Excrutiating pain after total ceramic hip replacement

Hi, I hope you don't mind me asking?  You mentioned in your comment to Chris that you have had both hips replaced 2 weeks ago, together?

I have been told I have advanced arthritis in both hips and have been booked in for the worse hip to be done and my surgeon said the other one would also need to be done at some point.

Is it unusual to have both done together?  To be perfectly honest I think I would prefer to have them both done and be able to get on with my life sooner rather than later.

I'm glad you are doing so well, wishing you a speedy recover

Hi Paula

Just though l would jump in here as l needed both my hips done as they were both bone to bone only some surgeons will do both at once. I had mine done at a private hospital through bupa and my surgeon would only do one at a time so he done the left which was giving me the most pain first and said wait 6 weeks and see if you feel ready. My recovery went great and l was desperate at 4 weeks post op to get the other one done so l called up and got booked in for 3 weeks later. So l had them both done really close together. I think if l had the option l would have got them done together but l never but its worked out ok l have been off work since november last year and had them both done within that time and am half way through recovery l can walk fine drive and do most of the normal things l used to do just in less amount as l get really tired. I still suffer pain now and then and am still when l get up and down. And sitting on hard chairs is really hard l can sit for 2hrs at the most on any chair thats why l am still off work as l sit in front of a computer all day and my surgeon advised me that l will get a fair bit of back pain because l have had both done and my spine is re adjusting to walking diffrent and having a diffrent posture. He said don't go back to work until you feel ready to and feel like it. Well l know l am not ready yet but l am doing fine. My sleep pattern is still all over the place l seem to wake at 4am or before and have to move for a bit and go downstairs and sleep on couch which l find more comfortable.

Hope this helps paula

Laura

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Hello Laura

I am so glad I have just read your reply, I am the same I have no hip sockets so it is bone on bone and I am have so much osteoarthritis that the pain has been so bad  , I have not been able to bend  down or tie shoe laces in over 5 years, so have had to cope with what I can and cannot do ,  but due to my age they have been putting off my operation unitl now,  it has finally been decided to do the right hip first then the second shortly after at Wrightington Hospital in Wigan  in 2 weeks time, I have now got to the stage of worrying I know it needs doing but I have read so many reports from websites about the pain and how it can dislogate . I am in so much pain and  now I need to have the operation. After ready your replay I do feel more comfortable about the operation I know my legs will gro 1 1/2 " due to the positon now and when they put the hips in the correct positon, So reading how you have coped with the different posture has also helped as I also will be working in an office where I sit before a computor all day 

There is one thing I do aqua jogging to help get my muscles ready but I wondered if you did any exercises that helped you 

thank you 

Alison

Some surgeons will do both at once provided they think you are able to cope. Being young must help! I had my left hip done privately 2 years ago. My surgeon was Sarah Muirhead Allwood. She does both hips quite frequently I think. Might be worth investigating. 

I don't know where the idea came from to expect little or no pain after a hip replacement. Totally unrealistic. It hurts like hell..don't believe otherwise.

Hi Chris, my husband had his hip replaced October 29, 2013.  For the past 6 months he has been dealing with same issues that you have been going through.  I'm glad to see that this is not uncommon.  Thank you for posting it.  He has a lot of the same symptoms as you and the Surgeon told him the same thing.....that it's not his hip, it's his back.  He has seen 3 different back surgeons and they tell him that it's his hip.  SO, we are going to try to see a different hip surgeon and see what they recommend.  It has been a vicious cycle for the last 6 months.  No answers yet either.  Hope you find relief soon.

Hi Chris

I had a ceramic hip relacement in 2013 and since then I have been in constant acute pain>  It is as you described in my thigh across my back and in my groin.  I have been to the specialist several times and have just been told there is nothing wrong with the hip.  I had a bone scan also that came back as clear. When i asked why am in more pain than before the op they just say the op was a success.  I am now going back to GP

Everyone's pain tolerance is different. Everyone's health at the time of the surgery is different as well. I had my first hip replaced 12 years ago. The ball to the femur had collapsed, and do to the deformity, the radiologist missed that it was broken. I walked on it for a year. I felt so much better, even the day after the surgery. I was back to work in a month. I was only 40 then so it made a difference.  I am having HUGE pain issues now however, and the Drs are saying the joint looks fine.

Hi Julia, I had an uncemented ceramic hip replacement in 2012 and still have aching thigh pain and excruciating pain in the replaced joint. It is especially painful if I have fallen asleep on my back the night before in the acetabular region. my xrays are normal and surgeon says everything is fine. Physio has no effect on the pain. I am at a loss as to what to do.

Hi Ellen...I had a total uncemented Ceramic/Titanium replacement of my left hip in February of 2010. I have had very few days when I am pain free. It has been very frustrating! Today I can hardly put pressure on it to walk. My surgery was done anterior approach....I am wondering how yours was done? I was 39 Yrs Old when I had my replacement. I have taken so much pain medication that I now have liver damage. My PCP just told me a few weeks ago that at my young age he wouldn't expect me to be pain free! That is NOT what my Ortho Surgeon said! I was told at the time of my replacement that I would need the other hip replaced also in the future. I am just w0nder if our experiences are similar?

Tammy

Hi Ellen 

i just wondered if you still are in pain? I am 44 and 5 months post LTHR uncemented and also had a slipped disc last year. I have had my recovery issues but was progressing up until the end of April. Since then I can't walk now more than 1-2 minutes without getting a burning grinding pain in my hip. I'm also getting sciatica again down my operated leg and pain in the back and  knee on the op side. As the GPs advice hasn't worked "rest but be active!" And I've had to up my pain meds which is triggering my gastritis daily again, I asked to be referred back to my surgeon.  finally got an appointment this Friday.

Please let me know if your pain has been resolved?

All the best

Juliet 

Hi, I have had two THR, both within a year and a half of each other due to a hardware failure on the right side, then a TH on the left two years later. I do have lupus, but I too am unable to walk or stand very long. It causes excruciating pain and I have to use a cane if I go very far. I used to be very active, but now I have debilitating arthritis in my back. My rheumatologist tells me to exercise and I do, but it does not help and he doesn't believe me.

i don't know what to do. All docs think it's in my head because I can't work and I feel like a wimp because I'm not working, when I see people working on one leg. I'm so discouraged and frustrated. If he does not take me seriously, who will?

Hi there! I'm sorry for your situation and pain. It took years for my arthritis to be diagnosed, as at my age no one was looking for it.  I had medical professionals tell me it's not your hip its your back for years even though I had so much pain in my hips. I only got anywhere by just keeping on persisting and getting a second and third opinion. The ones who shout loudest and all that!  I did see my surgeon and I have trochanteric bursitis in the hip which is causing all the pain and inability to walk properly. My surgeon's going to do an anti inflammatory injection in my hip under General anesthetic in about 10 days now. Hopefully this will be my pain release/relief.

i haven't worked now since Dec 2013 and I get the frustration totally.  My advice, go and see someone else.  Someone (medical) has to eventually be on 'your side' so you can get better / lessen the pain.

Let me know how you get on.

All the best

Juliet

Hi, thanks for your encouraging words. They are very much appreciated!

As soon as my Medicare kicks in, I will be seeing another Doc, also, I think I broke my ankle a few years back and it wasn't caught because my ankle is very crooked and did not used to be. Also on the right side where I had two THR's my leg turns inward when I walk, does anyone else have that problem?

Hi Tammy,

i was wondering if you have a hip that has been recalled. You might check it out. I did and I had one. You can bring a lawsuit against the manufacturer. You might have to wait awhile , but if you are in that much pain, you might have one, I don't know.

Hi Chris I feel the same as you. I have had problems with my back, curvature of the lumbar spine, all my life. I have learnt to live with this. I know it's only been just over 2 weeks since I had the left hip replacement but when I mention the pain to the doc all I get is that it takes time. I'm reluctant to take painkillers because I always seem to have stomach problems with these. I have asked to see a neurologist but again I am told it's too early to say it's nerve damage and was given codine. 

Not sure this is a helpful comment for iminent new patients!

I agree. I had hip replacement a week ago today and I am in terrible pain. How long does this severe pain usually last? Taking extra str tylenol during day and perc at night. But I'm still in agony and can't sleep. And pain med gives me headache and makes me feel spacey.

Hi Ellen, are you sleeping wth a pillow betwwwn your knees while on your side and undef your knees when n your back?  I had a hip replacement 4 weeks ago and I find my lower back pain is better since the operation and I think it might be because I'm using the pillow  between my legs.  I mostly get pain after I sit too long.

 

Tammy, you just wrote my story. I recently had thr anterior approach and am told I need to do the other one as well. Both result of a vascular necrosis. I never imagined this much pain. I'm 8 weeks out and still taking percocet. There's got to be some similar error here because I just don't understand how all these people swear to little or no pain! I believe them, I just don't know why we are different. I've had 8 previous surgeries and I don't think it's just a low pain tolerance. I usually require very little pain medication compared to average but this is very different.

I had a THR almost 2 years ago. I'd like to say that I had some discomfort after the operation but nothing that I would describe as pain. In fact I lost all the terrible arthritic pain immediately after the op and it was a blessed relief. I was on a pain killing drip for several hours after the op and then had regular pain meds for a month afterwards. I was told that it's important to take the drugs to keep discomfort at bay so the post operative exercises are easier to do. I would emphasise that my experience is not unusual among friends/acquaintances who've had this op. I don't think it's helpful to day that excruciating pain is the norm; it isn't. If it is, then something is wrong.

I have to disagree with you on this. I'm not saying it's pain free but in my experience it's nothing you can't cope with. I guess everyone has different levels of pain tolerance 

Hi you might remember me, or not. I had 2 hip transplants within 4 months of each other 15 years ago and all went well I was then 49. 15 months ago I had a total replacement of the old prosthesos on my left hip and it was more painful than the first transplants and took a little bit longer to get around and back to normal living- 

12 days ago I had my right prosthesis removed and a new one inserted and the pain is agonising plus the stiffness down my leg and knee  keeps my indoors and needing help in dressing, going to bathroom, getting my legs onto the sofa and  I would  starve rather than try standing at a cooker for more than a few minutes. TG for my caring partner. This last opp is tough to get over but of course it has to be done. Each opperation is different but as a 68 year old woman living in an aging community I can tell you that hip and knee surgery is very painful. Most concerned doctors will not do both together. We are not robots. We bleed, hurt, need meds, care and kindness and not false publicity from money grabbing practicioners.