Osteoarthitis ??????

Hi Sheelagh...sounds like where I was a couple of years ago...have put up with increasingly difficult walking ..just as you describe ....limped my way through the whole of last year and finally made the decision for total hip replacement...right one first but other will need doing at some point soon.

Best decision I've made...now almost 6 weeks since op and NO hip pain...sore muscles etc but amazingly quick recovery (see lots of other threads on this site )

I took tramadol, ibuprofen and paracetomol to the max for over a year and that can't be good, in fact they had little effect in the end....

Do some research...ask if a referral to surgeon is possible and make your decision from there....

I was lucky as I have BUPA cover and was able just to name a date with a few weeks notice....

How old are you and whereabout do you live?

This forum is great for any real live questions and answers!

Hi Crissy thank you so much for your reply. I had BUPA which supported my foot surgury but unfortunately have lost my job and therefore will be dependant on the NHS. I am 53 yrs old but feel about 80 at the moment. I live in Belfast Northern Ireland. Although my GP mentioned hip replacement for both hips she did advise me on life style changes. I am currently very over weight and know well the implications of this on my joints. My difficulty is the i have been overweight for 25 yrs and come from a family who are all in the same boat. I have made the decision today that as soon as my foot heals that i will go to swimming and try really hard. With regard to the pain medication I will discuss this with my GP when i go in two weeks but in the meantime i will continue with the cocodamol. again thank you for your guidance....

Sheelagh

Hi Sheelagh..weight loss certainly makes a difference...I'm a real yo yo dieter and lost about 3 stone over the last year with Exante diet (look on internet) made a big difference but not enough to put off the op...I'm 63 and still in work so usually quite active...you must lose some weight if you ever go for the op as the weight on your arms on the crutches is quite hard. I've put about half a stone back on in the last 6 weeks...too much chocolate from well meaning visitors and not much moving...I'll start again on the Exante stuff soon and can lose about 5 lbs in a week....

You'll probably find others on the forum who tried steroid injections into the hip joint with a little short term success but if you want another 15/20 pain free years before you have them done again I'd recommend anyone to go for the surgery!!

Best of luck...keep posting on the forum....

Hi Sheelagh and Chrissy

I'm originally from Belfast {first 21 years} am now in the North East of England

Right.....about 10 years ago I went to my GP with a "sore leg" didn't even think arthritis.

He said "I cant find anything" I went back and forward to him and got the same reply and I

was on paracetamol.

Eventually I said I want a referral to the hospital......OK if that's what you want....and I got it.....he was one of these doctors that would rather write a prescription and get you out or refer you on to someone else. Needless to say I haven't been with him for years.

Got my referral.......saw the consultant.....he said lets have an x ray before we talk about it.

Had the x ray and made my way back to his room. He looked at the x rays and said ..."you

need 2 new hips" Gobsmacked was the word ....I couldn't say anything I got such a

shock

.

He booked me in for my first one and the second one was booked for months later.

First one went well.

Then he cancelled the 2nd one......it might be referred pain from your back to your hip he

said.....well I went back and forward between him and the back specialist one saying it was my hip one saying it was my back. Eventually I was diagnosed with kypho scoliosis .....

C shaped curve in my spine.

4 years from the first replacement......they decided that the 2nd one done might help my

back.....9 weeks ago I had it and things seemed to go well.....in on Fri, Op on Fri afternoon

and out on Mon.

You have restrictions for 6 weeks...Must sleep on your back, cant bend/twist etc

4 weeks on I was doing one of their exercises. Stand, hold the back of a chair and put one leg out to the side. It suddenly went CRACCCCKKKK and I couldn't put my weight on it.

Apparently a bit of bone {beside the replacement} had fractured.......so I'm back.....worse than I was before the 2nd op

I'm not a doctor.....this is only my experience. Everyone is different......I would say go for it.....my first one was fine.

Before the 2nd one......I was leading a reasonabley normal life....wouldn't let it get to me. I

have a car so that was a help. If I was walking {more than 30 mins} I would get sore but

that was my back rather than my hips.....so I just used crutches if I was walking around

shops etc. I'm a volunteer for Arthritis Care etc.......but got to admit feeling a bit "down" at

the minute because of this complication

Never mind ....that's my introduction....Gift of the Gab

Eileen

Hi Eileen...sorry you've had a bit of a setback...are they going to fix it...it happened to me but during the surgery....I understand the neck of the femur does sometimes crack while they're hammering the shaft of the new joint down the centre....I was told about 1in 5 chance...but will end up stronger as the bone grows around the wiring!

Anyway it just meant I'm non weight bearing for 6 weeks...tomorrow in fact so hoping for one crutch then none after this week...

As you'll see from the various hip replacement threads on this forum there are lots of different experiences and everyones recovery is different...still better than the pain before and hopefully can only get better...hope you get sorted soon!

Chris

Hi Crissy

I have seen you about before?? Arthritis Care forums maybe?

No......it didn't happen during surgery.......I was 4 weeks post op and counting the days

Then this suddenly happened. I was in hospital for another 3 days, nothing done, I was

told that there was nothing that they could do. It will sort itself out It will take a long time.

Couldn't get any time frame out of them and I was sent home with no instructions at all.....

you know how after a THR you have instructions...do and don't do etc

Apparently I fractured the Greater Tronchantar {Sp} bone???????

I've got an appointment in a few weeks time for a DEXA scan to check for osteoporosis..

I'm sorry you had problems as well. Was that non weight bearing for 6 weeks the 6 weeks after your THR?

I already had weeks of {not non weight bearing}hobbling around on 2 crutches and having everything done for me. Then this,.,.......the nearest I could get from one person was about another 6 weeks.

Apparently I will be left with a "dip" not quite sure what that is......I imagine it as having one foot in a high heel {that was a long time ago and one flat....but don't know.

I can hobble around the house with one crutch but my legs are very sore {heavy might be a better description} Outside its 2 crutches and that's only for a few mins. I use a mobility

scooter if I want to go far and then use the crutches for a little bit.

Good luck for tomorrow hope you get going on one crutch.

Its true ....everyone is different.....these are just our experiences

Eileen

Hi Eileen...yes I've posted on a few forums...and Face Book ...a bit of an ipad geek really!!

Non weight bearing just for first 6 weeks from op which takes me to to orrow...There was another woman in tne hydro pool with me and physio last week and without the complication she was on one crutch after 4...,

if you google there are lots of leaflets from different hospitals and FAQs but makes the mind boggle when the advice is so different...we've booked a week inCornwall from 4-11th April so hope to be more mobile and driving by then!