Here we are…
Last February, I went in for an x-ray. My hip had been bugging me with varying degrees of severity since March 2000 when I had the weirdest “shot in the asscheek” feeling while on a little family stroll when on vacation in Paris. My whole leg buckled under me. The pain was INTENSE for a split-second and then gone. I was very mildly freaked out by the experience at the time, but let it go. However, when it started happening every other month and then once a month and then more and more frequently, I became slightly alarmed…actually “annoyed” is probably a better word. (I have since been told that this was, in all likelihood, my labrum tearing and then repeatedly catching and tearing more and more). Since, at the time, I was not really doing anything other than trying to cope with a newborn and 6 stepkids, I just managed it into my life. The nuisance wasn’t really interfering with life too much.
After a bit of time, the sensation morphed into feeling like I had ground glass in my hip socket. Somedays it hurt a whole lot more than others, but I tried my best to ignore it, and when my baby was nearly two, I decided to start training again (I had previously been an elite rower and had run a couple of marathons to see what the fuss was all about). When running, my hip always felt sort of stiff initially but loosened up as the run went on. Rowing didn’t really bother it other than it would be “cranky” sometimes after a long or hard workout. This went on for about 8 months, until I was 5 months pregnant with my 2nd child. November of 2001 was the beginning of a very long running hiatus.
My hip continued to be increasingly “cranky”. I speculated that I had AVN “like Bo Jackson!” and that I would need a bionic hip. We all laughed at how preposterous that sounded.
By 2007 and Baby #3, I was dragging my right leg behind me, stumping along like Quasimodo, in slippers because no shoes felt right. It was not a pretty sight. I was so grateful to have a baby in a stroller, which I used like a walker. I liked grocery shopping because pushing the cart made it easier to walk. Then someone directed me to an amazing PT. She and I worked together for 3 years (and through Baby #4) to get me virtually pain-free and walking almost like a normal person and able to run again. Thus, in the fall of 2010, I started running 🙂
It was so fun to be able to run again! I only ran 3 days a week because otherwise my hip would get really sore. Still I managed to run Bay to Breakers twice, two half-marathons, the Oakland Marathon relay twice, Hood to Coast twice and drop my 5K time by 6 minutes in 2.5 years and document it all in a little running blog. Things seemed pretty sweet! But I kept feeling like something just wasn’t getting better. I couldn’t put my finger on it but I knew that if we could figure it out and FIX it then I could train the way I wanted to and see some real improvement.
Famous last words.
I finally went in to get the x-ray that had been prescribed in 2004 (the week before I found out I was pregnant…I had a feeling I might be so was waiting to get the x-ray). I figured we might be in for a little arthroscopic something…trim it up nice…get it all cleaned out. Boy, did I feel sucker-punched! I know many of you KNOW that feeling! I was totally in denial. It didn’t help that they never let me see the images. In the words of the orthopedic surgeon, my hip was “done”…severe degenerative OA. He told me I could go ahead and run on it if I wanted to because I really couldn’t make it any worse. I didn’t run. In fact, I didn’t do ANYthing. I stopped everything. And of course, it got worse and worse and worse. I started using a cane in November.
On December 31, 2013, I went in for a second opinion with an out-of-plan ortho. She put me through the paces of “squat, walk, cross your legs…now hop on your right foot” (YOU’RE KIDDING, RIGHT?). Then she showed me the images.
I closed out 2013 with the decision…I’m getting a hip replacement. I have consultations with two different surgeons in early February. I have no reservations about it. I am not scared. I am excited to not be in pain. The pictures were worth a thousand words.
I’m looking forward to learning and sharing from all the members of this site. Hip, hip, hooray! Or something like that 😉
Ha! So I guess I should have said that I’m a 50-year old woman 🙂 It’s my right hip.
Great Attitude Mrs. You’ve endured enough. Time to get it replaced and get moving again! Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Brother Tom.
Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to following your progress. BTW, did you say your ortho is female? I haven’t come across any female ortho surgeons when I was getting opinions. That’s cool~
@Anissa…the ortho I saw for the second opinion was not a surgeon. There are surgeons in her practice, though. She came highly recommended by my PT and has a similar profile to me…similar age, former national team athlete, lives an active life, has small kids. It was very helpful for me to hear her tell me what she would do if she were looking at her own x-ray (if it looked like mine). I have yet to come across a woman surgeon in the field of hip replacements.
Mrs. I love you’re attitude! I got to the point where I could wait to get the surgery underway. No nervousness, just excitement. I too had the leg buckle thing going on. Your hip sounds like it has more than a labrum tear. My labrum was gone, gone, gone. That’s why it would buckle, no labrum to hold it in place. Best of luck finding a good surgeon. Make sure you get one that understands you’re desire to run again. I know people who have had replacements that are scared to run because of the Ortho’s stern warnings.
I use to love doing the shopping and pushing the cart around as well as volunteering to push the stroller. I think you are past the hardest part coming to the realization you need a THR. Good luck with the procedure.
Hi MRS, I felt the same once I found the surgeon I liked I couldn’t get it over soon enough. I’m 5 weeks post-op, posterior RTHR. It’s great to not be in pain and to be getting stronger every day. I hope you won’t have to wait long for a surgery date!