Hip problem

I should have said that the hip has been a slight problem for several years but has decided to make itself more if a problem in the last month or so

I had a hip-replacement 9yrs ago so have been where you are, when pain is disturbing your sleep and affecting your life significantly then its time to do something. The problem is doctors usually work their way through a whole list of 'fixes' before they recommend surgery, have you actually seen your doctor about your hip and has he prescribed treatments, such as pain relief, physio, anti-inflammatories, injections?
Your GP will probably want you to try these if you haven't already before he refers you. So see your GP and explain how its affecting you so. I was at the stage where I couldn't do my job because of the pain when I was referred so it will also depend on how much you are prepared to put up with..
Its no joke being in that kind of pain I hope you get a sympathetic reponse from your doctor.

Just to add my sleep was so disturbed by the pain at night I wasn't getting more than a few hours sleep and my work was badly affected.

From my experience things have changed in 9 years. Surgeons now tend to look at the impact in your life rather than solely the clinical picture.

And age - they won't touch me until I am 60, because they don't want to have to do it twice. Apparently there's a high incidence of failures for the second replacement.

I'm 68 Jane, so that shouldn't be a problem for me

Tanith - no, I haven't seen my doctor yet about this, The last time I saw him was for a rib fracture last year when he advised an MRI scan, diagnosis was osteopenia (which I had to Google!) so now I'm on Alendronic acid, calcium tablets & vit D with another scan in a year. Would this MRI scan not shown any hip problem?

I had mine done at 56 for I was very grateful . I think the MRI would of possibly shown your hip problem but at that time you weren't complaining of it were you? In my experience doctors seem to only deal with the problem you are consulting them about and don't necessarily bring attention to something else unless of course its something very serious that needs urgent attention Osteo-Arthritis doesn't usually require urgent attention unfortunately.

Has my hip replaced four weeks ago. Thank goodness! It is such a relief.

Yes, the doctor will want to do assessments; we have an orthopaedic assessment dept at the surgery and are referred there first. This assesses now you are coping day to day - but the time I had my last assessment I realised how much I couldn't do, and was referred to the consultant.

The pain was dreadful; do start the procedures, yogagirl - then you are in the system. I am the same age as you, by the way!

I agree with Tanith that once the pain affects your sleep significantly that is the time to see your GP. I am amazed that you can walk so far without pain.

I coped with my arthritic knee until the pain woke me several times during the night. I then decided I had to do something about it.

Charleygirl, the most painful time for me is when I first stand up after sitting for even a short time. The pain seems generally to ease as I move around which is why I'm confused as to what is going on!

I'm wondering if the Alendronic acid that I'm taking us the cause of the pain as I've just read the gumpf that comes with the tablets, one of the common side effects apparently is "joint, muscle or bone pain". A call to the surgery tomorrow I think

Its seems its very possible yogagran I'm glad you are biting the bullet and seeing the doctor..

It is not unusual for the pain to ease after moving about - I certainly found this. I would set off on a walk limping badly and gradually walk through it - I believe it is something to do with the lubrication that is stimulated by movement.

My biggest problem was that I could only stay standing for a matter of moments before my hip would lock - a bit embarrassing during concerts in which I was singing.

Hi Yogagran.
I had my hip replaced 6 years ago. No way would I put up with pain of worn out hips or knees.
Hip replacement is common place today, very straightforward if you are in good health otherwise.
I won't lie to you, it is painful for a couple of weeks afterwards and you will need pain killers, uncomfortable for a few more weeks, but in my experience I was 90% back to normal after 3 months. Took about a year before I forgot I even had a replaced hip and was 100% fit.
You will need to follow the physio regime if you want to recover asap.
When my other hip starts to get painful, I will be asking for a replacement asap, no point in putting it of, get your life back asap.
See your Dr. he will probably send you for an XRay which will show how worn your hip is and enable you to make a decision.

It may not be arthritis, could be bursitis, mine eases when I walk, hurts and wakes me up at night. It's helped by anti inflammatories, but I limit them.

A brief update on my hip problem - I saw my doctor on Monday (most impressed that after talking to the receptionist who said there were no appointments with him until the following week, the doctor rang me and decided that I should see him that day!). He suggested that I stop taking the Alendronic acid as apparently it can cause problems in the joints it's supposed to help. He booked me in for a series of blood tests the next day and gave me a form for our local hospital x-ray department. So now I'm waiting for the results of the x-ray, blood test and will see if there's any improvement on stopping the Alendronic tablets

Things are moving in the right direction for you now. Fingers crossed stopping that drug may alleviate some of the pain.

Glad to hear there is some movement regards your hip problem as Charleygirl says hopefully stopping the drug will help.

I was wondering on the same lines as Iam64, but let's hope stopping the Alendronic helps. I get bursitis but recently it seems to have stopped (that's tempting fate I know), it used to really make me hobble and is very painful, especially after getting out of a chair or the car.

I'd just like to say that you should not worry about a hip replacement op if you need one. Unlike Pompa I had no pain after the operation and was back to 'normal' within 3/4 months. I've totally forgotten about the whole thing.

But it is as well to be realistic - my physio said that one of the reasons I am so disappointed with my hip replacement is that my expectations were too high. I am 5 months down the line and still have pain and numbness down my leg and foot. Now - I do know that this is not the usual outcome, but it is as well to be aware that sometimes things progress slowly for some people - we are not all the same. At the moment I am no better off than I was before, but I am assured that time will settle things for me. So go into it with eyes open, knowing that you will probably be one of the 95% who have no problems; but prepared to face whatever comes.

To put my comment about pain in perspective, it was only for a couple of weeks and was controlled with paracetamol. It was never bad enough to prevent me sleeping. I would have no hesitation in having my other hip replaced when/if the time comes.

Do you have a pain in the thigh? Do you fall over or trip over? As well as the other posted questions. I was really fed up last October after complaining about many symptoms over many years to gp. I had to give up working too. Pain and limp very very bad whilst on holiday at this time. So I paid £45 and had xray plus discussion with surgeon at Turkish hospital. He showed me end stage osteo arthritis on xray and offered to take me in his hospital next day. But I came back to uk with Xray to show gp. My first and only xray at this time.

How old is Craig Revel Horwood or Heston Blumenthal? Both had THR last year.

I am not convinced that Craig Revel Horwood had a full hip replacement because he has been seen cavorting around on TV a few months post op and those specific activities could cause dislocation of his hip, if it was a full relacement.