Re: to have THR or not?

[Guest guest]

Hello ,

I am not sure if you have seen some of my posts lately but to give you a run

down....I am 41 years old, had Left THR Sept. 2009. I was born with hip

dysplasia and started to have pain in my hip in my mid 20's. My doctor gave me

cortisone shots in my hip and lower back approx. every 6 months for a few years.

The shot would take the edge off but the pain was still there. Most of the time

I could just take some Advil, ice the area, relax for a while and I would be

good to go. By the time I reached my late 30's the pain was so intense that

nothing was helping.

I couldn't even walk around the grocery store, I wasn't sleeping at night, etc.

I finally had enough pain and told the doctor I want this fixed. I was only 40

years old and I was tied to the house. Of course he told me I would have to

have the hip replaced again in approx. 15 to 20 years because that is how long

they last. I told him I didn't care because the quality of my life now was

horrible. Now 10 months after my surgery I am still having a few minor issues

compared to what it was. My doctor said it could take up to 1 year to feel

completely better so I told myself I would give it the one year. I would

recommend the surgery to anyone who is in tons of pain but do your research and

get a few doctors opinions (I did) I am not where I want to be as far as what I

was expecting after surgery but I am a lot happier because of it.

ADOPTION BLOG:

www.ForeverFamilyAZ.blogspot.com<http://www.foreverfamilyaz.blogspot.com/>

to have THR or not?

I joined this group to learn more about hip replacement because I'm

considering having one. For about two to three years I've seen an ortho surgeon

(who is head of that dept. at a local hospital) for left hip and related area

pain due to arthritis in that joint. Have had several cortisone shots in the

groin and back, which relieve the pain for a couple months.I can only take

anti-inflamitories rarely due to GI problems.

The pain has spread to my back, thigh, buttox and knee on that side, regularly

making sleeping and walking difficult. Last week the pain had flared up enough

that I felt I finally needed to seriously consider a THR.

The problem is that I'm hearing that several of you are having pain several

months post-THR that sounds comparable to what I'm experiencing now. It makes me

question whether having the surgery is the right solution.

I've got an appointment with the doc in August to discuss doing the surgery -

he has said that I'll know when it's time. I thought now was it, but your

experiences are making me second guess myself.

Can you help me with this decision?

[Guest guest]

I didn't have a hip replacement. I had a knee replacement 8 weeks ago. Its

slowly becoming one of the best things I could have done for myself. I'm walking

up and down my street, something I couldn't do before surgery. No more waking

up in the middle of the night in pain. Life is getting much better. Good luck!!!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

to have THR or not?

I joined this group to learn more about hip replacement because I'm considering

having one. For about two to three years I've seen an ortho surgeon (who is head

of that dept. at a local hospital) for left hip and related area pain due to

arthritis in that joint. Have had several cortisone shots in the groin and back,

which relieve the pain for a couple months.I can only take anti-inflamitories

rarely due to GI problems.

The pain has spread to my back, thigh, buttox and knee on that side, regularly

making sleeping and walking difficult. Last week the pain had flared up enough

that I felt I finally needed to seriously consider a THR.

The problem is that I'm hearing that several of you are having pain several

months post-THR that sounds comparable to what I'm experiencing now. It makes me

question whether having the surgery is the right solution.

I've got an appointment with the doc in August to discuss doing the surgery - he

has said that I'll know when it's time. I thought now was it, but your

experiences are making me second guess myself.

Can you help me with this decision?

[Guest guest]

Unfortunately you have a perception problem caused by a basic quirk of human

nature

Those who have problems after hip surgery are a minority however they are

over-represented on a forum like this because the vast majority of people with

NO PROBLEMS don't bother to post. They come here to get information prior to

surgery and then may stick around as they heal but then get on with their normal

lives and stop posting.

This isn't meant to blame those with problems who post but only to point out

that it tends to give an unrealistic view of the success of the surgery -

especially when it is coupled with a reluctance to have a major surgery in the

first place.

Almost no one who has had the surgery has regretted having it -- for most people

the regret is that they waited so long as their life became whittled down to

almost nothing as pain prevented them from participating in normal activities

and pain made their lives a misery even when sitting, lying down or trying to

sleep.

When an OS (or other people) say a person will know when it's time, it's because

the surgery is elective and only an individual can decide when the quality of

their life has become compromised enough to have the surgery. Some people wait

until they are walking around with canes and are essentially immobile while

others opt for surgery when they can no longer be what I would call normally

active.

For almost everyone hip surgery is a TOTAL CURE - You wake up and that afternoon

or the next day you get up and the excruciating pain is gone. Sure there is

surgical discomfort and some pain from the surgery but it's a totally different

kind of discomfort and for most people is very well controlled with pain

medication. That is one question, one should ask one's OS -- i.e what his pain

management regime consists of.

On Jul 16, 2010, at 06:05 AM, Carmel Santos <pureenergy7@...> wrote:

You will know when it's time, when you can't walk anymore and your hip pain

becomes so unbearable, your hip stiffens up or buckles under you.  Mine was bone

on bone in the end making even going to the mall a chore because I had to make

frequent stops because my hip was so sore and I couldn't walk any further, then

my challenge would be to get back to my car.  Even though I'm still in pain

after six years, at least I can walk, dance and do mostly whatever I want.  I

still go to aquafit and work out in the water.

From: lindahys <lindahys@...>

Subject: to have THR or not?

Joint Replacement

Received: Thursday, July 15, 2010, 11:15 PM

I joined this group to learn more about hip replacement because I'm considering

having one. For about two to three years I've seen an ortho surgeon (who is head

of that dept. at a local hospital) for left hip and related area pain due to

arthritis in that joint. Have had several cortisone shots in the groin and back,

which relieve the pain for a couple months.I can only take anti-inflamitories

rarely due to GI problems.

The pain has spread to my back, thigh, buttox and knee on that side, regularly

making sleeping and walking difficult.  Last week the pain had flared up enough

that I felt I finally needed to seriously consider a THR.

The problem is that I'm hearing that several of you are having pain several

months post-THR that sounds comparable to what I'm experiencing now. It makes me

question whether having the surgery is the right solution.

I've got an appointment with the doc in August to discuss doing the surgery - he

has said that I'll know when it's time I thought now was it, but your

experiences are making me second guess myself.

Can you help me with this decision?

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