Pain attached to hip arthritis !

I had some pain for years, but the worst was the 6 months before surgery. My surgeon gave me options including pain pills (not what I wanted due to many side effects) or waiting. I didn't want to wait as my hip was bone-on-bone and would never improve. The pain was often and hurt.

I sometimes used a cane to help with walking but could manage without it on better days.

Having THR was the best decision for me at the time (almost 5 moths ago).

I have arthritis in my hips, knee and various other joints.  The pain in my knee is the worse although my Gp says X-ray of my hips show they are really  bad. It hurts standing or bending from the hips on top of the knee  pain.  I feel a wreck.

I am in constant pain and cannot walk without a stick.

i am seeing a knee replacement consultant soon for some answers,but feel if I had that done I would be no better off. 

Hi Helen,

I slipped over in December 2009, around October 2010 I had groin pain and from then on it got slowly worse over the years. Probably 5 or 6 years ago I started limping , hubby called me a penguin as I have been walking like one.

I continued exercising, pilates, aerobics, using an ellipitcal walker which helped the pain, maybe I have a higher pain threashhold. This last year I could not walk without a stick even around the around the house sometimes. But I was really scared of having an operation, I knew though it was overdue, I was lucky really after I eventually saw the surgeon in February I had op within six weeks.

If you do decide to have the op I would advise you to get as fit as possible, eat well and exercise it will aid your recovery from surgery and possibly the amount of pain you suffer.

I had pain off and on for a couple of years.  By the time I saw the Doctor, both hips were bone on bone and I was not sleeping at night.  Could barely get up a flight of stairs.  I had no choice but to have both hips replaced.  Had them done the end of January.  I still have a lot of thigh pain about three inches below my incisions. BUT I can stand straight, walk better and climb stairs again.  I am just hoping the pain goes away.

I had hip dysplasia due to a breech birth injury. Over the years (Im 52) it rubbed wrong and wore down to bone on bone. I put up with pain for about 15 years. Last 2 years have been unbearable. Unable to sleep due to tossing and turning from pain. Pain all day, every day. I HOBBLED unaided. Tried not to take too much Ibuprofen. Some days I just HAD to. Im not a drug taker.

Told my dr I couldn't take it anymore. After x ray exam he stated "you need a total hip replacement".

I waited for 10 months for my surgery but here in Canada we don't pay a dime....so I was happy to wait.

Surgery was 7 weeks ago and Im one happy lady even though I still have a few pings and twinges and walk with a cane. To be free from old hip pain and have my range of motion returned is LIFE CHANGING! 😊

My pain started about a year ago with pains in my right calf ,thigh and hip which has progressed to thr last 5 months with severe pain in buttock groin and hip and thigh at this present time had an xray in feb and was told i had osteoarthritis in r/hip saw consultant in march have just got my letter for pre op in august for thr 2 wks later ,i take naproxen 500mg twice a day co codamol 8 a day when im at work and on my days off i have dihdrocodeine up to 6 a day none of which touch the pain have tried golden paste,canabis oil,karma rub you name it nothing takes away the constant pain ,i also have a horrible limp and have fell a couple of times with weakness in my right leg so looking forward to getting it sorted.

I was 1st diagnosed in 2000 woth O.A in my left hip due to problems with it when I was younger - about 12 years of age. Had to have it twisted and pinned in place. I then had TLHR in 2006, the day before I was 36! (Happy birthday to me!!) The relief afterwards was incredible as the pain I had been experiencing became horrendous and my posture was out of line. Painwise before the op, I can only describe as someone chipping away at the bone. After the op I did experience a lot of pain to start with but then it settled down.

With my 2nd hip I felt pain in my groin and also at the top of thigh/hip. My g.p's registrar didn't think it was anything to worry about as did a physio that I saw. But then had an xray the reported degenerative wear and tear ( to me that meant arthritis!) My G.P aksed what I wanted to do and I told him I wanted it replaced as was not going to wait as long as before. (6 years from diagnosis to treatment). So in April last year was on waiting list, then on 27th Dec last year had the op. Was in hospital for 2 &1/2 days. With minimal pain this time. So much better this time round. Prior to both ops, I didn't need walking aids but was on strong pain killers. But I do suffer from back pain but I that its a combination of many things e.g general wear and tear due to my job (I'm a carer assistant - for 30 years), also due to my posture being affected and then trying to correct itself after the ops. I still take painkillers to keep things stable.

My pain was not excruciating, but that was probably because I got hip injections every six months. I could walk without assistance but it was not comfortable to walk very far. I had to cut back on the distance that I could go. I took Mobic but nothing really helped. X-rays indicated that I needed both hips replaced. My daughter-in-law thought that I should have them done sooner rather than later while I was still healthy enough to deal with rehab. She was probably right. Getting down on the floor to do my exercises is not the easiest thing to do and getting up is even harder! Where are you that you have to pay 10,000 pounds for the surgery?

Helen,

Thank you for the explanation on the cost. Here in the US, if one has health insurance, there is not much delay in getting the surgery done. And after the age of 65, most people automatically are eligible for Medicare. That is my case. My wait was about six weeks, so not long at all. I have now had both hips replaced.