Just Joined

[Guest guest]

Dear Judy,

Sorry I'm so slow responding to this e-mail of yours. I wanted to read

through some of our samters messages that I printed for ideas for you and

it took me a while to do it. For natural solutions Barbara said that

cordyceps is a natural antiinflamatory and Lori I think said that

UltraInfamX helped her. For other medicines Barb mentioned Dilaudid,

Demerol, Oxycodone and Codeine. These are some ideas I've seen but be

careful at first and make sure you don't react.

Just Joined

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[Guest guest]

Hi

Welcome to the group, you will find many interesting facts on here with this

little lot, its all friendly and helpful advice

Good luck to you

Simone

Just joined

Hello everyone:

I have just joined this group and was requested to give you a small

blurb about myself. I haven't had scoliosis surgery - YET ! ! ! but I

am seriously looking into it and have an appointment with yet another

specialist in Nov. I guess from that you will also know I don't have

flatback either but since I have so many issues with my back I am

always interested in what is going on with others. My upper curve is

about 60 and lower almost 40 they have almost doubled since I turned

40 lol and I am now 50. I am having stenosis issues from the lumbar

curve and my rib cage is very twisted and deformed due to the upper

one. I have managed to pork on a bunch of weight since I can't do

much and now have a heart issue to go along with things. My pain is

24/7 and life isn't much fun but I am determined to get things turned

around. Anyway there is a shorty about me and I look forward to

getting to know everyone in this group as well as learning from you

all.

Support for scoliosis-surgery veterans with Harrington Rod Malalignment

Syndrome. Not medical advice. Group does not control ads or endorse any

advertised products.

[Guest guest]

sparkeygirl365 wrote: "Unfortunatly x-rays have revealed that

instead

of going straight down the stem is lying at an angle and sticking

out the back of my femur"

I've not heard of a patient having the prosthesis penetrate the bone

and the patient not having extreme pain. Usually when this happens the

prosthesis has been loose in the center of the femur and wears a place

through the bone. These patients complain of pain in the thigh when

they move their leg. It is my recollection that the surgeon removes

the prosthesis, and re-implants a longer stem into the center of the

femur, going past the area of the break, and then may need to reinforce

the bone where the previous prosthesis had worn through. It is a

longer harder surgery, but the recovery is the same.

We will be anxious to hear what your primary physician has to say about

the situtation.

Marilyn

[Guest guest]

Hi Ed and welcome to MN!

Vona

Got Limu????? www.vr.originallimu.com

3000 year old secret for health revealed !

Also see: http://www.limu.cjb.net/ this my

up line's site, my ID # is 7875201

just joined

>

>

>

> Hi. I just joined your group. I am a California licensed acupuncturist

> and medicnal herbalist. I began fermenting foods with kombucha tea

> which I started giving to my patients back in 1995. That grew into a

> small business HappyHerbalist.com I feel that fermented foods -like

> kombucha and kefir help people take back their health care. I now use

> kombucha other than a fantastic tea but as a extract and distilled

> viengar to prepare herbal formulas in stead of alcohol. I've found that

> kefir works as well in certain herbla formulas. I also found that my 2

> year and 7 year old daughters will eat heathy foods - like kefir,

> villii, yogurts etc. They still prefer the sugar store stuff but

> there's hope.

>

> Ed Kasper, LAc

> Santa Cruz, Cailfornia

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi again Ed, I have your website bookmarked! I hit send to quickly!!!

Vona

Got Limu????? www.vr.originallimu.com

3000 year old secret for health revealed !

Also see: http://www.limu.cjb.net/ this my

up line's site, my ID # is 7875201

just joined

>

>

>

> Hi. I just joined your group. I am a California licensed acupuncturist

> and medicnal herbalist. I began fermenting foods with kombucha tea

> which I started giving to my patients back in 1995. That grew into a

> small business HappyHerbalist.com I feel that fermented foods -like

> kombucha and kefir help people take back their health care. I now use

> kombucha other than a fantastic tea but as a extract and distilled

> viengar to prepare herbal formulas in stead of alcohol. I've found that

> kefir works as well in certain herbla formulas. I also found that my 2

> year and 7 year old daughters will eat heathy foods - like kefir,

> villii, yogurts etc. They still prefer the sugar store stuff but

> there's hope.

>

> Ed Kasper, LAc

> Santa Cruz, Cailfornia

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> Hi. I just joined your group.

> - Ed Kasper, LAc

Ed, welcome to the group.

Don't I know you from the kefir group?

How are the tibicos which I sent you?

Darrell

[Guest guest]

Welcome Ed

>From: " happyherbalist2001 " <eddy@...>

>Reply-nutrition

>nutrition

>Subject: just joined

>Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 21:48:05 -0000

>

>

>

>Hi. I just joined your group. I am a California licensed acupuncturist

>and medicnal herbalist. I began fermenting foods with kombucha tea

>which I started giving to my patients back in 1995. That grew into a

>small business HappyHerbalist.com I feel that fermented foods -like

>kombucha and kefir help people take back their health care. I now use

>kombucha other than a fantastic tea but as a extract and distilled

>viengar to prepare herbal formulas in stead of alcohol. I've found that

>kefir works as well in certain herbla formulas. I also found that my 2

>year and 7 year old daughters will eat heathy foods - like kefir,

>villii, yogurts etc. They still prefer the sugar store stuff but

>there's hope.

>

>Ed Kasper, LAc

>Santa Cruz, Cailfornia

>

>

>

>

>

>

_________________________________________________________________

SEEK: Now with over 80,000 dream jobs! Click here:

http://ninemsn.seek.com.au?hotmail

[Guest guest]

Hi Ed, just want to say welcome to this group. I guess many of us

already know you from Kefir_making. My kombucha is making great KT with

the wonderful teas I bought at your website. With pu-ehr I feel like it

doubles the benefits. Hope you enjoy this group, Virginia D.

[Guest guest]

Hi Philip,

Welcome to the group. Congratulations on all of your fermenting projects. I

also have my

first crock of red miso chugging away on my kitchen table. I put it up in early

February

and will try some in the Fall, although I know it can go much longer. When did

you start

your batch?

Nora

>

> hello

>

> I am a vegetarian chef based in Oakland, California. This past year i

started

experimenting with a lot of fermentation projects and have been succesfully been

making

kim chi, sauerkraut, mirin, tempeh and unsucessfully trying to make natto. I

also have my

first crock full of red miso brewing but will not open it till late fall and

this weekend, i

hope to start a white miso.

>

> looking forward to reading posts from this group

>

> much thanks!

>

> phil

>

> Philip Gelb

> shakuhachi player, teacher

> vegetarian chef

> http://philipgelb.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

i started the miso in February as well

phil

nvbraverman <nvbraverman@...> wrote:

Hi Philip,

Welcome to the group. Congratulations on all of your fermenting projects. I

also have my

first crock of red miso chugging away on my kitchen table. I put it up in early

February

and will try some in the Fall, although I know it can go much longer. When did

you start

your batch?

Nora

>

> hello

>

> I am a vegetarian chef based in Oakland, California. This past year i

started

experimenting with a lot of fermentation projects and have been succesfully been

making

kim chi, sauerkraut, mirin, tempeh and unsucessfully trying to make natto. I

also have my

first crock full of red miso brewing but will not open it till late fall and

this weekend, i

hope to start a white miso.

>

> looking forward to reading posts from this group

>

> much thanks!

>

> phil

>

> Philip Gelb

> shakuhachi player, teacher

> vegetarian chef

> http://philipgelb.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

hi . welcome.

my surgeon told me to expect to be walking with only a cane by 6 weeks, but i know that varies. i'm having a TRHR on january 22, 2007. have you scheduled yours yet? i think winter, when one can't get out much anyway, would be the best time. do you have someone to help you when you get out of the hospital. where do you live?

hugs,linDUHlouTRHR 1/22/2007

I'm glad to find this group, now I have a lot of posts to go through. It's a very active group! I'm 56 and have had increasing pain in my hip. I've got a good ortho and just had x-rays done and this morning an MRI. We discussed my x-ray, it's not good! He told me that I can continue on without a THR but I couldn't be very active. He was very through in explaining the THR and said that with it I can look forward to an active lifestyle, such as walking, hiking and so on. I'm 99percent sure I'll do it, the sooner, the better. Well, now you know a bit about me. My question, although I'm sure I can find the answer by scanning through the posts, how long of a recovery am I looking at? My goal is to be able to get back to hiking and bicycling like I used to do before my hip just kept getting gradually worse.

[Guest guest]

I haven't scheduled for surgery yet, I'm really considering going

with the injections first and see how much time that buys me. My

husband and I are both retired so he'll help me when I do have the

surgery. We live in Panama (Central America-retired here five years

ago) so the time of year is no factor. With only two seasons here,

wet or not wet, it doesn't get cold (I hate cold). Although at times

it can drop down to 76 F in the mornings!

Anyway, Monday I get my MRI results back and will discuss, in more

detail, the Synvisc injections with my dr.

>

> hi . welcome.

> my surgeon told me to expect to be walking with only a cane by 6

weeks, but i know that varies. i'm having a TRHR on january 22,

2007. have you scheduled yours yet? i think winter, when one can't

get out much anyway, would be the best time. do you have someone to

help you when you get out of the hospital. where do you live?

> hugs,

> linDUHlou

> TRHR 1/22/2007

[Guest guest]

Hi - I just had a procedure known as resurfacing done on both

hips, October 17th & 31st. I am walking around the house without a

cane, using a cane outside, walking about 1/2 mile a day so far.

Resurfacing was just approved for 1 device manufacturer in May of this

year, & has been done around the world for 10 years. It uses a metal

cap on your feamur head & a metal cup in your pelvis. Check out the

group surfacehippy, & google BHR hip replacement. The procedure

takes less bone, uses the natural armature of the femur, & can be

turned into a standard total hip replacement if that needs to be done

later in life. Give it a look, I'm happy as hell I did.

Your recovery time will be dependant on your strength going into the

surgery. The better shape you're in, the faster you'll get up & get

going again.

Thanks

Hozack Bilateral BHR 10/06

[Guest guest]

, By all means, try the injections. Bad knees are in our family. My oldest brother, 68, is having one knee at a time replaced next year. Another brother, 66, is still getting by on the injections. I'm 56. I had the injections which helped, but I still had to give up such as activities as hiking and skiing. When I could no longer keep up with yardwork, housework, my friends at the mall or with my grandchildren on a walk to the playground, I knew it was time to have both knees replaced. Replacement of both hips is in my future. My goal is to have it all done by the time I'm 60. I hope to be running around with the grandchilren and seeing the world in my 60s. Warm regards, <chiriquimary@...> wrote: I haven't scheduled for surgery yet, I'm really considering going with the injections first and see how much time that buys me. My husband and I are both retired so he'll help me when I do have the surgery. We live in Panama (Central America-retired here five years ago) so the time of year is no factor. With only two seasons here, wet or not wet, it doesn't get cold (I hate cold). Although at times it can drop down to 76 F in the mornings! ;)Anyway, Monday I get my MRI results back and will discuss, in more detail, the Synvisc injections with my dr. >> hi . welcome.> my surgeon told me to expect to be walking with only a cane by 6 weeks, but i know that varies. i'm having a TRHR on january 22, 2007. have you scheduled yours yet? i think winter, when one can't get out much anyway, would be the best time. do you have someone to help you when you get out of the hospital. where do you live?> hugs,> linDUHlou> TRHR 1/22/2007

Access over 1 million songs - Music Unlimited.

[Guest guest]

By the way, , I forgot to mention something about the injections. The first time I had them, the physician assistant had me sit up. I was very aware of the needle and when it was coming. It wasn't unbearable, but I dreaded going. The next round I had a new physician assistant. She had me lie down, put a bumper pillow under my knees and just created a nice, relaxing enviornment all around. She made it a breeze, and I didn't mind going back for the rest of the series. I had the same experience with cortisone shots. Last year, a renowned surgeon injected my knees -- without numbing them. I thought I was going to go through the roof. This year, I had my hips injected by a radiologist. He numbed the area first. He and an aide were talking and joking with me. I was still waiting for the pain when he told me he was finished. I must have asked him five times if he was sure. Though I had my knees replaced in

October, I will be returning for hip injections. You can bet I'll schedule them with the same, remarkable person. Do ask around and find out who will have you lie down, make you comfy with pillows and proceed witha skilled touch and soothing manner. You deserve nothing less. <chiriquimary@...> wrote: I haven't scheduled for surgery yet, I'm really considering going with the injections first and see how much time that buys me. My husband

and I are both retired so he'll help me when I do have the surgery. We live in Panama (Central America-retired here five years ago) so the time of year is no factor. With only two seasons here, wet or not wet, it doesn't get cold (I hate cold). Although at times it can drop down to 76 F in the mornings! ;)Anyway, Monday I get my MRI results back and will discuss, in more detail, the Synvisc injections with my dr. >> hi . welcome.> my surgeon told me to expect to be walking with only a cane by 6 weeks, but i know that varies. i'm having a TRHR on january 22, 2007. have you scheduled yours yet? i think winter, when one can't get out much anyway, would be the best time. do you have someone to help you

when you get out of the hospital. where do you live?> hugs,> linDUHlou> TRHR 1/22/2007

Access over 1 million songs - Music Unlimited.

[Guest guest]

>

> I'm glad to find this group, now I have a lot of posts to go

through.

> It's a very active group! I'm 56 and have had increasing pain in

my

> hip. I've got a good ortho and just had x-rays done and this

morning an

> MRI. We discussed my x-ray, it's not good! He told me that I can

> continue on without a THR but I couldn't be very active. He was

very

> through in explaining the THR and said that with it I can look

forward

> to an active lifestyle, such as walking, hiking and so on. I'm

> 99percent sure I'll do it, the sooner, the better.

>

> Well, now you know a bit about me. My question, although I'm sure I

can

> find the answer by scanning through the posts, how long of a

recovery

> am I looking at? My goal is to be able to get back to hiking and

> bicycling like I used to do before my hip just kept getting

gradually

> worse.

>

>

>

Hello, . I just joined this group and saw your message. I had a

THR on November 10, and now I'm saying what everyone else who's had

this operation has told me before my surgery: I don't know why I

waited so long! My main concern is to get back to the 5-6 days per

week of brisk walking that I do for about 40-50 minutes. I'm working

on that in physical therapy, plus correcting the limp I've had for

about 4 years. My physical therapist said that I'd be in therapy for

about 8 weeks. Only yesterday I had my first aerobic-level workout on

a treadmill--only 12 minutes at about 2.5 mph, which gives me a

minimal aerobic workout and minimal cardio-vascular benefit, but it's

a start. I hope to be back to " normal " within about two to three

months. By the way, I'm 58. I had to have a THR because my left hip

was severely arthritic.

In my case, I have lost about 60 pounds since December 2005. My

surgeon has told me many benefits of having lost weight for my

surgery and recovery and being physically fit going in to it. So how

long it takes you to get back to your normal exercise and lifestyle

depends on your pre-surgery level of fitness.

My advice: Make sure you go in to the surgery at a normal weight, and

exercise before your surgery so that you're fit going in to it.

Hope this helps. --Arthur

[Guest guest]

I agree with Arthur that going into surgery at your normal weight is ideal, deceasing risk during surgury and promoting a better recovery. However, if you are unable to be active, the cards are definitely stacked against your losing weight. I did water aerobics and swam two years before my BTKRs (Sept. 8). Now I am able to do limited weigh-bearing exercises that I'm told burns fat faster and am losing weight. I admit tht my appetite was limited after surgery and is slowly returnng and that helped also. Whatever -- I wish I could have lost before, I'm thrilled I'm losing now and am looking forward to my normal, much more active life style. I am glad I didn't put off my surgery any longer. Arthur wrote: My advice: Make sure you go in to the surgery at a normal weight, and exercise before your surgery so that you're fit going in to it.

Access over 1 million songs - Music Unlimited.

[Guest guest]

hi arthur,

i'm also 58 but unlike you, i am overweight and not physically fit at all. (although when i went to the doctor yesterday i had lost another pound, in two weeks time -- 10 since mid october.) but i still have lots to lose to be considered a normal weight. i'm scheduled for THR on january 22. do you think it's best if i put off the surgery til i've lost the weight and have gotten myself more fit?

hugs,linDUHlouTRHR 1/22/2007

Hello, . I just joined this group and saw your message. I had a THR on November 10, and now I'm saying what everyone else who's had this operation has told me before my surgery: I don't know why I waited so long! My main concern is to get back to the 5-6 days per week of brisk walking that I do for about 40-50 minutes. I'm working on that in physical therapy, plus correcting the limp I've had for about 4 years. My physical therapist said that I'd be in therapy for about 8 weeks. Only yesterday I had my first aerobic-level workout on a treadmill--only 12 minutes at about 2.5 mph, which gives me a minimal aerobic workout and minimal cardio-vascular benefit, but it's a start. I hope to be back to "normal" within about two to three months. By the way, I'm 58. I had to have a THR because my left hip was severely arthritic.In my case, I have lost about 60 pounds since December 2005. My surgeon has told me many benefits of having lost weight for my surgery and recovery and being physically fit going in to it. So how long it takes you to get back to your normal exercise and lifestyle depends on your pre-surgery level of fitness.My advice: Make sure you go in to the surgery at a normal weight, and exercise before your surgery so that you're fit going in to it.Hope this helps. --Arthur

[Guest guest]

Hi Lindy. I had put off my surgery for a year the first time around.

My arthritic hip wasn't too bad yet, and I suppose I had some

psychological adjustments to make about needing major surgery--I'd

never had surgery with general anesthesia before. Still, when I asked

my doctor about losing weight when he initially diagnosed my

arthritic hip, he said that losing even a little weight would be

beneficial. I'm 5'10 " and at the time weighed about 220. I was 163

the other morning.

Quite frankly, my orthopedic surgeon told me that a THR is much more

difficult for obese people. In fact, the risk of a blood clot is high

already with THR surgery, but for obese people, that risk rises even

higher. I was thus motivated to lose the weight before the surgery.

Part of my motivation with the weight AND the THR is that I am also a

type 2 diabetic. So losing the weight has had great benefits there,

too. I've never had a deep-vein blood clot, but I did have a

superficial vein blood clot, so I was plenty scared and motivated

enough to lose the weight and reduce my risks for the surgery.

By the way, I was on two blood sugar meds mroning and evening, plus a

40 mg. dose of Lipitor (cholesterol), and last April, after having

lost a lot of weight, my doctor took me off all of it. And I'm still

off it.

You should probably discuss your health status as it relates to your

surgery with your doctor. However, you mentioned you are scheduled

for surgery. So if your surgeon thought your operation would be very

risky, he or she would probably tell you so, right?

Don't feel bad at all about marching right back to his office with a

laundry list of questions. I did that. It's worth it for the $25

copay my insurance provides for seeing specialists!

Lose weight or not, do start a mild exercise program if you're well

enough to do that. I was also advised to do that, even though I'd

been exercising all along.

--Art

>

> hi arthur,

> i'm also 58 but unlike you, i am overweight and not physically fit

at all. (although when i went to the doctor yesterday i had lost

another pound, in two weeks time -- 10 since mid october.) but i

still have lots to lose to be considered a normal weight. i'm

scheduled for THR on january 22. do you think it's best if i put off

the surgery til i've lost the weight and have gotten myself more fit?

>

> hugs,

> linDUHlou

> TRHR 1/22/2007

> Hello, . I just joined this group and saw your message. I had

a

> THR on November 10, and now I'm saying what everyone else who's

had

> this operation has told me before my surgery: I don't know why I

> waited so long! My main concern is to get back to the 5-6 days

per

> week of brisk walking that I do for about 40-50 minutes. I'm

working

> on that in physical therapy, plus correcting the limp I've had

for

> about 4 years. My physical therapist said that I'd be in therapy

for

> about 8 weeks. Only yesterday I had my first aerobic-level

workout on

> a treadmill--only 12 minutes at about 2.5 mph, which gives me a

> minimal aerobic workout and minimal cardio-vascular benefit, but

it's

> a start. I hope to be back to " normal " within about two to three

> months. By the way, I'm 58. I had to have a THR because my left

hip

> was severely arthritic.

> In my case, I have lost about 60 pounds since December 2005. My

> surgeon has told me many benefits of having lost weight for my

> surgery and recovery and being physically fit going in to it. So

how

> long it takes you to get back to your normal exercise and

lifestyle

> depends on your pre-surgery level of fitness.

> My advice: Make sure you go in to the surgery at a normal weight,

and

> exercise before your surgery so that you're fit going in to it.

> Hope this helps. --Arthur

>

[Guest guest]

Amen to that. I couldn't put off the surgery any longer because the

pain was too great. --Arthur

>

> My advice: Make sure you go in to the surgery at a normal

weight, and

> exercise before your surgery so that you're fit going in to it.

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Access over 1 million songs - Music Unlimited.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Lindy. I had put off my surgery for a year the first time around. My arthritic hip wasn't too bad yet, and I suppose I had some psychological adjustments to make about needing major surgery--I'd never had surgery with general anesthesia before. Still, when I asked my doctor about losing weight when he initially diagnosed my arthritic hip, he said that losing even a little weight would be beneficial. I'm 5'10" and at the time weighed about 220. I was 163 the other morning.Quite frankly, my orthopedic surgeon told me that a THR is much more difficult for obese people. In fact, the risk of a blood clot is high already with THR surgery, but for obese people, that risk rises even higher. I was thus motivated to lose the weight before the surgery.Part of my motivation with the weight AND the THR is that I am also a type 2 diabetic. So losing the weight has had great benefits there, too. I've never had a deep-vein

blood clot, but I did have a superficial vein blood clot, so I was plenty scared and motivated enough to lose the weight and reduce my risks for the surgery.By the way, I was on two blood sugar meds mroning and evening, plus a 40 mg. dose of Lipitor (cholesterol) , and last April, after having lost a lot of weight, my doctor took me off all of it. And I'm still off it.You should probably discuss your health status as it relates to your surgery with your doctor. However, you mentioned you are scheduled for surgery. So if your surgeon thought your operation would be very risky, he or she would probably tell you so, right?Don't feel bad at all about marching right back to his office with a laundry list of questions. I did that. It's worth it for the $25 copay my insurance provides for seeing specialists!Lose weight or not, do start a mild exercise program if you're well enough to do that. I was also

advised to do that, even though I'd been exercising all along.--Artlindy <everyothername.istaken@...> wrote: hi arthur, i'm also 58 but unlike you, i am overweight and not physically fit at all. (although when i went to the doctor yesterday i had lost another pound, in two weeks time -- 10 since mid october.) but i still have lots to lose to be considered a normal weight. i'm

scheduled for THR on january 22. do you think it's best if i put off the surgery til i've lost the weight and have gotten myself more fit? hugs,linDUHlouTRHR 1/22/2007 Hello, . I just joined this group and saw your message. I had a THR on November 10, and now I'm saying what everyone else who's had this operation has told me before my surgery: I don't know why I waited so long! My main concern is to get back to the 5-6 days per week of brisk walking that I do for about 40-50 minutes. I'm working on that in physical therapy, plus correcting the limp I've had for about 4 years. My physical therapist said that I'd be in therapy for about 8 weeks. Only yesterday I had my first aerobic-level workout on a treadmill--only 12 minutes at about 2.5 mph, which gives me a

minimal aerobic workout and minimal cardio-vascular benefit, but it's a start. I hope to be back to "normal" within about two to three months. By the way, I'm 58. I had to have a THR because my left hip was severely arthritic.In my case, I have lost about 60 pounds since December 2005. My surgeon has told me many benefits of having lost weight for my surgery and recovery and being physically fit going in to it. So how long it takes you to get back to your normal exercise and lifestyle depends on your pre-surgery level of fitness.My advice: Make sure you go in to the surgery at a normal weight, and exercise before your surgery so that you're fit going in to it.Hope this helps. --Arthur

Access over 1 million songs - Music Unlimited.

[Guest guest]

art,

some days i think that i could actually wait a year to have my surgery and then other days i wish i could have it right then and there. the pain has definitely kept me from living my life normally.

all i do now is go to the grocery store or walmart to get my RXs and each time, i end up in excruiating pain, sometimes crying on the way home, so fed up that i can't do anything. i feel my life passing me by, existing, not enjoying it as i should.

i've seriously thought about postponing it because of my weight, but my OS didn't seem to think it will cause any extra risks and i have to believe that if he had doubts he would tell me. he's said to be the best in the area. i can't wait til i'm fully recovered and i can take long walks and use my nordictrack and other exercise equipment and lose weight and get fit and "be all that i can be." ;-) the only way that's ever going to happen for me is to have my hip fixed, because i just can't do it now. even the few lower body exercises i do hurt like heck! and believe me, i'm not doing anything that difficult.

art, you did a great job of losing weight; going from 220 to 163. bravo! that's wonderful. and now you can stay at this weight because you don't have your hip pain interferring in your life.

the risk of blood clots is what scares me most, of all the other risks.

i'm so glad for you that you've been able to cut out the meds you took prior. this is great, art! great! what an inspiration you are!

lindy lou

Hi Lindy. I had put off my surgery for a year the first time around. My arthritic hip wasn't too bad yet, and I suppose I had some psychological adjustments to make about needing major surgery--I'd never had surgery with general anesthesia before. Still, when I asked my doctor about losing weight when he initially diagnosed my arthritic hip, he said that losing even a little weight would be beneficial. I'm 5'10" and at the time weighed about 220. I was 163 the other morning.Quite frankly, my orthopedic surgeon told me that a THR is much more difficult for obese people. In fact, the risk of a blood clot is high already with THR surgery, but for obese people, that risk rises even higher. I was thus motivated to lose the weight before the surgery.Part of my motivation with the weight AND the THR is that I am also a type 2 diabetic. So losing the weight has had great benefits there, too. I've never had a deep-vein blood clot, but I did have a superficial vein blood clot, so I was plenty scared and motivated enough to lose the weight and reduce my risks for the surgery.By the way, I was on two blood sugar meds mroning and evening, plus a 40 mg. dose of Lipitor (cholesterol), and last April, after having lost a lot of weight, my doctor took me off all of it. And I'm still off it.You should probably discuss your health status as it relates to your surgery with your doctor. However, you mentioned you are scheduled for surgery. So if your surgeon thought your operation would be very risky, he or she would probably tell you so, right?Don't feel bad at all about marching right back to his office with a laundry list of questions. I did that. It's worth it for the $25 copay my insurance provides for seeing specialists!Lose weight or not, do start a mild exercise program if you're well enough to do that. I was also advised to do that, even though I'd been exercising all along.--Art

[Guest guest]

lindy lou, I was like you until I was sent to a marvellous physiotherapist who got my muscles and ligaments working - it might be worth it - my pain level decreased at least 25% and I'm in much better muscular shape for the op.

ann

Re: Re: Just joined

art,

some days i think that i could actually wait a year to have my surgery and then other days i wish i could have it right then and there. the pain has definitely kept me from living my life normally.

all i do now is go to the grocery store or walmart to get my RXs and each time, i end up in excruiating pain, sometimes crying on the way home, so fed up that i can't do anything. i feel my life passing me by, existing, not enjoying it as i should.

i've seriously thought about postponing it because of my weight, but my OS didn't seem to think it will cause any extra risks and i have to believe that if he had doubts he would tell me. he's said to be the best in the area. i can't wait til i'm fully recovered and i can take long walks and use my nordictrack and other exercise equipment and lose weight and get fit and "be all that i can be." ;-) the only way that's ever going to happen for me is to have my hip fixed, because i just can't do it now. even the few lower body exercises i do hurt like heck! and believe me, i'm not doing anything that difficult.

art, you did a great job of losing weight; going from 220 to 163. bravo! that's wonderful. and now you can stay at this weight because you don't have your hip pain interferring in your life.

the risk of blood clots is what scares me most, of all the other risks.

i'm so glad for you that you've been able to cut out the meds you took prior. this is great, art! great! what an inspiration you are!

lindy lou

Hi Lindy. I had put off my surgery for a year the first time around. My arthritic hip wasn't too bad yet, and I suppose I had some psychological adjustments to make about needing major surgery--I'd never had surgery with general anesthesia before. Still, when I asked my doctor about losing weight when he initially diagnosed my arthritic hip, he said that losing even a little weight would be beneficial. I'm 5'10" and at the time weighed about 220. I was 163 the other morning.Quite frankly, my orthopedic surgeon told me that a THR is much more difficult for obese people. In fact, the risk of a blood clot is high already with THR surgery, but for obese people, that risk rises even higher. I was thus motivated to lose the weight before the surgery.Part of my motivation with the weight AND the THR is that I am also a type 2 diabetic. So losing the weight has had great benefits there, too. I've never had a deep-vein blood clot, but I did have a superficial vein blood clot, so I was plenty scared and motivated enough to lose the weight and reduce my risks for the surgery.By the way, I was on two blood sugar meds mroning and evening, plus a 40 mg. dose of Lipitor (cholesterol), and last April, after having lost a lot of weight, my doctor took me off all of it. And I'm still off it.You should probably discuss your health status as it relates to your surgery with your doctor. However, you mentioned you are scheduled for surgery. So if your surgeon thought your operation would be very risky, he or she would probably tell you so, right?Don't feel bad at all about marching right back to his office with a laundry list of questions. I did that. It's worth it for the $25 copay my insurance provides for seeing specialists!Lose weight or not, do start a mild exercise program if you're well enough to do that. I was also advised to do that, even though I'd been exercising all along.--Art

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/8/2006 6:53:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, everyothername.istaken@... writes:

surgeon. the coumidin kind of scares me. i

The coumidin was no problem for me....I took it for 5 weeks post-op.....they never did get my numbers quite regulated, but I had no problem with it....you have to have a blood test every week......I was in a restaurant about 4 weeks after my TKR, and the waitress dropped a tray near us and I felt something hit my leg...just barely, not hard....a couple minutes later I felt something and looked down and my leg was bleeding! A tiny peice of glass just barely scraped my leg and it wouldn't stop bleeding! the manager came over and they bandaged my leg....I felt like such an idiot (of course i explained the drug i was taking...)

Other than that, no problems!

[Guest guest]

Interesting... The confounding--and scary--aspect of my hip arthritis was that there was no pattern to it. Sometimes it was nearly OK; sometimes I could barely walk. After my THR, my surgeon said that he had difficulty manipulating the joint back to normal position because the arthritis was so bad--worse than the x-rays showed. I'm just glad that before my surgery the joint just didn't disintegrate or have a bad break. If your surgeon didn't indicate that you were a higher risk because of weight, you're probably OK. I would go with what the doc says. The blood clot danger appears to have been overcome in my case with Coumadin and compression stockings--which are a magnanimous pain in the butt to wear all the time, even though I just put up with it. I will be VERY glad when my surgeon says I don't have to wear them. I only have five more Coumadin pills left, too. My surgery was

4 weeks ago today. Just take some of the good advice I got: Don't rush the recovery. Do what your PTs and doctors tell you, and don't cut corners and decide arbitrarily what you'll do and what you won't do during recovery. Don't turn a very good thing into a very bad thing. And send some morphine my way. --Arthurlindy <everyothername.istaken@...> wrote: art, some days i think that i could actually wait a year to have my surgery and then other days i wish i could have it right then and there. the pain has definitely kept me from living my life normally. all i do now is go to the grocery store or walmart to get my RXs and each time, i end up in excruiating pain, sometimes crying on the way home, so fed up that i can't do anything. i feel my life passing me by, existing, not enjoying it as i should. i've seriously thought about postponing it because of my weight, but my OS didn't seem to think it will cause any extra risks and i have to believe that if he had doubts he would tell me. he's said to be the best in the area. i

can't wait til i'm fully recovered and i can take long walks and use my nordictrack and other exercise equipment and lose weight and get fit and "be all that i can be." ;-) the only way that's ever going to happen for me is to have my hip fixed, because i just can't do it now. even the few lower body exercises i do hurt like heck! and believe me, i'm not doing anything that difficult. art, you did a great job of losing weight; going from 220 to 163. bravo! that's wonderful. and now you can stay at this weight because you don't have your hip pain interferring in your life. the risk of blood clots is what scares me most, of all the other risks. i'm so glad for you that you've been able to cut out the meds you took prior. this is great, art! great! what an inspiration you are! lindy lou Hi Lindy. I had put off my surgery for a year the first time around. My arthritic hip wasn't too bad yet, and I suppose I had some psychological adjustments to make about needing major surgery--I'd never had surgery with general anesthesia before. Still, when I asked my doctor about losing weight when he initially diagnosed my arthritic hip, he said that losing even a little weight would be beneficial. I'm 5'10" and at the time weighed about 220. I was 163 the other morning.Quite frankly, my orthopedic surgeon told me that a THR is much more difficult for obese people. In fact, the risk of a blood clot is high already with THR surgery, but for obese people, that risk rises even higher. I was thus motivated to lose the weight before the surgery.Part of my motivation with the weight AND the THR is that I am also a type 2 diabetic.

So losing the weight has had great benefits there, too. I've never had a deep-vein blood clot, but I did have a superficial vein blood clot, so I was plenty scared and motivated enough to lose the weight and reduce my risks for the surgery.By the way, I was on two blood sugar meds mroning and evening, plus a 40 mg. dose of Lipitor (cholesterol), and last April, after having lost a lot of weight, my doctor took me off all of it. And I'm still off it.You should probably discuss your health status as it relates to your surgery with your doctor. However, you mentioned you are scheduled for surgery. So if your surgeon thought your operation would be very risky, he or she would probably tell you so, right?Don't feel bad at all about marching right back to his office with a laundry list of questions. I did that. It's worth it for the $25 copay my insurance provides for seeing specialists!Lose weight

or not, do start a mild exercise program if you're well enough to do that. I was also advised to do that, even though I'd been exercising all along.--Art

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