1. Community
  2. Operations and surgical procedures
  3. Hip Replacement

Pain 3 weeks post hip replacement

Posted , 10 users are following.

vicki_04437
vicki_04437

Hi my daughter is 16 and 3 weeks ago had an uncemented total hip replacement. She is still in a considerable amount of pain, is this to be expected?

Thanks Vicki

4 likes, 17 replies

17 Replies

Next
  • NeilColeclough
    NeilColeclough vicki_04437

    Posted

    Hi. I am currently 16 days post-op and have had pain well under control from day 4 onwards. I take 1000mg of Paracetamol and, depending on pain level at the time, either 30mg or 60mg of codeine EVERY 6 hours. For reference, I am a 53 year old male.

    I hope your daughter manages to get her pain resolved, but I think I would be contacting the surgeon if I were you, pain can hinder recovery.

    Neil

  • Jackie_k
    Jackie_k vicki_04437

    Posted

    Hello, I totally agree with Neil, I'm a 47 year old female and 1 year post op uncemented, for the first month I was alternating between paracetamol and ibuprofen as they said not to drop below my pain threshold (which varies from person to person) it was only after that month that I began to reduce the amount, where is her pain? Hip or leg area? She is so young to have THR, were there other contributing factors? X
    • vicki_04437
      vicki_04437 Jackie_k

      Posted

      Hi jackie

      Em's had a pretty tough life, she suffered a brain injury at birth which caused a stroke, she has mild cerebral palsy and refractory epilepsy. She also has DDH which went undiagnosed until she was nearly 1. She has had many operations on her hip and pelvis, the last 5 or so have just been firefighting really until she could have a thr.

      She's been in terrible life changing pain for about a year and was made wheelchair bound by it, when the surgeon did the thr he found her ball and socket had totally crumbled away it was far worse than he had thought it was. Emily kept saying it felt like crumble topping!

      I think the problem is she has very little muscle in her left leg, this is the side of the surgery, so it's going to take time, she was also on big pain meds pre op so has probably built up a tolerance. I was hoping to cut down on her codeine, but I think I've probably jumped in too soon and need to give her longer.

      Vicki

    • Jackie_k
      Jackie_k vicki_04437

      Posted

      Goodness me poor kid! What an amazing mum you are! X  i was born with hip displacia that wasn't picked up until I was 6 months old and crawling (albeit with one leg) I  had multiple op's a a baby/toddler which left me with plates and pins all down my left side, these deteriorated over time and had to be removed when I was a teenager, this consequently left my left side with very little muscle so my THR has not been overly quick in the healing department as I never had great muscle tone there to support the implant in the first place, I'm a year post op and I do feel it has settled/bedded in now but I will always be able to "feel" the implant and probably so will your daughter but hopefully not to the extent she does now, my very best wishes to her xxx
  • renee01952
    renee01952 vicki_04437

    Posted

    Good morning Vicki, 

    Welcome to this wonderful forum ... 

    I am so sorry to hear that your daughter is in so much pain ... 

    Can you tell us what kind of pain she is feeling? And, if you don't mind, why did she have THR surgery ... 

    Is she walking and doing exercises - could she have overdone it ?

    IS she taken medication for pain?   If it is really bad, please contact your GP or consultant to put your and her mind at ease ...

    Warm hug for both of you

    renee

    Some pain is normal and to be expected 

    • vicki_04437
      vicki_04437 renee01952

      Posted

      Hi Renee

      She has been doing a bit of walking, with a frame, as she can only partially weight bare which is a big thing for her as she has been almost totally wheelchair bound for the last year due to pain and weakness in her hip.

      She is taking Naxaproxen, paracetamol and codeine. I had decreased the codeine as she seemed comfortable but I'm thinking I've done this too soon.

      Em finds it hard to describe pain, she says it hurts in her thigh like it's got a bruise on it and hurts over her knee.

      Vicki x

  • Kate53CornUK
    Kate53CornUK vicki_04437

    Posted

    Hi Vicki, I am 52 and had an un-cemented. I also had a lot of pain in the first 2-3 weeks. All the pain was centred mid thigh, about where the end of the 'spike' is. GP said it was normal because the protheses moves a little more than a cemented and takes a while to bed down. Agree with others, keep the meds up and TAKE IT EASY. She has just had the top of her femur sawn off - there is bound to be pain and discomfort for a while.
    • vicki_04437
      vicki_04437 Kate53CornUK

      Posted

      Hi there

      That's really useful to know because that's exactly where most of the pain is. I had read that uncemented joints can take longer to settle pain wise.

    • Kate53CornUK
      Kate53CornUK vicki_04437

      Posted

      That's true, Vicky. The pain is quite intense as well and with me it used to just start up whether I was walking or not. I listened to what others said on this site, and tried to compare my pain levels and found I seemed to be in more pain. However, things changed gradually and the pain receded. keep up the meds, the walking and the resting. Just be patient especially as Emily has such a tough time before.

      Oh, and 5 weeks in I still get quite a lot of knee pain but it gets a little better each day.

  • renee01952
    renee01952 vicki_04437

    Posted

    Dear Vicki, 

    what a strong girl Em is to handle all these challenges - and you too Vicki .. 

    THR involves prothesis to be put in the bone of the thigh (and ball in hip socket - not a medical term, I know) - So that might explain the soreness in her upper thigh as well around the knee - If she is walking, muscles are being used that have not been used for a long time ..

    You might consider giving her the codeine for a bit longer - to be in pain is exhausting and debilitating ... 

    Love, light and healing rays send to both of you ..

    Bless you

    renee

  • bridget54922
    bridget54922 vicki_04437

    Posted

    every one is different  it is early days i had my hip replaced 23/11/2011 and have only been fairly pain free the last 12 weeks
  • laura85375
    laura85375 vicki_04437

    Posted

    Hi Vivki, 

    pain is so subjective and with her history she Has certainly had a fair amount of it.  Most of us on here will tell you that although we were able to start reducing our pains meds after a few weeks, we still have days were we need the, again for the whole day.  I'm having one of those today 8 weeks on.  I too had an uncemented hip, uncemented both in the femur and in the acetabulum but I was walking and exercising before my op so potentially have more muscle strength than your daughter.  Just encourage her to keep doing the regular gentle exercises, keep relatively mobile and keep taking the painkillers for now.  

    We we will be interested to hear how she is progressing.   Big healing hugs for her.

    laura 

  • Jujube56
    Jujube56 vicki_04437

    Posted

    Hi Vicky,

    I'm at 11 weeks and the first 3 weeks were tough primarily because the pain meds didn't really work.  I did find that icing my hip would help.  Your daughter has probably gotten through the worst and it should be better soon.  If not, I would consult with the surgeon.  Prayers going out to you both.

Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.