GOING HOME TOMORROW---- HELP !

[daddys_hip]

I have been in local PT clinic for a week now,, hip is great,, BUT I have this extreme pain that runs from my right lateral side across the face of the thigh,, at rest its just fine,, But when I try to pull my foot up in the bed or retract my foot behind me just 5" off the floor the pain prevents it,, Here they think its a locked muscle,, I have no clue,, other than that I would be walking on cruthes for as long as I wanted,,

anyone know what this could be,, now keep in mind this is the resurface side,, the broken femoral neck side and the THR x 2 weeks side ,,

thank
Steve

Oh by the way ,, the left one is going to the grave with me no matter what pain meds I have to take,, my body does not like surgery it seems,,

[obxpelican]

Steve,

Has Mont been made aware of that problem you're having?  I would get a hold of him and get answers before you venture back home.  Get his opinion on what he thinks may be causing the issues.


Chuck

[daddys_hip]

Director of PT from here called him around 530 today ,, I think he had come out of a day of surgery and was in a conference.. Told her he would have his PT Director call her and see if they could get it freed up.. That was it,, I talked to him also ,, told him I could barely lift it off the floor but other than that the joint was great,,
Steve

[obxpelican]

Steve,

Make sure you get an answer that seems reasonable, you paid them all money to get a desired result, now it's up to them to figure out what is going on.   

Be the best patient advocate that you can be, that includes being a bit pushy.


Chuck

[daddys_hip]

The Director here and I are very good friends,, she is not sure at all what it could be,, said they have never seen this in a hip surgery,, Chuck its all but locked across my thigh,, I can walk good and all but if I exceed that low kness range of motion the muscle pain is unreal ,, what on earth could it be, Oh and I push,, I do want to go home,, its been 11 days again this time and I need a break,, a mental break,, I am laying here watching tv and feel wonderful but the thigh is locked when flexed,, have no idea what could cause that pain ,,,

Steve

[Pat Walter]

Hi Steve

I am not medically trained or very knowledgeable about the muscles, etc.  I wish I could give you an answer, but can't.

I can only say that I wish you good luck and hope they get the pain figured out soon. You need to get back to normal and moving about without pain.

I will continue to keep you in my thoughts and prayers.  Please keep in touch with us.

Pat

[kb134]

Hi Steve,
Have you been able to get any answers yet? I just read your post and am hoping you haven't made your trip home without the right answers ...
Has anyone suggested current X-rays?

[bothdone]

Hi Steve

Sorry to read about your tough time with your leg.    I hope things get sorted for you.

Very best wishes to you.

Ed

[moe]

Steve, I wish you the best but you need to see Dr Mont for some answers and help.

moe

[daddys_hip]

WOW this miracle turned into 22 days in the hosp since Nov 4th,, it was feeling wonderful until it broke,, I have no clue or idea why this thigh muscle is locked,, it did turned loose a little yesterday about 2 inches, that is 2 inches in 2 weeks,, scares me to think what it is,  I cant take surgery again,, I just cant take it again ,, PT seems to thinks its locked and wants to try to force it loose,, I am not keen on that idea,, I have been home and resting all week end,,  I totally wished I had not touched this hip, I had a gut feeling it could make me worse,, I am sure I will be changing my mind when all is better and walking pain free again in a few weeks but I have been in the hosp for 22 days,, that is totally unreal.. I have no idea what I could have done different,, I never get infections and I did not,, my body heals great and it did but it still broke and I had to go through all this again and now this locked muscle,, its enough to make me want to scream,, unless something major happens,, I will and I mean I will take the left one to the grave with me,, I will never go through this hell again ,,
waited 22 long years for something new,, my ortho said dont try it if it fails you wil have to go all the way back into surgery again,, I understand what he meant now But,, if it had worked I would be telling him,, gosh this is a miracle,, his argument was if it works you never know how long it will work and THR are lasting decades now,, some even 30 years,,   I still had to do this,, I owed it to myself for something new,, just was not meant to be,, or PT really over did it for sure,, I know they cracked it but my focus now is to get well,, I just want to walk outside on cruthes and drive again ,, dont let this frustrate anyone,, I will tell you this,, they do need to get the procedure a little better ,, the pain is horrible,, but thank God does not last too long,,  I hope they come up with better ways to do this,, and to do both in one week is nuts,, puts your patient down too hard I think,,

x-rays kb134,, I have had so many now I feel like they are going to give me cancer from them,, I hate x-rays and I have had to have probally 30 in the last 2 months
I just had to vent,, sorry

Steve

[Pat Walter]

Hi Steve

It is good to hear from your - but not read the message you wrote.  I am very sorry you had such problems and are still dealing with them.

I do hope that you can find some relief from the pain and locked muscle soon.  I wish I could help more, but I am not a doctor and would not know what to say.

The only thing I can do is keep you in my thoughts and prayers! 

Please keep in touch when you are able.  You are on all our minds.

Pat

[nysoccermom]

So sorry for what you are going through. I hope it all works out soon and this will all be in the past. I am curious about your comment regarding PT. What exercise/stretch do you think contributed to the fracture? I ask because I have been going to outpatient PT for a few weeks now (I am 10 weeks out from bilateral resurfacing) and wondering if they are being too aggressive. One stretch in particular (knee towards chest) is particularly painful and though I feel pretty good when I leave, I have pain/soreness at night and sometimes the next day. In fact, I canceled my appointments for this week because I am worried about doing too much too soon. On the other hand I am afraid of not doing enough to ensure that I stretch the scar tissue while it is still pliable. I am very interested in your thoughts on the PT you received when you get a chance to post again. I hope you'll be feeling better soon.
Best wishes to you,
Melanie

[daddys_hip]

God help me Melanie dont let them do a knee towards chest,, they were putting my foot on their shoulder and bending it out to the side and up as far as they could,, I know they cracked it,, I was in intense pain after leaving one day after she did a really hard work out like that,, I would just WALK ,, dont let them mess all that good work up,, do your normal excerise,, These people had never seen or worked on a resurface,, I would give anything to have it back to never go to PT ,, Dr Gross does not recommend any ,,, Atleast if we had a place to go where they know about these resurface,, the bone is still too weak and shocked in there for extreme stress at 8 weeks like they were doing to me,,

ok that being said,, the muscle in my thigh let go some this week and I have been doing a lot better,, I can now bend my foot behind me at 90 degrees where it was only 2-3 " off the floor,, I have no clue what caused this,, I was scared it was a femoral fracture or just a muscle herniation,, I just did not know but it must have just been the shock of the fracture and the surgery I had to go through,,, I am a lot better,, Thank God,, it really hurt and scared me,, but the pain of THR did not hurt as much as the resurface,, I have no clue why ,, not sure if I knew what to expect or what,, it was much easier to get out of the bed at the hospital and all ,, but that muscle was locked,,

gosh I am glad to be able to come here and vent,, Mont says the resurface should have lasted 25 years after he went in and looked at it and did the THR,,

NOW,, I have to make my mind up if I want to do resurface on the left or THR to match right or just take that sucker to the grave with me,, hey I thought someone told me this will change you life,, yea sure did,, put me in the hosp for 22 days ,, 2 surgeries and weeks in PT and in the bed,, sure changed my life,, ha ,, !! atleast I can laugh about it now,, it will change my life I know,, I have suffered with this for 22 years and now I am ready to enjoy some life without pain,,

anyone thoughts on resurface let me know,, I ask Dr Mont and he said I could just leave it to him but said,, I know I will do it the bone is good and should support it just like it should have the right,, what do you guys think,, should I just take it with me when Jesus sweeps me up ,, hehehe ,, gosh this has been like going off to war,, its been tough but I had to soldier up and do it,,

Thanks everyone,, I think this resurface breakthough is the best thing that has happen for us,,

Steve

[Pat Walter]

Hi Steve

I am so glad to hear you are doing better and "something" let go so you can move easier.

My advice is get well and don't worry about the second hip at all right now. Once you get over the trama of the first hip - both mentally and physically - you will be in a better mindset to make a new decision.  I think you know you do not want to stay in pain and inactive for the rest of your life, but that goal is way beyond anything you can even think of right now.  Get well first.

I know you realize and hopefully all new readers will understand that your case was an exception.  Less than 4% of resurfaced patient have problems and few patients that go to the really experinced surgeons have any problems.  There is alway the exception and no one wants to be that statistic and go thru the hell you went thru.  We understand how bad you must feel about the whole situation - but again as sorry as we all are, you are the exception.  That does not help your pain or mental anguish - but it is something new people considering hip resurfacing must realize.  There can always be a problem, but NORMALLY, they are few and far between.

Please forget the PT and just get well.  Many of the top surgeons do not recommend any agressive PT after surgery.  They have some basic stretches and exercises, but nothing that forces the body or hurts.  I often tell people, forget the agressive PT and just walk, walk and walk since that is what my surgeon, Dr. De Smet recommends.  He says - if it hurts, don't do it.  Listen to your body.

My lecture is for the new people reading your post.  It is not meant to minimize your story or say I don't believe your pain, anger and regret. I absolutely believe it is most important to know about.  It is very real and we all will support you in any way we can.

Just get well and let us know how you are doing when you can.

Pat

[stevel]

Melanie,

The exercise your are describing is the "jack-knife," which is described and illustrated as a phase II (1 month to 4 months post-op) stretching exercise in the handout from Dr. Su.
I notice you are a patient of Dr. Su as I was.  I had local PT up to six months post-op.  As an amateur athlete, I believe the PT prepared me for a return to downhill skiing at six months post-op.  I don't believe walking would have prepared me for the range-of-motion and strength required for sports such as downhill skiing at six months post-op.  I was fortunate to find a local PT who had experience with hip resurfacing patients and communicated with Dr. Su as I progressed with my rehabilitation.

[daddys_hip]

You guys are taking my humor wrong,, I would recommend this procedure to anyone.. Its really the best thing that has happen for us in decades,, yes I am an exception but that is not slowing me down,, I am getting well.. if I had it to all do over,, I would only change the degree of PT from the onset,, nothing else,, The surgery was great,, I was off crutches and walking almost a mile a day ,, I should have left it at that with my excercise and such .. Dr Mont did a great job, I had no limp,, it totally felt like my body ,, I felt like I had not nothing in there,,like a new hip,, it was amazing,, I was loving it and feeling the miracle it really is,, People were stunned at how good things were going for me,,  yea I have had some set backs on the THR but you never know what the body will do after surgery ,, I am moving past these now,, My words are in no way meant to discourage anyone from doing this,, its wonderful ,, why would I ever want to do that,,  Melanie I don't ski so I really just needed to take my time,, my point was if they crack it its GONE,, there is no turning back,, that was my only point,, and Dr Mont did mine and not Dr Su,, both are excellent ,,

Thanks you guys,

[nysoccermom]

Steve - Glad to hear that your sense of humor is still intact and that you are starting to feel better. It's been a long road for you but sounds like things are looking up. Thanks for your input on the PT. Hope your recovery continues without incident.

Stevel - Yes, it is the jack-knife that is giving me trouble. I can do it at home but as the stretch is supposed to be on the bottom leg, I find it odd that I have the most trouble with the bent leg and can barely get it past 90 degrees. I do continue to do it as best I can. I'm getting better at the "child's pose" and "dangle" but am no where near the "crossing of legs" in figure 4. I actually tried a "medical massage" today and she confirmed that my muscles and tendons are very tight. I'm going to try a few sessions with her along with the continued stretching, exercise bike and treadmill to loosen things up until I see Dr. Su in a few weeks. I am eager to return to my tennis league and will need to do some strengthening before then. I hate to give up on PT altogether as I know they push me harder than I would myself but the manual stretching was just too painful. Thanks for your input. I'm glad to hear you were able to return to downhill skiing at 6 months post-op - another encouraging success story!

Melanie

[crofty]

Melanie, i'm also approaching 10 weeks, my consultant here in the UK told me not to bend the knee to close to the chest until i see him again at 14 weeksas the joint could quite easily pop out. It seems there are so many different opinions on the best way to recover. I am doing a lot of hill walking and i'm happy not to overdo anything until i see him next time.

[halfdone]

Hi Steve.  Haven't forgotten what you've been through.  I hope things are on a better track now.  Best wishes.