Hip replacement post-op

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 HB1 30 Nov 2017
Anyone in a similar position? I'm on day 5 post-op, doing light exercises, a little outside walking, and some baking (scones) yesterday. I have taken comfort from many of your experiences of hip surgery, and have corresponded with a couple of you - thanks indeed. I rather foolishly suggested, some 6 months ago, that so-and-so could perhaps carry on without surgery, if still able to do stuff - as could I, until seemingly suddenly I went from tolerable to barely possible - most recently I've barely managed an hour's walking, although still climbing at the wall.

Some of you who might be contemplating something similar might be interested in the time-line that I experienced:
August 8th - saw GP
September 27th - saw Consultant
November 14th - attended pre-op check ( Wrightington Hospital )
November 17th - went for Op (cancelled at last moment - no surgery time left - hospital paid for
taxi home (£60!)
November 25th - Operation day (different consultant - VERY quick and neat - one of only about 5%
female orthopaedic surgeons! )

I cannot recommend Wrightington highly enough! A Centre of Ortho Excellence (first ever hip replacement done there - Sir John Charnley) state of the art operating theatres, I believe- not really able to appreciate! - own room - en-suite, 40" tv etc. No huge waiting list either as you can see.

Just the few exercises I've done have shown a HUGE improvement on what I could do just before. I expect to have bad days (I've had surgery before - stuff happens)

So - if any of you are thinking about your deteriorating body parts, get yourself a sympathetic GP, and start the process ( I actually did so 3 years ago after reading all the threads on UKC, but didn't find the Consultant to my liking - and he did say that if I was his dad, he'd advise him to wait a while)

If any of you have any post-op do and don't, I be interested to hear - and I'm happy to go into greater detail

That's about it for now. yes.no exactly!
 Alan Bates 30 Nov 2017
In reply to HB1:

Hey Richard,
Although early days it is good to hear things are going well. You might recall that one fine day in the summer of 2013 we climbed on Scafell Crag and East Buttress. I look forward to hearing that you're soon back on rock.
Best wishes,
Alan
OP HB1 30 Nov 2017
In reply to Alan Bates:

Thanks Alan
Memories of just such days will keep me doing the physio, physio, physio! I never realised how complicated two-stick walking is! Perhaps we can repeat such a day in the future

Regards Richard

In reply to HB1:

Hi Richard,

Good to hear that your hip operation went well.
Wishing you have a speedy recovery and hope to see you at the wall soon???

Cheers

Chris
 Angry old man 30 Nov 2017
In reply to HB1:
I was in a similar situation to you 3 years ago. My only advice would be do your exercises regularly and build up your walking. I felt really good at 3 weeks but as it was winter I just exercised at the gym and went back to climbing in the spring. Three years on, no problems and back to my normal climbing standard very quickly.
Still v
Do my exercises twice a week even now!
Good luck with your recovery
 Bob Bennett 30 Nov 2017
In reply to HB1:

Best of luck and a quick recovery Richard
 Gman 30 Nov 2017
In reply to HB1:

Thanks for that. I've just seen my GP who has referred me to a hip specialist. I could well be in a similar position over the next few months so it's good to hear about your experience. Fingers crossed your recovery continues without any hitches.
OP HB1 30 Nov 2017
In reply to Christheclimber:

Thanks Chris! I hope to see you there soon (ish). So does Pip who left Crewe at 5am to pick me up in Macc at a quarter to six (it was snowing hard at that time ) size to get me to the surgeon's slab on time. He has vested interests!

Richard
OP HB1 30 Nov 2017
In reply to Angry old man:

Your only advice is good advice! I will persevere. Yes. Winter is perhaps not the best time to have new hip, but needs must. I hope to be fit and strong by spring
OP HB1 30 Nov 2017
In reply to Bob Bennett:

Good to hear from you Bob. New hip means new horizons. Might include Dumfries and Galloway!
OP HB1 30 Nov 2017
In reply to Gman:

Thanks for your encouragement. Is your GP recommending Wrightington by any chance? One of the few young folk I talked to there was from Glossop - recommended by her GP
 Bob Bennett 30 Nov 2017
In reply to HB1:

Be good to meet up again Richard
 Gman 30 Nov 2017
In reply to HB1:

I don't have a name yet. Would Wrightington be a good option?
OP HB1 30 Nov 2017
In reply to Gman:

In short - YES! ( Of course it's perhaps too early to be absolutely sure all is good ) My consultant was/is Debbie Shaw - she has good hands I think
 Gman 30 Nov 2017
In reply to HB1:

Excellent. I'll watch out for the name. Thanks.
OP HB1 01 Dec 2017
In reply to Gman:

Don't just take my word for it obviously, but you need to ask the GP for a particular Consultant, if he/she is your preference. PM me if you want to hear more!

Richard
 Bob Kemp 01 Dec 2017
In reply to HB1:
Glad to hear things are going well, and hope it continues! It's generally a very successful operation, and in my experience the nearest thing to a miracle cure I've ever had. There have been a number of UKC threads about hip replacement over the years, with lots of good advice and links to useful info - the most recent was this one - https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/t.php?t=674376 - but do a search for older threads. You'll find encouragement and plenty of dos and don'ts.
OP HB1 01 Dec 2017
In reply to Bob Kemp:

Thanks Bob. It's the don'ts that I need to be most aware of! I'm a bit impulsive, I'm afraid
 PaulTanton 01 Dec 2017
In reply to HB1:
Hello, not had a hip op but a bunion removal, correction on my right foot. Done on the very excellent NHS. Absolutely fantastic service. Wonderful staff at the Northern General in Sheffield.
I’m 2 1/2 weeks out. Wearing normal shoes, rock shoes will be a while yet. Working on movement.

I’ve met quite a few climbers with painful bunions. Get em done, it’s not too bad.

OP HB1 01 Dec 2017
In reply to PaulTanton:

Good luck for full recovery Paul. The NHS can indeed be a marvelous thing ( but perhaps not QUITE so with the catering)
 Bob Kemp 01 Dec 2017
In reply to HB1:

> Good luck for full recovery Paul. The NHS can indeed be a marvelous thing ( but perhaps not QUITE so with the catering)

Yeah, it's bad news when the cereal is the culinary highlight of the day.
 PaulTanton 02 Dec 2017
In reply to Bob Kemp:
Thanks guys. I was only in for half a day. I did get a cup of coffee and some toast. ????

 pedropierre 04 Dec 2017
In reply to HB1:

It's now 4 weeks since my hip op. just got the OK to drive again. Feels really good but walked about 6 miles today around cornwall and feeling it now. My last injection today (has anybody told you about the delight of having to inject yourself everyday for a month after the op?) Therein thing for me is I haven't heard of anybody who climbs like I do - i.e. crags up to 6c and trad E3 - dislocating their hip. That's reassuring. My first consultant (who retired before the op said absolute no chance of climbing) then the consultant who did the op told me as he wheeled me out of the theatre I would be back climbing in a 'couple of week' - bit optimistic but showed he had a cherry disposition. So looking forward to getting back on an indoor wall after christmas and we will see how it goes. Good luck with your op. Pedro
OP HB1 04 Dec 2017
In reply to pedropierre:

That's really good going. Congratulations! I'm on Day 8 now, and managed 20 minutes flat walk without the sticks, so I'm pleased too. The guidelines seem to presuppose a certain demographic, that doesn't include the fit-and-active, so I should really be doing what I've done today in about 4 weeks time! However, I've broken bits (back and shoulder) before, and know that at some point there'll be a day of reckoning!

Injections . . .

. . . only 27 to go!


Let's keep in touch (non-hipsters are soon a bit bored with it all)

Cheers Richard
 pedropierre 17 Dec 2017
In reply to HB1:

Well the surgeon has done his 6 week post op check which involved me giving him a Christmas card and him saying my hip had been very stable(anybody know what that means?) anyway I showed him all the Climbing positions I wanted to do and he said fine ..... and then said .... but not that one! He didn t like the idea of an outside edge and pointing the toe inwards. Anyway he then said takes 9 months to heal completely. So summing up I m gonna get back on the indoor wall after Christmas and just see how it goes.
OP HB1 18 Dec 2017
In reply to pedropierre:

Good! So you're well on the way to recovery! I'm sure you're doing all the hard work as I am - and it pays off! I'm 3 weeks on from the Op and not using a stick anymore. I have my 6 week review just after the New Year, so I'll see what the Consultant says (she's not a climber) and I've penciled in the week after for a first visit to the wall. Did you read the article recommended by Bob Kemp on your thread? It's very reassuring about returning to sport, the fact that "sportsmen" are less likely to dislocate than "elderly people with weak abductors" etc.. If you haven't read it thoroughly then DO because it will reassure you that you can (and will) get climbing (but WATCH OUT when you're getting to the crag, because stumbling puts the greatest strain on the hip

 Darron 18 Dec 2017
In reply to HB1:
Hi Rich,
Good to hear you have had the op and things are progressing well. Hope to catch you at the wall when we are back from our travels. Merry Christmas (40 degrees C here tomorrow!!)
Post edited at 11:26
OP HB1 18 Dec 2017
In reply to Darron:

Thanks Darron. All the best and Season's Greetings to you and Marion! I think I chose the best option in the end - I'm still waiting for the bad day. It hasn't come yet. See you both at the wall (or elsewhere) next year
 Bob Kemp 18 Dec 2017
In reply to HB1:

> (but WATCH OUT when you're getting to the crag, because stumbling puts the greatest strain on the hip

I used a pair of trekking poles to start with, then as I strengthened, went to just one.
 Bob Kemp 18 Dec 2017
In reply to pedropierre:

> Well the surgeon has done his 6 week post op check which involved me giving him a Christmas card and him saying my hip had been very stable(anybody know what that means?) anyway I showed him all the Climbing positions I wanted to do and he said fine ..... and then said .... but not that one! He didn t like the idea of an outside edge and pointing the toe inwards. Anyway he then said takes 9 months to heal completely. So summing up I m gonna get back on the indoor wall after Christmas and just see how it goes.

Sounds good. I found that a sideways on style took care of the outside edge problem to a large extent - lessens the pointing inward. We're very adaptable when it comes to physique vs. technique! (But I'm still crap...).
OP HB1 18 Dec 2017
In reply to Bob Kemp:

I was thinking along the same lines Bob - but I haven't taken a proper off-road walk yet, so I'm not sure how secure I'll feel.

I must just say how much I've benefited from your references - particularly Martin Krismer's "sports activities after total hip arthroplasty" - it makes me feel a little less scared about overdoing things
 Bob Kemp 18 Dec 2017
In reply to HB1:
That article is very useful isn’t it? It supports an idea I’ve seen quite a lot in relation to these kinds of ops, that if you’ve got experience in a sport you can usually pick it up again ok (with care) but learning a new sport is more problematic. As my consultant said, in theory you could ski, but in practice, as you haven’t any skiing experience I wouldn’t recommend it. (BTW, I understand that skiing is okay post-hip if you avoid short-radius turns and moguls. Whatever that means.)




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