Justin:

I am trying to PM you concerning this post but am having no luck: Please get back to my personal e-mail concerning this: http://adrsupport.org/forums/showthr...ed=1#post80495

I hate to hijack Cindy Lou's lovely thread but this situation is imperative. Thank-you Justin.

I am sorry Cindy Lou. I am hopeful that your Christmas was as good as can be expected in spite of the pain. I am also in a bad way now. :confused:

Terry Newton

Surgery date scheduled
 

I finally got my surgery date for total hip replacement. Friday, March 20th, down at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I didn't want to have it before the grand baby was born. If anyone out there has had hip replacement and would like to comment, I would most appreciate it. I feel a bit like a revolving door when it comes to surgeries.....of any kind. I certainly hope and pray this does the final job on my right hip pain. I do believe the steroid has finally kicked in and is giving me some relief. When we were up at our cabin over the holidays, I wanted to go snow shoeing in a big way, on all the fresh snow. So I took 2 percocet and headed out with my husband and our dog. We were gone for slightly over an hour. I was completely drenched in sweat when we returned to the cabin. It was such an awesome workout. I had to ice down big time, but I look forward to many more experiences like this in the future. And even when you get that 1 time, it is such a gift, for those of us who have lived with chronic pain. You get what I'm talking about. I purchased an Ab Rocket the other day, in an effort to strengthen my core more before surgery. I will let you know if it is worth it. And I finally bought one of those foam rollers for itbs. (illiotibial band syndrome) Boy, that thing hurts like h___, but I think it is definitely going to help my overly tight IT Bands. You do have to work thru the pain to reap the benefit, fyi.

Here's to an incredible 2009 for all us spiney's! Never give up!

Cindylou,
I am so happy that you have a date scheduled for your hip. Hopefylly this will be the last in your long line of injuries and you will be good as new. I am sure that the rehab will takr a while but we will all root for your sucess. After this one, you will have to stop for awile so we can all catch up to you. Kidding. Take care, this will come sooner than you think.
Phylly

hi cindylou,

glad you set a date for your new hip... you are running out of parts to replace in your lower half so this has to be your last surgery for a while! ;)
you are catching up to the infamous 5-level Fred... do you know about him? He had a 5-level lumbar Prodisc op w/Dr. Bertagnoli. He recovered well, went SKIING, fell and broke his hip, and now he also has an artificial hip. crazy.

glad you got to go snowshoeing! sounds heavenly. and yes, i get it. i also think it's important to push yourself and go snowshoeing (or whatever sport feeds your soul) to remind you why you keep fighting and enduring the daily pain and operations. you'll be snowshoeing all the time next winter.

hang in there,
Liz

CindyLou,

You go girl :shedance:! Do your thing!! Your a brave and stubborn gal and an inspiration to all spineys.

Are you getting the muscle sparing hip replacement? I'm curious because an Ohio hospital is advertising this on TV but they are not rated high in orthopedic surgeries. Did you research this?

I've read thru your thread but seem to miss why you are wearing a bone stimulator?

Keep pushing those limits. Sandy

Thank-you guys for the support. I do so appreciate it. Sandy, I wear the bone growth stimulator for the fusion done at L6-S1, last 7/2/08. Honestly, I had not heard of the muscle sparing hip replacement surgery. I will definitely look into that. I did ask my surgeon about how many hip replacements he had done. When he told me he did 3-5 per day, and 400 + a year, I was a believer. At the end of the day, I will likely go with "his preferred" choice. I'm more a believer in picking the right surgeon and allowing them to use "what they do best." I was that way with Dr. Bertagnoli. I looked at the different discs. Especially the Maverick. But when my own surgeon here in Minneapolis (who helped patent the Maverick) told me to go with Bertagnoli and the ProDisc, I didn't walk, I ran to Germany. :) That said, I'm certainly not pushing a product, but more accurately, revealing my own decision making process when it comes to surgery. And Liz, I like what you said about continuing to push through the pain, if you will, to remember what gets us to the other side. All good. Thanks for the uplift!

Cindylou

CindyLou,

I agree with you totally. I had one reason for having Dr. Bertagnoli perform my surgery. I needed 4 discs, he is the guru in multiple replacements, he agreed to do the surgery, I liked the look of the prosthesis, I talked to 2 guys who had 4 cervical levels with him in 2004 and 2006.

Pick the right surgeon and go for it. After you research, research, ask questions then put your trust in the Good Lord. You've been doing a good job of that, so keep it up.

Sandy p.s. forgot I had another question about the bone stimulator. Does the use of it mean you can't grow bone yourself? If that's true, it's still possible to have your hip replacement?

A bone growth stimulator that the Dr. prescribed took into account several variables: one being, yes, given my age, 56, and second, being post-menopausal, a bone growth stimulator was definitely a good idea. We grow so much less bone as we age. And I suspect it will make a difference with the hip replacement, that they'll likely use cement or another adhesive, as opposed to nothing. So, there you have it. Time for me to stretch. And I am really digging this Ab Rocket thing-a-ma-chig. :) Anything to help strengthen my core at this point, and not hurt the ole' neck in the process.

Take care!

Cindylou

Cindy Lou....

Girl you sure have had a bunch of stuff thrown in front of you lately. I'm glad they have all the answers for your hip pain and a plan to fix it all. I certainly hope after all of this you get to feeling GRAND and can get on with leading your life and enjoying everything !!!

Just a bye the bye.. I had a friend who had bilateral muscle sparing hip replacement surgery and he was up and going in relatively short order. He was young (40's) and had researched it a lot. He's very happy with the outcome. But I'm sure your surgeon knows which technique will work best for you , after all the whole process of finding THE doctor is finding someone that knows their trade and works well with you. ;)

Is your history of Pulmonary Embolism and concern at this point, or is that all resolved and old history now?

Spare Parts
 

Good luck with the hip replacement. Let us know how it works out. I'm going for ADR next month in the Active-L trial. Unfortunately, my right hip has started to go bad, possibly as a result of my spinal issues. I'm going to see the hip dr. on Monday to get a steroid injection and try to calm the pain down a little before the ADR. I thought that I was young for hip issues (51 in March) but my dr. says he's done replacemnts in patients even younger than I. 2009 will be the ADR and 2010 will probably be the hip replacement. I like your ideas about keep moving no matter what. If I sit around too long I start to go nuts.