30something
junior member
I am a 39 YO female with a couple issues going on with her hip. I have acetabular protrusio bilaterally with the left hip remarkably worse versus the right. They believe it was a congenital defect that I never knew until about 2 years ago when they found it. I have had issues with this hip off/on since my twenties but mostly bursitis type things that once had to be treated with cortisone. Some days I can walk on it without much grief and other days it just aches and hurts to bear any weight. My lower back is stiff and unable to flex and I am constantly trying to do stretching exercises for it. I had an arthorgram/MRI done about 9 months ago which showed joint space narrowing, fissures, and erosions on the surface. They joint was so narrow they could only get 1/3 of the dose of contrast in the joint space- the rest just kept coming back out on my skin. Yep have mild to moderate OA of the hip. I also have been diagnosed with OA of the inner left knee and inner left ankle. I am assuming this is all related. I have a leg length discrepancy. So I have been to a rheumatologist and a OS. My rheumatologist has told me I need a hip replacement and pretty soon. The OS looked at it and told me to come back when I was ready for surgery(as I am not sure what the magical sign is that tells you that you are ready). The RA MD will not give me cortisone shots into the hip- he says they are a waste and will not help(not that I would want them).
I guess I am not sure what to do. Currently I am taking piroxicam and Ultracet. Living in PA, this time of year brings on the cold, damp weather. I think I am past the revision of the hip repair at my age. My one concern is the leg length discrepancy- will it get worse? I choose not to wear a heal lift at this point, but probably would benefit.
If it stayed where it is currently- I could probably manage. I keep saying that though and I am not sure some days if it is worse or not. Except that it is waking me up every night now(3 am like clock work). I am just not sure how much worse it will get and the fact I think I am making the knee/ankle worse maybe trying to compensate for the hip has me concerned. But even if I do have the hip done- will I still have issues with those? Its like playing dominos- when one starts to fall they all do. I am not sure of the recovery time and how long I would need to take off work- that’s a major concern. I have PTO to cover about 7 weeks, but I can’t be off for long.
I know that nobody can tell me what to do and honestly I don’t know what questions to ask. There are a lot of fear of the unknowns and part of me says “keep the original parts” at least I know what I am dealing with. Then there is the part of me that thinks- if it could be better why not? I just don’t want to go through it to not have anything resolve. Sorry for the novel. J
I guess I am not sure what to do. Currently I am taking piroxicam and Ultracet. Living in PA, this time of year brings on the cold, damp weather. I think I am past the revision of the hip repair at my age. My one concern is the leg length discrepancy- will it get worse? I choose not to wear a heal lift at this point, but probably would benefit.
If it stayed where it is currently- I could probably manage. I keep saying that though and I am not sure some days if it is worse or not. Except that it is waking me up every night now(3 am like clock work). I am just not sure how much worse it will get and the fact I think I am making the knee/ankle worse maybe trying to compensate for the hip has me concerned. But even if I do have the hip done- will I still have issues with those? Its like playing dominos- when one starts to fall they all do. I am not sure of the recovery time and how long I would need to take off work- that’s a major concern. I have PTO to cover about 7 weeks, but I can’t be off for long.
I know that nobody can tell me what to do and honestly I don’t know what questions to ask. There are a lot of fear of the unknowns and part of me says “keep the original parts” at least I know what I am dealing with. Then there is the part of me that thinks- if it could be better why not? I just don’t want to go through it to not have anything resolve. Sorry for the novel. J