Good morning and welcome to Mayo Connect. I see that you have already connected with one of our most determined and encouraging members @hipgranny1956.

Most of us who come around looking for help after hip replacement are not the (to me) mythical patient described by my surgeon - one who is "back to normal" in 6 weeks. By the way, I winter in South Texas among over 100,000other seniors and retirees - I have yet to meet anyone who was at full strength & power at 6 or even 8 weeks - all of us had issues with pain, or fatigue, or like my friend Bob "not being ready to swing a golf club yet...but I can practice putting, walk and I hurt less..."

Like you I am a veteran of way too many ortho surgeries, and trying to avoid even more. So PT and daily exercise are my life now, just to keep on going.

I have a suggestion about what you describe as feeling"...consistently frightened and anxious about ever healing properly." Please take a look at this powerful little book, "The Way Out" by Allen Gordon and Alon Ziv.

I had to take myself off to a pain rehab clinic because I was truly in that place of fear, and found it made the pain ever worse. Following the model, I have worked with my doc, PT & a counselor to learn which pain is meaningful - like when my granddog strained my arm last week. And which pain is exacerbated by my brain. Then I know when to adjust my activity and when to adjust my attitude. I will never be pain-free - too many ailments and too many miles on my body. But I now know which pains mean danger, and which I can work my way through or ignore. For the first time in 20+ years, I am not suffering daily, severe neck and upper back pain - and when it comes at me, I have coping strategies.

Hang in there, with your background and determination, you can get your life back!
Sue