Question
I had a THR 2 1/2 months ago and am still experiencing a great deal of pain in my groin and thigh. I have weaned myself off of the heavy duty pain killers oxycodone,morphine sulfate tablets),but still take darvoset
daily. Although this medicine helps it still doesn't take away all of the pain and discomfort. I was given a prescription NSAID and all it did was upset my stomach. My
X-ray post surgery were all fine and looked good, but I am
still suffering. Even though my hip doesn't pop like it used
to before my operation, my pain is still very real and very
intense. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do or tell my doctor? Thank You,  Benjamin

Answer
Hi Benjamin

Two and a half months is not a full healing time.  You will have pain from time to time but it should be getting better each day.  The pain should be different now than it was before your surgery.  If your pain is not better, you might want to have your doctor take an arthrogram to ensure the prothesis is well in place.  That test is done by shooting a dye into your hip and it shows if the prosthesis is well inserted.

NSAID's are notorious for stomach upsets, so it may be that you can't tolerate them.  I cannot take NSAIDS either.  Depending on how long you were on the narcotic pain relievers you may also be experiencing withdrawal symptoms as you weaned yourself.  If you were on both oxycodone and morphine sulfate, those are very strong pain meds and it takes time to wean from them and you will suffer withdrawal.  But, I do believe your pain is real.  Seeing that you went from those meds to Darovcet shows that you are in less pain than you were, unless the case is that your doctor just does not want to prescribe the heavy pain killers anymore.

Has your doctor taken the length of your legs?  If one leg is longer than the other, that could be causing pain as well because your gait will be incorrect.  If that is the case, it's an easy fix with a shoe lift.

You may also be having muscle pain on top of all this because when they put in a prosthesis, they do cut a large muscle and that takes time to heal.  A THR can take up to 6 months to a year to heal completely.

If you don't have a regular exercise program, look into one.  That also helps pain too. Water walking or a water tread mill are good exercises that have no impact on the joints.

Best of luck to you.

Sharon