Living without a hip

Hi Mary, I don't yet know how it is living without a hip, but I will soon. I had 2 rt femur fractures , got a hip years later, then a peri prosthetic femur fracture after slipping on ice. They put a plate on the side of my femur, and it failed. They did it again, and again it failed. I have just moved 800 miles from home. Duke will be pulling out everything. They will put a rod in my femur and send me home. I will be without a hip for 6(??) Months. Once they are happy with the femur healing, they will put in a new hip. I get it. Everything must go. Fist things first. No infection, blood looks good. I am super hard o this stuff. I am a metal fabricator, and am o my feet from Sun up to Sun down. My past surgeries have been done by the best in Boston. This surgery by the best at Duke in NC. I hope things are going well with you.

@mary121658 Mary, I am sorry to hear all you have gone through. Did the same surgeon do both hips? That's really horrible that they both have problems. Are there any plans to do something to help relieve your pain? I really hope there are.

@rayban33 I hope things will work out well for you, living without a hip for a while. Will you need to use a wheelchair or a walker during that time? I can imagine how anxious you must be for the femur to heal so you can complete the process and have a new hip.
JK

I have had a hip replacement that didn,t work. My whole leg got infected, they had to remove the prosthetics put in my hip. I,m now going on 6 years with just scar tissue in that hip area. I walk with a walker, and I have a limp but have not had any other problems. Thank GOD

Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect @mhard50. I glad that you haven't had any more problems related to your hip. I am glad you found this discussion that you could contribute your experiences.
Do you have pain associated with it at all?

Could you provide more details regarding your daily activities and your “cans and cants”. I am glad you are doing well.

I have a little pain but nothing I can,t handle. I can do almost anything with the help of my walker. I can,t walk long distance, but I can take short walks without my arms getting tired. I put a lot of weight on my arms. I can walk up and down steps as long as there,s a banister. I drive, I do have to use a ride on cart at the supermarket. I can walk a little without the assist of my walker but I don,t want to chance falling. I,m really afraid of falling but so far I,m doing good. Thank God. I,m thinking of getting a lift in my shoe on that leg, so I can be more stable when walking.

You are my hero!!

I have a built up shoe and it really helps especially when walking with or without the walker. It makes me stable when just standing. I still try to do my housework even though I do not have a hip. Worse thing is the vacuuming and mopping the floors. I will normally pay for those activities when trying to sleep that night. I also put a lot of weight on my arms, but the raised shoe does help with that some. Having a rolling walker let’s me get around pretty good and I do try to get out and walk because I find that as long as keep the muscles built up and walking I do better. You are best to not do a lot of walking without a walker and a raised shoe because there is a good chance your back will start to curve when can cause additional pain. I’m terrible about walking around the house when cleaning without my walker and I do pay for that but like you, the pain I do have isn’t something I can’t handle.....

Thanks for the update on your activities and I wish you well.

I've had 3 replacement hips over the last 4 years, all of which got infected and had to be replaced. I now have no hip, permanently. All my weight is borne on my left leg, which is being consumed by my RA. I don't believe I'll ever walk again. I can barely go from my bed to my bedside commode. This is one unending nightmare. Is there any hope?