Sadly, this hip replacement SAGA has been the Main Focus of my life since I had it done in 2010. No matter how hard I want to try to get my mind of it, it's forever there.....with all the complications I deal with.
Wondering about my topic and I have visited other joint replacement boards and heard many reasons WHY and often ages when folks had it done.
If you guys would like to offer your reason and age when done....
My MAIN reason was horrible groin pain that started to wake me up during the night....when I finally sent to the surgeon and he xray'd, the bones/cartlidge of the right groin were jagged and broken down....the other groin on left side, was very smooth......
I was 72 when I jumped to this and now wonder, did I really need a hip replacement, I trusted what the surgeon told me, and after all he does replacements....
The complications I deal with are: leg length discrepancy, wear a 3/4" lift in right shoe and then the not great Femoral nerve damage which keeps my thigh about totally numb and then throw in IT band damage....
What a mess of an outcome......joy
Hi Joy, I need both my hips replaced and I cried when my specialist told me they want to hold off as long as possible due to my age (50) and the fact that I still had some joint space left. Now after reading some of the story's about how they have gone wrong in some way, I'm thinking I don't want it done. It's a nightmare as some days I am in so much pain, I want to cut my legs off but days when the pains bearable, I am happy to wait. The problem is the bad days are now outweighing the good days and I'm thinking of ringing my specialist to see if I can bring my appointment forward. I am due back in clinic November for another assessment.
im so sorry you have had these problems and hope you get it sorted soon xx
Chrissy, once it's done, it can't be reversed....
Why so young for you? Did you work out, run a lot of your life? Many folks I understand end up with AVN which is basically death of the bones. This AVN is from a lot of steroid use and other medications too, which ones I'm not sure of.
I was very active all my life, not a runner, but a gym workout person up until 65 or so, but was slowing down my workouts, was doing more and more stretching on the mats. I walked a lot and a dancer all my life.....
I ended up with shoulder(s) damge too from gym equipment....
So damn if we do, damn if we don't....my folks and all their relatives NEVER worked out but worked all their lives and no replacements....
Sometimes I wonder too much overuse of our joints trying to keep "fit"....ummm .
It's funny Joy, because the one thing that ticks off my surgeon is that fact people are told to wait cos of their age! He knows that modern hips can last 20 yrs plus & believes that people have one life, so why live it in pain.
in answer to Chrissy, I'm 53 & the reason for my THR was movement, well the lack of it. I was very fortunate not to have a lot of pain in my hip, but I can't get down tony right side to tie my laces, dry my foot etc. I'm currently 7 weeks post op & doing very well. I will return to work mid Sept. I really feel for people in pain, I really do, but if I was in as much pain as some on this forum I would DEMAND to gave my hip(s) replaced, it's all about quality of life. If you tap on the very small picture (attached) you will see my x-ray pre surgery & you will see that my right hip, instead of being a ball & socket, looks more like an egg or lemon in a socket, there was simply no movement in it! Unlucky fir me is that my surgeon seems to think my left one will need replacing in 2 to 3 years.
Yes I was really sporty. Played Hickey for Liverpool, was in the Liverpool Harriers Athletics team and asking played Netball for England. I'm just one of those people that can't keep still and I've had no choice in the matter these past 12 months.
I started having problems about 6 yrs ago, I was given an X-ray and told nothing wrong but sent fir physio. This really didn't help and I stopped going, my bad days were quite infrequent at this point and then approx 12 months ago I was crossing the road and had to put a bit of a spurt on and my legs just gave way, my knees were an absolute mess and I was taken to hospital. Various MRIs etc done and I've been told I have Hip Dysplasia, Hip Cysts, a significant Labral tear and osteoarthritis.
if I had of been referred properly all those years ago I would probably been a candidate for Arthroplasty. My hips are too far gone now so my only option is THR.
I'm presently trying to keep myself in work as if I didn't work I think I would crack up, going from being someone who always has to be doing something to someone who can't even get a bath without my hubby helping me in n out is soul destroying! But hey ho there are worst things happening in this world. I'm just so frightened that THR is not going to live up to my expectations.
Hi I am 46 and been told I need my left hip done no cartliage bone on bone and the bad days are getting more and more going back in October
and I am not a runner or nothing like that
Martin, I'm in WAY MORE PAIN now than before replacement...but groin pain is gone but my other issues oh brother....could be too, because of the Anterior approach, more nerve damage from these as others say the same...not a major number, but it happens.
The surgeons do the work and we go home to work on any damage done...
You are fortuante to be doing very good.
My daughter who is in your age group, 51 now, kept telling me "mom, it's a breeze, everyone does them"....she has no clue how much pain I deal with, who likes to hear their mom is in a lot of pain and I did the replacement...
So I grin and bear it and talk/vent to strangers....j
Martin, I'm so glad to hear someone say it's worked well for them. I really am at that stage now where I'm either not with it due to all the painkillers I'm taking or yelling out in pain when my legs give way. I was told it was being held off due to my age and the fact that there was still some joint space left, I'm convinced some part of my hip is bone on bone but have never looked properly at my X-rays. I think sometimes I put my trust in people too much and possibly need to start asking more questions.
Totally agree with you! I was 50 when I had my first one. I fell off of a step stool while paining a wall and we had Mexican tile floors. As I explained in this forum somewhere, it took months for my Internist to admit it was fractured. I dragged that leg around in pain that would not stop. An x-ray did not show it. Finally I demanded a CT Scan or MRI and it showed up. SO I went to a very experienced surgeon. I had remaining pain after recovery and he said it was normal and just do the walking, etc. and he'd see me in a year for a follow up x-ray. Finally a year later, x-ray showed he inserted it incorrectly! He admitted it! I went to a different surgeon who did a revision. All this time I'd been favoring the bad hip, so now I wore my OTHER hip out! This revision was fine, no pain at all. So I had my other hip done. Great recovery. No pain. But then my first hip dislocated in the middle of the grocery store! The pain and humiliation were intense. It seems every time they mess with hardware and bone, they need to carve out a new place to affix it, and it was too much for the bone I had left, so the bigger replacement that is more limited in range would have to be inserted. And so it goes. Everything was fine. I had no problems with either of my hips, and that was a relief because other parts of my body were having issues, like my spine, my esophagus, my heart, Asthma, GERD...but my hips behaved. I'd say it was only about 10 years later when I started with the groin pain. I also started with arthritic pain in my fingers, wrists, ankles, neck, so I know my Osteoarthritis is spreading. Such is life for us over a certain age. I live in the dry desert so my pain is still much less than a damp cold climate. I take medication. There is still nothing wrong with my hips. It could be the reason for your pain, too, Joy. I am 61 1/2. Good luck and let us know how you're doing.
My surgeon does the prosterior approach cis of this reason. I feel lucky I found a good one & hope my improvement continues, again I feel very so sorry for people with pain!
I don't fully understand this but all I can say is that for the first 5 years of being diagnosed with loss of cartalidge in my right hip, I am finally getting it into my head that I have to now go ahead and have a hip replacement, I have no pain but have restricted movement. As I said I would love to have a mini hip or a resurfacing done but am having difficulty getting any surgeon to take that risk as they say that the best hip replacements last for longer.
Hi Joy.
I too led a very active life,and worked as a landscape gardener for 20yrs from age 45..
Well never know if an active life can effect joint life,I could have suffered damage either way,and many sportsmen/women never suffer joint issues.
Mine is down to Arthritis unfortunately.
I had LTHR in Feb this year,I am now 65..with the other one requiring surgery as well.
I held of having it done for about 3yrs,by which time I could not walk more than 100yds without having to stop and rest,and the pain also kept me awake at night.
I am one of the lucky thousands per year for whom it was successful..
Hope things improve for all those with post op problems.
If I had NO PAIN, I would never do this surgery....I would work with other alternatives like acupuncture and prolotherapy and much much else alternative to hip replacement...
I've had OA since 18 and many OA body issues but it was the groin pain mess that pushed me to this...and I was 72....
I'm just not a fan of surgery unless an emergency or the very very last resort. I think the groin mess I saw on xrays could not be reversed.\
I take Great Lakes Collagen (green cannister) to keep what cartlidge is left and maintained...
Keeping body as alkaline as possible is imporant too...more acid more bone breakdown.
There are alkaline acid food charts you can access online and see just what foods/drinks are what re: alkaline acid.
I must if it was not for the pain I have I would not even be thinking about having it done I don't think I walk with a very bad limp , and movement is not great but it's the pain that's worst
Uncertain results. Lack of informing ourselves, maverick surgeons, starvation in hospital, aftershock, leg length discrepancies, time lost recovering, painkiller addiction, gp hopelessness ignorance and in awe of surgeons, no physio afterwards which is a scandal not seen other countries, all in all I think I would have opted out. At least pre op pain did not necessitate painkillers, just a curtailment of sport.
Hey ho only myself to blame. Cant lie on operated.side as it projects out. Pilates class I just roll like those jumping weighted beans. Still wd like to know rank of person who stitches up the charcuterie after all that carpentry. Did they do an o level dressmaking and how big are their hands. Are they long sighted. I think we should be told as it us v important.
Very interesting to see yr xray.
Mine was much more advanced and femur head gone right through pelvic ring. Nothing close to.post operative pain but much restriction in movement/rotation. Mon dieu surgeons must be courageous what drives them. How can metal.plastic ceramic ever be successful. If only we could have caught it earlier and implanted some hydrophilic buffer in the joint space. Thats the way to go but it wd put.surgeons out of work. Once bone on bone its a no brainer. Well we have been the guinea pigs for better things to come. Somehow this implant feels.wrong and alien and I am not the person I was. why hasnt someone pioneered joint space fillers. I think we should be told. Why such radical procedures which are mostly horror stories. Even successful ones have a lifespan. I blame me myself. Shd have seen a vet.years ago after a riding accident and got xrays. Ignorance I could do.a primal scream!! With tongue firmly in cheek!!!
I don't know HOW I could have informed myself More...I talked to 3-4 people who had anterior and by the same surgeon in our town, he seems to have the monoply...they all spoke highly of him and had good results with Anterior.
Now, I read so many who are on forums reading all they can about people's results....if I had done this, which I did NOT, I may have opted out....can't say for sure as it's history. I didn't even know there were hip replacement support groups....
I did read about the surgery procedure and read the history of the surgeon and I guess it was OK for me....I could not run all over the place for more and more info.
I did NOT want surgery for sure as OA and Fibro are enough pain, but the surgery trauma scared the beegeebies out of me, but I did it.
Ah sweet life...thank goodness I had a good good life before this as my life has slowed down big time.
Any surgery is a crapshoot, these are very major. Time to ice everything.....
With respect some of your comments are a little unfair..
Most surgeons aren't maverick,and try to do the very best job they can on what is a very technical operation..If Mr.Charnley (Of Wrightington hospital,Wigan)the original inventor of hip replacements had not had the courage and foresight pioneer this operation,millions of arthritis sufferers would have suffered years of unnecessary pain..
Ive never heard of anybody starving in an NHS hospital either,where generally speaking the food is quite good.
I had no PT either,being told to do lots of walking,which has worked for me...
and I'm sure if had really wanted it I could have arranged physio through my GP.
As with any major surgery mistakes/complications do happen,and I count myself lucky to be one of the thousands of successful THRs..
I was very sceptical before,and for a time after my THR..but took the chance,thinking things couldn't get any worse than they were,and thankfully 6mnths on I'm glad I had the operation.
Everything is dependent on the particular Trust. Everyone's experience is different. I am merely astounded by the number ofnecessary revisions and the fact that thr physios passing by my rm in a blink said it was worse than childbirth and acknowledged my leg length difference. I was ignored by the surgeon both pre and post op which was frightening and isolating. I lost 2stones and food was negligible. I recount only my personal account not your own. My pain was unbearable and subsequent withdrawal from painkillers yet more trauma. Maverick is not necessarily a criticism. They have to be bold and pragmatic not shrinking from complications. And there will be complications. Lots. You are fortunate but that has no bearing on my comments. They are my own and i regret ever proceeding with it