I had a ceramic total hip replacement 6weeks ago and I'm in agony. I'm 40 yeats old and had avascular necrosis of the rigjt hip.I had a titanium disc replacement 6 years ago in my lower back so I was aware going into surgery it would not be easy. However, when the epidural wore off after the hip repkacement I was in agony, in fact I was in tears and did not sleep a wink until after 5 days when sheer exhaustion set in I have pain in my groin when I move my leg it feeks like it's grating on something.I also have pain down to my knee including my knee. My lower back again is in agony also my right buttock feels like it's being pinched all the time all the way down the back of my leg which I guess is sciatica. I saw the surgeon who preformed the hip replacement today, he says all my pain is coming from my back. What I can't umderstand is why am I in more pain after the op then before. My surgeon was very unhelpful saying I need refered on for my back by my G.P. Has anyone else had excrutiating pain after a total hip replacement. I can't believe the surgeon dismissed my pain and said the hip is fine when the horrendous pain im in only started after the operation. Like I say I'm looking for people with similar situation or knowledge and advice.
Hi Chris b am sorry to hear you are in psi and can relate as have had both hips done two weeks ago but have not had any pain to that extent I have a slight ach in my left groin and the muscles in my thigh and calf are very tender but am fine apart from that and I had epidural and cermaric like you I know it's still early days but have started walking outside and it demons ok pain wise am not taking tramadol only napraxon am glad I didn't read your comment before op as am scared easily but I can honestly say I am happy so far
Hi thankyou very much for your reply, i'm glad to hear you'r doing so well. Point taken about possibly scaring people before a total hip replacement.I would like to make it clear to people considering s hip replacement everyone I have spoken to has had little or no pain after their operation so I would definately reccomend it. However, I feel that something has gone drasticaly wrong for me so maybe it is my back, all I know is I'm in a hundred percent post op to pre op.Maybe my back isn't strong enough to take my new hip .I'm also under the impression that they damaged a nerve which adds to the pain. Do you or anyone else have an opinion ad to what went wrong.
Like yourself, had double hip replacement 2wks ago. Main issue is sleeping at night on your back, for me very difficult. Cannot say have had significant pain issues, yes sore muscles, tender to touch, swollen thighs, calfskin, ankles. Yes some nerve involvement as right thigh seems numb but getting better. Taking pain meds day/night. I do have moderate pain/discomfort down to my knees & buttocks but not unbearable. Walking with crutches etc.
What I would say to you is that I don't think you should be in more discomfort post op than you were pre op.
Clearly something does not add up, so persist & shout loud so that your taken seriously & get this addressed sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately with the NHS these days those who shout loudest get noticed & dealt with quickest. Go to the
general manager of the hospital, or service manager, tell them you need this sorted.
Don't give up, keep pestering them.
Sorry this has turned out this way for you.
Thankyou for your sound advice.Deep down I know something has gone drasticaly wrong,but its nice to have it confirmed by someone else. That's also why I went too see my GP who agreed that something was wrong so he reffered me back to the surgeon.
The surgeon today had my hip xrayed.He then said my implant was inch perfect so my hip cant possibly be hurting and I quote 'because I dont make mistakes. He went on to day it must be your back you need that sorted. I had a milion questions for him but he said look ive told you its your back and ealked out.
So although I find your advice sound I feel if I push it further it will just serve to antagonise him.
Good news is ive spoken to my GP who has refered me on to a back specialist at a different hospital. I find it hard to see how the hip replacement hasn't played a part tho. Again how can I be in more pain post op compared to pre op and I mean excrutiating pain not just in my back but also my hip and groin.
Does anyone know how my back could be affecting my groin rspecialy following a hip teplacement when the problem wasnt there before and pain came on immediately after op.
I understand a lot of my pain is sciatica nerve pain .again does anyone know if a hip replacement can cause nerve damage. And where do I go from here.Thankyou again for all replies.
Dear Chris, I am so sorry to hear of your experience. How depressing for you. First off, I hope that have been given appropriate pain relief by your GP so that the pain is managed before it is sorted out. The response of your surgeon is unacceptable but this field of work does attract a certain of person who can be extremely arrogant and think that they are always right. Clearly he is one of them. One possibility is to contact PALS (patient liaison) at the hospital (will be on website) and register your unhappiness. Yes, you don't want to antogonise him, but would you want him to operate on you again? No. I had both my hips replaced 4 years ago and was told that one of the risks was nerve damage to the sciatic nerve. I am suspicious of the grinding feeling and the groin pain you mention (indicating a hip issue to me) - will the back specialist have access to the hip x-rays? Can you request access to them? Also, do you know of a website called Dr Foster where doctors are rated - have a look to see what is said about your surgeon. Finally, I would suggest always taking another person with you to these appointments and taking a notebook with questions and for you to write down the replies. I remember having a follow up appointment after surgery where a young doctor (not my surgeon) ignored a specific question I asked. I'm a stubborn wotsit and asked him three times before he responded to the perfectly reasonable question.
I sincerely hope that this can be resolved without surgery. If not, I can recommend the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham where I had my surgery (Dr Andrew Pearson - excellent, but they are all good). You can choose where you are treated. They also use a private hospital for NHS work - had my second hip done there. Hope it doesn't come to this for you but you need to have it resolved so you can resume your life - you are very young. I had bad back pain until my hip surgery, it disappeared after that.
To anyone else who is awaiting surgery and is worried reading this , for me, it was the best thing I ever did. I can walk, run and am pain-free. Chris has been very unlucky. Please keep us posted on your progress Chris.
Hi Possum
Thankyou very very much for your sound advice it has been a great help. I didn't realise a possble complication of hip replication og hip replacement is a damaged sciatica nerve and thanks to you the more I think anout it the more it makes sense. I'm not foolish enough to diagnose myself but the more research i've done on the subject the more I think unfortunately I think this is exactly ehst has happened to me.
Again on the subject of the back surgeon I have been refered to not being able to see my hip surgery notes is a very real one so agsin I am taking this on board.
As for Pals, I had considerrd getting Pals on board. The issur I have is I involved them pre surgery becsuse it took one week short of one year and numerous complaints to have the operation.
That aside everyone here is giving me tremendous support and I thank everyone.
Again I would like to echo,yes, I think I have been exttemely unlucky so please dont be put off if you arr awaiting this surgery.
Bearing in mind my groin really hurts can this be consistent with sviatica nerve damage? And does anyone know if the back surgeon can help my sciatica nerve damage if it is hip related?
I have my appt with back surgeon through for the end of feb.
Im on very strong nerve blockers which although dont seem to be working alongside diclofensc im sute they are working really.
I know this is a long post again but does anyone think I should consult with my gp with the thoughts I think I have sciatica nerve damage and maybe discuss the fact hip surgeon really is not helpful.
Thanks again everyone this site and everyone leaving posts is helping me more than you could imagine. Chris
Hi Chris B.
I had hip replacement 19.11.13. After a car accident in 1992 I had plates and screws in my hip socket. Post traumatic arthritis caused by the accident is why I needed a replacement. After I was taken to the ward I felt my leg and it was numb in the inner thigh and knee down to ankle. I told my surgeon he said it could be because of the pressure from the way my hip was held during the op. He did not seem overly concerned. However since the op like you I have had excruitating pain. I had to ring the hospital when I was home as I was in tears, to ask if I could take double my dose of Tramadol. This seems to be helping but I still have pain. My symptons are typical of nerve damage to the Femoral nerve. I have tingling, electric shock type of pain, and aching all down my leg. I still have pain in my groin though I have always had pain there since the accident. I also had severe spasms whch were excrutiating whenever my leg was down i have not had one for a week hopefully that was a side effect that has passed. I am unable to lift my leg up to get into bed or into a car etc. so I use my dressing gown belt to lift it as there is no message getting through to the muscle. My leg gives way if I am not careful. I can stand in one place but it is painful to stand without the crutches but they are next to me in case my leg gives way. This is holding me back in the recovery and apparently only about 1% hip ops can result in nerve damage more common is sciatic nerve damage. Prognosis is; recovery from nerve damage can take a few years or not at all. I have read in depth on the net about this and we need to be referred to a nerve specialist for tests. I am not seeing my surgeon again until 8th January. I was confident in his skills before the op as he said he had done over 1000 replacements. He told me after the op that he ad only done 3 like me with metal and screws in place. He did not need to touch these during the op. With a case like mine I should have had more care than the usual hip op as scar tissue would make seeing the nerves more difficult as they have to move them out of the way. I am not blaming the surgeon as they are there to help but I am in more pain than before and more disabled. I have always had to use crutches outside and have never been able to walk far as pain in my joint. Prior to the op I read and heard that all pain would be gone from the groin so I was optimistic. Apart from early healing discomfort. When I signed the consent form none of the possible things going wrong were explained in any depth, I did not think I would be the 1%! I have seen physio 3 times she does not say much but she is giving me exercises to try and wake up the muscle. I do not over do it as the pain gets too much after. As for walking half a mile without crutches like some i have read after 6 weeks - I wish I only walk a few yards to the car if I need to see physio this is not pain free. I sat in the chair waiting in reception too much pain I had to get up and walk round the room I always sit with my leg raised. Some of these issues are from my original damage but not the nerve issue. Please let me know how you progress and I will do likewise.
I am absoloutly gutted for you I know exactly how you feel. Im glad( maybe glad is the wrong word) that I am not alone and someone truly understands what I am going through. I never thought about the femoral nerve being damaged but it makes absoloute sense, and I was told before the op I did have a trapped femoral nerve. Like you though I was not told about nerve damage being a complication,yet since the op like you I have been in agony. I am now in my 7th week and I cant even think about walking unaided yet.
I am really, really pleased you mentioned a nerve specialist as I didn't even know they existed.
Thankyou for your post you have been the most helpful so far. I really hope you get better and please keep in touch with your progress.
My next stage is physio on the 2nd Jan and my gp on the 4th.
Thanks again I wil mention a nerve specialist to both and hopefully I can be refered.
Hi Chris thanks for your reply. It does make sense to share info with somoone in a similar position. I am 55 and was as fit as I could be before the op. I have been looking for weeks for someone with similar problems. I did find a few sites where some were suffering with being unable to lift their lower leg but no mention of the pain with it. Have you any foot drop that or pain in your foot as that is a sympton of sciatic nerve dsmage. Im not a dr but your situation must have been aggravated with the hip replacement procedure. If you google sciatic nerve dage aftrr hip replacement or femoral nerve damage ypu might see if all your symptoms are similar. If I knew the pain would be as bad as this no way would I have put myself through it. After all I only read sbout how wonderful a hip replacement was! I am now 5th week and although I can stand without crutches I am too scared to try one crutch around the house. My leg bucklrd yesterday as I got up too scary. I ha ve had no progress physically since 2nd week. Feel useless even msking my own tea is an ordeal! Hope all goes well for you when you see physio and doctor and we both get answers why we are worse position than prior to the op.
My op was done in private hospital funded by nhs. So dont know how much physio or support I will get before they think I am too expensive because of the extra help I will need and refer me back to Nhs. My surgeon slso works in the NHS hospital.
I was active the same as you. I spent 12 years in the parachute regiment and up until my accident I ran marathons nearly every month. I then had a motorbike accident,however, my hip had dispkaced trapping my femoral nerve causing avascular necrosis. I was misdiagnosed with a pulled muscle ubtil I couldn't walj and I begged for an mri scan.
My problems with the nhs didnt end there but I wont bore you with details.
However, my aftercare has been atrocious my surgeon has not helped in tge slightest.i can't blame him really he works in a very very busy hospital.
I have been prescribed nerve blockers which really help with the nerve pain but affect my concentration and diclofenec.
Tge hospital itself though has given me no aftercare at alk ive just been left to get on with it.it has been my gp who arranged my physio for jan 2nd.
So basically I am just trying to deal with the pain which gas settled down a little dont know if its the medication or I am getting better.my lower back tho has been torterous I have an appt at the ebd of feb.
I am very disapointed with my aftercare tho my gp ibvuously knows I have nerve damage but my surgeon says all my pain is coming frim my back and nothing to do with the hip,as has been discussed though I have had a hundred fold increase in pain since the hip replacement and I had no nerve damage before. The only symptom of nerve damage I dont have is the dropped foot.
As my leg muscles are getting stronger I can get round the house better but pain is constant.
I hope you are having improvements.
Ps sorry for the grammer and spelling mistakes in all my posts. My medication makes my co-ordination difficult.
The years prior to my accident when I was 34 were active I worked full time and studying before work weekends to qualify as an accountant while bringing up my children who were then 10 and 13. It turnedy life upside down. I had all sorts of problems and constant pain. I eventually started to cppe with my physical limits and carried on living life although chronic pain affected my ability to return to work. I was told there was nothing could be done for the pain. I accepted that and took painkillers for years. Earlier this year at a review of my tablets my dr reffered me to pain specialist and orthopaedic surgeon . Had cortisone in back of pelvis this worked as I stopped having the pain which stopped me sleeping on my back for long and sitting on chairs without pain. Orthopaedic gave me cortisone in my groin where majority of pain was. This did not work so hip replacement was next option. I was reluctant as I had terrible memories of my year long recovery aftrr my hip socket wasrrepaired. Aftet a few weeks I decided to go ahead you put sll your faith I n their skills to help you. I feel for you with your problems and sure surgeons don't want to acknowledge that they can make mistakes. If you did not have those issues prior despite a history of avn through your accident it is obvious the problem you have now is because of something surgeon has done. It may be that he had to move the femoral nerve to access the hip. If it was just related to your back why has my femoral nerve been affected under the same op. Sorry to hear about the issues with nhs. Lets be optimistic that we will recover and the pain reduces. I am determined to get back on my feet. I want to be able to do things with my grandchildren that I was able to do before although it was limited. I am wondering what my surgeon has to say when I visit him with this pain and numbness ad it is holding back my recovery compared to successful hr. You are in the same position. I hope you get referred to nerve specialist as they can test to find which nerve is affected and prospect of recovery. Regards Debbie My typing not too good as im on phone. Should use my laptop.
Hi Chris,
I'm 29yrs I have Avascular Necrosis in both shoulders & hips. I had a shoulder replacement last year which has been fantastic, but my THR not so great.
I had my THR Jan12, I felt good for the first month, I was very mobile. Then my groin pain started to come back, I couldn't walk for very long with out being in agony.
Everytime I told doctors or consultant, they just told me, it's early days & the pain is normal and should go. By Aug12 I was in really bad pain with sharp shooting/stabbing pain in my thigh, knee and bad groin pain. I couldn't move. I finally got the consultant to realise this isn't normal.
I have had lots of x-rays which all are normal.
I had a hip aspiration which there was no fluid.
I had a bone scan & CT Spect everything is normal.
The consultant basically said in Dec12 they hold their hands up and they don't know why I'm in pain. As there is no obvious cause they won't operate and don't think there is anything they can do. So I may just have to deal with it.
I feel really frustrated I am in just as much pain as before I had the operation. Something with the hip isn't right, I am seeing my consultant later this month, they are going to have to do something.
No one knows your body better than you, if you think something isn't right then keep on at them. As mentioned above PALs is very good if you get stuck..
I hope they sort you out soon!
Hi Sabrina
Thankyou for your post. I am very sorry to hear of your situation, it must be terrible not just to have the problems with the hip replacement but slso to endure shoulder replacements as well.
At least your consultant seems to be trying to help your situation.
I had physio yesterday and was told mr nanu, who is my consultant, is extremely gifted and does not make mistakes and what I am experiencing is normal. With a greeting like that it was pretty much down hill from there.
I was then told that yes it looks like im experiencing nerve problems with my sciatica and femoral nerve but both have nothing to do with my hip replacement surgery.
Its not about blame or pointing the finger with me I agree that my surgeon is extremely gifted but that does not help my situation and it seems they are unwilling to explore the nerve damage further.
She concluded by saying she will report back to my gp outlining that my hip implant is fine the surgery was a success and im.unwilling to accept phsio because as she put it we didnt get off to the best of starts.
It seems their whole attitude is how dare you say youve had complications of surgery.
Anyway my saving grace is I have an appointment with a back surgeon the end of next month. I was also told theres no such thing as a nerve specialist and to start weight bearing on my hip because the only thing hampering my recovery is psyhcolocigly I dont want to put weight on my hip so im holding myself back.
Hi Chris, sorry to hear about the negative attitude of your physio. I would make an appointment with your GP. I am sure you are entitled to see another physio if you do not get on with the first one. It seems that sometimes they close ranks. You just have to google and you can see that nerve damage is rare but does happen after hip replacement. Mine is one example yours and Sabrina. Hardly a coincidence that we are all imagining it. Apparently physio is important to help get back any repair to the nerves if it is going to happen.
A nerve specialist is a neurologist or pain specialist they can organise tests as Sabrina has had. Nerves can be tested to see which ones are involved and there are tablets prescribed to treat nerve pain.
My xray while in hospital showed my hip replacement is in the correct position, which I am sure is correct as my movement backwards and forwards is fine. However my inner thigh is numb my knee is numb and my lower leg hurts if touched even slightly at the front and inner calf. I am having pains in my groin, electric shocks up an down my leg and prickles. I also have alot of pain im my knee especially when moving about. My leg gives way when I dont expect it too which is scary. By now I should be off cruthches (6 weeks post op). I tried walking around the house with one crutch but my leg gives way with no warning so safety wise I am still using 2. I shall be seeing what my physio and Surgeon has to say next Wednesday. Its apalling that you have been treated that way. I am in intense pain and that is holding me back. How dare your physio say it is you holding yourself back. I am putting weight on my hip. I stand in the shower etc but it still hurts and we all know that there is some pain after hip replacement but its not supposed to be worse than prior to the op!
Hi Debbie
Thanks as always for your post. I've made a bit of progress as I have just come from my GP.
He said he had just received the letter today from my surgeon regarding my operation.
In it the surgeon has admited both my sciatica nerve and femoral nerve have been damaged.The GP said the surgeon was very vauge as to wether it was a result of the surgery saying it may be or it is the surgeons belief I already had underlining factors before the operation which meant i alreadyHad nerve damage which because ive been refered to a back specialist feels I dont need any further treatment from him.
Luckly my gp is on my side saying it is almost certain my hip replacement has caused the nerve damage or at I very least has made it worse.
So I dont know why my surgeon or indeed the physio yesterday was so negative towards me.
I made it clear to the physio and my gp I really dont care what caused it I just want treatment.
My gp told me to hold off physio for now he has prescribed more nerve blockers and he too feels the back specialist should be able to help my nerve damage and should order nerve tests and scans to see how damaged my nerves are.
So although im in the same boat at least now ive had acknowledgement of nerve damage I really dont see why the surgeon didnt tell me himself though.
I hope you are coping ok and have some improvement in your condition.
Chris
Hi Chris so pleased your gp is on your side. Sorry though that you are suffering and that you had the negative response from your physio. Lets hope you are seen as soon as possible and that you and I will be the lucky ones whose nerves repair over time. Difficult enough being in pain before but now having the extra problems makes life a challenge even more. Let me know how you get on. I will let you know whst happens to me on Wednesday. Debbie.
P.s. I am the same mind about wanting treatment not blaming surgeon as they don't intentionally damage people.
Some of the pain could be due to the fact that your body compensated for previous pain, and ligaments and tendons could have shortened. Now your femur's alignment has been corrected, shortened soft tissue is on a stretch, and is full of pain endings. Some numbness is to be expected because nerves are cut during the operation. They may recover.
I am 2 weeks post op. My main pain is in the morning where the swelling round my scar seems to build overnight. I had a scare the other day when there was a loud click and I had shooting pain into my groin and could hardly walk. Luckily when I rang the hospital, I got an appointment to see the joint nurse yesterday. My x-rays proved normal, and the nurse put it down to a ligament at the front of the hip, which is moved out of the way during surgery flipping back into place, It certainly feels like a groin strain.
My walking varies from day to day, and is better in the middle of the day. I do get the occasional giving way, but noticed I was hunching over on my crutches and things feel better if I stand up tall.
If I could get more than 2 hours sleep at a stretch it would help!