My Hip Replacement #1

After far too long I was finally able to get my new left hip yesterday. It’s been a long road leading up this surgery and I’m hopeful that soon I’ll be able to walk and get around with much less pain. So far so good.
A quick recap reminds me that this all started a little over two years ago with what I thought then was bursitis or a pulled muscle. My hip was a bit ‘achey’ but didn’t think too much of it. Of course it got worse. By the time my friend Erich and I did our Oregon Coast ride about this time of year it had deteriorated to the point where walking without a cane was getting difficult.
There was a lot going on in the family so I wasn’t able to do much about it till that fall when I did go to the doctor. I had an MRI and xrays and discovered that it was more than just bursitis. My hip was definitely arthritic if not necrotic. My doctor suggested a non-surgical approach to begin with, so off to PT I went through the spring. It helped a lot, but sadly my hip just kept getting worse.
Finally last fall I’d had enough and asked my doctor for another solution. My doc recommended a surgeon and set up an appointment. Now here’s the deal with good surgeons. You can’t just get non-emergency appointments right off the bat. I had a wait a couple of weeks, but that was okay, the holiday season was upon us. In fact I ended up meeting my surgeon on Christmas Eve of all times.
He told me that my hip had gone far enough that total hip replacement was about the only choice, other than continued pain that is. He impressed me with his knowledge and I’d done some research on him prior to the appointment that when he suggested we schedule the procedure I was just fine with the idea.
But of course you can’t just schedule surgery the next day, it took four months before I could have my operation. The last couple of months were really awful because my hip hurt more and more all the time. Still there was a light at the end of the tunnel, I did have a date.
So what did I actually have to do prior to the surgery? About three weeks before surgery I had to have a chest x-ray, an EKG, and some blood work done. This was all fairly routine, but if any of them showed trouble it might have postponed things.
Then a week before surgery I was scheduled for a visit with my primary care physician to go over the results of the blood work and such so that he sign off say I was healthy enough for surgery. The next day, a Tuesday, I spent the entire day at the hospital running, or something like it, from one appointment to another. I met with the surgeon’s nurse, his assistant, a physical therapist, and to top it off an intake nurse who spent thirty minutes checking my medical history. She was really a nice lady and I think we spent most of the time laughing.
I was also given a anti-bacterial soap to wash with every day for the next week as well as prescription for an ointment to put in my nose twice a day. It began to seem like I really would be having surgery soon. I was, as you might imagine, getting a wee bit nervous. I trusted my doctor and his team so I wasn’t really concerned, but it is surgery and…well…things happen.
The other thing I needed to consider was whether I’d be having general anesthesia or spinal block and sedation. The team pushed for the spinal and in the end, yesterday in fact, I opted for that. The advantages are that when you done with surgery your legs are still numb so you get a few hours of relief before any pain sets in. Further you are much less likely to have nausea or other problems coming out of surgery. The disadvantage is that you are completely out so you might notice something, not pain, but perhaps noise or pressure.
I arrived at the hospital via a cab at around six in the morning yesterday and went to admitting where I had to sign and initial a ream of paper. That finished I was off to pre-op. I had to wait a while but chatted with other folks, some waiting for their own operations, some waiting to visit their loved ones.
My surgery was scheduled for nine-thirty but due to circumstances I had to wait till almost noon before they prepped me. I’ll be honest, waiting in the pre-op area was not great. I didn’t have anyone with me so basically I was left alone with my thoughts and that’s never a good thing. But finally it was time to go.
I was given an injection of some sort of sedative to make it easier to do the spinal. I recall someone scrubbing my back in the area they were going use for it and then…it was three o’clock and I was in post-op.
At this point my legs were still numb so I really wasn’t feeling anything. I was told that the surgery had gone well and I’d be moved to my private room. I like a private room – and this hospital has only private rooms. Good deal.
After getting to the room and hearing the rules, don’t get up unassisted, really don’t get up unassisted, and never get up unassisted, I watched a bit of television and waited for the numbness to wear off. About an hour before that was calculated to happen I was given a pain killer so that when my legs were back I wouldn’t have a lot of pain all of sudden.
So far I haven’t had to have any morphine, they’ve been giving me Ultram which is strong, but not on the order of morphine. I do have some pain, but really it’s only muscle pain, like a bad strain, as the have to move the muscles out of the way to get to the bones. It hurts, but if I’m not moving it doesn’t really hurt at all and even in PT it doesn’t hurt like the ‘old pain’ did.
That afternoon, after I could feel my toes, a PT nurse came by and took me for my first walk using a walker. It was really pretty easy and didn’t feel terrible at all. A bit of pain? Yes. A lot of pain? Nope. Of course my legs might not have been completely free from the effects of the spinal, but it was a great start.
Sadly I didn’t sleep all that well last night. It wasn’t from pain in the leg though. Rather it was simply the pain of being in bed for so long without much movement. I guess I could have asked for something but I never feel that’s a wise idea for me: your mileage will vary. I did finally drift off, only to be nudged awake, presumably to see if I were sleeping. All in all, it wasn’t a bad night and I found out later that I’d gone the whole night with no pain meds after nine o’clock. I did have some in the morning though as PT started early.
This time I got to go a lot further using the walker and it felt good. I really don’t have that deep inside pain anymore. Yes! Next up was an occupational therapist to make sure I could get in and out of a shower, use the toilet, get on and off my bed, and the like. Really I had no problem with any of that. I’m stiff, but I should be okay.
A friend dropped by to visit just before lunch and I was allowed to have actual coffee. I ended up only drinking half a cup but boy did it taste good.
After lunch I had my second PT visit for the day and this time I was shown how to use crutches. My PT person was very happy with my performance and we did twice the distance of the morning. I’ve also been given a number of exercises I can do while sitting or in bed. I’m doing one even while I type.
And now? I’m beat. It’s time for a nap, so I’m going to hit the publish button and roll ove…oops, can’t roll over. Soon though I’m told. I’m a side sleeper and now that I think about it that may have played a part in my restless sleep last night. Of course it could also be the fact that I’ve just been opened up, shot full of drugs, and tool the first step to being a bionic man.
That’s all for now. Time for a rest. Surgery does take it out of you (oh, that’s bad).