Hip replacement pre/post operation pls

Go for it Allsorts. I still remember standing, unassisted, in the shower the day after my op and realising there was no pain in my hip!

Hello again silverlining, Grannylaine and all other hipsters
I’ve got my first appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon on Friday!
My dad is taking me.
Yesterday evening he informed me that I have inherited my late grandmother’s wheelchair, which was discovered in her garage!

Excellent news FannyCornforth
I'm two weeks on now, getting more independent day by day. Took my dressings off a couple of days ago and very happy with the incisions, the surgeon has done a very neat job. I can manage with one crutch some of the time which allows me to do some cooking. Getting out for a short walk most days. My hip pain was always worse at night, to be so comfortable now when I'm in bed is absolute bliss.

Hello ? everyone. Good news about your appointment Fanny snd really pleased you are doing so well GrannyLaine.
I am 5 weeks away from my operation and the closer I get the more nervous I feel. Has anyone had oedema and if so is it resolved after the operation?
Am interested in all comments and advice.
Have a nice day all, it’s sunny here today so may take a short hobble outside.

A wheelchair Fanny, that’s great. A friend offered me her mil’s (unused) raised toilet seat yesterday ,
I am quite excited ?

I know exactly how you feel!
I’ve already been planning what I’m going to pack.
My main concern is how DH is going to cope without me

DH had oedema very badly last Summer, he now takes
Furosemide for it

The biggest and most painful problem I have is due to a trapped nerve in my back.
It results in awful pain in my lower leg (the right one, the same side as my knackered hip). Any walking at all makes the pain much worse.
At its worst it even affects my face - I can feel nerve pain behind my right eye.
I had an injection in my spine about a month ago; but it hasn’t achieved anything.
The consultant did say that it was ‘exploratory’, so I think that I might have another injection in a slightly different place in my spine.
I am seeing that consultant on Monday.

Grannylaine I saw that you mentioned Acupan. DH had that after an operation, I think that it’s very strong.
At the moment I am on Tramodol, Pregabalin and Naproxen.
I’m in a bit of a daze quite a lot of the time!

Fanny you will have time to plan post op care, for you and your dh but it’s an idea to start looking into it now, Goodness knows how long you might wait for the operation. It’s been nearly a year for me and a real struggle to get seen, hope your appointment goes well.
I have substantial oedema in my bad hip but not been given any meds. It does worry me but then I am a practiced worrier!

Oh, me too.
Mind you, it’s a good job that I’m an expert worrier; I’ve had so much to worry about of late, that it’s no job for an amateur worrier.
I’m very, very fortunate that I can have it done privately.
If I didn’t it would be a two year wait, I’ve heard.
I really should have been put on the waiting list two years ago, when they discovered what a state my hip we in; but I was told that I was ‘too young’, despite the fact that they said the level of wear and tear was like what you would see in a person in their 80s.
Goodness knows what it’s like now!
I recently had an X-ray, so I expect that I will find out tomorrow.

Fanny Hope all goes well tomorrow. The hip injection I had could have caused the oedema which has really increased my hip/leg pain.
Maybe I was unlucky but feel I ought to mention it as I wasn’t told this might happen. Necrosis also so to a worrier like me .....
My operation is on the nhs but in a private hospital which offered a first appointment fairly quickly, so given my increased pain I accepted. This was arranged via my gp surgery on the choose and book system,

I first saw the consultant in December so haven't had to wait too long, but the effort to get where I am now was long and hard,

Can someone tell me if the awful stiffness goes as well as the pain after a hip replacement ?

Oh bugger! I just typed a really long post, and then deleted it!

travels yes, I should imagine so, as you will have a hip that moves.

When I saw my X-ray on Friday I nearly burst into tears.
In fact I did cry when I got home.
My left hip was a beautifully defined ball and socket arrangement.
But my right hip…
It is all fused together in a messy blob. And there is a cyst on it too.
It’s a miracle that I can walk at all.

SueDonim

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.

I visited my neighbour on Saturday she had come home on the Friday after the op last Monday. She has got a cleaner and her daughter had stayed a few nights. She is very mobile using two crutches.
She looked lovely no pain frowns and all had gone very well. The only thing that was giving her trouble was getting in and out of bed and was going to get a double elastic loop that you hold and the other loop goes around your foot to enable you to swing your leg.
She had her other hip done some years ago and said this time it was much better without the GA . Though she joked and said the music was too soft and she could hear what they were doing she could have done with Beethoven's 5th.Good luck.

travelsafar

Can someone tell me if the awful stiffness goes as well as the pain after a hip replacement ?

Yes it certainly does. I’ve had both hips done and I can almost do a full lotus yoga position again….although that’s not to be recommended!!

The exercises you’re given after the op are very important to gradually build up strength

Tammy I had a spinal with sedation for all three of my replacements (2 knees and 1 hip) and every time I just drifted off into a lovely sleep and felt and heard absolutely nothing!

@FannyCornforth

It is all fused together in a messy blob. And there is a cyst on it too It’s a miracle that I can walk at all

That's just how mine looked, with several cysts in the head of my femur. And the magical thing is that from the day of the op, the arthritis pain disappeared along with the considerable pain in my knee which the surgeon correctly predicted was, in all likelihood, referred pain. That's not to say I've had no pain: mostly its the muscles around my hip re-attaching and settling down. It has lessened no end this week as I move more and I'm needing less and less analgesia.

Aveline

Tammy I had a spinal with sedation for all three of my replacements (2 knees and 1 hip) and every time I just drifted off into a lovely sleep and felt and heard absolutely nothing!

Aveline that''s my experience too. I don't even remember being wheeled in or out of theatre!

GrannyLaine I cannot wait!
That all sounds so encouraging.
I have pain in my knee too.

The worst pain I have is nerve pain due to a trapped nerve in my spine.

I don’t know if I have previously mentioned it; but I had an injection in my spine to free the nerve, but it hasn’t worked.

I have a follow up appointment with that Doctor this afternoon.
Unfortunately I can’t physically go, as my poor leg cannot take it (it took a bit of a battering on Friday).
I’m hoping that we can do it over the phone instead.

But I’m wondering if the trapped nerve is due to my terrible gait / posture; and I’m hoping that it might be relieved after my op.

I wondered that too Fanny, but didn't want to raise false hope. My husband commented yesterday that barring the crutches, my gait is almost back to normal and where before, my foot turned outwards it's now in a normal position. I'm pretty much in awe of what's been achieved..

silverlining regarding your oedema, I would be inclined to make a GP appointment and let him decide if it should be treated pre-op.

Charleygirl My GP shoukd be aware as the consultant put it in his letter to her ( copy to me). No one has said anything about treatment.
Am assuming it will just go away after the operation, not sure how, and can’t deny that and the ? Necrosis is a worry. Another month to wait now til The Operation and I find out.

silverlining- please try to forget about necrosis. You have not had trauma to your hip or radiation. As far as I can gather you have a normal hip that is crumbling away and needs to be replaced- all very normal.

I would be inclined to have a telephone conversation with your GP and if he/she is happy, fine, but there is still some time to treat it if necessary.

Don't think you know better so do as you are told following your op the sooner you will be up and running.
Not literally. All in good time .