Getting Old

Okay, so I just turned 60, and the doc says a hip replacement is in my future. Reading up on mobility after that kind of surgery is kind of discouraging, things like pulling your knees to your chest can dislocate your new bionic joint. I figure they are just being conservative, but ... does anyone have experience with this? How is it getting in and out on the trapeze, crossing the tramp, etc.? Or should I just stay on pain killers as long as I can and sell the Viper when I have to get the surgery?

I had a complete left hip replacement on december 2013. Since then I have resumed all the activities I had stopped because of pain prior to the surgery. The doctor said no restrictions on the kind of activities I can do. So I resumed alpine skiing in march 2014. The only downside is, because of the pain, before the replacement I was restricting the amplitude of movement and I've lost some flexibility in the back that I struggle to recover since the surgery. That flexibility lost is not from the surgery but hapenned before. If you're still flexible then you should recover your movement amplitude to around 95%. I never felt any pain of any kind. It takes about 1 year to fully heal but you can resume your activities after 6 weeks. My artificial left hips is behaving exactly like my natural right hips. On the cat or on the laser the only downside is from my lack of back flexibility.

I wish you a succesfull surgery and quick recovery.

Your story is a bit of a nightmare for me, because I also have sometimes pain in a hip on my cat. So I try to ignore it and postpone any medical action.
In a couple of months I anyway have to undergo prostate surgery with a terrible timeout-time of 4 weeks with regard to catsailing.

Y're timeout time is much longer and for me, as a complete Northsea junkie, that seems the ultimate horror.

Bon courage.

I'm turning 53 this year and am planning to have my left hip replaced around April of 2016. I would have already had it done but didn't have the health insurance to afford it. Starting Jan 1 I'm going to have better insurance. I have heard that dislocation is possible, but that it usually surfaces during the first 6 weeks of healing.

You're right about dislocation. Itis possible in the first 6 weeks. And that's the reason there's a lot of movement or position your legs can't do or take. After 6 weeks the tissues have already start to stick to your prothesis and the muscles are somewhat back yo their original position and they have recovered some of their strength. That's holding everything together and prevent dislocation. It's always possible to someone who really wants like with your natural hips.

Duct tape

Duct tape, McLube injections, and lots of colorful language should do it. Thanks for the replies, sounds like I can keep on keeping on even with bionic parts.

Pretty much says it.., still racing and will be 79 in April

Okay Rick, you seem to be an extraordinary exception in the catscene.
You are 9 years older then me, so ofcourse you are my example to strive after.

But is there nothing wrong with your body? Not even a tiny little defect which you want to share with us.

It would give me comfort.

To all readers: Make sure that an orthopedic specialist has diagnosed your hip problem. I thought I was a candidate for hip replacement surgery until I went to the best doctor for that here in Toledo. He said I might see him someday but that my pain was not from my hip even though it sure felt like it was and sent me to a sports physiologist. We learned that my pain was really coming from the l-4 and l-5 (lowest two) back vertebrae. I had sciatica which is pain radiating right into the hip joint, and at its worst, past that down the back of my leg. So I have been having cortisone injections to treat the problem and finally a month ago had PRP and Prolotherapy treatments in those two joints to avoid surgery. You can read more about that here:
http://www.drlakatosh.com/blog/2015/3/1/prolotherapy-versus-platelet-rich-therapy-or-both

or here: https://treatingpain.com/treatment/regenexx-platelet-rich-plasma-prp

I am certainly not free of problems. Right now I am recovering from a sprain of the hip from a tennis tournament (won by the way) I was afraid it would be a replacement thing, but a shot of cortisone and Physical Therapy has me playing tennis again. Not the usual 5 days a week. PT says every other day.

I also take about two boxes full of nutrients per day and eat very little, thus keeping very healthy and keeping weight down that helps ease any joint pains.

On the other hand, my poor wife, who once won the Womens Hobie 18 worlds, played good tennis and skied, is now in ICU for COPD, with a machine breathing for her, all thanks to cigarettes and little or no nutrition. Praying for her daily.
Hope others do as well,
Rick

I had no idea. Our prayers for her and you Rick. Sometimes the caretaker has the larger burden...

Been trying to resist the urge to comment in this thread since my wife is a non-operative orthopedist but this is correct. She's able to resolve most ailments with non-operative or simple procedures such as steroid injections , PRP, or other types of therapies that don't involve going under the knife.

All of them for which I've participated as her guinea pig.

I was teasing you a bit in my previous post about your evident lack of fysical sorrows with regard to your age.

Now you just shared with us very openly the health sorrows concerning your wife. So life plays all the same tricks with you indirectly .

I thank you, impressed, for your honesty and I feel a bit ashamed of having challenged you.


I wish you a lot of courage and I really hope your wife is soon be better.

No worries. Daughter has been sort of communicating with her, getting her to trace letters on a pillow to let us know how she is feeling and what she is thinking.
Words like morphine and another hospital.
Still feisty

Holy shXt!

That sounds heavy.

They were able to pull the tube and she is now breathing on her own. Mouthing words, but is practically writing another book with pen and paper. She may be back.

My brother went through the same thing, I will pray for her

Thank God........Keep us posted

Sorry to hear this Rick. Give her my support. Our thoughts and prayers will be with her.

p.s. Someone on Facebook created a duplicate account under Mary's name ,using her pics. They have friended people from her list, and private messaged me, before I realized it was a bogus account. Just wanted to give you a heads up.

Not being a Facebook user, is this common? I wonder to what purpose they'd set up duplicate accounts? Can they send zombie bots/viruses through Facebook?

I did read in the paper that someone forged the Target facebook page and was sending snarky (and hilarious) responses to customer service requests.

How do you "authenticate" that you're actually facebooking the right person? Or is it really "Peggy" in Ukraine?

Ask them something only the real Peggy would know, without being able to Google the answer.

Wait, why are you asking us about how to hook up with Russian chicks? Aren't there websites dedicated to that sort of thing?

Mike

They do it to get access to info i.e. Identity theft.

I thought something was fishy.

(Edit)- must been flicked. Not in my friends list any longer.

On facebook issue, yes I did get a request to be a friend from Mary, and she in not on a computer yet. Not strong enough. She is now sitting in a chair and has enough strength to utter quiet words. Tough with my hearing problems, but we are getting through, thanks to daughter, Stacy, interpreting.
Still in ICU as heart rate keeps jumping up to 170.
Rick

Glad she's improving...

Can she text? Maybe that would work faster than scribbling?

Haha.., she won't give up the old flip phone. No texting. She is talking now in sort of whisper. Out of ICU.
Rick

I'm very relieved that she is now out of the danger zone....and so are you and your daughter too, I imagine.

What the future will bring is unknown. There is a chance that yet life will change a bit for her (and you).

I'm glad that you use this forum as an audience for expressing public your uneasy mind and the following relief.
This thread is called "Getting Old" and these events are exactly what getting old finally means.

On this forum we all like catsailing and that is basically sort of adrenaline sport with sturdy behaviour and tall stories.
But,inevitable, we all get older (I hope) and meet irrevocable health problems. With ourselves, with partners and family.

So, its a good thing that you wrote these posts Rick. You are really the Chief.

Daughter, Stacy, drove down from Ohio. I believe it was her efforts that pulled Mary through. Here she wrote her narrative of the ordeal:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...741828.1389742561&type=3&theater

Thoughts and prayers with you and Mary, and your family and friends, Rick.

Mike