r/TotalHipReplacement

I am scheduled for R ATHR on June 17th. Finding it very hard to stay on task/remember what I need to do. Thinking that the pain is taking over my thoughts processes.

Has anyone eles experienced this and any solutions for my next 4 weeks?

TIA

Hey darlings , I was told I need a THR eventually but not just yet . I'm a 27 year old woman and I do have bad arthritis caused by SCFE. But doctors said not just yet for the surgery last year . Now lately I started feeling discomfort when I sit a little long and when I walk not too long distances not in my hip alone but also it goes down to the middle of the thigh as well.i have a doctor appointment soon , but I wanna know meanwhile does arthritis give you pain down your whole thigh . The butt cheek bone as well . Or is it just me . Thank you all for your help

One thing that the surgeons office has told me is that I need to have someone at home with me So I have to inconvenience my wife on the day of surgery and probably even more over the first few days . What is the proper compensation for such an inconvenience?

Hi friends I am 61 years old and new to this group I have severe lumbar spinal stenosis and a bone on bone arthritic hip Both conditions mess with my left leg and my nerves in back and leg

I am scheduled for a hip replacement at the end of June I know I still need to take a class about it, but my big fear is missing work I work from home, so my plan is to use my adjustable bed along with a hospital style, over the bed table for my laptop and supplies

Is it reasonable to assume I can log in and work he day after? Or will I need to take a 2 nd day off?

Hi all,

I had successful left total hip replacement 1.5 years ago. However, since that time, I have been dealing with lower back pain, center and especially over right glute when walking. I know my left leg is now longer than the right. The xray say 11mm, the surgeon said he measure 14mm and I have had lifts in my right shoe to make up the difference as all said that would be helpful.

I do have osteoarthritis in lower back and have tried a cortisone shot an an ablatement to no effect. PT has helped, but still painful above right glute when walking.

Recently, I got the idea of asking AI is it possible I need even more lift in right shoe? Surprisingly the answer was yes, and the reasoning was that there could be a lot more conditions that affect length than just straight measurement. I decided to try a full inch (25mm) to see if it would have some effect?

I just finished a long walk with much less pain and am getting hopeful that I may be on to something.

TLTR; Anyone else experience needing to add a lot more lift in short leg than just what the xrays say?

My husband (60m) had LTHR, anterior approach earlier this week and so far, everything has gone smoothly and positively.

After a year of suffering from severe bone-on-bone arthritis, he was barely able to walk before his surgery. When he took his first pain-free steps on his new joint, I shed tears of joy!

He’s early in the healing process, but we are following all the PT guidelines and ice/elevation regimen. So far he is relieved that he had this done and his attitude toward his future recovery has completely turned around. He has his spark back!

If you’re feeling anxious like we were about this procedure, here’s another positive story to motivate you. Happy healing!

I'm 2 months post op LTHR and loving it! I told my wife but just needed to ramble about it to someone else who can appreciate what I'm going through. Today at work I was shaking my leg sitting down at my desk, and moving my leg side to side, and realized I couldn't feel a thing! In my hip joint, it was just... working. The joint just *works*!! Then I got up and walked a lap to the end of the building and back and it just felt like what a normal person's hip joint must feel like walking around.

Just having a great day and so grateful for the new hip. Looking forward to the other one later this year!! Really appreciate this sub and hearing peoples' stories and experiences ♥️🦵

After hip pain that wasn’t improving, I made an appointment with an orthopedist. He took a look at my X-ray and told me that I have hip dysplasia and I need a new hip. He said that it is almost bone on bone. I decided to try a steroid shot and so far (12 days after the shot) I have not felt any relief. I would probably say yes to the surgery (in at least 3 months, since you have to wait after a steroid shot), but there is just one thing holding me back.

My husband and I are considering having another child. I am about to turn 38, so the biological clock is ticking. I also don’t want a huge gap between our current youngest and the new baby. I am considering trying to get pregnant and then praying that hormones actually help my muscles relax (which would I’ve heard can happen) and allow me to not be in terrible pain for the duration of pregnancy. I would need to have a c-section due to prior births, so I am unsure of how soon I could get a THR after cesarean birth.

Does anyone have experience with waiting until after giving birth to get your hip replacement? How long do you have to wait post C-section to get a THR?

I am 2 weeks out and I started getting a very sharp pain on the outside of my thigh, at the top. It feels like I ripped a muscle. Most other pain has gone away but this muscle tear feeling is just as intense as when it started. I can't really straighten my leg all the way when I stand up so it prevents me from walking normally. It spikes quite often every time I walk. I thought we're supposed to do a lot of walking.

I really think something is off but they keep dismissing it as normal. Did anyone else have something similar?​

Curious if it’s common to have pains in other joints or areas when the hip is bad? I have OA, will have left hip replaced soon. Curious if my opposite foot injuries are related to the hip, as well as knee pain on same leg. Worried all my joints are going at once! Hoping these pains can be remedied with HR

So today I finally got booked in…I’ve gone for a date in the future as I have stuff booked in before the pain started in earnest that I’m not able to cancel and the small detail on my first wedding anniversary.

29th September lets gooooooooo!!!!

Anterior THR!

Okay so a little bit of back story, I'll keep it as short as possible.

So August 2024 (day after my 28th birthday) I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer with metastases in about 70% of my bones.

I ended up having to get an emergency spinal fusion in my neck because a few tumors got so big 3 vertibre in the middle of my neck were fractured. (I've never given birth but I strongly believe there is no pain worse than fractured vertibre in your neck. I wouldn't wish it on my enemy)

I truly remember nothing for the next 48ish hours because I was on a cocktail of drugs stong enough to take out a heard of elephants lol (my body doesn't respond to most opiates, which I learned whilst screaming uncontrollably in the emergency room waiting on my surgeon to arrive) the pain was so bad I think my brain blocked out any memory of this tragedy.

With spinal fusion recovery i was in a neck brace for 6 months straight restricted from looking side to side or bending over or lifting anything over 5 lbs. I still to this day dont have normal mobility of my neck and ill never fully regain in. And its causing serious back pain *longest part of the story please hang in there*

Okay so that was August 2024 im in the hospital for a month after the surgery getting radiation and starting treatment..

Now here's the kicker my neck pain was not the original bone where a tumor was discovered. Way back in May 2024 an xray of my right knee was done due to ongoing pain that was getting worse by the day (this is a really long messed up malpractice issue but im not going to bore you with all the details just know that I had a full clown car of "doctors" steadily misdiagnosing me not taking me seriously and acting like I was some kind of addict looking to score) so I've been trying get my knee replaced for months by the time my neck fracture.

I saw like 5 orthopedic surgeons and a bunch of oncologist in my city. They all just kept passing me off to someone else. Finally I got the best orthopedic oncologist in my state to accept me as a new patient. His office is an hour maybe 2 depending on traffic away from my home. And his first appointment is not until October 2024.

So from May-August I pretty immobile can't work have to leave my job. Im in constant pain because I didn't know that my body doesn't respond to opiates typically and the "great doctors" still think I'm a junkie and do nothing for my pain basically.

Then from August-October I was in even worse shape but at least i was drugged up In a hospital bed for half that time.

I get my knee replaced in October 2024. It's been almost a year since I was able to walk by myself without pain. And once I woke up the nurse took me to the PT gym and I just lost it couldnt stop crying *we all take walking for granted* I was so happy.

The awesome team that did my knee ran additional tests and biopsy and came to the same conclusion I did about the "clowns posing as doctors" where I live and they were so wonderful to get me into see an oncologist who specializes in young women with breast cancer the next day.

My cancer diagnoses is a lot more serious than I was lead to believe. She said we needed to start chemo ASAP because i also have a tumor in my brain sitting millimeters from my optical never. *I will never be able to repay or thank this wonder gift from God of a doctor* I had to do 15 rounds of radiation on my brain. Then I started chemo.. i fortunately still have my eyesight well for the most part. A side effect of the drugs im on currently is blurry vision *nothing permanent allegedly* i went to the eye doctor got glasses and everything (talk about a waste of time and money)

less than 1% of the test subjects prior to this realitivily new chemo drug being approved by the FDA had vision problems while in active treatment and given the ages of those participants loss/blurry vision is the last side effect listed... seriously I have the craziest bad luck lol just keep reading haha

I was supposed to be doing PT for my knee at this time too. The 3 different chemo treatments made me so unbelievably sick I was in and out of the hospital from late November 2024- June 2025.

I lost damn near 100 pounds during this time (before all this cancer shit... I'm 5'11" light-skinned biracial *BODY WAS BANGIN ⏳️ floated between 165lbs -180lbs All Natural. Beautiful thick curly hair always wore some dumb stupid 6in heels.* * during this time When I would catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror I would sincerely be terrified I Looked like thing out of Lord of the Rings but i had nothing precious*

*I still dont recognize myself old pics still bring me to tears* besides the point my bad

after my knee replacement i weighted about 210lbs before the chemo *I was bed ridden for the better part of a year*

June 2025 i weighted 109.8 I couldnt keep food or anything down chemo damn near killed me.. my right leg muscles had basically completely atrophied my left leg was still beautiful tho hahaha

So June 2025 I finally am on the other side of the side effects & Interally everything is going shockingly well. Externally I lost my hair I was as thin as a rail I used a walker i was frail.

And finally got a wonderful Physical therapist and got to work. February 2026 is when I completed going to pt twice a week every week and I still wasn't back to 100% but I was close enough and you know insurance is a b*tch

So ive been walking on my own for all of a little more than a month and one day late March 2026 I get this pain in my hip. I assume i slept wrong and I spend the next 2 day stretching and biking and walking but the pain persists.

I go get an xray the xray doesn't show new tumors or fractures my doctor says heat ice Tylenol blahblahbla but if the pain gets worse call asap.

I already had my regular 3 month check up scans scheduled for the end of April so my orthopedic oncologist just requested a few additional scans and of course

I Have AVN likely caused by the steroids I have to take in order to keep taking the drug literally saving my life (I've had no new growths and im even seeing reduction in size of most tumors)

I seriously cannot believe this after everything I've just gone through now i need A TOTAL HIP REPLACEMENT on the same right leg I just got healthy and working again 😫 I can already see muscle loss starting from non weight baring to help the pain and possibly slow down the speed at which my bone is decaying.

Got another xray yesterday after my chemo treatments and of course AVN is progressing way faster than expected. The pain isn't even the problem like I said spinal fusion showed me real pain...

I'm just so unbelievably scared of loosing all of the progress ive worked so hard to achieve. Not one day has been easy but I just keep going. The thought of being back in the place I was after my knee surgery SCARES ME TO MY CORE.

I haven't been sleeping or had an appetite. I'm just doing as my exercise as I possibly can so when I get the strength to schedule my hip surgery I have a strong foundation.

If you're still reading this you also have great strength lol

My question is am I overreacting?

Everyone keeps telling me the rehab for the hip will be a walk in the park compared to the neck or the knee. And I should just get it over with and start healing.

Im just worried about complications because clearly that is my kinda luck at this point. If it can get worse it does.

I have really long legs Im damn near 6ft I already have a toilet raiser from my prior surgeries but when I use it and my feet are flat on the ground my knees sit higher than my hip. Same with all my furniture. My legs are long asf.

Any advice or words of wisdom would be great. I turn 30 in August and kinda wanted to wait until after that to get the surgery. AND I WANTED TO ENJOY THE SUMMER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS.

However I was in the hospital last year from December 24 2025-Jan 3 2026 and I dont want to miss the holidays again.

Uhhh I just wanna cut the whole leg off atbthis point lol

Jeez this is long im very sorry I tried to keep it to necessary details.

So this is a truthful post. Had my THR 3 weeks ago, in hospital for 5 days which I feel didn't give me the start I was hoping for.

I felt an improvement 2-3 days ago but now feeling very stiff, not helped by the fact that my other hip needs doing and is getting more painful by the day, also my back is really hurting.

The weather here is dull and grey so that doesn't help, I feel so much better when the sun is shining.

I guess I just wanted to rant but also ask did you still have aches and pain in operated hip at 3 weeks? I know I've probably asked before but I don't see much improvement yet (although I'm sure there is)

Don't really want to be feeling like this but just don't really know if I'm improving.

Cleared for left hip replacement on Friday. Glad and worried at the same time. Some days can barely stand up and others are fine. Know it needs it so…… Other hip also but not as urgent.

hi! i’m 22f and i just had my left hip replaced a week ago. i had AVN and for about 10 years i had basically a square left hip. during that time my left leg was around an inch shorter than the right. this affected the way i would walk and stand (not noticeably, but i just adapted to a short leg). i waited so long to get it replaced because it never really bothered me, just walking long distances or uphill was bad. now 1 week post op i feel like im learning to walk again. i have been so used to a short leg, the surgical leg now feels too long and i cant seem to stand up perfectly straight or walk without leaning forward. i’m wondering if anyone had a similar issue/has found ways to fix it. i know most people feel like the surgical leg is too long for a while but i dont want to start getting used to walking with a forward lean. i hope this makes sense! anything advice helps!<3

Hi everyone,
I’m 5 months post op now, I had in December my hip replacement, the hip pain is luckily gone now but I still suffer from muscle pain on my thigh and knee. By 5 months you would think you should finally getting rid of that pain but it’s still lingering around, it’s so annoying that I still can’t relax during walks. Some days it’s better, other days it’s worse. When I swim my muscles get relaxed a bit for a day but after that they become painful again. I do everything, I do physiotherapy, swimming, laser therapy and magnet (pemf) therapy but the pain is still there, nothing seems to help enough to the point that I got enough of it.

Wish there was some of a miracle pill that could cure my pain so that I can get finally rid of it cause it starts to annoy me really! You finally get rid of one pain and now you have to deal with another pain like ugh! My muscles got stretched by the way during surgery to make my legs both even lenght so maybe that’s why my recovery is longer, I don’t know but luckily I can move my leg now because after surgery my leg was so heavy that I couldn’t lift it even 1 cm up! I hope it will get better and was wondering how your all experience was? When did your muscle pain went away? How long did it last? Thanks x

First of 2 in the morning. What should I remember to ask the doctor (or nps,pas, nurses, etc) about before and after the surgery?

Nervous and trying not to forget anything. Thanks!

3hrs from rt THR! A word of thanks to you all for sharing your lists, your journey, your tips & tricks. Such a great help in navigating the days of healing ahead. Really appreciate it.

LFG!

I had my Right hip replaced on Thursday May 7th.  It was an Anterior procedure.  I’m 57 and in pretty ok shape.  Still go to the gym and do what I can to stay in shape, despite my bad hips. Here’s some of what I did to prepare and maybe a little of what I’d do differently.

Before Surgery
I have a 2 story house and don’t have a great spot in the lower level.  Soft couches.  So I bought a recliner from Amazon.  Best thing I ever did.  Get an electric one, as you won’t want to manually adjust it. I did most of my PT exercises in this during week 1.

I also bought an ice-machine thing from Amazon.   While it’s not perfect, it made it so easy to get some cold on my hip during nighttime hours.   It was $120 and worth every penny.  It’s not as cold as ice-packs, but it beat asking my wife to swap ice packs every hour or two.  I found it would stay cold about 12 hours.  I got the manual kind (fill it with iced water bottles).  There are expensive ones you can rent that have chillers built in.  I might look into it when I get my other hip done.

Day of Surgery (Thursday)
Arrived at 9:30.   Bladder scan, IV and other prep happened in the 2 hours before surgery.

Went to the surgery room at around 11:30/noon.  In my case, it took 2 hours because I had a lot of spurs, apparently.

The after-surgery recovery room went well for me and I was awake by 2:15.  I did ok waking up from anesthesia.  My wife arrived at around 2:30.   Not long after, they had me in a walker scootin’ around and walking up/down a single stair/platform.  It took me a while to urinate and that’s the  only thing that kept me there longer.   I think I was home by 4. 

The first night was relatively ok.  I was moving around ok with my walker (6" at a time).  I could get up on my own, make it to the bathroom, get food, etc.  I was actually feeling pretty ok (albeit there definitely was some discomfort).  Probably a 4-5 pain level.  Thanks to my dumb ass dog (snoring), I didn’t sleep well, at all, and it definitely affected me the next day.  But I don’t think I would have slept much better, anyway.  I was definitely uncomfortable.

Day 1 (Friday)
The next day (Friday) kind of sucked.  I was definitely in much more pain.  5-6.  Had a really hard time moving around in the afternoon and evening.  Had a telehealth PT session that went well. If you can pull that off (or a home visit), do it. It was nice to ask questions about my pain level and such.

Day 2 (Sat)
For whatever reason, I had a really good night of sleep Friday night.   I’m a side sleeper and after talking to my PT person, she suggested propping my self up slightly with pillows and sticking a pillow between my legs.  That helped so much as I was at least able to lean a little bit to the side.   I guess with posterior approach surgeries, this was a no-no.  I also used the urine container so I was able to stay in my recliner all night after the one usage.  A little humbling to use, but it paid benefits and I highly recommend anything that lets you sleep more.  Sat morning, I felt pretty ok.  Still 100% dependent on my walker and I still wasn’t walking smoothly  in it. . .  more like scooting 1 foot at a time.  By the afternoon and into the evening, the pain returned a bit.  Not as bad as Friday, but close.  

Day 3(Sun)
Woke up feeling ok.  Had another ok night of sleep in the recliner.  I find I’m moving along in my walker a little better.   I can manage to take a handful of steps that has a semblance of normal walking.   I should note that up until today, I have been taking my pain meds (tylenol, oxy, muscle relaxers)  pretty religiously.  Oxy every 6 hours and then I do acetaminophen every 6 hours (staggered).  They also put me on celebrex and I think that really helped. .   I’m able to go up and down the stairs a tiny bit better and can use my cane for short distances of a handful of feet.  

Day 4 (Mon)
I’m moving ok in my walker, but the operative leg is just really stiff.  I wouldn’t describe it as pain.  Just swollen and stiff and uncomfortable.    Did more PT today and that seemed to get things moving.  I know I’m supposed to be using my walker, but I’ve been hobbling around on my cane because it’s so much easier.   Going up and down stairs still takes some effort, but it’s getting more comfortable each day.  My PT person said I should start doing short 5-10 min walks with the walker, so I’ll start that tomorrow.  The pain/stiffness will creep in if I overdue it. I stopped the Oxy today.

Day 5 (Tue)
Slept in my bed instead of recliner last night.  It wasn’t the most comfortable night of sleep.  On par with the recliner, but it was nice getting back into normalcy.  I’ve been following along with work (slack/email), but don’t really want to do meetings.   I think I’ve been pushing my back-to-work too much and  might take it really easy today.  I’m mostly taking care of myself. Getting food/water/ice and anything else.   But I'm a little stubborn that way.

Day 6 (Wed)
Doing quite well today. Did office visit for PT that went great.   Moving around in the walker fine.   I’m mostly using the cane in the house.  

Day 10
Doing really well. My wife dropped me off at the bar I like to go to and met up with some friends.  That was great and very uplifting.  Had dinner and a couple of drinks and got a ride home.  Generally speaking, I’m taking care of myself.  Still need help with laundry or anything that involves carrying something up and down stairs, but I’m taking care of myself completely, otherwise.  My wife cut that grass, which was a huge help. Probably need another month for that.

Day 11

I work from home and have a great boss that knows I re-started work today. I might need to skip a meeting here and there. I am a manager and spend my days at my desk/computer sitting in meetings. I don't think I'd be ready to go back to an office. I could if I had to, but it would suck. Sitting for more than 45 mins is a little tough and I needed an hour break in the afternoon.

My tips to anyone would be:

1. Definitely work on your arm/shoulder strength before surgery.  It will help so much as you re-position yourself in your chair.  Your operative leg will be 100% deadweight.   Practice in bed before surgery.  Move yourself around as if your leg couldn’t move or was really painful to move.  Practice getting up from a chair with 100% arm strength.
2. For the first few days, plan on staying on one floor as much as possible.   I’d set yourself up on the same floor as your kitchen. It will make it a LOT easier.
3. Take your pain meds until you don't need them. No need to suffer. Especially the first 3-4 days. They are the worst.
4. I was really surprised how much I needed the walker.   Maybe I was over confident thinking I’d recover faster.  But I can’t do anything without it.  The cane isn’t near enough in the first week.

5.  I definitely do better in the morning.   By 5pm, things start getting stiff.

6.  I’ve  been working home for years and am used to doing things via messenger apps/email.  This was a bad week for me to be off and it’s been pretty easy to keep tabs on slack and my other apps.  To be honest, I was pretty bored during the days, but  I wouldn’t want to attend any meetings. I would get very tired, randomly.

7. One dirty little secret is that I used some peptides.  Something called the KLOW blend (BPC-157 and a few others).  I have no idea if it helped or not, but my recovery is going really fast and I have to believe it did something. I did some peptide treatments last summer and thought it helped things then, too. But this stuff is voodoo science. Might all be in my head.

8. Don't overlook the ice. When I went to my PT appt, the PT person didn't even bother measuring the swelling because it was pretty much gone after 6 days. I did my best to keep ice on it. Get a 4" x 8" rectangle and if you wear boxer-briefs, you can stick it under there and it will get the exact spot you need to chill.

Happy to answer any questions for anyone that is getting ready to do this.