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I received 2 hip replacements and then developed cobalt & chromium.
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Jan 21 6:28am | Replies (52)Comment receiving replies
@sueinmn My blood test for cobalt serum/plasma is back and it is 0.5 and spiking as high. It says the reference range for normal is 0.1 to 0.4.
My white and red blood cell counts are showing as low.
My hematocrit and hemoglobin counts are low as well. The rest of the panels are normal ranges (c reactive protein and sed rate). I have been noticing more pain and aching as well as heat in the area more now. Maybe just because I am hyper aware and paying attention. I have my Dr appt on the 28th with the orthpedic surgeon who did my hip 18 years ago. I feel like any spike in pain and cobalt levels should warrant revision . I pray my tissues are not being affected thus far but if he wants a MRI hopefully that will indicate whether there is tissue damage?
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@maureen716 Those are curious results - cobalt and chromium levels should be reported as two separate numbers.
Normal cobalt levels are below 1.8 mcg/l; chromium below 1.4 mcg/l. I am not sure what kind of test you had that is returning a single number, or what units it is measured in. When I was having issues, my Cobalt was at 18-20, chromium was over 10. I no longer have access to the precise numbers after over 13 years.
When I was having symptoms, both MRI and x-ray images showed degraded tissue around the implant; I had serious pain and degrading mobility as well.
My revision surgeon was reluctant to do the second hip until he saw the damage on the x-ray because my Cobalt had fallen to 10, which back then was the threshold for considering revision.
If I was in your situation, I would talk to the surgeon about whether what you are noticing is from the implants, or whether they are reaching the end of their life. Do you know for sure that you have metal-on-metal implants?