Sounds like you have a blood clot. i had the same thing. Please get that checked out.
I tried telling my doctor that something was wrong with my leg for 2 months. His assistant (because the doctor was way to busy to waste his time on me) saw me 2 months after surgery and told me that my swolen leg and pain was from a pinced nerve in my back. Turns out I had a blood clot from my groin all the way down my leg. (It had nothing to do with my back) I talked to the DOCTOR when I got home from the Emergency Room and told him I'd been calling his office every week for 2 months saying something was wrong, the doctor said, and I quote "we get calls all day long from people who just had surgery saying they are in pain and we have no way to differentiate between some one just whining from someone who is really having trouble"
I'm 18 months post-THR and my non-existent nerve pain is getting worse. I've decided no more surgeries and definitely no more surgeons, so I've been scouring the web looking for any kind of solution. What I've discovered is discouraging to say the least.
Most of the posts on a variety of forums in which hip surgery of any kind is mentioned in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia concern ongoing pain that surgeons dismiss. I'm sure the surgeons dismiss our issues because they don't want malpractice suits and the medical device manufacturers certainly don't want to make less money. Surgeons no doubt would love to perform more surgeries and device manufacturers would love to sell more of their wares.
I idiotically thought that greed would be a factor only in the U.S., but not so. We've all had our bodies irreparably altered based on misinformation and greed. I'm thinking that we're just the guinea pigs (I wish they would tell us!) for, as with software, Hip Replacement 1.0, Hip Replacement 2.0, Hip Replacement update with SP3, and so on. We're all part of a sick cycle that is chronic disease care on this planet because no one can come up with a better way. They are working on it, obviously, since our limbs are no longer just amputated. Still, our pain is dismissed. In the U.S., of course, the government is cracking down on doctors who prescribe pain "killers". So it could be that our surgeons, in part, dismiss our pain because they know they fear treating it.
Not all people who are in constant, chronic pain are going to respond to medidation, acupuncture, yoga, chiropractic, herbs, etc. I know because I've been trying different pain treatments since 1987 when I was badly injured in an auto accident. I hate pain medication, the side effects, and the fact that a lot of pain medications just don't work.
What I hate more is pain. And surgeries like we have usually mean chronic, unrelenting pain. Some people can live with it. I can't. If I could go back to the 1700s and bleed to death after an amputation, that is my wish.
According to a 2005 article in the Iowa Orthoppaedic Journal, there was an "appalling frequency with which amputation was being practiced in Europe and America. Liverpool was a large commercial port and sailors arrived with wounded limbs, in many instances injured months before. These types of injuries required a radical treatment, which in the late 1700s meant amputation." In the 1800s, "Most of the operated joints eventually became ankylosed, a disappointing outcome for such a perilous procedure that had a mortality rate of approximately 50 percent, high even by the day's standards."
Finally, I don't know if I can put a URL in here, but I'll try. This is THR surgery: http://www.azpbs.org/procedure/hip-replacement/index.php I recorded it but still can't bring myself to watch it all because it's so gruesome.
I'm writing to apologize for the illogical sentences and/or word structure. I don't know what I meant by "If you're not in Arizona, then I assume". I used to win awards for my writing and editing. Now I can't even put two words together in a way that makes any sense. Sorry everyone. - nomoresurgeries
How do they figure out if I have a blood clot? Can my regular MD do whatever is necessary to determine this? My pain is getting worse, I'm using my cane and crutches and I'm considering renting a wheelchair. To say I'm in pain would be an understatement. I think the pain has driven me crazy. I know the surgeon won't be of any help.
I had posted a while ago that I had had both hips replaced and had pain and nerve damage behind the right leg, I have lupus sle so I see a neurologist and he ordered a pelvic mri, didn't help much but the radiologist saw something in my low back but couldn't get a good look at it, so he ordered a lumbar spine mri. Wow, I have a lot of back problems. I have been going to pain management for facet injections and they have helped, but they didn't last very long, a few weeks. The pain dr said the next step is rizotomy. This is where they use a lazer needle and go into your nerves in your back and they blast them. He said that this should last 9 to 12 months, but I would probably need it done once a year. I don't have good insurance and this would be a huge cost every year so I asked if there was something else that could be done, he said back fusion, but he said I wasn't a good candidate for that with my lupus etc. Money Money Money. I am sure there is something they can do to fix it but they want that money every year and year after year. I would recommend a lumbar spine mri if you had hip replacement and your surgeon says it is in your back, it very well could be. Good Luck to all you.
Hi Ive had hip replaced bmhr, im 30 odd ive had both my hips done but the 2nd time round i got drop foot in my right foot it is getting better but it s been 15 months of pain, the foot had leveled out a far, so it isnt catching the ground as much so im not falling flate on the floor as much. the doc said he didnt nick the nerve or put a stich though it. am i able to sue him?? im from aust and ive had mixed replys yes and no.... i'm on lyrica 3 times a day with other pain related pills. if anyone can shed some light for me it would be great.
I understand about wanting to sue the doctor, but I believe it would be difficult to win. I am almost sure that in my last hip surgery, the anesthesiologist overdosed me. I was in recovery for several hours as they couldn't get my blood pressure up. After this surgery, my ekg showed left atrial abnormality. Also I have absolutely no feeling in the back of my leg from behind my knee all the way up to my butt. I read that this is common if the anesthesiologist overdoses you. I wasn't comfortable with him from the start. Now I have all these problems. I sometimes feel like I should sue also. Now the orthopedic surgeon says that my right leg is half an inch longer than the left. He has ordered shoe lift or insert. Funny that the old ortho that did the surgery, has left the state and he said that my legs were even. I hate this whole thing. I am in so much pain all the time. I am in pain management right now but none of it really helps on a long term basis. Good Luck
Hello: I had a total hip replacement in January, 2010 and have had little to no problems through 2013. However, over the past 3 weeks I have noticed, after sleeping, some sensation in the upper part of my hip to the knee. But last night, the pain, 1000 pins, burning, numbness, pain, and lack of motion (to the bathroom) really caused me major concern. I had no pain to the under-side of my hip, just the top part. I plan to talk to my doctor today, because I prefer not to experience this situation again soon. Yes, I am afraid to go to sleep again. I continue to experience some of the nurve sensation
You don't want fusion. Everyone I've talked to who had it done wishes they hadn't. Try for stuff that's less invasive and life altering.
Those of you who have numbness an tingling in your leg after hip replacement surgery did you have the anterior or posterior approach?
erfette, did the pain ever get better? I had same operation, same leg, same result. from what I've gathered we suffer from femoral neuropathy. Did it take long to regain strength in your left leg? After 6 months I'm just now able to walk upstairs without leaning on a rail. still have pins from knee area down on inside of left leg....hope you're improving even if slowly. Scott C.
I had my second total hip replacement 13 years ago and a severe attack of sciatica 3 years later which left numbness in the foot and weakness in the ankle. The calf muscle has reduced considerably in this leg and together with foot drop has caused me many problems over the years. I paid £6,000 3 years ago to relieve the nerve impingement but the ondition has considerably worsened since to the extent that I feel that I shall shortly lose the use of the leg. MRI scans now show no problem and my neurologist has virtually given up on me. I am just turned 80 but lead an active life only restricted by this problem. Any ideas?
I had my Hip Replacement in August 2012. I walked in to the hospital with feeling in my foot. After surgery when they got me up my left foot was numb. My doctor did not seem concerned about it. My hip is fine, but still no feeling in my foot. He order a MRI of my Lumbar area and EMG in October. MRI showed no change, but EMG showed unresponing nerves. Doctor told me to go see my back doctor whom told me it was not my back. Another EMG in January showed damage to my S1 and L5 nerve. Was told by another doctor I have permanate nerve damage and seen like nothing will help. I don't feel my surgoen cares as he just seem to blow me off everytime I asked about my foot. Has anyone ever been able to prove it was something that happened during surgery? In my eyes my doctor should have to take care of this problem. My life has been turned upside down, I walk with a cane, unable to go for walks with my grandkids or shopping with my girls. Yes I have done PT, but it has only helped me to learn to walk with a numb foot.
I had my left hip replaced a year ago and have experienced numbness and a cold sensation down my leg into my foot since about 3 months after the replacement. It is worse at night for some reason, but it isn't getting any better. I've also had my right hip replaced 3 months ago, using different hardware, and have had no numbness or cold with it at all. I believe I've experienced nerve damage on the left side and am terrified it's just going to get worse. The doctors, of course, discount it completely or simply ignore that I've even mentioned it. I've found that orthopedic surgeons cover for each other's mistakes with a passion. You're on your own if they mess you up.