I can do pretty much everything other than walk or stand...

[arc1]

I got the cheery news about a year ago that I'd be needing to do my hips at some point in the not too distant future.
1 year,2, 5, you know the drill. The only common thread is too wait as long as I can, as I'm 'only' 51. I'm very active, and I find the whole thing strange. I can play tennis within reason, and it rarely hurts much playing, but is searing for a while an hour or so later. I can ride my bike 100 miles (literally) with not much discomfort, but can not walk more than a mile or so. At that point its not so much that there is a lot of pain, although it does hurt, and my legs just kind of give out and burn in my quads, feel weak and like a power switch has been turned off. Last winter I could ski pretty much a full day without drama, but would suffer greatly for a few hours apres. And standing for any length of time is really bad too.

My symptoms seem to be a bit different than a lot of what I've read here. Anyone familiar with what's happening to me?
My docs have told me for a long time that getting old is going to suck for me, looks like they've been right.

[Pat Walter]

Hi Arc1

We all feel pain differently.  Many times you can ride a bike and not be able  to walk. I was that way.  Walking of cement surfaces was a killer to me.  We use the body differently for different activities.  I could not sleep at all, even with the strong pain meds.  I was very limited.

As long as your life is limited and you are expreincing pain,  you should be considering a resurfacing.  Only an experinced surgeon can tell you when the time is right.  Just waiting to see how long you can stand the pain IS NOT A GOOD SOLUTION.  The surgeon that told you that can not be one of the really experinced hip resurfacig surgeons.  They will look at your x-rays and determine how deteriorated you hip/s are.  It sounds like you need several consultations of top resurfacing surgeons to really determine if you are ready for new hips.  Sounds to me like you are - but I am not a doctor looking at your x-rays.  Here's my list  http://www.surfacehippy.info/listofdoctors.php   Check out the surgeons over 1000 resurfacings.  There are a few with less that are also very good like Dr. Rogerson of WI and Dr. Brooks of OH.

Pat

[Luann]

Hi Arc1,
 I could ride a horse for hours (literally) but could barely walk to and from the barn. I think horse riding puts your hips in very much the same position as a bike. People would say, "Well you cant' be hurting too much, you can ride a horse." They wouldn't understand that being on the ground was much less comfortable than on the horse.
 Yes, then after riding, I would pay for it. Exercise of any kind made walking/chores even more painful. 
 I don't think your situation is that unsual. I had many bone spurs and not a lot of cartilage loss (not sure if this is the reason or not??).
 Now 5+ months after my HR I can ride AND walk, clean stalls, everything!! Good Luck! Lu

[newdog]

Hello arc1,
Pat is right, we feel our hip pain differently. Some talk about a pain in the groin, I don't have that. You are able to ride a horse, I could not even sit on a horse because the pain is unbearable when I try to straddle my four wheeler ATV. Walking on concrete is the worst and where I work has a concrete floor! Don't wait too long if you do have to have HR. I can feel my hips getting worse it seems like monthly. It is just unreal how fast they have deteriorated. Six months ago I had good days vs. bad days. Now every day is a bad day. I guess I'm just trying to impress upon you, don't wait. Your hips will not get better, they will get worse. I know this isn't good news but it sounds like everyone on this site was hit with the "cheery news" as you said. I am having surgery in January 2011 and I can't wait to be a Surface Hippy and learn to ride my daughter's horse! Good luck!

[lori.36]

Hi Arc,

I understand your dilemia, because I am there myself.  I am 36 and have hip pain if I do things that aggreviate it. 
List of things I cant do:
Hike last hike was 7/4/10 and I crawled down the mtn in pain and have been bad ever since
Walk, 6 blocks is the max
Squats and lounges HURT Bad.  I now have a saggy but.   
Yoga, this was hard to give up, but could not get into warrior or sitted leg
Baby carrying, I have an 11 month old and had to stop carrying her around the house on my hip.  She is my last baby so this is the hardest.  Nothing shows my handicap more

This is the list of things that I can do:
Bike, even with kids attached to the trailer.  I just do not do jumps or stand much.
Swim, this is the most relaxing sport, I love it.
Weights~ while sitted
stand~  I am able to stand for 20 minutes

I know that I need to get the surgery and so do you.  It is just really hard to sign up at 36.  I wish you luck with your decision.

[arc1]

Thanks all -

Agree that swimming is the absolute best thing for me - after I feel like my back and hips have decompressed. Of course, now my shoulder is giving me grief.

Regarding the timing advice I've been given to hold out as long as I can - this came not only from a good friend who's an ortho (no hip resurfs, my chiro and the hip resurf doc (several hundred) him self. Seems to be for a few main reasons:

Technology for both the parts and the surgery improves constantly (lets hope).

At my current age, a revision is all but guaranteed.

Long term results are still in question, and the sample size is not huge.

THR technology and procedure is colsing the gap, according to some.


That said, it really bugs me that it's getting so I can't take my dog for a decent walk anymore, and my ortho is begging me to stop playing tennis at all as it will just shorten my hips life. 

[Josephine18]

I completely relate to your situation. Functionally, people who did not know me didn’t think there was anything wrong. I could easily ride an exercise cycle for 45 minutes or ski all day like you without a lot of pain, but I could not do the basics like sit or lie down for longer than an hour without feeling extreme discomfort.  Walking was what really triggered the most pain.  Before my surgeries, I could walk only about 20 yards before the pain kicked in. Even though I remained relatively functional, my x-rays were nasty as I was completely bone on bone in both hips. 

I found that as my hips got worse, I compensated more and more until the point that there was a very sharp and sudden decline in what I could with reasonable discomfort.  I had learned to live for so long expecting aching and pain with activity that it became my normal to feel this way, and I literally lost all perspective on what it was to do things without pain.

I kept questioning myself if the timing was right because I was only 37 at the time of my first surgery, but I am so glad I made the choice when I did, and I am not looking back.  Now, the same people who did not know anything was wrong with me are equally as shocked when I tell them I have had both of my hips resurfaced.

[stevel]

Hi Arc1,

No need to wait.  Check out Mr. McMinn's and Dr. Bose websites.  Mr. McMinn is reporting 98 % at 10 years for active patients doing impact sports with BHR.
Dr. Bose has a comparison of THR vs. hip resurfacing.
What I like about hip resurfacing is there are no restrictions, all sports are OK and metal on metal joints have up to a 40 year service life (for THR's).
I researched Mr. McMinn, Dr. Bose, Dr. DeSmet, Dr. Amstutz & Dr. Gross's websites before I had my LBHR.
Mr. McMinn's FAQ explains why most hip resurfacing patients don't experience acute pain.  As the hip deteriorates, they diminish activities, often experience pain after activity, take pain pills (which deteriorate bone quality).
Had I known about hip resurfacing, I'd definitely had it done a year earlier, when my local Dr. recommended a THR because of the x-rays.
I also might have had it done even earlier, depending on the x-rays.

[DirkV]

Hi Arc, Your story sounds similar to mine. I had to review my hip story (http://www.surfacehippy.info/hipstories08/dirkvandyke08.php) from a couple years ago to refresh my memory. My gotcha moment that something was wrong was when I couldn't stand still and stand up - like at a lunch line or stoplight.
Re the advice to wait as long as possible, the part about technology advancing seems valid. I'm a couple years post-op now, so I'm not as invested in the current next-state-of-the-art. But I'd suggest you do some research about this. The approval process moves very slowly, and there is something to be said for opting for the current generation state-of-the-art, which now has 10+ years of history. While the expected lifetime of cobalt chromium hip joint is unknown in terms of actual experience in people, there is plenty to suggest that these will last the patient's lifetime.
And while I'm sure your ortho friend has your best interests at heart, he may not be aware of all the considerations for hip arthritis and resurfacing. When I was diagnosed, I received Dr.'s advice to wait as long as possible - and this was the accepted advice a few years ago. He said it would be bordering on malpractice to advise THR for somebody my age (mid 40s at the time). But with research, I found that the criteria/considerations for resurfacing (and big ball THR I believe) differ from protocol of just a few years ago.
Good luck. Let me add that 2 1/2 yrs after bilateral resurfacing, I'm not only still riding bicycle (109 mile Tour de Tucson next month), but I've regained activities that I had to give up due to bad hips such as hockey and hiking (hiked to bottom of Grand Canyon last month, and back).
Keep lookin up,
-Dirk

[arc1]

Thanks for the pep talk. Like some on this board, my athleticism has greatly defined my life and sense of who I am. When I first got the news, I was honestly crushed, thinking that part of my life would be over. I mean crushed.

To hear that I'll be able to continue the activities that got me here in the first place means the world to me.
 

[newdog]

"I was honestly crushed, thinking that part of my life would be over. I mean crushed. "

arc1,
Wow! Can I identify with you on that feeling. I'm sure others can also. When a orthopedist told me that my hips were real bad (moderate to advanced arthritis), I was devastated. Then he told me that there was nothing that he cold do for me and that in a few years I would be back to see him or someone else for THR. This doc is a big name in his field here in Happy Valley (State College, PA). Bicycle riding, extreme backpacking (ANY weather), kayaking on fast streams, GONE! Thank God for this website. I'm 3 months away from bilateral surgery and can't wait. I know what you mean by being able to continue activities. It sounds unbelievable. Good luck and I'll see you on here again.

[Luann]

Hi Arc,
 I think a lot of people on this website (who were under 55 or so) were told to wait as long as possible. I know I was (HR 6/02/10 45 yrs). I decided to wait only until I had to give up what I loved, which was pretty much anything FUN! My big passion, however, is horseback riding. I did not want to wait until I was "bone on bone" and sitting around. Why wait that long. You get out of shape (gain weight), your muscle tone deteriorates, you get depressed. All to gain only a couple more years at best? Like DirkV said, two or even three years is not going to make that much difference, usually, in medical field breakthroughs- for all the reasons he noted. But, I reasoned, 2 or 3 years could make a world of difference in my life! At only 45, I was not willing to stop my activities due to pain and discomfort- when it could be relieved with a HR! This sounds very harsh, but who is to know what could happen in my life in that time... cancer, accidents?? I would have wasted a good few years of my middle age sitting around waiting to get old enough for a hip replacement. How silly is this?
 As it is now, I recovered quickly because I was still in fairly good physical shape when I had it done. Since I had a HR (as opossed to a THR), I still have plently of bone left for a revision when I need one. And I am enjoying some of the best years of my life again!! I am actually kind of angry that I waited even as long as I did. I'm thinking now that I should have done it about a year earlier.
 If you are hurting as badly as it sounds like you are, even if it is only certain activities (the same was true for me). I would not wait. At least, not for the reason of being too young. Good Luck, Lu
 PS. I, too was "crushed" at my hip OA news. I would even go as far as saying I felt almost suicidal at times. Being active meant everything to me. If I had only known it would work out like it did... Well, just know that you need not despair. That's what I love most about Pat's website!!!

[halfdone]

Arc1.  My 2cents.  You've waited plenty.  I think you're ready.  You're an ideal candidate for HR.  Do it, rehab, then go for a long (pain-free) walk on the beach/mountain/whatever with partner/friends/kids and then wonder why you waited.  Time to really enjoy all the stuff you love to do again.  (And you won't find a better source of advice and support than Pat and her web community.)
Good luck.