Hip replacement pre/post operation pls

Congratulations on getting a date.
I had mine just over a year ago and it is a very worthwhile op.
I had had to wait due to Covid and was in dreadful pain.
To be pain free almost from getting back to your bed is wonderful.

You should be supplied with all necessary equipment by the hospital. You do need a higher chair to sit in at home.
Do the exercises given to you and you should make an excellent recovery.

Thanks Ann, appreciate your positive input.

Thought I had better bump this as it’s about to drop off the newsfeed and I did hope to get more response.

Thank you for starting this thread silverlining
Hopefully I will be in the same boat very soon.
I think I shall be seeing the orthopaedic surgeon next week.
I will follow this thread with great interest

I’ll keep bumping it too!
A rather creaky and movement restricted bump, mind you!

I was pain free immediately.
Wear surgical stockings for 6 weeks
You have to keep at a right angle - you mustn’t bend or twist
You need a grabber for picking things up
Make sure you do your exercises
An occupational therapist should visit and supply raised loo seats and rails to go round the loo and raised chair and maybe a perching stool
I had to have my own crutches!

When is your date silver?

Not me but my mum. She had a new hip in her early 80’s and she became a new woman! The relief from pain made her look ten years younger, it was astonishing.

An Occupational Therapy team provided her with all the equipment she needed and she did the exercises religiously. She’s since had a new knee, which is harder to recover from, but a hip replacement was a miracle for her.

Good luck!

I had mine done eight weeks ago and I am now pain free, getting on with my life and feeling extremely grateful that it went ahead, knowing how many people have had to wait anything up to two years.

It’s a fantastic operation, it really is. The pain from the (in my case arthritic) hip goes immediately although of course there is pain from the operation itself for around a week or two but I could see that I was gradually getting better day by day.

I had the raised toilet seat and I also bought a Sock Aid from Amazon which works with tights as well as socks. I also had a picker upper which my husband bought from Robert Dyas locally.
You will be on two crutches to start with and I wish I had got a sturdy kitchen trolley to push around which would have enabled me to transport cups of tea etc from the kitchen. This I think would be essential for anyone on their own.

Probably the worst bit for me was having to sleep on my back.
I really struggled with that, then I read that a pillow under the knees helps and it did a little.
I then tried lying on my non operated side with a pillow between my knees to stop the operated leg dropping onto the bed.
For the past couple of weeks though I’ve been sleeping on the operated side as well after checking with the surgeon at the six week appointment.

I had four physiotherapy sessions, once a week after I got home and I stuck religiously to the ones I had to do at home, as well as increasing my walks.

Like I said it’s a wonderful operation with a very high success rate, even for folk in their nineties!

Hope this has helped!

My date is mid April Fanny. I like to be prepared well in advance. Already have crutches and a litter picker/ grabber but would love a raised toilet seat, ( honestly with loo rails to help me get up, and suddenly feeling my young /old age.

My dr said recovery is 12-18 months. Seems a long time.

I hope too to get a date for a new hip soon , really struggling at the moment . I live alone but generally independent but think I will have to ask a relative to stay for a few days . Has anyone managed on their own on discharge from hospital ?

I think you would need help at least for a week or two Susie.
The main problem is that you will be on two crutches which means you won’t have a free hand!
That’s why I mentioned strong kitchen trolleys in my post which would enable food and drinks to be transported from the kitchen to your chair.
Then there is the question of showering if you are on your own.
Although it’s a wonderful, very successful operation, it is major surgery and you do need help in the early stages to make sure the new hip is safe and to enable the muscles and soft tissue to heal properly. This of course does restrict movement to a certain extent.

Very glad I had my hip replacement last July. Excellent post op result. There's masses of info out there so I won't repeat it. Suggest you check the Bonesmart forum. It's for people who are actually going to have the op and those who've just had it. It's moderated by experienced staff and very helpful and supportive.

My mum was on her own post-op. I was living in W Africa and couldn’t get home. Mum was v prepared beforehand and she coped ok. Getting someone to come in and clean and change the bed was v useful and she had some ready meals in the freezer.

I’d forgotten about the trolley, which she still uses, in fact. It was a godsend, very useful indeed. She also has a double handrail for the stairs.

It may be different now but when my mum had her op, you weren’t supposed to get it wet until the last dressing came off so she managed with strip washes until bathing/showering was permitted.

I’d say that by twelve weeks she was over the op and feeling pretty much back to normal.

To be honest my DD who had a hip replacement last month was back to normal almost at once. OK she's only 40 but she didn't even use her stick two days after the op. I couldn't believe it. I thought I'd made a pretty good recovery but nothing like her.

I made a cotton cross-body bag for a friend to use after her hip operation. So useful for carrying mobile phones, books etc. so hands are free when going up and down stairs. Hope you are out of pain soon, best wishes for a speedy recovery.

You sound as you are pretty much prepared. The one thing which was an essential for me was an ice pack for really bad groin pain, but honestly worth it all the get rid of the horrendous hip pain. Best wishes

My doctor brother did research back in the late 1960s into the post op recovery for hip replacement patients. He had a ward full of patients and half of them were given lots of bed rest and gradually helped to walk again after a few weeks. The other half were out of bed within 24 hours of the operation. He said you could see the difference so quickly he felt guilty not getting all the patients out of bed within a day or two of the operation.

I was got up on the day of the operation itself. That seems to be standard practice these days.

Oh yes, mum was out of bed the same day! She had the op with a spinal block and sedation so didn’t have to go through a GA. They played music for her and she only remembered little bits afterwards.

What worried me most was the thought of the spinal injection which is the preferred method now but I was offered enough sedation beforehand to know nothing until the operation was over.

It’s interesting how post operative treatment has completely changed over the years. I have read that even as recently as the 70s patients were kept in hospital and in bed for about three weeks before they were allowed to get up.
I walked to the bathroom the first evening and although every step was painful I managed it.
I was lucky enough to have my operation in a private hospital paid for by the NHS so I had my own room and bathroom.

Most things have been covered but wear a nightdress instead of pyjamas.

Slippers should have backs. It is not safe to slop around.

If you wear shoes with laces it is easier to buy elasticated laces and a long shoehorn.

I have not had a hip replaced but bil. knees at different times.

I had mega problems making and carrying coffee and food as I live on my own so after my last surgery in 2018 the OT supplied me with a sturdy trolley.

Since I had an ankle pinned and plated I have used an adjustable stool in my shower, it has been a Godsend and I still use it.

You will not be able to get in and out of a bath-you will be given a board to place across the bath. If you have a shower over the bath, do not use it because you may slip and fall.

It takes roughly 3 months to recover from any major surgery and you will probably feel tired for ages afterwards but you will not regret the decision.

I was over the moon when I got my date in August 2016 aged 68. Right hip total replacement. I'll try not to repeat what others have said but my memory is poor.

I was last on the list that day and got back to ward at 8:00pm. At 9:00pm two lovely people from the physio team came to see me. I'd seen them earlier in the day and also when I went for my pre-op assessment. They got me out of bed and I took my first few steps over to the door, turned and back to bed. The walker was a tall one, that I rested my arms on.
I was in for 3 days as I had low blood pressure the second day but I should have been out after two. The days were full of physio and by the time I left, I knew how to cope with stairs - up and down. I left on two crutches.

Pre-assessment is important as they go through all equipment you will need. I had to buy nothing. They even supplied a chair high enough and a toilet seat. This is the NHS. My sister in law had her's done privately and had to buy everything.

Even though I was unable to do hip movement exercises, I'd always done a lot of Pilates and the surgeon said this had given me good muscle control and would make recovery much quicker. By two weeks, I was on one crutch and by four weeks off them completely. It can't be repeated enough, but regular exercise is tiring but vital. I lay flat down on the bed for an hour's sleep every afternoon for weeks afterwards.

I don't wear slippers and was allowed to bring some slip on shoes in to wear (just had to make sure the soles were clean)

Physio told me that I could attend for sessions at the hospital but I'd done so well in the three days, if I followed all the instructions, I'd be fine and I was. They rang me twice the following week to check. I went for my 6 week check and was given permission to drive. I drove home?

I get a little too enthusiastic sometimes and do too much gardening (bending) and both my hips ache the next day but an ice pack helps. A few weeks ago I went for my yearly x ray and completed the online assessment. A phone call 10 days later confirmed that all was well.

Well done to the NHS staff I've met to help me through this operation. I've no qualms about ever having the left hip done, if needs be. I was back to doing Pilates after 6 months. The class of 12 I go to has 5 of us with hip or knee replacements and the tutor is our age so understands our needs.

Let us know how you get on. Pain free days are on their way silverlining.

My OH has had both hips replaced. The second was 2 years ago. He was a keen walker beforehand and is now still able to do 7 or 8 miles with local ramblers.
The worst thing was back sleeping (for me, he snored!) but soon managed well on side with pillow between his legs. We were supplied with raised loo seats from hospital, and he fitted a handle in shower.
He was not given any exercises afterwards, apart from gentle walks on crutches increasing distance gradually. He had a spinal anaesthetic and was well sedated so didn’t remember anything. He was given anticoagulants for a few weeks so no elastic stockings.
As others said, up same day after op, and when he was able to climb steps the next day, he was discharged.
A useful thing to carry stuff (not cups!) was a cotton shopping type bag with the handles around his neck.
Hope it all goes well for you.