Orthopedics Forum - No Insurance & In Pain All the Time! Need Hip Replacemen

Conditions and Diseases > Orthopedics Forum > No Insurance & In Pain All the Time! Need Hip Replacemen

Think you might be experiencing bone loss? Check out this Intro to Osteoporosis and evaluate your risk for developing bone weakness. ...

Q: No Insurance & In Pain All the Time! Need Hip Replacemen

asked by: AvatarOfUrDreams on May 10th, 2006

Experienced User

:cry: i’m 25 years old, female, & my whole freaking life has sucked because of the slipped capital femoral epiphysis on my right hip. :cry:

i had the screw put in when I was about 11 & then a year or so later they took it out & botched the surgery! :evil: the screw snapped & so they had to gouge out a bigger hole to get the equipment in to remove the rest of it.

I’m a red-head & so I have a really high pain tolerance & was always told to not complain so I have not been considered a candidate for a hip replacement until last year.

Every doctor in arizona (where I lived from age 8 to 23) said I was too young for the surgery & that my life will follow these steps:

i would be using crutches for all long walks by age 25.
I would be in a wheelchair by age 35.
I would not be a candidate for a hip replacement until age 40-45 .

So he then gave me a prescription for pain killers, a pair of crutches, & an application for a permanent handicap sticker.

After moving back to chicago I went to my family’s doctor for a general checkup with my x-ray’s & the doctor held it to the light, stared at it for about 2 minuets, looked me in the eye, & said (and I quote) “holy caca! How can you walk?? Were you in a car accident??” & that I should have had my hip replaced at around the age of 16!!

The only problem now is that I have no health insurance because I can’t hold a job with the pain & the depression it (& a bunch of other stuff…) has caused so I can’t get fixed & be a productive member of society.

The vicious circle… can’t hold a job cuz of the pain, can’t get fixed so I can hold a job…

i’m technically working for my father but his company is small…really small… with only him, his business partner, & 1 employee so I can’t get insurance from him… sigh…

i can’t sleep because of the pain, I can’t sit for long periods because of the pain, I can’t stand for long periods because of the pain, I can’t walk more then a block without crutches & still hurt the next day!

I have weather sensitive arthritis too because of it so I hurt all spring & fall…

i have been to free clinics in the chicago-land area & they say that there are just too many people looking for help for depression/ptsd so they can’t help me & I would have to go to county for the surgery. I don’t trust county…i mean, if I had a gun shot wound or a stab wound then they are the guys to call but for a hip replacement? & what about the post surgery rehab??

I just don’t know what to do!

Does anyone have any advice?

Does anyone know how to work the system??

Should I just go to the hospital’s payment/accounting people & demand that they help me find a government program that can get me fixed??

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Replies(4)

sandyallen

replied on May 10th, 2006

Extremely eHealthy

Have you tried to apply for your disability or some legal assistance until you can get back on your feet. Is it too late to sue the dr that botched your surgery? I realize that we cannot always get what we want but their are times that something is better than nothing.
Good luck to you!

AvatarOfUrDreams

replied on May 13th, 2006

Experienced User

Can't Sue...

Yeah, I can't sue...The statute of limitations is only 7 years and I didn't know any of this until about a year ago.

I expected my mother to keep track of all of this...She used to be a nurce so I assumed that she would know what she was doing. I didn't take the drug/booze abuse into account...She was my mom! I thought that she would care enough to pay attention. Boy was I wrong.

After hearing the story of the x-wife of a friend of the family's i'm gonna go to rush hospital and scream and cry until they help me fill out the paperwork to get fixed like they did for that, literally, crack/coke prostitute.

At least if I milk the state/fed's for a new hip I will pay them back in the long run once I am healthy enough to be a productive member of society.

I'm feeling a lot of self pitty right now...I know it is a bad trait...But it's been raining for a week and I am in a lot of pain right now.

I did get a wireless mouse/keyboard to help my wrist. (it's hurting) and even a brace for it so I can type and use the mouse without it hurting!! Woot!

Ok, I gotta go. Work to be done and miles to go before I sleep!

Thanks for responding!

JasonAnthony

replied on May 16th, 2006

New User

Re: Can't Sue...

avatarofurdreams wrote:

yeah, I can't sue...The statute of limitations is only 7 years and I didn't know any of this until about a year ago.

I expected my mother to keep track of all of this...She used to be a nurce so I assumed that she would know what she was doing. I didn't take the drug/booze abuse into account...She was my mom! I thought that she would care enough to pay attention. Boy was I wrong.

After hearing the story of the x-wife of a friend of the family's i'm gonna go to rush hospital and scream and cry until they help me fill out the paperwork to get fixed like they did for that, literally, crack/coke prostitute.

At least if I milk the state/fed's for a new hip I will pay them back in the long run once I am healthy enough to be a productive member of society.

I'm feeling a lot of self pitty right now...I know it is a bad trait...But it's been raining for a week and I am in a lot of pain right now.

I did get a wireless mouse/keyboard to help my wrist. (it's hurting) and even a brace for it so I can type and use the mouse without it hurting!! Woot!

Ok, I gotta go. Work to be done and miles to go before I sleep!

Thanks for responding!

hey avatar,

welcome to the site and I can tell you that I really can identify with alot of what you say.......My situation with my hip is not as bad as yours is, but I can relate to alot of what you say anyways.....I had a scfe of both my hips at age 13. The right hip was a pretty severe slip; the left hip was a mild slip. I had pins inserted in both hips. I am now 31 years old and my right hip/leg bother me all the time! I mean, I am basically fully functional: I can walk, I can run, I can climb stairs, I go to the gym, e.T.C....But I am almost always in significant pain. My range of motion in both of my hips is significantly reduced, and my feet and ankles hurt alot of times due to the abnormal stresses placed upon them because of my hips....Actually, my hips don't hurt all that much, but I hurt everywhere else: my thigh, my knee, my shins, my ankles, e.T.C....This is an everyday thing and I am getting sooooo very tired of putting up with all of this.....I spend many hours of each day just feeling sad because of the fact that I had to put up with so much pain, awkwardness, self-consciousness, stiffness, e.T.C for so many years.....I am an athletic person at heart. Even with all the hip problems and pain I was able to lead a very active, strenuous lifestyle for most of my life so far...However, my pain and stiffness have gotten worse, and I find myself working out less and less simply because my legs hurt so much.......I feel sorry myself alot of times, and I often think what I wouldn't give to have a normal set of hips......I think about how much better my day to day life would be if I wasn't in so much pain and if I didn't feel so awkward and feel so clumsy and uncoordinated........This condition really sucks!

Also, without getting to graphic or inappropriate, I find myself worrying about my ability to perform sexually with my hips the way they are....I mean, I am only 31 years old; i'm a young guy....I'm single and I have never been married and I have no kids.....I plan on getting married someday and would love to start a family....But my hips make me feel really really bad. I know there are certain sexual positions that I just cannot perform due to range of motion restrictions, and this makes me feel very self-conscious and very un-alluring........I just had a second opinion done by another hip specialist about two weeks ago, and this doctor basically said the same thing as the first doctor: your hips aren't bad enough to replace! My joint spaces are still in good shape with only very minor narrowing or osteoarthritis....But it's the deformity of the hip joint itself that's causing the problems for me, not the joint space.......I really don't know what to do.....Each day I find myself getting more and more depressed and getting more and more hopeless.........Thanks for letting me vent here!

AvatarOfUrDreams

replied on May 16th, 2006

Experienced User

No, Thank You!

I know this may sound weird but it is really good to hear that others are in the same boat I am!

I'm a 25 year old female and I also know exactly what you mean about the sex. There is nothing worse then having to start yelling "muscle spasms!! Muscle spasms!!! Oh my god!"

that really kills the mood!!!

My real goal in getting the new hip is to be able to exercise and get totally healthy! I am pretty damned sure that once I am not in pain all the time and can go out without feeling awkward a lot of the depression will go away.

I do not expect to be able to drop the antidepressants the day of the hip replacement but I am hoping that once I am physically healthy my mental state will improve at the same rate!

I’m meeting more and more people that can be fixed but doctors say that they are too young. My best friend’s husband should have back surgery but he can’t get it done in america…too many liabilities. Not that it won’t fix him but because he could sue if it doesn’t make him 100% better. He’s like me, we don’t expect to be back to “normal” and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, we just want to be able to function.

I still have no idea what I did to my right wrist or left shoulder…

the worst part about the right wrist is that now it hurts my hand to use the crutch!!!

It has been raining here in chi-town for like two weeks straight so I can barely move and my father’s company has been practically shut down. (weather sensitive arthritis on my part, weather sensitive contracting on his. He has a small fleet of trucks.) so we are both pretty blue right now. According to the weather report it is supposed to rain for the rest of the week.

Sigh…

i am so glad I found this site!!

I am saddened by all of your stories but heartened by the fact that I am not alone!

I should crash before i’m up all night typing! Lol!

Thanks for the support and the stories! It helps more then you could ever know!

Learn About Us

Get Help

Join In

Do More

We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health
information:
verify here.

The site is not a replacement for professional medical opinion, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information written by any author on this site. No health questions and information on eHealth Forum is regulated or evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author, and not the administrators, moderators, or editorial staff and hence eHealth Forum and its principals will accept no liabilities or responsibilities for the statements made. Schizophrenia health sitemap.
This page was last updated on January 1, 2009.
© 2008 eForums, Inc