THR date received - any advice please?

Jojo72

Hi everyone, hope you're all keeping well.

I've had a call from the hospital today and my hip replacement is booked for November, so I have approx 12 weeks.

And I just wondered if anyone had any advice as to how I can best prepare for it ahead of time?

I'm currently on crutches so mobility is a bit of an issue but am I best trying to keep as mobile as possible? Anything in particular I should be doing?

I've never been in hospital before and have no idea what to expect before, during and after, so I'd be really grateful for any advice.

Thank you x

RogerBill

Hi @Jojo72 I had a hip replacement two years ago and shortly after started this thread which contains lots of my tips and from others: https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/55224/hip-replacement-tips/p1

As you'll read there and elsewhere in this forum there are quite a few things you can do which will help after the op and with your recovery so it's great that you've got time available. As you're using crutches now, presumably you're already well practiced at managing stairs. Although you might not be able to manage some exercises, there are others that don't involve standing but will still help build muscle strength. If you're not already in contact with a physiotherapist you might want to try to get a referral. I was able to self-refer myself to an NHS funded physiotherapy service simply by completing an online form and as you have a date for your operation I guess you would be treated as a priority case.

The stay in hospital is probably the easy bit as once you get there you're in the care of the experts who do hip replacements day in, day out. It is an operation that's now been done so many 100,000s of times and has such a high success rate that it's considered purely routine. Also over the years the techniques and materials have been gradually improved and refined so we are incredibly fortunate to be beneficiaries of all that experience.

Hope this helps, but as you read more you'll no doubt think of other questions for which this forum is an excellent resource.

Anna

Hi @Jojo72

You might be interested in the Preparing for Surgery toolkit below - it gives some great ideas for how to prepare yourself for surgery and how to help in your recovery afterwards:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/lets-move-for-surgery-toolkit/

Anna ( Moderator)

Jojo72

Hi @RogerBill

Thank you for your reply, that really does help. As does your thread of your own experience, I've read through it all today and have picked up lots of really helpful tips and advice.

I will get in touch with my physiotherapist (I was having physio previously but it wasn't really helping at the time) but now I have a date and a goal in sight, it might be a different story.

I'm really stressing myself out about not having a general and instead having a spinal block with sedation. I'm terrified that I'll wake up and have a melt down mid-op ..... but I'm guessing that they want to avoid that at all costs so will try and keep people topped up with sedation as much as possible.

Thank you again for taking the time to reply to me, I really do appreciate it.

Jojo72

Hi @Anna

That's brilliant, thank you, I'll definitely have a look at that.

So much great info on this site!

Much appreciated.

Lindaa

I have had 2 hips done now both under spinal and there is no need to worry about that. The anaesthetist usually comes to see you before you go to theatre so any worries you have can be talked about then. They monitor you all the time in theatre.

The OTs and physios will make sure you have your home set up with any aids as needed.

Looking back now I think the worst bit was waiting for the date, then waiting for the op itself. Once it was over the freedom from hip pain was immense

Jojo72

Hi @Lindaa

That's good to know, thank you so much, that's helped me feel a bit better about it.