THR Am I bad enough?

ty111

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Hi All,
First of all, thanks for this site; it's a godsend. That said, I am now equivocating. After years of PT & Aleve, I finally saw a surgeon who said you have bone on bone, cysts, etc. and need a replacement. What makes me wonder is that I am not in agony--certainly not the kind of pain I hear about from friends. My biggest problem is that my range of motion is pretty lousy and I have developed a limp. So now I am doubting my decision to have surgery.

Surely someone else has gone through this second guessing dance?

Thanks!
 
Hi and :welome:
We see a wide array of hip folks who also have a wide array of pain and symptoms.
I will leave you the pre-OP reading and you may want to check out the score chart.


If you are at the stage where you have joint pain but don't know for sure if you are ready to have surgery, these links may help:
Score Chart: How bad is my arthritic hip?
Choosing a surgeon and a prosthesis
BMI Calculator - What to do if your surgeon says you're too heavy for joint replacement surgery
Longevity of implants and revisions: How long will my new joint last?

If you are at the stage where you are planning to have surgery but are looking for information so you can be better prepared for what is to come, take a look at these links:
Recovery Aids: A comprehensive list for hospital and home
Recliner Chairs: Things you need to know if buying one for your recovery
Pre-Op Interviews: What's involved?

And if you want to picture what your life might be like with a replaced hip, take a look at the posts and threads from other BoneSmarties provided in this link:
Stories of amazing hip recoveries
 
You're welcome ..I will say, I have a high tolerance for pain and tightness - a limp and limited range of motion...can definitely be signs that your hip isn't serving you well.
Things can get worse quickly.

Only you can know, but I certainly am glad not to have my former bad hip limiting me in my life.
 
Last edited:
Hello @ty111 Welcome and thanks for joining us!

Your story reminds me of mine in several ways. I had the bone on bone, cysts, limited ROM and I limped. Only difference is I didn’t take pain relievers very often because, personally, I don’t like them. I did experience pain off and on, but while sitting I felt normal. Getting out of my vehicle caused me the most pain. It was excruciating. I had to manually lower my leg and it was still horrid. I tried PT, to no avail and learned my situation would not improve without surgery. It was really difficult for me to come to terms with losing my natural hip. My kids pestered me because they didn’t like watching me limp and while I would often feel okay once mobile, initially after standing it took me a minute to get going due to stiffness. I often wondered if my symptoms were enough to qualify surgery.

If you understand that it’s not going to get better, I’d say don’t put it off. Your implant should last your lifetime and give you back the life you had before your hip began deteriorating. I’m sure you’ll love the result.

Here‘s to a brighter future!
 
@ty111 - You have bone on bone and cysts, you limp and you have some pain.
None of that is going to get any better without surgery.
What's more, with the damage you already have, your hip could collapse at any time. You definitely do not want that - you'll know all about extreme pain if that happens.

All the indications are there that your hip needs to be replaced.

With Covid-19 complicating things, who knows how soon you would be able to have surgery if your hip collapsed suddenly?

I say go ahead an have that hip replaced as soon as you can.
Once that hip is replaced, you will realise how much it had been affecting your quality of life.
 
@ty111 don't cut yourself off from a fuller life by waffling! Your hip, as has been noted, may, one horrifying day, collapse. You might then be at the mercy of whatever timing can be arranged. You have an OS who says you need a replacement. I wouldn't doubt an expert.

Think of life without the limp! Being able to tie your shoes or drop kick a football or whatever you can't currently do. In my family of marriage, 73 is young. My SIL had bilateral total knees at about your age. The first thing she did after was to take up climbing with a teen grandson. That may not be your cup of tea, but surely a little ROM would be nice?
 
@ty111 Welcome to BoneSmart! I limped around for years thinking my pain was spinal, not hip. Unfortunately I had the bad luck of a hip collapse. As Celle says - you don't want to go there.

Waiting also creates bad habits (limping) and impacts other parts of your body. You are walking all wrong trying to stay off that sore hip. My recovery from LTHR took over one year.

Your life has already narrowed to compensate for a hip that is no longer performing. Get that hip replaced and get on with living again.
 
@ty111, I encourage you to move forward with scheduling your surgery. I too had bone on bone, cysts, limped and range of motion was compromised. I wish I’d known earlier what was wrong with me, because THR is life changing.
 
@ty111, a question: You mentioned “years of PT and Aleve.” Did you have x-rays or any other imaging during that time, and were you seeing an orthopedic surgeon?
 
One of the pieces of advice form my primary Doc was that I'm in as good a shape as I'm going to be going forward and I'm not getting any younger. Kind of a what are you waiting for moment. Now granted I put the first one off 35 years from my diagnosis, don't like to rush into these things.
 
@SwimHip I did have X-Rays, and a number of docs, including a surgeon, said, You have arthritis but just keep moving. I was very active, especially cycling (which I can still do), so it really wasn't until this COVID lockdown, and enforced inactivity, that things got bad.

Anyway, I am scheduled tentatively for Oct, possibly earlier depending on what the hospital OR can accommodate. As I mentioned originally, I am not in terrible, constant pain, but I would like to be able to hike around. No football, though, @zauberflöte :chuckmarch:

Thanks for all prodding.
 
One last prodding. Bone on bone with cysts, limp and pain. Wish I had known about the bone on bone and cysts why I continued on with the pain and limp getting worse while I tried stretching, exercise, etc per my PCP. You have a diagnosis. Get it done! Don’t wait! Recovery could very well be hampered by the increasing stress that is put on those soft tissues. I wish I could have gotten mine done so much sooner. In any case, best decision I ever made (well, except for marrying my sweet hubby!) :)
 
@ty111, I hear you about keeping moving. I found with my first hip and now with the second, inactivity brought on some stiffness/discomfort. I swim everyday and that helps. Like yourself, I was not and am not in constant, terrible pain. Those pain free moments can fool you.
 
@SwimHip True dat. I wish I could swim, but our Y has been closed since March...and I am NOT swimming in the Hudson River!
 
I'm another fan of not waiting as that is what I have to do now (due to Covid and Kaiser backlog). I have been 'coasting' for 3 or 4 years but now I can barely limp (with the help of sticks) from bedroom to living room. I can't even get an idea of a date according to my doc. Our complex pool is open and it is 50 steps from my place so I have tried to get over there a couple of times a week. I had my right one done in 2002, now at 71 so ready for this next one.
 
It can be a harder decision on the green light if you're not in agonizing pain. I was occasionally in agonizing pain--as in pain hitting me when I slept--but only occasionally. But a limp ... is not good ... your body will start to do all kinds of compensating ... and the longer you wait ... the more out of whack your muscles will be ... so those muscles have to be retrained with a sturdy new hip.

But back to the limp ... maybe I'm wrong here ... but we limp in order to minimize pain (assuming there is no bone deformity or serious muscle deterioration). So you are probably in more constant pain than you may be aware of. It's just that your brain has set the limp as the "new normal."
 
Hello @ty111 :wave:
Stopping by to wish you all the best in 2021 on this day of a special anniversary.
Happy Three Month Anniversary!
How are you doing? Hopefully all is well and you’re enjoying the progress you‘re making as you continue healing. Please leave an update as time allow. We’d love to hear from you. :)
 

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