Yesterday marked 16 years since I had my hip surgery. I didn’t exactly forget about it this time, but I didn’t remember it in time to be able to post about it on here on the actual day. I was in my workout yesterday morning and was thinking about some upcoming events our coach was sharing with us. I was thinking about what day of the week some of those things would be on, and then I realized that day was the 7th and my hip surgery anniversary.
I know that 16 years isn’t exactly a milestone marker, but I think I’m always still in a bit of shock about how well I have done since having that surgery. I was always prepared to have one of the next ones that I would need pretty soon after the first one. My doctors thought I would need at least one more within the next few years. But somehow, I haven’t had to have any other procedures yet. This doesn’t mean I’m out of pain, but I’m not anywhere close to the amount of pain I was in before I had surgery. It’s been a while so I don’t remember exactly how bad the pain was, but I do remember how many painkillers I was on and how much I struggled to walk. And I do remember how little the pain after surgery felt compared to what I was in before.
The pain that I deal with now is a combination of issues with my hips. On the side that was operated on, I am bone on bone. The next surgery I need on that side will be a total hip replacement because there is nothing else they can do to get me out of pain completely. The pain I feel is when my bones hit and when things get out of place. I can’t really describe what that pain is like, but it’s not a sharp pain. It’s a weird dull pain that just feels wrong. But when things get out of place, I do have some tricks to help make that better. On the side that wasn’t operated on yet, the pain I feel is due to the damage that is still there. To remove the damage would make that side be bone on bone, so my doctors said that maybe the next step would just be a hip replacement instead of the surgery I had on the other side. Nothing was really decided or planned since we had no clue how long it would be until I needed the surgeries. And when it came time for them, then we could come up with a plan.
The only plan that was really discussed with me was that the end result would likely be total hip replacements on both sides and that in an ideal world I would not have a hip replacement done before I turned 40. Replacements don’t last forever so the longer you can wait until you get one, the better it is and the fewer future surgeries you might need. And even though I can’t believe my age at times, I’m only about a year away from that milestone birthday. So there is a good chance that I will make it to 40 before having a replacement.
I remember when I had the first surgery 16 years ago that turning 40 seemed like a lifetime away. While I always hoped I would not need surgery before then, I also worried that things would be so bad that I wouldn’t be able to wait that long either. I’m seriously so grateful that while I have dealt with pain, it has never gotten so bad that I considered that I would need a hip replacement. I thought maybe my other side would need that first surgery, but when I had my last exam and x-rays on my hips, the doctors could see some damage but it was not that much worse than what it was like before. And that does make sense since the pain I’ve been feeling over the years has been pretty stable and hasn’t gotten much worse over the years. I have good days and bad days, but they are still pretty similar to what they have been like for a long time.
Next year’s hip surgery anniversary will be right before I turn 40. And as long as things continue the way they have been going, I should still be fine without having to have another surgery before then. And I don’t plan on getting surgery after I turn 40 unless I really need it. My goal has always been to go as long as I could before the next one because that will help me have the best results long term. But it will be nice to know in a year that I have made it to that big goal my surgeon set for me so many years ago.
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