Seeking help and advice

andywood

Hello all,

My local hospital has posted a leaflet with Versus Arthritis details on so I thought it might be a good idea to get in touch. Last year I was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis in my hips. I had the steroid injection in my right hip in November. It took away the pain and stiffness for 10 days. Now after speaking with the consultant, it's looking like the only way forward is a hip replacement. Having read the booklet the hospital has sent, I'm not sure whether I want to go down this route. I'd really appreciate it if I could have some help, maybe somebody to chat with, maybe to go over any concerns..I don't really know.

Anyway, this is the first time posting on a forum so let's see what happens. Thank you.

Andrew

Ellen

A quick welcome from me @andywood while you wait for the helpline team to get back to you.

If you get a minute do please look on the 'Life with arthritis' category there are a few threads running by people who have had Hip surgery this is one such which has lots of contributions from other 'hippies'

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/55224/hip-replacement-tips

Best wishes

Ellen.

Ian1966

Hello

I have osteoarthritis in both my hips and right shoulder which I have had since 2016 was diagnosed with mild osteoarthritis back then also have had another X-ray last month on my hips and its still mild i am on strong pain killers which I been on for some time I have seen my GP and we have both agreed that I need to come of the pain killers and has advised me to come of them slowly in the meantime my GP has started me on nerve tablets which are helping with the chronic pain I have asked my GP about asking for a assessment of my local council for support I have sent a online form explaining my situation and waiting for a reply.

My I ask what can I ask for when I get an appointment with my local council ie social services?

Many thanks

PeterJ

Hello @Ian1966 and welcome to the community. We are a friendly and supportive group and I hope that that will be your experience as well.

I understand that you have osteoarthritis in your hips and are being taken off your painkillers and onto other medication and that you are waiting for a local council support assessment. As regards what to ask for or discuss can I suggest that you contact our Helpline who may have some information available.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/get-help/

In the meantime you might find the following of interest

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2021/november/ways-to-help-manage-hip-pain/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/financial-support/

Please do keep posting and let us know how you get on and I am sure that others will connect with you to share their experiences as well.

With very best wishes

Peter

helpline_team

Hello @andywood

Thank you for posting on the forum. You have inflammatory arthritis in your hips and now it looks like the way forward is a hip replacement. Understandably you are unsure if you want to go down that route. I think it may be about weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of surgery, this is something you would want to talk to your consultant about.

You are very welcome to call us on our helpline: 0800 5200 520 (weekdays 9am-6pm) we are not medically trained, though we can talk through your concerns and any options you could try, if you don’t feel ready to go down the replacement route just yet.  

I can see that Ellen has given you a link to ‘hip replacement tips’ and that might be a useful read with regards to experience of others. You could also repost on the ‘living with arthritis’ forum where you will have more responses to your post.   

I have given you the link to our ‘hip replacement information’ and a link to the National Joint Registry which you might find interesting

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/surgery/hip-replacement-surgery/

https://www.njrcentre.org.uk/njrcentre/default.aspx

Best wishes

Lynda

Helpline team

helpline_team

 

Hello @Ian1966

Thank you for posting on the forum, I’m sorry to hear about the OA you have in your hips and right shoulder. It sounds as if you have had a helpful conversation with your GP, and I’m glad to hear that the nerve tablets you are taking are helping with the chronic pain you are experiencing.

I can see that Peter has given you some helpful links, which I hope will be useful for you.

I’m happy to hear that you are in the process of an occupational therapy appointment being made via social services. I think this is the appointment you’re referring to, once this appointment has been made, they can assist with things like aids and gadgets to help you at home and suggest different ways to help you do things more easily. You will find lots more information about this within the link to our occupational therapy information.

You are very welcome to call us on our helpline: 0800 5200 520 (weekdays 9am-6pm) here we can talk in more detail about ways of managing your arthritis, which may be helpful to you. 

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/therapies/occupational-therapy/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/

Best wishes

Lynda

Helpline team

andywood

Thank you for all the information.

I think my issue is, having read the material from the hospital, speaking with my consultant, and researching on Google, it appears to be a long and difficult recovery. I know it very much depends on the individual as not everybody is the same, but when they say 6-8 weeks without working, the possibility of blood clots, the hip could come deattached and if a revision is required, this is more difficult and the recovery time is longer, etc. At the end of the day, no guarantees can be made as to how long the hip replacement will work as over time there is wear and tear. I'm only in my 40s so the prospect of perhaps having to have at least another 2 or 3 hip replacements in my life isn't very appealing.

Currently, I am taking a combination of co-codamol and ibuprofen which helps take the edge off the pain and does actually improve the sniffness. Although I notice that if I miss a day taking these medications, the pain and stiffness does come back rather aggressively. I'm don't really want to continue taking medication long term as co-codamol can be addictive and ibuprofen damages the stomach. I appreciate you're not medically trained so I'm not expecting any medical advice. I think what I am looking for is to get in tocuh with other people who have had hip replacement and can understand my reluctancy to jump into major surgery.

As I have mentioned previously, I have had a steroid injection. Has anybody else had this?

Before areeing to hip replacement, I am wondering whether there is anything else I could try. The consultants don't really want to give me another steroid injection as they believe it probably won't last again. Are there are pads or supplements or exercises which anybody knows of which I could try? I really want to leave the hip replacement as a very last resort until either I have exhausted every other possible avenue or I get into a situation where I can't cope.

I hope this helps clarify my position and I realy would appreciate any feedback. I understand it is ultimately my decission and I am not expectng anybody to tell me what to do. Again, everybody is different, but I think it would be really useful to get as much information as possible, then I can make a better decision about whether or not to proceed with the hip replacement as at the moment I really don't now what to do.

Thank you again for reading this.

Andrew

helpline_team

Hi Andrew, thank you for your post.

I completely understand you wanting to hear about the experiences of others. Please re-post on the 'living with arthritis' forum, where hopefully you will have more responses.

https://community.versusarthritis.org/categories/living-with-arthritis-forum

Best wishes

Lynda

Helpline team

andywood

Thank you @helpline_team

I have created a few posts in the "Living with Arthritis" sections. Hopefully I wll get some response soon.

Andrew