Having groin pain 8 weeks after hip replacement

greenspun.com : LUSENET : About Joints : One Thread

Found this website and am hoping someone might be able to give me some insight and advise...My mom (83 years old) had a total hip replacement 8 weeks ago due to a very arthritic hip with constant pain that was horrible when she walked (with limp). Since the surgery she has gained range of movement that she didn't have before and walks without a limp with her walker and cane. She has no pain when sitting or laying down. She has groin pain only when she walks or puts weight on her operated leg. She tells me that it hurts a lot in the groin area when she steps down on it and is worried that she is not healing fast enough and that something might be wrong. She has been in for her 6 week check up and the doctor thought she was doing good. Because of the pain, he did a blood test to rule out infection and an xray to look at the new hip. The blood test came out negative and the xray looked good. He suggested some changes in her daily exercise routine and told her not to sit too long in the same position, to move around more frequently. I would like to know: approximately when, after hip replacement surgery, does most of the pain (if not all of it)subside? Do older people take longer to heal? Has she just not given it enough time? Does this groin pain signal a complication? She is depressed because she feels right now that a pain free life is not on her horizon. Any response or advice is welcomed.

-- Gloria Pinedo-Saner (GPinedo@mednet.ucla.edu), May 23, 2000

Answers

I had a hip replacement in 1996 and still suffer the pain. I have talked with people from all over the country over the phone and in person also by the internet. Many people are in pain and will always be in pain. It is a sad thing but Orthopods do stick to the success of hip and knee replacements and will not admitt to patients who suffer from pain. They will most likely link it to a complication of something of that sort. Sorry but there are many of us suffering from hip and knee replacement. Groin pain is common. You might want to check the AAOS website and see what the Orthopods are saying, public not private. The name is used to protect my identity, what I say is true and the email is real.

-- Frogz Leg (frogzleg@hotmail.com), August 11, 2001.

I had a total hip replacement 9 mos. ago. Sad to say I am still not walking without a cane and I limp severly. I also still have pain in the groin area now and then and hip pain which circles to the rear of my buttocks area. I see others that had hips replaced and they are walking and having good times now but me. I was very depressed for a long time because I wanted the surgery so badly to be able to live again, but no such luck. My Dr. said the hip and everything looks great on the x-ray, but what is wrong? I have gone to all specialists to find an answer and all they say is it could be a number of things. Nice huh. I wish everyone who has a hip done the very best of luck,hopefully they will do better than I did. Please feel free to contact me, maybe there is something you can suggest to me to do. I'm also type 2 diabetes and very much overweight too. I know others who are obese and had hip replacements and are doing just fine, so it's not the weight. Please get back to me. Thanks

-- (Lvetolaugh@aol.com), September 20, 2002.

I don't have answers as to why or what, but am having a similar experience. I am a 69 yr. old female who works full time. I too am having a lot of groin pain following a THR 7 months ago. (I also had groin pain before the THR but it was credited to the avascular necrosis of the ball joint.) My groin pain comes when I am at a 90 degree bend so I try to sit sloping a little. or it comes when walking and I get a grabbing cramp in the groin. Or, sometimes like you, when stepping down on that foot. I also have a lot of painful ache in the pelvic area. I saw the surgeon this week and he is sure the THR was a total success, and perhaps IT was, the x-ray shows it to be, but it did not relieve all the pain. Although my surgeon has done multiple THR's, I was told I am the only one who had these problems following surgery and all we can do is wait and see if it the pain finally leaves. He prescribed some tough therapy for me and although it caused other pain to get over followig each session, I believe it made my leg stronger. My THR was my third surgery as I fractured my hip accidentally two years ago, had no arthritis according to the MRI, and the second surgery was to remove the original screws.

-- Jean Wagner (cfwag@att.net), February 14, 2003.

I was born with hip dysplasia. Had a THR in 2000 at age 34. I had groin pain starting in 1980 and still have it. It just gets more painful each year. I would appreciate anyone who has a similar experience. I REALLY need some ideas. At this rate I will run out of the amt. of pain rx that I can take in a day. Thanks.

-- Kathy Sabatino (mkjasab@attbi.com), May 30, 2003.

Joint replacement is generally very effective in relieving pain from an arthritic joint. Our experience over the years shows that the vast majority of patients obtain great reduction in their pain after joint arthroplasty. Generally older folk may take longer to obtain the full benefit from surgery. This does not necessarily indicate failure of the procedure, but may be the result of the duration and nature of the preoperative condition leading to the need for joint replacement. Someone who has a long standing joint stiffness and dysfunction would be expected to require more time for recovery than someone who had a shorter time of disability before having their surgery. This has been confirmed in a recent study done for patients having knee replacement surgery. It showed that better results were obtained in people who had a shorter time of disability before undergoing surgery. It is important to discuss your expectations with your physician so that your expectations will be realistic.

-- Errol Bennet, M.D. (ebennet6@jhmi.edu), June 04, 2003.


I have just had (June 22, 2003) a hip replacement (at the age of 48) due to continuous pain since a fall in Nov. 1999. I have been told I have hip dysplasia but I have always been a physically active person enjoying weight lifting, hiking, camping, working on cars and motorcycles. The groin pain didn't start until 6 months after the fall and continued until the surgery. I became unable to walk and even started to fall due to weakness in the groin ( as though I had lost muscle control). I am now 7 weeks into the healing process and have started to have the exact same type of pain and weakness. Did I have this surgery needlessly? Should I try acupuncture or is it psychological? I am an RN and am trying not to baby myself but still be careful in my healing process. Is there a way to "work through" this pain or do I need counseling. I worked for 20 years to become an RN (through raising 7 kids) and love my job. I WANT to work and am worried that I may not be able to. All tests show I am healing well. Is this a common complaint falling to deaf ears?

-- Sally Leombruno (sallyanneleombruno@hotmail.com), August 11, 2003.

You are still early in the recovery period. If the xrays look alright, I would give it some time and do the strengthening exercises recommended by your surgeon. Scar tissue formation can give you the symptoms you are having. These tend to subside after a few weeks.

Good luck

-- Marc Hungerford, M.D. (mhunger@jhmi.edu), August 11, 2003.


Osteoarthritis was discovered in my right hip in February, 2002 and I was finally scheduled for surgery on 06 May, 2003. I was told to expect to be in the hospital 5 - 7 days. I was 51 years old. My surgeon fractured my femur bone while installing the new prothesis. He did not realize this until three days later when I was sent for routine x-rays. The Radiologist found it. My doctor wouldn't believe it was broken until they took more x-rays and the break was easy to see! Because of hospital cut-backs and doctors vacations, I did not receive my second operation until 20 May. In the second operation my prothesis was removed, my bone was wired and a new longer prothesis was installed. A swab for infection was taken during the operation and came back a few days later positive with Staph and also E-Coli. I was immediately put on very strong antibiotics and bedrest. I could go on with this fiasco (everything that could go wrong did!!!) but I was sent home on my 39th day with a PICC line with administered my antibiotics three times a day, through a line in my arm to just above my heart. After a couple of weeks I weaned myself off the narcotic pain killers and was taking Advil. I honestly was feeling better (I am still on crutches and was bearing 50% of my weight). My doctor told me to increase the amount of weight to about 75%. That was about 4 weeks ago. I am now in more pain than I was before the original operation. I can walk with my crutches but it I turn my leg just the wrong way, the pain is excrutiating. Same happens if I sit too long. I am now back on narcotics and they really aren't helping. I have been going every two weeks for an x-ray and to my surgeon's office. He says my new hip joint looks great, is healing well but he is concerned where he fractured my bone. He said it looks like its healing (lots of grey around the break) but I am in such terrible pain. I am so frustrated. I was healthy, walked everywhere and felt great before the first operation. I have been resting my leg, which will then feel better (not pain free though) and then I just move it the wrong way and it kills me. I have looked through lots of sites but this is the first one I have found with stories similar to mine. I still haven't seen one with a broken femur thanks to the doctor! It is now 19 Sep and I'm in worse shape then before the operation. The doctor keeps telling me once the bone heals, I'll have the strongest femur! I just want to get back to work and be able to walk without a limp!!

-- Judy Myles (djmyles@shaw.ca), September 20, 2003.

I can certainly empathize with your question and concerns. I had my first THA in May of 2000 at age of 35 due to severe osteoarthritis due to congenital hip dysplasia. I had lived for 6 or 7 years with constant pain, a limp that everyone pointed out to me, and increasing weakness in the leg itself. After the surgery, I truly felt better for a short time but 3 mos. later I was experiencing groin, thigh pain. My first doctor seemed to feel it was my fault it was not healing, but finally 6 mos. after surgery he took a bone scan that showed "hot spots" or inflamation. He wanted to wait because it could be due to normal healing. My second opinion doctor reviewed info. and felt another 6 mos. was needed before another bone scan to determine if a change. After my second doctor did a third bone scan which showed areas of concern, he wanted me to wait again because I was young, the x-rays showed nothing and he was reluctant to operate again. I then went to a third doctor to get an answer because the pain was interfering with work and everything in my life. Third doctor looked at previous bone scan (last one done) and said the entire stem was loose. I would urge anyone experiencing pain so severe that it interferes with daily activities to see other doctors and specialists to find an answer or at least alleviate pain. Evidently bone had never bonded with the stem, it had been entirely loose for one and a half years. Revision has been done May of this year and we will see, 6 month mark is here.

-- DeAnn Major (WthrngHite@aol.com), November 22, 2003.

I had a THR June 17-2003. Have had no pain up untill about six weeks ago, now have groing pain only when rising up from a chair or putting full weight on my left leg. It's not crippling and I walk every morn about 1mi. My question is, is this normal and will the pain subside or will it get worse? I am 67 years old and I can climb ladders and also dig ditches, mayby that has contributed to my groing pain. I will see my Dr. December 3. Will let you know what he says, this is my six month checkup.

-- wesley L huntley (tinbender2002@hotmail.com), November 27, 2003.


Well, had the Dr. check me out, with X-ray and check my movement of the leg and hip. He says that everything is O K. He told me that the groin pain is normal and might last for a year or so. The pain is not crippling, just a nusiance for the first 4-5 steps when getting up from a chair. The Dr just about went bannanas when I told him I'm climbing ladders and such, guess I'll cut that out. I figure that he knows best. Wes

-- wesley L huntley (tinbender2002@hotmail.com), December 03, 2003.

I am 54. I had total hip replacement on my left hip in August 2003. I had severe groin pain afterwards. It turned out I had a leg length discrepancy. My doctor ordered an orthotic for the leg that had surgery. The right leg was 5/8 inches longer. I had hip replacement on the right leg in March 2003. The orthotic helped a lot. In January 2004, I had the femoral head changed on the right hip. Now my legs are of equal length. I am feeling better.

-- Nancy Giordano (nanoflex@hotmail.com), February 04, 2004.

DEAR GLORIA:

I AM SORRY TO HEAR THAT YOUR MOM IS IN SUCH PAIN. I DON'T CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE A LAYMEN IN THIS AREA, DO TO WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH AT SUCH A EARLY AGE (34). I AM A CASE STUDY MYSELF, AT THE HOSPITIAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY IN N.Y. LET ME JUST SAY THIS, TELL HER TO BE PATIENT IT WILL COME! AT HER AGE IT'S O.K TO TAKE THE PAIN MEDS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO HER, JUST ASK THEY TRULY HELP UNTIL SHE IS READY. SHE HAS TO GIVE HER BODY MORE TIME TO ADJUST TO THAT TRUMA. REMBER SHE IS NO SPRING CHICKEN ANY MORE. BEST OF LUCK, ROBERT ZERILLO@AOL.COM

-- ROBERT ZERILLO (ZERILLO@AOL.COM), February 13, 2004.


I am having surgery next week on rt hip. Now I wondering if my current pain may be better than what I am hearing here? Has no one on this list had a decent experience?

-- Al Segal (aasegal@comcast.net), April 03, 2004.

My husband is 44 yrs old and had a THR on the left side Feb 26, 2004. In the first few weeks of recovery things were looking good and he was coming along great. It has now been about 8 weeks and he has, at times, severe pain in his scrotum on the same side the surgery was done. Ortho Dr. says he might have gotton a virus that went to the joint area. He had been running a low grade (100 - 103) fever for about two weeks with his blood work showing anemia. He says he might have made the wrong decision in having this surgery. Who knows?

-- Mike Haskell (haskellboys@aol.com), April 25, 2004.


I 52 years old and I am three months post op from revision surgery to correct leg length discrepency of almost one inch from full hip replacement surgery 2 months previous. I am concerned re: the groin pain. Also, if I have been off my feet for a long period of time, bearing weight is extremely painful for several steps. Is this normal? The second doctor only swaped out the ball from the device to correct the leg length discrepency. I fear the original doctor botched up attaching the top part of the device to my bone, thus the groin pain. I am also limping somewhat and walk very slowly. Is this normal three months out? Also, has anyone sued their doctor for malpractice? The horror stories (mine included) are stunning to say the least.

-- Robert Brogan (rbrogan0201@aol.com), April 25, 2004.

My husband had a right thr Jan 29, 2004. He is still having pain in the hip area. He has completed his therapy. He is driving now. He is a diabetic and dialysis patient 3x a week. His therapist sent him back to see his orthopedist and xrays and healing was fine. It is now May and still with pain. I believe it is soft tissue around the muscle. He is still walking with a walker. I believe he has relied on that walker and cane so much that he is to insecured. I told him the more he walked he will walk the pain out. He is gets discussed because alot of his friends had thr and is walking fine. His roommate in the hospital is walking fine. I told him every one is different and you had did some major damage before you decided to have the surgery. By him being a diaylsis patient you also get calcium build- up which probably plays a major role.

-- (sharo_stevens2@yahoo.com), May 15, 2004.

i was in accident in 1984 now i am 37 years old, had THR on july 29, 2003. since the operation i have had pain on right side of thigh and instability. i recently have had large swelling at bottom of surgical incision on right hip. i have had multiple x-rays, blood tests, aspirations and bone scans. went to get second opinion from previous "1984" doctor. after x-rays he found socket in pelvis on real bad angle. he says it is chipping the cup. also recomends revision. since the operation in july, i have had a lot less groin pain but a ton more hip and thigh pain. the swelling and hot feeling in hip is very disturbing. my wife and i are still trying to figure out our next move. sure would have liked to know in advance that it was common for doctors to make angle mistakes this much.

-- m mullen (mmullen250@aol.com), June 01, 2004.

I had hip surgery to my right hip back in November 1998 and it was a total disaster I contacted a severe infection and nearly lost my leg. The implant became loose and had to come out. I had a revision to it by a weel known surgeon here in Winnipeg and it turned out very good. I've had my left one done April 7 2004 by the same surgeon and it's excellent.

-- Zanny Kuchta (zannyk@shaw.ca), June 02, 2004.

I had hip surgery to my right hip back in November 1998 and it was a total disaster I contacted a severe infection and nearly lost my leg. The implant became loose and had to come out. I had a revision to it by a weel known surgeon here in Winnipeg and it turned out very good. I've had my left one done April 7 2004 by the same surgeon and it's excellent. I am walking without a cane now. The first surgeon wasn't very good did it with cement and the cement came loos. If anyone in Winnipeg has had any problems I would like to hear from them.

-- Zanny Kuchta (zannyk@shaw.ca), June 02, 2004.

Let me apologize in the beginning for this long post but I just wanted to share just part of what has happened to me and believe me this is the short, short version. God bless your mother Gloria. She is a strong person for putting up with what she is going through and it makes me very sad to hear about it. I talk about pain medication later in this post and I realize that she and possibly others probably don’t have insurance to pay for high price prescriptions that CAN help her. I hope there is some way that she can get the help that she needs to get out of pain without going through the gambit that all of us have been through. Her years now need to be pain free and this pain should be treated as aggressively as Cancer pain until the source of her groin pain is found. THIS IS A REAL PAIN AND IT’S EXCRUCIATING, IT TAKES OVER YOUR LIFE, IT’S ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT EVERY TIME YOU GET UP TO WALK ON THAT LEG. The only relief is to be in bed and sit still or go to sleep. I hope she has you or someone to help do things for her. I was only 42 and thought I could take anything but this just took over my life and totally changed it. I can’t imagine being twice my age and suffering through it. I don’t know what we all have but I hope this post grows long and someday maybe one of us will get an answer. If there is any help I can give you please feel free to email me personally. Bless you for starting this thread.

One morning in Jan. of 2000, I got up from a chair and started having severe stabbing groin pain in my right side that caused me to walk with a terrible limp. I lived with it for a couple of months thinking that it would go away but it never did. After visits to several different Doctors, getting multiple diagnoses and treatments I was walking with a cane by May of 2000 with no pain medication to help me. Just getting in and out of my car would almost make me cry.

By August 2000, I had limited movement in my hip with radiating pain around the side of my thigh and buttocks. X-Ray’s taken in March and May 2000 showed the cartilage to be normal but the pain was excruciating. An MRI was done in May and I had varying opinions on that. The one thing I did get out of it was that there was a lot of fluid around the joint and I’d eventually have to have my hip replaced, it was just a matter of how much pain I could endure and was told I’d eventually have to walk with crutches. That was told to me by the first OS (Orthopedic Surgeon) I saw. I was sent home with nothing for pain.

Between March & June, I was given odd and various pain medication but we all know how that goes. Beg, beg, beg, it’s like your pain isn’t that bad or it isn’t real or of course you’re just looking for pain medication after all these years of not having any. Even if I did get pain medication such as Hydrocodone, I was never given enough to kill the pain. I finally got so desperate that I went online and got legal pain medication from a U.S. doctor and a U.S pharmacy so that I could still keep working and hopefully delay the inevitable. I was sick and tired of trying to convince someone how excruciating it was. I was also given Celebrex online and it did seem to help some.

Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore even with the medication so I went to get a second opinion in August of 2000. (ONE) X-ray done in August 2000 showed that the cartilage was now completely gone and the surgeon was convinced that I had some kind of rare disorder possibly TB of the hip. He even took my March 2000 X-ray and my August 2000 X-rays out into the hall to show the rest of the staff how bad it had gotten in just 6 months. He never ran one test or did anything but send me to surgery to have a THR (R) and I was so ignorant at the time that I didn't even know there were any other tests he could have done or anything else he could have looked at. I had no other symptoms. What a BIG, BIG MISTAKE, although I was in so much pain I would have done just about anything at that point. I was told going in that I wouldn't know what the cause of my pain was until he opened me up and some testing was done.

I had a THR (R) in Oct. 2000. After 2 months of therapy, 3 times a week, the groin pain was still at the same level that it was before the surgery although the range of movement was better. The PT (Physical Therapist) was convinced that the pain was not coming from my hip but was coming from my back instead so she went with me to the Dr. to talk about it. The OS’s P.A.C (Physicians Assistant Certified, and also his wife) told the PT to go ahead and start working on my back. After that didn’t work and only put me in more pain, I went in to find out exactly why my hip had to be taken out. I found out, in that visit, that my hip had never made it to the lab after surgery somehow (I couldn’t believe it) so no tests were ever run on it. After a direct confrontation with the P.A.C she could never tell me the exact reason that they had to take it out, the Dr. had just designated it as OA on the forms, but told me straight to my face that she really didn't know why they had to take it out.

During the PT, in Nov. 2000 (approx. 4 weeks after my THR) my wound popped open a hole and started draining terrible smelling thick liquid and there was lots of it. The PT talked to one of the people in the OS office and was told to treat it by pouring Peroxide in it and then bandaging it. I did that for a month and gauze was a joke. It had to be changed at least 3 times a day and I had to tape Kotex pads to it to keep from being drained on and wet all the time. I just got it healed up and only had a Band-Aid on it and then the hole blew wide open again. I could not get my OS’s office to call me back so I went to my PCP (Primary Care Physician). He determined that I had a severe Staph infection and called my OS. His office then scheduled me for an appt. with the OS the next day and the OS put me in the hospital immediately to have an I&D (Irrigate & Drain) operation and at that time an infection specialist was called in. I didn’t know it at the time but this man would be one of the 2 Dr.’s out of all the ones I have seen to end up taking care of me when I turned out not to be a success for the surgeon.

Fast-forward to June 2004 and I still have excruciating groin pain on right side and have now developed it on my left side as of November 2003. My wound is still open after almost 4 years and kept popping open after each subsequent surgery with tons of smelly thick drainage. I’ve had 3 I&D’s, with one surgery where the original surgeon went back in to reopen the entire wound all the way back into the hip to check for infection, etc. and nothing. Nothing on X-rays, other tests, nothing anywhere. I have always wondered whether I even needed that surgery at all, as it helped absolutely nothing.

One time in therapy they did traction my leg out and I was actually out of groin pain for about 2 hours before it came back never to leave again.

I was put on heavy IV antibiotics before the 1st I&D in Nov. 2000, and then left the hospital with a central line in my chest. I had IV antibiotics for months and the central line remained in place for 1 1/2 years. I am still on oral antibiotics now and have been for the last 3 years. Luckily, the infection specialist that was called in believed in how severe my pain was and wanted to help me so he started me on Methadone until he got me to a dose that would control the groin pain. For almost 3 years, I took 15 mg of Methadone 4 times a day. The only drawback of the Methadone was that I nodded off all the time. I could fall asleep in 1/2 a second, a first for me, Haha. The one thing I’ve learned through this whole thing is that the only sure way out of excruciating pain is to sleep. The other good thing about Methadone is that the real price of a month’s prescription is only around $20.00 a month compared to things like OxyContin which cost me around $300.00 a month and didn’t even work as well in my case. Methadone is also non toxic to the organs and once you get a dose that works for you it doesn’t have to be increased all the time to keep working. If you need low cost pain relief Methadone would be my recommendation. Methadose is actually the generic. Methadone requires a triplicate prescription that has to be refilled every month by the doctor and it cannot be just called in to the pharmacy. The Duragesic Pain patches are the same way.

I had very good luck with the Methadone until Nov. 2003 when I started having SEVERE groin pain on my left side. I was then and am currently still being treated at a pain clinic for back pain which started about a year after the THR(R) with epidural steroid shots so once the left groin pain started and the MRI and X-rays showed nothing, of course, the pain clinic took me off the Methadone and put me on Duragesic Pain Patches. These are very expensive but are a miracle as far as I’m concerned. I don’t dose off all the time anymore and I can actually think clearer although I do have short- term memory loss and anxiety, which I can keep under control with low doses of Xanax. Once they got me to the right dosage on the patches I don't even feel the pain in either groin now (unless I overdo and the pain breaks through) but am still mentally and physically disabled. I am not diabetic and even though I do suffer from some side effects of the medications I am on, I don’t care. At least I'm not in mind numbing pain 24/7.

PLEASE, IF YOU GET ONE THING OUT OF THIS, KNOW THAT THERE IS HELP FOR YOUR PAIN OUT THERE, WHILE YOU TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT YOUR PROBLEM IS. YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP BEING A PAIN TO THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY TO GET IT. Pain is totally debilitating and can lead to depression and thoughts of suicide. Don’t be afraid of addiction. Studies at the Mayo Clinic have shown that when people are truly taking pain medication to stop pain and not doing it for recreational reasons that they generally don’t get addicted and when the pain is gone they are just tapered off the medicine and all is well. I hope you can click on the following link and get some information, but if not just go to http://www.mayoclinic.com and find information on pain and addiction. http://www.mayoclinic.com/findinformation/conditioncenters/centers.cf m?objectid=C358497D-88D1-4AB3-B1503C4603EC981F

I got tarsal tunnel syndrome, neuropathy, and a blown tendon in my left foot about 7 months after the THR (R). It only took the Dr.’s 1 year to find that (just can’t help the sarcasm somehow) so I just limped in excruciating pain again for another year only on the other side this time. The Methadone had no effect on the pain in my foot, as it is nerve pain. It takes 3000 mg. a day of Neurontin to stop that pain. In fact, the Neurontin works so well that I fell at Christmas and just found out about a month ago that I broke my left ankle during that fall so I am now wearing a pneumatic boot for at least the next 4 months. My Neurontin was accidentally lowered by the Dr.’s office to 2400 mg A day and that is when my foot started feeling like it was broken. What a difference a small change can make.

I fell in 2002 and hurt my right knee and now it has OA on 1/2 of the knee but since my wound is still open, nobody will touch me (Not that I would even take a chance on having an operation at this point). I have even gone out of my town to get opinions and when I go to a hip specialist, he says it's my back and if I go to a back specialist, he says it's my hip. Who Knows??? They are all looking at the same tests and giving me different opinions.

I have also been to the emergency room twice in the last 5 months because of the same type stabbing pains in my rib cage. Talk about excruciating. Even finding a comfortable position to lie in is hard with this pain.

All I expected out of my surgery was to get rid of the groin pain in a short time and be able to walk without a cane, that's what I told him. I am so glad to have found this site as I thought that I was the only one out there that had the unexplained groin pain problem. What a relief it was to find others that are suffering the same thing that I am, although I wish you weren’t.

I finally had to break down and buy myself a scooter in 2003 because I am not able to walk long distances without the groin pain breaking through even the pain patches. I'm not able to stand in one place at a time for over 2 or 3 minutes or I have pain in my back left hip area that I just can't take so I just try not to do it. I am not able to cook unless I use my cart so my husband does all that. He has been a real trooper through all of this and thank God, I have him here.

At least the pain patches are a solution for now. My suggestion to you is to get a referral to a pain clinic and see what they can do for you in the interim. If the Dr.'s are just giving you hydrocodone for chronic pain, I’m sorry but they don't know what they're doing. Hydrocodone/Vicoden is a short term drug for acute pain use after surgeries, etc., but gets to be ineffective so fast it shouldn't even be prescribed for longer then a couple of weeks. It just keeps taking a higher dose of the medication to kill the same pain, if it kills it at all, and is toxic to some internal organs at high doses. Some Drs even think that Darvocet will work for that severe groin pain. The only thing that I’ve ever had Darvocet work good for was tooth pain but then I have always been very drug tolerant. What knocks someone else out barely affects me. I am not a Dr. or even close, just a patient who has done a lot of research and everything that I’ve stated here that relates to pain medicine is solely based upon that research and personal experience.

Prior to Oct. 2000, I had worked for 25 years in Data processing and fortunately, I had LTD Insurance, worked for a wonderful company, and had an unbelievable boss that helped me the whole way. Unfortunately, I lost that job in July of 2002 due to the inability to return to work. I was also able to get SS Disability mostly because of the open wound. The wound is a whole other side story and I have home health care nurses, which come and redress it 3 times a week and have had them for 3 1/2 years now too. The doctors are stumped as to why the wound won't close.

I hope someone gets some benefit from my story because let me tell you I've been through the wringer here too.

It's by the Grace & Mercy of God that I am at least partially out of pain and I know he is always there keeping me sane although sometimes it's a battle. Fortunately, I have a wonderful family who loves me and a PCP that I wouldn’t trade for. I was used to working my tail off and being productive but that all came to a screeching halt that fateful day in October. The greatest thing that happened to me during all of this is that I became a Christian and it’s that spiritual connection that keeps me feeling alive and gives me hope.

I’ve also discovered that there was a world outside my front door (plants and flowers, etc.) and my yard has never looked better. Being a computer geek all those years I didn’t have any interest in the outside world but now I think my thumb has actually turned from black to greenJ My husband has to do all the planting, weeding and hard labor but me and my scooter do all the planning and nurturing. That scooter is my lifeline and praise God I was able to buy it. I will be paying for it for the next few years but it was worth EVERY penny.

I suffer from depression now, anxiety attacks, short-term memory loss, and hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, and see a counselor 2 to 4 times a month, yada, yada, yada. (Too much time to watch Seinfeld eh? LOL)

Thanks and God Bless everyone who has posted here and I hope that somewhere there is an answer for each and every one of us.

Question: Has anyone ever gone to have their back checked out to see if the groin pain could be radiating from there? I even went to a Dr. to see if I might have a groin hernia but he didn’t feel anything so didn’t run any tests.

One final note: Get up every day and do your best and God will do the rest.

-- Sue Shields (sookie.sue@sbcglobal.net), July 06, 2004.


I had full hip replacement 6 weeks ago, while still in hospital ( 5 days after surgery) I was taken to the hydrotherapy pool, I just walked slowly backwards and forwards across the pool, I left hospital the next day 6 days after surgery, (walking on crutches) 2 weeks after surgery a friend took me to a hydro pool 3 times a week and I mostly just did the walking in the pool, it has done so much for me I`m now walking without any aid, but do experience a sharp pain in the groin area if I pull my leg the wrong way mostly when I`m laying down, but otherwise I have no pain at all. I`m very happy with the outcome so far, and feel very lucky because I`ve had severe RA for 20 years I was in so much pain before surgery that I could`nt walk at all. My best wishes to everyone. Sandra.

-- Sandra Jones (sqwerty44@hotmail.com), September 23, 2004.

7/28/04 thr rt side, 3.5 da hospital stay. Went home. Using walker, but occasionally forgot so that by time staples removed I carried the walker on my back to show off at the md office. By 6 wk I wasn't even using cane. However, the more I sit the more my thigh hurts & tenderness is increasing now that I am 10 wks post-op. I find it hurts less and is less tender if I spend more time up and walking rather than sitting around. Unfortunately being self-employed there is way too much sitting around time or no income. I have complained of groin pain since 1986. Finally the (unnecessary) MRI md sent me to before referral to surgeon discovered an ovarian cyst, which seems to seldom hurt now. And I was climbing ladders and crawling under the lawn mower (a rider) to clear clogs before 6 weeks. I'm merely waiting for 6 mos or 1 year to findout how loose it gets & the effects (if that happens). No I would not do the other side until I have limped and been in excruciating pain for about 20 years first. I hate staple removal.

-- Mary Wunder (ottowun@comcast.net), October 08, 2004.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ