Re: fear...and waiting...

March 18, 2004

You have NO IDEA how good it is until you proceed. I am now 9 days out and can

easily walk without aides and have NO joint pain and range of motion that I have

not seen since I can remember. I am a physician and took 7weeks off form work as

I was told to use crutches for six weeks. I know that it is part of their

protocol but I am advancing DAILY as to what I can do and I walk only with a

cane and walk NORMALLY. I have radiographic evidence of advanced arthritis in my

other hip and based on this surgery I will have surgery on it AS SOON as I have

any pain.

I broke my opposite tibia and had surgery on it 5 years ago and the recovery

time is an entire different story. That actually hurt for six weeks. This

doesn't hurt at all at 9 days, and, in fact was not significantly painful at 3

days.

Go for it and you will be amazed!

Feel free to give me a call about any of the details.

Todd

March 18, 2004

I am two weeks away from a BHR in Sydney.

You must have no doubt, then there are no monsters.

I too am still nervous but not as bad as before.

One thing I did a week ago was stop taking my vioxx for three days which

left me in no doubt I needed this op!

" Roche "

gabacho@...>

To

19/03/2004 03:36 surfacehippy

PM cc

Subject

Please respond to fear...and

surfacehippy@yaho waiting...

ogroups.com

I'm less than a month away from my resurfacing at JRI. And even

though I've had my quality of life slowly taken away by my rotten

hip, my head keeps trying to talk me out of surgery. Doubt monsters

are eating away at my enthusiasm. So I want you all to know that I

read your success stories every day, and they help to keep me

focused. Left to it's own, my mind will drive me NUTS! It's just so

hard to believe that anything so invasive (cutting and chamfering

and hammering) can lead to any good. So keep the happy endings

coming.....

Chris

March 18, 2004

I'm 31 days away from surgery at JRI (I had to pass up the slot

on the 15th that I assume you took and am scheduled for the 20th). I

cannot believe how much worse my hips have gotten just in the last two

weeks. Personally, I'm about ready to hobble out to the garage, grab

some power tools, and do it myself. ;-)

Don't let the mind-monsters get to you - you're doing the right thing.

Steve (bilateral-to-be, 4/20/04)

March 18, 2004

> You have NO IDEA how good it is until you proceed. I am now 9 days

out and can easily walk without aides and have NO joint pain and

range of motion that I have not seen since I can remember. I am a

physician and took 7weeks off form work as I was told to use

crutches for six weeks. I know that it is part of their protocol but

I am advancing DAILY as to what I can do and I walk only with a cane

and walk NORMALLY. I have radiographic evidence of advanced

arthritis in my other hip and based on this surgery I will have

surgery on it AS SOON as I have any pain.

> I broke my opposite tibia and had surgery on it 5 years ago and

the recovery time is an entire different story. That actually hurt

for six weeks. This doesn't hurt at all at 9 days, and, in fact was

not significantly painful at 3 days.

> Go for it and you will be amazed!

> Feel free to give me a call about any of the details.

> Todd

> dear todd ,thank yiu so much for your miraculous experience of

being so free from pain. it is clearly a reflection not only of the

wonderful tool of resurfacing but also of your radiant health and

wellbeing.it has given me the final boost and i will now schedule my

surgery asap. let me know when you can play golf again,we talked

some months ago about healig from surgery and golf art dann former

pro golfer and resurfacer 831 4257864 831 247

2621

March 19, 2004

Chris

It might help if you think of having root canal treatment if one of your teeth

had a abscess. Even with some 28-32 teeth in your mouth you would not allow the

pain or the fear of having the root canal treated let your tooth and jaw

deteriorate such that you would loose your infected tooth. Especially if you

knew that an expert can help cure your problem by capping the root of your tooth

thus preventing further abscesses to develop. I know itâ€™s a poor analogy,

however, we have two hips only, and fear of invasive surgery treatment should

not prevent us from having the problem treated.

I hope you summon the courage and have your hip treated.

Good luck

Dan

* +44 (0)7974 981-407

* +44 (0)20 8501-2573

@ dan.milosevic@...

_____

From: Roche

Sent: 19 March 2004 04:37

To: surfacehippy

Subject: fear...and waiting...

I'm less than a month away from my resurfacing at JRI. And even though I've

had my quality of life slowly taken away by my rotten hip, my head keeps trying

to talk me out of surgery. Doubt monsters are eating away at my enthusiasm. So I

want you all to know that I read your success stories every day, and they help

to keep me focused. Left to it's own, my mind will drive me NUTS! It's just so

hard to believe that anything so invasive (cutting and chamfering and hammering)

can lead to any good. So keep the happy endings

coming.....

Chris

March 19, 2004

Hi Hipsters...Had my one year exam at JRI yesterday and was pleased with Dr.

Schmalzred....He was not opposed to looking at my perfect BHR and commenting

on what great shape my re-surf was in. I havent had a problem since the day it

was in and the bone growth is great .blah blah blah....Im very

grateful...However I do have significant OA in my other Hip and Dr. Schmalzreid

feels that I

have some time and he mentioned year increments on it...I on the other

hand..will definitley be sending xrays to De SMET for for my final say...I am

happy

to have gone to JRI for this checkup as the day I was there the FDA was there

....I hopped in and around the office and back and forth to xray as much as

possible ....they must surely have noticed...Well that is allI have to report.I

honestly must say that I was greatly relieved on the diagnosis of my OA hip

but a part of me felt a tad of disappointment ...somehow I was anticipating it

to be worse based on my slight groin pain level and already planning a trip

in my mind to Belgium...

For the fearsome...Please allow your self the dignity to feel the quality of

your life...the operation isnt a breeze but then again I can think of alot

worse...child birth and yes a root canal..how about just a filling,... For those

of you pending hippies ...keep moving those muscles and ligaments till it is

so valuble for recovery.....

Very Grateful Hipster

Sue

3/11/03

Koen De Smet

March 19, 2004

Hi

All I can say is I reckon I could have crawled the 1000 miles I had to go to

get to my operation by the time I found out I could have it............ and

not a day goes by that I don't give thanks to the fact that I live in a time

and age where it is possible, a country that has a half way decent health

system and a wonderful talented doctor who was clever enough to do

it..............Then I skip and twist and turn and enjoy the relative

freedom of movement again..........

People still keep telling me 18 months later how much healthier and happier

I look.............. This makes life a lot lot easier to manage and to look

after myself.............. somewhat important at times like this when we

have a tropical cyclone developing just off the coast and need to deal with

inches and inches of rain etc...........i.e. keeping gutters clear and

cleaning drains is a top priority right now.........smile.

The mind fairies are a pain but just remember you can be totally out of it

when the cutting, chamfering and hammering happens........ thus it

really doesn't get to figure too high........... and self preservation kicks

in petty soon after you wake up from the op and then all you want to do is

recover and get on with your happy life............ And leave it too much

longer and you may well have even more cutting of bone and the added extra

of a steel shaft hammered down your inner femur to have any quality of

life..............

Edith LBHR Dr. L Walter Syd Aust 8/02

> I'm less than a month away from my resurfacing at JRI. And even

> though I've had my quality of life slowly taken away by my rotten

> hip, my head keeps trying to talk me out of surgery. Doubt monsters

> are eating away at my enthusiasm. So I want you all to know that I

> read your success stories every day, and they help to keep me

> focused. Left to it's own, my mind will drive me NUTS! It's just so

> hard to believe that anything so invasive (cutting and chamfering

> and hammering) can lead to any good. So keep the happy endings

> coming.....

> Chris

March 19, 2004

I found this surprising. The only restrictions on my activity advised by Mr.

Treacy for my BHR's were no sky-diving or bungee-jumping.

It seems logical that a hard landing might cause some damage. I must say I

was bummed out about the sky-diving because I had planned to do that for my 50th

birthday. However being now about 10 months post-op from my second BHR, I'd

still be very leery of coming down very hard on my feet.

Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

Des Tuck

In a message dated 3/19/2004 11:05:51 AM Pacific Standard Time,

dm_griggzy@... writes:

I was one of the 1st 50 to have the C+ in March of 1998 on my 1st hip-

absolutely the best decision I could have made. I was skydiving less than 7

weeks post op and have no restrictions in activity and zero pain. In 2 â€“ 3

months I was running, biking, golf, and tennis without restriction.

March 19, 2004

I'm 5 weeks post op from having my 2nd hip resurfaced C+ at JRI by Dr.

Amstutz. I'm walking without cane or crutches with no pain. You won't like

life for 3 weeks or so after surgery, but then it's all good - you’ll

steadily get your life back free of pain and restrictions.

I was one of the 1st 50 to have the C+ in March of 1998 on my 1st hip-

absolutely the best decision I could have made. I was skydiving less than 7

weeks post op and have no restrictions in activity and zero pain. In 2 – 3

months I was running, biking, golf, and tennis without restriction. And Dr.

Amstutz said I had two of the worse hips he’d ever seen.

For bilateral-to-be Steve, you'll have a much more challenging recovery and

rehab. You'll need a lot more patience and support, and a significantly

longer rehab period. My hat’s off to you for getting both done at once –

something I would not want to do as I relied so much initially on my other

leg. It will be tough for a couple of months so hang in there. I have can

give you the email of another bilateral patient 6 months post op if you’re

interested.

Tip1: One thing that made my hospital stay more tolerable was my CD player

with/AM/FM and a noise-canceling headset. Most patients bring books but

find I found it hard to read for any extended period. Hospitals are noisy

and invasive – every couple of hours round the clock for checking vitals and

blood tests. The CD/radio is calming, whether you listen to tunes or talk

radio.

Tip2: Buy a pair of Ted hose at a local pharmacy prior to the op. Or ask

the nursing staff for a second pair to take home. You’ll be wearing them

full time for 3 weeks, then at night for another 3 weeks. Multiple pairs

are more convenient considering the washing/drying.

Tip3: You’ll need to sleep on your back for several weeks – not easy to

learn for a side sleeper like me. So I rolled a couple of heavy blankets

together, tying them into a 2 foot wide roll that I placed between my legs

just so I could temporally roll on my non-operated side. If you have a

suitable recliner you’ll probably give it a good workout for a couple of

weeks.

Tip4: If you can tolerate the pain with meds, try to strengthening your leg

prior to the operation with weight resistance machines– the stronger your

leg going in, the faster you’ll regain full use. Leg extension, leg curls,

abductors, kick-backs and leg presses are good. Your butt muscles get

trashed during the surgery. And any pre-op cardio training will make

recovery faster.

Make no mistake, this surgery is major and waking up with all the tubes,

wires, and catheter is not pleasant and there is pain - my thanks to the

inventor of morphine. It’s also a bit of an emotionally roller coaster.

But it is just temporary and more than worth it to get back your quality of

life. I’m convinced the C+ from Dr. Amstutz is the gold standard for hip

resurfacing/hip replacement. You can’t make a better decision. Hang tough

for a couple of weeks following the op and then when you see your progress

and are free of pain, any doubts will fade away.

Let me know if you're interested in my recovery/rehab advice.

Dave G.

C+ left 3/98, right 2/04. JRI, Dr. Amstutz

>

>Reply-To: surfacehippy

>To: surfacehippy

>Subject: fear...and waiting...

>Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 04:36:58 -0000

>

> I'm less than a month away from my resurfacing at JRI. And even

>though I've had my quality of life slowly taken away by my rotten

>hip, my head keeps trying to talk me out of surgery. Doubt monsters

>are eating away at my enthusiasm. So I want you all to know that I

>read your success stories every day, and they help to keep me

>focused. Left to it's own, my mind will drive me NUTS! It's just so

>hard to believe that anything so invasive (cutting and chamfering

>and hammering) can lead to any good. So keep the happy endings

>coming.....

> Chris

>

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March 19, 2004

Geez, Chris...I doubt any of us could honestly claim a complete

absence of angst at some point before that of no return...however, I

also doubt that any of us have any regrets at having finally taken the

plunge! I'm now able to chase my 4 1/2 y/o son around and as of

yesterday, jog alongside him as he pedals his trike or digger madly

along our street. I've been back to aerobics classes for the first

time in 3 years and am able to again challenge my legs in spinning

class for the first time in over a year. My overall outlook is again

positive and problems of all sizes are just no big a deal to overcome.

Last Fall I was to the point of packing it in. Now I'm tickled about

the things I can already do and optimistic beyond words about the

future. You'll only truly appreciate how bad things are now after you

begin your recovery. Then you'll look on it all with an ear-to-ear

grin and wonder how anyone so brilliant to have done what you did

could have had all those doubts!

You'll do just fine!

Take good care,

Steve Vince

Bilat BHR De Smet

Jan 6, 2004