Hip replacement diary

This is it, I’m 55 and need a new hip. It’s (hopefully) the result of a breakage as a teenager. Everything was fine until a few years ago and I started getting occassional painful twinges. Then I could never walk smoothly and I kept having pain. Now it’s at the stage where it hurts most of the time, increasingly interfering with daily life, sharply painful and OH so very irritating – especially when it interrupts my sleep. I’m still working of course, (having a crazy addiction to paying bills and eating) but it’s getting harder to get to the job and harder to do it.

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This isn’t something I’d choose. Sounds very unpleasant, having my bones rearranged with saws and so on. Two days ago I went for the pre-op checks. For some reason (probably EU laws or legal) they felt the need to describe the operation in vivid detail. Trust me, this hasn’t helped or increased my peace of mind. I doubt a steak would be so enjoyable if the whole preceding process leading up to the steak was explained to me either.

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Ugh … still, I do feel blessed to be able to have the op – life is getting a bit limited and unpleasant these days, I’m starting to understand why our ancestors had shorter lifespans. No books, no computers, no TV or phones and not being able to get about!  Hip replacements seems pretty common today, so hip problems are not unusual. Is it more usual in cold damp countries?

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I’ll be having the op in the second week of June, probably by epidural, and will keep this diary as often as I can throughout and after. They say that the first twelve months after the op the new hip keeps getting better, but you have to sleep only on your back for the first six weeks!

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I’m now sleeping on my side as much as possible so I won’t miss it so much.