4th year post HR - experiencing pain

[marie5]

On July 29, 2005 my right hip was resurfaced in Montreal.  Both the surgeon and I were surprised at my exceptionally quick recovery.  We believe my quick recovery was due to my good health at the time - fit, trim, exercising as best I could.  For the next two years I enjoyed a life with little pain and was walking up to 17KMs.  Over last year's summer I started to experience pain and went to see my Kinesiologist who told me that I was overdoing it.  He provided me with an exercise plan to strengthen my core muscles and said to cease weight bearing exercises until my hip and leg settled down.  At that time I also visited my GP to obtain a prescription for Celebrex, which I took daily for the next month.  The hip/leg pain is still occurring - it feels very much like before I had my HP>inside bone pain that radiates up and down my leg.  If I walk any distance, I will have pain.  And the most peculiar thing is that the pain occurs during my sleep hours.  While I may have slight discomfort during the day, sleeping is interrupted as I wake up in pain with a throbbing leg.  My hip Does Not like me sleeping on that side and I usually find myself sleeping on my back as that position appears to be the least likely to cause pain.  I can no longer walk long distances and am quite discouraged since I have been a very active person.  At the time of my HR I 'retired' from wake boarding, surfing, windsurfing, sailing, running - hard weight bearing exercises and moved to walking, biking.  I am 58 years old and quite disappointed with the degree and frequency of pain that I am experiencing.  It just hurts ~.  Help ~~is anyone else experiencing this or have experienced this!,,

[John C]

I would suggest that your first step would be to have some x-rays evaluated by a top resurfacing surgeon. That should provide answers to your worries.

John

[marie5]

Thanks John. Scheduled for xrays tomorrow that will be sent to my surgeon.  It seems odd to me that I have this pain yet hear of athletes doing so many feats - when walking 2k causes me grief!

[obxpelican]

You never know you could have a bad case of bursitis.

When you get your x-rays back that will tell all usually.


Chuck

[marie5]

Bursitis - never even thought of that! I better look up information about bursitis as I have little, if any knowledge about it.  Does anyone have some quick links to share with me?

[snoots]

Marie,
I've experienced similar, after an outstanding recovery from a resurfacing done on April 8,08 I was back to my active self but 8 months post op developed low back pain and sort of sciatica which would wake me up at night. after 5 sleepless nights I saw my GP who scheduled the usual x-rays ultra sound etc which revealed nothing. The pain came and went, worse at night, and I sought help from my chiro who does active release technique. This helped relieve some pain but it kept coming back. It was very excruciating and robbed me of a lot of sleep. My chiropractor thought I might have sacroiliac joint dysfunction or piriformis syndrome. Eventually I decided to go back to see a physical therapist who examined me and concurred it was PS and treated me successfully with a similar to acupuncture treatment called intramuscular stimulation or IMS. Look up WWW.istop.org for more information I hope this can help you as it sure did me. Sleep is not over rated!

Terry

[Pat Walter]

Hi

I was going to suggest bursitis also.  I have read about a handful of people that had bursitis on their operated side.  Mine occured on the opposite side, but a shot and time helped heal it for the last 3 years.

It is always best to have x-rays and have your othopedic check them out.  Then you know for sure.

Good Luck and keep in touch.

Pat

[marie5]

Thanks Terry and Pat (and everyone else). 
Last evening I paid 'close' attention to where the pain was centered (hard when it is throbbing but I am sure you know what I am talking about).  It really is radiating from the outside (not inner thigh) of my hip and then throbs through the hip area and down my leg -- in the front only; no pain in the back of my leg. Chuck's suggestion about bursitis had me going to many sites yesterday and last evening and there appears to be a surprising similarity to the syptoms noted and what I am experiencing.  However, xrays and blood tests are today so I should know in the next few weeks.  In the meantime, I plan to research WWW.istop.org (thanks again).  My greatest fear (with this pain) has been the thought that there is an issue with my HR; but my xrays in Sept. showed an excellent placement.  So, I really do hope that it is bursitis or something that Does Not require another surgical visit!!  thanks everyone and I will keep in touch as to my results.  You have been terrific and I truly appreciate the input.
Marie

[obxpelican]

I've read accounts where people had problems like yours Marie and many times it turns out to be bursitis or even a nerve problem where it had nothing to do with their implants.

Keep your chin up, in the end you're going to be fine, it's so rare that patients end up long term with problems.


In the mean time I'll be sending good thoughts and prayers your way.

Chuck

[marie5]

Hi:
Just returned from an appt. with my Dr. to review the results from the numerous tests I underwent.  He told me that my hip appliance is in excellent position.  And, as I thought, I have bursitis in my hip.  To know my appliance is in excellent shape and position is such a relief; I have been treating my symptoms as if it was bursitis with great results - little if any pain in my hip and down my leg.   woopeeeee .  I have 'stopped' sleeping or resting or leaning on my right side - what a difference!!  I still have some pain now and then but Nothing compared to the constant agonizing pain I was experiencing when I first posted this thread.

I want to send a great big "Thanks" to Chuck - I would have never considered bursitis until he mentioned it on July 9th.  Thanks to everyone else who responded.

Now, I work to gain strength again -- thanks again,

Kind regards, Marie

[John C]

I also had a bout with bursitis that occurred at one year after surgery. The side of my hip had become tender to the touch, and caused a limp when walking. The Doctor suggested 30 days on Celebrex; it cleared up after one week and has not returned.

[marie5]

Hi John:
Yes, I did the Celebrex route about four months ago but I was (at that time) still sleeping and leaning on my right hip.  So while the Celebrex offered some relief, it really did not clear up the bursitis completely.  Now, I must say that changing the way I sleep and also not putting any weight on that hip is what's making the difference for me.  Lucky you that the Celebrex did the trick and so quickly.  Hope you continue pain free...

Marie

[maxcyhip]

I would suggest that your first step would be to have some x-rays evaluated by a top resurfacing surgeon. That should provide answers to your worries.

John

Have you tried a mars mri? This can check to see if the bone is rescending from the prosthetic stem. Just a thougt.

Glenna

[marie5]

Hi"Thanks.. We did and that appliance is in good position,,,,

thanks again, marie

[obxpelican]

I want to send a great big "Thanks" to Chuck - I would have never considered bursitis until he mentioned it on July 9th.  Thanks to everyone else who responded.

Now, I work to gain strength again -- thanks again,

Kind regards, Marie

Marie,

No need to thank us, we're just glad that you're on your way to good healing.  We all do this to "pay it forward" --- this site helped me a lot, I spent a lot of time on here before I finally decided to get my x-ray to confirm what I knew I already had.


Chuck

[marie5]

Hi everyone:
Such Great News To Share!! !! !!

So much better -- no pain whatsoever -- exercising again  -- walking 4 KM to and from work every day -- enjoying hiking and biking again -- leaving for Kailua Bay (Oahu) October 9th for 20 days of sun, sand, water sports.

I am very careful Not to lean or sleep on my HR side (right hip) and have made sure that if there is any slight pain, I immediately slow down and take it easy.  There has been the slightest uncomfort every once in a while but I am just so impressed with how I feel.  Maybe by next summer I can try windsurfing again!!

Marie

[obxpelican]

Hey Marie,


That is really good news, I am glad to hear you are back to walking those nice straight lines without pain

You're going to continue healing until one day you will go through a whole day and not even remember you had your hip done.  Until then you might have some slight startup stiffness and an ache when you push it too much.

Keep us all posted.


Chuck

[John C]

Hi Marie,
Glad to hear that you are doing so well. Mine is turning out to be a recurring problem at this point. It will be fine for a while, then flare up and be sore to the touch or to walk on. The doctor's assistant thought that it was bursitis. When I spoke to the doctor a week ago, he thought that it was tendonitis where the rotator tendons attach to the trochanter. He suggested light repetitive exercises, and possibly a cortisone shot eventually if it gets worse. On a side note, my primary care physician has suggested that a stop using Celebrex. He is very active and in good physical condition, and out of the blue had a six way heart bypass operation. He believes that his own use of Celebrex over the years may have contributed to the problem because Celebrex may block peripheral artery formation. Anyway, looks like no more Celebrex for me.
I am sure that you will get back to windsurfing; I am windsurfing 3-5 hours every day, and only very rarely feel a minor twinge in the soft tissue.

[obxpelican]

John,

I stopped using celebrex post-op, have you ever watched their commercial and all of the warnings afterward?  That is way too many possiblities of problems.

Every so often when I have some soreness (it's becoming more rare now) I take 2 ibuprophen and ice the area.... I get the same symptoms you mention but within a day I am good to go.  When I visited Gross in Aug he told me that I might have some days when I have some soreness even 1 year post op.

Ask your doctor the maximum ibuprophen you can take, when it was real bad pre-op I took 4 over the counter twice a day and try icing the snot of of your hip for an evening, it always got me back to my summer activites.


Chuck

Hi Marie,
Glad to hear that you are doing so well. Mine is turning out to be a recurring problem at this point. It will be fine for a while, then flare up and be sore to the touch or to walk on. The doctor's assistant thought that it was bursitis. When I spoke to the doctor a week ago, he thought that it was tendonitis where the rotator tendons attach to the trochanter. He suggested light repetitive exercises, and possibly a cortisone shot eventually if it gets worse. On a side note, my primary care physician has suggested that a stop using Celebrex. He is very active and in good physical condition, and out of the blue had a six way heart bypass operation. He believes that his own use of Celebrex over the years may have contributed to the problem because Celebrex may block peripheral artery formation. Anyway, looks like no more Celebrex for me.
I am sure that you will get back to windsurfing; I am windsurfing 3-5 hours every day, and only very rarely feel a minor twinge in the soft tissue.

[marie5]

Hi John:
Like Chuck, I too stopped using Celebrex replaced with Advil. Mind you, I have not been in any pain for quite some time now.  BUT, when I was experiencing pain I would:
- STOP what I was doing (really hard for me to finally get to this reality as I am quite driven).  
- Take 2 Advils every four hours or so for about three days.
- TAKE IT EASY (again, so hard for me but I finally realized that I was recovering faster once I accepted that I had to slow down and let the area mend)
- SLOWLY start back to what I was doing.

Now, mine was indeed bursitis so taking care not to lean on or sleep on my right side (HR side) was the Best recovery mechanism.  To this day, I do not lean or sleep on my right side.

I do expect (like Chuck notes) to experience slight discomfort from time to time.  But, after the months and months of incredible pain I experienced with bursitis, I truly hope that by taking care of myself and my hip, I will not experience that again!

Good luck John.