RE: Marie, Sunita, Eleanor

[Guest guest]

Dear Jan/Wannie,

Thankyou so much for your long detailed account. You have been through

so much and yet are so positive. I wonder how you manage that? It is so

encouraging. I'll post as soon as I know my results. I am not a petite

woman, but am 5' 6 " , so hopefully that will be good.

Eleanor

Marie, Sunita, Eleanor

First thing I am going to say is that I believe that resurf is terrific.

Unfortunately mine failed and I now believe that THR is terrific. I

would opt for

the resurf because it may give you more time if you need a revision.

The

fact that there is less bone removed is always a plus. BUT...........if

yours

fails there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am choosing a THR on my

other

hip that I think I will have done in September. I might be able to wait

but I

am tired of the pain. It is not as severe as most of those on this

list, but

I don't want anymore pain at all. I also want to get my legs the same

length

that will probably relieve my low back pain. I should be wearing the

lift but

I don't. ANYWAY.........knowledge is power. Learning from other's past

experiences is a way to add to your knowledge base. You need to make

the right

choice for yourself. Hopefully it is the right one, but there are times

when it

is not despite all the research that you did to prepare yourself in

making

the decision you think is correct. So, Marie...you keep asking questions

and

weigh this when making your choice. How can you make an educated choice

without

all the facts??????

I am sure that there are others on this list that are having troubles

but are

not posting. This is a very supportive positive group and sometimes

people

feel like they should not talk about the negatives they are

experiencing.

There have been people on the list that are soooo adamant that resurf is

the best

for everyone that they have made people feel that they should be quiet

unless

they have praises for the resurf. I hope that that is changing here and

what

needs to happen is that everyone needs to post the problems they are

having as

well as the good things. This group is here to help others, so let's

give

them all the facts and all the experiences, good or bad.

My first surgery was awful. I was never right. I was taking vicadin

for six

months at night. I was depressed. I also went through another surgery

six

months later. I had a partial thyroidectomy when they discovered a

tumor on my

thyroid. Not having the proper thyroid hormone was the most devastating

thing

that happened to me ... coupled that with continued pain with my

operated hip.

I experienced a few months where I could cope. It didn't hurt as bad

but I

knew that something was not right. In Oct 03, a year after my first

surgery, I

began going downhill fast. The pain was horrible. I had my second

surgery

scheduled for December but I knew that this date would have to be used

to

correct my first hip. The pain would shoot down my shin. Very nasty

stuff. It even

went into my ankle. A lot of doctors say that hip pain cannot go into

the

shin and ankle and that is caused by back problems. NOT TRUE!!!! I

remember

Thanksgiving..........I was back on the cane and tried to avoid the

worst pain

that I have ever had in my life. This pain came when I was sitting. I

could

move one centimeter and it felt like someone was stabbing me with a

knife. I

would even see stars at times. This pain was in the hip, not the shin at

this

time. The shin pain came when walking the hip pain came when sitting

My doc

shot me with steroids to see if the pain would subside. If it did he

knew that

pain was coming from the hip, and if not he would suspect the back. He

also

did an aspiration and used the XRay machine when injecting the steroids.

He

said that I could experience relief in the next 48 hours and depending

on what

was wrong with me, this may cure the problem. I had relief for one day

and it

was beautiful. Knowing it was in the hip, my Dec. 30 surgery was going

to be

used to go back into the right hip. My doc thought that the ball might

be

loose and he said that he could fix that. He was very encouraging and

said he

doubted that he would have to perform a THR. I knew different. I just

knew that

that is what I would end up with. I woke up and was so pleased with the

way

I felt. I was so much better and I knew then that I would be OK. Doc

told me

that I had developed AVN and said it was probably because I had small

bones.

He said he was able to pick the devise up in his hand and that my bone

was

mushy. I did not have a hip joint.

I recovered very quickly and never felt sick like I did with the first

surgery. This surgery was also less invasive and they were able to keep

the cup.

Doc said that he picked my up on the table by the cup and that it is

very solid.

I continue to do better and am so happy about a pain free hip. My hip

is

still stiff after sitting for a long time but after ten steps it is like

nothing

is wrong. I am also taking it easy with activities and stretching. I

don't

want to screw anything up. I am six months now and am sure it is OK to

do

whatever, but I still have a fear and respect for the devise. When I

stretch by

bringing my leg up while sitting (like I am going to cross my legs) I

feel/hear

a thump. I believe that this is OK, but it is nerve racking to say the

least.

This makes me a bit more cautious which is fine with me as long as the

pain

is gone.

I also posted about the other guy, ph, who went through the same

things

as me. He wrote to me yesterday and told me that his doctor was very

caring

and encouraging. He doesn't know why the doc changed his attitude, but

it was

very welcome. He now feels much more comfortable with his doc. In my

last post

I was rather negative about his doctor. I was angry with the way my

buddy

was being treated so I maybe popped off without thinking and letting him

do it.

My apologies to ph for saying these things about his doctor, DR.

Goldberg

in Ohio.

My advise..especially to women and petite women (I am 5'1 " .....but now

am

5 " 2 " on my operated hip.) The doctors are not very experienced with AVN

following this surgery. The odds of developing AVN post surgery is

1:1000. It happens

when the blood supply is disrupted during surgery. There are two veins

that

go up to the head of the femur. My blood supply was cut off and

therefore my

bone died. I was worried about AVN developing at the top of the bone

where

they had to cut it off and my doc said that that would never happen. My

other

friend, ph also developed AVN. He had his surgery three weeks

before me.

We had been communicating and realized that we had a lot of the same

symptoms.

He informed me that he had AVN and I knew that is what I had. Somehow

during

his surgery his blood supply was compromised. He is still having

problems

even after his THR. There may be ossification. Poor ph...it is

never ending

for him. so, this can also happen to men. But small women are especially

at

risk even though the risk is low. I bet that if all the people that

have

developed AVN following resurf...most are women, and small women. So,

if we take a

group of petite women and figured out the odds, I bet it would be

different

than 1:1000. I am not saying that petite women are going to develop

this. I

am saying that they are at a higher risk. especially if they have small

bones.

I always thought that I had large bones because I am stocky. My doc

assured

me that I have small bones. I think that petite women should have the

thickness of their bones checked before they make a decision.

Sorry this post is so long but I am hoping that I have shared some

information that may be valuable to someone. If anyone needs to talk to

me feel free to

email me.

Jan aka/Wannie