Hip Issues

Dazza4875

Hi all, this is my first post, glad that I have found this site, it has so much information and advice. Info on me, been suffering with right hip pain since early Dec 2020. Went to Doctors mid January and Physio carried out some movement tests and found that I had limited movement in hip. They sent me for an x-ray and it came back as minor degenerative issue and was going to present my case the next day to a meeting. Following this I have been referred to Orthopaedic for more tests etc. Due to pain I have been put on Naproxen 500mg and Co-Codamol 30/500, Co-Codamol didn't help much so been put on Tramadol 50mg which does help slightly but still in pain. I contacted Physio again to see why I was in so much pain if it was minor degenerative, I was then told that the x-rays showed severe arthritis in my right hip and minor in left hip. To be honest this has hit me like a brick wall, I'm only 45 years of age, struggling walking, cannot walk far and in constant pain. I'm looking to see what other people are doing for exercise, pain management and any other information or advice they can give me.

[Deleted User]

Hi @Dazza4875,

Welcome to the online community! It's lovely to have you here.

I see you have been recently diagnosed with arthritis in your hips and are dealing with mobility issues and pain.

I hope you will find this link helpful:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2019/may/ways-to-help-manage-hip-pain/

Careful exercise is one of the best things you can do for your joints. However, if you feel your pain is getting unmanageable, it can be good to know that you can always ask your GP for a referral to a specialist pain clinic: How to get NHS help for your pain - NHS (www.nhs.uk).

I'm sure other members will weigh in with personal experiences and tips. In the meantime, please feel free to join in any discussions you like on the forum. It's good to talk :)

Best wishes,

Sarah (moderator) x

Dazza4875

Hi Sarah,

Many thanks for the reply and link, this will give me some help and assistance with managing ways of doing things.

It would be great to hear how others are coping and what they find useful in everyday tasks.

Darren

Lilymary

Hi @Dazza4875 , sorry to hear about your diagnosis. While mine kicked in later in life than you (I was 60 when diagnosed, but reasonably fit and very active), it's pretty much the same story. Bit of discomfort and reduced mobility for a year or so, then it suddenly got worse, doc and physio initially said wear and tear but xray said "you need a new hip" and there I was, suddenly on the list for surgery. I had no idea it was coming either, but arthritis does run in my family.

I was also put on Naproxen and 30/500 cocodamol, which just about makes the pain bearable, but pretty much everyone on here finds nothing completely eliminates the pain, but there are ways of learning to reduce it a bit and learning to live with it. This is a really good link that will give you some tips, but everyone's different as to what works for them.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

Sadly for me I'm beyond help with physio and exercise - pretty much everything I do makes it worse, but I know some people for whom keeping the muscles strong around the hip joint made a big difference - one friend whose joint was bone on bone is a ski instructor so had amazing leg muschles, so she was still walking her dogs right up to surgery. I've gone from fell walking to just about getting round a supermarket with a stick in 12 months. 😥 Any exercises such as yoga or pilates, or even a gentle walk, is just pure pain for me.

With arthritis, overdoing it will make the pain worse. So no "pushing through the pain barrier" with this. If it hurts, stop, or do it differently.

Apart from drugs, taking your thoughts away from the pain, so it kids your brain into not realising how much pain your in, is really helpful. Distraction by getting absorbed in something you enjoy - for me it's pottering in the garden or box sets and terrible movies, but it can include crafts, study, work, talking with friends and family (even better when we can actually meet up with them!), watching sport etc.

Meditation and mindfulness can also be helpful, there are lots of good self help guides, but my favourite book is "Teach Yourself to Meditate" by Eric Harrison. Straight talking, fairly concise, easy to read and navigate around the book, builds up your skills in stages, you can just do as much or as little that works for you. It doesn't require a spiritual aspect, but I'm sure you could build that in if you're that way minded.

I also find a hot wheat bag on my hip (microwave variety) is helpful if I've had a hard day. I also found losing a bit of weight helpful, as it took the strain off my hip, but that's easier said than done...

Do what exercise you can, it's good to keep the rest of your body in toned and flexible. You won't be able to do high impact (eg running) exercise for now, but you may be able to manage walking, and gentle pilates and yoga will also keep you from seizing up. You could also look at "Lets Move with Leon" on this site, which will help keep the rest of your body moving.

Pacing is also important - there's a section on this at the end of the article above. Burning out and overdoing it with arthritis means it will take you longer to recover. So learn to priorise how you use your ration of energy each day. It soon becomes a useful life skill. My superpower is saying "no", or "not right now".

Acceptance of your diagnosis can also be hard , and some activities will be too painful to continue. For each of those that you have to let go, replace it with something else that you enjoy, as depression can make the pain worse, and sadly arthritis can get you low. So enlist the support and understanding of friends and family, help them to understand how this affects you, and how they can help.

These are just for starters, but there a loads of lovely people on this site who can offer advice and support, be there for you when you've had enough (we all know how THAT feels!) or share a giggle or a success story, however big or small.

Trawl around this site and see what else you can find. Take care. x

Dazza4875

Hi all, bit of an update, been struggling last couple of days, cannot stay standing for longer than 20 seconds, doubled up in pain, its disrupting my sleep and nearly collapsed getting out of bed this morning. Spoke to doctors again cos Tramadol not touching pain and he has put me on Gabapentin as well as Tramadol and also take Paracetamol and rest. Pain is unbearable, best way to describe it is toothache in my thigh.

Many thanks to lilymary for the reply, symptoms sound the same, so sorry you are suffering with the same.

Netflix gonna take a hammering.

Dazza4875

Further update, pain unbearable overnight and this morning, was on verge of going to A&E but doctors phoned saying that the Gabapentine takes time to kick in and I will see an improvement and to make sure I take full dose of other painkillers.

They did also say that what I'm suffering with is very severe and its bone on bone.

Cannot understand why it's gone from xrays showing OK, then minor degenerative, then severe and now very severe with it being bone on bone.

Hope tabs kick in soon.

Jewels

Hi @Dazza4875 I'm having hip problems mine keeps making my leg give way been trying to get in the doctors all week you sound like your having a really rough time hope your meds kick in soon mate keep your chin up 😁

Lilymary

Sorry to hear you’re still struggling @Dazza4875 , that sounds unbearable. I can at least still get around a bit and get some sleep, but my hip has got worse really fast over the last 12 months, and more recently since new year. I hate to think how much worse it will get before my turn comes round for a new hip 😢it’s so exhausting, and the pills are starting to affect my eyesight now 😢as well as energy and oh dear lord, my bathroom antics.

if it helps at all, the pain for me was MUCH worse in the first few months. I had a gentle tumble onto my backside that didn’t hurt at the time, but over the next few weeks my limp and general soreness in my hip really ramped up to the point of complete and utter agony. My theory is that the fall knocked of a loose bit of cartilage and it floated round the joint creating mayhem till it finally got shoved into a corner where it couldn’t do much harm, but leaving me with bone on bone. This took about 3 or 4 months, but as it was during the first lockdown I could just sit and whimper rather than battle on with work etc. I don’t think I could have worked anyway the pain was so bad. No sleep, agony every time I so much as moved, turning over in bed was an exercise in full body planking to avoid moving the hip joint. Even sitting on the loo was painful. (TMI?). But eventually it settled down, just a bit. I woke up one morning not in agony. It was a revelation. The rest of summer and autumn was almost productive. Not quite, just almost. But since then the old bone on bone action (is that rude? I’m too old to know and too knackered to care) has taken its toll and the whole thing is degenerating to a new level of grinding pain, shots of agony and zero energy.

BUT, at least that’s better than it was 9 months ago. I hope yours takes a similar course and settles down a bit, and that the drugs finally kick in.

frogmorton

Hi@Dazza4875

Is surgery not an option for you? I am just wondering...

I know you are 'young' but have you seen an orthopedic surgeon at all for an opinion?

I am presuming that you need to work full-time at the moment and maybe even have dependents?

Dazza4875

Been referred to orthopedic dept, I'm going off what physio has been told from the xray I had. They had a MCAS clinic and discussed the findings, luckly this meeting was the next day from having my xray results.

I'm on sick at the moment, doctor wants me to rest up and wait for the Gabapentine to kick in. I'm working form home anyway so it will make things easier when I start back next week (depending on if tabs KICK in).