Question

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Sharon, Thanks so much for the info. It was very helpful. When you wrote about the restrictions, such as bending...are those precautions for life??? I know that I will be taught new ways to move and bend. Will I be able to kneel at the side of the tub to bathe my girls?? How long did you wait after sugery to conceive?? What type of hip do you have??? I am getting ceramic. I will have family hepling me every day for at least the first three weeks...Do you think tahat's enough?? What do you do for exercise? Thank you sooo much for your time. I am very grateful! Deb
Followup To

Question -
for me??? Thank you so  much.

Answer -
Dear Deb

The one thing you will have to be careful about, if you are sitting on a couch or chair, and you drop something, you cannot bend your upper body over your lap to pick it up.  (You can't put your breasts on your lap, that would put you over 90 degrees and lead to a dislocation).  You do NOT want to dislocate.  If you do not dislocate in the first 3 months, chances are you will never dislocate as long as you watch your hip precautions.

Don't do anything fast, move very slowly and THINK before you bend.  If your child cries, it's OK, just be sure you move the way your PT tells you to move.
.  You have to be careful not to go overboard and gain too much weight.  Keep your weight loss as low as you can and still get enough nutrition for your baby.  If you get pregnant close to the time you have your replacement (which is not a good idea), you should wait until you are fully healed, you may have to have a
C-section.  The way your baby is delivered would depend on what your muscle tone is in your hips.  If you have good muscle tone, there is no reason why you would not be able to have a normal birth.  If you don't have good muscle tone, the OB might suggest a C-section.  

Answer
Dear Deb, yes the restrictions are for life.  It's not as bad as it seems though, because the positions you cannot put yourself into are so ingrained into you during physical therapy that you really remember them and you just live with them.   You will be taught new ways to move so it should not present a problem.  

You will be able to bend to bathe your girls, although you, yourself may not be able to take baths.  I do not take baths, I shower.  

Your doctor should tell you how long you have to wait to conceive.  I got pregnant by accident and it was only a few months after surgery.  They were concerned because I had taken so many X rays, but the baby was fine.  I needed to have a C-Section because the muscle tone in my hips was not strong enough to support a normal birth.  But this was my second pair of hips, my first set lasted 15 years.  

The ceramic ones you are getting last longer and are better made than the ones I have so your precautions might be different in some ways, but I can tell you for sure, the 90 degree angle and rotating your knees inward are two precautions you will have for life, but they are easy to avoid.  I had cement put in first (in 1976), my second ones were cement as well, but the third and fourth sets are ceramic and are much better. (I am 47 now and had my first set put in at 16 years old), so that is why I needed so many revisions.

Three weeks should be fine, to start. You will probably go home on a walker after three days or so, and you will be on blood thinners to avoid clots.  You will also have PT at home for few weeks.  Healing takes about six weeks and then in about 3 months you should be off any cane you are on.  You should start on a walker then graduate to crutches and then to a cane.

It's really not that bad as long as you have the help.  You might want to cook some meals ahead of time and freeze them for later use.  I also had a companion come in for a few weeks after my mother left.  My mom stayed for one week, my mother in law stayed for the second week and the companion stayed for two weeks after that.   They did the laundry and cooked for my husband and sons.  I was able to go back to work after five weeks.

As far as exercise, your PT can tell you what you can and can't do.  Mostly you can't do anything that is pounding.  Aerobics is out.  I don't do much exercise now, but I can swim, bicycle, and I know someone who plays tennis.  I would not recommend that because of the running and twisting.  But he was allowed to play.  Just take it slow and ask your PT or doctor before you do anything you are not sure of.

Hope this helps.

Sharon