How painful was your hip replacement?

Understanding, of course, that it is all subjective, how manageable was the pain following your hip replacement? Was it sharp or dull? How long did it take for the pain to subside? My hubby is having one done next week. He is already in rather terrible pain so I keep trying to convince him that the pain after surgery can't be much worse, but I could be wrong...

You can tell your husband that the arthritis pain that he has now will be gone immediately after surgery to be replaced with the pain of the incision which will abate with time and he will find that hospital staff will aggressively treat whatever pain he has after surgery. I've had both hips replaced in separate surgeries. For the first day or 2 post-op, my IV was hooked up to a PCA [patient-controlled-anesthesia] machine which enabled me to push a button if I thought I needed more pain meds. It was set so that I couldn't overdose myself. I used it plenty after my first surgery and could get immediate relief using that method. It felt sort of like getting a hypo. I was instructed to push the button right before I got out of bed, did PT exercises, walked, or was going to be turned in bed. About day 2 they removed the PCA and I began oral pain meds. They worked fine. It was oxycontin and they wouldn't give me even one pill to take home. The med that they gave me to take home was Tylenol3 which I discovered made me nauseous with no appetite so I stopped it and switched to OTC tylenol which turned out to be all I needed.
After my second hip replacement, I barely used the PCA and refused the Tylenol3. Took oxycontin in the hospital and only OTC tylenol after I got home. Got along fine, no nausea, good appetite.
To be honest, the very worst pain I had was when I was being turned in bed in the hospital (from my back to my good side). That pain was sharp but fleeting and I was comfortable once I got to my side. I also would get twinges when I moved "wrong" but that's about it. It all goes away and your husband will no doubt be pleasantly surprised what a miracle this surgery is in terms of how it relieves pain and restores function in people who would otherwise have to eventually live on pain meds in a wheelchair. Good luck to him.

Thanks. Tomorrow's the big day. I'm sure he'll find comfort in your response. Report It

http://www.webmd.com
http://www.hips.com
http://www.anatomy.com

My mother had one. She is very much over weight - that was ten years ago, and we still hear about it. A friend of mine had one, she is average weight and moves around a lot and does the excerises she was told to do after the operation. She said the pain before was much worst and that she was glad she had it done, now you would never know, and that was four years ago. Good luck to your husband and to you.

im sorry i've never had a hip replacement either.