Medication for Hip Pain or Surgery? - Knee & Hip Problems Message Board

Chavela · 07-24-2005, 03:24 PM

Hi all, I have been reading your posts and it has been very helpful.
I am a 54 year old female. About 3 months ago, I was diagnosed with mild to moderate OA in both hips, the right one being worse. My mother had her hips replaced when she was in her early sixties, so I've always thought that this might be in the cards for me as well.
I am never in excruciating pain, but my range of motion is limited and it is painful to get into and out of a car, go up stairs, buckle shoes, etc. I walk slowly now. I cannot throw my leg over a bicycle that has a bar on top. When I try to turn over in bed at night, I am awakened by the discomfort.
The orthopedist I consulted with said that "when I am ready" he would be willing to do a bilateral THR on me, or just the right hip. It is up to me - when I am ready.
After 3 months of taking glucosamine and chondroitin, having physical therapy for the hips, and feeling increasingly like an elderly person, I began taking arthrotec, a non-steroid anti inflammatory that has something in it that helps prevent stomach ulcers. It is like a miracle drug. Though my range of motion is still limited, I am feeling very little pain. It is like I have been given my life back.
I have read a lot of horror stories of people having no warning symptoms suffering fatal bleeding ulcers from these medications.
My question to all of you is this - is it better to live with limited motion using NSAIDS for as many years as you can and have hip replacement only when the drugs don't work any more? Or is it not a good idea to be on medication on a long term basis? Is it better to just get the hip replacements and be done with it?
I am very confused, and would welcome some advice. Thanks.

balleteach · 07-24-2005, 08:45 PM

Hi, Chavela. Welcome to our board. If the surgeon thinks you are ready for THR then you are. One thing that is inescapable about OA is that it will never get better. You can mask the pain for awhile, but the damage is done and eventually you will need the surgery. Maybe you should have the right hip done first then the left in a few years. If the left is really bad too, maybe do them both and get it over with at one time. Your surgeon should be able to give you some feedback. If you go back and read past posts on the six months after hip replacement thread, you will get much info. about the actual surgical experience and recuperation. As you recuperate, you will be amazed that the OA pain will be gone and you will just be dealing with your body adjusting to the new hip. Our board is wonderful and we are a great group of hippie hipsters. Feel free to ask any questions you want and please keep posting . We are here to help. Take care...balleteach

Ripanco · 07-25-2005, 06:37 AM

Welcome, Chavela!

Balleteach is our most experienced hipster (good to see you back) and full of good advice. I think I am still the newest hipster here, so I can only tell you of my limited experience.

I am a 53 yr old female. I had simultaneous bilateral THA on 5/23/05. My original MRI's/x-rays showed that I had moderate-severe OA. I was functioning but in pain a lot. I am very athletic so it was hard. When I first went with my MRIs to the surgeon that did my hips, it was supposedly to see about having an arthroscopy to repair torn labrums in both hips. However, when he looked at the films he said there was nothing left to work with and both hips would need to be replaced within a year. This was a very different diagnosis than my original surgeon and the radiologist that read my films.

When he got inside, it turned out that my hips were much worse than the films indicated. There was bone loss and spurs that needed to be removed. My left socket had to be screwed in due to bone loss. The pathology report came back 'severe OA'. So films do not tell the whole story.

I think your decision has to be personal, cause only you know how you feel, but for me, I am sorry I waited as long as I did. I spent 2 years trying every alternative to avoid surgery. Now that I have had it, I am thrilled with the quality of my life. Like you, I am not thrilled with living on pain meds either. Now I don't need any!! And I am already getting back to doing all the things I love so much. I realize now that I didn't know how much I hurt before surgery or how much I was being limited.

Now my little speech

If you are considering simultaneous bilateral, start right now to get yourself in the best physical condition you can! You will not have a good leg to stand on so the rest of your body has to take over. It is not easy, but the pay off is hugh if you can get really strong all over and lose as much weight as possible. I spent the 2 months I had waiting for my surgery busting my butt lifiting weights, doing ball work, working all my body so that I was stronger than ever in my life going into my surgery. The result has been an incredably fast recovery, well worth all the effort.

Good luck with whatever you decide is best for you. Hang out here, there are lots of great folks with lots of experience and super support. Ask lots of questions, make sure you love your surgeon and stay positive.

Tobias · 09-05-2005, 12:15 AM

I took an NSAID for 4 years and was fortunate to have minimal side effects beyond a slight blood pressure rise and occasional heartburn which I treated with Mylanta. I tried to always take the medication with food and avoided alcohol. It helped the pain a lot at first, then gradually, as my OA got worse, was less and less effective. I was at maximum dose so there was no possibility of increasing it.

One of my reasons for going ahead with the THR surgery was that I couldn't see me taking the drug for the rest of my life and I believed that the longer I took it, the more chance there would be for real GI problems to arise. Of course the overriding reason for me to have the surgery was that I could no longer walk and was headed for a wheelchair-bound existence.

I had bilateral, staged THRs and have fully recovered - no more pills for me. It's great and I have back the life that I was slowly losing.

legallyblondied · 09-08-2005, 11:25 PM

hi.....Tobias 2 I am interested when you had yourTHR and how long did it
take you to recover and how long did it take for you to be off all medication?
Sounds like you had no problems at all. The motrin is not working as well
for me and I have been on it for at least ten years. I have had no prob-
lems with stomach or ulceration and have my kidneys checked on a regular
basis. I have started to take ultram once daily minimal dose when I really
hurt. I have nodules on my fingers, spinal stenosis as well as bone on
bone arthritis of my right hip.... I am tired of pain and no life but I am so
scared I will be in a worse place than I am now.....Any thoughts would be
appreciated......Karen