FINALLY GP REFERS ME FOR HIP OP HOORAY! :-)

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Ali_W
Ali_W Member Posts: 5
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:06 in Living with arthritis

Hello everyone

After new X-rays my GP surgery agrees my OA is officially severe and is referring me to hip clinic for right hip replacement. Hopefully expected long wait will be lessened by Versus Arthritis helping to push the Department of Health funding boost.

It all started with a torn labrum in my right hip whilst pushing a double pushchair in 2004! Mobility now reducing noticeably and hip often locks into position when I try to get up from a chair, off toilet or out of bed - takes me a few seconds to straighten. Have moderate OA in my left hip too. I can't walk our dog as far as I could 2 months ago without it leading to pain and later difficulties sleeping. I try not to take Paracetamol every night so it still provides pain relief, and take a Cod Liver Oil & Glucosamine capsule daily. I have been fully vegetarian since Sept 2020. I'm single divorcee with 1 daughter aged 22. I am quite worried about my future with mobility issues. Live in a house on a hill, and luckily I work part-time from home due to pandemic at the moment.

Is anyone else in a similar situation?!

Best wishes, Alison

Comments

  • Poppyjane
    Poppyjane Moderator Posts: 754
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    Welcome @Ali_W to the online community, it is great that you have joined us and also great news that you are finally going to be referred for a hip replacement. I recently had a new hip and it has made a big difference to my quality of life. So I do hope that it won't be too long before your assessment with a consultant and then not too long on the waiting list.

    Meanwhile I attach a couple of links for your interest

    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/surgery/hip-replacement-surgery/
    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/lets-move-with-leon/

    The current advice is to try to exercise the muscles supporting your hip so that your lead up to the operation and recovery will progress better. Some times when you are tired and in pain it seems madness to be exercising but even simple buttock clenching makes a difference!

    If you get a chance to browse on the website there is currently a very interesting blog written by @Lilymary who has recently had her hip replaced, look under the heading Life with Arthritis.

    There are many members who are willing to share their experiences with you, so I do hope you keep in touch. Do let us know when your consultant's appointment is and we hope you do not have to wait too long.

    Take Care

    Poppyjane ( Moderator)

    If it would be helpful to talk to someone ring the Helpline 0800 5200 520

    Monday - Friday 9.00a.m. - 6.00p.m.

  • Lilymary
    Lilymary Member Posts: 1,741
    edited 25. Apr 2021, 15:17
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    Hi Alison, welcome to this brilliant site, and lovely forum. They’ve kept me sane over the last 12 horrible months,

    it sounds like you have been on a long road, so I can understand why you’re so happy with this news! Mine bypassed the long slow build up, and went straight to full on awful pain and needing a new hip and drugs in an industrial scale, (don’t ask me how, but I didn’t even know I had arthritis until they xrayed me after a fall and told me I needed a new hip.) I’m afraid it’s probably a 12-18 month wait for surgery, but that may vary with different health trusts or private surgeries,

    Someone described hip replacement to me as “extreme pain management”, and they’ll try to manage the condition less invasively up to that final stage. They may offer you steroid injections, which do help some people, and if it works they usually offer repeat injections until time for surgery. But it’s likely that you will have to manage your own pain more as time goes on, and you may find suggestions in this link helpful.

    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

    i’m afraid you may also have to make adjustments to how you live as well, ie work, leisure, hobbies, even daily chores, which can get you down. When it does, come on here for a moan or for advice, we all know how it feels. It’s just pants at times. When it gets to that point, bear in mind that for everything you have to give up, try to replace it with something new that you will enjoy. Distraction is important in pain management, if you can take your focus away from the pain by getting absorbed in something you enjoy, it helps you mentally and physically.

    There may also be times when your energy plummets, so be prepared to prioritise and let some things go. Make sure family and friends know what you’re going through, it’s hard for people with no experience of constant pain to understand how it feels, and it will help you no end if you have their support,

    As Poppyjane says, I finally had my new hip done last Saturday, The surgery and early part have been much harder than I expected, and once again new friends on this forum have kept me afloat, but I’m keeping my eye on the bigger picture, I hope yours is a smooth journey. LM x

  • Ali_W
    Ali_W Member Posts: 5
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    Please accept my apologies Poppyjane and Lilymary for taking so long to log back in again to check for replies and receive your kind and helpful comments. I hope you are both doing well now after your own hip replacements.

    Life took an unexpected downward turn for our family last summer, and with work being busy too I've had to just battle through.

    Since my GP breakthrough there's just been a long wait. I actually had to see another physiotherapist for approval before the referral was made, and was offered either a long wait for an NHS hip clinic a bus ride away or a less long wait for a private hip clinic funded by the NHS but a 20 mile drive away.

    The first private hip consultant said because I was young and fit enough I could see a different consultant who operated less severely (pinning rather than cementing) on younger patients. Saw him last September and he said yes but the wait would be 'a few months'. I rang a few times last month to see where I was on the list and was finally advised that the surgeon is 'busier than he expected', and it would be autumn/winter this year at the earliest. Wish I'd gone for the NHS clinic now, as wondering if this means new private patients are being given preference ....

    Meanwhile the pain just worsens. I'm definitely going to go back to the physio, and look at the Pain document options.

    Thank you

    Alison

  • Peppercorn
    Peppercorn Member Posts: 19
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    Hi Alison

    I totally understand - I sat on the waiting list for two years and when they told me another year I ended up paying to go private. It’s so difficult. My best advice is to keep pushing with them and remind them that you’re still there. A friend of mine in a similar position has got PALS, a medical mediation officer and her local MP on board. You’re doing great, I really hope things pick up for you very soon.

  • pmas
    pmas Member Posts: 43
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    Alison, if you feel your situation has got worse both physically and mentally, see your GP as he may be able to write to the Consultant and ask for a review of your case.

    Good luck. Patx

  • Ali_W
    Ali_W Member Posts: 5
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    I did self-refer to the physio service locally and received a quick response, but because I'm on a waiting list they can't help me! The physio did say though that the NHS waiting list queues at both nearest hospitals are longer than one I'm on. Just got to sit tight ....

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