This issue is forever on my mind, in my being daily, not so much when sleeping....just when I "try" to sleep on operated side.
I've been reading more info on Common Unnecessary Surgeries and Hip and Knee Replacements are on this list.
My main reason for going ahead with this was Groin pain, difficulty getting in and out of car and then waking up in my sleep with groin pain...
So when I went to surgeon, xrays showed groin bone/cartlidge crumbled and the other side was smooth and perfect....
So trusting the surgeon's advice, I went ahead with the replacement....I did NOT get 2nd opinion, talked to some who had the Anterior surgery and got good comments so I thought this would be my "CURE"......
It's 4 yrs soon and it's been pretty horrible with IT band damage, Femoral Nerve Damage and the leg discrepancy...
Now, I'm wondering DID I REALLY NEED A REPLACEMENT? Could there have been other options on the groin bone/cartlidge crumble mess.
What were YOUR main reason for doing a replacement? Groin involved in your decision?
BTW: Groin pain is no longer, but so much other stuff has taken over...
Joy..
I wish there was other alternatives to THR... the surgery is in my experience traumatic and many of us as u have demonstrated r strong and fight our way thru. I have read of stem cell therapy thet someday could be used to rebuild cartilage and bone. There r many studies on dogs for hip and bone disease where this has been very successful. See studies online.
pain on a regular basis is very exhausting. I hope UR able to fine relief soon. 
Hi Joy
I am still undecided and continuing to research.
Mainly what pushed me to consider Hip replacement,were comments from friends and family.They noticed that I walk with difficulty,have to help my leg when getting into a car,and generally am so much slower than I used to be.
Each one of them without exception,knowing my love of travel and how active I have been until recently is of the opinion that I should go ahead and get the dodgy hip fixed.Everone knows someone who has had a succsessful op.and believe I should go ahead while still (relatively)fit.
The trouble is that I am really cowardly,not keen on surgery,suffer from quite advanced osteoporosis and am frankly scared in case things are made worse not better.
So sorry you have had such a bad experience.
Best wishes
Joy(nickname Gloriajoy)
Mine was just like yours pre op, bone on bone. Couldn't hike like I wanted to and terrible pain throbbed at night.
I had the surgery to relieve the pain and get off painkillers. I still take them at night 8 weeks out and don't have the same pain just different but just as debilitating. I hope it gets better.
Yours sounds like it is not good at all. I'm going to research the band damage you speak of. I have iliopsoas tendonosis/tendinosis, I belive with pain in my thigh down to my knee. Tightness in my groin and the feeling there is a lump in the groin.
Hope, Dr. here in Los Angeles area does Stem Cell Therapy with our own bone marrow, each session is close to $2000. For those financially able, I'd bet a lot are doing this. PRP is the next down with our own platlets is $850 a session which I'm thinking for my knee.....IF ONLY money were not my issue.
These are regenerative therapies......does the Stem Cell save one from replacement, I don't know....there are no guarantees to anything.....look at us here who put our bodies into surgeon's hands........j
Hi Hope
One reason for my continued indecision about Hip replacement is reading about stem cell therapy.Of course it is still very new and under research, too early for any proven conclusions.
However it seems to me that eventually surgery (ie butchery) will become unthinkable and a barbaric thing of the past.
Question is can I wait that long?
I would certainly be happy to pay for an alternative to surgery if it were proven safe.
When I mentioned it to my GP he just laughed and said it was years away.
I wonder!
In my situation I must have total revision all components have to be removed meaning they break the femur bone to remove the component in the femur that bone has grown on and attached for strength and support. The new components r slightly larger to be placed in the previously drilled hole as a press fit style. The MOM implant I have was recalled less than a year after I thieves the implant.
Its imperiative to to understand that death - necrosis of tissue and bone can be the best reason to not wait too long as it may not be condusive for enough bone left from too much damage while waiting for a implant to be a solution.
There is no choice for us.. We r lucky to have THR . before the 50's most became totally disabled. We at least have the option to stay mobile. Perhaps many of us up have experienced the good and bad.. I would rather have tried it than not at all 
I suffered with the bone on bone pain I train horses.very active...I was in my fourties the first hip was done and it took 2 years to get back to 80% of were I was before the hip implant. Considering the care and movement restrictions to protect that first hip done 15 years ago. Just another adjustment in life. And still going...
My reason was confirmed through MRI Avascular Necrosis, something that happens when one has to use corticosteroids over a long period of time. There was no choice for me. Had both of my THR's four months apart, and by then, the second hip joint had already crumbled. I could not have lasted much longer without the THR. And my other goal was to discontinue pain medication.
I am off the pain medication, but the second THR did not go as perfectly as the first one. Sometimes I wonder if I can stay off of pain meds because this one hurts so badly.
I believe that it is wise to have the surgery if normal activities have become too painful without it. Everything is a risk. Sadly.
What is IT band damage? And how does Femoral Nerve Damange occur? And what do you mean by leg descrepancy?
It sounds to me that you made the correct choice to have the THR. I am sending positive vibes your way. We are fellow travelers on the same road.
Hug! 
Yes constant pain is exhausting! It wears one thin. A real challenge to keep a positive countenance instead of a grimmace.
I wish that money was not an issue. Looks like I will just duke this out the hard way. When I tore and chipped my knee cartilage the doc drilled into my knee in five different spots to create microfractures, there by inducing my body to regrow its own cartilage. I thought that was ingenious. He said the new cartitlage will never be as strong as the original but should last me 7 to 10 yeas. This is year 7 and I fear it is being threatened by the painful THR.
I hope you can wait because butchery is taxing on the spirit and soul and energy levels.
GP's are mostly conventional medicine, cut, drugs, poison etc.... You will hear that kind of comment and laughter from a conventional MD....their business is not alternative.
So can you at least get a CONSULT from a stem cell worker, are you in the US, there are more and more in the US now and it's growing....so many deal with patients who have had bad replacement experiences and surgery in general for joints.
My rheumy is an integrative MD and will not do drugs, etc...she does dextrose Prolo which works for milder joint issues....She has not joined the higher ranks YET....
darn it, I sent you a message and it's waiting to be moderated....why this and the time I spent to comment to you.....
Go for it Joy! The pain of making the change could very well be worse than staying the same. Everything is a gamble. You might not have the trouble I have at all afterwards! In my case with one THR that went perfectly, cannot tell I had it done, and the second one continuing to be painful, it might mean that you have a fifty fifty chance of perfect.
If I knew I'd end up with all these damages, I would have shined off surgery...what we don't know when we are opened up and exposed to so much......
Dawn, I don't have the energy to explain what I know about the 3 questions you ask....it's been explained here many times....sorry...j
There is a whole thread on Femoral Nerve Damage....
I meant to say that the pain of remaining the same could be greater than the pain it takes to make the change.
Most docs only do revisions if the X-rays MRI justify the risks...no one has a crystal ball. It would be nice to review the UK STUDIES . See online studies by the UK on THR..IT 's a very infomationational read. Study reveals types of THR manufactures docs ages male female all studies after THR. I highly recommend it