Time for a second opinion?
Posted , 8 users are following.
How long after a THA is it appropriate to get a second opinion? I am 3 months post op, and thought I would be doing much better by now. I did tear a quad muscle tripping over a curb and walked on that for a month. I had it repaired 10 days ago. I have more consistent pain in my hip than I did before my surgery. Very frustrated that I cannot even walk my dog 10 minutes; use a trekkng pole for safety and support. Am I just being too impatient? I have had both knees done and they were a cakewalk compared to this. The THA is the first sugery I have ever had where I have no sense that I am getting better- each day seems like the one before it. I try to be proactive and hope not to be posting this same message in a year. Thank you so much for your input.
2 likes, 22 replies
sarah1996 barb31596
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barb31596 sarah1996
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annie.conway barb31596
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barb31596 annie.conway
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Your surgery is so recent. Are you doing too much? As I have learned the hard way, healing takes far more time than seems reasonable to me. If you have the stomach for it, watch a hip replacement on youtube.
I wish you well,
Barb
annie.conway barb31596
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rose0000 barb31596
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That is definitely going set you back in terms of recovery time, but it shouldn't be a problem in the long run if it has been repaired/healed.
What are you most concerned about, is your hip joint hurting? Or is it just the lack of recovery...I have to be honest the recovery is slow, it really is, but you have come on, as even walking the dog is more than you did 6 weeks ago, and I am sure if you think about it you are doing far more than you were doing a few weeks back.
Having said all of this, I would not wait to get a second opinion if you are in pain and are worried, there is no point to wait, if you book an appointment at best you will just need reassurance and the worst case is that there is something wrong. It won't harm to find out especially given you have had a fall.
AnnieK barb31596
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I waited 6 months before going for the second opinion. After THR I did lots of PT because I still had a limp. X-rays of implants looked fine, but they don't show soft-tissue injuries. And then there was Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it took awhile. By 6 months, I was really sure that my pain and severe limp were not going to get better. I kept bugging my original surgeon, and he kept saying there was weakness and do more PT, or steroids, or injections. He referred me to someone else in his medical group, a physiatrist, who had my back/spine thoroughly checked out to see if that was the problem, even had a sacroiliac joint injection, and ruled out problems in that area. That took time.
Went back to original surgeon and he had absolutely no idea of what was wrong. That's when I stopped going to him, found the new surgeon, got proper interpretation of my MRI, and got my torn gluteus medius diagnosed. I was also tested/scanned for other problems, such as infection and prosthesis loosening.
Any competent orthopedist should be able to diagnose your problems using physical exam and scans/tests. If/when you do go for that second opinion, be sure to go to someone in a completely different practice/medical group.
barb31596 AnnieK
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michelb barb31596
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Good luck,
Mike
sarah1996 michelb
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michelb sarah1996
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My surgeon wants to wait 3 weeks but I'm likely going to contact in a week if I don't feel that it's improving.
Good luck,
Mike
barb31596 michelb
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My leg length discreptancy is 3 cms. I ordered heel lifts (adjust a lift) from Amazon. I put one in all my right shoes and I never think about it.
Just a thought,
Barb
sarah1996 michelb
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michelb sarah1996
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sarah1996 michelb
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michelb sarah1996
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sarah1996 michelb
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annie.conway michelb
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