On Dec 6, 7:24*am, Ivan Vegvary wrote:
Kind of metal related. *Getting a new hip (metal) on Thursday. *Been bothering me for over 25 years.
Funny about pain. Can come on very sloooowly. *You kind of don't feel it but people around you sense it. *My doctor convinced me to take a shot in the hip and see if my lifestyle changes. *I didn't notice any change, but my SWMBO said I became much more active. *Instead of one trip to the shop (100 ft., carrying as much as I can) I made 20-30 trips, thoughtlessly.. *Also lost 10 lbs. in about 2 weeks time. *Shot lasted exactly 4 weeks and then I realized that I had been in pain all along (prior to the shot)..
Most significantly SWMBO said I was no longer crabby during that period!

If any of you have “been there, done that” I would like to hear from you.

Thanks,
Ivan Vegvary

Went through two of these a couple of years ago 6 months apart, left
one was worst and first. Used "cobalt-chrome" implants, fancy phrase
for Stellite, said it would last 20+ years. Both hips were out of the
sockets, grinding on the pelvic bone, no cartilage left. Had put up
with that for years. Doc saw the X-rays, said, "when do you want the
surgery?". Had to do a heart bypass first, found that problem with
the pre-op checkout for the hips, so had to wait a year after that.
Would be in a wheelchair or the ground if I hadn't had everything
taken care of. First one took about 7 hours. DO WHAT THE PT PERSON
SAYS!!! If you don't, you won't have full joint movement. Do the
exercises, no matter how it hurts. Had me up on my feet the day
after, didn't feel so great but I made it around the hall and back.
Second one was a lot better, could actually get up and down steps the
day afterwards. Out of the hospital in 3 days. Off the Percocets and
driving in 10 days. Really didn't have any debilitating pain, just a
dull ache. Went away after a couple of weeks. Biggest problem was
the leg muscles had balled up in a knot, happened on both sides. Had
that because the doc stretched the muscles getting the leg bone out of
the incision so he could whack off the knob and stick in the implant.
PT gal had to massage the leg, gradually reduced the knot over a
couple of weeks and range of movement got greater each time. Opiates
will plug you up, they recommend Ducolax or the like starting before
the operation. Kaiser had a class for implant patients, what to do
post-op, etc. Hope you get the same. I went with a spinal instead of
general anesthetic both times, saved a lot of time with that crazy
lung exerciser gadget that I had to do when I got the general with the
heart surgery. Near as we can tell, the doc got both legs within a
1/4" of each other's length, pretty good for eyeballing it. Guy does
a bunch of these a week, plus fixing other people's mistakes. Don't
begrudge him the gold Rolex at all.

Biggest thing since is the change in mood, much brighter outlook on
things. Hadn't realized how much that constant dull ache colored
things mood-wise. Can get up and down ladders and deer stands, can
pick up and move tools that I'd lost the ability to lift.

Stan