Wellness

[bargainsgirl]

Had xrays and found severe OA in my left hip.  So I am a good canidate for replacement surgery.  I will wait till the covid thing dies down.  I am not in terrible pain so I don;t mind waiting...About how long does it take to recover?  I am in good shape otherwise...

[mousiegirl]

@bargainsgirl   Recovery time is dependent on the individual situation.

I had a hip replacement twenty-five years ago due to a childhood accident.  I sailed right through, due to my age and my doctor.  He didn't believe in physical therapy, so gave me exercises to do in bed, fine with me, and it worked.

If you will be on pain meds, be sure to take a stool softener otherwise you may develop hemorrhoids.

[Pearlee]

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@bargainsgirl wrote:

Had xrays and found severe OA in my left hip.  So I am a good canidate for replacement surgery.  I will wait till the covid thing dies down.  I am not in terrible pain so I don;t mind waiting...About how long does it take to recover?  I am in good shape otherwise...

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@bargainsgirl  The anterior operation has a much speedier recovery time.

[QVC101]

@bargainsgirl  I am in my mid 60s and have had both hips replaced in the last two years.  Both had very good outcomes. I was walking without assistive device (walker or cane) at about 4 weeks.   My experience was that I did not have significant pain. Obviously a bit uncomfortable immediately post op but it was mostly the incision.  I went to PT for probably 6 weeks, twice a week.   My advice is don't wait till you are really in pain to have it done.  You are just prolonging the inevitable.   Might as well spend that time recovering.  I had the first done at the one day surgery center and the 2nd at the hospital (due to change with insurance).   If you have the option of a one day surgery center definitely do that.  Much better experience.   Good luck!

[SeaMaiden]

posterior

posterior

respectively

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@bargainsgirl wrote:

Had xrays and found severe OA in my left hip.  So I am a good canidate for replacement surgery.  I will wait till the covid thing dies down.  I am not in terrible pain so I don;t mind waiting...About how long does it take to recover?  I am in good shape otherwise...

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@bargainsgirl

I had both hips replaced in 2014 and 2015 .

What type of surgery are you having? There is Anterior and Posterior  methods.

I  had anterior method, which has a small incision and no muscle is cut..thus a very fast recovery time.  The posterior method is a much bigger incision....cuts through muscle and a much more painful  and time consuming recovery.

Not all doctors are trained in the Anterior method....thus they do not offer it...you need to ask. Not everyone will be a candidate for the Anterior method depending on their situation. ASK THE DOCTOR.  If you can get the Anterior method DO THAT!

I also had both knees replaced in 2013 at the same time. Hips are much easier than knees to heal from. But all my joint replacements are a BLESSING from pain.

 You will be glad you did it.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

It's scary, but once it was over I realized, it's not horrible.  If I had to have the other one done I would not be thrilled but I would know what to expect.

Psychologically, I found having major surgery to be draining, and adjusting to and understanding about a prosthetic limb took me some time.

Physically?  Prepare properly, have adaptive devices as necessary (a grabber tool, for one), maintain or continue to work on pre-op fitness (every day functional fitness), and you should be fine.  PT for hip replacement is very simple, and once you get up and about (soon after surgery), walking is the best medicine.

I was in tremendous pain prior to surgery but that is gone now.

[febe1]

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@SeaMaiden wrote:

posterior

posterior

respectively

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@bargainsgirl wrote:

Had xrays and found severe OA in my left hip.  So I am a good canidate for replacement surgery.  I will wait till the covid thing dies down.  I am not in terrible pain so I don;t mind waiting...About how long does it take to recover?  I am in good shape otherwise...

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@bargainsgirl

I had both hips replaced in 2014 and 2015 .

What type of surgery are you having? There is Anterior and Posterior  methods.

I  had anterior method, which has a small incision and no muscle is cut..thus a very fast recovery time.  The posterior method is a much bigger incision....cuts through muscle and a much more painful  and time consuming recovery.

Not all doctors are trained in the Anterior method....thus they do not offer it...you need to ask. Not everyone will be a candidate for the Anterior method depending on their situation. ASK THE DOCTOR.  If you can get the Anterior method DO THAT!

I also had both knees replaced in 2013 at the same time. Hips are much easier than knees to heal from. But all my joint replacements are a BLESSING from pain.

 You will be glad you did it.

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How lucky and wonderful for you, @SeaMaiden , to be able to take advantage of such progression that our parents could never share. Good for you for getting a new life! 

[SeaMaiden]

@bargainsgirl     It definitely gave me BACK MY LIFE. I was headed to a wheel chair putting off the surgeries.... and I now can do everything I never thought I would again without pain. It really is a miracle surgery!

[insomniac2]

Absolutely the best decisions I've ever made were to have knee replacements (2) and hip replacements (2). 

That's all in the past, and now: ZERO PAIN.

[Justice4all]

@bargainsgirl 

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@bargainsgirl wrote:

Had xrays and found severe OA in my left hip.  So I am a good canidate for replacement surgery.  I will wait till the covid thing dies down.  I am not in terrible pain so I don;t mind waiting...About how long does it take to recover?  I am in good shape otherwise...

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There is much misinformation here.  Anterior surgery is in no way better than posterior surgery.  Recovery time is just as fast.  Muscles are not cut in posterior surgery.  Anterior surgery requires radiation as it is fluoroscopically guided.  The possibility of causing nerve damage is greater. There is now a minimal posterior cut that is much smaller than the old ones. The surgeon can see better in posterior surgery without the use of guided radiation. The most important thing is to FIND THE BEST SURGEON and hospital.  A great orthopedic hospital will be covid free.  I know one person who waited too long and had a much more complicated surgery. Also, scheduling an appointment for surgery with a great doctor will probably take time.  Do your research.  You will be pain free and walking better than your friends!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.