Hip Arthritis

Nicj

I was diagnosed with advanced arthritis in my left hip in November last year. I have gone to no pain to barely being able to walk in this time. I can’t even sit or lie down without pain. My query is that despite trying numerous pain killer/anti inflammatory combinations nothing works! It’s not even that they don’t do much, they ha e no effect at all other than upset my tummy. Have tried all the usual painkillers, morphine patches and am now on Meloxicam for the last ten days and no improvement at all. I can honestly say it gets slightly worse daily. I am still waiting for an initial appt with consultant. I have seen physio who said I have reasonable range of movement compared to how the x ray looks but as much as I try I can barely do the exercises. I also have a lot of referred sciatic pain which affects my knee. I really am at my wits end and wonder if anyone could suggest any alternatives and whether they actually work eg tens machine xx

Poppyjane

Hi there @Nicj ,

You sound as though you are having a bad time with the pain in your hip and knee. I read that it can take up to two weeks for meloxicam to start taking effect so bear with it.

I see that you have sent a message to the Helpline team. They are available to talk to Monday to Friday 9.00 - 6.00 ,so I attach a link to the TENS information which I hope you will find helpful in the mean time.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/electronic-pain-relief

I don't have personal experience of them but I know members speak well of their benefit. So I hope that someone will be able to share their experience soon.

I hope it won't be too long before you get your appointment date to see/talk with your consultant. Do let us know how you get on with the medication.

Take Care

Poppyjane

Lilymary

I sympathise. My pain went from barely noticeable to off the scale in about a month, and never really calmed down till I got my new hip. The pain killers just took the edge of it at best, but it was 24/7, every day.

personally I didn’t notice any benefit from the TENS machine, but it’s worth a try at least. Do keep up with the physio if you can. But like you, I found it so painful I had to stop, even my physio agreed that if it was aggravating the pain so badly, I should do less, or easier exercises, but I found getting round for work etc left me exhausted and my hip too painful to even consider exercise. However, I feel that almost certainly affected my slow recovery post surgery, so do what little you feel you can. The stronger your muscles are, the better they support your joint, old and new.

But you’ll need more in your pain relief armoury, and some of the tips on here are very helpful. For those awful pulses of referred pain, I found mindfulness helpful to get through them. Distraction is also very good, ie do something that absorbs you as it will take your focus off the pain. Be it crafting, watching a movie, reading, or counter intuitively, walking or gardening. Gardening did it for me - even though I ended up in some odd positions cos of my hip, and there was a lot of grunting and cursing, just doing something I enjoyed made the pain fade into the background a bit, gave the rest of my body a bit of a work out and did my mental health no end of good.

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

keep posting on here, even for advice or just wanting to have a moan, this is a lovely friendly and helpful forum that got me though some tough times, and gave me a giggle too. It’s ok to feel fed up, we all know how rubbish arthritis feels.

helpline_team

Hi @Nicj

I'm sorry to hear that your hip is so painful. Am I right in thinking it's osteoarthritis? If you are unsure, please do get in touch and we may be able to help.

If a hip is becoming more continuously painful it's often a signal that you really need to see the orthopaedic specialist for their support. However there are some useful pointers in our hip pain information which you may want to go over (or see the osteoarthritis hip information if relevant).

When pain is a problem, it's always worth reviewing your self-management routines of keeping moving (& exercise) and healthy eating to keep your weight down. If you can consult a physiotherapist, then that's strongly encouraged as their practical advice can be of great help.

If you'd like to talk things over, you'd be most welcome to ring us here at the Helpline - 0800 5200 520.

Conditions | Types of arthritis, causes, treatments (versusarthritis.org)

Hip pain | Causes, exercises, treatments | Versus Arthritis

Best wishes

Guy - Helpline Team