pain in upper thigh, groin, & leg

[InSeverePain]

I had a knee replacement done about 7 months ago, & since the surgery, i am in more pain & discomfort than before. i can no longer walk without using a walker(before the surgery i didn't even need a cane). the doctor who did the surgery told me repeatedly that i am fine & my leg just didn't take well to the surgery. Recently, I visited a different specialist who made me extend my leg far past my comfort zone & since then, my leg feels like it is twisting outward. This specialist told me that he thought my original doctor had put the wrong size knee or femur in, but he wouldn't say anything against the doctor. I had another appointment with him today & he has obviously talked to my first surgeon, as he told me everything is fine, there is nothing more he can do for my knee, & he will not prescribe any pain medications as I am a recovering alcoholic. I have recently been having pain in my upper thigh, groin, & leg(not in my hip). This doctor now is telling me that i have slight arthritis in my hip that is causing this pain, but pre-surgery, i never even had ANY pain in this area of my body. I am in pain while standing, sitting, or laying down. I cannot sleep for more than 2 hours at a time as I wake up with horrible pains in my leg & buttock. Could these new symptoms be related to my surgery or anything more than 'slight arthritis'? Someone, PLEASE, shed some light onto something that I can suggest to a doctor to test out at least, as they don't seem to want to look for any causes or solutions. All they will tell me is that I have to live with the pain & crippling effects until they slowly seem less painful.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Pain in the groin, thigh and leg can be due to compression of lumbar spinal nerves. This could be due to wrong posture following knee surgery which is putting pressure that was not there earlier. A nerve conduction test and MRI of the lumbar spine should be done.
It is difficult to comment beyond this at this stage. Do consult your doctor and try and get a referral for a neurologist. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[OliveLilly]

What is the nature of your pain? Stabbing? Shooting? Aching? Throbbing?

The location of your pain leads me to believe that it could be related to a nerve issue. If they gave you a femoral nerve block during surgery, there may have been some damage done to the nerve itself. Pain in the buttock area also would indicate to me sciatic nerve damage as well. What are you doing for the pain as of now?
If acquiring pain medication is out of the question, i would suggest a more holistic approach: massage therapy, Range of Motion exercises (don't strain), warm or cool compresses (whichever you find more relieving). Also you might look into some over the counter supplements that contain Glucosamine and Chondroitin, something like Elations or Osteo-Bi Flex. And any OTC antiinflammatory that is safe to take every day would be helpful. But be careful with taking aspirin as this can cause blood to thin and clot insufficiently, and can also cause upper GI upset.