Carla

[Guest guest]

Hi Carla- I'm sorry to hear that you are having problems enough with

your hips that you may have to have them replaced. I'll give you a

rundown on my experiences but I don't know if they are typical or

not. Because of the high doses of pred. I now have osteoporosis

which is probably why I had to have the first hip replaced. I fx my

hip and I don't know how it happened. It just started huring soooo

bad and I couldn't walk. Went to er & they found fracture, didn't

fall or anything-the thing just broke. This replacement was a

breeze. The post op pain was not as bad as the pain I had been having

in it and I was so glad to have that pain gone. A few months later

my other hip started hurting and I just kept taking more pain pills

until the pain pills were not helping at all ( I was taking 80mg of

oxycontin twice a day and Vicadin extra strength 2 every 4 - 6

hours. I don't know why I waited so long since the first one was

such a success. I think the thought of having 2 artificial hips kind

of frightened me and I was wondering how I would know how to walk on

2 artificial joints. Anyway, the pain got the best of me and I had

it done. Please don't let how this one went scare you off, just talk

to your surgeon before hand about controlling the pain. Since I had

been on such high doses of pain meds before this surgery, the pain

meds after the surgery did nothing to help me with the post op pain.

They have these little buttons you push when you need pain relief and

it delivers what has been programed to give you. I made the nurses

mad because I kept pushing the button every few minutes and finally

they called my surgeon and he added I think it was torodol to

whatever he had been giving me and that helped a lot. I don't know

how much pain meds you are on now but check with your surgeon and

tell him/her if you are on high doses so they can do something

different. Anyway, I didn't get the same results from this surgery

as I did the first and I think its because I waited so long to get it

done. It's been about 8 months since the last one and its a lot

better now and I'm glad I went ahead and had it done now but when I

first had it done I wish that I hadn't had it done. Does this make

sense to you? (lol) The surgeon said the 2nd hip wasn't as stable as

the first one which is why I had a few problems which didn't make a

lot of sense to me because the first was done due to a fx and I would

have thought that one would have been the one to give me more

trouble. I guess that's why he's the dr and I'm not. I'm telling you

this not to frighten you but to inform you so you can maybe take care

of it before. You will be on a walker for awhile and it's not hard

to get use to it. You will need a raised toilet seat which I still

use and something you can use to pick things up off the floor ( I

have what they call a golden retriever. My husband bought it at

Walgreens and it was about $30). The raised toilet seat I think was

only about $15 and I have the one that sits on top of your toilet and

can be removed when others need to use it. I also had to use a device

to help put my socks on because you have to keep your hip straight,

no bending. Make sure you have pillows to sit on if your furniture

sits too low. If you don't have grab bars for the shower, and its a

tub shower you will need help getting in and out of the shower. I

have a shower seat that my mother-in-law gave me that has handles on

it and I was eventually able to start using that to assist me in and

out of the tub shower. A therapist will work with you before you come

home ( I was in the hosp. about 3 or 4 days) and then a therapist

came to my home and worked with me on my exercises and make sure

things were set up properly. I was supposed to have someone home with

me at least the first week but we just couldn't afford my husband

taking off work anymore and he just made sure I could heat my lunch

up in the microwave and attached a basket to the front of my walker

so I could carry things in the basket. I didn't tell the dr or

therapist I was going to be alone because I was afraid they would

make me stay in the hosp longer and I wanted to get back home. I made

sure I could do things for myself and I carried the phone in my

housecoat pocket in case I needed to call someone for help. I had

people calling during the day to check on me. I hope I've helped

answer your questions and not confused you or frightened you. It's

my own fault for waiting too long on the last one. I think I was

waiting for a miracle not realizing that the surgery itself was the

miracle. Let me know what kind of medicines you are taking and I'll

list mine the next time I write. I'll say a special prayer for you

tonight and please keep me informed of your condition. I really am

interested and care. God Bless -