I had my left hip replaced 4 weeks ago -hip is now fine...
When I woke up from surgery I had a terrible pain in my ankle which went away with painkillers. The next day I had no feeling below the knee on my left side. They left it another day in case the spinal block was still lingering but agreed it was sciatic nerve damage. I was in surgery for almost 4 hours which was surprising and they said it was really stiff and hard to get the old hip out. Everyone seems pretty much agreed that the sciatic nerve is stretched and that the feeling should come back. I have a drop foot which makes it difficult to walk normally but the worst thing is the pain. I have a 'pain in the bum' which is sciatic and all down my leg. The parts which are numb to touch bizarrely also hurt. I'm not usually a winger but this is destroying me. On a scale of 1 -10 it's a clear 10. I am on a raft of drugs including tramadol, naproxen, gabapentin and diazapam but nothing is touching it. I've bought a tens machine on advice and that helps a little but because I hurt in so many places its hard to know where to put it -also it hurts in its own way ( I seem to have becomne hypersensitive to touch on that leg)
I'm at my wits end -I haven't slept more than an hour at a time since the operation and really feel I can't go on. The consultant has referred me to a neurologist but they won't see me before 6 weeks as usually it goes away by itself. It's not that I don't think it will recover I do -I have a flicker of movement in my toes which wasn't there a week ago -it's just I can't cope with the pain any more
Feel for you Norma I am 17wks post op,first ten weeks slowly getting better then all of a sudden so much pain top of leg shooting pains down my leg,physio people think static nerve,surgeon has said it is were stitched muscle has overlapped muscle so got to wait now to have some injections.just starting to get so depressed. Work won't let me back to work till can do my job properly. Anyone else hadx any trouble like this. Good strt then downhill
I can empathise with you Norma..Ive had 3wks post op pain and lack of sleep,which thankfully is beginning to ease day by day.
Pain and sleep deprivation is a horrible combination,guaranteed to send you crazy.
Im no expert but all I can suggest is some kind of distraction methods,which are known as cognitive behavioural therapy..which is designed to help your mind focus on something other than the pain your in, and that things will slowly get better...it does work for some people,hope it works for you,anything is worth trying when your at your wits end.
As a last resort I might ask your doc for some strong sleeping tablets,so at least you get some sleep,long term sleep deprivation can become a serious issue.
OMG Norma. This is EXACTLY my experience of my first THR since 2004. I can relate 100%.
Mine first started after first op in 2004. All involved refused responsibility. Went through all physio/pain management, to no avail. I was pronounced, to all intents and purposes, beyond help.
Still with major symptoms now, I have to say that's it has very gradually receded, but I'm still left with significant residual effects. Calf/foot numb but mega sensitive, festiculations, ultra cramps, can't move toes, foot is black and always freezing cold. It's horrendous. Only vvv slowly learning to live with it, very bitterly, very resentfully. Pain management said I just had to deal with it. Years on morphine, but managed to come off it myself.
No joy from neurological tests only recently has 2nd opinion surgeon conceded sciatic nerve damage the cause. Dreadful.
Other factors leading me to consider legal action.
I so, so feel for you. It's an awful condition, which no-one who hasn't experienced can possibly imagine.
Hi Norma I'm exactly the same. 48 hours after op woke with horrendous electric shock pain in my good leg. Bern prescribed gabapentin which doesn't seem to be helping so will have to go back to GP . Only getting few hours sleep at a time as pain recedes when I'm up or sitting down. Consultant says nerve damage which can take up to six months.
Hi there Elaine ... Sorry to read of your experiences...but I also had problems after my THR last Feb...I was left with foot drop...that's the inability to raise the foot at the ankle .... I also have numbness in my calf and down into my foot...had quite a lot of pain to start with but has eased since...I'm still finding it hard to come to terms with what has happened to me and I must admit I did go down the route of legal action..but I was told by a solicitor that its very hard to prove negligence in these sort of cases...so would not be worth pursuing...I also have to walk with a splint ..(so I don't trip over my toes) so wearing girlie shoes is out of the question..I must admit I do feel rather cheated...but..when I look at these poor guys that come back from Afghanistan without limbs it does seem to put my problem into perspective...take care...x
So glad I didn't come across this forum before my op . Hearing about so many problems would have made me re think . My aches seem so small compared to yours .take care
So sorry to read your posting Norma....I really know how you must be feeling right now....I went through all the same emotions that your going through right now...I must admit when I was left with foot drop I thought my world had come to an end...but it didn't and I'm still hoping that it will improve even more with time...I also couldn't move my toes and had little or no feeling at all in my foot and the side of my calf...but it has improved...it has taken a year and I can now walk without my splint if I concentrate on how I place my foot down...Ive been told that the nerves regenerate at a 1mm a day so it can take up to two years to right itself...I still have a few balance issues and I also have to admit there are days when I feel very frustrated with myself..but I'm staying positive...please if you need to talk please contact me...try and stay positive and keep on with your exercises...they do help...I know it's difficult...sending you a big cyber hug...x
Thanks Mary....but to be quite honest I think we are in the minority....I would never like to think that what ive posted will put anybody off of having their THR...I think the chances of nerve damage is 1 in every 1000 ,so it is quite rare...but I also think that when people have these problems they are left to get on with it and that in itself is very frustrating, you are left with no answers and no definite prognosis...so I think support on here is paramount ..Thank you for showing concern it's really appreciated...take care..x
Thanks Katsorry to hear you've had similar experience.
Yes, I considered legal action, since consultant denied it was anything to do either op! But realised I'd get nowhere.
However, new consultant discovered the device has come loose and is moving up into pelvis. This was, he says, apparent on xrays from 2012. He 'can't explain' why his colleague didn't notice it. I'm having 3rd op on it in May. Im seriously considering legal action on this. Has meant 3 years of even more pain and forced retirement.
Oh my word...that is a totally different ball game..!! I definitely would consider legal action in your case...I do hope things work out better for you after your op in May....where abouts are you having your op?
I had my op in Wrightinton orthopaedic hospital...it's near to Manchester....well as the crow flies!! 😄 good luck..do keep us up to date on how things go in May x
So sorry to hear about your nerve damage. I knew when I woke up after my op something was not right. I have femoral nerve damage. My op was 15 months ago.
I empathise with you my symptoms are similar but dont have foot drop. Originally My lower leg would not lift and I had to lift it up onto bed into car etc with my hands. That lasted 4 months. I am hypersensitive on top of left side of leg down to left ankle. Numbness has slightly improved but have many other sensations in the area. I have electric shock type of pains which are not as frequent as they used to be. Burning and tingling also affected areas feel tight. Sometimes feels like water is rushing through very strange feeling. I have had extra physio to strengthen the muscles which are affected. Some improvemental my leg doesn't feel like it will give way so often. I still can't go up or down stairs normally the strength to lift me up or down has not returned. As I type this I am feeling g pain. I refused any gabapentin as I did not want to cope with being drugged up. I am on slow release 200mg Tramadol twice a day. It does not get rid of pain but I suppose it helps. I have come to terms with this added disability but I have had pain for 23 years from car accident damage to pelvis. Not easy but have learnt to live with it. Going to nerve specialist really only confirms degree of nerve damage. Apart from physio there is not much can be done to improve . I hope you will be seeing an improvement. I was told that I would likely be back to normal within a year. This has not happened and think less likely as time goes on . You will learn to cope but I hope your pain reduces as time goes on. It does take a 1mm a month for nerves to grow back. If you are taking tramadol seveal times a day. Ask your Dr if you can transfer to slow relesse which work for a longer period and only need one in the morning and one in the evening. Sorry I can't be more positive.
Thanks for your reply Debbie,,,and sorry to hear that you are still suffering so much 15months down the line....I don't think my pain is any where near to the pain you are suffering with as the strongest meds I take is paracetamol..like you I suffer with tightness...mine is around the ankle and top of the foot...I also have cramps in the affectd foot and lower leg...I'm now taking a B6 complex, I've read somewhere that it's meant to be good for cramps...I'll wait and see if that is so....I can walk up our stairs ok, but do need to hang onto the bannister...I'm still living in hope that it will improve..but the hip specialist reckons that whatever movement I have after two years is the best it will ever get...hopefully if this is the case there is still time for yours to improve...I do hope so...take care..x
Thank you all so much for your kindness and helpful replies. It's good to know I'm not the only one (well - not good for you!) It's in the middle of the night when you are in agony and everyone else is asleep that times are hardest and this forum is a godsend. GP has doubled gabapentin today so we'll see how that goes. I don't think it was anyone's fault -just one of those things.
Your so very welcome Norma....I do hope you get some relief...as you say, these forums are a godsend...and it also makes me feel 'not so alone' it's having somebody you can talk to who knows exactly what your going through...take care x
HI Norma, So sorry to hear about your pain, The pain will get better !! I had Revision hip replacement oct 2013 , Im at 14 months getting better . I have scaitic nerve damage from surgery , and when i woke up my foot didnt feel right I told my surgeon he said i need time to heal , Biut I knew something wasnt right. So I went to physical therapy, and went back to work At 4 hours a day and by the end of my shift I could hardly walk to my car.
So i went back to my surgeon and he referred me too Neurologist and he confirmed that i have nerve damage from surgical site very painful . Im now still on disability cant do my duties at work and physical therapy 3x week which i believe really helps . All i can say is I feel Im getting better with help from pain management doctor and neurologist physical therapy really feel physical therapy has helped me the most . I do feel your pain one day at time is really all we can do this site does help alot too . Please let us know how you are Im in us