What Made You Decide to Have Hip Replacement?
I had extremely severe degenerative arthritis in my hip. It is possible that the arthritis was long term result of having had a mild case of polio when I was a young child.
What Were You Not Prepared For?
I was very will prepared for the surgery and recovery thanks to having come across the about.com series from Dr. Cluett. Any time I meet someone who is considering having a THA I recommend that they go online and sign up for the course.
What I was not prepared for: Leg length discrepancy. My former orthopedic surgeon insisted that my right leg was shorter than my left. He intentionally added 1/2" to the leg in the surgery. This made the recovery difficult. He was insistent that my legs were perfect after surgery. He would not acknowledge that there was a problem after surgery because of it. (I have changed orthopedic surgeons.) I suffered a great deal of pain and problems because of the leg length discrepancy. I spend a great deal of time getting OMM to help with the problem. I now have a 5/8" build-up in my left shoe to deal with the leg length discrepancy.
This iatrogenic leg length discrepancy also appears to have set off more problems. We more of less have determined that I did have polio when I was a child (no records are available) and the leg discrepancy stirred things up. In addition to having a build-up in my left shoe, I also have stabilizers in both shoes. For the first time ever, I have custom built AFOs for both legs as well as still having to use a cane. Consider that I was not even told that I might have had polio when I was a child until I was in my 30s.
Lessons Learned
- Make the doctor listen to you. He doesn't know it all.
- Sign up for Dr. Cluett's on-line course. Mark the pages on your computer so you can go back and reread the articles as often as you need to get a good understanding of what you are going through/going to be going through/have gone through.
- If it is available, go to the transitional care unit after surgery. It is lovely to have someone take care of you, cooking meals, rather than having to go straight home and take care of yourself and cooking for yourself. (Boy did I get pampered there!)
