Returning member needing second hip replacement

Coddfish

My right hip was replaced in September 21. A successful operation and a straightforward recovery. A few months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer, which quickly became stage 4. I have been battling the after effects of an immunotherapy related adverse event and the consequences of 9 months of high dose steroids for some time. This has left me with an awful lot of joint stiffness and pain, with decreased mobility and decreased ability to undertake the tasks of daily living. It has slowly dawned on me that the issues I am having with my left hip are very similar to those I was experiencing with the other hip in 2021. So I saw my GP today in order to kick off the process and now have a surgical assessment booked for Feb 26th. My cancer is in remission but I live on 3-monthly surveillance cycles and don’t know what the future holds, so will press on and get it done if the assessment confirms there is value. With my health and general fitness not as good as last time, I need to guard against having overly high expectations. It really was a miracle procedure last time that literally allowed me to get back up and running very quickly. I used this site last time around and found it helpful - back here again!

Ellen

Lovely to see you again @Coddfish and really excellent to hear that you have successfully beaten cancer well done.

I am pretty sure your hip operation can go ahead if you want it to now that you are not on chemotherapy so look forward to hearing about your procedure and recovery. Have you read any of the threads by 2024's 'hippies'? It really did feel like the year of the hip here! I will name a few for you to investigate for yourself if you are interested:

@Janlyn @Nurina @Trish9556 @alwayssewing to name , but a few.

Best of luck and welocme back!

Ellen.

frogmorton

Hi @Coddfish nice to see you😊 very good news that you have recovered so well from stage 4 cancer.

Not great to read that your other hip needs doing now, but you know what you're doing and hopefully it will be as successful as the first.

I hope you'll decide to hang around for a while and let us know how you get on

Toni x

Coddfish

The yet to be answered question is whether the left hip actually needs doing, or whether my symptoms emanate from everything else that has happened to me since my immune system attempted to kill me in September 2023, including the impact of the 9 months of high dose steroids needed to save my kidneys. Medically I am fit for the operation; it’s over a year since I had any cancer treatment as the immunotherapy also enabled my immune system to put that into remission. I am on 3-monthly surveillance, and deemed incurable, with the expectation it could pop back up anywhere at any time. Previous metastasis into my liver. A concern to me is being able to enjoy the time I have as much as possible so would want to go ahead even if the gain is expected to be marginal.

And yes, been through this before with my right hip in 2021, so know exactly what to expect and how to manage the first few weeks.

Bryony

I hope the surgical examination is conclusive - ie, yes it is definitely hip osteoarthritis and surgery will solve it, or is something that can be corrected with appropriate exercises, or similar. You have been through a great deal recently. As you've had a previous hip replacement you know what it involves, and have realistic expectations, and clearly you also know your priorities. Wishing you all the best.