Well, yesterday while taking my son to the pediatrician he noticed that I was in pain and asked to examine me which was a bit of a shock considering he is a pediatrician! So I agreed as I've been in pain with my leg since January 2010. I've been taking gliucosamine for it which REALLY HELPED and has enabled me to keep walking. I have cerebral palsy and so just assumed it was one of those things I would have to put up with and the glucosamine enabled me to step over large steps and jump in and out of taxi's and the pain only got bad when I ran out of glucosamine, then I would take it again and it would go away so I figured I could deal with this.
Anyway, I hadn't had any for a while so I wasn't feeling that great and my son's pediatrician noticed. After he examined me he said he thought my left hip was 'gone' and sent me for an X-ray. The technician was joking that she'd X-rayed bigger teenagers than me and my son got a sticker, saying 'I sat still for my X-ray', even though I was the one who was X-rayed!
Well, they called a surgeon and he showed me the picture, and oh, it is NOT good. My hip has come out of the socket and I've been walking around with it dislocated since about January 2010 (when the pain started), but the socket has worn away due to the way I walk from the CP so they can't put it back in place. Essentially he said they will have to do a hip replacement operation :( This came as a massive shock, especially as I'm only 34.
The bad hip has twisted my spine and the surgeon thought maybe that is why I got occipital neuralgia - I have had almost constant headaches for 13 months now. I refused to take gabapentin, it wasn't compatible with glucosamine anyway, and I became gradually more tolerant to the anti-inflammatories until they weren't working well. I had a block put in but that wore off after 5 weeks.
So I'm obviously quite keen to fix the hip especially if it will also cure my neuralgia. The doctor said it might because once the hip is fixed it might straighten out my spine.
But, and here's the question (sorry this is so long winded), I am completely and utterly terrified. I recently watched my daughter's agonizing recovery from a complicated foot surgery and the morphine didn't work on her. She screamed for 3 days solid. I too have had bad experiences in hospitals with insufficient pain relief. One experience when I was 18 I was only given acetaminophen for a surgical procedure relating to childbirth and I was in the worst pain I have ever been in, in my life. I have never had that much pain since, even though I since had natural home births with no drugs, they were nothing compared to the pain I experienced in hospital.
So I want to ask, just how painful is a hip replacement? Because I can't go through with it if it is too painful. People say I am in pain now, but at least I know what that feels like. I feel that if I consent, I am going into the slaughterhouse. Sounds a bit ridiculous but I really doubt my ability to cope with a major operation if it is going to really hurt.
So if anyone has had a hip replacement, can you please tell me what your pain level was like?
I am so upset I am considering not consenting.
Thank you.