to have THR or not?

July 16, 2010

Thank you all so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences - it's

really appreciated! Yes, I figured there would be an imbalance of more folks

here with problems than those without (who have moved on). But since I'm on

the verge of such a major surgery, it's easy to have your confidence

shaken.

My issues are fourfold:

1) I have spent several years building up to this point where the pain is

almost constant (mid-level to killer flare ups at night or when walking or

after mild exercise), and now widespread enough to be hard to tolerate;

plus, my normal life (sleeping/walking) is regularly disturbed enough to feel

I need to take action. The hip has buckled once (on the stairs!) and after

nearly three years, the shots cost more and help less. BUT every once in a

while, the pain subsides for a few hours or a day, then I have doubts.

2) Not being able to tolerate most pain meds due to GI issues. My OS says

he'd rather I deal with the pain than the problems the pain meds cause.

3) My husband is retired and I work only part time as the director of a

crisis helpline, so money and scheduling are challenging. Doable, but thought

provoking. I'd made the decision to act now; he's suggesting I wait until

next year.

4) A second surgical opinion - my instinct is always to have one,

especially for something this big. Yet, as I noted, I'm seeing the head of the

OS

dept. of a respected hospital, he does several joint replacements every

week, he has no complaints/suits on record, he has not rushed me, and I've

heard other patients praise him highly. And Aetna Insurance does not require

one. I would tell someone else to get one regardless of the cost and time

lost. Agree, disagree?

Thank you.

In a message dated 7/16/2010 9:19:35 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

jujulabee@... writes:

Unfortunately you have a perception problem caused by a basic quirk of

human nature

Those who have problems after hip surgery are a minority however they are

over-represented on a forum like this because the vast majority of people

with NO PROBLEMS don't bother to post. They come here to get information

prior to surgery and then may stick around as they heal but then get on with

their normal lives and stop posting.

This isn't meant to blame those with problems who post but only to point

out that it tends to give an unrealistic view of the success of the surgery

- especially when it is coupled with a reluctance to have a major surgery

in the first place.

Almost no one who has had the surgery has regretted having it -- for most

people the regret is that they waited so long as their life became whittled

down to almost nothing as pain prevented them from participating in normal

activities and pain made their lives a misery even when sitting, lying

down or trying to sleep.

When an OS (or other people) say a person will know when it's time, it's

because the surgery is elective and only an individual can decide when the

quality of their life has become compromised enough to have the surgery.

Some people wait until they are walking around with canes and are essentially

immobile while others opt for surgery when they can no longer be what I

would call normally active.

For almost everyone hip surgery is a TOTAL CURE - You wake up and that

afternoon or the next day you get up and the excruciating pain is gone. Sure

there is surgical discomfort and some pain from the surgery but it's a

totally different kind of discomfort and for most people is very well

controlled

with pain medication. That is one question, one should ask one's OS -- i.e

what his pain management regime consists of.

On Jul 16, 2010, at 06:05 AM, Carmel Santos <pureenergy7@...> wrote:

You will know when it's time, when you can't walk anymore and your hip

pain becomes so unbearable, your hip stiffens up or buckles under you. Mine

was bone on bone in the end making even going to the mall a chore because I

had to make frequent stops because my hip was so sore and I couldn't walk