Is it time for a hip replacement?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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I’m pretty sure you’re right, Medicare automatically allots a certain number of visits and that has spawned an industry to take advantage of them. Their primary objective seems to be to fill out their computerized form and get my signature.

PT has been only marginally more useful in my case. I’ve had 2 OT and 2 PT visits. They go over the same set of printed exercises I got at discharge & ask the same questions about throw rugs and grab bars. At least the PT has been more willing to address the couple of problems I brought up.

I’ll acknowledge that someone with a more difficult situation than mine might find these services more useful, though.

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Glad this thread is still going !!

Pain levels? Hmmm. Well, as was the case with the first hip 8 years ago, I made a small mistake and got a quick and painful come-uppance. In the cast of the last one, we were in Vegas for a friend’s sons wedding. Drinking endless frozen drinks by the pool. I was in a very low big padded comfy chair, and leaned over to get my cell phone from the table. Now, this was about 8 weeks post-op. I went WAY deep into a lean, past 90º and immediately had deep pain at the socket. I didn’t pop it out thank God, but man-- it took a few months for that pain to subside. Literally. I had clearly insulted the muscles and tendons and ligaments that were trying to grow back and properly support the implant.

SO, it’s Tuesday morning now. On Sunday I was in the kitchen. After 8 years of muscle memory, my brain says " straighten that right leg, bend the left" when bending over. I did so, and wham- real pain. Now, I just passed 3 weeks in, right? It’s sore right now. Will be for quite a while, I have no doubt. Dumb Dumb Dumb. Just a momentary slip on attention. Again, if it had popped out I would be in the hospital in terrible agony. So, I strained it all. Dumb.

On the GOOD side, I’ve walked a few blocks farther than I had yet. Slowly and carefully. My Dearly Beloved™ has been in the Midwest for a family football weekend ( GO BIG RED !! ) in Nebraska and so I’ve been outside alone. Also good side-- I too started going down the stairs like a big boy, not a small child who steps down and then matches that stepdown with the other foot. Didn’t mean to make that advance. It just…happened. Felt right, totally safe. A nice milestone.

I started in person PT last Monday. Did Monday and Wednesday. Had to skip Friday and yesterday because I had no way to get there. They’re good. They work you hard but are very very careful with how they move and work the implanted hip. So far, so good. I can do more than half of their regimen at home and so my home 3x daily PT is now lasting about 30 minutes when I do every rep.

Some of the white gauze came off before my wife left, the rest will be removed this evening when she returns. Surgeon said she could cut off the flaps and leave the rest to tend today. No reason to think the actual surgical site has ANY issues at all.

My pedal edema ( fluid retension ) in the left foot/ leg is still quite pronounced. Once awake, I don’t lay in bed except when napping. This is a problem. Walking the sidewalk does help with the edema but really nothing is as good as elevating the leg. Last day or 2 I’ve been forcing myself to lay down and read, surf the phone, watch the t.v. etc some. It’s something on the checklist of irritants and concerns that can be managed easily.

I’m pretty pissed at myself for that leaning over-stressing the implanted socket but I cannot undo it. Just have to watch carefully and tell the surgeons so they can look out for any issues when the XRay happens on the 20th. (XRay, immediately before face to face Post-Op visit)

Two steps forward, one step back it feels like.

Pain Management: Well, THIS was a weird one. I asked to get onto Celebrex because Tylenol really wasn’t cutting the mustard. And opioids just aren’t my cuppa. I’d taken Celebrex 25 years ago and it did really help. So, the Sturgeon was glad to RX it.

Started taking it. Within a day I started to have some real allergic reactions. Not quite anaphylaxis. But itchy hands, puffy fingers, hives on arms, etc. No respiratory impact ( that happened a few days later ). It took me a day to even connect that it might be the new meds. ( DUH ). Sent a note, they agreed I should stop it. It took quite a few days for the itching and swollen hands to subside. That’s been a week now and my palms still itch. (Historical wisdom indicates that itchy palms are caused by masturbation but I don’t think that either Dr I’m dealing with has a sense of humor sufficient to float that theory.)

When it was ramping up, I sat there early in the morning staring at red itchy hands. And realized I needed to get my wedding ring OFF. Took some saliva and tugging but I was able to remove it. It’s stainless steel. Had my swelling continued, it could have become a real issue. Back when I was an EMT, I did have call a few times to use the Ring Cutter. Every ambulance carried one. Better to cut off a ring than lose a finger. Works well on soft metals like gold, platinum, silver. Not so much on stainless steel. I sat there wondering just how expensive it might be to have someone make a mold of this ring and cast it in pure silver…

Tomorrow back to in person PT.

I’ve got 15 days till the Post Op. Need to work hard, keep walking, not fuck up again with leaning over AND pray I didn’t do any real damage to the implant. The muscles tendons and ligaments surrounding? Sorry guys, my bad. Heal up.

Oh-- because some of you have mentioned In Home PT and insurance. It’s been enough of a medical year for me already that I’ve hit both my Deductible writ large AND my out of pocket cap. So, no huge bills for uncovered stuff from the surgery AND no co-pay for the PT at the site. I have average insurance through my union. When I’m NOT working, as has been the case since end of May, my month premium is about $ 750.00. Painfully high. When I AM working regularly, my employer contributes so much per hour worked. On a busy month, my premium has been as low as $180.00. Whacky. I turn 65 next summer. Can’t wait. ( Actually, I really can’t wait to turn 66 1/2 so that I hit that Social Security milestone and can start collecting without feeling like I’ve left a fortune on the table. But that’s really for another thread… )

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Oh bummer @Cartooniverse! Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water :shark:!

I am almost recovered from my own oops! that I did when I thought I could walk the dog 3 days after surgery. I think I strained my left adductor muscle because it hurts to raise my left foot. Anyhow, it’s been just over two weeks and my pain level is now manageable with occasional ibuprofen. The leg is still very weak though. I’m guessing you also strained some muscle or other that was already compromised from surgery. I hope you heal up fast!

Would elevating your leg and icing it help the muscle strain & edema? Sucks that your go-to med doesn’t work any more. Can’t you take ibuprofen or naproxen? Tylenol doesn’t do a darned thing for me. That’s one thing those home health nurses & PTs should be helping you with!

I’m done with home health, and my exit interview with the PT is later this week. I’m not going to do outpatient PT. Instead I signed up for the chair exercise class I was taking through the City rec program, and have been doing a daily YouTube exercise routine (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntDLjoJMHk8 in case anyone is interested). The exercises are very similar to those the PT was having me do, plus they add some upper body workout.

Wishing you the best @Cartooniverse! It just takes time. And now I’m off to walk my incredibly grateful dog around the block. I’m almost up to a mile!

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A MILE ???

Whoa.

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A mile is only around the block, about 2000 steps. I bet you were doing close to that before you injured yourself. I have a pedometer app on my phone that tells me how far I’ve walked each day. You might try it – I bet you will be surprised how far you are getting!

146

How big steps do you take? A mile is 5,280 feet, at 2000 steps that’s almost 32 inches per step.

My visiting nurse just visited, nothing new, ho hum. The PT is due in a couple of hours. I’m not a very enthusiastic exerciser, even like now when I am motivated. Fortunately, the leg is getting stronger every day even though I don’t do quite as much exercise as the PT would like. I do my 10 minutes of walking 3 times a day, and the exercise routine twice a day. I hope she doesn’t raise that to 3x a day too. I haven’t had any setbacks so far, although I felt so good on Friday I should have known that wouldn’t last; the next couple of days I was very low energy and didn’t do the full round of exercises. Yesterday I forced myself, today I feel better.

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Oh heck yes !! Love my pedometer. When healthy enough to be at my career, I walk between 2.5 miles and 4 miles in a day. Depending on how much walking I do IN the building, extra errands, etc etc. This includes staircases up into the subway system. (My line is elevated so I live the oxymoron of going up to enter a SUBway :D)

You’re right. A mile isn’t SO far…just struck me. I’m proud of that milestone for you. Heh heh.

148

I’m with you. I’m no gym rat. That said, I am HIGHLY motivated. I need to get back to my career. Basically I’ve got a month now before I want to be walking back into the studio and pick up the work. If I cannot, they likely will cut me loose for good. I’m at the hairy end of a much-beloved career and would really be sent into a tailspin if I cannot return to regular work.

149

Oh, man – sucks to have that ultimatum hanging over you! Hoping for a very limited setback & stronger legs ahead!

150

Thanks !! Oddly, it IS a motivator. I wanted this career when I was twelve. I’m 64. Clocked in 47 years as a paid Cinematographer last month. So yeah… very much so wanna get back to it.

I’M all about the stronger legs. My thighs and knees, however, are locked in a pitched battle with my prefrontal cortex.

" Oh, yeah? We don’t take our marching orders from the likes of YOU !!! "

151

Update: today is the end of the 4th week after the operation. Progress seems slower, after earlier gains. I’m still on the cane, although now and then I absent-mindedly walk off into another room without it, and then have to go back and get it. I’m still going up the stairs two-feet-one-step (I wish there was a shorter way of saying that), but going down one-foot-one step. I haven’t driven yet, but I think I probably could (maybe not on the freeway yet). Sleeping well. Two persistent problems that make it more difficult to stretch out my walking times: a muscle in my lower back on the right side that has often bothered me in the past is twinging a lot, and I’m wondering if it is my posture that is triggering it; and a muscle in my right calf is also giving me grief.

I have this week and next week on in-home nurse and PT visits, and then I’ll start outpatient PT. The in-home people are still not very good about setting up appointments, I don’t have any times set yet for the next two weeks.

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The pace is sure “two steps forward, one step back” for me too. Each time I think I can walk a little further, I pay for it the next day. I also can’t go up/down stairs “normally” without getting a twinge when I lift or extend my leg. But, like you, it’s not the hip joint that hurts, it’s the adductor muscle that I pulled early on. It’s certainly getting better, but slowly.

It will be a month for me tomorrow, and my last PT visit is scheduled.

Oh, good for you! I still can’t shift around without a sharp pain down to my knee that wakes me up. I have to take ibuprofen to get back to sleep.

Are you off all your meds?

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Yes, except for the baby aspirin which runs out at the end of this week (30 days’ worth). I only took Oxycodone once, and then only because I thought I would need it, not because I knew I needed it. The Celebrex and Tylenol were always only as needed, and I haven’t needed them for a while. It’s supposed to be 30 days after the last opioid before I drive, so I’ll be coming up on that pretty soon.

154

I was somewhat surprised yesterday to have received one part of the various bills that will accrue for the operation and follow-up care, only 4 weeks after the procedure. This was the charge for hospital facilities and services directly connected to the operation, including the recovery room, but not including the overnight stay (at least so I presume, because it isn’t mentioned.) Medicare has paid its part, and my gap insurance did not cover anything, due (I think) to the annual deductible, which should be just about fulfilled. The doctor’s bill for the operation and two follow-up office visits also remains to be billed out. I’m not sure if I will be billed anything extra for the home health visits.

155

Ouch! That’s a shocker, especially if the shoes keep dropping. I hope the pain isn’t too bad!

One thing that made up for the mediocre salaries at the University of California was the top-shelf benefits package. My Medicare Advantage PPO plan is through [the evil] United Health, mostly paid for by the University, and has historically been very good, for me, anyway. So far insurance has paid for everything but the copays.

The leg gets a little stronger every day. Maybe I won’t be limping when I go for my 6 week post op interview with the surgeon on the 28th.

I hope you and @Cartooniverse also keep making progress!

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Oh I don’t mind getting it early, it’s just surprising that they got it through all the red tape and out to me that quickly. Enjoy your PPO plan, I remember how good the medical insurance was when I was working (I don’t remember who the provider was though).

I may have overdone it a little today. I decided to do my walking around the house without the cane, and take the stairs in the regular adult way, if slowly. By early afternoon I was feeling some kickback from the leg (and back), so I put my feet up for a while, and that helped a lot.

157

And WHY without the cane?

:face_with_monocle:

Don’t make me come over there…

158

Gotta start not using it some time. Or else you’ll be using it forever.

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Because I keep walking out of a room forgetting to pick up the cane, and then I have to go back and get it. To me that’s a signal that I’m getting closer to not needing it (at least around the house). That day has not arrived yet, but maybe in a couple of weeks…

You are definitely invited any time.

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I too keep leaving the room at home without the cane. Stairs? Doing just great. Walking up and down the block? Moving well, almost no limp.
I see the Sturgeon on this coming Tuesday.

Got a wicked sad bit last week. I hit my Out of Pocket and Deductible 3 days AFTER the surgery. I’m on the hook for almost $ 6K. Quite painful and a surprise. My mediocre insurance through my Union has sometimes been pretty good but this one really sucks. I’m trying to negotiate with the Billing Department: If I only use the new Hip every OTHER day can we cut the bill by 50% ??

PT goes well. Except for one whopping painful element. Down the road I am looking at major lower spinal surgery. I‘ve got Severe Stenosis in most of Lumbar and SI 1,2. Same with Severe Arthritis throughout all facets in that area. The PT work is really killing me in terms of lower back pain. Had to start declining certain movements. I mean, hell.

But the hip? It’s just a marvel.