We're you ever pain-free before the op?

[percy hipkiss]

Post-diagnosos I mean...or more accurately late stage.

Just wondering here, did any of you ever have brief periods of respite when you could walk reasonably freely ?
You may have been on painkillers and anti-inflammatories....I know if I take the full dose of these I am sometimes able to stride out without any feeling of limititation or pain...it doesn't last long. Of  course there's a price to pay for overdoing it and the resultant stiffness and aching is all the worse after any period of intermittent relief.

[Mudpro]

Percy,

Over the three years or so prior to surgery, I, like you, could get around pretty welll as long as I was taking some form of pain killer which varied from Advil to Vicodin.  70% of the time the medication permitted me to do everything I "needed" to do tot ake care of work and home.  20% of the time I was unable to meet all of my home or busienss obligations because of the pain, and 10% of the time I was basically unable to do much of anything.

There were many things i "wanted" to do, and had done in my life previosuly, that I could no longer do at all anymore, i.e., mountain backpacking, rding a bike, playing a pick up game of basketball with my son or neighbor.  I don't plan on making any jump shots anytime soon, but I am planning some hiking and biking trips!

[obxpelican]

Some days for brief periods I had no pain whatsoever.  That said, those periods would be like 10 minutes here and there.

If I over did something like cutting grass I paid for it big gime the next day.

Early on when my pain was more of a pinch now and then ibuprofen would make me feel normal, as it got worse, NOTHING helped much at all, although celebrex helped me a good bit from Feb - June 2008, then nothing helped me.


Chuck

Post-diagnosos I mean...or more accurately late stage.

Just wondering here, did any of you ever have brief periods of respite when you could walk reasonably freely ?
You may have been on painkillers and anti-inflammatories....I know if I take the full dose of these I am sometimes able to stride out without any feeling of limititation or pain...it doesn't last long. Of  course there's a price to pay for overdoing it and the resultant stiffness and aching is all the worse after any period of intermittent relief.

[hawaiieric]

I was every now and then just prior to surgery feeling fine, my mind playing a trick on me.  I knew I had to take the surgery, it was not going to heal.  I did serious activites like snorkling in strong currents, kitesurfing, walking the beach, making it all the way, but it was those sharp pains like when walking at work, walking at the beach, not being able to surf like I had in my life, and other simple things that were taken away from me from that pain, plus the fact that this pain was the first thing I ever notice that was saying I was aging.  Oh, and to walk in the rain or on the lava tidepools and simply feel like I was going to slip and hurt myself for my weight distribution I believe was off due to that pain.  
I am so glad I did the surgery.  2 1/2 months ago and I feel great, only wishing to get to kitesurf soon!  I have been swimming/snorkling around for the last month and a half, this month with fins. I don't feel unstable when walking on wet pavement or the lava tidepools. I am a happy hippy!
Eric

[Clydascope]

Last February I traveled the east coast for a few weeks.  In Key West I didn't feel any pain, none.  It was in the 80's and I was loving it, swam, walked, lived it up.  Then I flew to NYC where the temps barely got into the 20's and I could hardly walk from the pain.  When I returned home I set the date for surgery on my right hip.

All summer I felt fine on my left hip, started feeling intermittent pain during the fall (PT aggravated it).  Now that winter is back I'm suffering again so I will be seeing the Doctor at the end of the month to set the date for the next surgery.

[percy hipkiss]

thanks folks...interesting replies.

I'm envious of some of your locations by the way...here in northern England it's freezing and damp. Should be the arthritis capital of the world.

I'm finding this site very helpful, it's good to share experiences. The 'grass cutting' thing really chimed with me...an hour in the garden and all I'm fit for is a hot bath and a couple of pints sat in me favourite comfy chair in front of the computer.
Well, that's my story and I'm stuck with it ! 

[dvander]

If I sat perfectly still with my leg in just the right position, I sometimes would forget the pain for a few minutes, but then the pain would begin to overtake me again.  It was not in my philosophy to live on pain deadening pills, so I only popped them on the weekend when I had to cut the grass, work outside, walk very far.

I had from July when I decided to have the surgery until November when the surgery was done.  In that time frame, my pain escalated from very annoying to unbearable.  Nothing that meant much movement was enjoyable.  Sleep escaped me.  I was tired all the time due to lack of deep RIM sleep.  I went from giving up marathon running, to walking and biking and then couldn't even enjoy those due to the pain.

For five years, my mind told my inner person the surgery wasn't necessary.  Last July, I had enough.  There are so many benefits from having this procedure.  If you are asking this question in deciding whether to proceed, when you have had enough, you will be ready.  Don't wait too long living on pain killers while your bone base wastes away and the procedure is not possible.

I am not a doctor nor am I related to one, but I do get good night's sleep now - and that one benefit has given hope and a new outlook that one day I will be able to cherish times of good physical exercise from simple walking to long bike rides.

Dwight V 
RBHR  11/18/0
Dr. Jinnah, NC

[Todd]

I"m 39 and just had my left hip done on Wed. 1/7 (3 days young now).  I've got pretty severe osteoarthritis in both hips due to a flat spot on my ball that through overuse and time really became difficult to overcome.  I remember back to high school after playing basketball that I could hardly walk for a couple hours afterward.  Being young, recovery was quick and the initial pain forgotten, but that was probably the first sign of things to come. 

In the past 4 years, I've noticed simple things like straddling a 4 wheeler, getting on a horse (ouch), and raising my foot higher than a normal stair (12"), became more and more painful.  I stopped playing basketball, couldn't run or couldn't do things that most people can do.  I finally got to the point where I decided it was time for an Xray--that it wasn't just getting old.  It was pretty clear from the xray that I had some problems that weren't going away. 

First treatment was cotisol injejctions which didn't help at all. 

Now, was I pain free before the operation?  Yes.  There were days, very few, that I knew when I woke up and got out of bed that my normal pain was not there.  It never subsided for too long however, and I knew that action would need to be taken.

The orthopedist that I saw here in Duluth, MN didn't do BHR or resurfacing, and when I asked if I would be a candidate, he told me that there would be no benefit over the THR.  Now that just chaps me because it took me only a brief researching period to have seen that there would be some potentially huge benefits to resurfacing.  As an orthopedist, he should have at least understood the general procedure and maybe suggested that I look at both options before proceeding.  He didn't.  So with a little more research and this website in particular, I found Dr. David Palmer at St. Croix Orthopedics in Stillwater, MN.  The rest is history--3 days old and still as good as new!

todd

[percy hipkiss]

Todd and DVander....

thanks for your input.
I do use the painkilelrs to keep me working but know they aren't good for me long term - I've been on Ibuprofen for 5 years now...co-codamol and the like about two years when needed - about half dose max.

Your word are helpful and I thank thee for that.
Hope a week on post-op sees you still well Todd and still in a positive frame of mind.

I'm still on the list...waiting probably about another two months unless I bottle it.