anyone have any experience of arthritis/hip replacements?

[frazzledfairy]

hello :)

i am 32 and have osteoarthritis in both hips due to a genetic thing passed on by my mum (thanks mum!), i was diagnosed nearly 3 years ago. i am booked in to have a double hip replacement on 31st jan and i am TERRIFIED.....

the surgeon has said that if a were 20-30 years older he wouldn't replace yet, but because i have young children (3, 4 and 10) and am young myself, he wants to replace my hips before i begin to find walking hard, obviously it is my choice and i don't feel pushed into anything.

i don't have a huge amount of pain in my hips but get a lot of referred pain in my knees, thighs and ankles, and have a lot of back problems because of the very limited mobility of my hips.

at the mo i can walk, run etc, i am not really limited from doing anything (apart from having sex with dh, which is not ideal), but i know osteoarthritis is degenerative and i know it is going to get worse :( and i also suspect that my back problems will not be resolved until my hips are.

my mum had one hip replaced 3 years ago and was left with one leg shorter than the other, this has caused alot of probs with her knee's, ankles, spine and doesn't help my nerves! she is too scared to have another op to try and put it right, or to have her other hip replaced.

if anyone has any experience/advice/anything i would really appreciate it!

:)

Sorr Frazzled. I missed seeing this. I hope it all went well and look forward to reading your update :)

Hi All, I'm new to this thread and to forums in general so please be gentle ! I'm also in need of a hip replacement after perthes as a child and I'm totally terrified. I'm aged 38 with 1 toddler and after 30 years of hip pain my surgeon believes it's now time to operate after putting it off for years. I am on the waiting list and expect to be called March time. But even after all the years of knowing this would happen I still can't shake the urge to run ! (If only I could!!) I am really interested to know how your op went and was it worth it?

Hi ccmeggy and welcome. I was just checking in to see if Frazzled has reported back and I saw your message.

I am in the same position as you, just ten years older and am still trying to get together the courage to ring and reshedule my op. It is really scary, and nothing I read online is very reassuring! Been limping along literally for so long now that I can't really imagine how much things will be improved or not as well.

Hi Bobbityboo and thank you for the welcome. Things have moved on since my posting - I now have a date - 6th April EEEEKKKK! Sooooo much is going through my head. I know I have a very good surgeon and I also know he wouldn't operate if he didn't feel the need but all that doesn't help. I too have been searching the net for advice and that didn't help either. Confused and Scared.

I got myself into such a state when I was waiting for my op that, combined with a death in the familyat around the same time, I just couldn't face it. I'm probably not the best person to speak to for support!!!

However, I wish I had got it over and done with as it is still hanging over me...

I am currently trying to get as fit as possible and am going to put myself back on the list for this year sometime....

Have you considered a spinal for the op? I was planning on that as the thought of a general as well was adding to the stress for me.

I'm currently trying to shed some weight and do a bit more exercise... but chocolate is too tempting at the moment ! Helps with the stress. I can have either a spinal or a GA . Part of me thinks it's better just to be knocked out but I believe if you have a spinal you're so heavly sedated that you're unaware of anything anyway. I've a pre op coming up so i'm going to discuss it with them then.
All my family are saying get it done but it's easy for them to say. I hope frazzledFairy is doing well.

hello! well i survived and am all in one piece!

had my op on mon 31st and came home on the saturday so much less than the 10 days they thought... i had a GA and an epidural as i had both hips done so it was a long op (i was in theatre 3 1/2 hrs).

got to be honest, the first week was really hard, my pain relief wasn't managed very well by the hospital so i was in quite a bit of pain, however i then discovered tramadol which i would strongly reccommend! i also lost quite a lot of blood so needed several transfusions and flet v sick and groggy...

however don't let that put you off because despite my fairly awful start, since about day 9 after op i have felt great and now feel fab! am having no probs with stairs or getting in the bath to have a shower, can walk about 150m but this is getting better every day, although i haven't mastered hills yet!

obviously it is still v early days but have no pain at all anywhere, abit of discomfort at the operation sites but perfectly managable with lots of painkillers!

hope this helps :) let me know if you want to know anything else, and welcome ccmeggy :)

xxxxx

Wow. Fantastic news Frazzled. Thanks so much for coming back to update. You make it sound do-able now, though sorry to hear that you didn't have such a great time at first.
V excited for you with your new mobility.

Hi Frazzled - That's brilliant news. I'm so pleased for you and a huge thank you for giving us an update. I'm currently planning to go ahead with my op but things may change ! I've decided to make the most of my current hip and have booked a skiing lesson and indoor sky diving and considering bungee jumping !!!!All the things I've been told to avoid post op.

Hi All, It's been a while but I thought I should give an update after my op. I'm just over 5 weeks post op and it's been ok. I stayed 6 days in hospital. I could have got out earlier if i'd been able to manage my pain better. The 1st 3 days were very difficult but I improved quickly once I was able to get up and about. it was very hard to get motivated to move but it really does help. Luckly I had a few good nurses to point my in the right direction. After leaving hosiptal Ive had friends and family looking after me and my toddler (Hubby had to go back to work after 2 weeks) it was a huge relief to know I could relax and sleep when I wanted to (lots & Lots !) This week is the 1st week on my own and it has been difficult with my little one but she has soon learnt to pick up my crutches for me !! All in all I think I've done the right thing. But expect I won't know for sure for a few months yet.

Best Wishes to all