ten months post-op cementless total hip replacement still hurting

[Kathie]

Hi all, I had my left hip replaced Feb. 15, 2008 and my right one replaced April 2, 2008. My right hip is doing great, but the first one, my left, is hurting all the time. I can not come up stairs with it, when getting up to walk, I experience a lot of pain and stiffness, sitting on it or sleeping on it hurts. I have tried very hard to be patient, but am getting a bit discouraged. Thought I would maybe get some input from here before contacting my surgeon. I do not want to seem impatient. Thanks a bunch.

[The Tiger]

Kathie where did you have your surgery done.I had my surgery done at New Hospital For Special Surgery which is located in New York they are the best in the United State for this type of surgery.I had my right hip replace on Oct 3,2008.I will have the left one done in June of 2009.I am a Martial Artist with over thirty nine years of training I am pain free in my right hip

[Wow]

You had a 2nd hip replacement 6 weeks after your first? That could be your problem. I'm no medical professional, but I'm 8 weeks post op and there's no way I would be ready for a 2nd surgery. I'm still learning to put weight on my affected leg.

[Connie]

I had my half hip done Aug.08 and i am still having pain, not as bad as it was.At least in the past 2weeks i have been sleeping better. After half hour sitting down i am all stiff and sore,so i go for a walk around the house.

[Bryon]

The Tiger wrote:

Kathie where did you have your surgery done.I had my surgery done at New Hospital For Special Surgery which is located in New York they are the best in the United State for this type of surgery.I had my right hip replace on Oct 3,2008.I will have the left one done in June of 2009.I am a Martial Artist with over thirty nine years of training I am pain free in my right hip

Hello, I had my Hip replaced on the 31st of Oct and still have pain when I walk. How long have you been pain free?

[Frank]

I am 45 and had my first hip replaced in april 2008 and my left hip in august of 2008. I had stiffness and a hard time walking.My first hip the right one gave me problems after surgury it was numb and I could not sleep on that side. The therapist worked with me and it is better,not perfect but better she found some of my problem was a jammed pelvis from not walking right for so long.

[maggie J]

I had a rt. hip replaced Oct 30th of '08, I am almost three months from that and no where near as mobile of as pain free as I'd expected. I get about one or two good days out of a week........physio goes well while I'm there, but I pay for it the next day , it seems. My surgeon says "patience", but I am very discouraged with the pain and the limitations I'm experiencing. Does anyone have any encourageing tips or experiences to offer?

[maggie J]

Kathie wrote:

Hi all, I had my left hip replaced Feb. 15, 2008 and my right one replaced April 2, 2008. My right hip is doing great, but the first one, my left, is hurting all the time. I can not come up stairs with it, when getting up to walk, I experience a lot of pain and stiffness, sitting on it or sleeping on it hurts. I have tried very hard to be patient, but am getting a bit discouraged. Thought I would maybe get some input from here before contacting my surgeon. I do not want to seem impatient. Thanks a bunch.

Kathie, I am in the same boat. I had my surgery on October 30, almost three months ago and some days I think I'm getting worse instead of better. I'm only getting admonitions from my surgeon to be patient. However, so many others seem to come along much faster and I was in great shape before the surgery from yoga, cycling, etc. I thought I would recover much faster than this. The surgeon did say that new cementless implants take longer than the old cemented ones, because there is an ongoing process occuring as the bone grows into the implant. So far I'm not impressed and I'm terrified I won't get any better.

Maggie J.

[CTB]

Encouragement. i had my left hip replacedjan 15th 2008....metal on metal large ball. i had severe pain- my siatic nerve was on fire all the time night or day..i used a cane and lived on tylenol 3s.....i had alot of pain the first month after surgery started physio arounf 5 weeks.....developed a blood clot..which almost killed me...blood tests daily for 2 weeks and shots..it was rough.. i had a burn in my left leg than ran to my toes..and i felt like a tri-pod....
My physio people( glenrose here in edmonton)
told me to stop pussy footing around and start working the muscles and doing the excercises...and do them faithfully and as best as i can....
by 5 months --no pain--by 6 onths no limp..
by 7 i was way more mobile than i had in 5 years.
i was riding abike(although slowly) since 4.5 months..i had my handle bars adjusted ata bike shop...and it was all heaven..no pain.
at a year now..you would never know i had surgery
i climb 3 flights of stairs daily at work..and for a awhile it was hell...leg cramps at night
stiffness..but it all gets better.
the key is...strengthen your leg and butt muscles
its never enough..do it all the time, everytime you walk and ....soon..things shift into a normal feeling state.
your physio knows, be honest and know your only hurting yourself if you sluff off as long as your surgery was successful, your doc can see that on the x-ray. the rest really is up to you.!!!!!!!
walk all day , everywhere you can(safely) concentrate on posture and muscle developement.absolutely it will improve.
i cant stand playing the poor me or im a victim
i want to get busy living and playing with my kids and riding bikes again..btw iam 46.
also daily now i use and elliptical mcahine for 15 minutes, i started at 5 minutes..
try it what have you got to lose..you do have everything to gain!!!!
all the best..
TB

[Connie]

I am getting discouraged as well,it is getting on to 6 months now.I am seeing the surgeon next month,the thing is i had no pain before the accident that's what depress me.I feel like I am going backwards, 1 good night 4 bad ones.

[Kathy]

Are all of you talking about the anterior approach or posterior approach or is there a mixture? I hear the recovery from the anterior is much better than posterior.?????

[Karen]

I am 44 and had my left hip replaced on Nov, 2008 with metal on metal large ball and posterior approach. It has been 3 months and I am pretty much pain free. No more cane and I can almost climb stairs like I did before although I still need to build up some strength. I could walk for half an hour without any pain. I think it is important that you correct your walking posture first before you get back to the normal activity. Before I got rid of the limp which I developed prior to the surgery, I could still feel some soreness when walking for more than 5 minutes. Now, my limp is almost gone and I feel like I am back to normal.

[tgc]

I had a total left hip on Jan 13th 2009. At home I was able to go up and down stairs to see the inauguration using the right hip with the left leg just following. After 3 weeks I was told to walk in a swimming pool (swimming was not allowed). I followed this advice going 3 times weekly. I was able to increase my walking to about 15 laps of a 25 yard pool in 30 minutes. This greatly increased my muscle strength and removed all pain from walking and stair climbing. At the present time my left hip feels completely normal and I have started to swim 3 times weekly. Currently I can manage 20 laps in 35 minutes using zoomers. (I am over 70).

[Samuel]

I had a total right hip January 23, 2009 due to avascular necrosis. I allowed eight weeks to recuperate before going back to work. I still experience significant pain and stiffness in the right leg, especially when getting up from a seated position or going up and down stairs. X-rays of the hip show it to be fine and x rays of my lower back reveal no abnormalities. My surgeon thinks it might be nerve damage and has suggested another MRI as well as a bone density scan. My level of pain at present is about what it was before I underwent the total hip. Any thoughts?

[Diane]

I hade a total hip replacement in July, 2009. I am now 8 weeks post-op and wonder if I should have had the surgery at all. I am so uncomfortable with nerve pain in my foot that keeps me awake at night and pain in the surgical area. I thought by now I would be back to normal but I am still on partial weight bearing and using a walker. It is a cementless prothesis. I've forgotten what it feels like to walk like a normal person and right now I feel like I'll never get better!

[Dolores]

Did you have the "traditional" or minimally invasive "anterior" or "posterior" hip replacement? I'm scheduled for the minimally invasive anterior THR in October. Can't wait to have the pain gone, and my quality of life back - even tying my own shoes will be wonderful - if all works out the way it's supposed to, I guess. You must be so disappointed. Various folks have various recovery times it seems from these comments - lots of physio, etc. etc. I hope yours improves greatly over the next little while. I'll be looking for your updates.

[Dana]

TLHR done Aug. 19th 2009. 9 weeks out from surgery...walking with crutches still. Muscles can't support weight to be able to walk unassisted. At night...feels like I am sleeping on top of a baseball.