Whoop!... Day 28....

Sue.

Its a vital thing - to avoid risk of DVT which can kill you. . The injections are really easy to do and if you cant face it then they ask that a relative does it for you. I had started with my daughter doing mine but she hurt a lot more than doing it myself.

Top tip is not to rub the tummy afterwards as it causes more bruising. Its for 4 weeks and I am on my 3rd lot - you will be surprised at how you just get used to it xxx

Hi sue, 

it's to prevent dvt, blood thinners, some hospitals prescribe it, some don't, it's really not as bad as you think. 

I was expecting the worst, but I kinda got used to it.

linzi x

Hi Sue

It's really easy and not like a normal injection at all. I would much rather have them than wear the Ted stockings which are a real nuisance

they gave me injections while I was in hospital but at home they gave me dispersible aspirin for 6 weeks and I had to wear the compression socks. So there are alternatives to the injections.

Sue - Its ok to be afraid but it is the very littlest thing really.

The needle retracts itself and it hardly hurts - not at all like a normal injection.

Some hospitals are moving over to a drug but not all - as its much more expensive. 

Read up on the whole thing - it will give you much more reassurance. And if as a result you get a better handle on squeamish things then thats a positive. I took responsibility because I hated it "being done" to me by others as there was a loss of control.

Take care and try to get informed as it will help xxxx

It is nicer than the stockings. You do get used to it and if you are going to be asked to do it at home you will be taught whilst in hospital. If you cannot manage it will be a relative or the district nurse, you certainly would not be the only person to find they cannot do it.ask at your pre op, or hip school if you have not already been,what method is used by the hospital to prevent DVTs. It can vary from surgeon to surgeon within the same hospital

Hi Maggie

I wonder if we think about asking a district nurse in to come and do something relatively trivial, when there are brave really sick children who need to submit to much more awful regular treatments, then this might put it into context. To be honest I hated the idea of injections first time round - but when I thought about taking a district nurse time up when they have so many other perhaps more essential calls on their time then I just pulled myself up. I am now on my 3rd set in 20 months and it does get easier.

I did the injections quite happily and do agree that money could be better spent, however if someone cannot do the injections themselves, has no friend or relative willing and able, and has been prescribed the treatment, daily attendance at the surgery or the district nurse are the only alternatives. Given the relative immobility and inability to drive of post op hippies attendance seems an impossibility. I have heard of some patients being given the injections by district nurses. My final point is that diabetics have to get used to injecting themselves

Sue

It depends on your hospital and surgeon what you will have.

Its perfectly normal to call his secretary if you want to find out more or explore the options.

I had 38 staples in my size 10 bum afterwards for 2 weeks - so the needles were a temporary prick in comparison to those blighters 24*7.

Just remember you are over 90% likely to have a great result. Your mental and physical state before the operation will really influence your recovery. So take control and try not to be daunted.

Take care

xxx

Glad the holding the needle in for a count of ten is working Neil I have asked quite a few people and nursing staff at my hospital about the pills and they all seem to think that the pills are only available to the private sector. Whether this is all over the country I don't know can only speak about locally. Gillxx

I saw an article that said the price difference was £7 per week for injection compared to £40 per week for pills. So if this is the case I see my bravery in the face of the needle being part of helping the NHS finances 

Yes thanks so much Gill for your very good advice.

Well my GP was happy to prescribe Dalteparin/Fragmin in either pill or injection form on the NHS.... this is in north London.  So maybe there are indeed local variations.

Hey Neil

I had obviously been in the old school of hard knocks, surgically speaking. My post op treatment is 4 weeks of 2 crutches, 2 weeks on 1, 38 ruddy big staples up my thigh and across my bum, 6 weeks of surgical stockings and 4 weeks of injections, sleeping on back for 3 months. Oh and I havent asked but probably no sx ever cos its not British.

After all of this I a revision in the offing for the hip he got wrong first time round 18 months ago. My humour is dark...and resilience tested to destruction 

Wow Christine that's really putting you through the mill! 

Staples sound horrid

All the leaflets say you can commence 'personal relations' (!) when 'you feel confident enough' - but yes that's not the British way as you say 

Sorry to hear about the prospective revision.... crickey let's hope you get a surgeon who's got a 'lighter touch' - or do you have to go back to the one who got it wriong in the first place?!

Its the same surgeon - Mr Safe Hands as he is known in the region. Silly bggr just put the head in a bit too big and a bit too tight - 4mm max but enough for hypermobile me to find myself in huge pain. Now he is v skilled and 2 second opinions which he has taken to heart - seeking one from right outside the region from a well reputed chap who did not know him so would not be prejudiced - mean he knows what to do. With 350+ THR per year (according to National Joint Register) and a lower than average revision and death rate he just tried too hard to get me back rock climbing. I got him to do my other hip as he is best placed to fix me - though some would say I am taking a huge leap of faith. We have known each other almost 2 years now and I know he is mortified and wants to get me better. He is everything that a typical Ortho isn't - quiet, thoughtful, introspective, modest and has used the word sorry more times in his letters to me than any hospital manager would want to see. He is genuinely worried that a revision will cause me to dislocate and I need him to explain why as the constant debliltating pain from being too tight which is what I have had for 19 months is very hard to consider living with on a permanent basis. Hey ho - I stil have my own hair and most of my own teeth. And I have this forum which is a sanity saver and probably stops us driving our families round the bend.... xxxx

Well that's high volume indeed.  Should have been a big positive.  

Difficult stuff, but as you indicate, he knows what the issue is and what the consequence has been for you....

I guess he has a very vested personal interest in sorting you out - whereas someone else would by necessity perhaps be more detached/might be less obviously concerned about making it work for you.

How would the revision work - change to the head or the liner?

Neil x

Hi C

Relate! My 1st surgeon was weird. Great reputation but totally lacking in social skills. He totally wrecked my right hip over 2 ops and failed to notice from X-rays that device, with its 7 screws, came loose in 2012, and was migrating up via pelvis.

When it came to left, sought 2nd opinion. Brilliant guy. Op on left was perfect. He picked up on problem with right and has complet

oops…completely sorted it with 3rd op.

I insisted upon throwing my arms around him at post-op, saying I was allowed as I'm old. He was thrilled. My Hero.

Elaine