I got my surgery date!

Limpingandinpain

Thank you everyone. I can't believe it's tomorrow morning 😬 I'm feeling unnervingly calm right now but I know the nerves will kick in again in the morning! I hope I've remembered to pack everything and that I manage some sleep. I have to be up at 5 😬

@pmas would it be helpful if I write a post detailing exactly what happens in hospital from when I get admitted through to when I leave and then frequent updates on my recovery? I've found it massively helpful to read things like this. I like to know what to expect!

Lilymary

I had the same problem with the shower over the bath, but couldn’t use a bath board as the edge of the bath is not wide enough to support it. I just used my perching stool and did strip washes for a few weeks until I felt confident enough to step in. Then I used the perching stool to lean on to help me climb in and out.

Giving a spinal block and sedative seems to be the standard practice now. You will probably be given a choice as to how heavily sedated you want to be. For some unfathomable reason some people like to be vaguely aware of what’s happening, but I asked to be knocked out completely, and came round as they wheeled me out of theatre. But it’s nowhere near as bad to recover from as general anaesthetic, which I had recently (for unrelated surgery) and which left me throwing up and knocked me sideways for a fortnight! 🤢🤪😅

They do have you out of bed and on crutches surprisingly quickly (in my case the next day), although it feels a bit odd for a while. You may find your other hip improves a bit after surgery, as it won’t be doing quite so much hard work. I’ll be thinking about you tomorrow, I’m sure they’ll take good care of you.

Limpingandinpain

@Lilymary thank you. I think I'll do the same, and my husband said he can help me wash my hair at the kitchen sink with a jug. That's how my granny washed her hair her entire life, despite having a shower!

Yes I've heard of people who have no sedation! I couldn't cope with being aware of anything. Full sedation for me, for sure.

My friend who had hers done at the same hospital said they had her into the chair as soon as the spinal were off, and as soon as she'd had time to get used to the chair, they had her on her feet!

frogmorton

Well here we are @Limpingandinpain

VERY VERY best wishes for the big day.

After today things will be on the UP and not on the down I hope I have everything crossed for you ((()))

You can buy something called shampoo caps? You can get them at Boots it's a cap you put, like a shower cap on your head it washes your hair no rinsing.

I used it when the youngest had cancer.

Can't wait to hear your recovery story

Limpingandinpain

I am coming to you from my hospital bed 😀

I was taken at 8.30am because they knew how nervous i was, which was lovely of them. Out of theatre at 10.50 and a very short time in recovery because I was fine.

I was semi aware of things but it felt like it passed in 15 minutes. I was panicking in case the spinal wouldn't work in time and the anaesthetist said "it's already underway, he started 10 minutes ago" 😂😂

I heard one lot of hammering, drilling and sawing and the next thing I knew I was wide awake and they were taking the drapes down!

The feeling is almost all back now and I can feel a little bit of pain but it's very manageable at the moment, nothing worse than the joint pain I had before. They're very good at providing pain relief.

I'll come back on later.

Coddfish

Excellent news @Limpingandinpain welcome to the other side! All the best for your recovery.

Limpingandinpain

Thank you! Some quite nasty pain has kicked in now after the exercises and walking and I'm not due painkillers yet.

Lilymary

That's great news @Limpingandinpain! That's the wrost bit over. You will have some pain post op, but unlike arthritic pain, you know it's going to go away eventually 🙂. One of my nurses said managing the post op pain is part of the recovery process, so don't feel afraid to ask for more pain killers if you need them. As she said to me, they aren't going to know if you don't tell them. Post-op some get more pain than others, as everyone's body is different (I don't consider myself a wimp, but my pain was off the chart, and they were happy to throw more drugs at me). Be kind to yourself, listen to your body, but getting moving again is also part of the recovery.

pmas

@Limpingandinpain thinking of you. Patx

Limpingandinpain

Hello!! I got home last night 🙂

I was suddenly so exhausted when we arrived home, and cold because it took me so long to come from the car to the house, I just wanted to go straight to bed. My husband filled a hot water bottle for me and had to help me get changed but I've mostly managed to get myself dressed today, I just needed his help to get my jogging bottoms over my feet. A shoe horn helped me hook my pants up from the floor 😂

I massively struggled to get into bed, because it really hurt sitting myself down on the side, and then I literally couldn't get my legs in. My other hip is also totally knackered so it's being very unhelpful with everything! My husband lifted my feet up onto the bed like they were doing in the hospital, then it was really difficult getting comfy. I didn't sleep at all well because of the pain, which was mostly muscular, and a lot of it was in the non operated side. I had to get my poor husband up 3 times in the night to help me back into bed after the toilet - I felt terrible but he said I absolutely had to.

Today has mostly been spent getting my head around everything...working out how to do things, resting, trying to do the exercises. They really got me stressed because the were painful and I could hardly do any distance with things like the one where you stand on the other leg and put your foot out and in to the side. Is that normal on the first day and will it improve the more I do them ? It doesn't help that my other hip is so painful and locking up, that's making a lot of things harder than they need to be!

I have the stomach injection to do soon and that's really worrying me 😥

Coddfish

Hi @Limpingandinpain It’s really worth finding something you can use to help lift up your operated leg onto the bed. I used a long loop resistance band, but something like a sturdy dressing gown belt would work just as well. Sit on the bed, make sure your bum goes as far into the bed as you can and rotate your body as far as you can so you are looking towards the bottom of the bed. Start with the leg closest to the bed. Hook the strap or belt round your foot and use your arms to lift the leg/foot onto the bed. Repeat with the 2nd leg if you need to. This method works best if the operated leg is being lifted first (ie you are on the left side of the bed if you have had your right hip replaced, and vice-versa).

Lilymary

Congrats on getting home! You will feel tired for a while, your body has been through a lot and has a lot of rebuilding to do, so be kind to yourself. Don't feel afraid to use pain relief, that’s why they give it to us. As I said before, pain management is part of the healing process. But you’ll soon find you can taper it off. Just listen to our body.

At night I found sleeping on a row of soft pillows under my body from shoulders to knees really helped with the tender posterior. You soon learn to adapt how you do things. Grabbers, sock sliders, long handled shoe horns and trolleys all help. Luckily my other leg was in good order, so I could use it to lift my duff leg into bed (good foot hooked under ankle of duff leg and swing the both together into bed) but as Coddfish says, a stout dressing gown waist band can be helpful.

This is the worst bit, it does get better fairly quickly, but everyone’s different, so don’t measure yourself against other people. And gold stars to your husband. He sounds lovely,