One year and depression

[Jed]

Tomorrow, February 11, will mark the one year anniversary of my right ASR. The first 9 months were great, worked it hard, and it responded. Did several 20k hikes in the summer, and some quite heavy labouring in the fall - putting firewood in basement. Lots of weight- training and specific hip exercises too. No problems at all.  Then in November, the day after carrying a very heavy tv, and moving some other furniture, had some discomfort. Rested it  and the pain went. But a week later putting some shopping in the car, it hurt again. After that it was snakes and ladders. I would rest, pain would go, I would think I was better, only to do something quite innocent that sets it off again. And with each recurrence, I sunk lower and lower, and it took longer and longer for the pain to go.
I'm pretty sure it's a problem with hip flexors as I have no bone pain, and no problem putting weight on it. The muscles and tendons seem so inflamed and so easily provoked.
I've tried resting, celebrex, ibuprofen, gentle stretches, light exercises, nothing seems to work. I feel I am stuck in quicksand and anything I do makes me sink deeper. After 3 months of this I am getting out of condition, flabby, and drinking too much. Before that 9 month incident I was so optimistic, positive and full of life. Now I'm morose and depressed, worse, in some ways, than I was before the surgery.
Next week I am going back to my surgeon for my one year check up and am going to physio tomorrow. I will be clearly putting all sorts of questions to them but I was just wondering if anyone out there has hurt their hip flexors and struggled like I have. And did you find anything that worked to settle them down?
Any advice would be most welcome.
John

[dw]

I wonder if you have bursitis? That typically resolves with rest I believe, so it sounds like with resting you feel better, but once active pain starts. Definately something to talk with you doc about.

[Pat Walter]

Hi John

I am sorry to hear about your problems. I wish I could offer some advice, but am not medically trained.  Sounds like you need to be talking with your surgeon to get some answers. Bursitus is a problem many people have after resurfacing.  That might be the problem.  Usually steriod shots are used to help with that along with NSAIDS.

Did you have your surgeon do x-rays after moving the heavy TV.  Is your acetabular cup still properly placed?  Do you know if it was well placed after the surgery.  The cups are causing a lot of problems.  You did not say who your surgeon was. One of the things that was discussed at the 3rd annual hip resurfacing course in Sept 09 was that the acetabular cup of the ASR was thin and could deform somewhat when pressed into the hip.  So that is why I asked if you have had x-rays to check everything. There have been some medical papers about the ASR cups and problems with them.  I don't have them listed since I don't have permission to do so.  If your own surgeon does not give you an answer, you can send your x-rays to several of the top surgeons who will look at your x-rays and give you a free second opinon.  Just a suggestion if you can't find an answer.

I do hope you can find a solution.  It is not any fun being depressed and upset for not being able to be active.  Please stay in touch.

Pat

[B.I.L.L.]

Tomorrow, February 11, will mark the one year anniversary of my right ASR. The first 9 months were great, worked it hard, and it responded. Did several 20k hikes in the summer, and some quite heavy labouring in the fall - putting firewood in basement. Lots of weight- training and specific hip exercises too. No problems at all.  Then in November, the day after carrying a very heavy tv, and moving some other furniture, had some discomfort. Rested it  and the pain went. But a week later putting some shopping in the car, it hurt again. After that it was snakes and ladders. I would rest, pain would go, I would think I was better, only to do something quite innocent that sets it off again. And with each recurrence, I sunk lower and lower, and it took longer and longer for the pain to go.
I'm pretty sure it's a problem with hip flexors as I have no bone pain, and no problem putting weight on it. The muscles and tendons seem so inflamed and so easily provoked.
I've tried resting, celebrex, ibuprofen, gentle stretches, light exercises, nothing seems to work. I feel I am stuck in quicksand and anything I do makes me sink deeper. After 3 months of this I am getting out of condition, flabby, and drinking too much. Before that 9 month incident I was so optimistic, positive and full of life. Now I'm morose and depressed, worse, in some ways, than I was before the surgery.
Next week I am going back to my surgeon for my one year check up and am going to physio tomorrow. I will be clearly putting all sorts of questions to them but I was just wondering if anyone out there has hurt their hip flexors and struggled like I have. And did you find anything that worked to settle them down?
Any advice would be most welcome.
John

I'm 14 months out and kinda going through the same thing, only mine is more like a gradual thing, not something I can trace to one incident.  Mine is my right side and when I sit it feels like I have a flat tennis ball right in the middle of my butt cheek, it's puffy and flabby, and feels cold to the touch, weird.  I hear you on making steady progress and then hitting a 3 month plateau where you feel like no matter what you try its backwards progress. I'm doing everything I want to do, working, surfing, riding dirt bikes, hiking, I can do pretty physical things, but it's pretty far from pain free...  And if I overdo it, it hurts and knocks a little bit. The x-rays "look fine".  I have a steep acetabular cup and am waiting for my metal tests results I took about 10 days ago.  Hope you get your issue figured out, & let us know what your doc tells you, I'm curious and am always looking for any info I can.  Didn't want to gripe, just wanted to let you know you are not alone with your muscle issues.
Other than that life is grand, so cheer up will ya ?  

Haha ,   J/K   Try to stay positive, what else can you do ?
Mine is still so much better than it was I almost feel guilty complaining about it,  .....almost. Good Luck,  Bill

[Jed]

Thanks for your kind comments. It is nice to vent sometimes and and to hear words of encouragement. I guess I should not be complaining too much, especially when you hear of the real debilitating problems of others. So Bill I hope your issues, which I have been tracking, resolve themselves. Pat I had the surgery done by John Antoniou in Montreal. I live in Nova Scotia, so 800 miles distance makes it hard to pop in for a chat. I did not have x-rays done after the November injury since it did initially heal up so well and since my symptoms were not really like the stories I read on your site by those who did have slipped cups. I also have had chronic muscle problems before - forearms where the muscles, tendons and nerves were so chronically inflamed I could not lift up a can of beer (had to use a straw!). This took almost 6 years to fully heal. So I thought my hip muscles to be something similar. I will be having x-rays next week when I go back to Dr. Antoniou. He seems to be becoming less keen on x-rays done elsewhere since often they do not done to his exact specifications. I will certainly be asking him about the thin walls of the cup, deformities etc. And I'll keep you posted as to what he says.

John

[Pat Walter]

Hi Jed

It sounds like you have had muscle problems for some time. 

I did not mean to imply that the ASR is not a good hip resurfacing device or your cup could be distorted.  I am not a doctor and would have no way of knowing that.  I am just mentioning what was discussed at the hip resurfacing course.  I am sure Dr. Antoniou is well aware of the issue and is very experinced in using that device.  He was at the 3rd annual hip resurfacing course. He was going to do an interview with me, but we ran out of time. He is perhaps the best hr surgeon in Canada.  I would in no way imply that he has placed your components incorrectly.  I just wondered if the heavy lifting could have caused any problems.  He seems like a very nice person and I am sure he will try to help you find a solution to your problems.

Try to stay positive and think about the nice weather ahead.  The warm spring weather and sunshine always helps any condition.

Pat

[B.I.L.L.]

Thanks for your kind comments. It is nice to vent sometimes and and to hear words of encouragement. I guess I should not be complaining too much, especially when you hear of the real debilitating problems of others. So Bill I hope your issues, which I have been tracking, resolve themselves. Pat I had the surgery done by John Antoniou in Montreal. I live in Nova Scotia, so 800 miles distance makes it hard to pop in for a chat. I did not have x-rays done after the November injury since it did initially heal up so well and since my symptoms were not really like the stories I read on your site by those who did have slipped cups. I also have had chronic muscle problems before - forearms where the muscles, tendons and nerves were so chronically inflamed I could not lift up a can of beer (had to use a straw!). This took almost 6 years to fully heal. So I thought my hip muscles to be something similar. I will be having x-rays next week when I go back to Dr. Antoniou. He seems to be becoming less keen on x-rays done elsewhere since often they do not done to his exact specifications. I will certainly be asking him about the thin walls of the cup, deformities etc. And I'll keep you posted as to what he says.

John

Yeah let us know what you find out. I hope you start making headway. If it feels a little better every 2-3 weeks I'm a happy camper, but a few months of little to no progress does tend to take the wind out of your sails. Stay positive and keep pluggin along

[obxpelican]

John,

I just had a friend of mine about 2 months ago call me very concerned, he over did a workout at a gym, he was 1 year + post op, he was almost totally off of his feet the pain was so sever, I kept telling him to rest it, ice it, he did it for 4-5 days and it got better to the point where recently he did an 8 mile hike with his dog.

Just because you hear stories of people running marathons 1 year post-op does not mean that you'll be like that person, many times those people were superior athletes pre-op and they were younger too.  Personally I do not like those types of stories as it sometimes gets people doing things that they should not do.

Everyone heals at differing rates, some are still healing a year out.


Chuck

Tomorrow, February 11, will mark the one year anniversary of my right ASR. The first 9 months were great, worked it hard, and it responded. Did several 20k hikes in the summer, and some quite heavy labouring in the fall - putting firewood in basement. Lots of weight- training and specific hip exercises too. No problems at all.  Then in November, the day after carrying a very heavy tv, and moving some other furniture, had some discomfort. Rested it  and the pain went. But a week later putting some shopping in the car, it hurt again. After that it was snakes and ladders. I would rest, pain would go, I would think I was better, only to do something quite innocent that sets it off again. And with each recurrence, I sunk lower and lower, and it took longer and longer for the pain to go.
I'm pretty sure it's a problem with hip flexors as I have no bone pain, and no problem putting weight on it. The muscles and tendons seem so inflamed and so easily provoked.
I've tried resting, celebrex, ibuprofen, gentle stretches, light exercises, nothing seems to work. I feel I am stuck in quicksand and anything I do makes me sink deeper. After 3 months of this I am getting out of condition, flabby, and drinking too much. Before that 9 month incident I was so optimistic, positive and full of life. Now I'm morose and depressed, worse, in some ways, than I was before the surgery.
Next week I am going back to my surgeon for my one year check up and am going to physio tomorrow. I will be clearly putting all sorts of questions to them but I was just wondering if anyone out there has hurt their hip flexors and struggled like I have. And did you find anything that worked to settle them down?
Any advice would be most welcome.
John

[sroberts]

Hey Chuck,

Also keep in mind that most people waaaay overestimate their fitness level (even with good hips). And  they waaay underestimate their caloric intake. It's like the guy on a 5 mile a day running habit with a ten mile a day eating habit.


cheers,

spencer

[obxpelican]

Hey Spencer,

Very good points..... thanks.

Hope you are doing well.


Chuck

[Jed]

Thanks guys. I guess when it come to overestmating one's capacity, I'm guilty as charged. Was a good athlete once upon a time, and the body would always do what it was told, even if the demands were unreasonable. Once I hit 40 things started to go south - tendonitis and arthritis, but that stupid teenage male was always lurking somewhere in the recesses of consciousness, saying, "have a go..". Almost 2decades later, it is still there, still causing trouble. Fact of the matter is that I can be eminently reasonable, even mature, for 99% of the time - but it's  that 1% that causes all the trouble and regret.
Was at my first physio appointment since I hurt the hip, the physio, understandably was non-commital until he has heard the surgeon's report next week. I'll keep you posted.

[Jed]

Well, was up in Montreal yesterday getting my one year check up with Dr. Antoniou. The good news is that the x-rays and physical tests showed there is no problem at all with the joint, which is a huge relief. The problem, he thinks, is the sartorial muscle, not the psoas, which is chronically inflamed. He prescribed some arthotec and suggested I see a rheumatologist as sometimes a propensity to inflamation can be triggered by some difficiency in the blood that can be treated easily. Yes Antoniou is a really nice character, not the showboater, worship-me types that some surgeons seem to be. So now I know what I have to do to settle this thing down. Again, what a relief

[B.I.L.L.]

Well, was up in Montreal yesterday getting my one year check up with Dr. Antoniou. The good news is that the x-rays and physical tests showed there is no problem at all with the joint, which is a huge relief. The problem, he thinks, is the sartorial muscle, not the psoas, which is chronically inflamed. He prescribed some arthotec and suggested I see a rheumatologist as sometimes a propensity to inflamation can be triggered by some difficiency in the blood that can be treated easily. Yes Antoniou is a really nice character, not the showboater, worship-me types that some surgeons seem to be. So now I know what I have to do to settle this thing down. Again, what a relief

Great news !  These things are kind of an emotional roller coaster ride huh ? 
Good luck and keep us posted, Bill