2 months post treatment hip pain!

Those of us who take longer to get over it just can't compare ourselves to the powerhouses who go back to work a week or two after treatment. I'm so glad yesterday was so lovely, and that when you got tired you stopped. I think that's just perfect.

I've overdone it a few times and really screwed myself over and had to take a recover day or three. Maybe that's just part of the process too.

Hang tough, hon. Even those of us who take longer are sooooooooo likely to get better!

Hugs

Suz

Hi GreenNanny sorry to hear you are have pains. It’s swings and roundabouts isn’t it. Not everyone recovers quickly and when my treatment finished I experienced quite a bit of soreness for at least a month and wondered why when some started to see around the corner after the second week. I started to be able to do short walks and feeling quite pleased with myself when I started to get really bad hip pains and went right back into the morphine as it kept me awake. X-rays showed nothing but if you think about it we have not really been mobile whilst having treatment and feeling tired etc that our muscles start to weaken. We take lots of rest and normally that just isn’t good for our bones. When we do start to move about and start doing things we haven’t done like in your case sweeping and moving parts that have got tighter we suffer afterwards. Please don’t feel a failure as you are only two months post treatment and your body is still in shock. We are all different and it’s not a competition. Each evening and morning I would lay on my back and do pelvic stretching starting very gentle movements to get things moving. If you struggle getting on the floor then do it whilst you are on your bed and gradually it becomes easier and you become stronger. I have osteoporosis but it’s important to keep muscles strong. Get referral to your physiotherapist at your hospital to show you what you can do to help. I wish you the best with your results from your scans and it’s always a stressful time waiting for results.

If it’s any help even from someone that got back to work 5-6 weeks after treatment ended I still had my days when I was totally exhausted & had to do absolutely nothing, I would also get sore if I overdid things & still now suffer with my hips, sciatica, lower back & stiff muscles in my thighs. It’s difficult but try not to compare your recovery to others, we’re all very much individuals & our recovery is a very personal thing, you will get there.

I’m having intensive physiotherapy at the moment & the physio has said he suspects as well as sciatica that I have something called Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome as my hip X-rays show only minor osteoarthritis, this is an inflammation based condition & everything he told me about the condition is spot on for the issues I’m having. I'm just happy that I’m not going to be facing a hip replacement in the near future. 

Nicola

GreenNanny

You really need to be kind to yourself and not try to do too much.  I had a look back and my first (very short) walk was seven weeks after my treatment ended.  My husband came with me as I was having dizzy turns too and I was too worried to go out on my own.  At about nine weeks I asked on the forum how long agonising bowel movements went on for.  Fast forward 11 months and I am doing about three miles every day (on my own!)  My hips haven't gone back to how they were before and I am going to find out what I can do to help myself.  Bowel movements are never without some discomfort but nothing like what they were in the beginning.

Your treatment only finished a short time ago and carries on working six months or more, so please don't be downhearted if they don't give you the all-clear straight away, it certainly doesn't mean that it hasn't worked.  Normally you should have either a face-to-face appointment (especially in the early days) and sometimes a telephone appointment.  But they will be keeping an eye on you and the pain meds too.  I would give the cancer nurse a ring to find out what happens next.

Above all, please don't compare your recovery to ANYONE else's.  Yes, we all share our experiences but there are so many accounts on here of the various degrees of how each has been affected.  One day, further down the line, someone will read your account and think, thank God, that's just how I feel, but by that time you will be much more like your old self and what you are going through right now will be a distant memory.

Take heart, you have been through the worst.

Irene xx

Hi Irene, regarding your hips according to my physio it’s important to keep moving so you’re doing great walking 3 miles a day. I thought it was my hip joints that had been affected by the radiotherapy on top of my osteoarthritis that was there prior as I felt my flexibility & mobility were a huge issue but on examination my physio has said I still have decent flexibility in both hips & the discomfort in my back, legs, hips & thighs is most likely muscular. I’ve got a set of 5 exercises stretches & exercises aimed at strengthening the muscles around my hips, these have been tweaked since December & I’m definitely feeling the benefit. I would urge you to self refer to your local physiotherapy department to see if they can offer you a program you can do at home. I’m being reviewed in 3 months now, I hope to lose some weight which is sure to improve things also! I want to be able to report a marked improvement at my review. 

Nicola 

Hi think maybe you are all right I need to take things more slowly I’m just worried I’m resting too much. Note to self… smile and stay positive but not do too much. Thank you Irene and everyone else fir for lovely replies and support. Means a lot xxxx

Thank you for that Nicola, you have prompted me to do that this morning.  I do find that I ease up after walking but I have to walk regularly otherwise I stiffen up again.  On my walk I have to climb three flights of stairs crossing railway bridges and I feel as if I am wearing lead boots.  My right hip in particular is quite painful, but I think I also have lost a lot of strength in my legs.  For instance I was carrying my two-year-old granddaughter upstairs to bed and really struggled with the extra weight, and she isn't heavy.  I don't think this is age-related, it is something that only started after treatment.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Irene x

Everything you’ve said there relates to me too Irene, especially the heavy legs &the struggle to lift your feet to climb the stairs etc., & I also stiffen up so quickly as soon as I stop moving!!  I’ve definitely only had 95% of these symptoms since my treatment.

Nicola