiting in pain for your operation to be done.

I had mine done on Sept 23rd and had a spinal with sedative. This is the usual way now as it makes recovery speedier. I too was about as terrified as you can be beforehand!

I have had quite slow recovery owing to other health problems, but we knew it would not be a piece of cake for me. However, I am now back to driving and my main aim now is to get some muscle strength back, as mine were/are a bit weedy from a long recovery from a fracture 2 years ago. I can now stay standing up - which was quite impossible before.

What I would say is not to expect to be better instantly - I did and was disappointed! The physio says that everyone recovers at their own speed but we all get there in the end. Hopefully you will be a quick recoverer, but if not don't get despondent - for me it has been a long haul but has been worth it.

Oh, you are in the right place to ask, NotTooOld! Several of us have recently had hips and / or knees replaced, and in general are very happy.

I am 69, and had a knee replaced last May, and a hip replaced just over two weeks ago, both with spinal sedatives. Both were so successful, and honestly, I am going upstairs faster now, and with much less pain than before the operation. Sleep is a bit disturbed for a while. I am using just one crutch, and can do most things - slowly!

Do all the exercises, keep mobile, rest a lot too and all will be well. I am a walking tribute to our wonderful NHS! (Oh, and I had my cataracts down in between!)

Good luck, and keep us updated.

It's nearly ten years since mine was replaced and I am still going strong. The relief from the pain was almost instantaneous and I never looked back, though I know that different people have different experiences. Not quite as bionic as Ariadne, though I also had a partial shoulder replacement the following year. Prepare to set the alarms off at airport security!

Hi Notsoold.
I had my hip replaced 6 years ago. No way would I put up with pain of worn out hips or knees.
Hip replacement is common place today, very straightforward if you are in good health otherwise.
I won't lie to you, it is painful for a couple of weeks afterwards and you will need pain killers, uncomfortable for a few more weeks, but in my experience I was 90% back to normal after 3 months. Took about a year before I forgot I even had a replaced hip and was 100% fit.
You will need to follow the physio regime if you want to recover asap.
When my other hip starts to get painful, I will be asking for a replacement asap, no point in putting it of, get your life back asap.

I have been very wimpish about reading hip replacement threads because I know mine will need doing eventually, but thanks to these threads and a friend who had hers replaced at the beginning of October I don't feel half as bad now. Although she went commando and really, I want to know your thoughts on that. She says the struggle to put her pants on was just too much, on top of socks and stuff, but I can't imagine it and surely it would increase the pile of washing hugely?

The other thing that surprised me was where the scar is, not where I had thought it would be at all! But at the back. She is still being very cautious about walking through crowds, in case she gets knocked, but really she says that apart from feeling very low for a few weeks when she couldn't imagine every being 'normal' again, she feels wonderful. She is being ultra-cautious, but she says that is because she lives on her own and couldn't bear to have to have it done again straight off.

I asked how she got all the grab bars fitted around her house, and she said the NHS did it all. I was amazed as I know that some people on here didn't have that done for them. They also raised her armchair for her with a system of adjustable metal feet, gave her crutches and things to raise her loo seats. I think it must vary from area to area. The only things she had to do was have her bed raised and buy a grabber.

I have read since that you can hire higher chairs that tip you forwards and out. We don't have armchairs (you need arms on all your chairs to heave yourself up) so that seems a good idea for me.

Half the village has now seen my friend in the nude. This is because she has a bath, not a shower. So in our rota was included shower duty, where she would walk around to use next door's in her dressing-gown, have a shower while we stood guard while she negotiated stairs and things, then help to dry areas she couldn't reach.

Itchy scar - that's her main problem now, but I reckon it's the healing process. What did you all use?

Last summer six of my friends had a replacement hip operation and all have recovered very well. This included one friend age 57 who was fast tracked through the system as she was in such pain.
One neighbour who had an epidural for the operation insisted the builders had moved into the operating theatre during his operation.

I understand all hip replacement patients are encouraged out their hospital bed within 24/48 hours of the operation. My DB (a doctor) carried out research in the 1960s in Toronto to improve the mobility of hip replacement patients and he treated half the ward in the traditional manner and the other half were encouraged out of their beds asap. His research showed that it is important to get out of bed asap and to move and do the exercises. Sorry!

That's the part my friend still feels grumpy about!

She also said to me, try to improve your upper body strength as much as you can in advance, as you will need it to haul yourself up.

She was very cross at having sat herself down in the hospital café without making sure she would be able to get up again, too. She went for a checkup and had to be hauled out of her seat.

Thank you so much for all your stories and encouragement. I am waiting now for an appointment for an x-ray. I will let you know how I get on.

Oh, and by the way, I had the op on a Friday and was home on the Monday; once the physios see you can climb and descend a flight of stairs you're off!

Sounds like you are doing really well, Ariadne. Good for you. It's at times like this I wish we lived in a bungalow!

I have a steep, narrow staircase and didn't find myself greatly disadvantaged when I came home with my crutches. Before I left the hospital, the OTs made sure I could manage getting into and out of the bath - my neighbour had lent me a bath seat and a high seat for the loo.

OMG annodomini - did you really need a high seat for the loo? I hadn't thought of that. How long before you could use the normal loo?

janerowena - you made me laugh about going commando because today in Sainsbury I bought two t-shirt type nighties ready for my hospital visit. They come down past my knees in case I also need to go commando. It's called 'thinking ahead', I reckon.

In my gp's surgery and my dentists all the chairs are low and armless! I can't get out of them unaided! How stupid can you Get?

Yes, you do need a raised seat for the loo, NotToOld. Very comfy. I was quite sorry when DH didn't need it any more (I think it was after about 8 weeks) They're a pain to clean though.

A friend told me she put hers through the dishwasher

Where did you get it from, merlotgran?

It's amazing what you can put through a dishwasher if you are determined enough!

DH had a hip replacement a couple of years ago (had it in the February, did the cycle lap of the local triathlon in the July..)

At "Joint School" he was given a prescription for various aids, including a raised loo seat on a frame. So we had those things - they don't want them back - when I had my knee done, together with a grabber (essential) and a leg raising thingy. Is this maybe a local arrangement? I was also given my ice pack, which is an absolute godsend.

I think now they cut down on grabbers and so on - someone in hospital said they'd had to buy them.