bursitis in right hip (trochanteric bursitis) - Pain Concern

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bursitis in right hip (trochanteric bursitis)

tresa37 profile image
25 Replies

I have been told I have bursitis in right hip. The pain is unbearable. I started with pain Christmas 2013. It started just above my knee, I saw a doctor in the new year and he put a steroid injection in to my leg and it eased the pain then I started with severe pain in my hip and leg. I went backwards and forwards to doctors for 6 months, had physio, every painkiller, 3 steroid injections, MRI scan, xrays, more physio, sent to a orthopaedic surgeon, discharged from surgeon, back to docs then awaited an appointment for pain clinic, it goes on and on. 2 years and 2 months later I'm still in agony, seeing a pain clinic doc, seen a pain clinic physio, awaiting an appointment for pain management, CBT, to help me cope with the pain for good, I have been told I will always have the bursitis but hopefully when I do eventually have CBT and pain management (not sure that's what they call it) I will have some relief from the pain this is the worse pain I have ever had. I have pain in my hip bone too and pain killers don't work. They make me drowsy and sleepy and feel shit. I've had co-codamol tramadol and morphine. . I use a tens machine which helps a little but its all about trying to keep mobile which is hard and exercise is agony. Ive been on amitriptyline for nearly 7 years ( due to back pain) I'm so sick and fed up of the pain now its taken over my life. I'm starting work as a night care assistant next week which I am looking forward too. I am so fed up its unreal.

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tresa37
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25 Replies
clare86 profile image
clare86

Sorry to hear you are suffering. I have chronic bursitis of both hips. Like you i have had numerous steroid injections and they work for a few months, but then the pain comes back with avengence. Other than a pain management plan from a pain clinic, i have had no joy either.

tresa37 profile image
tresa37 in reply to clare86

Sorry to hear your suffering too.the steroid injections didnt work at all for me just crippled me for a few days i have got to the stage now after 2 years and 3 months that i have more than had enough but i have to wait for pain management or whatever it is called. Im starting work tomorrow as a night care assistant hopefully i will manage to do it

The doctors that are involved in my care have to set up this pain management clinic so think ill be lucky if it happens this year have you tried all the painkillers cos for me there crap i cant take anti inflammortiries as i have asthma i think after so long your bofy gets used to them

I do have a tens machine and i use voltoral 12 hour cream it depends on how much pain im in to whether it helps or not.

clare86 profile image
clare86 in reply to tresa37

I use Buprenorphine patches which are slow release over 7 days. These seem to help to a degree as I have chronic back pain too after spinal surgery from an accident. Even though painful to touch, massages help from time to time.

tresa37 profile image
tresa37 in reply to clare86

I have had morphine but it only made me drowsy and sleepy and the doctors dont want me on it ive tried gabopentin they made me feel crap, im only 39, 40 in june can i ask how old you are

I believe that since the pain started in my hip that for me painkilkers dont work below the waist line but thats just me at present im take co codamol which are useless

clare86 profile image
clare86 in reply to tresa37

I am 37 years old. The Buprenorphine patches don't make me drowsy. I gave up on codeine a long time ago as it is just addictive and gives you headaches

tresa37 profile image
tresa37 in reply to clare86

how long have you had bursitis in both hips. its 26 months for me and I don't even know how it started or what I did to set it off cos they do say bursitis is related to people is who do a lot of sport.

All I know is that every movement however little is agony.

clare86 profile image
clare86 in reply to tresa37

I have had it for 10 years plus, from doing a lot of sports when i was able to/

cindy1957 profile image
cindy1957 in reply to tresa37

The moment is so painful that is so accurate.

kimnkids05 profile image
kimnkids05 in reply to tresa37

I am new here and I hope i can find the answer if you all answer me lol. I was diagnosed w bursitis, but here lately I have been having this horrible like electric shock in my hip. I just got back from the ER and they think it is ridicaopathy (hv no clue how to spell it) I just don't think they really understood me. They kept saying muscle spasms, I hv had a lot of spasms (in 2008 had spinal fusion S1 -L5) this is way way more painful and with an electric shock that makes me yell out. Is this part of bursitis? I hv had sciatica and it was a bad deep annoying pain and went all down my leg, but this is so different. I'm just trying to figure out what it is so I can get the right help. Thanks in advance for any answers

X01WOOG profile image
X01WOOG in reply to clare86

Clare, what kind of back surgery did you have? I need back surgery and have been delaying because I have heard so many bad stories resulting from the surgery.

clare86 profile image
clare86 in reply to X01WOOG

Hi, My spinal surgery was removal off shattered disc embedded in my spinal cord, followed by pins and bone graft from my pelvis and then fusion of L5/S1 via 2 metal rods and screws.

The surgery was life changing for me. Immediately after the surgery I was in a lot less pain. Unfortunately I suffered nerve damage from the shattered disc which left my left leg paralysed initially. 3 years on I still have numbness and weakness in my leg, but the pain in my back is so much better now.

cindy1957 profile image
cindy1957

Hi, I have the same exact issues but in my leg hip and leg, plus arthritis and sacroliac joint disfunction, been in pain for about 8 years, hardly any relieve anymore even with shots. I can hardly work, do things at home, or go anywhere because of the riding in a vehicle. My husband is pretty tired of it also. I had hip replacement in Jan 2011 had no bursitis for about a year. But fell twice in bad weather and it has been back the last two years and worse then ever. Pain med are hard for me because I am allergic to so much. Have had many steroid shots, makes me week. I hardly eat anything that has salt in it, or acid, makes it shoot down my hip and leg. In back pain also. I know how you feel I am so tired of it.

I checked a lot of sites out myself, trying different things, now a NUCA Doctor, exercise is hard to do because it aggravates it worse. I been to all sorts of doctors, thought my new hip was bad, but they all say no. I ice all the time, get cold so easily.

I do use voltaren gel on my leg to help with inflammation, maybe your doctor can recommend that. Wish they would take the bursa out but cannot find a doctor that will do that. Let me know who things go for you.

tresa37 profile image
tresa37 in reply to cindy1957

hi, sorry to hear your suffering too. Like you ive seen every doctor been told they cant remove the bursa. I have to deal with it now and I'm starting to but waiting for some (pain management (CBT) where they teach you to train your brain to think differently about pain (mentally, physically, emotionally etc) I use heat, ice and voltarol on my hip and leg (have also been told that I have the very early stages of arthritis in my hip) every movement is agony, exercise is agony ive just started working as a night care assistant. Ive tried everything and nothing really work even the steroid injections didn't touch me.

cindy1957 profile image
cindy1957 in reply to tresa37

Hi, I am so sorry that your going through everything the same as me. I am trying the Virgin Diet for 21 days to see if the foods I eat is effecting my pain more. 7 things you need to stay away from. Gluten, sugars, and artificial sweeteners, corn and anything with corn syrup, soy, dairy, eggs, and peanuts. It is very hard, some fruit which is high in sugar banana's which I love, pineapple, watermelon, grapes, papaya and mango's you cannot have either. I bought the book and it tells you all the food you can eat and what you can't. My sister-law has rheumatoid arthritis and this has helped her pain, she also lost 7 pounds the first week. I have an injection in my back on Monday, I am doing better but it took a long time to get in with the pain management doctor that I will probably get it anyway. Hopefully it will help my back and not make my hip worse. Lets keep in touch to see how were both doing. Take Care.

tresa37 profile image
tresa37 in reply to cindy1957

Hi

its now 3 years and 9 months since I started with my hip I'm working as a agency carer I still get the pain really bad I also have been diagnosed with restless legs syndrome had it for 6 months its agony and very uncomfortable had 2 lots of meds and nothing is working. How r u and how are yu getting on now.

hathi999 profile image
hathi999

Hi, I am sorry to hear of your pain, I do know how it feels first hand.  I found some research by Dr Klemnes which was done in the 1950's on bursitis and begged my physician to give me a B12 shot, I had miraculous results for a few days, but the pain came back.  Since he wouldn't give me more regular B12 shots (or allow me to follow the protocol Dr Klemnes developed) I had to come up with an inventive way to get the B12 I needed.  I also had difficulty swallowing (which I had no idea was caused by the B12 deficiency also) and so put together a website detailing the protocol I followed which healed me from both the dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) as well as the bursitis I had had for seven years.  I have added the link here, in case you are interested?  difficulty-swallowing.com/  Good luck in finding a cure too!

X01WOOG profile image
X01WOOG in reply to hathi999

I, too, have a malfunctioning esophagus. It doesn't pulsate (push food down as it is supposed to do). I need some teeth to chew with. I need some pulled and some false choppers. I am afraid they are going to flop around and I will still have problems chewing. Oh, dear, the list goes on and on. Sorry for all my posts and illnesses, I, myself, am sick of having them and mentioning them. I guess I am depressed, too.

tresa37 profile image
tresa37

ive finally got an appointment for pain management or what ever it starts in july although I'm not convinced my doctor has just put me back on gabapentin again and the side effects are unreal I'm trying to take them as I suppose to as I now having agonising pain in my hip bone and it hurts so much. I still have agony in my hip too and I also use a tens machine as well as my regular medication

tresa37 profile image
tresa37 in reply to tresa37

it is now 3 years since I started with my hip pain bursitis I have been on a oain management programme where they teach you to try to change the way your brain thinks about pain for example physically mentally and your relationships the programme was very interesting I am now working as a day care assistant I have been at my job now 13 weeks I still havealot of pain but iI needed to find work so thats what im doing now sum 13 hour shifts can be agony but im enjoying my job and look forward to a career as a care assistant

pchildre profile image
pchildre

Reading these stories make me cry. I don't think I can deal with this for years. I have been dealing with this for about 2 1/2 months and they are just finding out what the cause of the pain is. I had back surgery in 2000 so every doctor kept saying they thought the leg pain was coming from my back and it was nerve pain. I was referred to a pain clinic, but then ended up getting pneumonia during this time and prescribed a med with hydrocodone in it. I didn't think anything about it. I was just very sick. By the way, the pain clinic was before they decided I had hip bursitis. I have been on Tramadol for about 3 years for my back. I was never told I couldn't refill those meds. To make a long story short they dismissed me, because of the cough med and tramadol. I get it, they have to have rules. What I do not understand, is that they told me I didn't have pain, that it was in my head and that I had a drug problem. I have NEVER been on narcotics before this. I do not have normal MRI's of my back either. I have narrowing of the spine, a couple bulging disk, and disk degeneration. Now, I have a diagnosis, but don't have a pain clinic or one that will accept me because they dismissed me. I have had 5 children and this is the worse pain I have ever felt in my life. There are days that I death would be better than hurting like this. It is non stop. There is nothing I can do to help the pain. The other day I couldn't handle anymore and went to the ER. This was before a dx. The doctor was amazing. I told him I didn't want any meds. I just had to know what was wrong because I couldn't handle the pain anymore. Of course ER couldn't give me a diagnoses, but he was insistent on trying to give me some relief. That shot took my pain level down to about a 3. It let me know just how bad I was hurting. When the pain came back, I was in agony. I can't believe that I have been living with this much pain for so long.

I must also mention that I have a positive ANA and hashimotos thyroidtitis. I am praying that now a pain clinic will realize there is something going on and it isn't in my head. I am not a drug seeker. I am in immense pain. I can hardly wear pants. Neurologist told me that their are things we are going to have to deal with in my back, but my leg has to be addressed first. I feel disabled. Does anyone have advice? I have read they can surgically remove this area. I am all for that. If I don't need it, take it out and make the pain stop!!!!!

painlefthip profile image
painlefthip

Sorry to hear that you've been told the pain you're experiencing is 'all in your head.' These so-called experts, clearly haven't walked in your shoes, so they cannot categorically state this .I was diagnosed with left hip bursitis at end of March 2017. My GP thinks it could be related to my chronic lower back problem. I recently changed GP, and I don't know when and if he will ever read back through my medical notes, because he has asked me questions he would have found the answers to in my notes. It is frustrating because patients are allocated only 10 minutes per appointment. I had nno idea hip bursitis can go on for years. I was unable to have a physio assessment yesterday because the physiotherapist told me I need to get the pain under control first. I have waited 7 weeks for the assessment, so it was a waste of his time and mine. My GP has now prescribed Co-codamol and Ibuprofen gel, 10%. When I last saw my GP 7 weeks ago, he'd offered to prescribe pain meds, but I'd told him I'm not in constant pain and that it occurs only when making certain movements... in hindsight, it would have been beneficial had he advised I take them seeing as he was referring me for a physio assessment and I'd need to have managed the pain by the time I went. I have found out that key hole surgery is used to remove the bursa, and that the body forms a new one in its place (this info was on Youtube !). Also, I read online that Chiropractic can help Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome...so I'm going to research this and find one who is experienced in treating the condition. I certainly am not prepared to suffer from hip bursitis for years. I will also look into having Acupuncture treatments - but won't have both Chiropractic and acupuncture or I won't know which treatment is helping me. The decision comes down to which form of treatment to have, when I've found a Practitioner who has experience of treating this condition. Good luck and I hope you can be offered key-hole surgery.

pchildre profile image
pchildre in reply to painlefthip

For the last month I have had several days of running temp over 102. This is the most unbearable pain I have ever dealt with. I feel horrible. I have children and I feel like I am missing out on their lives because I nearly bed ridden.

mataubkitty profile image
mataubkitty in reply to pchildre

Hello all, not a stranger to any of the conditions spoken of on this page. I have lived with chronic low back pain for nearly 21 years: severe neck and shoulder pain off and on over same time frame, plus the trochanteric hip bursitis and tendonitis of both hips and finally, pain and burning in both thighs. But to weigh in on the surgical removal of the bursa sacs is what I really wanted to comment on. I have seen 3 orthopedic surgeons and was told the bursa will grow back and just become a problem again. I have also read blogs where many people have complained of that very thing. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but thought I would try to save someone from surgery that wouldn't last long. I too have found nothing to deal with the hip pain. I have become permanently disabled over last couple years due to addition of the bursitis in the hips. I am still trying to find some type of relief. The pain has made me crazy half the time and you are correct in saying the doctors do not know. I've seen all these specialists and If I had a chance to even tell them everything about all the pain, the appointment would be over. The only advice I can give is to keep fighting until you find someone who is willing to try and figure out any real possible solutions for your individual case. I have so many underlying pain issues, it's hard to decipher which pain is the biggest problem when it comes to my hips and low back pain. Everything just seems to run together now as one huge pain area. It will rob you of your life if you can't stay in control. I have developed severe depression and anxiety over the years of PAIN. pchildre, if you are experiencing fevers, you could have an infection going on within the bursa sacs. I would see my doctor as soon as possible and let them know of that. I wish everyone here the very best of luck. Don't give up, keep seeking help. There has got to be someone out there that cares enough and knows what they are doing.

tresa37 profile image
tresa37 in reply to mataubkitty

Hi hope u do get your pain sorted have u been on apain management course i have found it very interestedand i still have the pain i have been told thebursa could be re oved ive lived with it now nearly 4 years worst pain ever. I now also have restlesslegs syndrome they hurtand ache i dont have any control over this pain either

cindy1957 profile image
cindy1957

Hi to all, I have had left hip Bursitis for several years before my left hip implant in 2012 and now after a year of the implant. About 7 years now, I have tried everything. Have went to two different orthopedics specialist, no one will take it out. I have called many hospitals in Wisconsin and other states and no progress. Sometimes it get so bad I go right down and am in so much pain, I ice all the time. Tried different rubs, dry needling, chiropractor, look up everything on the internet to try something different. I have lost 60 lbs, due to not eating much, keep away from two much salt, going up and down steps, gardening, etc bring it on worse. I take a lot of Idbrophren, Gabapentin for my sciatic and back pain, arthritis and joint deterioration, therapy helped for awhile. I try to keep moving because sitting also bothers it. Diclofenac Sodium Topical Gel, 1% does help which was prescribed by the Doctor. Also known as Voltaren Gel. Have had many cortisone shots about every 6 months, and they don't want to give me anymore of those either because it is hard on the bones. But good luck to everyone and I will prayer for you all, because it is such a bad thing to have and no way to get rid of it. I have also used a TENS machine which did help before my implant. Beware do not use a hot tub. I am trying swimming in water now to strength my leg muscles. Take Care

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