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A Positive Experience!!

Posted , 16 users are following.

joe82771
joe82771

I'm a 55 yr old male who needed a THR due to many years of athletic activity and hard work. I, like others, had read alot of the bad experiences and put it off twice until I couldn't walk without a cane, couldn't get up out of a chair without turning sideways and pushing up off the chair arm. I was eating opoids like m and m's so I could go to work(construction) every day to save money for a possible 12 weeks off. It was BAD. My wife cried alot watching me grit my teeth every step and going to work. I had done alot of research, talked to several people who had it done. They had zero complications and were very encouraging and advised me to stay off any forums as most posts were negative experiences. So I opted on the anterior approach, and went thru with it May 11 2016. They did the spinal block and said I would just be sleepy and "May hear us talking, but would not feel a thing." They were right! After entering the OR loopy from the pre meds to relax me, the last things I remember were them asking me to sit up, 'lean forward and arch your back like a Halloween cat" the spinal was inserted, pain free and I laid back down. Their last words .."roll over on your left side" next thing I was opening my eyes in recovery. They gave me some ice to chew on, a pain shot, observation for 60 mins then up to my room. 2 hrs later I used a walker to use the restroom. 4 hrs later PT came in, got me up, used the walker, 2-300 steps. Mind you the spinal was still working full time. Anyway,, I was amazed! The surgeon came in to see me @7.30 am the next morning. I demonstrated I could walk with zero aid. He said after PT that morning, I could go home that afternoon if I wanted. I wanted! PT the next day, PT the next Mon, Wed and Friday. I had the exercises down pat. Never went back. I was sore(muscular) but never had joint pain. I went back to work on day 9 being careful not to do some specific movements to stay out of danger of dislocation. I have been working ever since and back in the gym 3-4 days a week. Today was week 4, zero issues. I am walking pain and limp free! I'm off(been off) the pain meds, and today were my last morning and afternoon 325mg aspirin for clot protection. Driving and working every day, pain free. I am astounded! I feel for those with post op issues, and I see there are many. I wanted to post my positive experience in hopes of encouraging others that it's not all bad. Albeit its only been 4 weeks, but I am very very happy to have my life back! Peace, love and prayers for all!

4 likes, 28 replies

28 Replies

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  • jim100
    jim100 joe82771

    Posted

    Joe,

    That's awesome and just what I need to hear.  I'm scheduled for mid-November for a bi-lateral and your post is good for the soul! I'm a handyman and have had to slow way down over the last two years.  I'm hoping to get closer to a normal activity level after surgery.  Your post gives me lots of hope.  Good luck and keep us informed of your progress,

    Jim

    • joe82771
      joe82771 jim100

      Posted

      You'll be back in spades!! Believe it!! I'm a brick Mason, if I can do it after THR, so can you!
  • sugarman
    sugarman joe82771

    Posted

    thats awesome keep it up :D

    it would really be benificial for you to find a tai chi class, it is by far hands down theee BEST excersizes for building strength back into every muscle in the legs. if my knees werent destroyed thats where i would be. i did it for 5 years and i can only say you would be amazed at the results. if you dedicate 6months you will have incredible power in your legs.

     

  • hope4cure
    hope4cure joe82771

    Posted

    Glad to hear you had a such a positive great experience.

    I was young and in good shape, great muscle tone and my recoup was with a lot of positive people around me in the hospital & therapy. 2nd day up and walking . Learned all the do & donts was home the 2nd day. It was a complicated surgery went well had a great surgeon.that was 15 yrs ago . Had 2 more since. Each one is different.

    II still can't run but can ride my horses as long as I post. Little changes here & there.mas long as I have my mobility that what counts..

     

  • StaceyJG1
    StaceyJG1 joe82771

    Posted

    What a fantastic experience you had!  I'm glad you shared your story.  You're right, there are a lot of negative posts, but the positive ones tend to get lost as we're researching for the what-if's we will face.  I had both hips done on May 10 and am still on a walker.  I won't say it's a negative experience, it's been just what I've expected.  Best wishes!
  • debbi1949
    debbi1949 joe82771

    Posted

    Wow! Great post ! Did you ever have the TED socks? If yes, for how long and was it as issue?
    • joe82771
      joe82771 debbi1949

      Posted

      No ma'am, did not wear the socks. I was instructed to do an exercise several times a day to keep the blood moving in the leg. You lay on your back, leg extended, pull your toes back up as far as possible, then down as far as possible. Moving your foot only. I did them as instructed 5 times a day, it said 25 reps each time, buy I did 50. I was black and blue from inner thigh down to my ankle almost. Last thing I wanted was s clot. So the exercise, walk as tolerated. Ice afterword to keep the swelling down and the aspirin twice a day. And again, I pushed it and took it 3 times. I told the surgeon about me self medicating, he was shaking his head yes. But check with your Dr first.
  • joe82771
    joe82771

    Posted

    A couple of more things, I did research possible surgeons in my area. Reviews online, referrals from others who had joint replacements, I asked him point blank, ' how many of these have you done?' His 140-150 per year since 2005 was a big selling point. Also, a positive attitude is a must! Read the success stories, watch hip replacement recovery vids on YouTube, see others walking unassisted, pain free! See first hand testimonials. They were very inspirational going in. As a matter of fact I kept one on my phone of a man 8 weeks out in a squat rack doing reps. I bet I watched/showed it 100 times to family and friends! 'See look!!!'.."see look at this dude!!" Very inspirational. Don't get caught up in the negative. Watch some youtube vids, keep them with you, watch them often..be positive. The surgery has a 98% success rate. They have the procedure down! Having confidence going in is a HUGE asset!!
  • linda38528
    linda38528 joe82771

    Posted

    Hi Joe,

    Loved hearing your fabulous story and about your great success. Thanks very much for sharing it and encouraging us to stay confident about a good recovery.

    I am waiting for my second hip replacement (first one done in late February). My recovery was not as rapid or as complete but I feel positive about recovering fully (posterior approach surgery takes longer to recover).

    Best wishes for continued recovery.

    • joe82771
      joe82771 linda38528

      Posted

      Thank you so much. Stay positive Linda, it's critical! One thing, you have been thru it once, you don't have the big unknown first timers do, you know the drill. That's def in your favor! Best wishes and good luck with your recovery also!
  • bini31328
    bini31328 joe82771

    Posted

    Hi Joe

    You've done amazingly well ! But yes you are right , most people find a forum because they are worried and / or have a problem so it could mean there's an imbalance towards the negative aspects . Great to have such a positive post so others can see it really can be problem free ! Xxx

    • joe82771
      joe82771 bini31328

      Posted

      Yes, exactly. Searching for info on the internet. 9/10 times resulted in ugly, unfortunate post op experiences. In my research I had a close relative whom had one, no issues. A friend from the gym, no issues. Various people I played football with,no issues. Some of them gave me other numbers of people to call and ask about their success stories. So I probably heard 25-30 success stories, and the one that had the revision, was back within 12 weeks. We can call that a sucess! They just rarely get reported on these sites. We all need positive input. Let's face it, it's traumatic emotionally and physically, no matter if it is problematic or not. I just want my story out there. There are many many happy endings. I urge anyone to not be influenced by the negative. It caused me to suffer needlessly. Yes, there's risk, there's risk in driving on the interstate too. There's risk every time you leave your house, on a number of fronts. Positive in = positive out. I want to be a light for someone, a few ,whatever. I want to help people by sharing a good story! And there's many many more. They just don't post. Don't suffer needlessly.
    • bini31328
      bini31328 joe82771

      Posted

      You are right Joe 

      ive had 3 hip surgeries, a resurfacing, a total hip , and revision of the resurfacing to a total hip - made good recoveries all three times . In each case pain was the causative factor , although the revision was prompted by the resurfacing gone wrong , leaking metal and fracturing my femur . But i dont feel negative about any of it . Its big surgery , although the anterior approach seems to help a quicker recovery as in your case , and there can be complications,  so people need to make the decision based on reality and not the best case scenario . But its a shame more people like yourself dont contribute to these forums by posting the pisitive experiences so people facing it can get a balanced view - thank you again ! Xx

    • renee01952
      renee01952 joe82771

      Posted

      well said, Joe - I didn't knfind this forum until I was about 3 weeks post-op from 1st THR- everything went well , however I started to feel pain in groin on other side and since I was housebound and bored, I was looking for answers on the internet - et voila, the forum ...

      I don't think that if I found this pre-op I would have cancelled the surgery - There was no alternative except spending the rest of my life in pain and a wheelchair - there were so many good tips I was not told about and would have made my life a bit easier once I got home ...I live alone and had no clue what to expect ... 2nd time around was so different -

      I don't know about otheres but I had only heard about the miracle stories about people who knew people who had a neighbor whose son etc ...so when it doesn't go like you think it should, you worry -

      I hope more people will share their positive experiences and not feel ashamed to do so  - 

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