My (long) story....

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chewymix

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I will try to make this as brief as possible but also as clear as i can but i might ramble :)

In June 2002 i had a very strange sensation in what i thought at the time was my left groin, it was most likely actually in my hip, as i twisted around to the left, so rotated my flexed hip joint inward, and immediately felt a burning sensation in the groin and radiating into the top of my leg. I have always been sporty and though i had pulled or torn something and so somewhat ignored it for about 4 weeks. By this point the burning had subsided a bit but replaced with an irritated ache type feeling that was present all the time but made much worse when sitting - This gave me groin pain and also what felt like high hamstring pain.

4 weeks in GP time and a few prods and pokes later and no diagnosis. Perhaps pulled something off you go. So i do exactly that, go away and ignore it.

1 year later - move house, change GP, think i'll have another crack at figuring this out. Same kind of response but referred to a sports orientated doctor who thinks it might be a groin issue, sports hernia type problem, but no real option other than exploratory surgery. I ignore it some more.

About this time i find that when i sit in certain positions i get a numb type feeling in the groin and upper thigh so i figure it must be something 'in there' pushing on a nerve. As soon as i get up and move around this feeling, or lack of, goes away. I ignore it some more.

A few years later i start doing more running and note that my stride feels off compared to how i used to feel when running but think its just as i am not that fit anymore so i carry on and sort of get by. I also started to investigate the 'sports hernia' diagnosis a bit and find a doc who knows about it. Trouble is they are in Germany and i am in London and so its difficult to meet. I do eventually see her and she says i have a very small inguinal hernia on my left side, hurrah a diagnosis, and also one on the right however at this time my right feels OK still.

I am doing something around the house lifting something and feel something 'give' in my right groin/hip. Oh oh lots of pain/burning just like the left. OK i made the hernia worse i thought. I ignore it some more and get on with life. About this time i get married and generally dont want to be bothered about this issue as its not _that_bad_ and i get by.

We have a couple of kids and so lots of bending/crouching and feel my 'hernias' getting more grumbly. Then one day bam, getting up from the floor a searing pain in my left knee. Not good, torn meniscus. Get it diagnosed fast enough but opt out of surgery. Ignore it also - Can you see a pattern here. Knee gets better, then worse, then better until it gets real bad. Have it scoped but it felt blocked in the join still. Fired first ortho, see someone else to find meniscus very ragged. Another knee surgery in 4 months. Much better knee. While rehabbing the knee i mention to the physio that my right groin is hurting lots more since doing the PT for the knee and i mention about my hernia(s). He manipulates my right leg and says the hip feels very restricted and i should get it checked. I tell him its the hernia and decline the offer. I ignore it some more.

My stars align and the German doctor who is highly regarded for her hernia surgery starts operating out of London so i see her again. Still have hernias, OK lets get these fixed. I do and 2 scars after bi-lateral open inguinal hernia repair later i am still in pain. Lots more actually as hernia surgery really, really, hurts. Time passes when i should be getting better, and i do to a degree in that the OMG shoot me now pain of the surgery goes over a few months! BUT i still have the pain and i still have the strange numb feeling when sitting down sometimes. Sitting has also been getting steadily worse to the point where its pretty intolerable.

March this year, 12 years! after the first left hip issue, i finally get my hips 'checked' by a hip doc. HE manipulated the hips and was not impressed my my virtually non existent internal rotation, not to mention it damn well hurt a lot when he did it! So some frog leg X-Rays and a 3T MRI later and i was told -

Left Hip - CAM FAI, 2 labral tears, Signs of articular delamination and some cyst or another
Right Hip - CAM FAI, labral tear but no articular issues

Note they are only imagine findings and i know things can be better and or worse when operated on.

Recently things seem to have gone downhill rapidly. I notice that, especially on my right, my walking is not smooth, i feel as though the ball on the femur isnt actually round! I also get burning in both hips with walking, but this waxes and wanes, but i also get bad groin pain. I also have what i can only describe as 'swelling' near to the top of my right hand side hernia scar thats appeared in the last month or so and both joints can at times feel a bit 'full'

So there we go - my tale of woe and also where i am right now. I see the hip guy a week on Friday and i'll see what he says. All i do know is that i cant 'do nothing' anymore. Things are getting intolerable and sitting at work is so not fun right now its getting silly.

Not sure if any of this resonates with anyone but i thought i'd try to be as frank and honest as possible :)
 
Yes - Me2! It all sounds very familiar . . .
 
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@chewymix, so pleased that you have joined us here on the forum. You've certainly spent a lot of years in denial about possible problems---and then they come home to roost. But we'll certainly do everything we can to help you deal with the possibility and the reality of hip replacement.

New BoneSmart members like you are in various stages of their journey to joint replacement. Making the decision whether or not to have surgery and preparing for surgery can be easier once you have done your research and know what lies ahead. Here are some tools that can help you decide what is best for you.

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

We are here to help in any way we can: answering questions and concerns; supporting and encouraging you from start to finish; giving you a place to vent, whine, complain if you need to; sharing experiences with one another; and having fun and some laughs along the way.

Take care and keep us posted. We care.
 
Hi - at this time no, although i go back a week on Friday to discuss as things are getting worse and a THR was mentioned, but i am not sure if that was if we didnt scope it or if it might happen anyway.

Based on what i have read - if you have OA in the joint = TKR. That said at this time only 'delamination' has been noted on a scan rather than 'Arthritis'
 
Welcome @chewymix - do let us know how your appointment went on Friday - best wishes!
 
It's actually this Friday so will update then. I do have a strange sensation in that the area of the hernia feels scratchy inside sometimes. Has anyone felt something like that and the source of it was the hip rather than the hernia?


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Sorry, can't say I have experienced a symptom such as you described.. Don't forget to have it on your list of questions for Fridays appointment - best wishes :)
 
Had my bilateral injections today. Was told not to expect any significant results for at least 2 weeks as this is when the steroid really starts to work.

Let's see what happens but I definitely have some lingering hernia related things going on that might make things confused.

We shall see


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