Really bad pain day, feeling down

Limpingandinpain

Today has been my worst day yet. I have very advanced osteoarthritis in both hips and normally manage ok with one stick; even if its painful I can generally get about.

Today has been horrific right from the word go. My hips both had times of locking with no warning while I was walking around the house, and I almost fell several times due to this - one would lock when I had most of my weight on it while I was moving the other leg forward and it completely knocks me off balance when this happens.

I've also had this hideous thing going on with the right one - all of a sudden it's like a loud snapping/cracking noise - far louder than the usual creaks and clicks, and it's mostly been while I've been standing doing something like folding washing. It's accompanied by an almighty pain and then the hip kind of gives way and almost throws me forward a bit - bad enough in the house when I had a worktop there to grab onto but it happened while I was crossing a road and it gave me the fright of my life. I thought I was about to faceplant the road but somehow managed to stay upright. The pain had me in tears by the time I got into into the car.

Does anyone else get that snapping thing and is there any way of dealing with it? I feel like a nervous wreck tonight, I've had so many narrow escapes today 😥

LauraB

What a horrible day for you. I experience similar giving way episodes with my right leg. It’s all so unpredictable isn’t it? I find that on a particularly bad day I have to accept doing as little as possible, take the pain relief and distract myself with reading : puzzles/ tv. A snooze if possible also helps. Are you waiting for surgery?

A few days have passed since you posted so I really hope you are feeling a little less frightened .

Limpingandinpain

Thank you so much for your lovely reply. Things have been really bad for a few days and I'm struggling mentally too now, my head just feels all over the place today and I keep bursting into tears for no reason that I can really work out. I know I'm exhausted which isn't helping. I'm waiting for surgery, he thinks it would be in the first few weeks of next year, and that's scaring me too. I'm absolutely terrified at the thought. My parents want to pay for me to go privately for the first hip, to get it done quicker but I'm just not sure, it's so expensive. I feel like such a useless wife and mum at the moment and can't get any enjoyment out of anything.

Coddfish

Please don’t be scared at the thought of surgery @Limpingandinpain. I am 2 months out and it has made a huge difference to my life. The first two or three weeks are fairly obviously going to be difficult but you soon notice the difference. If your parents can afford to pay for you to go privately it might be worth it but there are still substantial queues even for private treatment. I was quoted 3-6 months although I actually only had to wait just over 2 months thanks to being willing to go at short notice when they had a cancellation.