I am 68yrs old & due to meet with my surgeon to discuss a right hip replacement on the 16th June & to say I am extremely anxious about this operation is an understatement & to make matters worse I have been in permanent atrial fibrillation for the last 2 months & my cardiologist has changed my beta blockers to sotalol 80mg x 2 which is okay by me & wants to start me on apixaban 5mg x2 which freaks me out when I read the side effects !
I also have hypothyroidism & hypoparathyroidism so take 100mg thyroxine x1 & 1mcg alfacalcidol x1
Any advice on what questions that I should be asking this surgeon prior to surgery would be greatly appreciated as I am permanently stressed when I envisage what the operation involves - Many Thanks x
Written by
lmoore
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All I can tell you is that a friend, the same age as you, had a hip replacement last year and I was absolutely stunned at how soon she was up and walking around and up stairs, honestly it was just days. She's having her second one done in a few weeks and I'm sure she wouldn't want that if it had been an awful experience. Can't help you more than that, but wish you well.
I tripped backwards onto a step in our garden 4 years ago and had a hip replace the next day...nhs. Iwas on Apixaban...age 78.I also have perm Afib. NO problems whatsoever. I was walking 'baby'steps the next day with physio. and a few meters the day after that.Allwent well.What I would say is DO do the exercises advised by physio. and if you do get advice on these......perhaps due to lockdown...find a phsio privately to SHOW you progressively what you need to do as the first weeks come and go. You must bui.ld muscle on the new hip for the hip to strengthen well.Oh yes. and the wound was quite small and now cannot be seen!
Oh yes.Ask for the Exeter hip.It is said to be the very best and is used by the nhs.It will last 20 years. I did not know that then and mine was an emergency but a friend reseached the best hip only this year and found this out .Got hers on the nhs at Uni. College Hospital London. Also you can have a epidural and not General anast. if you ask.
I had a right hip replacement in mid Dec. I was 68 too and also hypothyroid. I was pleasantly surprised at how much better it all went than I had expected. Getting in and out of bed was a little uncomfortable at first even with the hoist but I refused to take the amount of Paracetamol they wanted to dish out as it does not agree with me. I was up and walking with a walking frame the next morning and quickly graduated to crutches. Because I have such short forearms these did not suit me very well and when I got home swapped to 2 normal sticks. I walked several times a day in the corridor and the nurses said how well I was getting on. The day before coming out I tackled the stairs . The physios show you what exercises to do. I have made a good recovery but this has been slowed down because my left hip arthritis has deteriorated so much ( it was often more painful than the right before the op but the right felt weaker) that I can no longer walk properly again. I also have pain in my right knee that has been much worse since the op - I don't know if this is because it was damaged during the op or if I have arthritis there too. The best thing was being able to put weight on the right hip and feel that it was strong and stable. I am having the left hip done in Sept and don't feel any of the anxiety I felt before the first op. I did not go into afib after the op as I did after a bowel op 3 years ago. I was able to walk with one stick only outside when I saw my surgeon 4 weeks later and without in the house. I was back to cooking within a week of coming out of the clinic and washing up 2/3 days after coming home.I take Apixaban and had to stop this before the op and have bridging Lovenox jabs.
I did not want the hip replacement when my GP told me that the xrays showed I had no cartilage left in my right hip. By the time I got it ( delayed due to covid ) I was in so much pain and disability I knew I had no choice. I am really glad I had it and have no worries for the op in Sept. Go for it!
First good luck with the operation. I am 75 years old and had a replacement knee 18 months ago. with no regrets. I was put on Apixaban 6 months ago to replace clopidogrel. At first I felt a bit heady, but apart from that I have had no side effects. I was told that I have more chance of having a stroke than a heart attack. That is why my tablets were swapped. Don't worry about your operation. your surgeon and all those involved with the op know your health history and they will take that into consideration when they have you in hospital.
I take the same dosage of Sotalol as you, have permanent AFib ,am taking 5mg Apixaban , and also take a statin. I personally wouldn’t consider not taking Apixaban as the risk of a stroke or pulmonary embolism is too big. I get fatigued very easily but my belief is that it is caused not by Apixaban but either by a reaction to Sotalol, or by a combination of AFib and a problem I have with pumping of the left ventricle.
I think I had some nausea when I first started on Apixaban or it may have been the statins. It wore off after a few weeks and I have no other side effects since. Its been 6 years. Hope this helps
Hi. I can understand your anxiety. I have been taking Apixaban now for over 12 years. I was, in fact, part of the International double blind trials that were undertaken to compare Apixaban with Aspirin and Warfarin. I was in the Aspirin trial. At the time Aspirin and Warfarin were the only blood thinners used for those that had AF. The trial was so successful that it was stopped after 18 months rather than 36 because the results against Aspirin were outstanding. As a thank you for those taking part in the trials we were given Apixaban before it was passed by NICE who approve all drugs.I have been taking 2 X 5mg a day for years now with absolutely no side effects what so ever. I am now 66 years old so have been taking this drug since my early to mid 50's. I would not pay too much attention to those fear mongers who go on about side effects. Listen, at the end of the day each one of us is different and could react differently to drugs.
I would try it and see. Don't be too hung up about about side effects if I were you. If your doctors are recommending it then go with it. Just monitor the situation and take it from there.
Apixaban was originally developed to prevent blood clots following on from major surgery like hip and knee replacements. It has been around for over 20 years now; so bright spark just thought that it might also work for people with AF!
I had surgery 2 weeks ago. I have been taking Apaxiban for 3 years with no problems. Your surgeon will ask about health problems and medication, the staff were really great, taking extra precautions because of af. I stopped taking Apaxiban 2 days before as advised, my heart behaved during and after my op. No excess bleeding and I am feeling fine. I had all the same concerns as you, my first GA ever too. Please don't worry, they deal with af patients every day. New hip will change your life. Take care
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