Clunking hip replacement

Yes Mishap, I had exactly this with my hip. I put it down to tendons or something clunking over the head of the new joint. It wasn't painful just worrying. I don't know when but at some point it just disappeared.

My knee is doing the same thing atm, guess that will sort itself out in time.

That is reassuring pompa - mine is also still painful (that has never stopped) but I do find the clunk really disconcerting. It is good to hear that it might settle.

I have a numbness all down my leg which is also disconcerting.

Mine clunks if I bend and twist I try to remember not to do it but forget sometimes especially when I'm cleaning the shower.,.. I've got used to it now .

We are a noisy lot!

May I ask a question? How bad does your hip have to be, before you are considered for surgery? I am in almost constant pain with my left hip. Paracetamol is useless and ibuprofen makes me burp. I have not been to the GP about it,could now be a good time?

IMO, as soon as it prevent you from doing everyday things, it's time to get it investigated,

Yes, hildajj, please go to your GP about your hip because the sooner you get things moving, the sooner you can see a consultant and get a date for surgery. It certainly sounds as if you need a solution to your pain. I was referred to a physio to be sure - and she was very sure! Then the x-ray showed the joint as badly calcified. Game on!

Okay, thanks. I'll try to get an appointment for later in the week, and see what they say.

By the way I am 63, this isn't too young is it?

Another pointer can be if the pain keeps you awake at night or worse still, wakens you.

No, I was 62 when I had my hip replaced.

Re age, many orthopaedic consultants will have a mental age at which they prefer not to operate on a patient but it should be quality of life that comes into the scenario. It depends a lot on where you live.

A note of caution from me about stopping you doing everyday things - at present, 6 months post-surgery there are more everyday things that I can no longer do than there were before. I may just be unlucky; but I am now being continually told that sometimes it takes a year or more to get back to some semblance of normal - I was not told this before the surgery. And I am also being told that I can no longer twist my body - I was not warned about this.

What I have gained is that I can remain standing, which I could not do before without my hip getting totally locked. But up to now, I have paid a heavy price for this surgery.

I think it is important to go into it with eyes open: the vast majority of people make a speedy recovery, but that is not always the case, and as soon as I started having problems I heard a very different story from the surgeon and the physios to the one I heard beforehand. I am not suggesting for a moment they pulled the wool over my eyes, but they presented a rosier picture than I now know can be the case.

I hope that lots of other posters will now come on here and say how brilliant theirs has been so that you can get a balanced view.

I totally agree with you Mishap- some sail through it but it is still a tough op afterwards because I feel that you have stop and think how you are going to do certain tasks. Gone are the days when you can bend over and pick something up.

An elderly aunt had hers replaced and more by good luck she did not dislocate hers but it was not for want of trying- kneeling down to clean the kitchen floor and sitting on a very low sofa were two stupid things she did which spring to mind.

It normally takes a year before you are back to normal but I still feel that the hip replacement surgery should not be put out of your mind totally. I will not go into what could be long term complications but one has to be aware and as Mishap says, go into surgery with your eyes open.

The thing is, when the hip pain gets to a certain level there is little alternative to risking a hip replacement.

I have been very lucky. Three and a half months on, I hardly think of my hip.

However, a couple of months ago I developed rheumatoid arthritis and I can't help suspecting that it was the trauma of the op which brought it on (I was awake some of the time hearing all the banging and so on).

petallus I doubt it because RA is an auto immune disease and would not be affected by you having a THR.

Oh dear! Surgery is a very big step, that is why I have been putting off going to see the doctor. I don't know how long I will be able to carry on as I am though.

Bad luck petallus - I hope you are getting some good treatments for your RA.

As to the hip surgery - I really do think that I had little choice but to go for it. I had multiple osteophytes which are little bony growths in the socket and the ball which lock together like cogs and make it very hard indeed (and very painful) to unlock your hip and sit down after standing for a short time. And there was no rest from the pain when sitting or lying down. A further factor for me was my intolerance of strong painkillers.

Each person needs to make the decision on the basis of their circumstances and with the right advice, but I hope that the comments in my previous post might help to guide the sort of questions that you might like to ask.

charleygirl it's possible the trauma affected my immune system. I suggested it to a Registrar and she agreed it was possible but she might have been just humouring me!

It's an interesting possibility. When my mother died very suddenly my father coped very well except he came out in weeping sores all over his body and also developed quite severe excema.

IMO, the longer you put up with the disability that hip pain inflicts, the weaker your muscles will get and the longer the recovery will be.

I do think that is true pompa and that some of my current problems are related to my broken foot (not on the hip side) which has not healed and leaves me with a limp and impaired mobility - so I started from a pretty low point muscle-strength wise even before the surgery.

I agree with pompa, don't leave yourself in severe pain. At least get a professional opinion and you can go from there.

I agree with pompa, putting it off is only delaying the inevitable and your muscles will waste if you are not using them because of the pain. The stronger you are going into the surgery the quicker you will recover.