Multiple Hip Issues but Doctor says I have to wait

[Grace71]

I am new here and looking for some help or advice.

I am 45yrs old and just diagnosed with a bone spur, labral tear, piriformis tendinopathy and early arthritis.

The surgeon I saw yesterday said if I saw him ten years ago he could do arthroscopic surgery to fix the tear and bone spur (I didn't know if I even had this ten years ago!) but at this point I am developing arthritis so eventually I will need a new hip, so doing any surgery now is pointless!

I asked how long with that be? He said we have to wait till your hip deteriorates enough to need a new hip. Could be three years, could be ten.

I was stunned. I can hardly function at this point and his advice was to take Tylenol and Motrin and just don't do anything that hurts. Sitting hurts!! Walking hurts!

I don't know what to do...is there anyone from Massachusetts who had/has a good doctor who could help me?

 

[Gone again]

I'm no expert but you need a new doctor. It's about quality of life and restrictions.
My Doc told me it's my call. When the pain ts to much and limiting my life that's when it's time.
I had one Doctor tell me I was to young. I saw Three doctors before I found the right one.
Good luck

 

[Grace71]

Thank you Gone again. I am waiting to her back from the first ortho who referred me to the surgeon.

 

[Jaycey]

@Grace71 Welcome to BoneSmart! You need to find a more up to date surgeon. THR is performed on younger patients on a regular basis. There is no reason to wait in pain. Find a new surgeon. There are plenty who specialise in younger patients.

 

[Josephine]

The surgeon I saw yesterday said if I saw him ten years ago he could do arthroscopic surgery to fix the tear and bone spur but at this point I am developing arthritis so eventually I will need a new hip, so doing any surgery now is pointless!

I would say that this chap was a) totally out of date and b) not a very good hip surgeon! After all, we are still doing arthroscopies to fix torn labra and bone spurs and it sounds like he was just reluctant to do anything he didn't feel like doing! I would wonder why he didn't just 'fess up and say he didn't deal with these things but that he knew a chap who did! Waste of space!

He said we have to wait till your hip deteriorates enough to need a new hip. Could be three years, could be ten.

Outrageous! And don't believe it. If you look around here, you will see that there are far more 40yr olds than 50yr olds having hip replacements. Don't let his lack of compassion get to you. You can do better, much better than him.

 

[Grace71]

Thanks for all your replies. I am waiting to hear back from the original ortho still. I am starting therapy tomorrow for the piriformis syndrome (forgot to mention I have that too that in my original post). Hoping that may help some.

 

[nonny]

Hi @Grace71! That's not a good answer from the doctor; why would anyone ask you to suffer for ten years? I'm sure he wouldn't put up with that pain. I am also in Massachusetts and am scheduled to have total right hip replacement on August 16. I so empathize with you re: the pain, as what you describe is similar to mine. My surgery is at New England Baptist in Boston with Chris Sambaziotis. Go on the Baptist's website. The Baptist has the best reputation in Massachusetts for replacement surgery. They perform close to 3,000 hip replacements and revisions each year, compared to significantly less than 1,000 for all the other Boston hospitals (Mass. General, Beth Israel, Brigham and Women's, etc.) Plus, they have a phenomenally low infection rate for both surgical and catheter site infections. You can look it up. All hospitals in Mass. are registered with that info and more on the State government site. Of course, I don't know what insurance you have, but if you need a referral from your primary care doctor, they can refer you to an "out of network" doctor; you may need to argue a tad, but it is done and routinely, too. I'm rooting for you to get some relief from your pain and correct your issues. I'm nervous as surgery approaches, but still eager to make my life better. I hope this info helps you. No one should have to suffer when we have such proven surgical relief.

 

[Grace71]

Hi @Grace71! That's not a good answer from the doctor; why would anyone ask you to suffer for ten years? I'm sure he wouldn't put up with that pain. I am also in Massachusetts and am scheduled to have total right hip replacement on August 16. I so empathize with you re: the pain, as what you describe is similar to mine. My surgery is at New England Baptist in Boston with Chris Sambaziotis. Go on the Baptist's website. The Baptist has the best reputation in Massachusetts for replacement surgery. They perform close to 3,000 hip replacements and revisions each year, compared to significantly less than 1,000 for all the other Boston hospitals (Mass. General, Beth Israel, Brigham and Women's, etc.) Plus, they have a phenomenally low infection rate for both surgical and catheter site infections. You can look it up. All hospitals in Mass. are registered with that info and more on the State government site. Of course, I don't know what insurance you have, but if you need a referral from your primary care doctor, they can refer you to an "out of network" doctor; you may need to argue a tad, but it is done and routinely, too. I'm rooting for you to get some relief from your pain and correct your issues. I'm nervous as surgery approaches, but still eager to make my life better. I hope this info helps you. No one should have to suffer when we have such proven surgical relief.

Thank you. I am in western Mass but if it comes down to it I will go where ever I need to. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[confused newb]

Good luck with finding a new surgeon @Grace71! I (along with a number of other members in their 30's and 40's) was told that I would need to wait until I 'was old enough' to have the replacement done. Thankfully the second surgeon I met with was less old school and has an interest in working with 'younger' patients. I'm about 10 weeks post op now, and feeling great! It's well worth looking for a good surgeon who will do this for you!

 

[susan12369]

@Grace71, I'm 49 in Marlborough and just had my left THR on June 20th, after having my right THR on May 9th. My surgeon was Dr Sean Rockett in Natick, he operates at Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick (where I had my surgeries) as well as Newton Wellesley Hospital. He was fantastic and I highly recommend him!!

I first saw a surgeon about 3 years ago who said I had to lose weight and live with it, no cortisone, no surgery, no nothing. I lost 60 pounds and lived with it until this year when I had my annual physical and told my doctor I just couldn't live with it anymore. She sent me to Dr Rockett and they didn't waste any time scheduling my surgery! And when my left hip was hurting during my first recovery, went right ahead and scheduled that surgery for 6 weeks after the first.

Keep talking until you get a surgeon willing to address your issues. You deserve to live a life without pain and limitations on your mobility!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum

 

[Grace71]

Can anyone give some advice about dealing with the pain? I have tried biofreeze, ibuprofen (600mg every 4 hrs) Tylenol arthritis extended relief...nothing works enough to let me do what I need to do.

 

[Mojo333]

I'm so sorry for your doctor's lack of response. My 'back' pain was finally diagnosed as OA and I never did find medication that would relieve it. I finally quit eating all the pills as they were not working and potentially causing stomach issues.
Unfortunately my surgeon also said physical therapy or just physical activity was worsening it as it was bone on bone.
I know this is not very comforting but it is also what made me determined to replace my hips as soon as I could do I could live my life again. I needed sleep and relief from chronic pain.

 

[Phoenixx29]

Hi - I don't think you'll find a pain killer that helps with this kind of pain. I have given up on them; I will take a co-codamol (I think that's tylenol-3 in the US), but purely as it helps me get to sleep as it makes me drowsy. It does not even touch the pain.. (My doctor won't prescribe me sleeping pills - they would not be suitable for me).

 

[Grace71]

I'm so sorry for your doctor's lack of response. My 'back' pain was finally diagnosed as OA and I never did find medication that would relieve it. I finally quit eating all the pills as they were not working and potentially causing stomach issues.
Unfortunately my surgeon also said physical therapy or just physical activity was worsening it as it was bone on bone.
I know this is not very comforting but it is also what made me determined to replace my hips as soon as I could do I could live my life again. I needed sleep and relief from chronic pain.

I have started therapy for mobility and strengthening, however I have not found much relief yet, some days it actually hurts more.

 

[Grace71]

Hi - I don't think you'll find a pain killer that helps with this kind of pain. I have given up on them; I will take a co-codamol (I think that's tylenol-3 in the US), but purely as it helps me get to sleep as it makes me drowsy. It does not even touch the pain.. (My doctor won't prescribe me sleeping pills - they would not be suitable for me).

My primary doc and the ortho's won't give narcotics as I had already been on them for about 8 weeks. There is a huge push here in the US to not prescribe any narcotic pain relief due to the epidemic of addiction. I am considering asking for another mra since it seems to be getting worse instead of better.

 

[nonny]

I, too, have terrible pain. I have a little relief with Celebrex (2 per day), and one oxycodone per day at around 4pm. That one pain pill helps me a lot. I also fine that heat helps me and I bought a shiatzu massager that has heat. I use it and it helps when the pain is pretty bad.
Find another surgeon. There are many. @susan12349 is correct. Maybe your primary care physician can help? Tell him or her "I'm not going to live like this. Help me find a surgeon who can help." I just know that for me the debilitating pain makes me less able to fight, and has impinged on my quality of life big time. I feel for you and will be watching this thread as you hopefully find a surgeon.

 

[zauberflöte]

H @Grace71 I had some light type of therapy before my first hip. "Blue laser"? I'd hold the little light emitting packs to my groin, and also to my outer joint area, I think it was 5-6 minutes. It reduced inflammation. They recommended that 10-11 treatments would help the pain, but relief (minor but noticeable) started after maybe 2-3. I ran out of insurance before 11, sadly. People have also bought little TENS machines. Some of my family members SWEAR by acupuncture. Not for joint pain, but nevertheless if a medical-averse 30-yr-old tells you he really likes it, I figure there's something good going on for him.

 

[Mojo333]

Grace71

I have started therapy for mobility and strengthening, however I have not found much relief yet, some days it actually hurts more.

Unfortunately my surgeon also said physical therapy or just physical activity was worsening it as it was bone on bone.

 

[Irish Joe]

Hi Grace.
If your hip pain is affecting your life to the extent that you find it difficult to function and sleep then in my opinion you ARE at the stage of needing a Replacement. My xrays showed that my left was worse than my right but the pain was worst in the right. The end result was both were replaced. I am so glad I picked a practical surgeon who looked at quality of life and not age.
Go to another surgeon and explain your case I think because the only real cure when the pain gets bad is Replacement.
Keep Well.
Joe.....

 

[Mojo333]

I hope you understood my posts. My doctor recommended physical therapy when we were still without the OA hip diagnosis, and some of the things they did helped. TENS therapy was great, I tried to bribe them to leave me on it the whole hour. I had traction that felt good while I was on it but none of it felt any better AFTER and I'm certain most of it made it worse.
The OS I finally got to was very blunt. End stage OA in both hips. The end stage words messed me up. I just found out what was causing all my pain... I'm only 53... How can it be end stage?
He stated no injections are going to help, PT WILL ONLY aggravate and worsen the condition, and he didn't even suggest drug pain management as he knew I'm an active otherwise healthy woman who didn't want to eat major drugs all day long .
I'm glad he was blunt... First thing I did was stop trying to push my body with physical activity. Which didn't help alot because sitting laying was also horribly painful.
In other words... What choice did I really have.
Thank God for my double hip replacement. I am getting my life back... Sooner than later.
Guess you can be endstage at whatever age