No rest for the pain patient

I've just this weekend returned from a glorious weeks holiday in Spain. It was bliss - the heat was great, the food was better, and I was off my feet for most of the week! Normally being off my feet would help any hip aches and pains, but not this time. And arriving back into the beginning of autumnal UK weather yesterday has left my hip joint screaming at me (because I can't think of anything else that could have set it off? I haven't been out anywhere except the supermarket).

I'm beginning to think that I might have a bigger problem that anticipated. I know I will just have to wait until I see my orthopod and there's no point in speculating until the point where I wind myself up mentally. There's not much to be done about it right now - except rest and light exercise (time to put the dancing shoes away til next time eh? ;o)). It's in these moments that I just want to ask him to resurface or replace the joint because I'm fed up to the back teeth of the constant ache (inbetween the severe pain of putting your full weight through the joint when walking). I'm stubborn and refuse to use an aid - it has crossed my mind, but I also know that its a slippery slope to becoming dependent.

I was given a 70% chance of my PAO (periacetabular osteotomy) working out for me long term - 4 yrs on and I'm thinking I may fall in the 30%. I was informed that the procedure of reshaping the femur head in addition to the PAO has only been done in a handful of people in the world and in the last 5 yrs (prior to my surgery in 2005). But the PAO couldn't have been done without reshaping the femur head as it had aquired a strange compressed ovaloid shape, presumably from the hip socket being so shallow and flattening it slowly over time. Also, if I didn't correct the postition on the socket within the pelvis, I might not be eligible for a resurfacing in the future as often a hip dysplasia requires the resurfacing ball and socket combined with a pin (see picture). As far as I know the pin to to aid stability and allow bone growth into that area, thus covering the prostheses better.


Fingers crossed something can be done when I visit my orthopod. The way it feels right now, I'd probably agree to anything!

Appointments booked

I am very impressed with the NHS right now. After I told my GP I wanted to see my old orthopod down at the ROHB, I got an appointment for the 17th Nov - just 2 months, and they were apologising to me for it being such a long wait (I've waited 6 months before, I'd forgotten how good the ROHB were). I'm also booked in for a CT scan and regular X-ray on the 12th Oct. I was a little taken aback by the request for the CT scan, but I guess they don't want to pussyfoot around something as serious as this. And, of course, the less time I have to wait the better!

I'm having the biggest deja vu right now.

I don't know what to recommend

“I don’t know what to recommend”

Being told that by your GP when you’re in about 5 different kinds of pain is like being kicked when you’re down. Unfortunately, this happens way too often to pain patients and this is about the fifth GP now that’s told me something similar over the years.

So I sigh and tell her what I need – more pain meds, a referral back to the physiotherapist and a referral back to my orthopaedic surgeon to check everything out. And I get what I want without even a quibble – I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t necessary. Since my TPO surgery I have cycles where the pain suddenly came back, but rest and paracetamol was usually enough to set it all to rights again. However, this year, that hasn’t been enough and this past month has been horrendous. Last night I discovered a new pain in addition to the ‘regular’ pains that I’ve been feeling – a tender spot high up over the greater trochanter region of the hip, which wakes you up when you unconsciously roll over onto your side in the night! I feel somewhat betrayed by my own body, again.

Physio starts at the end of the month and I have to call the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Birmingham (ROHB) tomorrow for an appointment. When it concerns pain, action is better than inaction, it’ll only get worse (‘if you sit in the middle of the road, you will get run over’ Chinese proverb).

Chapter Two

It's been a while (well, about 5 years!) since I last blogged and I think it's time to return to where I last left off, re-cap and update the situation. I think I'm going to slowly re-cap everything over a few blogs soon and give you the Cliff Notes version just now.

I have congenital hip dysplasia (or developmental dysplasia of the hip as its becoming more commonly known as) which mainly affects my right hip. My left hip has been, and continues to be, asymptomatic. I was in and out of hospitals throughout my childhood, mainly physiotherapy, no surgeries or casts. I had no real problems until I hit my 20's. Over 7 years things started to deteriorate in the joint until the point where I could not walk for more than 30mins at a time without great difficulty, but sitting wasn't any better as the pain would radiate down the full length of the leg. As for sleeping....well, that was the clincher for me, I'd had enough. I was recommended that I have a periacetabular osteotomy (PAO; or triple pelvic osteotomy, TPO) rather than a resurfacing or replacement. October 2005 I had the PAO surgery, I was 27.

I consider this part of life Chapter two: post-surgery.



Photos I have from my PAO surgery 12.10.2005:

X-ray taken at the end of the PAO surgery showing the pins and plate securing the pelvis.

The two scars are below - the surgery is done from the front and back, hence two scars. They are nothing more than white lines now and don't look quite so angry.