What You Waiting For

It's been a few days, and I feel like the initial shell shock of the hip replacement suggestion has subsided some.  The relief I felt not having to decide about labral repair surgery has been swept away, but only to be replaced with the weight of deciding when I should do the hip replacement.  

 

So I had a little come to Jesus with Lauren, my physical therapist.  I'm proud of myself for only getting a tiny bit teary eyed with her, as opposed to the involuntary flow of tears the orthopedist got to witness.  Lauren's suggestion:

In her opinion, waiting until 55 is ideal. 

It's already been a year of pain, loss of function, and feeling like a watered down version of myself.  10 more years of feeling this way is a hard no for me.  Which is what brought on the teary eyes.  But she explained that kicking the can down the road until you get into your 50s decreases the likelihood of a needing a revision 20-25 years from now.  Advances in the materials used as well as the actual surgical technique are making recovery quicker, the limitations of the replacement fewer, and the lifespan of the replacement longer.  Waiting has its distinct advantages.  But back to one of my biggest concerns with my current diluted lifestyle...

Unless you're Ryan Psimas, maintaining your weight becomes more challenging as you age.  Being limited by pain has compounded this problem for me, and I worry about the negative side effects to my overall health.  My level of fitness has been in a downward spiral over the past year...I'm walking at a snail's pace, and I've lost range of motion, flexibility, balance, and agility.  I hate feeling incapable, and I haven't worked this hard on my fitness my whole life to only be strong and capable until age 45.  

So how would waiting until at least 50 benefit me if I spend another 5 years losing fitness (and probably gaining weight)?  Lauren's suggestion:

PT for a solid year.  Cortisone injections as needed.

Not an answer I particularly liked, but decided to hear Lauren out and listen to her why.  Right now, my activity level is mostly limited by pain.  In the past year, my level of pain was at it's lowest between January and April, after I had a cortisone injection and I was diligently doing my PT homework.  It was because I was feeling better that I slacked on the homework, causing the pain to come back with a vengeance.  If I hit it with the cortisone injections a couple times a year to ease the pain, I can hammer those muscles with PT to build strength.  Since hip replacement is imminent anyway, we're not worried about the cortisone further eating away at the joint cartilage.  And as for the weekly PT visits at an unsustainable $70 a pop, she's confident I can spread those visits out to once a month or less if I'm consistently doing my homework.  If after a year I'm in less pain and have more function, I can try to go another year.  Repeat until I'm in my 50s.  But if I'm still no better than I am now, we revisit the idea of surgery.

While I hate putting off something as life-disrupting as major surgery when it's imminent, I think Lauren's plan is one I can live with, mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially.  Guess I should schedule that cortisone injection.