Recovery Update: Day 4
This is Day 4 of my hip replacement surgery recovery and also Day 4 of our 2026 StayAhead Challenge.
It’s interesting to note that, while it’s great to have three days behind me, I was told that inflammation, swelling, bruising, and pain likely would get worse, not better, in the first three days. That certainly has turned out to be true for everything except the pain. Amazingly, I’ve experienced very little pain.
Yes, I’ve been on Hydrocodone+Acetaminophen ever since getting home last Thursday afternoon. I took two pills every four hours for the first 24 hours, then tapered off to one pill every four hours. This morning, I’m going to drop the Hydrocodone entirely and go with just Acetaminophen to see how that goes. I will see if can get away without the narcotic in a few hours!
But I don’t want to bore you with the details of my recovery. The bigger picture topic I want to discuss today is the decision process that goes into having surgery.
The Decision to Have Surgery
First and foremost, every situation is completely unique. Think back to your last surgery, assuming you’ve had one. What were the factors involved that caused you to go through with it? Did you have a positive or negative outcome?
There are so many variables involved. Prior to surgery, we may wonder: Is this going to help or not? Will I be safe? What will life be like on the other side?
Anesthesia is such a weird thing, too. It erases a few minutes or hours from our lives while our bodies are being transformed or repaired. And it’s crazy what they do to us! In the case of a joint replacement, they literally saw bones in half, hammering and chopping in a manner you’d think would be reserved for a pile of wood, and then put you back together with string and tape.
Plus, they have us on all kinds of medications to protect us from infection and help with recovery—not to mention meds to help with the side effects of other meds. I came home with eight prescriptions and added two more because of upper G.I. tract distress (6 hours of non-stop hiccuping, ugh!) I experienced the day after surgery.
Is Surgery Always a "Last Resort"?
Generally, we think of surgery as a last resort. We want to give the problem time to see if it heals on its own, or do physical therapy to see if a procedure can be avoided entirely. This approach makes 100% sense. That said, in many cases, surgery may be the only valid option, or it may be the quickest, most effective way to resolve the problem. In other cases, surgery involves life/death situations that clearly are very difficult. It’s not just a joint that hurts. It’s a matter of survival. That’s a heavy weight to bear.
In my case, I had my left hip replaced four years ago. I did physical therapy first, which didn’t help. Then I did several consultations with surgeons. The only answer seemed to be replacement, which felt wild to me at the time. But after many conversations and a deteriorating hip joint, I realized surgery was the right move. It went well, and I was glad I did it.
At the time, my surgeon also X-rayed my right hip and predicted it would need to be replaced in three to five years. Now, four years later, he was right. This second time around was a very different experience. I had cam deformities in both of my hips, meaning the ball was misshapen which tends to make the joint wear out quicker. Because I knew what was coming second time around, and had already met my insurance deductible for 2026, the logistical decision was easy: go ahead and do it now.
Timing and the Psychology of Prevention
However, as straightforward as that decision seemed on paper, I found it difficult psychologically to go through with it. Logically, it made perfect sense. But a hip replacement is a major surgery, and I hadn’t gotten to the point of struggling with severe pain yet.
What I did notice, though, was weakness in the muscles around the joint and tightness in my back. Clearly, my body was compensating. In some cases, the longer we wait to do surgery, the more grueling the recovery process is later.
So, while it felt weird to undergo a major surgery prior to it being absolutely, urgently necessary, I feel okay about it. We often say surgeries are supposed to be a last resort—but maybe that's not true in every case.
What is true for you? Part of what I’m writing about in my upcoming book is a philosophy of how we view our lives in the second half. No one lives forever, nor would we wish to. You are on a beautiful journey that may include surgeries and difficult decisions. This journey is uniquely yours, and yours only. It doesn’t belong to the family you grew up in, or your current family, a partner, or societal trends. We will spend time contemplating your journey. It’s important because it’s the only one you have.
Coach Drew