Bad News Redux - Pain Management Message Board

Kissa · 05-26-2006, 10:26 AM

I went to the hip doctor yesterday. I must say he is really a great guy and it was nice to meet a doctor who specialized that didn't have an ego.
The news I got wasn't good.

He believes based on my symptoms and area of pain that my liner to my total hip cup is worn out. He says this is common and I am lucky that it lasted as long as it has. He believes from his experience there is most likely plastic debri the bones are not absorbing which is causing the tremendous pain. He wants to remove the liner and the ball and put new ones in place. He will not touch the cup unless it appears loose or I am fractured.

He didn't see an apparent fracture but does suspsect one and I have to go for a Spiral CT. If it is fractured the need for the surgery will be moved up and the cup replaced. The stem is strong and will not be touched.

He told me that the choice for the surgery is mine, I can have it now or later but it will never get better. But if I do have a fracture it should be done immediately to prevent further damage.

I don't know how to react or what to think. My last hip replacement was a horrific experience that took 9 months to walk again and 2 years to heal from. While this is "less evasive" it's still pretty major surgery. It also means that either way the way I'm walking now or after the new replacement while healing, I am putting a lot of extra stress on the opposite knee which is swelling badly and is painful as a result which could in turn move up when I may need a knee replacement. I do plan on talking to him about bracing the opposite knee if we go ahead with the surgery just to protect it.

Part of me wants the surgery done and over with and hoping the pain does go away and the other part of me doesn't want to deal with the surgery just based on past experiences.

My CT will be next week and then the doctor will call me and let me know the results and see if I am ready for surgery or not. He's not pressing me but he is straight forward in that this is something that is inevitiable be it today or next year and that it does inevitably affect my herniated lumbar and my bad knee. Damned if I do damned if I don't...

Barbie

DogMom22 · 06-01-2006, 09:14 PM

Barbie,

It is hard to know exactly how to reply, other than to agree with you that this is bad news and that you are faced with the difficult decision of now or later. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone (you know that already cause you are active on this board). Thanks for keeping us updated and let us know if and what you decide which I guess is partly dependent on what the doc says they can do for you knee.

Wendy

Kissa · 06-01-2006, 09:34 PM

Thanks for the response Wendy. I went for my Spiral CT today but they didn't do it approprately. They had called me this evening to tell me the didn't get the entire prothesis so I have to go back in tomorrow. It's frustrating when the techs don't pay attention to what they are doing.

I will probably speak with the doctor over the next week or so and decide where to go from here. Some days the pain is so bad I can barely walk and other days it isn't as bad but my knee flares up because I've put so much pressure on it from the previous days pay. It's like a circle of pain. I think I am going to go ahead and have the proceedure done it's just a matter of when

Barbie

Wingsoflove · 06-01-2006, 10:31 PM

Kissa- I'm sorry to hear about your bad news. I know how hard it is to decide about when or if to have surgery. Your not alone. I hope everything goes well for you.