Hip Replacement

MolyvosQueen

Hello, I am 61 and have arthritis in various parts of my body including neck, spine, shoulder and hips (probably elsewhere too but undiagnosed at present). My hip has given me trouble on and off for more than 10 years, but now since a major flare up following lots of walking during lockdown I am on the waiting list for a total hip replacement. Some days are better than others and if I don't do too much walking or bending I can manage. However, if I work in the garden, stand for any length of time or walk around the village or in the shops It becomes extremely painful causing me to limp and have difficulty walking. I've noticed that I am now getting a lot pain (nerve pain I think) around my knee and down my shin on the leg that is awaiting surgery. I am worried that my knee is now developing problems or is it referred pain from my hip? I heard from the hospital recently indicating that my surgery may be around July or August and whilst relieved to be getting closer to surgery I am also becoming anxious about the whole thing. I'm worried about my recovery following surgery, how I'll manage etc and also maybe the knee pain won't go? I'm really hoping the knee pain is connected to the hip but if not I'll have new hip but still in pain from knee. My head is so full of confusion at the moment. Just to mention that I don't like taking pain killers although I do take paracetamol. In the past I have taken ibruprofen and gabapentin for my back and neck but they caused me to have stomach problems so I prefer not to take these medications. Has anyone had any similar experiences of hip & knee pain?

RogerBill

Hi @MolyvosQueen I'm in my late 60s and had a hip replacement eight months ago. My arthritis came on more suddenly than yours and I was only diagnosed with severe arthritis in my left hip and mild arthritis in the right. Before the operation I couldn't stand or walk for more than about 15 minutes and was also getting pains in my knees and back. I can now walk 5 miles without any arthritic pains in the hip and my knees and back are also much better. It's strange how arthritis in the hip can cause referred pain in knees and back. Partly I believe it's the hip causing bad posture which leads to these problems. After the hip operation within a couple of weeks I'd stopped taking any pain killers and was relieved to find that I was able to gradually increase the amount of walking I was able to do firstly with crutches, then a walking stick and after six weeks no walking aids. I believe it is important to try to do whatever exercises you can before the operation and the recommended exercises after. Lou Grant is a physiotherapist based near Leeds, UK had a hip replacement herself a couple of years ago and she has a lot of free videos and info on her website about exercises, etc. Everyone is different but take heart in the fact that hip replacement operations have a long and successful history of success.

Izzypeach

Hi  @MolyvosQueen  I am also very anxious about surgery so I am doing everything I can to find ways to calm down. I'm going to talk to my Doc about possible therapy of some kind.

When I first went to the docs to complain about pain, I told them I had knee pain and foot pain, I was checked over and I couldn't rotate my hip but had no pain in the hip, so was sent for an x-ray, it was hip arthritis. My physiotherapist at the time said there are a lot of people with OA of the hip who believe they have a back or knee problem that stems from the hip. So in my experience and from what I've been told, you could get a lot of relief in the knee, back and shin once the hip can rotate again. If you're concerned though that it could actually be knee problems don't take my word for it ask your doc.

Thank you @RogerBill I have looked up the website you have recommended and am going down the Lou Grant THA experience rabbit hole and a deep dive into her story. These are the videos and stories I have been looking for on youtube to help me with my anxiety (there are actually loads, like did you know Christine Brinkley, Mary Lou Retton and Lara Spencer have all had THA's?).

I'm still very much a deer in headlights knowing the car is about to crash into me LOL! A weird analogy but it's a trapped feeling of dread, I'm trying to get my head around needing to have surgery and be "happy" about it. As it stands right now, "self-pity" and being mad at my body is my day-to-day emotion. From your experience, @RogerBill is there a point in time where you feel good about getting surgery, and does calm eventually find you? Or were you always feeling relieved that you were getting a surgical procedure? Enquiring minds want to know.

RogerBill

@Izzypeach After three months of physiotherapy and spending a couple of hours doing the recommended exercises everyday without any real improvement in my ability to walk or stand for more than 15 minutes I had an xray. I discussed the xray and the radiologist's report with the physiotherapist who said I could carry on doing physiotherapy but as the xray showed bone on bone it was unlikely to to dramatically improve my ability to walk. I got copies of the xray and report. The xray showed both hips and even with no experience in such matters I could clearly see how bad my left hip was compared to my right. The other alternative was a THR and after the physiotherapist checked NHS waiting times in our two local hospitals I reluctantly decided to pay for a private operation rather than wait 12+ months. I was extremely fortunate in being able to afford this option. After the initial consultation with my chosen surgeon I decided to have a THR by him at that private hospital and got a date for the operation within a couple of months or so. @Izzypeach You ask "is there a point in time where you feel good about getting surgery ..." It was this point when I felt relieved at having made the decision as I then felt I was in their hands. I redoubled my exercising efforts and bought various items to make life easier after the op (see the comments in my hip replacement tips thread on this forum).

After the operation things improved with some inevitable ups and downs but I was always aware that there was light at the end of the tunnel whereas there never seemed to be so before the op. My main concern after the op was to minimise the risk of dislocation so I was perhaps somewhat over cautious in being very careful to follow the rules on bending, etc and making sure I did all the recommended exercises to build up strength in the muscles which hold the hip in place. I also recorded my gradually extending walking distances.

As a means of calming down I've found mindfulness to be useful. It's almost unique in being a therapy which the NHS has found to benefit patients and 8 years ago when I had cancer I attended a short course funded by the NHS. Music and reading are also good relaxing activities for me. I guess some resort to prescription medication but I generally try to avoid taking pills for such things or for pain relief.

Supermand

To all of us with arthritis here is a poem I wrote several years ago that may give you a couple of moments amusement and take you mind off pain for a minute.

ARTHRITIS IS A RIGHT PAIN IN THE ARMS.

Knackered ankle, wrist and knee

Is there anything right with me?

NSAIDs, steroids and other pills

There must be something to cure my ills.

Replacement elbow that’s become bionic

When my pain was diagnosed as chronic.

Orthos, rheumatics and physiotherapist

There’s no joint department that I’ve missed.

X-rays, scans and MRI

Every type of view they try.

Blood tests and injections, there is no doubt

If they weren’t putting something in they were taking something out.

Panics, worries and all sorts of alarms

ARTHRITIS IS A RIGHT PAIN IN THE ARMS.