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Low back pain after double hip replacements

Posted , 7 users are following.

justin57310
justin57310

Hi I'm new here and wondering if anybody is having similar problems that I'm having. I was injured at work April 2nd 2012. My left hip was replaced June 8th 2012 and my right replaced July 10th 2012. My recover was fast, extremely fast. I was jumping off 10 and 15 ft cliffs into the river 10 days after my first hip. And about 2 weeks after my 2nd hip. I never used a walker and only used a cane for a few days with each hip. About 4 months after my last hip was done i started to have low back pain all the time that gradually got worse as the weeks passed. Eventually it got so bad that I can't sleep, can't walk very far or stand in one place very long. Like more then 5 minutes standing in one spot I have to sit down. I'm getting a neurostimulator implant on October 13th because I also developed bad nerve pain in both legs. The trial was successful but only kills the leg pain. Doesn't do much for my low back pain. I never had problems with my back until after my replacements. MRI doesn't tell much of anything is wrong. Scar tissue did grow around my sciatic nerves in my hips though. I hated to do it but I had to file for disability which is still pending. Has anybody else run into the same problem with extreme low back pain like I have?

0 likes, 27 replies

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  • donnie60181
    donnie60181 justin57310

    Posted

    Justin--Never give up. I like that you eat as healthy as you do. With the MS going on with your wife and the back issue, you have more on your plate than most people could handle. You have been used to overcoming obstacles in the past and this is the ultimate obstacle to work through. Take it day by day and try to find little things to be appreciative and thankful for. 
    • justin57310
      justin57310 donnie60181

      Posted

      I'm not giving up and thank you for the kind words and encouragement I appreciate that. I'm happy to hear yours went as well as they did and you were able to regain your life back. What limitations if any do you have? And do you have any tricks to relieve sciatic pain? I soak in a really hot bath with pain relieving epsom salt daily, do stretches, my wife runs a massager on my back and legs and targets the path of the sciatic nerve. I take Gralise which is a new form of gabapentin. I was on Lyrica for awhile but gained a lot of weight on it. I'm on Zanaflex and percocet also. All of it helps some but if there is a way to get relief without meds I'm all for it. I've tried acupuncture, chiropractic, massage and when it's warm I do a lot of swimming. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

    • donnie60181
      donnie60181 justin57310

      Posted

      Limitation wise I am trying to stay away from high impact activities (basketball, aerobics, skydiving, etc). I am really wanting to return to softball and am hoping to do so Spring of 2017. As for Sciatica, until I found a chiropractor with a decompression machine, my regular chiropractor was not helping at all. It basically pulls your back apart to ease the squeezing on the sciatic nerve. Within a month of 2X per week treatments, the pain went away. It came back once but went away quickly when I restarted the treaments. I have never taken pain killers before this surgery and did follow the regimen and not let the pain get ahead of me. Even after ending the drugs after two months. My body had already decided it liked them a lot. I had a week of nausea and not being able to sleep well from the withdrawal and can understand completely how easy it is to get addicted to them. If needed for the pain, dealing with the withdrawals later on may be worth it as long as the doctor knows how to safely approach it. I would keep up what you are doing and try to find the decompression machine. Most chiropractors cannot afford it and those that can charge a ton. I was lucky to have a friend who got me in for very reasonable fee ($45-US copay per treatment.), I don't want to offend anyone and am not a user but have seen too many cases where marijuana is also a benefit to many people.  

    • donnie60181
      donnie60181 justin57310

      Posted

      Justin-My reply yesterday got sent to the overseer of our site. My short answer regarding the sciatica is to seek out a chiropractor who has a "decompression" machine. It is basically like traction with the theory being that you need to stretch things out to releive the pinching of the sciatic nerve. The first chiropractor I used did just the traditional stuff with no releif. The new guy with the machine had it solved in less than two months. Hopefully mt reply yesterday will get released in that it had more detail on some thoughts. 

    • justin57310
      justin57310 donnie60181

      Posted

      You didn't offend me at all. I am presently on Gralise for nerve pain/neuropathy and on a muscle relaxers and percocet. I don't like taking medicine but have to at this point just so I can get out of the recliner and do stuff because I can't continue to keep declining like I am. I also have to take them to be able to sleep at all. I always have some left over when I go back in for checkups every month because I don't take any thru the day unless I absolutely have to. I take one in the morning because I'm so locked up and can't stand up and then take one before I go to bed. I'm supposed to take 3 to 4 a day but I would be so messed up I wouldn't be able to talk right and I'm not going to let my kids see me like that. As far as Marijuana I would be more open to that than I am pain pills but we don't have medical Marijuana here and I'm not going to do anything to get in trouble. I have researched it though and seen the testimonials of people using it for all kinds of things so I am definitely not against it. I would have to do the editable kind though because I don't smoke.

    • justin57310
      justin57310 donnie60181

      Posted

      Hey Donnie I responded back to you but it says my comment is being moderated.
  • renee01952
    renee01952 justin57310

    Posted

    Hi Justin, 

    You are such a trooper ... So sorry to hear about the challenges you are having - 

    I don't know what to tell you -

    having read your story I feel that perhaps you are being hard on yourself - Your body did an amazing job, healing so fast so you could start working full time and with great passion ... and now, suddenly, it stopped you in your tracks - scar tissue has formed and affected your back - 

    This must be very hard on you, having to depend on others and not being able to take care of your family the way you want to - 

    MRI and other tests didn't show anything wrong except for the scar tissue ...

    You are a fighter but maybe you can ease of a bit - allow your body to rest and heal further - 

    You have gone through so much and tried many healing methods -

    I used to be a certified hypnotherapist --- maybe you can benefit from that - there is much more going on, sweetheart ...

    good luck and please let us know how you are doing ...

    big hug

    renee

    • justin57310
      justin57310 renee01952

      Posted

      Thank you Renee I appreciate that:-) Hypnosis hasn't even crossed my mind in dealing with this. I will definitely look into that though. I'm a big believer in all natural ways to heal your body. I've never tried it for anything but I have read about and seen documentaries on the powers of hypnosis. How should I go about finding someone and knowing that they are good at what they do? Thank you so much for your thoughts and your suggestion:-)

  • lors23
    lors23 justin57310

    Posted

    Hi Justin

    I had 1st hip done 9th Dec2015 and other done 15th Feb 2016. Like you l had a really recovered really quick. I never really had to use any walking aids think l used them on way home from hospital only. What l did was walk about the house all the time to get blood flowing around the wound again kept practicing going up and down the stairs a few times a day and they both jusr

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