Question
QUESTION: Is it unusual to have ankle swelling also six months post op
when activities are high..or after a long day?

ANSWER: HI Susan

It is perfectly normal for anyone, including hip patients to have some swelling after a long day.  If the swelling persists though, you might want to mention it to your doctor.

Sharon

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Having been through so much yourself, I cannot imagine what so many surgeries did for your pain level..Hips are hard to get used to..bilateral especially, any tips for getting back faster, I have several friends having this procedure done..It is a massive surgery...and I cannot shed the five pounds I gained. HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer
Hi Susan

It's an awful surgery and I give credit to anyone who goes through it without skipping a beat.  When I was 14 and had my first set put in, I flew through it because of my youth, but with each passing revision, it got harder.  It was hardest when I had my sons and needed help caring for them.  The loss of independence, even though for a short time, is a horrible feeling.  

Battling to lose five pounds is not a big deal.  Over the years I had gained a lot of weight and five years ago, I lost 92 pounds. I completely changed my lifestyle to keep it off. I weigh in now at a light 110 pounds which is actually the smallest I've ever been in my life.  I've kept that weight for over 6 years.  

That weight loss, was actually harder for me than the hip surgery, but in the past few years, due to my weight loss, I've never felt better.  Extra weight adds to your pain and can shorten the life of your hips.  So please keep that in mind.

As for the pain, I'm actually not much pain at all.  A Tylenol (arthritis level pain reliever) keeps me on the move when I have pain.  Once and awhile, now that my latest revisions are both about 10 years old, I get some harder pain, but it normally goes away in a day or so.  I'm trying like heck to keep away from a fifth revision.  I don't know of anyone who has had five revisions, so I think I'd be in the minority in that sense.  But, as I said, I don't see that coming in the near future and I'll do whatever I can to avoid that.

I wish you the best of luck and don't give up on those five pounds!!!!1

Sharon