Help and advice

andywood

Hello all,

I'm new to this, but I'm looking to get in touch with others who have been in or are in a similar situation.

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.

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 agreeing 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.

Thank you again for reading this. and apologises it was so long-winded.

Andrew

RogerBill

Hi @andywood I tried physiotherapy and lots of their exercises for six months. Some find it helps and it's certainly worth trying but it didn't help me very much so I had a hip replacement (see my topic "hip replacement tips"). I think the exercises certainly helped my post op recovery. Losing weight will reduce the stress on your hips and will help if your BMI is high. Medics are obliged to mention risk factors of any treatment such as blood clots and dislocation but the probabilities are normally very low. I know you're facing a very difficult decision but reading through the posts on this forum by people who've had a hip replacement might help.

andywood

Thanks @RogerBill yeah completely understand. Everybody is different so what works for one person might not work for another.

Also understand that medical staff have a duty of care and may even have a legal obligation to explain all possibilities. I appreciate any surgery carries risks. And you're probably right, the chances of blood clots, dislocation, etc are probably low. I think I would rather cover as much ground as possible before going down the hip replacement route.

I wonder if anybody has any other suggestions of what I might be able to try to help with my pain and stiffness?