Patient Stories

Lucy

Hi all, I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to write their stories, I have read them all and responded to some and I’ve found each story an inspiration and helpful to me, and I would like to share my own.

I am 44 years old, and I have always been very active growing up I had no issues, I’ve got four children and had no problems having them, looking back my issues started in my late twenties I was visiting osteopaths for problems with my low back, at £30 an hour I didn’t go too often, but one of the many I visited told me I had issues he couldn’t fix but did not say what only that my hips didn’t have full rotation, fast forward to age 39 I was into my jogging after losing a stone and a half I felt great, but I remember a day when after going for a long walk I had pain in the left side of my groin, this came and went for a few months and then I was getting it daily, I told my mum and she told me I was born with hip dysplasia and that the doctor told her I would be okay because it was mild!! What?!
The shock and upset I felt was enormous, I felt let down not only by the hospital but my mum too, she told me I had a funny walk more like a waddle when I was young, but to me it was normal, I didn’t know any better, I cannot understand why she did not try to get me seen in my childhood and even more so why she never told me about it, I feel a bit distant towards her now because of it, but I hope one day I can put it right.
So anyway I went to my GP and immediately got sent for an xray which diagnosed bilateral hip dysplasia, however it still took 3 orthopedic surgeons, 3 hospitals, steroid injections, physiotherapy and 3 years to get to the point of surgery, in June 2017 I had a left THR and I’m now in the process of hopefully getting my right hip replaced.

It is such a painful condition, standing up and sitting hurts, my muscles are in a permanent state of stiffness and overuse, my si joints are agonising my right foot hurts and I struggle to juggle work and home life, but I keep going because one day I will wake up and have no pain i am hoping the op on my right hip will finally fix me.
In hindsight knowing what I know now I would have had both my hips operated on straight away, because now five years down the line my pelvis and legs are worn out and I have a lot of recovery to go through, I hope by telling my story it helps other readers like me, thank you for reading my journey with hip dysplasia.