new to this problem and have ??'s

[triathloner]

Hi-  I'm 38 years old and was diagnosed 3 weeks ago with OA.  The ball of my femur is slightly egg shaped which I'm told has help lead to OA.  I was overweight most of my life but 6 years ago I found triathlons grew to love the life of swim/bike/run and lost 50 lbs.  I'm probably still 30 lbs overweight but feel great and am in great shape.  In June of last summer the pain started and I had to give up running in the fall.  I'm only about half way to bone on bone and am not in a lot of pain but can't do a lot of things in my daily life anymore.  Most of the time the pain isn't too bad, but if I'm on my feet a lot during a day it can bet so bad that I have to limp horribly by bedtime.  I do believe I could probably make it a few years down the road on this hip but my question is would 2-3 years or possibly more make that much of a difference given my young age?  I'm quite active now, love to be outdoors running around the yard playing football with my 4 kids, vacations with day hikes, camping, etc. 

If I'm a candidate for BHR or others, how long do you think I should put up with pain and a reduced lifestyle?  I can live without running and will probably have to do triathlon relays just swimming but I miss bounding up the steps, being able to use all the energy I have, cause I love life now. 

I am swimming like crazy now because it seems to really help with less pain and I enjoy it.  I can ride the exercise bike and it feels ok, but usually later in the day my hip feels tighter and maybe a little extra pain.  I'm taking aleve, or IB for pain once to twice a day.  I sleep great at night right now.  Is walking bad for me now?  It seems to feel better the day after I have walked a mile or more but I do need to do a slight limp while walking? 

I have a appt with a sports medicine place to get a procedure done where they inject something in the joint I think which can buy younger people more time.  I don't know the name of the procedure, but it isn't a cortisone shot,  I believe it is to do something with the cartiledge. 

Thank you so very much for this website!  It's great information and also to realize that life may be hard for a while but it isn't over.  I really would hope to be able to do triathlons again, but wouldn't want to wear out a new hip or hip resurfacing.  Thanks again for any advice or help you may be able to offer me. 

Alan

[Pat Walter]

Hi Alan

Welcome to Hip Talk.

I assume that is you have been on my website that you have read the athletes' stories  http://www.surfacehippy.info/athletes.php   As the stories tell, many have returned to running, marathons and ironman triathlons.

You are very young and certainly should try to have a hip resurfacing if you are ready for a new hip/s.  Sometimes just pain is not the only indicator of how bad of shape a hip can be in.  Some people can tolerate pain and have very bad hips while others don't have the worst OA and still have a great deal of pain.

The best way of determining how your hips are is to get an experienced hip resurfacing surgeon to look at your x-rays.  If your hips get too bad, you can miss the window of opportunity to get a hip resurfacing.    A really experienced surgeon can tell you where you stand.

A number of people have tried injections in the hip.  There are different types including cortisone which I had.  It helped for a few months, then the pain was back.  Some people have tried Synovial Fluid Replacement treatments.  Most say it did not work.  It doesn't hurt to try - you might be one of the people it can help.

If you have OA there is nothing that can stop it.  Whoever comes up with the treatment to grow new cartilage will make millions.  We are all waiting for that to happen, but it is not a treatment that is available now.  Probably not in the near future either. I had an article about the sucess of growing cartilage in horses and animals.  It is being done now - but not in humans.

Many of us were at the point that we could not walk, sleep at night or do anything active.  I was much older than you.  They offered me a new THR when I was 50, but I turned it down.  Waited until I was 61 when I learned about hip resurfacing.

You really have to get input from the doctors to know how bad your hip is. Then you have knowledge to make a decision as to whether you need surgery now or later.

Check out my list - there are many exprerienced hip resurfacing surgeons listed http://www.surfacehippy.info/listofdoctors.php

Good Luck.  Keepin touch.

Pat

[triathloner]

I'm guessing that it is the fluid replacement procedure that I have an appt to look at.  I'm going to contact my doctor today and see how I go about getting my x-rays.  Can they email me a copy?  Afterall I guess I paid for them.  Or do I have to have my family doctor forward them to a hip ortho Surgeon.  I guess my plan is to get in touch with Dr. Rogerson in Madison due to his experience, rehab program, and we have friends that live there and it's only a 8 hour drive for me. 

I guess my biggest obstacle is I read the stories of how long people put up with the pain and I realize i've only had pain for 8 months now but I think I would get it done now if they would let me.  Does that make me a baby or crazy for jumping the gun?  There are sure to be medical advancements, but I would like to live life while I'm young. 

[Pat Walter]

Dr. Rogerson is getting to be very experienced and has many happy hip resurfacing patients. 

Some doctors will loan you the x-rays to take to another doctor.  I took mine and held them up to the window during the day when the sun was NOT shining directly in the window and took digital photos.  Sizing the photos down to about 500 pixels wide or high is about right to send in an email.  You can also ask for digital copies if they have made them digitally.  Then you often have to convert the file to a .jpg since they use other types of files.

I don't think you should be trying to guess - not or later with the surgery until you have some good facts to base it on.  The experienced surgeons will "do not hip until it's time"   As Dr. De Smet says, they don't do preventative surgery if a hip is starting to get bad.  It has to need to be replaced before they will do major surgery.   

So you need input to help you make a decision.  Can't guess at it.  Having hip resurfacing available now makes the decision easier if your hip has really deteriorated.  I would have gotten a hip much sooner if I had known about it.

The hip pain gradually takes your life over and it starts to slip away. You don't realize how you do less and less.  You start sitting more and not walking as far.  Parking closer to the door, etc.  If you wait too long, you will only be sitting in a chair and not doing anything else because the pain is too bad.

You don't want to wait that long if possible.

Get some good input from some really good hip resurfacing surgeons before you make up your mind when to do it.

Good Luck.

Pat

[Elaine Y.]

Hi Alan,

I would not wait for the pain to get worse to justify you getting a hip resurfacing. That's what so wonderful about getting new procedures available. If it were a total hip replacement (THR), I would definitely see why you would wonder about the wait time. But a BHR is our answer to not waiting, to be able to keep up with our normal activities. I, too, only having had the pain for 5 years thought that I was jumping the gun on the BHR. Especially since I had a Cortisone shot in November and it was just starting to wear off by the time I had my surgery on 1/22/08.

But, seeing how important it is for recovery to be able to go in there with some "muscle" I am glad I didn't wait any longer. My lifestyle for the past year has been basically sedentary. I would do something, such as clean my house or garden or even walk around for shopping, and then the pain for the next few days was unbelievable. So, my advise, based purely on my own experience, is to get the surgery done as soon as you can. Also, I've read your surgeon has a lot of experience behind him and this is good too.

Good luck and definitely keep us all posted.

Elaine Y.
RBHR 1/22/08 -- Dr. Eugene Lopez

[rlm869]

alan, don't wait. the main reason i say this is that if you wait too long, you may get to the point where you would have to have a total hip rather than a resurf. although the technology is greater these days with total hip, you will be limited in your activites that you may still enjoy with a resurf.

i am 38, was overweight most of my life, and became very active several years ago. unlike you, i was born with a congenital dysplasia, but other than that, everything else sounds the same. i was a runner, hiker, liked to ride my bike and also take long walks on the beach. oh, and i also competed in roller derby! about 2 years ago, i suddenly (seems like overnight) could barely reach my foot to tie my shoes and also lost all flexibility in my right hip. i am scheduled for surgery march 24 and the possibility looms that i may have to get thr because of how long i have waited. my femoral head is severely mis-shapen due to wear and tear.

the point is...don't wait! i know it seems like you are too young, but that is exactly the reason to get it done now. don't wait until your quality of life has diminished...no one should have to lose that.

rebecca

[Ronnie]

Alan
     I waited 2 years trying to prove it was my back. PTs are great for deep massages. I hve alimp or gate in my walk not because of the pain just habit.Don't wait and limp for a year. when it starts affecting you're sleep get it done. It's a piece of cake.
                                  2 months post op
                                                    Ronnie

[rlm869]

oh yes, i forgot about the limping or gait. now because i have trained my left leg to bear most of the weight, i will have to spend lots of time with a physical therapist learning how to walk again.

rebecca

[hippy_bob]

I have a appt with a sports medicine place to get a procedure done where they inject something in the joint I think which can buy younger people more time.  I don't know the name of the procedure, but it isn't a cortisone shot,  I believe it is to do something with the cartiledge. 


Alan

Hey Alan,

I was getting injections of SynVisc (hyalauronic acid?) directly into the hip joint every 4 - 6 months for about 4 years. It would help relieve the some of the pain and allow me to keep up with an active and athletic lifestyle, but it finally got to the point at age 51 that NOTHING helped anymore. I'm 6 months post BHR and could not be more pleased with my decision. I am PAIN-FREE (with the exception of a little "surgical" pain). I'm back to working out 5 times a week for up to an hour each (bike, elipticals, etc). Doc still won't let me run or do any activities where there is impact, but I think he's very conservative - which I like! I follow his orders. He says I can do whatever I want after 12 months - which is why I had the surgery. No better feeling than leaving the gym with no hip pain and no limp - and the same with getting out of bed in the morning. Go do it!!

Bob
8/30/07
Dr. James Verner - Michigan

[triathloner]

Bob-

  exactly the kind of things I want to hear.  I have no problem waiting a year, heck if I can't run again that is even OK, but I couldn't live without my cycling.  It's like a stress reliever for me out on the road working hard no worry's till you get back home.  Actually I have started stationary cycling more and kept up with my swimming, and the pain has gone down a lot, along with one aleve in the morning.  Now I feel like I should wait a while.  Dr Rogerson looked at my x-rays and we are going to revisit new x-rays in 6 months time, but it's great to hear the success stories.  Thanks again.

Al.