Posted , 23 users are following.
Hi I have my THR booked for next Tuesday I have cancelled on several occasion due to severe anxiety, this is my last chance according to my OS , I have never had surgery before and scarred something will go wrong , I am walking bone on bone on crutches but wish I could be as brave as other people who have bitten the bullet to come through the other side
Kind Regards Angela
4 likes, 71 replies
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john26737 Angie_york
Posted
I knew my THR was on the cards for a long time and was terrified.
With regards to risks, there are risks in not having the surgery too.
For me my mobility had been reduced severley. I was becoming increasingly unfit and over Weight. This was putting me at higher risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and countless other diseases.
I have had the op and once I have recovered I will be able to return to an active life and minimise these risks.
In my case the risks of surgery were much less than the risks of not having surgery.
judith12644 Angie_york
Posted
Try to go ahead with the operation, you should feel so much better. I had my hip replaced 7 weeks ago. I was worried, never having had surgery before, but my surgeon and the care I received at hospital was brilliant. I'm now out of pain, and walking normally. Best of luck .
linda38528 Angie_york
Posted
Hi Angie,
It is totally normal to be anxious - we all are as this a serious operation. BUT - honestly the operation itself is NOT hard. You can ask for Ativan to settle your nerves too. And when you wake up after the operation - NO MORE BONE ON BONE. It is wonderful.
Ask your doctor to give you something to settle your nerves and get yourself in there woman. Time to take action to reclaim your life and the operation is the first step.
Understand that this not a quick fix otherwise though. You need to do the work (physio and exercise) to recover fully. But, in my experience this was a no-Brainerd and we'll worth doing. In fact, I go for my 2nd hip in two weeks.
Be brave and go for it so you can reclaim your life.
With hugs and encouragement,
L
Angie_york linda38528
Posted
Aww bless you and thank you for your honest encouraging words of advice , you are an inspiration and I have to do this or I resign myself to a pill popping life of disability, it's also the little things like not being able to look after my grandkids or hold my partners hand .
Thanks once again and all the best for your 2nd T H R
julie49207 Angie_york
Posted
Great Angie.... and touch wood apart from the normal post op recovery at 10 weeks I feel GREAT !!!!! 🍾
renee01952 Angie_york
Posted
dear Angie --- this is all you need - your own words -
we can all tell you not to be afraid, or how normal it is to be afraid , but
I have to do this or I resign myself to a pill popping life of disability, it's also the little things like not being able to look after my grandkids or hold my partners hand .
is the biggest motivation
big warm hug - you are not alone darling ...
renee
linda81469 Angie_york
Posted
Angie I felt the same way! I didn't back out, I went through with it. But unfortunately for me after 3 weeks I dislocated my hip and had to have a revision. I'm now 4 weeks out, and am on strict hip precautions, no weight bearing and minimal hip movement and only 80% hip flexIts been hard and I've got 2 weeks left but I think about how I was before and realize that I was having a hard time getting around and in pain all the time. It's a journey and I've had good days & bad but being on this forum has helped me to feel ok with my emotions, with how I'm healing and to be able to ask questions and get support. Prayers to you that all will go well for you!! Hugs, 🤗🤗 LD
julie49207 Angie_york
Posted
Hi Annie I can totally relate to your fear ...I had many sleepless nights both with pain and nervousness about the operation.I knew I had no choice I had to have the operation as I couldn't go anywhere.
I had mine right hip 29th June and it's the best think I have had done it gave me my life back.
Staff where marvelous and others having a new hip or knee where so supportive. I know nothing of the operation didn't want to. Go for it you won't regret it. Book something a holiday or a break for 12 weeks after your operation. Focus on the future with no pain and a life you can have again.
Go girl x
Angie_york julie49207
Posted
Hi Julie , I can't thank you enough for your words of encouragement you're s very brave lady and I guess it's a case of bite the bullet n get on with a much better quality of life , what a reward !
It's the time leading up to it like waiting for dooms day , I'm a nervous wreck but I will go back to your message every time I'm feeling negative for reassurance , thank you
and God bless you honey 😇
julie49207 Angie_york
Posted
Go girl and good luck . Think nice thoughts focus on that 12th week holiday !!! X
Angie_york julie49207
Posted
Thanks for taking time out to reply Julie it really helps, I think the wait is awful I wake up after nightmares and reality sets in I'm a dithering wreck but you nice folk have got to other side and been in my shoes so I must do this for pain free future .
I got wound up yesterday cos I read about a guy who had THR and at 3 week post op a blood clot killed him poor guy , very sad !
julie49207 Angie_york
Posted
Hi Angie me again ... stop reading the negatives majority of ops are good after !!! I have been and the majority are. Take the sleep option for op take the tablets (I don't take any now) and go girl think of Christmas pain free and shopping in York Shambles pain free !!
We all get nervous before any hospital treatment. Your no different to anyone else .....your normal x
adamjackman julie49207
Posted
Taking the sleep option is definitely a good idea. I ahead a general anaesthetic. The anaesthetist wanted me to have an epidural or spinal, but I really didn't want to see, hear or smell anything. I know it was all in my head, but taking all that away took away most of my fear at that point.
I woke up some time later in recovery, with the hip done and it very clear that my fears were unfounded.
julie49207 adamjackman
Posted
Hi Adam
I know what you mean. I had a spinal with something from the Aneathatist popped in my arm not a general. I remember nothing at all? I wouldn't be worried again about this process if I had to have it again.
Regards Julie
Michiana_Mom Angie_york
Posted
I was bone on bone on the left side and almost there on the right before I had my bilateral hip replacement surgery June 29th. I REGRET NOT HAVING IT SOONER because the limp on my left side affected my left knee, and now, even though my hips are wonderful, it "feels bad"--discomfort--climbing/going down stairs. HAD I DONE THE SURGERY RIGHT AWAY (not waited two years because I was scared!) MY KNEE WOULD STILL BE GREAT.
Here's my advice: ask Jesus to direct you to a really great surgeon (I'm very serious about that--it's all ultimately in His hands!), do your research online, ask people to pray for success for you, and do it. I am in the United States and found an excellent surgeon in Elgin, Illinois (about 3 hours away--we drove, because there was no one in our area skilled enough--IT WAS WORTH IT because I hear about people who suffer long after they should be well, probably because of a poorer surgeon) who is very experienced in the anterior method and I was walking without medication at 5 weeks afterward (but it still hurt; each week gets better if the surgery went well--I tried no meds at 3 weeks and it was awful!--at 6 you feel better than at 5, at 7 than at 6, etc.). Now I am twelve weeks post, and I rarely even think about my hips at all anymore. Except I can lift my left leg up to shave or dry off in the shower, which I couldn't before, and every so often I remember when I'm walking out of the store or somewhere that, hey, my left hip (especially) doesn't hurt anymore! (Neither does, but the left one bothered me more than the right before surgery.) My opinion would be take the meds they give you--I used the hydrocodone, first the 10, then the 5 at home until about 3 weeks then stopped because I was afraid I'd fall going to the bathroom at night--because it can cause your blood pressure to drop, and you definitely don't want to fall--then the doctor said I could try meloxicam 15 mg and I used that for two weeks until week 5, after which I just take one ibuprofen at night to sleep better for my arthritis in general (I'm going to have to rotate that with acetomenophen).
Michiana_Mom
Posted
For reference--I was 53, about 155 pounds (5'8" approximately) and other than my general somewhat still milder arthritis, in good health.
Michiana_Mom
Posted
Also, try to either stay in the hospital or rehab care if you can, or have someone take care of you for at least a week or two. In the beginning, when they first try to get you out of bed so you won't get a blood clot it feels like your torso has two wooden appendages attached to it--I needed a nurse to lift my legs into bed for about a week. That's normal. At 3 weeks I didn't believe my surgeon when he told me both sides would eventually be okay, but he was right. Be patient. Realize this is a serious surgery, and expect some pain. But also don't be timid about asking for medication when needed. Be diligent and do your research (see how many such surgeries the surgeon does, how quickly and how fully his patients recover, etc.), and after that, hope in help that goes beyond what we can control. Psalm 37:5 says, "Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust Him, and He will help you." It's not a guarantee of surgical success, but it is true in life!
M1954 Michiana_Mom
Posted
Thank you for your post. I keep worrying that I've waited too long I'm bone on bone also. I have contacted a surgeon but still waiting to hear back with appt. I may try hip injection while I'm waiting.