What are the things you tried before you decided to do the THR?

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skid

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Hello,
First, this site is great! Best I've found related to hip issues. Really nice to hear all of your stories. I have so many questions I want to ask but want to start with this one:

What are the different things you tried before you decided to do the THR?

As you all know this is a HUGE decision. Quite frankly one that is stressing me out. I know deep down that I must do this but there is still a small voice inside telling me that I can hold off longer. The real bummer about this decision is that it is something that can be put off so procrastination sets in. The doctors always say "well, let us know when you want this done and we'll do it"...argh.

First a brief description of my situation. I'm 37 year old male. Broke/dislocated my left hip when I was 16 playing football. Socket was repaired at that time with screws and quite honeslty I led a very active life up until about 5 or 6 years ago. I was still running 5K races but noticed afterwords it would be very sore. It's been a steady downhill trek since then. The reality now is that I walk with a profound limp, each step is painful and I cannot enjoy the time with my kids outside playing sports as i'm pretty immobile.

So, back to my reason for my post, I'm curious what you have tried before you decided on the THR? Here the things I have tried:

- OTC Meds (Tylenol, Ibuprophen)
- Physical Therapy - Mostly stretching trying to gain mobility
- Hip Arthoroscopy - Clean up bone spurs and tissue damage
- Hip Injection
- Prescription Meds - What I'm currently doing. Best I've found is Diclofenac.
- Multiple THR Surgeons told my my hip was "end of life"

I'm planning to do the THR in January/February timeframe - just need to set the date.
 
Hi and welcome, @skid. I was mistakenly attributing my horrible limp to my knee, and burning hip pain to my low back - for about 5 years as it got progressively worse. I tried everything you listed plus extensive chiropractic care, acupuncture, weight loss, daily stretching and exercise on a rowing machine, and occasional narcotics for pain. What finally sent me for a proper diagnosis was the inability to reach down and pick things up from the floor, or get myself up off the floor from a kneeling position without support - & I could not abduct my hips, and barely put on socks!
I'm now 4 weeks with my shiny new hip, and am only regretting waiting way too long! Yes, it's a big surgery, but a couple weeks of soft tissue/muscle soreness is nothing compared to that awful debilitating joint pain. I'm walking without a limp, am mostly pain free, and still can't believe how good this has been.
Do your research, review the library and experiences of others here on BS, and don't wait. You will be so much better off.
 
Welcome!! I actually didn't know that hip replacement was what I was going to need, as I had had some years of migratory hip pain with perfect xrays! I took lots of ibuprofen for many many years before any dr suggested I look into THR! Had some PT while I waited to call surgeon. Xrays from him showed about 25% bone on bone, I was a good candidate for his anterior expertise, and after having waited two months just to see him the first time, I then had to wait another 2 3/4 months for a surgery opening!!!! More ibuprofen, more tramadol, and finally the blessed day came. I was not at all about procrastinating except to make that initial appointment, and had I known it would take that long I would have called months sooner! Now I am just marking time till xrays warrant having the other one done. Impatiently I might add. Let us Get This Over With already!!


My phone sent this using BoneSmart Forum, clever phone!
 
My progression was very similar to @hopefulm. I finally saw a surgeon when my abduction was gone and I had to ask my kids to put the sunscreen on my feet at the beach. I tried weight loss, acupuncture, physical therapy, Motren, Aleve, and exercise. The weight loss worked for a while (I lost a significant amount). The exercise also helped (I did Classical Stretch on PBS). But, eventually, I got to the point where there was nothing else I could do to improve my condition and I just got tired of the pain. I would like to know if anyone out there had any success with prescription anti-inflamatories, steroid injections, or arthroscopy. My other hip needs to be done at some point, but it's not bad enough yet and I sure would like to make the wait as painless as possible.


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I spent lots and lots of money on supplements, chiropractic care, massage, and physical therapy. I limited simple sugars in my diet and stopped drinking diet soda. I was told at 35 I would need a new hip. After almost 3 years of these changes with no improvement, I am now 4 weeks postop. I no longer have it looming over my head and actually feel like I may have to keep myself from running again. I was a marathon runner, but my OS does not want me running for exercise anymore. I think that's a great problem to have. I have no other restrictions and can still run just not like I used to. I am glad to get on with my life and not have to think about my hip all the time. I already have a hard time believing I am only 4 weeks out. My hip feels so much stronger, and I was not even taking pain relievers prior to surgery. I can now walk without having to "think" about it anymore!!!
 
Thank you for the replies! It is great to hear that my situation in terms of pain and treatment isn't unique.

sfbionicat50 - You asked..."I would like to know if anyone out there had any success with prescription anti-inflamatories, steroid injections, or arthroscopy". I have done all three of those. First, the arthroscopy. For me, this didn't help much at all. I may have noticed a slight mobility improvement but that was about it. My surgeon warned me that surgery may not work if my arthritis was bad enough. And that was true, however, he recommended it for me because of my age to try and avoid the THR as long as possible. Next the steroid injection. The moment I had this done, my hip felt as good as it had felt in years! Then, the novicaine (sp?) wore off a few hours later. I would say this helped me marginally. It's worth a try if your insurance covers it...i know some people have had success with it. Last the anti-inflamatories. This to me has been my biggest help. I am currently taking Diclofenac which is only avaliable via a prescription. I asked for something a bit stronger from my doctor after Tylenol and Ibuprophen were doing little or nothing for me. The first few months were great...I felt so much better. Since then, the effect of the Diclofenac is wearing off. I can definitely tell when i'm not taking it, so it is doing some good...but not like it was. I think either my body is getting used to it or my arthritis is just getting worse. So to summarize, if I were you, I would check on the steroid injection and the anti-inflamatory first. Good luck to you!
 
Welcome . . . some of the things I tried?

Denial worked for a couple of years! :rotfl: Not! Seriously, it took me a good while to accept that I could be "old" enough, not in shape enough, imperfect enough, bad enough, not strong enough . . . to be needing surgery -- I must hurt from running, picking up something too heavy, sleeping wrong, sitting at computer, etc. etc. :beg: Me need surgery, no way!

I tried ice, heat, otc pain meds, joint supplements, exercise/not exercise, wheat/then gluten free, tomato free, physical therapy, chiropractic care, more exercise, stretching exercise, weight loss (60 pounds helped in many other ways), finally injections. Glorious hours with Novocaine!!!! Actually that short time of pain free was part of what convinced me that life might be a little bit better if I could get rid of pain and limitations. I still was avoiding so very many, so very important to me aspects of life. The pain doctor is the one who explained that, yes, the injection might reduce pain for me but that the femoral head was so misshapen that it would not eliminate the embarrassing limp - only surgery would do that. I was tough enough to handle pain but not the embarrassing Quasimodo limp. I didn't want to take stronger drugs.

If I had known how the pain and limping would disappear for me from the moment of surgery, I would not have been so worried, so afraid. If I had known how much of life I was avoiding, how much of life I was missing . . . . The actual surgery and recovery took so little energy, time, and strength --- and LIFE --- from me then did the limitations and pain of living with bad hip joints. You mentioned missing time playing with your kids -- you will not believe how much you are avoiding and will miraculously get back!

In fact, the very successful and amazing surgery and recovery on my left hip in April 2014 really, really made it a no brainer to have right hip done just six months later! I hardly had to think about it at all:thud::boohoo::cry::rotfl: !

Eight weeks later, and my life is well on its way to being gloriously normal, pain free without limitations! Actually, what worked best? Acceptance.

Accept that as HUGE as THR surgery seems from that side -- the celebration on the other side will be even more HUGE!

Best wishes to you! You are in a good place here -- lots of people to listen and support you on this journey!
 
@skid my list of tried (and most failed) things I tried is about as long as yours.

OTC meds (same as your)
Physio (years of it)
Chiropractor
Epidural injections (X2 - they kept telling me it was a spinal issue)
Acupuncture
Diclofenac - was on this for years due to back issues
Naproxen (Aleve)

Bottom line if your hip is end stage there is no going back. Unfortunately things only get worse - and often very quickly. Hope you can get a date soon. Life is too short to live in pain!
 
Welcome . . . Great to hear your story. I think we all want to put off the inevitable. I, too, am an athlete. I played competitive fast pitch softball until 30. When I got pregnant, I gave up fast pitch for coed slow pitch. Played until 1 year ago. I was running 5ks when my pain started. First my lower back right side. It was never my back. It was the hip. I had a horrible limp and excruciating pain. Doctor didn't want to operate at 48. Too young he said.

So we tried physical therapy (fail) chiropractor (some relief but lasted 2 weeks) acupuncture (same as chiro) steroid shot (lasted 4 weeks) lost weight (still limped) myofascia release (mild relief) yoga and Pilates and swimming.

After a year of no relief. Surgery. The best thing I ever did. 9 weeks out and I feel great. Yes I have muscle soreness but it is going away and healing. No bone on bone and the focus is the gait so no limp.

You will be so happy with your new hip. To be able to do things with your kids is great. It may take a year to get fully up to speed but I am in love with my new hip.

Best of luck to you and welcome.
 
Oh I forgot one other great thing about the new hip. SLEEP. I used to wake up every hour to two hours because of the pain pre-surgery. I now sleep like a baby. Best thing ever!!!!
 
@xtina16405 ...SLEEP! Now that is a timely message. I think woke up about every hour last night, then try to find a comfortable position then back to sleep. So great to hear that you are getting better sleep now. I can't wait!

Thanks to you all for the replies. I love hearing your success stories after all the pitfalls in other treatments!
 
I tried pretty much everything - all kinds of painkillers, diet, physio, exercise, no exercise, heat, cold, TENS, herbs, vitamins, wine, no wine, hydrotherapy, insoles, yoga, Pilates, losing weight, "self management", pain psychology at the pain clinic, steroid injections into the joint, manipulation under general anaesthetic blah blah blah. None of them any good whatsoever. (Well maybe except for the wine which I found to be a mighty fine painkiller in the short term :) lol). Then I found the one thing which REALLY worked. No pain, no stiffness, mobile again. Yup I had my hip replaced. Good luck whatever you decide !


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I pretty much had my head in the sand for 8 years from the time "THR" was mentioned to me. As a Natural Medicine Practitioner, I had tried many many natural treatments, however, I finally succumbed to using a walker for the final 18 months - when I could no longer walk with a straight back using the walker and was leaning over the arms of the walker on my elbows, I knew it was time... Three years post RTHR and I never think about the fact that I have a bionic hip.. In fact it seems surreal..... Except, my other hip is now bone on bone and will need replacing... one day in the not to distant future :)
 
Oh Man,
I thought my hip-flexor and groin pain was because I was not training hard enough so I trained-up and ran a half-marathon instead of the usual 5K's. I still hurt. As a matter of fact the pain got worse. After the X-rays which showed my running days were over I went to PT. That did not work so I had a lidocaine and steroid injection directly into the joint via flouroscopy. That did not work so I bought a leg pillow, a cane and got a surgeon. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insanity.:tiredwheel:
 
Actually, I omitted the lower back X-rays, the MRI of my lower back (should have had them do the hip) the thousands of acetaminophens, ibuprofens, Motrins, Mobics, Celebrex, flexerils, crunches, exercise ball routines, piriformis stretches, weight machine purchase, floor mat purchase, calf sleeves, compression tights, new mattresses, and switching brands of running shoe:running:
All I needed was a new hip. The arthritis was causing sciatica, so naturally they thought L-5, not hip. I do not have sciatica anymore, either.
 
@dougie0216, your post made me laugh. . . @skid, I'm reminded of everything I forgot in the earlier posting. . .back X-Rays, ITB extensive tortuous work by PT & chiropractors, knee xrays, knee MRI, synvisc injections to knee, multiple cortisone injections to knee and hips, New mattress, New shoes, New orthotics for shoes, and on and on and on. . .now 5 weeks with THR, and no back or knee pain for the first time in over 5 years, AND a pain free hip!
Don't wait!!
 
The lower back pain is something I was going to ask about in another thread but glad you brought that up! That's definitely been an issue for me as well. In fact I went to the chiropractor just last week. I have an office job but could barely sit in my chair. I feel a bit better now after a treatment and heavy dose of ice on the lower back and hip. It seems to come and go, though. Good to hear I'm not alone with this type of pain.
 
@hopefulm What I never understood, was some medical professionals' opinion(s) that it could not be considered sciatica "officially" if it was not caused by the sciatic nerve exiting the L-5. I had my spine examined a number of times starting in the late 90's because I had this searing pain that would shoot down my quad, down the side of my knee, down the front left of my shin and terminate around my instep. The doctors and therapists I was seeing said it had to caused by my sciatic nerve running through the piriformis muscle, something they called piriformis syndrome. Others told me it was ITB, or Iliotibial Band Syndrome.
What difference did it make what the mechanism was? A nerve running down my leg was was very angry. If they had only X-rayed my hip in 1997 and told me I had arthritis, it would have solved a medical mystery I endured for 16 years! Whatever that pain was, was gone the instant I came out of GA. So was the discomfort in my groin.
The surgeon told me that the arthritis did not happen overnight, and that I had severe osteo-arthritis for years before he finally replaced it. No kidding:hissy:
The strange part was, I ran thousands of miles between 1997 and 2013, and my hip never hurt while I was running, up until the final three times I tried to run on it. It would hurt afterwards, but I always though it was the shoes, my conditioning or something else. It just never dawned on me or anyone else, apparently, that I had arthritis.
As a sidebar, my favorite anti-inflammatory just went generic! Yesssss! My copay for Arthrotec was $100. I am not paying that much for pills and whether I can afford it or not is immaterial. I have principles. The pharmaceutical company offered a $4 copay card periodically through physicians, but that went away last fall. I switched back to Mobic because the side-effects of Celebrex meant I could not work around other people. Heck, my wife didn't even like to be in the same room with me when I took that, lol.
I made the switch back to Diclofenac this morning and what a huge difference. I have some arthritis in both knees and my other hip, but nothing that requires surgery yet. For me, Diclofenac with misoprostol is a miracle drug. I have only felt a little twinge in my other hip a couple of times today and my knees have been pain-free. I am also gas-free I might add! I had to use a cane last week just to get out of my office chair.
So, I am changing things up to this day to deal with arthritis pain.
I even think all that stuff is funny, because if you cant laugh about it, what else is there? No crying for us hippies!
 
@skid Have you ever tried lidoderm patches? They are 5% lidocaine in an adhesive solution on a 10 x 14cm (4 x 6") patch. They are great for lower back pain. They are pricey, but went generic a couple of years ago. If you have access to a mail-order pharmacy, a lot of times you can order a three month supply from them for the same price that you would pay at your local pharmacy for a one-month supply.
I neglected to mention the lidoderm patches above. I literally have a drawer full of them.
I used to have them literally plastered all aver the hip and groin area and would keep them in place with compression shorts. I believe you are supposed to keep the coverage area to three patches or less.
I remember the first time I applied them, I was like, yuk! But, if it works...
They also work really well for long road-trips or plane flights when you have to stay in an uncomfortable position for an interminable amount of time. You need to wash you hands after application, because you cant put them on without getting sticky goo all over your fingers. at least I can't. Peace out.
 
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