The time is almost here for me. Ive had bad hip issues for over a year now. This year was hard to get through.
Monday morning ill be having anterior hip replacement.
For those of you that have had it, any advice or what to look forward to?
Im a little anxious but can't wait for the pain relief.
How long did it take others to start walking somewhat normal and resume activities.
I know theyll have me on my feet an hour after surgery with the physical therapy girl. And home a few hours later. Then two to three days a week in PT for a while.

Do the PT. Do the PT. Do the PT. That is what it takes to make a full recovery.

Do everything they tell you to do. Ice is also your friend the first week or so. Depending on your pain tolerance use the pain killers. Don't !!!! rush to walk and end up healing wrong. A few weeks with therapy and you should start walking.

2018 for me. You will be going pretty good after 2 weeks. I used a cane for a couple weeks after that and have not even thought about the hip for weeks. No problems My leg was black and blue for a couple weeks. I asked the surgeon who used the baseball bat on my leg while he replaced my hip!

One of my older siblings looked to be about done for. Limping around in pain...he looked like he was 90 years old. Had the hip surgery and although he just turned 80 a few days ago he looks like 70. Gets around great. Made a huge difference. Don't remember how long it took him but it seemed like very little time to be up and kicking around like days of 'yore.

Been there, done that, both hips. Piece of cake. Had my second hip done on a Tuesday, made the opening day of trout season two weeks later.

Far easier to recover from compared to a knee replacement .

Hope you did the pre surgery exercises, but even if you didn't, DO the PT religiously.

You'll need a walker at first, you should get one through medicare, then a cane, use it for a few weeks, get a grabber thingee to pick up stuff, get a toilet seat extender,
Use ice for the pain, keep up with the meds BEFORE the pain is too bad....A week on pain pills should be enough, but you might want to take one before PT sessions.
Do extra PT at home, especially stretching the leg muscles to get full flex, it's gonna hurt, do it anyway, if you don't have full flex in about 4 months you'll never have...
Walk as much as you can when you get to that point.

You should be able to drive in about 5 weeks, about, maybe less depending on which leg. I was released for work in 7 weeks, but the Docs don't know what we do so figure 8-9.
Probably forgot some stuff..... Now you may be able to do some things faster if just one leg, I had both at the same time so somewhat more complicated.

BUT...it gets better fast, you can't really hurt the implant unless you fall hard or do something stupid, main thing is to stretch and flex the knee to the max...
PM me if you have any questions, I have both hips and both knees replaced so I'm the voice of experience!, lol, good luck... George

Everyone I know that had one replaced did the PT and get along great, the biggest regret they have is not doing it sooner.

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Yes, I did PT getting ready for 7 weeks. All stretched and strengthened for surgery
It will be my left hip.
Im not a fan of painkillers but will take them when/if needed
I AM a big fan of PT and will have no problem going.
The toilet seat extender was something I wondered about.
If I need one there is a supply store for those things the Wife can go to for me.

GCS, if I have any questions this coming week I will PM you. Thank you very much

My wife had hip replacement a couple years ago. She gets around better now then she used to. But like others say do the PT and keep exercising.

If , and if just if , you want a slightly different path....... I've used a extender at other people's houses , OK , but feels more like a contraption than a solid normal toilet.

Most standard toilet seat height is around 15"
A lot of the mass produced , high sale number , commonly in use , high market share toilets are available in a ADA complaint version. They come in 17" to 19" versions of the same exact toilet.

They may not be in stock , but readily available on short order. Sometimes a few bucks more than the standard version , but not excessive.

More comfortable as you get older. I am very seriously considering swapping out my current ones with taller ones as they will be better now and in the future even though I do not need them now. If you or a family member may benefit from this change long term , you might consider this unlike than a temporary fix like a seat extender.




Edit -DO THE PT
I have heard this from many , many people. Do the PT. Very important.

Good luck.

Thank you Cragar

If you have a low regular toilet, get the taller extension, if you have the "comfort height" toilet get the lower one, Ordered mine from walmart, after the fact when I discovered I couldn't get off the toilet, lol
came in 2 days....it is a contraption, but was solid and easily attached and disattached, and it was cheap...

and, hips are easy..er, especially for 1.

You'll be happy you got it done. I used a walker for a couple days then a cane for about a week. I would suggest a recumbent bike for rehab. I was golfing again at just over a month.

Foxhunter, That's what im hoping for. Thanks for the encouraging words. Ill be on that kind of bike at rehab 2-3 times a week. Had to look up what recumbent bike was.

Ive got the raised crapper with handles coming Monday.

Monday can't get here quick enough, in anxious and sick of the pain.

GCS, I can't imagine having both done at once. It must have been hard on you. My left one this year and the right one once the pain begins. Ive already been told my other hip is real bad. Good thing is it hasn't bothered me yet, and I know thats a big yet!

Dale, sister had both hips done a year apart. She is like a spring chicken now.

"GCS, I can't imagine having both done at once."

Most surgeons won't do both, either hips or knees, but he said, hey your a tough guy, you can handle it!, lol
I'll admit the first two weeks were challenging, but doable, and like I said it gets better fast, and the hips are easier than the knees, but you just need to get through it...

Last time I saw the surgeon he just shook his head and said, "both hips, both knees and you made it look easy,", Heck, I just wanted to get it over with and back to work, lol

You'll be fine I'm sure, but don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions...

Wow! You did well having both done at once. You had to be in great health and in great shape for Doc to have you do both. Not many would be a candidate for that. Congrat!!!

3 knee replace on 2 legs for me. Do not get behind on your pain killers. Do not wait to you feel the pain and say “ OH I forgot to take my pain pill. “ you will be to late and have pain for 2 hrs before it kicks in. Then you will be behind for 2 weeks. Don’t ask me how I know.

I had 1 hip put in a couple years back. In two weeks I was walking in the creek deer hunting. Riding my quad the first week after surgery. Never took no therapy at all. My other hip is pretty bad now... probably someday it will have to be replaced... along with a bone on bone knee that is starting to bother. I used to be a man as tough as steel.... now I really am a man of steel. New knee, new hip, rods and cages and screws in the back, stents in a heart artery ... SS mesh and screws in both shoulders.....when does it end???

I had 1 hip put in a couple years back. In two weeks I was walking in the creek deer hunting. Riding my quad the first week after surgery. Never took no therapy at all. My other hip is pretty bad now... probably someday it will have to be replaced... along with a bone on bone knee that is starting to bother. I used to be a man as tough as steel.... now I really am a man of steel. New knee, new hip, rods and cages and screws in the back, stents in a heart artery ... SS mesh and screws in both shoulders.....when does it end???

Good luck Dale.!!!!

The drug protocol my surgeon uses is a pain pill every 8 hours, with Tylenol every 4 hours to keep ahead of the pain, and lots of icing.
No aspirin or ibuprofen cause they're blood thinners and he already has that in your med list,

I only took the pain pills for about a week, with one before PT for another week. Nothing wrong with a little pain!, reminds us we're still alive!...

If you do everything the doctor says to do it is going to be a big relief in the end. Hip replacements are very successful nowadays!

You'll like the new porcelain chair.

I"d get the cushion toilet seat riser don't know how much it helps but I know how it feels when I didn't Also get one of those handles that slide between the matteress and box spring make getting out of bed a lot easier takes awhile for the strength to come back

Keep it up, you’ll be worth a fortune at the scrap yard some day.

My beds upstairs so was figuring a few nights on the recliner. 13 steps upstairs and I have a railing.

How did others deal with steps for a couple days?

Hey, Turtledale!

Both of my parents had hip replacements and recovered quickly, living in a trilevel. They started using stairs with a walker on day one. Bedrooms and a bathroom on one level and kitchen on a different level (with no bathroom). They needed to do stairs all the time. It did not take them long to recover!

One kind of encouraging thing I've noticed is that as each year passes, the surgery gets better, the incisions get smaller, the "parts" are improved and the patients recover more quickly. In two weeks, I forgot my mom had her hip replaced recently. She had to remind me!

Good luck on a smooth surgery!
Patrice

Thank you Patrice

I slept in a recliner first week, with the knees...

I have had five knee surgeries on one knee, including two replacements. Also had five rotator cuff surgeries. I have spent many days in PT. What I have noticed about hip replacements many years ago is that the hip patients spend a lot of time on stationary bikes.

Get yourself a stationary bike to ride between PT sessions. If you have a temperature and/or excessive redness, immediately see your surgeon. Don't wait for it to increase. Infection multiplies very quickly, and it is difficult to cure. I spent months in a rehab hospital with a knee infection.

Enjoy your new hip.

Thank you Charles

Good luck!

We bought a recumbent bike. My wife used for a month before her surgery and after. It really helped her for faster recovery I think. She still uses it almost daily.

Yep, hips are easy it seems especially compared to knees.

Had 1 hip replaced in 2002 and the other one done in 2023. I was amazed how much the procedure changed in that time. First one was in hospital for a week, then a second week in hospital rehab. Six weeks with a walker then to a cane for 2 more months. The one in 2023 I was able to walk up steps in 2 hours and home the same day. Cane for 1 week. First one a 12 inch scar, second one 2 little cuts of 2 inches. Older one is wearing out and will need to be redone soon.

Good luck tomorrow!

My wife fell a couple three years ago and had to have her hip replaced immediately. She had the anterior method done on her and they had her up and walking before she could keep both eyes open from the anesthesia.
All of the nerves that cause your hip pain will be removed once they saw off the top of your femur. No more pain from that. The only pain you will have is from the incision on the front of your thigh. With the anterior method, they don't cut a lot of muscle. They open the skin and spread the muscle tissue until they can fish the end of your leg bone out far enough to cut it off and pound a new metal one on and then install a new socket to your pelvis. Looking at the wife's x-ray, looks like the used a couple drywall screws to hold the socket in place.
Anyway, it is much less invasive than the old method.

You may be able to get mobility devices (walkers or transportation chairs) from your local ADRC office for little or no cost for limited duration of usage. Give their office a call or discuss with your doctor's support staff to determine what services may be available to you in your home.

Thank you everyone for your advice and words of encouragement. Im off in an hour for the hospital.
My furs all sold and my chores are all caught up. Time for the doctor's, nurse's and the Lord to take over.

God's blessing's and take care Despite what you hear about people walking out and going skiing after surgery after a couple days the painkillers they shoot your leg up wear off mine wasn't to bad never took any narco just tylenol takes awhile for the bone to grow over the new joint if you fall and break it out well bad news Enjoy a pleasant summer