To want to cry with hip pain

[Excitedannie]

All. The. Time.

I'm a shadow of my former self. 52 and osteoarthritis in my left hip but the burning stiffness pain actually radiates down the other side. Every day the pain is different - it's like the gift from hell that keeps on giving. I barely go out and I walk like I've birthed an elephant for the few Stephanie can manage. Waiting list for a replacement is a year at least but the consultants say to manage it with steroid injections. Oh wait - there's a 10 month waiting list.

My life is awful - everything has changed - I feel so sorry for the teenage DD who has to see me like this.

Sorry - just ranting. How can my right side hurt so much when it's my left side - AIBU to just curl up and cry? 😭

The consultants keep saying that it's because of my body adjusting to the bad hip, but has anyone had any experience of this?

Yes. When my hip or sciatia is bothering me I end up walking differently as I subconsciously protect that hip which puts a strain on my knees, which eventually put a strain on my ankles. It's exactly how you protect a painful foot by limping which takes the pressure off one foot by adding it onto the whole support system on the other leg, including the slight twisting of the spine and pelvic area. We normally heal quickly enough to prevent that overload becoming a problem on the support system so we don't realise what the body is doing to compensate for the pain. A crutch or walking/hiking stick will help enormously.

Have they eliminated spinal causes? My DH was treated for over a decade on and off with hip pain under the NHS and told he’d need to wait due to age as he needed a hip replacement. We moved to Portugal and took out medical insurance. He swiftly got an MRI scan which revealed a stress fracture of a vertebra that he will have had since a teenager. He had surgery and the hip problem vanished.

Similarly I started experiencing hip pain 3 or 4 years ago and later sciatic pain. An MRI revealed a very bad hernia at L4 which was operated on and I am better.

Obviously I’m not saying it isn’t as diagnosed in your case but it is worth eliminating a spinal contribution.

Hi, so a further update for anyone on the original thread that might be interested! After being strung along by the NHS (it will be Spring then Autumn etc etc), I phoned yesterday and was told that it will be at least into the New Year. I've now also been referred for my other hip as that has advanced osteoarthritis.

So yesterday I made the scary decision to go private as I can't go on like this physically nor mentally. I've been on the NHS list for 18 months so far! I've now got my private consultation at the end of September.

I'm scared!

@Excitedannie but its going to get sorted. Sooner rather than later and you will be pain free...... that's the positive X good luck and please keep us updated x

So glad you’ve taken the plunge.

My mother in law just had her hip replacement on the NHS. In the end she waited over three years. Yep, you read that correctly. She couldn’t afford private, so had no choice but to wait.

But she was so happy and whilst it’ll be a long road to recovery, mentally we can already see the difference!

Wishing you all the best and good luck with the upcoming appointment.

I really do feel for you, its bloody awful, I need both hips replaced and my left knee, the worst of it is, I think it's my own fault, as I should have got the knee done years ago, and I think all my weight shifting abnormally has caused my hips and pelvis to go.
I am too scared to get them done, the mad thing is my insurance will cover it all! The op doesn't bother me, it's the thought of getting blood clots afterwards. The pain is ridiculous and the fact that I can hardly walk any distance at all is so upsetting. I am seriously thinking of getting some kind of hypnosis to stop the irrational fear of it all.
I wish you luck with getting it done and soon.

OP, in the meantime, walking in the swimming pool is excellent for your hips. Include walking backwards and sideways (one foot to the side, then join the other foot to it) so you get all the muscles strengthening. Go along the edge of the pool if you want something to hold on to. Add the water aerobics shoes you can get online for about £10 to prevent slip.

This is advice from top physios who deal with hip issues.

I hope things go ok for you.

I clicked on the thread to sympathise as I also have hip pain. It's so frustrating. I've actually howled in frustration at night with it because I am so tired but I can't lie in any position without it being uncomfortable. Lie on one side, it hurts, lie on the other, that starts hurting too. Repeat ad infinitum.

I've had a bit of success with gabapentin but otherwise I've been totally messed about the NHS. I've currently got a complaint in with PALS about it.

It sucks!

OP, l had a hip replacement eight years ago.
My hip was totally wrecked, virtually no cartilage left, and l had bone spurs and bone cysts on both the femur head and socket.
I had prescription medication (Cocodamol) from my GP while l was waiting for surgery, but it didn't touch the pain. I could barely walk and l was waking up several times a night, every time l moved in my sleep the pain woke me.
The only thing that relieved the pain to a manageable degree for me was CBD oil, taken in conjunction with the prescription meds.
Please speak to your GP again, you shouldn't have to be living like this, pain is exhausting and debilitating.
I really hope you can get some help. Best of luck x

Glad you’re getting there…. I was incredibly lucky as I have private insurance. I had pain over a 6+ month period and had a hip replacement at 41. In the 6 months I could feel the pain and the impact elsewhere. The operation was 12 years ago and it’s been a total success. Don’t be scared. Do all the physio you’re supposed to do! My aunt aged 90 paid for a replacement this summer. She’s fit and incredible for her age… and the money (£14k I think) was in her view well worth it.

Sending support. I know what hip pain is like. I've got a metal plate and screws in mine that is causing all sorts of anguish. I've really bad osteoporosis. The surgeon said the only thing he can do is take the whole metalwork out. But I'm too scared about further surgery and recovery.
Do you have adequate pain relief? It doesn't sound like it. I have dihydrocodeine 30mg 4x daily but that often isn't enough.
I hope you can maybe get surgery or a better pain management plan. Wishing you well xx

Hi OP. Just curious, are you on HRT? I had a lot of joint pain that was put down to bulging disc, arthritis, etc but it eased significantly when I started HRT! Worth a try if you're not on it? Might take the edge off some of the pain while waiting for op.

My best friend had this and was in pain a lot. Doctors are very dismissive of pain and how it wears your soul down. Wishing you all the best.

I've found that. One GP told me he didn't think I should even be taking paracetamol for my pain.

Hearing that really messed me up. If someone said to just leave a dog in pain all the time it would be outrageous, but it's ok to say to me? Really upsetting. I had some dark thoughts that day.

My comments aren’t for those who have diagnosed significant issues but my hip has been playing up for a year or so. I went on a holiday with a lot of long steep hill walking for a week (Dolomites) and the difference when I got home was astounding. I walk the dog a lot at home as my issues are worse the more I sit and that helps somewhat but I think some muscles which I don’t usually use were strengthened by the steep hills. It’s been a couple of months now and I can feel the old creaking coming back but it really helped me to feel there was something that could make such a difference. Physio helps a bit but yoga didn’t and I wasn’t expecting the holiday to help.

I've found that. One GP told me he didn't think I should even be taking paracetamol for my pain.

I was once told that having a stressful life can sometimes make things feel worse than they actually are.....

I was so angry at that comment. I have a busy life and a full on job but I'm happy with that. My pain is absolutely physical and nothing to do with my busy job!!

Total empathy and hugs.
Am waiting for a knee and a hip replacement but severe delays due to other medical issues ( hysterectomy, cancer, anaemia, etc.) Every single day is agonising but there is nothing I can do but wait. Steroid injections helped a little. Pain killer's are now ineffective. Have got an indoor and outdoor stairlift. Have got a rollator for for indoors which has helped enormously esp when carrying things. Also got an all terrain outdoor rollator to enable me to get out and about on uneven surfaces, gravel, grass, etc. It is a nightmare at times.
Nobody asked me if I wanted to get old!!!
(Until 2 years ago I was fit healthy and travelling the world and then......crash!)

I'd be fuming with that too. Do they think we've got nothing better to do than imagine pain for ourselves?

It hurts because it hurts!

Wow, amazed that people are still reading this thread and I'm actually emotional at the pain that you are all having to go through and experience, and worse still, expected to go through!

Truthfully I'm terrified - I mean, who actually wants an operation! But I'm also fortunate that I can just about scrape the money together along with a finance plan - others aren't so fortunate and have no option to wait. I can't believe that people are waiting 3 years! The trouble is, the longer we wait, the more damage we are doing to the rest of our body by compensating so it's false economy! It's heartbreaking to see what the NHS has become despite all the good, amazing people it employs.

I'm doing my physio and now trying really hard to lose weight. I've been trying all year, but my mental state of depressed eating has made it unsuccessful. Thanks for the tip about the pool - I might speak to my local one and see if there is a particular session that might be appropriate for me to wander up and down!

Genuine thanks for the support x

I absolutely get it, I was crippled with both hips due to osteoarthritis and had no cartilage left in either one. I couldn’t walk without crutches and could do so little. My daughter was only 9 when the severe pain started and I feel I missed out on a few years of her childhood. I had them both replaced 2 years ago and have my life back. I can’t even give any advice because nothing at all helped me and it really really sucks. You have my sympathy. I know that doesn’t help….

My DH has had both hips replaced and he's not yet 40. The whole timeline from original diagnosis to op was about 18 months and 12 again for the other one.

I recommend reading 'Hip Expectations' before your op. It's brilliant and explains everything really well. Helped us prepare for what DH would be like, the recovery etc.

You need a decent chair at home and a decent mattress.

From what DH said, the op was much better than he expected and the recovery was better as well.

Don't feel guilty about losing weight. I don't have any to lose and mine are still killing me. If anything, I think the lack of padding makes it worse. I'm lying right on the bone to sleep, which is very sore.

Thank you for posting this. Mine have been hurting so badly today. While I don't want anyone else to be in pain, at least I feel less alone.

Hello OP, I missed your original thread as I was recovering myself from a double hip replacement this time last year. It's been a long road but I'm pretty much fully recovered and life is so much better. I don't have to weigh up things like, should I walk my daughter to dance class or walk to the supermarket, because I can only do one of those things before I collapse in agony. I can run, walk, do pilates, dance, swim... and do stupid stuff like, oh, sleep or sit in a chair without pain.

I had both mine done at once. If you are self-funding you should enquire whether that is an option for you, as it's more cost effective, or so I'm told. The recovery time is similar, my surgeon said. But not all doctors are willing to do both at the same time. A steep recovery curve, but I'm glad I won't have to do it again. Don't necessarily believe the line that "they don't want to do a hip replacement on a younger person" as that's really not true any more. Many of the expert surgeons don't say this any more. I was told to expect mine to last for life. I was late 40s when it was done.

I found the steroid injections to be next to useless - they made my pain worse, it turned out. Instead I had hyaluronic acid injections which gave me a bit of relief for a few months on each side. But not a long-term fix.

There's a FB group for people "like us", which I've found really helpful. It's called "Hip Replacement Forum for Active and Young People". Quite US-centred but still loads of useful info and really good support there. I recommend checking it out.

Thanks for the book recommendation - I'm the type of person who needs to know details so I'll get that ordered!

Yep, I understand the feeling of missing out on children's lives - my DD is 14 and whilst grown up enough to understand, still shouts "mum, can you pop upstairs and grab XYZ" - makes me smile as I'm actually glad she doesn't fully get it but it's hard when I want to be a "normal" mum.

Glad this thread is helping and I understand - we don't want to feel that we ar all in pain, but it helps to know we're not alone. I'm actually on that facebook thread that you mentioned Gastrpod and it's a real comfort