Hip replacements......let's hear your stories!

[trails4u]

Met with the surgeon today.....it's as bad as I expected. Bone on bone...left hip is done. He said on a 1-10 scale....it's a 10. Actually seemed a bit surprised I was still walking on it. Heading in on Dec. 1 for install of the new one. He'll do the anterior (front side) and said he cuts no muscle...I'll walk out same day of surgery.

I'd love to hear others' experiences....

[deces]

I know a then person who had his hip and knee replaced. About a year out he took a fall and snapped his femur, the surgeon had to wrap & lace the femur together for about 8" to get it normal like again.

[jaysouth]

It works, don't sweat it.

[GregLaROCHE]

I had both of mine done about ten years ago. I was walking in the hallways the next day after each. Hip replacement is one of the most successful major operations done today. You’ll feel so much better afterwards. You should be excited to be finally getting it done. Good luck and heal fast.

[slam45]

i have 2 total hips that came a few years after a tough logging accident. the relief of the back ground pain I'd been living with was truly eye opening... it will give you another shot at living a full life... get out and walk everyday as you recover...

[brass410]

go get it done, words cannot convey the relief you get, had mine done (Birmingham type) walking as soon as spine block wore off. done 10 yrs a go,walk as soon as they will let you when they aren't looking run. LOL best wishes for speedy recovery

[steve urquell]

I work in a hospital in PT and have seen thousands of them. Many have less pain the day after surgery than before. That anterior hip is the better than a posterior because you have less restrictions. Git er dun!

[MrWolf]

I am having MRI's done on the lower lumbar and both sides of the hip in a few weeks. Get to be there at 7am and was told will take two hours straight with no break. Shouldn't be a problem as the only position I can do for that long is flat in my back. They are trying to figure out why I can't sit, stand, etc for more than 45 minutes or so without pain. Already had L4-5 done (get me walking right) and nerves burnt above and below but nothing has helped that aspect. Wish you the best of luck. From others comments, you should be fine.
Ron

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Old horse wreck caught up with me. Right hip replaced in Dec 2020. Had the 'conventional' rear cut. Used a walker a couple weeks, a cane a few more, then walking freely. Hip works great, I can spend hours on my feet, hunting elk in the mountains at 74 thanks to the hip surgery.

[trails4u]

Thanks for all the feedback! I am excited to have it done.....had the right one scoped about 7 yrs. ago and doc told me than that my left was actually in worse shape. He said I'd know when it was time to tackle the left one......and yep, it's time. Past time actually....but I had a pasture conversion / fencing project that just had to be done before I go down.

I've been thinking about the things I used to enjoy.....looking forward to getting back on the Ducati, playing golf with my son, hiking....and the list goes on! :)

[.429&H110]

Wife's hips were just about locked five years ago, one was broken and pinned from a fall, other just wouldn't move, so she slept with oxycontin, life was not good. She could drive a car, but could not get out of it, requested we bury her in it. We moved to Tucson because Tucson Orthopedic Center has a lot of practice does robotic implants so both of her legs are within a millimeter of the same length. Length was a problem in the old days, geezers walked in circles, pulling around the short side. First hip took 40 minutes, kissed her goodbye, to kissed her hello. Second hip two months later took 80 minutes because they had to get the titanium pins out, and waited a month for the bone to heal before we did any fiscal therapy, she had to learn to walk all over again, the muscles were gone. Nowadays, at 78 she can walk the dog a mile, do two miles in walmart, and most important: get out of a car.

Most important!
After an implant start out in a pool! As soon as the incision is dry get wet, walk neckdeep in the pool.
We live in a village with a pool designed for grizzled grannies, and they use it, tough old birds.
Start with floaties on your arms, just get the motion back, and build muscle.
(My shoulders are much better, without surgery, just from swimming. Is it snowing where you are...sorry)
(Our pool is heated to 80F, hot tub 90, cool out today, barely 80 out)
Arizona pools have ducking chairs, you need not walk, the chair puts you in the pool.
You find out who your friends are, who will push the up button, please?
Just because you can walk the day after surgery, doesn't account for the weak ligaments tendons and bone loss.

We had a big poster in my shop, I want a copy: "DON'T FALL FOR ANYTHING!"

[Duckiller]

My wife, who passed in2018, had her hips done. She did not do her physical therapy as she was supposed to do ,but she didn't hurt so she was happy. Me and my children would highly recommend do the PT . You will walk much better with no pain and do more thing.

[.429&H110]

Old people at church are talking to doctors about hips knees shoulders hands, one nice lady has a broken bone in her foot that has been two months in a boot so far. Doctors will decline to put new knees in too fat, too old, too sick old people. The big bugaboo for implants is infection, it happens, but not a common complication. I don't go about liking hospitals, but the third floor of Tucson Orthopedic is remarkably clean, I have seen some hospitals that were as clean as a bus station. You have to have heart and lungs enough for surgery, after some age, we just aren't up for the adventure anymore.

[45workhorse]

My mom has but one original joint left in her. Knees, hips and one shoulder, she's 84 gets around just fine.

Buddy just had his hip done was up and walking two hours after the procedure.

Good luck.

[brokeasajoke]

Had mine done at 33 years old(I'm 44 now). Was truly life changing. Broke it in a accident when I was 17 and set up arthritis and a cyst on the bone that kept locking me in the bent over position. Ran with my kids in a wheelbarrow as I had never been able to do it until then. 2 months dragging brush, 3 months back on the job, 6 months 100 percent. Mine was not done anterior so I had some down time.

[fatelk]

My wife had one last year. She had multiple ankle surgeries over the course of ten years, caused by tumors eating up the joints, culminating in an ankle joint replacement as well as fusion of the subtalar joint. It was a decade of pain and surgeries.

So finally the ankle was fixed to where she could walk without ankle pain, BUT now she was experiencing hip pain. They found a tumor in her hip that had destroyed that joint too. So, last year she had a hip replacement, at a relatively young age for that procedure. Comparatively, it was the easiest surgery of them all, by far. Recovery wasn't bad, and she gets around really good now.

[GregLaROCHE]

I keep hearing people being operated on the front or back. As far as my scars show, it seems like I was operated on from the sides.

[dale2242]

Easy peasy.
I walked as soon as I woke up and had coffee and a sandwich.
I walked 300 feet with my walker and climbed and descended 7 stairs.
I was operated on at 7 AM and was home 30 miles away by 3PM.
I was driving in a week.
I was 79 years old.

[trapper9260]

I had to get one after I broke the ball off when I fell on the ice and broke my hip they had screw me my bones together and then the ball was die on me and the top screw was scraping on the socket and I could not hardly walk, I get the replacement I am able to get around better then I was before surgery . If you need it get it done . You will feel better then you were.

[phantom22]

I'll echo the sentiments here. No reason not to get it done other than the general risk of surgery.

I had a back surgery a few years ago which has far more uncertain outcomes than hip surgery. I was already crippled before the surgery, so there really wasn't much to lose.

If you are in pain every day and your mobility is severely restricted, your outcomes are going to be a low chance of not surviving surgery vs. a large change at a significant improvement in your quality of life.

[Rapier]

As always, follow all of the directions, before and after. The start of physical therapy can be interesting, in short order you will be walking well. Do not give in to it, no canes, no crutches, walk, walk, walk, upright and straight. A short lesson, but you may need to learn to walk straight up, all over again. Start with the level areas like the driveway, then progress to the yard and pastures.

[pworley1]

Had mine done in 2017. No problems at all. They keep improving the technique. Where I live it is out patience surgery, you limp in and walk out the same day. The procedure takes less than an hour. I hope all goes well for you.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I did do the Physical Therapy, started day after surgery, lasted about 3 months, then told I was done. I quit the pain medicine the 3rd day, way too much brain fog. Ibuprofen for a couple weeks, but the PT was worthwhile. I did go into it in excellent physical shape, avoiding all the pain killers, heart, blood, mental drugs the doctors like to put you on. Stay outside and move, carry 30 lbs in a backpack, NOT around your gut makes things easier on your hips.

[.429&H110]

An unexpected thing I learned from watching my wife learn to walk,
was her damaged knee stopped hurting.
Once she strengthened her legs, knees, hips,
(lost about 50 pounds)(she's a Swede, six feet tall)
and got her feet pointed straight, not waddling,
she could walk without knee pain.
She mashed her knee in a car wreck long ago.
was maybe going to need it fixed,
but with new hips, and fiscal therapy,
now she can walk without knee pain.

I call it fiscal therapy because the wallet hurts, too.

[MT Gianni]

A co-worker had his done ten years ago. A year later they recalled the apparatus and wanted to replace his. You only get one replacement and he was 59. The second time it wears out they fuse it. He has put up with it as best I know.

[trails4u]

Appreciate all the input guys.... I just turned 50. No other underlying health issues....still pretty fit, not overweight, and still pretty active, given the circumstances. Sounds like it should go pretty easy for me.....unless it doesn't. ;) Very much looking forward to getting it done and getting on with my life. I've put it off too long.

[trails4u]

Well....day 5 post-op and so far so good. It's sore, tender....and I'm nowhere near being 100% stable on it, but it seems to be getting better every day. Had my 2nd PT appointment earlier this evening and he thinks we're right on track. Plan for next week is to lose the walker and get me walking on a single-point cane. Funny part is....I already have better lateral movement in my new left hip than I have in my right hip. Go figure.....

[clum553946]

Congrats! Had my right hip done 5 years ago & couldn’t be happier as it was so bad I couldn’t walk far without a cane. Should have done it sooner but life dictates timing. The only downside is you set off the metal detectors at airport security!

[hc18flyer]

That's good news! Keep at it.

[Bwana John]

Both hips done.

#1 17 years ago, posterior, tough operation, tough rehab.

#2 5 years ago, anterior, easy… 36 hours in hospital from check in to check out, walking with walker 8 hours after surgery, went backpacking 60 days after surgery.

[trails4u]

So....today marks 1 week post-op. I feel great...only negative 'symptom' at this point is what feels like a giant charley horse just about in the middle of my thigh. Joint feels great....mobility is getting much better, particularly as my hip flexors are healing and I can begin to lift my leg without much assistance. Still on the walker for now....but plan for PT on Monday is to work on walking with a cane, so hopefully that floats. I hope to figure out / get past the thigh pain issue.....it's 100% the most limiting after effect I have right now. Honestly feel I could walk unassisted if I could get past that.

[pls1911]

Had my right side replaced six years ago. As others have said its not too bad.
you'll be up waling the halls about the time you wake up, a 2-3 of weeks VERY carefully navigating the house with a walker and swiftly moving to a cane. At that point I was driving to physical therapy.
Having said that, it IS major surgery. You'll be better than before, but you'll never be 30 again... or 40.
I don't run or ski or backpack solo anymore. Could I? Yes, probably. Will I? Maybe...just to convince myself not to again.
You'll be fine, follow Doc's orders.

[Scrounge]

Met with the surgeon today.....it's as bad as I expected. Bone on bone...left hip is done. He said on a 1-10 scale....it's a 10. Actually seemed a bit surprised I was still walking on it. Heading in on Dec. 1 for install of the new one. He'll do the anterior (front side) and said he cuts no muscle...I'll walk out same day of surgery.

I'd love to hear others' experiences....

I had the posterior surgery on the right hip in 2009. Took about a year to recover, as they cut right through the thickest part of the gluteus maximus. That said, I still woke up from the surgery in less pain than when they sedated me for the surgery.

Then the Anterior surgery on the left hip in 2014. I was in better physical condition for that surgery, and I was able to go back to work within 8 weeks. To a very physical job. No problems at all. Anterior is THE way to go!

Bill

[trails4u]

Well.....day 11 post-op. Done with the walker and getting around really good with either a single crutch or cane at this point. Pain is all but gone, save some soreness generally worst right after PT. Have my follow up with the surgeon on Friday, so hopeful/expecting to be released to drive and return to work light duty. It's been a long 11 days.....I don't sit well, so it feels like it's been weeks if not months...but no regrets! I can literally see/feel it getting stronger everyday so that brings an optimistic outlook! :)

[Three44s]

Great that you are following up reporting your progress and very good to hear your good progress!

Thanks

Three44s

[brokeasajoke]

Keep going and do your PT. The days may seem long but the end result is so worth the journey. Im free from the arthritis pain for years now.

[gypsyman]

Had my left hip done about 12 years ago. Now 68, probably the only joint in my body that doesn't hurt. Pain killer they prescribed, Vicodin, made me feel worse than the pain. Took it for 1 day, and pitched it. Aspirin and Aleve worked just as good and didn't make me nauseous. Wish my back doctor could do the same, he took one look at my x-rays and MRI and told me, 8 or 9 hours of surgery on your lower back, would take up tp 6 months to heal, and probably wouldn't feel much better. Told me I'm better off with pain killers. I believe him to be an honest man. Go for it!

[Bazoo]

Glad to hear it went well. Last month, or maybe the month prior, the Pastor of our church (we've changed churches since) had a hip replacement. He had a great recovery. He says he's a bionic preacher. I used to tell him when I'd arrive "Glad you could make it this morning, hope you get something out of the message." We always like to rib each other.

[Bud in WV]

I've been lurking here for years - trying to avoid asking stupid question instead of looking them up. I had both hips replace when I was 38 and "revised" when I was 52. I'm 72 now. Wore the 1st set out working in power plants. Sounds like you've done most of the hard parts - now you have to learn to trust it. When you do that, life will be back to normal. Good luck!