Hip, hip hooray

[riv44]

I posted this in a smaller conversation. I post it here, because I have learned a couple of things. First of all, everything is and isn't TMS. One thing I learned is Don't Be an Idiot. I was so invested in the idea that I could conquer pain the Sarno way, as I had done with my back, that I assumed that I would work my way out of a supposed "symptom imperative." I got to the point of barely being able to walk 5 minutes, after having been able to hike around Tufts campus, which is hilly. I blamed it on early and long COVID.
To make a short story long,
I had hip replacement surgery a month ago. I should have done it several years ago, but thought my decreased mobility and pain was something I could work out psychologically. My hip joint radiated shooting pain and I could no longer walk more than 5 minutes. Here's the paradox. Once the X-ray revealed that my right hip looked like crushed tinfoil, I realized that whatever may have contributed to the arthritis, it was too far gone to ignore. So I went to the orthopedist.
I have had PT and OT since the surgery. The nurses make you get up and move immediately after you come out of anesthesia. This to me is very Sarno-esque. They don't say be very careful, don't move and never go anywhere without a walker.
In the recovery phase, PT and OT have repeatedly said Sarno-like things to me like "YOU HAVE NO LIMITATIONS," "NOTHING THAT YOU DO WILL SET YOU BACK," and "THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR BODY." This is as they help me adjust to a plastic ball and socket inserted where my poor hip-joint used to be.
So- I expect to be throwing away the cane, getting used to walked slightly longer distances, driving in a couple of weeks and returning to my dance class in a month or two. Nothing can stop me now- except my psychological inclination toward gloom. 2024 will be a stressful year. Take care and don't wash the news too much. The medical commercials alone will kill you.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Great news, @riv44!

My very fit half sister, who is 85, finally had her hip done last month, also after waiting too long due to similar thinking, and she couldn't be happier with the result. In addition to driving after a couple of weeks (?) she was back at her houseboat in an astonishingly short amount of time - which involves a steep flight of metal stairs down an embankment - about two stories worth - even though she could easily have stayed longer with her son and granddaughter and no stairs.

My mother had both hips done by the time she reached her nineties, with rapid and positive recoveries on both.

Hip replacement surgery is highly successful and satisfactory, quite unlike neck and spine surgeries. One difference, I think, is that hip replacement is more often performed much later in life, on hips that have generally provided many decades of good service. But there's always going to be a difference in recovery experiences, which the medical community fortunately recognizes is hugely dependent upon the individual's belief in their recovery potential.

You go, girl! And I join you in limiting my news consumption to the minimum "need to know", which email alerts are great at providing. Read the subject line, and delete 90%.

 

[Cactusflower]

I do believe my Mom has tms, but also has structural issues that required a double hip replacement in her mid-50’s. She still has those “new” hips at 95 (coming up on 40 years!) and went from being wheel chair bound to riding a bicycle again (she hadn’t since she was in her teens!). Mom was one of the first titanium recipients and the first person to have the type of replacements they do today.
Congrats! We used to call my Mom the bionic woman!

 

[riv44]

I am in my 60s,--OK late sixties-- and have known people to get these replacements in their 50s. Or earlier. Listen to your body. Doctors aren't inherently evil. Listen to your brain as well, bur I suggest not using this knowledge of TMS as a way to gaslight your perception of your physical pain. sometimes ya gotta do something.

I think if Sarno knew of PTs today, he might have incorporated their work again. If the message is there is NOTHING wrong with you, that would be very congruent. Yet, perhaps I have been exceptionally lucky in my medical care.