[MechE]

Well fellow and lady Xers',

I'm going in this Monday to get my right hip replaced with one made of titanium with a ceramic coating. On one hand I'm looking forward to it as I have suffered for almost twenty years with the pain. On the other hand, I had intended to leave this earth at an old age with all my parts. The bad news is that I probably won't be riding the rest of the season :x or for that matter being able to work on my bike. The pain is so bad, even on medication that I haven't ridden for the last two weeks. Maybe tomorrow, I'll take one last ride, then pack it in.

Anyone else have a hip done and can tell me how long it was before either the doc said it was Ok to ride or you felt comfortable enough to start riding again? Anything change for the better or worse? Anything I need to watch out for? I'll still be around to pontificate, but am I going to miss my ride :!:

MechE

 

[beachbumdrl]

When I was in the hospital last year having my knee replaced there was a man that came to visit the nurses that had a hip replacement less than two weeks earlier and he was walking without a cane or walker or any limp. I don't know if that helps you or not, but my p.t. said that people recover faster from hip replacements than from knee replacements. I was back on my bike at six weeks. No matter how long the recovery time, you will be glad you had it done!


Dan

 

[MechE]

Thanks Dan for your words of advice. The doctors tend to be conservative telling me 50% load on the new hip joint (means walker then cane) for 4-6 weeks and 100% after 3 months. Obviously something I don't want to mess up. Interestingly enough if I were older (now 53) I would recover faster because the would caulk the joint in. But because I am younger and more active they will allow the bone to grow into and around the inserts. I'm getting the same hip that Mary Lou Retton got a few years ago, titanium with a ceramic coating. Pretty high tech.

We'll hope for the best and expect the worse. They say that you will know when you're ready and am I ever ready.

MechE

 

[el mucho grande]

Good luck MechE and prayers sent for a quick recovery.

 

[va_bank]

Well fellow and lady Xers',

Anyone else have a hip done and can tell me how long it was before either the doc said it was Ok to ride or you felt comfortable enough to start riding again? Anything change for the better or worse? Anything I need to watch out for? I'll still be around to pontificate, but am I going to miss my ride :!:

MechE

My father just had this done 2 months ago - he's 58. I don't know if he's 100% yet, but he's definately a 1000% better then before the surgery. In two weeks you'll be kicking yourself for not having this done sooner.

1.) You may or may not be able to ride this season, but you should be just fine for next year.

2.) In two -three weeks you'll be walking better then you do now. 3-4 weeks you will not need a cane at all.

3.) Follow the advice of your therapist to the "T". They know what the quickest way to heal is. Don't overexert yourself, but don't slack off either.

4.) You will not be moving around the house much for the next 2 weeks, so have someone in your family raise whatever furniture you're planning to use - bed, chairs, etc about 6 inches. Bed Bath & Beyond sells bed risers like this. If you need to use the stairs (and you probably will, at least as part of therapy) have rails mounted on them, if they aren't there already. It would also hlep to put a small rail by the toilet.

5.) In a month you'll feel like you were given a new life. Enjoy it!

 

[beachbumdrl]

I put my replacement off for 5 years, doctors kept telling me I was too young. Getting a cortisone shot directly in the knee every three months. Last March I had a shot...no effect, April another shot...still nothing, May I forced them to do the operation. I was 53 at the time. Still the 2nd best thing I have ever done.

Just remember to be very religous with the therapy...they may tell you to do the exercises twice a day, do them three or four times a day. I had home therapy for two weeks after I got out of the hospital (five days in), I was constantly doing therapy. Not much else to do. By the time I was able to drive myself to out-patient therapy I was way ahead of schedule.

 

[MechE]

va_bank and beachbumdrl,

Thanks much for your advice and perspective. I will follow the therapists recommendation as messing this thing up would be no fun. You gave me what I was looking for, sort of a overall view of how this thing works. I know all the details from the mechanical point of view and I realize everyone is different. But I've been hearing a common theme which you put the cap on for me:

1. Mind your therapist

2. You'll wish you had done it sooner

Which for me means that things will get better. Since I've lived with the pain for so long I no longer anymore have a point of reference on how far it not only has effected my day to day enjoyment of life, but also my family. Yeah I probably will be kicking myself for not doing it sooner, but then I'll now be able to do that won't I?

Thanks for thinking of me and I will likewise do the same for as many as I can.

MechE

 

[shuterbg]

I know a few folks who have had it done and they love it. They feel so much better and don't hurt like they did before. Good luck with the surgery.