Re: went to new ortho today

[Guest guest]

Lindy

Ask your OS to scedule you right awayif that is what fits into your scedule better....you will need your husband around for a while after the surgery, so work around his boat trips....I'm sure if the Dr understands the schedule restraints, he will go ahead and do it right away rather than make you wait....

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/14/2006 12:44:56 AM Eastern Standard Time, everyothername.istaken@... writes:

(oh, and that's one thing i worry about -- if after the surgery if i'll make it to the bathroom in time since i'll be moving REAL slow and i'm afraid i'll PMP, ha ha -- will have to wear diapers.

Don't worry about that....I was also afrtaid of that, but while you are on the pain meds, you will be lucky to go at all!! they make you so very constipated....they wern't going to let me leave the hospital till I "went", but I knew that once i got home I would be fine, so I insisted on leaving anyway and sure enough, once I got home I was OK.....VERY constipated, but I did go some.....I ended up having to take a laxative at home, but only once....

[Guest guest]

well, that was

my day. ;-)

SOOOO proud of you for taking steps to get what you need! GOOD on

you, girl!

Anni

[Guest guest]

I haven't had surgery yet but have let my knee gotten to the point were I can barely walk even with a quad kane so some morning when I wake up or when I have been sitting too long and it is hard to walk afterward I have urinated a little in my clothes 9only a few times) which I change imedicatly and washup before reaches the toilet seat but I find that if I really focus on holding it, I can do it much of the time. Pets007@... wrote: In a

message dated 11/14/2006 12:44:56 AM Eastern Standard Time, everyothername.istakencenturytel (DOT) net writes: (oh, and that's one thing i worry about -- if after the surgery if i'll make it to the bathroom in time since i'll be moving REAL slow and i'm afraid i'll PMP, ha ha -- will have to wear diapers. Don't worry about that....I was also afrtaid of that, but while you are on the pain meds, you will be lucky to go at all!! they make you so very constipated....they wern't going to let me leave the hospital till I "went", but I knew that once i got home I would be fine, so I insisted on leaving anyway and sure enough, once I got home I was OK.....VERY constipated, but I did go some.....I ended up having to take a

laxative at home, but only once....

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[Guest guest]

Lindy Given your husband's schedule I would skip the shot and have the

surgery this winter since you know that you eventually will have to

have the surgery. As far as the bathroom goes. I had a commode by the

side of my bed and that helped a lot. I made it every time instead of

leaving a trail of liquid to the bathroom every time.

On Nov 13, 2006, at 9:22 PM, lindy wrote:

> well i went to the orthopedic doctor today and i'm so glad i went. 

> she examined me so thoroughly, that other dork ortho simply took my

> foot and pushed it up and then out and said, yep, you need hip

> replacement.  she took another x-ray, since i didn't have my records

> (i'm going to glow in the dark one of these days, ugh).

>  

> here's what she saw on the x-ray --  definitely NO cartiledge left

> between the socket and ball of my hip joint.  also, on the side of my

> bone, just below the joint, is what she called a bursa -- a fluid

> filled cyst-like -- caused from bursitis, which is caused by the

> arthritis (i think i got this right).  the bursa sticks outward, to

> the side.  there is  ligament that fits over that bone and because of

> the bursa, each time i move, the ligament is popping and snapping back

> and forth across the bursa, which is causing my pain in my thigh

> area.  so, she was able to give me a cortisone shot right into that

> bursa today (ouch).  (that other dang doctor didn't even see that!)

>  

> i have an appt. to go back to her in 1 month.

>  

> also, i have an appt. for a cortisone shot directly INTO my hip joint

> - which i had once before -- a couple years ago -- it helped for like

> 2 months -- after my doctor said there was no use giving me another

> because you cannot have one every 2 months.  i'm going to try it again

> though, just in case this time it MIGHT work.  i have to wait for doug

> to return though since i cannot drive afterwards, because my leg is

> numbed and i won't have my reflexes.  my appt. isn't til jan. 22.

>  

> oh, and the doctor gave me the paperwork to get a handicapped sticker.

>  

> she told me yes, i will need a hip replacement but they let the

> patients more or less decide when that will take place -- they don't

> say YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT RIGHT THIS MINUTE, because the surgery is such

> a big deal and hard to recover from and a patient has to be at the

> point where they just can't take it anymore.  when that time comes,

> she'll refer me to one of their orthopedic surgeons.

>  

> i'm actually ready right NOW.  the shot she gave me today has only

> taken a bit of the pain away but i'm going to try to stay positive

> about the other shot; however, if i wait and have it, then i won't be

> able to have surgery this winter because the shot isn't scheduled til

> jan 22nd.  i wouldn't know for a month or so after if it's going to

> last this time and then if it doesn't, i won't have time to have

> surgery before doug goes back to the ship.

>  

> i have had enough.  i'm depressed (which the doc today said is very

> normal with constant pain) i'm irritable, i'm not living my life --

> heck, i can't even walk through walmart -- and we all know how much

> fun that is.  FDROFLOLPMP (oh, and that's one thing i worry about --

> if after the surgery if i'll make it to the bathroom in time since

> i'll be moving REAL slow and i'm afraid i'll PMP, ha ha -- will have

> to wear diapers.

>  

> so i had already picked out a surgeon from the St. 's site the

> other day -- when i made the appts.

>  

> then i called a friend tonight, who has had both knees replaced, guess

> what -- her surgeon was the doctor i'd already chosen.  she said he's

> wonderful and i can tell that from his face -- he just looks like a

> really good doctor - - - she HIGHLY recommends him and,

>  

> i went to the duluth clinic site last night and there was a link to a

> " live " (it was done on 10/18) surgery of a knee replacement -- and the

> doctor was this same doctor -- OMG, it was graphic -- and lots of

> hammering, sawing of bones, and drilling.  i kept thinking of sue the

> entire time.

>  

> sue basically said that once you come home from the hospital (she was

> there only 4 days) to keep moving that leg; otherwise, it will freeze

> up, then they have to go back in, rip it all out and start all over

> again.  OMG!  she also said that a nurse came out every day to take

> her blood because you have to be on blood thinners afterwards.  she

> had a physical therapist come to her home as well.  way out here -- in

> nowheresville -- they might come from the near-by nursing home, maybe,

> or an on call nurse or therapist who lives around here -- i don't

> know, but i know one would HAVE to come.  i guess there's no

> rehabilitation place to go to, not unless doug wasn't here when i had

> the surgery and HAD to go there. ???????

>  

> doug was so excited when i told him tonight that i think the shot i

> had today was helping, but now i'm not so sure.  plus, i feel really

> sick to my stomach -- which i'm wondering if is a reaction.  i've had

> cortisone before while i lived in charlotte -- in my hip - at the

> doctor's office.  

>  

> i just can't figure why none of my recent doctors have never suggested

> i have these shots in my hip in an office.  sue said she got tons of

> them before her surgeries. 

>  

> so then, i stopped at clinic where i've gone for the past 9 years on

> the way home and i went to medical records and requested my records. 

> it was no big deal.  i filled out a simple form and i go back on

> friday to pick them up -- next monday i go to the Internal Medicine

> doctor's nurse at St. 's/Duluth Clinic -- for my meds -- so they

> can start writing me prescriptions.

>  

> so that's that.  i don't know how long it takes (if it takes a while)

> for cortisone to work -- maybe tomorrow i'll feel a lot better.  when

> i had them in charlotte, they helped right away, but my hip wasn't so

> bad then.  heck that was eleven years ago.

>  

> well, that was my day. ;-)

>  

> hugs,

> lindy lou

>

>

" If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed. "

[Guest guest]

hi anni,

thank you. you're a sweetie. and know what? my leg feels so much better today -- from the cortisone. usually while i'm sleeping the side of my thigh aches like the dickens; last night it didn't and i got a really good nights sleep. i go to the new doctor ONCE and she's already made me feel better. i'm so glad i made the choice to switch. thanks for your kind words!

hugs,

lindy lou

SOOOO proud of you for taking steps to get what you need! GOOD on you, girl!Anni

[Guest guest]

well i went to the orthopedic doctor today and i'm so glad i went. she examined me so thoroughly, that other dork ortho simply took my foot and pushed it up and then out and said, yep, you need hip replacement. she took another x-ray, since i didn't have my records (i'm going to glow in the dark one of these days, ugh).

I'm so glad you got a new doc & she's so much more human and thorough.

here's what she saw on the x-ray -- definitely NO cartiledge left between the socket and ball of my hip joint. also, on the side of my bone, just below the joint, is what she called a bursa -- a fluid filled cyst-like -- caused from bursitis, which is caused by the arthritis (i think i got this right). the bursa sticks outward, to the side. there is ligament that fits over that bone and because of the bursa, each time i move, the ligament is popping and snapping back and forth across the bursa, which is causing my pain in my thigh area. so, she was able to give me a cortisone shot right into that bursa today (ouch). (that other dang doctor didn't even see that!)

Most joints have these fluild-filled sacs called bursa. They're like padding. Sometimes the bursa get inflamed, and that's called bursitis. If bursitis goes on too long, you can get scar tissue in the bursa. It makes sense that a swollen or scarred bursa snapping over a ligament would cause pain. I'm glad she investigated your joint & found that out for you.

i have an appt. to go back to her in 1 month.

also, i have an appt. for a cortisone shot directly INTO my hip joint - which i had once before -- a couple years ago -- it helped for like 2 months -- after my doctor said there was no use giving me another because you cannot have one every 2 months.

Cortisone is great for stopping inflammation. Unfortunately, it has some bad side effects (one is that it eats away bone), so it's not a good idea to have more than 3 cortisone shots in any one place. However, since you've only had one, and your bone is shot anyway, it's OK to have another. The anti-inflammatory properties sometimes just last a couple of months. I once had a mysterious condition in which I had such pain (for no reason) in my left wrist, I could only bend my hand about 1/2" in any direction. So I went to a doc & asked for a cortisone shot. He didn't want to do it, but I insisted, and he did it, and I never had the problem again. I still don't know what caused the pain.

i'm going to try it again though, just in case this time it MIGHT work. i have to wait for doug to return though since i cannot drive afterwards, because my leg is numbed and i won't have my reflexes. my appt. isn't til jan. 22.

Are you sure your leg will be numbed? I've had cortisone shots in my knees for ITBS, and it didn't numb my leg. If it's only numbed for hours, you could go early, take a book, stay tillthe numbness goes away, and then go home. When is your husband coming back?

oh, and the doctor gave me the paperwork to get a handicapped sticker.

Yayyyyyyy!!!!

i just can't figure why none of my recent doctors have never suggested i have these shots in my hip in an office. sue said she got tons of them before her surgeries.

A lot of docs are reluctant to use cortisone because its effects are time-limited and also because you can only give so many before it starts eating your bone away.

so that's that. i don't know how long it takes (if it takes a while) for cortisone to work --

It can take a few days.

Ann from WA

[Guest guest]

HA HA it's not really the constipated part i'm worried about. even now, sometimes i'm hurrying to the bathroom and i JUST make it -- Number One. ;-) that's what i'm worried about -- not making it. UGH! but i'm going to have a portable commode next to my bed or where ever for as long as it's needed.

Don't worry about that....I was also afrtaid of that, but while you are on the pain meds, you will be lucky to go at all!! they make you so very constipated....they wern't going to let me leave the hospital till I "went", but I knew that once i got home I would be fine, so I insisted on leaving anyway and sure enough, once I got home I was OK.....VERY constipated, but I did go some.....I ended up having to take a laxative at home, but only once....

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I was going to call and schedule today and I haven't yet. WHAT am I waiting for? Is it because I feel better today after having that Cortisone shot?

Me oh My.

Lindy ;-)

Lindy

Ask your OS to scedule you right awayif that is what fits into your scedule better....you will need your husband around for a while after the surgery, so work around his boat trips....I'm sure if the Dr understands the schedule restraints, he will go ahead and do it right away rather than make you wait....

[Guest guest]



elaine,

that's it -- i will EVENTUALLY need it so why not ASAP. absolutely! i'm going to have a commode right next to me at all times, ha ha.

lindy

Lindy Given your husband's schedule I would skip the shot and have the surgery this winter since you know that you eventually will have to have the surgery. As far as the bathroom goes. I had a commode by the side of my bed and that helped a lot. I made it every time instead of leaving a trail of liquid to the bathroom every time.

[Guest guest]

At 01:24 PM 11/14/2006 -0600, you wrote:

hi

anni,

thank

you. you're a sweetie. and know what? my leg feels so

much better today -- from the cortisone. usually while i'm sleeping

the side of my thigh aches like the dickens; last night it didn't and i

got a really good nights sleep. i go to the new doctor ONCE and

she's already made me feel better. i'm so glad i made the choice to

switch. thanks for your kind

words!

That's GREAT news, Lindy! A good night's sleep makes SOOOO much

difference, doesn't it???

Hope it continues!

Anni

[Guest guest]

Lue:

Good to hear you have someone you can trust. I want to mention some

discussions that have been posted in the past related to when to get

the surgery. Tradition has been to wait as long as you can. I think

this thinking was because the devices did not last but 10-15 years.

However the devices have been improving and they last much longer.

It also has a lot to do with the life style of the people. Some will

be hard other not so on the new knee or hip. The newer thinking is

to have the replacement sooner so you will not suffer for years and

have a life pain free. Generally younger people (40-55) are

healthier other than the bad joint. When and if something needs to

be fixed down the road the technology will have improved and things

can be fixed. Even if in 15-20-25 years from now the joint can't be

repaired you at least had those years trouble free.

I would strongly suggest you get physically fit as you can before the

operation. Swim, ride a bike, even upper body exercises. Whatever

works for you? It is like building up a savings account that you can

use when you are healing.

I am not trying to tell you what to do, just wanted to let you know

the different sides of the issue. It is you decision. I am having

my knee replace this Dec 4. I need it four years ago. Knowing what

I have learned in the last year about replacement I might have done

it sooner but I am not complaining, just ready to get it out of the

way so I can have a more active life.

Don

[Guest guest]

If you can, that's the way to go. Because I am prone to to unrinary tract infections, I was hell bound and determined to avoid a catheter. I also didn't want to use a bed pan. Besides the discomfort, you can't drain your bladder the way you can sitting up. Another way to get a UTI. I was up and using the bedside commode soon after I got to my room. The nurses were surprised since I had BTKRs. They were also pleased because I was up on my feet every hour to couple hours. Eventually, they cut the liquids from my IV by 50 percent. Eventually, I really wanted to walk to my bathroom, but the nurses discouraged me. Believe it or not, the bathrooms on the orthopaedic floor aren't roomy enough for all the paraphenalia you must tote along. Lindy, by the time that surgery rolls around, you are going to be an expert at what to expect and what to do do. I'm so glad the cortisone shot helped. I've

had two, and they were great for me. You are on your way, girl! :-) lindy <everyothername.istaken@...> wrote: HA HA

it's not really the constipated part i'm worried about. even now, sometimes i'm hurrying to the bathroom and i JUST make it -- Number One. ;-) that's what i'm worried about -- not making it. UGH! but i'm going to have a portable commode next to my bed or where ever for as long as it's needed. Don't worry about that....I was also afrtaid of that, but while you are on the pain meds, you will be lucky to go at all!! they make you so very constipated....they wern't going to let me leave the hospital till I "went", but I knew that once i got home I would be fine, so I insisted on leaving anyway and sure enough, once I got home I was OK.....VERY constipated, but I did go some.....I ended up having to take a laxative at home, but only once.... __________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

well i went to the orthopedic doctor today and i'm so glad i went. she examined me so thoroughly, that other dork ortho simply took my foot and pushed it up and then out and said, yep, you need hip replacement. she took another x-ray, since i didn't have my records (i'm going to glow in the dark one of these days, ugh).

I'm so glad you got a new doc & she's so much more human and thorough. SHE'S ABSOLUTELY SO MUCH BETTER!

here's what she saw on the x-ray -- definitely NO cartiledge left between the socket and ball of my hip joint. also, on the side of my bone, just below the joint, is what she called a bursa -- a fluid filled cyst-like -- caused from bursitis, which is caused by the arthritis (i think i got this right). the bursa sticks outward, to the side. there is ligament that fits over that bone and because of the bursa, each time i move, the ligament is popping and snapping back and forth across the bursa, which is causing my pain in my thigh area. so, she was able to give me a cortisone shot right into that bursa today (ouch). (that other dang doctor didn't even see that!)

Most joints have these fluild-filled sacs called bursa. They're like padding. Sometimes the bursa get inflamed, and that's called bursitis. If bursitis goes on too long, you can get scar tissue in the bursa. It makes sense that a swollen or scarred bursa snapping over a ligament would cause pain. I'm glad she investigated your joint & found that out for you. I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BURSAS UNTIL I RESEARCHED THEM. THE CORTISONE SHOT IS STILL HELPING THAT AREA, BUT THE JOINT, DEEP DOWN INSIDE, IS HURTING SO BAD, IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT'S WORSE, AND I CAN SURE DIFFERENTIATE NOW THE TWO SEPARATE AREAS OF PAIN.

i have an appt. to go back to her in 1 month.

also, i have an appt. for a cortisone shot directly INTO my hip joint - which i had once before -- a couple years ago -- it helped for like 2 months -- after my doctor said there was no use giving me another because you cannot have one every 2 months.

Cortisone is great for stopping inflammation. Unfortunately, it has some bad side effects (one is that it eats away bone), so it's not a good idea to have more than 3 cortisone shots in any one place. However, since you've only had one, and your bone is shot anyway, it's OK to have another. The anti-inflammatory properties sometimes just last a couple of months. I once had a mysterious condition in which I had such pain (for no reason) in my left wrist, I could only bend my hand about 1/2" in any direction. So I went to a doc & asked for a cortisone shot. He didn't want to do it, but I insisted, and he did it, and I never had the problem again. I still don't know what caused the pain. YES, I KNOW THE RISKS OF CORTISONE AND I DON'T LIKE THEM, THAT'S FOR SURE. I TOO ONCE HAD UNEXPLAINED PAIN -- IN MY THUMB -- IT HURT SO BAD I COULDN'T SLEEP AND IT WAS SWOLLEN, HAPPENED OUT OF THE BLUE. I EVEN WENT TO THE URGENT CARE FOR IT AND HE TOOK FLUID OUT OF THE JOINT TO TEST FOR GOUT, WHICH I DIDN'T HAVE. THAT HURT LIKE HELL -- THAT NEEDLE IN THE JOINT. YIKES!

i'm going to try it again though, just in case this time it MIGHT work. i have to wait for doug to return though since i cannot drive afterwards, because my leg is numbed and i won't have my reflexes. my appt. isn't til jan. 22.

Are you sure your leg will be numbed? I've had cortisone shots in my knees for ITBS, and it didn't numb my leg. If it's only numbed for hours, you could go early, take a book, stay tillthe numbness goes away, and then go home. When is your husband coming back? THAT'S WHAT THEY TOLD ME -- THAT IT'D BE NUMB. IT WASN'T LAST TIME I HAD IT THOUGH, I MEAN, I COULD WALK ON IT FINE. MAYBE THEY'RE JUST WORRIED ABOUT REFLEXES AND DRIVING, SINCE IT'S MY RIGHT LEG. SO FUNNY -- I TOLD THE DOCTOR, "THAT'S MY DRIVING LEG." LIKE DUH, WHO IN THE HECK USES THEIR LEFT LEG TO DRIVE. FDROFLOL

oh, and the doctor gave me the paperwork to get a handicapped sticker.

Yayyyyyyy!!!! I KNOW, YAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

i just can't figure why none of my recent doctors have never suggested i have these shots in my hip in an office. sue said she got tons of them before her surgeries.

A lot of docs are reluctant to use cortisone because its effects are time-limited and also because you can only give so many before it starts eating your bone away. THAT'S PROBABLY THE REASON THEN.

so that's that. i don't know how long it takes (if it takes a while) for cortisone to work --

It can take a few days. WELL I THINK IT'S KICKED IN AS MUCH AS IT'S GOING TO AND I DO HAVE RELIEF FROM THE BURSA, BUT LIKE I SAID, NO WAY THE JOINT.

LINDY LOU

[Guest guest]

it sure does Anni!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's GREAT news, Lindy! A good night's sleep makes SOOOO much difference, doesn't it???Hope it continues!Anni

[Guest guest]

donna,

my mother was prone to UTIs and she'd have one w/o even realizing it and twice, they turned into sepsis and each time she was put into an induced coma and she came close to dying. she did pass away in 2005 and she and i have so many other things (medically) in common, i really fear getting an UTI. i have to mention this to the doctor so they can watch; although, i haven't had one for years -- i used to be prone to them in my 20s.

those IVs really go through me FAST, so i suspect i'll be up a lot going as well.

and yes, because of this list and all of you here, by the time my surgery date rolls around, i'll be an expert and know exactly what to expect. i'm so glad i found this list.

lindy

If you can, that's the way to go. Because I am prone to to unrinary tract infections, I was hell bound and determined to avoid a catheter. I also didn't want to use a bed pan. Besides the discomfort, you can't drain your bladder the way you can sitting up. Another way to get a UTI.

I was up and using the bedside commode soon after I got to my room. The nurses were surprised since I had BTKRs. They were also pleased because I was up on my feet every hour to couple hours. Eventually, they cut the liquids from my IV by 50 percent. Eventually, I really wanted to walk to my bathroom, but the nurses discouraged me. Believe it or not, the bathrooms on the orthopaedic floor aren't roomy enough for all the paraphenalia you must tote along.

Lindy, by the time that surgery rolls around, you are going to be an expert at what to expect and what to do do. I'm so glad the cortisone shot helped. I've had two, and they were great for me. You are on your way, girl! :-)