Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Will i need hip replacements?

Hello everyone

I am currently waiting to be diagnosed with AS but i am experiencing many symptoms. One of my worst symptoms is my hip pains. They are also one of the first symptoms i experienced before my back pain about a year ago. Anyway i have had a MRI of my spine and SI joints and i was told there was no sign of inflammation so the doctor said its probably not AS. Regardless i managed to convince her to refer me to a rheumatologist because i know i have AS and i know in the early stages inflammation wouldn't show plus i wake up stiff like wood and low starch diet is the only thing that helps.

She said its up to you if you still want to see a rheumatologist but her gut feeling is theres nothing wrong lol my gut feeling is I'm not going to get diagnosed due to radiographic evidence which is pretty stupid i think. The fact you have to have radiographic evidence to get a good diagnosis...... By that time joints would have started to fuse etc THEY NEED TO CHANGE THE CRITERIA OF GETTING DIAGNOSED WITH AS!

Anyway this is about my hip pains..... For some reason i forgot to ask the doctor if the MRI was of my hips as we'll as the spine and SI joints which she said was normal. I have a feeling my hip pains are worser than other people who have inflammation in that area or maybe they are the same.
I am going to try and describe how my hips feel and would like to know if other peoples hips are also like this or is it just me?

When i rotate my hips or when i walk i feel a pain sensation the best way i can describe it is a sort of bone on bone pain. I feel that certain areas of my cartilage have been eroded and every time i rotate my hip or walk i feel a sharp pain that really hurts. I can tell the difference between my back pain inflammation and hip pain inflammation as i know back inflammation is a sort of spread out pain which you cant pin point and it comes on gradually and it hurts in a burning sensation sort of way! However my hip pain is a totally different pain its more of a sharp pain and i have also noticed that my hips sometimes click when i rotate them.

The best way i can describe it is pain in the ball and socket of the hip. I am wondering are people with hip pain in AS only experiencing inflammation like their back pain or is it a sharper pain?

I am going to phone the doctor in a few days and ask if the MRI was of my hips as we'll as my SI joinst and spine because if they never did the MRI of my hips would it be possible that the could of missed vital radiographic evidence that my hips are starting to erode?

I would love to hear from everyone does anyone else get this feeling in there hips or is it just me? I feel as if i might need hip replacements also when AS occurs in younger people larger limb joints are usually involved like knees and hips. Can anyone shed any light on this.

Kind regards

I have had hip replacements and then replaced my replacements. The pain in my hips was worst long before they fused. Get images of your hips but if thete is no fusion you probably do not need hip surgery

The intensity of your pain is not indicative of whether or not you need replacement surgery. Sciatic inflammation can trasmit blinding pain to your hip joints and down your legs

Keep fighting and with the optoons available you may never need new hips

If you ever do require hip replacements, they are a miraculous wonder of modern science.

Good luck

My hips are agony! I've been shut out of getting hip replacements a couple of times dealing with insurance (Tricare) because I'm "to young". So, they are willing to destroy my productive years on the off chance that sometime in the future they may have to replace them again. The doctor actually said that all we can hope for is that they break sooner than later! The mortality rate after a hip fracture is insane.
This is the battle for this year. I had to stop seeing the ortho for a year until a new one came into my clinic. Now, I have to try again.

The pain is not only in the SI joint. It's in the groin, and the ilium as well. the tension of the muscles attached to the hip bones twisting makes it feels like the ilium crest will snap at any moment or they are so warm to the touch due to inflammation that they feel like they are eroding. I often find it difficult to stand or sit because of the stress in my pelvic girdle

Hi, Amrit:

I had severe hip pains, almost pleaded for joint replacement, but found sage advice instead. I always thought I would hammer on that hip joint that gave me such agony.

Instead, I got rid of the AS.

Whether or not You require hip replacements might be totally up to You: You have the ability to choose whether AS will be a career or a minor nuisance. Hope You will decide upon the latter.

I learned too late how to do this, but saved my hips although would trade them for the skeletal deformity I am stuck with now.

Sat sri akaal,
John

Inflammation on MRI actually shows up quite early. I think what you are referring to is that it is well known that damage on x-Ray can take many years to be visible on plain radiographs. Since you had an MRI, assuming that the radiologist knew that he was looking for signs of AS, inflammation - if it is there - should be visible.

Although there are a number of proponents of the low starch / no starch diet on this and a few other sites, response to diet is not diagnostic of AS. Outside of the decades old work of one specific elderly retired researcher and his close associates there is no evidence that dietary starch has any impact on AS or related Spondyloarthropathies. Significant response to starch intake may indicate a celiac related arthritis or another condition.


Diagnostic criteria for AS and related Spondyloarthropathies have been changing significantly in recent years. Look up the ASAS handbook for more information. http://www.asas-group.org/publications.php?id=02

Thanks for the link to the criteria. There are people who show no sign on inflammation on a MRI but still experience symptoms and only show signs at a later stage etc

what im trying to say is I don't want to find out in a couple of years that I actually do have AS and doctors failed to diagnose me that with [*bleep*] me off!

Sorry about the language but I think that is what's going to happen and ill be writing about it on this website in a couple of years lol

Im trying to get involved in this study which may find a gene test for AS in the near future. I live a few hours away from the university and I have already had a reply and they are deciding if I can take part or not.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/286913.php

Hi mate,

Any other complaints apart from your hip pain?

I am also stiff in the arms like a dead guy, it was one of my first symptoms.

My sister is bone on bone but has been dx'd Osteoarthritis. Have you had any other diagnosis? Sorry you are suffering with no answers.

yes tennis elbow in my right elbow which I think was due to over lifting when I used to train a lot. Also calf tightness and pain in my feet but not by the heel by the toes most near the ball in my big toe. And occasionally knee pain when squatting or going up stairs could I think this could be referred pain from my hips.

Only 17 but feel 71 lol

Sorry about your arm pain how does it feel in terms of pain? and how are biologics going for you?

Sorry about your sister.

hip pain is the worst I can personally cope with the back pain with a low starch diet but I think some damage is already done in the hips.

I am currently waiting an appointment from a rheumatologist which can take up to 6 - 8 weeks. England's health care system sucks in terms of time but I shouldn't complain because healthcare is free in the UK but I am thinking about going private.