Reassurance please!

[Cassidy]

Hello @AgilityDog. I get what you're saying, and find it encouraging (but don't understand what you mean by "the OS told my DH that it was not what was expected?). Feeling good after not quite 2 weeks is fantastic - long may you continue to improve!!

 

[Cassidy]

I'm worried now - my surgeon was recommended to me, but when I looked at his stats, he's only done around 50 a year - nowhere near 200. He does knees too.

 

[anny]

tagging @Jaycey for you Cassidy....she's also UK and might be able to advise you

 

[Jaycey]

@Cassidy you will notice I moved your post to the thread you had started. That way we don't hijack another member's thread.

I'm worried now - my surgeon was recommended to me, but when I looked at his stats, he's only done around 50 a year

Who is your surgeon and what hospital is near you? I'll do a bit of research if you like.

It's sometimes area dependent. When I had my LTHR there weren't many surgeons with 200+ numbers in my area. Sometimes it's just gut feeling and recommendations.

 

[Cassidy]

Thank you @Jaycey. I asked to see the consultant because somebody recommended him to me - (he'd had a knee replacement and is now on his list for a hip replacement) - and he said he's very straightforward and reassuring (as well as being a good surgeon, of course!). I've met the consultant once, and found him pleasant whilst confident, so felt happy with the choice. He does private as well as NHS, and I asked him if he thought I'd be better off paying to go privately, but he said the hospital that I'd be admitted to (Orpington Hospital in Bromley, Kent) would be just as good - it has a very good reputation, as it has a dedicated Orthopaedic Department and is highly rated. I did wonder if the surgeon's stats were only for NHS and didn't include his private work. His name is Mr Max Edwards. I felt happy with the choice of surgeon until I read about the 200 ops a year!

 

[Jaycey]

@Cassidy

I've met the consultant once, and found him pleasant whilst confident, so felt happy with the choice.

This is what is important. Your surgeon needs to be someone you feel you can work with. Getting a recommendation from someone is a plus - they have first hand experience!

Before April 2016 private practice numbers were not included on the NJR. Since that time then number does include private work.

Please do not doubt your choice of surgeon based on these numbers. That's not what the registry is for. Go with your gut feeling. Based on what I have researched your surgeon looks great!

 

[Cassidy]

Thanks @Jaycey. I was pleased to have somebody recommended, as the consultant I'd originally hoped to go back to has gone totally private (which is disappointing, as he'd told me to see him when I felt the time was right and, now I think it is, he's scarpered!). And the proposed hospital isn't the one from which I acquired my MRSA, so that's comforting too. So hopefully all will be well. At least, that's what I'm trying to tell myself!

 

[Cassidy]

Having been wondering if I've done the right thing, going on the list for an op when my hip has been behaving itself so well for the past couple of weeks, I tested it yesterday evening with a shortish walk to my choir, standing off and on for an hour (in segments, not all at once!), then walking back - it felt bearable, if uncomfortable (trouble is, our idea of painful changes as we adapt to feeling like it most of the time). However, this morning's short walk from the car to the office was really slow and painful - damage seems to accumulate. Once again, after ten minutes or so it eased off and walking became easier. I think that when it's faded into the background I will have to try to remember the agony of trying to move when it's almost seizing up! What it amounts to is that I could go on like this for several more years if I limit myself to walking very short distances and standing for very short amounts of time - do I want to be planning my life around that at 62? Not when I've got a hopefully good few years of twilight years moseying around distant climes (or even rambling closer to home)!

 

[Jaycey]

What it amounts to is that I could go on like this for several more years if I limit myself to walking very short distances and standing for very short amounts of time

Yes, but will that hip hold up to several more years. I made that mistake! My hip finally collapsed. Believe me, you don't want to go there. Best to get this done before you have major damage. It's a much less complicated recovery.

 

[Cassidy]

@Jaycey - what happens when a hip collapses? It sounds absolutely horrendous - were you unable to walk at all? I sometimes have that sensation of the leg giving way, but I think that's because the nerve is momentarily pinched (a lot of my pain is sciatica like down to the knee and sometimes ankle). And when the pain is really bad my leg doesn't want to move very well. But total collapse? ....

 

[Jaycey]

what happens when a hip collapses?

Lots of pain! Basically the part of my hip that was supposed to be round and snuggly fit into the cup part was actually egg shaped and it had slipped slightly out of the cup. I could walk but with a significant limp. I used crutches for the 6 months I had to wait for surgery. Any movement of the joint felt like grinding gears. And that recovery was over one year. Lots of other areas of your body adjust to you staying off a sore hip. The longer you limp around, the harder to correct all that adjustment.

That leg pain you are experiencing does sound like sciatic pain. That nerve runs very close to the hip. If you had a collapse you would not be able to have any pain free walks - no matter what distance.

 

[Cassidy]

@Jaycey, I did wonder whether the nerve gets trapped in the narrow space (or something more anatomically feasible!) and the occasional respite I get is when it gets out of the way, as it were. The pain I was experiencing before Christmas was quite different - more in the groin area - and I can only imagine that as the space narrows, different nerves are affected. But then I'm not an anatomy specialist! When I have a few days when I'm barely aware of it, I wishfully think that maybe the joint has adapted to the lack of cartilage, then it comes back to bite me! I'm still angry that a) I'm in the position of needing a new hip in the first place, as it was caused by misdiagnosis by a pompous, non-listening orthopaedic consultant and b) that I'm going to lose a perfectly good chunk of healthy bone to be replaced by a metal "bit" - and I also keep hearing the second, good consultant telling me to hang on as long as possible. Why is it that, like teenage boys, we always imagine we're the ones that are going to beat the system and come out unscathed?! (It's a bit like imagining we're going to be one of the few women who experience no pain during childbirth, only to be brought back to reality!) Maybe I need to let all the anger go (as my irritatingly rational husband tells me) and face the fact that the sooner I get my ill-functioning joint sorted, the sooner I can start striding around again. Sorry for the rant by the way. (I see you're a Yorkshire lass - maybe we're stroppier down in London!)

 

[Jaycey]

Here's a great article about sciatic pain from our Library. As you can see in the illustration, the nerve runs right where you are having pain.

I'm still angry that a) I'm in the position of needing a new hip in the first place, as it was caused by misdiagnosis by a pompous, non-listening orthopaedic consultant

My pain was misdiagnosed for years. I had spinal issues and they kept sending me for injections that didn't work. I was not diagnosed until my hip collapsed.

that I'm going to lose a perfectly good chunk of healthy bone to be replaced by a metal "bit"

But it's not a "perfectly good chuck of healthy bone". It is diseased and failing. Better to have that shiny new hip and your life back.

and I also keep hearing the second, good consultant telling me to hang on as long as possible.

Very old school thinking! The days of waiting until you are 70-80 years old are long gone! We are seeing the average age of THR patients getting younger and younger. People are more active these days and they don't want to spend their years in pain.

I was very angry as well. A part of my body had failed me. But in the end, technology is on our side! You can get rid of what has failed and enjoy life.

I see you're a Yorkshire lass - maybe we're stroppier down in London!

I moved up here from London just 3 years ago. London does indeed "build character".

 

[MammaT]

@Cassidy, I understand the back and forth feelings very well. My left also got horrible, and when it went, it went quickly. Once healing started really taking place, I was able to appreciate how much pain I had been in for so long. It was that memory that had me taking care of right much quicker. Jaycey’s experience was very helpful to me.

 

[Cassidy]

Thanks @MammaT. I almost wish it would hurt all the time! I'm a born worrier, that's half the problem. I keep wondering now what I'll do if it ends up more painful after the op. As I say, born worrier!

 

[MammaT]

I think if you read through recovery threads you will find that post op pain (and everyone has varying degrees) is different from that horrible bone on bone grind we were trying to live with. I have swelling pain, muscles, etc. right now but have seen significant improvement in 2 short weeks (despite some of my whining).

The majority who have this surgery don’t have any long term problems outside of normal recovery. Those who have hit bumps in the road have found solutions.

Worrying can drive us insane. Read the recovery threads and you will find many successes. Some will seem more like your story than others, and that is ok. Each recovery is unique, even though we follow the same general road.

Good luck working through the process. Getting our head right is an important part of it @Cassidy.

 

[Layla]

Hi @Cassidy
Hope you're having a good day!

In part, I scheduled my surgery in an effort to stop agonizing over it all.
We can try to convince ourselves it's not time but then do you ever wonder why it keeps chipping away
at us mentally?

It is a difficult decision. I agonized over it myself, so I get it. You'll know when the time is right.

Have you taken the assessment test from our library? I'm including it, in case you haven't...
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/score-chart-how-bad-is-my-arthritic-hip-knee.19871/

Wishing you peace!

 

[anny]

@Cassidy ....I look on the bad times of oa pain in the same way as childbirth......I know it was the worse pain I'd ever had, and after my first I swore I would never do it again. Of course, when I wanted another one the memory of the pain had almost disappeared so I went ahead (only to get another reminder in the labour ward ). If it only comes occasionally, we can kid ourselves and suppress memories.....until the next time. Unfortunately the only way we can avoid the 'next time' for our hips is to have a THR (unlike childbirth which is more of an avoidance technique ) But however much we believe in the necessity of this op, there's always that niggling little worm at the back of our minds saying "yes, but..."

 

[Cassidy]

Hello @anny - I think my husband's tiring of the niggling little worm! He's now saying "don't have the op then" to call my bluff. Funny thing is, when he says that I feel quite indignant. I think I know I'm going to have to go ahead with it now I've got this far - I just need it done now. I don't think he realises how much I might have to go through, as I don't tell him about this forum - and even if everybody says it's worth it in the end, I can see that the first few weeks can be very tough - and I don't always find it tough at the moment. More long walks I think!

 

[Layla]

Hi @Cassidy
I pull that one on my mom. The one hubby is pulling on you.
She is 80 and in need of a hip and knee replacement. Two surgeries.
She's in great health yet she's dragging her feet, has reservations just as you do.
I tell her "Mom, just schedule it....you're in good health and as young as you'll ever be!"
Well....she finally scheduled it but is already threatening to exercise her escape clause by frequently mentioning she doesn't know if she's ready, reminding me of her good days, expressing she still may cancel.
In all honesty, it gets frustrating and I say "Cancel it then, already."

It's very difficult to watch your loved ones struggle in pain, limping around, canceling appts, struggling mentally. If you aren't living life to the fullest, why continue on when there's a better option.

Please realize also that you may have a great recovery. Many, many do. And if you don't.....you'll still get through it. A better life is awaiting.....you just need to grab ahold and trust.

Prayers for clarity and peace of mind.