Hip resurfacing with oversized components?

[SpudAir]

     (I'm having some problems with posting here, so this may not be in the best location.  However, it's the only place that I could find that would let me post a new topic.)
   Thought I'd check here for a possible solution to the pain I've had since my right hip resurfacing in 2009.  I read one post and thought, "Hey, that guy has exactly the same symptoms as me!"  Turned out it WAS me, from a post back in 2010.  Hah!
    In any case, I was hoping that by now someone would have come up with a definitive answer to the constant ache I have in the right hip.  At times I wonder if the wrong size joint was installed, since the best way I can describe the pain is that it's as if someone is continually trying to press too large a ball into the hip socket, causing an aching pressure.  **HERE'S MY PRIMARY QUESTION: I haven't been able to find anything out about this possible scenario: what symptoms would a person experience if the resurfacing was completed with components that were too large?
    Relevant details: My pain probably runs from a 2 to a 4 or maybe a 5 at times.  It's about the level of pain you feel the day after you sprain an ankle badly, only focused in the hip.  The ache seems to be deep in the joint, although pressing on the hip joint from the outside is painful, too.  Occasionally I'll get groin pain as some have mentioned.  The pain is almost always there, and frequently wakes me up at night.  It's a rare night when I can sleep on my left side without the right hip starting to ache badly, and I usually can't sleep on the right side, either.  So I end up on my back, sometimes with my right knee bent.  If I drive anywhere the hip will start to bother me a lot, and I have to unfold slowly from the car on arrival, as the hip is very stiff and painful.  I try to stop every hour or so on a trip just to walk around the car and to ease the pain.  It seems to be slowly getting worse, as I've noticed it's increasingly painful to climb stairs, or to hike on a sidehill.
    I still work out three or four times a week, including stretching, weight work, and various cardio.  Taking NSAIDs and then getting an almost daily workout seems to be the best treatment I've found, as I sometimes feel a little better right after getting home.  (I finish up with stationary cycling.)  That fades by evening, however, and the pain is back.  I don't like to use meds to sleep, because in my experience that creates other sleeplessness problems.
    The right hip was resurfaced by an orthopedic surgeon who was kind of a newbie to the hip resurfacing surgery, with only five or six operations prior to mine.  He said that he used the largest joint he had.  Two years later my left hip was resurfaced by a very reputable doctor in Boise, with some 700 surgeries prior to mine.  That surgery went much better; I was back on my feet with only a cane the next day, and taking long hikes just a few weeks later.  It has never given me any trouble at all.  I had this doctor examine the right hip, look at the X-rays and MRI, and he could come up with no reason for the pain, either.
    I'm afraid that if the pain continues to get worse, and that certainly seems to be the case (albeit gradually), I'll have to have a THR done just to alleviate the pain so I can sleep, drive, and fly.  This has not been a good experience.  If I'd known the hip would be this painful after the surgery, I would have stuck with the pain I was having from the arthritis.

[Mike D]

Hi Spudair,
Reading your post, the first thing I thought of was to get another opinion, maybe more than one.
As I understand it, a few of the very best HR surgeons will give you an opinion via email if you send them your X-Rays.
Pat Walter, Dannywayoflife, hernanu and probably a good few more will be able to tell you which of these top guys can provide this service-also, I don't think they charge for it.
Good luck and keep us posted with your progress, Cheers, Mike.

[patrick_d]

Ditto what Mike said.  There have been a few discussion recently with folks that have been having various issues and the general consensus is to get your information to one of the top docs.  Several will do a phone call with you after you have sent over your latest x-rays, mri's, etc.

[SpudAir]

    Thanks for the encouragement, gentlemen.  I must admit to some skepticism about what a doctor could accomplish by remote viewing of my x-rays, but it may be worth a shot.  I'm not sure which I find more unpleasant; nagging pain or the hassle of chasing down my x-rays and sending them to another doctor.  I'll have to work up some motivation here.

[hernanu]

It doesn't need to be a hassle to track those XRays down. You paid for them, so except for some processing charge, you own them. I have gotten a copy of mine every time they're done. I just tell the receptionist that I want copies, so they just either have handed me a disk with them on, or mailed them to me.

I'd just call them up and tell them you need them sent to you, or pick them up. Pat has the procedure for sending them to any (or all) of the doctors that provide this service. I think you can just attach them to an email (along with whatever other information you have). Then you can get some heavily experienced opinions in your corner.

It's not a fix-all, but I would rather have some really knowledgeable opinions as a starting point. If they spot something that's obvious, then you at least know what you're dealing with. If they don't, then they can suggest a path to finding out, given the wealth of knowledge at their disposal.

Good luck, hoping you get rid of the nagging...

[Dannywayoflife]

Excellent advice there from hern! Get your X-rays sent to the best! If they can help you they will tell you so and if it needs the attention of someone else they will probably put you on track to solving the issue.