I think Laurie has a doc that is far more willing to listen to her regarding her pain and treat than most of us 
(Caveat for you x-halt–I’m over a year out here in MN and my hip really starting giving me grief again once we moved. 17 hours in the truck coming out was sort of the start of it. I have no idea what any of my CO docs would be doing now, including Brian White. I don’t want my bad experiences now to color any recommendations in CO!)
[QUOTE=Simkie;8409064]
(Caveat for you x-halt–I’m over a year out here in MN and my hip really starting giving me grief again once we moved. 17 hours in the truck coming out was sort of the start of it. I have no idea what any of my CO docs would be doing now, including Brian White. I don’t want my bad experiences now to color any recommendations in CO!)[/QUOTE]
No worries, Simkie! I’m learning firsthand how much outcomes in this arena depend on the state of individual tissues and their responses to specific interventions. Having an idea about good CO hip specialists is a huge comfort.
I’m so sorry your hip is not doing so well lately, though. Wishing you good pain relief with a minimum of doctor visits!
Agghhhh!!!
I’m about 5.5mo. out from my last injection. Had a total hysterectomy in the middle - at which point my hip twisted in the socket to the point where I wanted it GONE!
Went back to the Dr. yesterday for another scrip for the injections…on x-ray there was very little change from a year and a half ago, in spite of the stupid thing snapping, popping, getting twisted etc.
Unfortunately, after getting into the ‘position’ for the x-rays, and then having the leg manipulated, I want to cry today…
I am so sorry. For me the worst part was the positioning for the MRI. Lying flat on my back on a hard surface was bad enough but then they made me point my toes towards each other and taped my feet together. I got through that with Lamaze breathing, barely but was in absolutely agony for days afterwards. This whole thing sucks.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;8411222]
I am so sorry. For me the worst part was the positioning for the MRI. Lying flat on my back on a hard surface was bad enough but then they made me point my toes towards each other and taped my feet together. I got through that with Lamaze breathing, barely but was in absolutely agony for days afterwards.[/QUOTE]
Ditto! Both on the sympathy for tt and the MRI pain. After spending ~45minutes with my feet taped all inwardly rotated in that abominable MRI tube I think it took me that much time again to get up and get comfortable bearing weight on my bad hip.
tt, do they position the leg awkardly for the rads or is it just the hard table factor? Either way, that’s a total bummer. Is it the hip you had a THR on that is still giving you trouble, or is it the other one? (Sorry to be fuzzy on details; I’m too tired to remember well or to search for the answer in the 9 pages of the thread…) Fingers crossed that another round of injections will bring some relief.
[QUOTE=tollertwins;8411171]
Agghhhh!!!
I’m about 5.5mo. out from my last injection. Had a total hysterectomy in the middle - at which point my hip twisted in the socket to the point where I wanted it GONE!
Went back to the Dr. yesterday for another scrip for the injections…on x-ray there was very little change from a year and a half ago, in spite of the stupid thing snapping, popping, getting twisted etc.
Unfortunately, after getting into the ‘position’ for the x-rays, and then having the leg manipulated, I want to cry today…[/QUOTE]
Oh that’s the worst. Between them forcing me into that ballet stance for X-rays, the arthrogram, or the numerous range of motion tests I think I have cried more in the last 6 months then ever before. And I’ve been double barrel kicked by a rank 3 yo mare in the thigh and didn’t shed a tear.
Hopefully you’re feeling better soon with that injection
This is the hip w the tear. The guy is an fai specialist and the first of the standing xrays is with the hips rotated in and the toes pointing together. Last one is toe touching and the knee pointed out.
I dont have a whole lotta pain free rotation at this point - and the stupid hip was already really inflamed…
[QUOTE=tollertwins;8411669]
I dont have a whole lotta pain free rotation at this point - and the stupid hip was already really inflamed…[/QUOTE]
Not good. I hope the inflammation gets better!
My doctor’s office called this a.m. to reschedule my post-op appointment … for another two weeks down the road. Which means that It’ll be a whole month after surgery before I finally get to go over images of what they found in there with my doctor and discuss the road ahead. Maybe I should have seen this coming with my follow-up appointment scheduled on a weird short holiday week.
Looks like I’m on my own with the recovery too – by the time I see my doc and get referred to PT, there won’t be any time to schedule it before my move. From a medical perspective it’s probably not the best idea to leave me to my own post-operative devices… I imagine I’ll clear myself to ride sooner than he would have…
I started PT four days after my hip surgeries. They were pretty mild at first in terms of what we could do exercise wise but the hands on stretching and massage was a Godsend.
Just an update. I had my hip surgery 3.5 weeks ago. I am doing remarkably well. I was able to give up crutches yesterday since I am walking pretty normally. I am doing my excersizes and walking religiously and can’t wait to be able to try to ride again. Altho I know I have to wait until at least the 90 day point. It will be mid winter and my horse is out, so I will be going to a local stable with an indoor and quiet horses. Any advise on what to try first, how long, etc. I’m thinking short pony rides once or twice and then half hour sessions. Once I get feeling okay I know they will let me just pay to ride if I work around the horses lessons schedules. I used to ride there and they know my former skills. I know I probably won’t ever get there again but I am hoping to get some of it back.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;8412622]
…the hands on stretching and massage was a Godsend.[/QUOTE]
I can imagine! I’m starting to get weird muscle pains I never used to get, I think because the reduction in range of motion (esp. lateral and rotational) is keeping me from using things normally or stretching.
I’m tempted to be grumpy about my lack of access to post-op care, but it’s probably better just to hit up MDs and PTs in the family for advice and get on with it. Hopefully I can keep the soft tissues happy until I get new insurance and doctors.
[QUOTE=Classicgal;8413985]
Just an update. I had my hip surgery 3.5 weeks ago. I am doing remarkably well. I was able to give up crutches yesterday since I am walking pretty normally. I am doing my excersizes and walking religiously and can’t wait to be able to try to ride again. Altho I know I have to wait until at least the 90 day point. It will be mid winter and my horse is out, so I will be going to a local stable with an indoor and quiet horses. Any advise on what to try first, how long, etc. I’m thinking short pony rides once or twice and then half hour sessions. Once I get feeling okay I know they will let me just pay to ride if I work around the horses lessons schedules. I used to ride there and they know my former skills. I know I probably won’t ever get there again but I am hoping to get some of it back.[/QUOTE]
That’s great news!!
I’ll let the more experienced members of the club weigh in on the riding advice, but I’m really happy to hear that things are going so well for you.
[QUOTE=x-halt-salute;8412558]
Looks like I’m on my own with the recovery too – by the time I see my doc and get referred to PT, there won’t be any time to schedule it before my move. From a medical perspective it’s probably not the best idea to leave me to my own post-operative devices… I imagine I’ll clear myself to ride sooner than he would have…[/QUOTE]
Wha…???
I had my PT appointments set up WEEKS before I even went to surgery. I think the first was 3-4 days post.
Can you call the docs office and INSIST that you get a PT script ASAP?? Totally unacceptable that they didn’t have this all arranged beforehand.
And did they not review the results and such in the hospital? I got pics, a disk with videos and a rundown of what happened before I was discharged.
My first pt appointments were all set up prior to surgery, too, and started about one week after. Maybe less.
I’ve lost track of which posters had/are having THR, and which are having other procedures. But to answer x-halt-salute’s question, I’ve had both hips replaced and am riding better now than I have for years. Between stiffness, muscle spasms and general no-way-that-thing-can-do-that problems, I couldn’t ride well or very long. Now I can generally flow along with my mare, and surprise! learned I actually can circle to the right. Which I haven’t been able to do for quite a while.
I was cleared to ride about 8 weeks after surgery. The value of the PT was in stretching and strengthening to gain more movement and better flexibility without risk. Some muscle groups weren’t working well before the surgery, so I was taught to recruit them in specific ways to walk, and to get ready to ride.
I wanted to get as much out of the surgery as possible, and I’d say I have. I wouldn’t have gotten nearly as much without PT.
i’m getting close to wanting to get the dm**ed thing replaced and get it over with…
except that i just had major surgery in July for something else.
but it’s getting REALLY annoying to be going along pretty well, and then have the steroid start to wear off, and then not be able to do hardly anything for the 4 - 6 wks. it takes to get another one set up…
[QUOTE=Simkie;8414724]
Wha…???
I had my PT appointments set up WEEKS before I even went to surgery. I think the first was 3-4 days post.
Can you call the docs office and INSIST that you get a PT script ASAP?? Totally unacceptable that they didn’t have this all arranged beforehand.
And did they not review the results and such in the hospital? I got pics, a disk with videos and a rundown of what happened before I was discharged.[/QUOTE]
My doc warned me at my last pre-op appointment that he doesn’t tend to spend much time with patients after surgery, because people tend to be too groggy to ask questions and they don’t tend to remember the conversation well. He came by the recovery room shortly after the anesthesiologist removed the catheter and told me the basic facts about what they found and what they did. He promised a more detailed discussion of findings at the post-op, and said that we also need to discuss activity modification and pain management then, as well as the longer term outlook. I probably spent all of 2 conscious minutes with my doc on surgery day, and I had totally lost my voice from the breathing tube so I didn’t really manage to squeak out many questions. I got sent home with a folder of instructions and a cd with images, which I’ve looked at but don’t entirely know how to interpret.
I was expecting to get a PT referral at my post-op follow up. I have to drive an hour from my home to the insurance-approved PT anyway, so Iit would have been difficult to start too soon after surgery in any case, but it does seem odd that the typical procedure for hip scopes seems to be to set up the PT in advance, and yet I am left hanging. I wonder if it just got overlooked?
At this point I doubt I could get a referral before next week, thanks to the holiday. And when I was in PT before they seemed to fill their schedule about 2 weeks out. I’m moving in about 3.5 weeks, so the horizon on this is already approaching fast. We’ll see what I can do.
Unfortunately, the gap in my employment during my move means that I’ll be forced to cobra my current health insurance, which covers out of state emergencies but not non-emergency services (which are only covered at the in-house hospital/clinic). So once I’m in CO I’m cut off until my new insurance starts (Feb 1, thanks to the New Years holiday making my start date fall after the 1st of Jan), and it’ll probably be back to primary care to start the referral process all over again. Ah the joys of the American health care system!
[QUOTE=stryder;8414767]
Now I can generally flow along with my mare, and surprise! learned I actually can circle to the right. Which I haven’t been able to do for quite a while.[/QUOTE]
I’m jealous! I’ve been struggling with the very same things.
That makes good sense. To be honest I haven’t been very happy with the PT outfit I have access to so I don’t know for sure that they’d be very good at things like muscle group recruitment. But it does seem like it’s crucial to making the most of one of these procedures. Hopefully if I have further surgical interventions on this hip down the road I’ll be able to do that.
I’m fortunate in that I have a very experienced PT. He’s edging ever closer to retirement and now just works part time. He’s frequently very clear in saying “when I was starting out” or “as a young PT I would” and now, with his experience and continuing education, recommends and works differently.
Not to slam anyone just starting out, but having been through a lot of PT over the years, I’m just not interested in working with people at the early stages of their careers. In looking for medical professionals, I want to find someone with a lot of experience (someone older) who is a lifelong learner. That brings the best of both worlds to the problem.
Good luck!
I was such an “over-achiever” with my rehab, my surgeon didn’t want me to do PT. I did all of the prescribed exercises and stretches my myself at home. My doc was afraid I’d push too hard and dislocate if I went to PT. So, I waited until about 3 months post op and went to PT on my own - just to work on range of motion.
As many of you have been told by your surgeons, we “horse people” are tough cookies and recover much more quickly than the average patient.
It’s interesting to hear people who say they are not as crooked after hip surgery. I always had trouble being slightly crooked even when young. I found out I had a little scoliosis and compensated altho no instructor ever believed me when I said I had to be straight in Either my hips or shoulders, not both. My heart horse and I did well but I did have trouble with the canters to the left. And when I rode other highly schooled horses I would inadvertently make them doing lead changes until I sorted it out.
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