My surgery is April 26th THR Stage 4 Acascular Necrosis of 1 hip

Hey Tammi!

I had torn my labrum so badly I couldn't bear weight on it for a week. I ended up doing 6 weeks of PT, which led me right up to my left thr surgery date. I am now 3 weeks post op and doing great. Haven't even needed a cane in over a week. Been off all pain meds after 10 days. All my PT people and doc can't believe how great I am doing. I owe it all to the PT BEFORE surgery. I know everyone is different, but I totally believe the stronger you are before, the easier the recovery after. I am 49, with arthritis so bad that it had totally frayed and thinned out my labrum and destroyed all the cartilage in that hip. I could have lived with the arthritis pain a couple more years, but that labrum was the final nail in that coffin. Though I still have a ways to go, I am so glad I had it done.

Good luck and quick healing!

Tonya

Hi Tammi

I'm just under 3.5 weeks post op. My recommendations for preparing you (outside of being as physically fit as possible), would be :

long shoe horn, grabber, raised toilet seat if you can get one, pillows (if you can get a small special one for hip replacements that allow you to rest on your side without your operated leg crossing the mid line, then do)... I found sleep the hardest, but a selection of different sized pillows gives you a better chance.

Also prep up some meals for the freezer. I also bought a mug with a lid, which helped when I wanted a coffee on crutches!!!

Good luck with your surgery. I wish you every success.

Best,

Caron

hi - i am scheduled for April 26th too - getting cold feet - mostly because who will take care of me and how will i pay for it - but am much older and scared of outcome - re pain control especially - i very recently had spine surgery and pain was unbearable.

Anyway, good luck Tammi and thanks for asking for preparation suggestions.

also - i am having the superior approach, and robotic method.  any thoughts?

Hi, Tammi! For the kind of information you are seeking, You might want to check out "A laymans guide to Total Hip Replacement from one of our users - Rocketman54", which is the last of the resources listed in the pinned discussion at the top of the thread page called THR-Useful Resources: https://patient.info/forums/discuss/thr-useful-resources-487147. Graham (Rocketman) created this page so that many good ideas regarding pre-op, post-op and recovery issues, based on his experience and those of other users on this site, would be in one place.

Good luck on your upcoming THR!

Tammi,  I am 11 days out from having a right hip replacement.  I am 73 years old from Corpus Christi Texas area.  You will all the items you listed.  I have them all and find it helps so much.  The first week was pretty painful but thanks for the pain meds and physical therapy and ice.  I'm beginning to get around pretty good walked with the walker again today 3 trips to bathroom and one into my living room!  I believe it will take me another couple weeks to really master waliking without walker..harder than I thought it would be.  Still dealing with a bit of pain in my hip muscles.

anyway the pain is less than when I went in to have this done.  At least I can walk some.   I know it is getting better each day.   Good luck to you.  

"... It's been 11yrs since my original diagnosis. .."

Hi Tammi-

  You've been living with AVN for 11 years??!!  You must have pretty high pain tolerance. I had AVN after a sports injury, after a couple of months I was gobbling aspirins and dreading the scrunch sounds coming from my hip joint.

As for pre-op exercises, forget about your bad leg--exercise will just irritate it (and you, and your loved ones). Rest it for the time being. Post-op, your physical therapist will guide you through a series of stretches and resistance exercises on your bad side.

Pre-op, you should do some upper body resistance exercises. You will be using crutches, canes, and walkers until your operated side gets stronger and more flexible, and weak arms will just make things all the more tiresome.

These days, there are lots of pointers on the net regarding hospital survival kits and home recovery aids. Google is your friend. One overlooked item: ear plugs. Sleep is precious during your recovery, it's nice to drown out any commotion while you are trying to nap, perhaps at odd hours.

Hope this helps.

 

hi tammi,  

first a warm welcome to this forum of hippies -

I agree with AnnieK regarding the Layman's Guide ...- of course you can always come here with questions and concerns ..

good to read that you have  very supportive husband, especially with a 9 and 5 year old -will he be off work ?  

I hope your insurance will approve the surgery and again, come here any time, okay ...

big warm hug

renee