Hip pain after 1 1/2 years

greenspun.com : LUSENET : About Joints : One Thread

I was dx'd with bi-lateral AVN of both hips and my right hip also showed a fracture the cause was due to the use of steriods for my Pulmanary Fibrosis. I had a CD done on it 2 years ago December with no sucess and went ahead and had a THR of my right hip in March 2003. I am 49 years old and suffer from numerous health problems one which is having Fibromyalgia and I am also a Chronic Pain Patient since my THR and I am on 60mg of oramorph every 6 hours because the pain is so bad. I have not had one good thing to say about my new hip... for one I am now 3/4 inch difference in leg length which has required me to use canes, walkers etc depending on how severe the pain is for me to get around, right now I am back using a wheelchair. I have suffered from spasams in my lower back due to the 3/4 ince difference, I have tried using a lift in my shoes but found no relief and I still had severe hip pain. I also have had a burning and tinglie numbness feeling on the outerside of my whole theigh since surgery along with continued hip pain. I have gone to the Dr. but he keeps dismissing the fact that I have pain and believes it might be because I suffer from Fibromyalgia. When I went to my Dr. back in March for my yearly follow-up he wouldn't even listen to the fact that I have had continious pain and kept refering to the x-ray that they took that day and the fact that they showed nothing on them to give him any reason that I was suffering pain actually he dismissed me that visit by saying I'll see you back in two years knowing that I have continue pain and also have AVN of the other hip.

What brings me to my search and finding this site was thatI took a fall about 4 weeks back and have been in severe pain ever since, the pain is pulling into the groin area I can barely walk the pain goes all around to the buttocks and runs down to my knee actually it is feeling like it did before the THR which has had me worried that I had done something when I fell, the pain kept getting worse so I made an appointment the same day I was having my ankle checked out due to abnormal lesions on the ankle bones and tibia. I wasn't able to see my Dr. but saw another Dr. who blew me off and went and got my Dr. who did the THR to come in the room we exchanged hello's and then he looked at my x-ray's and proceeded to tell me that nothing was wrong and everything looked fine so I shouldn't be in pain, I told him well I fell for one and described the pain to him and the fact that it was into the groin all he could say to me was that the x-rays showed it was fine so there was no problem and that he has done 10,000's of THR's and he never had any THR's that have failed, If my mother had not of accomplied me to this visit nobody would believe the way he treated me. HE told me that once they remove the disease hip and replace it that I should no longer have the AVN anymore so I shouldn't be hurting or in pain for this long, I wheeled myself out of his office in tears as I trusted this Dr. I no longer have the life that I led prior to surgery. So my questions are as follows

Has anyone experienced prolonged hip pain after a THR even after a year?

The numbness and tingling is that due to maybe nerve damage? or will that go away also?

Once you have AVN does it go away and you are free from that after they take the disease bone out?

What caused me to be 3/4 of an inch difference in length was it due to the Dr. for not measuring right?

Also How is AVN of the ankle diagnosed? I am asking this because the rest of my appoinment that day was confusing as the orthopedic ankle surgeon said he had no idea what these abnormal lesions were that were on both sides of my ankle and along the tiba, he said it was quite interesting and that he has never seen anything like this before in his life, of course my thought is that it might be AVN acting up there also but he dismissed that right away so now I am in a boot brace for 6 weeks and getting around by a wheelchair. I hope to have better results with this Dr. I did come right out and ask him if he was up to the challange since he has no clue whats going on in the ankles. He is sending these to be read to make sure they are not tumors.

Thank you again for your help in being able to answer any of my questions.

Jo

Thank you for any answers you can give me. I am going to have a 2nd opinion done on Tuesday but I am in the same Medical Group so not sure if he is going to tell me the same things as my hip Dr. but I have my husband going with me so he can relay the way that this THR has effected everything I do or can't do anymore due to the fact I am in constant pain.

Jo

-- Jo-Anne Bonilla (harleymum@msn.com), November 08, 2004


Moderation questions? read the FAQ