I went to the Doctor today to see why my hip has been bugging me. They took some X-Rays and took a look at whats going on inside. The news was not so good advanced osteo arthritis, the joint is bone on bone, the fix... total hip replacement. Gulp. I'm still kind of young 48, I'll be 49 on Friday. so it won't be happening really soon but it is inevitable. The good news was he encouraged me to ride my bike. The low impact won't do the joint any more harm, I won't tell you I'm not worried but it is what it is. I see the hip specialist tomorrow. If I'm home in time I'm going riding, I've been trying to stay off the bike in hopes that it was something that would heal, but sense the damage is done. I'm going to ride as much as I can till they hack me up. Hopefully they will prescribe some good pain killers.

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"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and
feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize
fishing is stupid and boring."
--Desmond Tutu

That sucks man, but doctors can do a lot these days, and I wish you full recovery when the issue is taken care of. Make sure to ask the specialist about micro-fracture surgery and about getting new cartilage sewn into the spot.
Micro-fracture, they will just drill the bone and new fiber mixed with cartilage will fix small areas of bone on bone.
Sewing new cartilage takes three surgeries, the first one to get some cartilage out to grow, second to sew it back in, and third to make sure everything is healthy.
Make sure to ask for all the available options, and not just decided hip replacement without knowing everything that exist.
I'll keep you in my prayers.

Not to get into too much personal detail here, but my mom just had a total hip replacement, and she's only a few years older than you!

I don't know if your insurance would let you go to Scripps Memorial in La Jolla, but if so, I just wanted to say that the best surgeon around is Dr. Craig Swenson. He's a miracle worker!

My mom had a shattered "ball" at the top of the femur, and the "socket" was severely eroded. He performed the quickest and best surgery we could have possibly asked for!

All I can say is, don't worry, dude. You'll be in good hands and there are a bunch of success stories when it comes to total hip replacements.






Plus, you'll get a big stick of titanium in your leg!



/Dante

Sorry to hear that -- no surgery is good surgery. Let me know if you need any referrals and I'll ask around. I know that Richard Greenfield, M.D. used to be one of the best hip guys, but that was 10 years ago.

Best of luck to you.

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A bicycle is a splendid thing.
~Ernest Hemingway

Sorry to hear about this. One of my co-workers went through this a couple of years ago for both hips. He was just a couple of years older than you and played tennis a couple of times a week. He now has two new titanium hips and is playing tennis again just like he did before. If I remember correctly recovery time was fairly quick. If you'd like a referral, let me know. Good luck with everything.