Excrutiating pain after total ceramic hip replacement

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.