12 days post op

Hi Ginny,

I did the rehab center after surgery for three weeks and now I have in home PT, OT, a nurse and a social worker who come thtee times a week and my insurance pays for all of it. I am in Tennessee.

I guess in NJ  it is not done that way.  I was told by the hospital if I can walk so many feet, (i don't remember how many), we have the option to either go straight to rehab facility or go home and do outpatient.  I would have loved for someone to come to me in the beginning.  It was very stressful getting to physical therapy. 

Yes it is stressful when you have to find rides to outpatient and the first two weeks are the worst for moving around. I wish you would have had it at home too. I asked to have it. Did you ever ask about it?

Hi Ginny, I live in The U.S. in California. My therapist also comes 3 times a week. He actually made me think about the things that I needed to do daily to feel better. It does hurt and I cannot say that I enjoyed every portion of it, but it definitly pushed me to get up daily endure the pain and make myself better. Everyday was a new achy muscle, but the reward for the extra effort was and is progress... Doing it without pain meds really allowed me to be able to understand the difference between pain and being uncomfortable. 

I did ask, but because I could walk a distance, my insurance company said no.  But, go figure, they paid for 8 days in a rehab facility.  Private room and everything.   the first few days there i wasnt really feeling well, but after that, a big social thing along with just an hour of pt in the morning and an hour of pt in the afternoon.  after that, you dined in the dining room, had visitors, i mean, the room was bigger than my bedroom at home and i had everything i needed.  except, i would have rather been home, with my things, my bed and my cat....... 

I totally agree with you.  I does hurt.  I am 12 weeks post op so, i should say "did" hurt.  i did it without pain meds too.  i hated being dopped up in rehab.  once i came home, i didnt take anything but an occasional tylenol for a headache.  I still have some issues with some weak muscles on the outer part of my leg that i am working on, and i dont seem to walk very far without stopping several times, but i know in time, that will change.  This time next year, my other hip gets done.  perhaps with both fixed my walking will get much better.  i want to be able to execise like before.  patience and time.....  Ginny

Hi Ginny , no prob if you don't want to say but wondered why someone as young ad you needed a hip replacement ?

i wax sixty last dec  and thought I was young to have one till I found this forum 

Mary x

Hi five04 boy , how many weeks lost op are you ?

i am 10 tomorrow and still have pain when I try to walk without a limp. 

Not sure if I should take meds to enable me to walk normally or not ?

Mary x

I was diagnosed at age 13 with a slipped epithesis (deformity) in my right hip.  My mother noticed i was falling off my bicycle a lot and took me to doctor.  He in turn found a sponsor for me.  I was sent to Philadelphia's Children's Hospital where i stood in front of a panel of doctors (once they did all the tests on me) and they observed all my results and me.  They said that i was too young for the surgery because i had not stopped growing yet, and it would be useless to do surgery as more would be needed in the future.  Bottom line, sponsor did not want to pay for constant surgeries.  So, i was sent home after a week and learned to live with a limp.  Year after year, leg/hip got worse.  It took about 30 years to get worse.  These last few years, i put on a lot of weight because exercising was difficult, walking got worse, and it started to affect my performance at work.  i wasnt able to climb stairs, stand on my feet, etc....you know how you can go downhill.  anyway, last october i was in tears at work, and said this was it.  went to surgeon, set a date, and boom....new hip.  there was a lot of scar tissue and i had arthritis in that hip.  Well, bad news is, i have arthritis in my left hip .  left hip not as bad as right one was, but now that this hip is fixed, i can tell ya, the left leg is giving me a lot of trouble and pain.  i didnt ralize how much pain i was in till the right one got fixed.  so, i have to wait for my insurance (for physical thereapy basically) to renew and my disability to renew.  I plan on getting the left one done then.  i am going to have to deal with the pain as much as i can.  i figured i dealt with pain and hard time walking for at least the last 3 years, i canwait 7 months.  so, for now, i exercise the left leg gently as to not be in so much pain.  and am trying to get the weight off because i know that will help.  so, that's my story in a nutshell.  lol 

Sure you don't want people to feel sorry fir you but I really do , makes my prob seem so small . Hope you have family and friends. Who support  you  and you know where I am ,

cwtches ( cuddles ) from Wales uk

mary x

Thanks Mary.  I have a small family, but lucky for me I have great friends.  It's been a trying time actually because the week i was to go in for surgery, my sister was disagnosed with ovarian cancer.  she has had 12 weeks of chemo and 2 blood transfusions.  she is my rock believe it or not.  i'm very thankful to have her in my life.  she keeps me going. 

So glad you have each other .