1 Year Anniversary of my Double Hip Replacement

Yes, today is the 1 year anniversary of my right hip replacement, then on Thursday (2 days after) they did my left hip.  They didn't want to do them both on the same day.  My doctor said he got better results if they had a couple of days before making me lie on the side they just did surgery on.

Obviously I decided to go ahead with the surgery.  I talked to at least 6 orthopedic doctors, I talked to the rep for the implant parts and I talked to at least 5 people that had done the surgery, 3 with the doctor I decided on and 1 of them with a double hip replacement.  It's very tedious to find peoples contact info and to actually talk with them and time consuming.  Plus, what questions should you ask?

What to ask the doctor:  How many of these do you do?  What technique do you use and how long have you used this technique.  What should you expect for your recovery?  Are there other options he might suggest?  What limitations will you have, if any?

What to ask other people that have had the surgery?  How old were they when they had surgery?  What doctor performed the operation?  What was their recovery like?  Are they happy with the results?  What are their limitations, if any?

No matter what take a couple days or even weeks and let all the information percolate.  Don't rush into any decision, think it thru so you can decide what is the best course of action for you.  It may be to postpone surgery or maybe by the time you need it they have more options available.

One of my doctors talked about a partial hip for my right side but the results for females in particular didn't look very good.  Maybe I would have been one of the lucky ones but I wasn't willing to take the chance.  They are also making progress with different injections for the hip such as hyarulonic acid which was not approved for the hip when I needed it.  There is also some other process that does something with other substances injected that a physical therapist told me about.  All may be things you can try.  Since my hips were so bad I didn't think what was available to me helped.  I did get cortisone shots in each hip.  Which was not any different then the MRI with contrast, it was shots without the MRI.  the shots are uncomfortable but I thought my doctor did an excellent job and it really wasn't that bad.

While I was in the office for my first shot, Dara Torres (the Olympic swimmer) happened to be there in physical therapy.  My doctor operated on her shoulder just after the Olympics.  I really wanted to meet her but after I got my first shot of cortisone in my hip I passed out cold.  Don't know why, sometimes when I get a major shot - out I go.  I'm not afraid of needles, most of the time I'm fine.  Needless to say I didn't get to meet Dara at that point.  I was lucky enough to get to meet her at a later date though.  The next time I got a cortisone shot in my hip I was fine.

The cortisone shots did nothing for my hips.  I thought they might because I've had a cortisone shot in my shoulder, years ago, and I got back full use of my shoulder and it's still good.  Some things you have to try, specially if there is no down side to the procedure.

I've exhausted all options and I've interviewed everyone I could possibly find to ask questions to.  I decided the time had come for surgery.  I also did the research on doing both hips at once.  Since both of mine were really bad, what did I have to lose.  The recovery isn't any longer, you just have to spend a couple of extra days in the hospital.  I find rehab and recovery such a tedious and boring process.  I understand how necessary it is but boy does it take mental discipline to get through it.  It's another reason I decided on doing both hips at the same time.  I didn't want to spend 6 months recovering then go through it all again.

I picked the doctor I wanted to do my surgery and made the appointment.  I thought I was ready and as informed as I could be.  Next I'll walk you through the surgery and hospital stay.  Such fun!


At my 1 year anniversary I swam this morning with the master's and then when I got home at 7 am my husband was waiting for me because the surf was up!  So we went surfing for 3 hours, great waves, lots of fun.  Was going to go for a run with the local running club but too tired from both swimming and surfing.  Tomorrow I'll do stairs with my friends.  We run up and down the stairs at one of the bridges that crosses the intracoastal.  We do it for about 20-30 minutes and it's an intense workout.


Having the surgery when I did was perfect timing for me.  I am so very glad I had it done and could not be doing any better.  I still need to work on my hip flexion range of motion but my doctor said it's up to me, whatever I want to achieve as long as I don't cross my legs I'm good to go.  I am still seeing improvements in my hip flexibility and if I actually dedicated time to it I know I could get my flexibility where I want it.  That will be my next fitness goal.

After athroscopic surgery to fix my hip labral tear

The surgery to fix my labral tear in my hip helped for a little while.  I really thought I'd get back to running and feeling like it did before.  The small amount of arthritis pain was manageable.  But it never really got back to what it was.  I think it just kept deteriorating and quickly.  The pain got worse, on cold days I would sit on the couch with a heating pad wrapped around my hips.  Anyone who has arthritis knows of the deep ache you can get.  I don't know what I would have done without the anti-inflammatory medicine my rhuematologist gave me.  Unfortunately you have to be very careful and have your liver tested every 3 months.  I was only on this medicine for 6-8 months.  The pain is one thing, I could have dealt with the arthritis if it was just the pain.  Osteoarthritis eats away at the joint and my hip would not support me doing every day things.  I could walk but I had a limp.  I was a fitness director and personal trainer, try demonstrating a lunge or squat when your hip will not support you.  It's physics, you can't make it do something if the structure is no longer there.  I did try though.  I think it was extremely quick how fast my hips deteriorated.  My doctors kept saying maybe a hip replacement within the next 10 years. 

My range of motion declined dramatically.  I could not widen my stance more than maybe 15 inches.  Stepping up or over anything was a challenge.  Ok, don't laugh, but getting up from the toilet was impossible without pushing myself up with my hands.  I broke 2 flush levers before I figured out I was putting my full body weight on it to help me stand up.  My hips/legs would not support any weight bearing activities.  Very frustrating.

So I have choices, there are always choices.  Go after every new injection to see if it will postpone hip replacement or have the surgery?  I must have talked with at least 5 orthopedic surgeons.  One said partial only on my right hip.  Well the studies show very low percentage of it working and at worst I would fracture my femur and have to have a total hip replacement within the first 3 months.  If it worked it sounded awesome, very little down time,  a lot less bone taken away and use of the hip joint again.  You have to go home sleep on it and weigh everything out.  It always sounds like that's what you should do when your are in the doctors office and they seem the best person to do it.  Go home and let it all percolate for a few days before you decide.  Talk to other people about the procedure such as physical therapists.  They know with the outcome of most orthopedic surgeries are.

I decided I wanted 10-20 years of pain free, full range of motion activity as opposed to toughing it out for another 5 or 10 years.  Who knows what procedures they will have for hip replacement in 15-20 years.  What if I get hit by a bus in 3 years, I could have had an awesome 3 years with no pain and the ability to do the activities I love.  Then I talked to the doctors about my left hip as well.  It hurt but it didn't give me as many problems as my right hip.  It didn't catch and it was slightly stronger than my right side.  My doctors all said that the arthritis was just as bad in the left hip as the right and I would probably have to have it replaced within the next 6 months anyway.

So that leads to a whole other questions, do both hips at once or 6 months apart?  My doctor said the recovery would not be any longer if I did both hips at the same time.  I, of course, did research and talked to whoever I could find that had it done.  I decided to just do it and get it done with.  I made the appointment for surgery and off I go down the journey of a double hip replacement.  I talked with so many people but I don't think anyone can prepare you for something that big.  Although I did my very best to down play it to everyone.

So many decisions in the osteoarthritis journey, it's tough to know if you've made the best decision for you.  All I can say is do your homework!!!  Ask questions and then ask more and ask everyone.