In so much pain :o(

firefox

Hi all, I had my Birmingham hip done on Monday and i have never ever been in so much pain, lol.
The worse thing of all is my arthritis pains are still there except now i cant move my leg into a position that used to eleviate it a little.

Im currently on 2 elbow crutches and can not walk without them, i still cant lift my opperated leg in a lift your knee upwards position

I'm a bit worried about the pain but particular the bruising, on my opperated leg from near the top of my buttock to the crease behind my knee is black and purple and is the full width of the area. Is that normal?
I'm wearing the knee high stockings and taking the blood thinning injections. The swelling has gone down quite a bit, at one stage my thigh was massive compared to the other.

I can't sit for the pain. i can't stand for the pain and i cant lie for the pain, If only i could lie on my side or front, anywhere but on that brusied ****.

At this moment in time if i had a chance to go back in time and not have it done i'd take it. Hopefully in a week or so i'll be able to post that things are excellent and i'm pleased i've had it done.

Saying that, a guy in the same ward as me (a lot older) was walking pain free the next day and didnt even need the sticks, although he kept getting wrong off the physios. He had a full hip replacement though but good on him, it must just be the young ones that cant take it

garagefluffy

Can I ask what a Birmingham hip is?

elnafinn

Hi

Please don't beat yourself up about it all and how you are feeling at the moment. Goodness me, you only had the op on Monday. We are all different and cannot compare how we are feeling with someone else or compare progress with others although that is what we all do.

After my knee op I had excruciating pain for a long time (and like you actually regretted having had the op) although I had excellent mobility after a few days. Others have no pain but perhaps not so good mobility and others just seem to get up and walk about normally with no pain in a day or so and can do all the exercises really easily.

I was black and blue and as the days went by more bruising came out. I could not believe that my whole leg was bruised in the end!

I am sure that in a week or so you will be feeling differently about it all.

I have no regrets in having had the total knee replacement but it took me quite a while before I felt this way.

It will all work out in the end - trust me!!

Luv
Elna x

plmb48

it is very early days yet the blac :shock: k and blue on your leg is usual in time you will be so glad you had the op ihave had both hips replaced well worth some pain .pauline

firefox

Thanks for the replies and i thought i would give a little update of how things have been going.

I'm still taking my medication (tramadol/paracetemol/tinzaparin), the swelling and bruising has gone significantly.
Although still painful it's no where near as bad as what it was last week.
I'm am noticing tiny little improvements every day and although they are maybe something like i can move my leg an extra inch in a certain direction than i could have the previous day, trust me, the mental lift that gives you is incredible.

I'm still using both crutches and today i have ventured out of the house for the first time since the op. I went for a walk around the block. I would say i have been putting around 20% of my weight through the operated leg so far as i couldn't really cope with any more, after a few minutes of walking i decided to try all my weight and i find if i go very very slowly i can do it even though it's only a couple of steps, but those couple of steps are the first proper steps without arthritis pain i have taken in years

Using the toilet is much easier now as is having a shower etc. There have been a few slips of the mind that have resulted in massive pain for instance when i was lying in bed a went to kick the quilt off me with my operated leg...OUCH!!! another being when i was half a sleep in bed and i heard a huge bang, instinctively i jumped out of the bed....OUCH!!!

All in all things are a million times better than last week and i'll post an update next week hopefully with more improvements.

lindalegs

Things are definitely going in the right direction for you. When I had bi-lateral knee replacements I gave myself a goal a day and that kept me going.

Keep up the good work.

Luv Legs

firefox

Well things have kind of hit a brick wall.
As far as the op pain goes i can lie on my side now which is great but i've still got the same pain and restrictions as i had before the op except it seems a lot worse somehow. I am still virtually bed ridden with the pain and Im still taking as many painkillers as possible (tramadol and paracetemol) but most of the time they dont seem to touch the pain.
I am honestly starting to think i didnt need a hip replacement after all.
Anyone got a time machine handy?

woodbon

Hi. Sorry you're in so much pain, but I don't have personal experience of that type of op, but all surgery takes a while to get over, and it can make you a bit up and down mood wise as well. I bet you'll soon feel better, you sound about patient as me! Excuse the pun, but don't try to run before you can walk. Hope you have a good Christmas. Sue

firefox

Thanks Sue

suzster

hi, sorry i've not been on here much due to christmas and ill children, but i had a birmingham hip resurfacing about 5 yrs ago, mine was done to try to help with O/A in that hip, long story short after the op i still suffered so much pain in that hip, my specialist could not understand why, i went back to him every 6 months but it never seemed to improve. i still had very little movement in that hip about 4 yrs later, i still had to take the sevredol (morphine med) at that point as it was so bad. then when i was diagnosed with R/A and put on meds for that the hip seemed to feel better. i still have limited movement in that hip and it still does a horrible clunking thing every now and again but i'm sure thats something to do with the R/A swelling not the resurfacing.
anyway, i don't have the same joint pain i had before op but it did take a while to settle. give it time and if you are still worried about the pain or anything speak to your specialist, mine was done at guys hospital ( london) and i still see the surgeon once every year, he's a down to earth fab bloke!!!
it took a while for me to be able to comfortably sleep on the side that was done, but i can now and now it does feel better than it was before op. i have a huge scar and my thigh is quite badly disfigured, but i don't regret the op now, which i did at 1st as it seemed it would never get better!!
if you want to pm to talk about anything please feel free, if nothing else i understand what you are going through, i thought i'd have my hip done and then i'd feel great a few months later! boy was i wrong!? but at this point in my life i understand why it didn't go quite as planned and i know that if i hadn't had it done i would be alot worse off!
take care and i hope i haven't made you feel worse? it will get better, honest!
sue
recovery was slow and hampered by my R/A but i got there!!

firefox

Thank you suzster,
It's a big relief knowing that things will eventually get better than what they are. Maybe it's just me but it's much better hearing it from someone that has been through the op rather than the consultant who before the op told me i wouldn't have no pain at this stage.
Do you still get a sharp horrible 11 out of 10 pain if you move your leg in the wrong direction if that makes sense.
The healing pain is starting to go now and i can now lye on my operated leg for a short while. I still wake up every night though with my leg/hip aching and i can't get my leg comfortable to make it go away. Do you have any tips for that?
Thanks a billion