D day on The Way

Sheelee

Hi Everyone,

Hope the pain is manageable at the moment!! (Hope).

I've got the go ahead for my hip replacement 15.3.23. Had my final pre op on Monday, when the nurse gave me the lowdown on what would happen on the day. I suddenly had a bit of a panic attack, as suddenly it starts to become real. I've still got some nails, but not much!!

Any tips on managing yourself as the time approaches would be appreciated. I tend to try and keep myself fairly busy to take my mind off things, which is working so far. Hope it continues. 🙏

Any last minute things that people tend not to think about would be appreciated too.

Sheelee

movingslowly

@Sheelee

Great news 👍

There's a post called 'lets move for surgery' I trust you've given that a read? 🙂

I'd be thinking about staying well, organised and positive.

Are you feeling apprehensive about anything in particular?

Trish9556

Hi @Sheelee

The time will go all too quickly. When I've had surgery in the past I've always stocked up my freezer with those things I like to eat so I can just ding ding click (that's the sound of the microwave and the door opening lol) or just enjoy those things that I know I wont be able to do for a while post surgery.

On the subject of ding ding clicks, when Mum was alive I organised deliveries of Wiltshire Farm Foods - they are fairly inexpensive, smaller balanced portions and surprisingly good. They're delivered on a certain day and the delivery driver will even place them in your freezer for you so all you need to do is take them out of the freezer and cook them. Mum was a very fussy eater and really enjoyed them so maybe worth a try? That way you would have the bonus of not having to unpack your supermarket food order :) You don't have a minimum order and you don't have to order regularly - just when you want/need to.

Love n hugs

Trish xx

stickywicket

👍👍👍

There's plenty of info on various fairly recent threads on here, @Sheelee so I won't go into details you probably already know. I just am very careful to ensure they know all my past medical history I'm inclined to forget half of it myself!

Then, when I get there, to relax and let the experts do their thing. I love the "Wake up. It's all over" bit. I always think "Really? Are you sure?"

Sheelee

Thank you to everybody who has replied to my D Day post. I'm doing the exercises, and some extra ones the physio at the hospital gave me to counter any blood clots pre op.

I had thought about Wiltshire Farm. I think I will go on the website to look at placing an order. There is a cafe where I live who have said they will bring food to me if needs be, but by getting eg Wiltshire farm in, I'm taking control. With the best will in the world, offers as the cafe gave can fall apart if eg they have a staffing issue.

Again, many thanks,

Sheelee

noddingtonpete

I should point out that there are other food companies who deliver, try searching the internet 😀

Sheelee

Hi Everyone,

Having compared prices with a full shopping list, in terms of price and stock I plumped for a well known supermarket whose staff wear purple and orange uniforms!!

I've had 3 deliveries now, and each time I ask about reliability of their delivery service. They all say that either they've never known a situation where a delivery could not be made on time, or later the same day, or at my next nearest convenience. So far so good!!

Sheelee

Sheelee

HI movingslowly,

I suppose I'm worried about what the level of pain will be like post op, and how quickly I will recover enough to get back into some normal life. The cricket seasons on the way!

Sheelee !

Lilymary

Hi Sheelee, the OT department should make sure you have all the equipment you need for when you get home - this is usually arranged around a week or two before surgery. But make sure you have a fluffy pillow to sit on in your chair and in the car, as your rump will be pretty tender for a while. You seem to be doing well stocking up on ready meals, make sure you include some treats as well - you'll feel you deserve them! I found having a soft shoulder bag was useful to carry stuff around the house while on two crutches, along with the NHS trolley between the kitchen and living room.

Prepare yourself for feeling a bit rough for a while when you get back, it's a lot for your body to recover from. And you'll feel emotional at times too - that's normal. Yes there will be some pain, as your soft tissues and bones have been carved up quite a bit, but the arthritic pain will have gone. The hospital will probably send you home with some pain killers but I found I barely needed them, other than a few paracetamol, except at night when I got the odd flare up for the first few weeks that the odd dose of oramorph sorted. I was off the cocodamol and naproxen instantly and never looked back, even though I've had quite a few unusual complications post op. Don't be afraid to decline invitations etc in the first few weeks, I found them a bit overwhelming in the initial stages of recovery.

I started doing very short walks with both crutches, very slowly, within a few days of getting home (after 3 days in hospital) and just lengthening them a bit at a time. I learnt the hard way on one of them and my husband had to go home to get the car to fetch me back, as my body suddenly rebelled and refused to go any further without threatening to pass out! It's not a race - don't push yourself too much. Listen to your body, and don't take any notice of the "text book" 6 week recovery - it will take as long as it takes. Do your physio, every day, and slowly build that up as well.

Re getting back to "normal life", it's not a race to ditch the crutches - your body will need supporting while the bone rebuilds itself around the implants. This is why the surgeons ask us to keep on with them for at least 6 weeks, so using them is not a sign of weakness. I used a stick for quite a while afterwards, and still do occasionally for balance on rough ground. But within about 6 months I was doing 4-5 mile walks on reasonably level ground (fields etc). Some recover faster, some slower. I had friends who were skiing and salsa dancing on their new hips within 4-5 months. There's no way I could have done that, (and I'm not sure their surgeons would have approved!). I checked with mine before I got back on a horse or swimming again. My recovery has been slower than most due to soft tissue problems (I'm 63, reasonably fit and only slightly overweight), but I'm happy that the life I have now would have been unthinkable before I had surgery.

Sheelee

Dear Lilymary,

Thank you for your really informative reply. That has given me a lot to think about. I'll get back to the OT Dept as they didn't include a fluffy pillow to protect my rump. You're about 3 years younger than me, but in terms of build, we sound similar. I also love swimming Lilymary. It's not only the exercise, but also the social life it gives me.

I'm lucky where I live Lilymary, because I'm in a flat complex. We have the corridors that I can bomb up and down in relative safety. There are also seats in corners of the corridors which helps. I used them during lockdown when the weather didn't lend itself to an outdoor stroll. Apart from neighbours thinking I'd acquired a sharp dose of confusion (they kept thinking I couldn't find my flat as I kept passing their kitchen windows that overlook the corridors) they were perfect for mobility limited people to try and keep them on their feet. I also bought a pedometer to encourage me to walk a certain amount.

Like you, I'm most likely to try and rush a recovery by overdoing it. I'll keep your post closeby as a reminder. Like you say, recovery is very individual so it's as long as a piece of string. I always remember having a mental health issue, with particularly upsetting symptoms. I was told by a doctor that if I did not have a relapse in 3 years, statistically I was unlikely to get another episode like that. I put my life on hold for 3 years, and had several more breakdowns before I finally got to a state of health whereby a relapse is unlikely. And if I did have those symptoms again, I'd know how to deal with it without getting hung up about it.

Thanks again Lilymary,

Sheelee