Leaving it too late - UK

[Guest guest]

This is a point which interests me greatly. I am 53, female, must

have had OA for a good 10 yrs but only diagnosed recently by a

chiropracter following private X ray. GP and local hospital X ray 4

yrs ago somehow failed to see anything except very tight hip

joints ... Well, when you don't know any better you don't question

it do you?

I can walk about 5 miles on a good day in one go, can do more after a

good rest. I get back ache because the spine is twisted as a result

of the hip, havn't been able to run for more than 10 years. The limp

used to be sometimes, for a long time now it has been constant. I

have no cartilage on the right and thinning cartilage on the left.

At the end of March I had a private consultation with the local

resurf surgeon and was prepared to pay for the op if necessary. He

asked me how many times I had woken up in pain in the previous week

(I have never woken in pain at all), how far I could walk, looked at

the X rays and tested the range of motion. He said I was very

flexible for what showed on the X rays, I should carry on doing what

I do (I work in an office part time, walk the dog about 50 mins per

day, do belly dancing - with caution - for an hour a week, line dance

for another hour). I don't take anything for pain, I get it, but

when I stop doing what I'm doing it stops, it hurts but its not

unbearable. He said take pain killers if necessary, do as much as I

can, take glucosamine, wear cushioned shoes as much as possible and

swim. He expects to see me back sometime in the next five years, I

will know when to come. The activities I mentioned should not cause

undue damage and provided I pass the osteoporosis test he expects to

be able to do a resurf.

The problem is of course with the waiting list you need to be in the

queue before its too late, hence the question: How can I tell I am

12 months off the point? Any suggestions please?

I have been watching this site for a couple of months and I know

people are much worse off than me, but there must be lots of you out

there in the same situation!

Regards

Margaret

[Guest guest]

Dear Margaret

If you have NO cartilege and back problems caused by the hip, my

advice is to put yourself on the surgery waiting list NOW. Otherwise,

in my experience, you'll just keep aggravating other parts of your

body, plus it will take longer for the muscles to retrain themselves

after the operation. In the meantime, I would advise you to stop line

dancing. That foot-stomping impact is probably murder on your hips. If

you go on the list now and have to wait one or two years from now to

get it done on the NHS, you'll probably feel very ready by then.

I limped for four years, but yes, I could walk a few miles and go

to a mild fitness class. At first my flexibility was still pretty

good, but it went downhill fairly fast, and I had a tendency to fall.

I did take painkillers, but then I'm a wimp where pain is concerned. I

had my operation more than 7 months ago, and I still don't have all my

range of motion back, some muscles are still very weak, and my brain

hasn't yet learned to repattern all the compensating moves I had to

make to cope with my bad hip. However, I can cut my toenails and walk

for much longer than before, plus I can go up hills and my balance is

a lot better. My hip doesn't hurt, and my back pain is almost totally

gone. If you are in your fifties, the sooner you have your hip fixed

the better, I would say. Older women seem to take longer to recover,

and of course there are the worries about decreasing bone density.

This is just my opinion, but I thought I would offer it to you

since we seem to have somewhat similar experiences (I had no cartilege

for the last couple of years before my operation, and I'm 54 now). I

could probably have had my hip fixed under our provincial medical

system this summer or fall (although it could have been next year, no

one could tell me for sure), but my bone density was getting worse and

I was afraid to wait, so I went the private route last October. And I

don't regret it one bit! I got an extra year of my life back, and I

feel years younger. You don't realize how much you've gradually given

up (to avoid pain, or because you simply physically can't make those

moves anymore), or how depressed that makes you, until you have the

surgery and get some of those functions back again. Everyone notices

how much happier I am, and I don't have to think about my health all

the time, or compromise on so many activities.

Best regards

n

rBHR Oct.17/03 McMinn