I think appendicitis would be pretty darned coincidental, the cause is likely your surgery. But it seems to me you should be more comfortable at one month out - understanding that everyone heals differently and at different rates. Are you sleeping with a pillow between your knees to keep your legs aligned and feet, knees from turning inward during sleep? It's been 12 years, but it sounds like you are experiencing more discomfort than I had at 4 weeks. Of course I don't know your age or overall health either, so the comparison may be totally irrelevant. It's a big surgery and the recovery can be a little tedious. But if you have concerns yours may not be going according to norm, please call your doctor and express your concerns. He may want to xray, make sure all is going typically.

I have had an 2 unsuccessful hip replacements and going for 2 more....just read below. I have been in pain since Oct 2007 when the 1st surgery was done. Here is my story: In Oct 2007 I had a full hip replacement the Dr that did the surgery positioned a stainless steel cable around the femur due to the leg being cracked either before surgery or during surgery (even though I told the Dr before surgery I was allergic to stainless steel). I continued to have alot of pain after surgery and the dr had no idea why so he referred me to a pain management clinic. The pain management clinic after several months referred me to a Dr who specializes in revisions of implants. He found the bone and the hip were not growing together at all spots but I explained about being allergic to stainless steel. The new ortho decided to take the stainless steel cable out to possibly solve the pain issue on March 5, 2009. This was a simple surgery w/ an approx 3 1/2" incision. On March 12 the hip started to swell. It swelled to the size of a softball at the hip. On March 16th I went into surgery for an I&D (incision and draining) for the swelling. The Dr said there was no infection just a clear fluid buildup. On approx April 6, 2009 the hip started to swell again and the Dr said go, stay off of it and keep ice on it. On April 14th I saw the Dr at his office because the swelling kept increasing and the pain was horrible too. He stated he would put me into surgery on April 15th and he would go back in and do an I&D this time all the way to the hip joint and if needed he would replace the cup that may possibly be loose and was not growing to the bone as stated above. The Dr said he would keep me for a few days this time so he could watch it and keep the IV antibiotics running longer.I lost alot of blood and he transfused me 2x (by Sat April 18, 2009 my blood level dropped to 23). This time the Dr said it was again a clear fluid that grew nothing on cultures and he replaced the ball and socket so no infection or anything could grow out of those areas. He released me on April 20, 2009. On April 21 the day after being released for the 3rd time from the hospital, my hip started to swell again. It swelled fast and very hard and even more painful than before. The Dr wanted me to sit with the swelling over the weekend of April 24, 25, 26th. By Fri the 24th I was vomiting as the pain was so bad and the swelling was the size of a small watermelon cut in 1/2. My ins co. and home health care workers said to go to Vanderbilt hosp instead of St Thomas where I had been treated cause my Dr did not want to see me. I went to Vanderbilt around 6pm Fri4/24/09. (This is another story on how Vanderbilt dumped me and sent me back to St Thomas). Vanderbilt was confident of the work my Dr was doing and would not treat me and said I should go back to my Dr at St Thomas Hospital. I was back at St Thomas hospital by 10am and admitted to a room by approx 3pm on Sat 4/25/09. It was determined a vein was bleeding out and my kumadin was stopped, Vencomycin was started again and pain meds were started. The bleeding was stopped by approx Mon 4/27/09. They continued to treat the pain, run the antibiotics etc. I was released again on Wed 4/27/09 after the pain meds had been adjusted in a fashion to possibly keep me from vomiting and allow me to function at home. Note: This is another issue as well** I was released and instructed by my case manager at the hospital that home health care would be at my house at 6pm on Wed 4/27/09 to run my iv antibiotics as per my discharge instructions that I am to have iv vencomycin 2x a day. Home health care never showed due to the hospital not giving them correct information and instructions. That as I stated is another story. before discharge the Dr stated he felt the clear fluid pockets that he had done the 2 I&D's on were from a staph infection that I have had since the hip was put in back in Oct 2007 and after the iv antibiotics and the Cipro antibiotics are stopped on June 1, 2009 there is a chance that the pockets of clear fluid may come back again since it a staph infection. He labeled my diagnosis to the home health care agency as MRSA. For my ins co he labeled it infection and inflammatory reaction. On Tues 5/19/09 I went back to the Dr because though some of the blood swelling had dissepated, the swelling started again like before. The Dr finally stated it was a staph infection and the only way to fix it would be to take the ENTIRE hip out that had been installed in 2007 and insert a spacer w/ antibiotics in it that would course thru the body for 3 mths. I will be able to drive when im ready but I will be on cruthches the whole time. He feels this should cure the infection. In 3 mths from now I have to go back to surgery and take the spacer out and insert a whole new hip again.He has taken me off the IV antibiotics for the next 2 weeks to hopefully get something to grow on the cultures but w/ it being a very slow growing staph infection it may never do that. I have been told by otho chief of staffs at other hospitals along w/ several other drs that if the antibiotics were stopped it left me w/ a 10% chance of surviving. I continue to pray and pay attention to how I feel because even a slight chance of sickness i will be on my way to the hospital. I am only 48 w/ a GREAT life and am not ready to die by any means. I feel that a staph infection was presented into my body in either Oct 2007 during the 1st hip replacement or in March 2009 when the stainless steel cable was removed. I really do feel for you and your situation as this will be my 5th hospital stay and 4 surgeries since March 2009 for this infection due to someone's negligence! When you have it replaced if you must again they must place a temporary hip that has antibiotics that will release into your body throughput several mths to rid you of this infection. To simply replace the hip is not enough. IV Antibiotics 1500mg 2x a day....cipro antibiotics 500mg 2x a day was not enough to fix this. But they will do that same course of treatment for 3 mths along with the insertion of a spacer/temporary hip loaded w/ antibiotics should do it. I can let you know how I do if you want to send me your email address. Talking w/ people and research into this is very important for you. Best Regards, Margaret

I'm a tad over 70 now. I have two artificial hips. Left was December 2004; right, January 2006. Needing to use steroids for asthma ruined my hip joints early. Hips are *easy*, with easy recovery. KNEES seem to be much harder! (Hips move 'back and forth', while knees have to 'rotate'.) Thanks to 'a better world through chemistry' (drugs), this is NOT a painful surgery or recovery. I borrowed a raised toilet seat, walker and cane from our Senior Center's lending closet. I bought a long shoehorn which I still enjoy using. I walked the day after surgery and came home after a couple nights on an ordinary surgical ward. DH was my 'step and fetch it' and was able to nuke frozen dinners for the first few nights. I was walking around the grocery store with him a week after surgery. (How many frozen dinners can a person tolerate? LOL) A visiting nurse came to our (single level) home to do the blood testing while I was on blood-thinners. A physical therapist came to our home to teach me exercises and put me through my paces. (DO them! You will recover faster and have greater strength.) My first hip was somewhat more successful than the second -- but I'm happy with both. I can't imagine NOT doing this so that you can WALK WITHOUT PAIN again. Oh, I just remembered that I was on a plane to Maui shortly after the second surgery. I had wheelchairs at the airports and made sure to walk around a bit in flight to avoid clots, but...no worries! No need for heavy meds after either replacement.

It is with some reluctance/(trepidation?) that I join this discussion, as my information is second-hand, very incomplete and relates to experience in this/another country than that experienced by most responders, several years ago. I spent a couple of months with old uncle, in the house where I now live, about twelve years ago, following the death of his second wife - no children from either marriage. He'd had three hip replacements, being mainly of the left hip, and I don't recall, if I ever knew, whether one may have been of the right hip, about 14 and more years ago, but think that they were all of the left hip. Don't know of what the timeframes may have been between the operations. He had ongoing pain in back, hip and leg, had used a walker for some time, and when I was with him used a cane. He, a keeper of beef cattle over many years, had cattle in his barn needing care and when his wife was there, if he didn't return from chores in an hour or so ... something started happening. But following her death, if he fell into a snowbank in February (the month that she died) ... we were pretty sure that he'd be able to extricate himself ... but, to be safe, I spent a couple of months with him, until his cattle went to pasture. We used to kid him that he should get rid of the cattle, as he was well off, didn't need the money and when he said that he'd got rid of most of them, our reply was that he still had to go to the barn whether he had 2 head or 35! The trouble is ... that many old farmers a generation ago, having retired and moved to town, spent a while talking to their fellows mornings in the coffee shop ... ... and six months or a year or so later ... turned up their toes and died ... not having other than one string on their lifestyle violin. I don't recall, if I ever knew, whether they were all done by the same surgeon, or how the referral(s) happened. I know that he felt, almost certainly with a measure of justification, that a poor job had been done. As I know that many who have had hip replacements are able to do pretty well as they wish, and seldom if ever with any pain or discomfort. ole joyful P.S. Spell check doesn't like my "snowbank": let me reassure them that there is such a thing (at certain seasons of the year - in our area)! It doesn't mind "joyful" ... but sort of gags at the "joyfuelled" variation. oj