Now What? - New Pain

[forbesy]

Hi Nancy


Nice to hear from you haven't been on as regularely as I have one or two issues to deal with myself.
Sorry to hear things have been out of sorts nothing worse when everything is hunky dory then along comes a problem you could do whithout.
It seems to be a process of ilimination but your best bet would be to wait and see what they say when you go for this appointment. The 7th May Isn't far off so fingers crossed they can find out what the problem is.
Will pop back to see what they say.

Take care Nancy

Forbesy.

 

[haldox]

Great they moved up your appt but like Diane said Im sure its something small that just needs time.

Will be looking forward to hear what they say.

 

[HaggisWhisperer]

I'm feeling much better today I have been taking the ibuprofen every 8 hours for the past week and have avaoided long walks etc. I also used my stick when I had to walk to the nursery to pick up the kids - Only 5 mins from the house so not a big walk.

The pain was definately reducing after 3 days of doing that and today it feels fine altough there is still some tenderness when I poke a spot on my upper thigh and a bit round the glute. I've stopped poking it now :th_heehee: I also took extra care with my walking posture which seemed to help.

Do you think I should keep with the ibuprofen for a few more days (appointment is next Monday) or stop it now? I'm not a huge fan of NSAIDS as they make me rather nauseous but I don't really want the pain back as it has given me a bit of a fright (I like that smiley -not had a chance to use that one before)

Nancy

 

[dianemarie]

Nancy,

So glad you are feeling better. And you get it...if it hurts when you poke it, don't poke it...Ha!Ha!

Don't know about the meds but maybe try without them and see about the pain level, especially if they are bothering your tummy. Have a great day!

 

[Fionn]

Hi Everyone - thanks for the ideas.

Sharron, it's funny you should mention about the shoes, I've been thinking for a while I need to put on my new pair - I just keep seeing if I can get another week out of my current ones. I have a terrible job finding new shoes as I have a really narrow foot and ankle and I'm very prone to blisters etc. I usually buy kids shoes cos they fit better width wise. I do have a new pair of my "usual style" so I'll put them on and give them a try. Maybe if the weather improves I'll be able to put on my purple Keens that someone persuaded me to buy last summer :wink1:.

I think we'll just have to put some time aside to test out some new chairs - between dancing lessons (not mine), swimming and all these children's parties that seem to be on at weekends at the moment, trying to find time to get into Glasgow is pretty tricky. But a pain in the bahookie isn't much fun either.

I haven't tried heat on it, so I'll give that a go. I still have the ice/heat pack thingies that I bought for after my surgery.

I'll also try doing some stretches when I stand up in case that makes a difference as well. I love the "groan" injusry by the way - that could describe so many things :hysterical:

Nancy

But a pain in the bahookie isn't much fun either.
Love it, Scottish "bottom" :th_heehee:

 

[Jaycey]

Try easing off your meds. Maybe taking half the amount and see if you get any discomfort. The meds are controlling the swelling so you may need them for awhile.

I can't take ibuprofen either - does horrid things to my stomach. Have you tried any other NSAIDS. Diclofenac (Voltarol) works great for me and no side effects.

 

[lisanewmc]

Hi Nancy

sorry to hear about your pain - hope you get it resolved before too long. I had a lot of discomfort caused by my old work chair that has been resolved by a 'special' one that was recommended through a consultation via Access to Work - perhaps you could tap into that?

Shoes..........sorry girls, the Keens were recommended by someone else, I'm a Birkenstock girl myself.............but we did have lots of shoe chat on my thread last summer, perhaps that's where ther link was made?

BYE for now :biggrin:

 

[Cazza]

Hi Nancy, sorry you are in pain.

Have you actually been fitted to your chair by your risk assessor or OH? I was responsible for carrying out the risk assessments for my department - have you checked the depth of your seat pan? My OH carried out my risk assessment and they tilted my seat pan forward slightly so the leg is lower than the hip joint when sitting. I found this caused more aches & pains - I have since altered the angle and also ensure that I take regular breaks (walking to printer, photocopier etc). The all singing, all dancing ergonomic chairs are useless unless you are fitted correctly to them.

 

[HaggisWhisperer]

I haven't had a proper work assessment - I work from home and only go to the office every 3-4 months or so. I'd probably have to pay someone independent to do a proper assessment if I was going to go down that route. I think I'm just going to have to go somewhere and sit in a few chairs until I find one that is comfortable. I let my fingers do the walking and phoned a few places - I didn't manage to find much available even in Office World that fit roughly what I was looking for. There is somewhere that sells second hand office furniture that might be a better bet. I've just got to find the time.......

 

[sharonslp]

I'm still fixated on the shoes. Lisa, it was in your thread Shopping Trips, around May 23rd. You were talking about shoe shopping. I mentioned my beloved Keens. A few posts later, Margo (PCTCoach) mentioned buying purple Keens,, which made me green with envy.

Just for the record, I originally bought my Keens because they show off my handknit socks so nicely. And then they turned out to be SO comfortable. I convinced most of my knitting group buddies to buy Keens. No one has regretted it.

But I still don't have purple ones. :(

Okay Nancy, I'm done talking about shoes. Very glad you're feeling better.

Sharon

 

[HaggisWhisperer]

I had my appointment with the "arthroplasty practitioner" today - I also had a couple of x-rays taken. The good news was there was no sign on the x-ray of any loosening of the hardware. She thinks I may have developed trochanteric bursitis - I don't quite tick all the boxes though she thinks that is the most likely answer. I did jump 3 feet into the air when she prodded one particular spot on my upper thigh (round about the top of my depressing depression). She also took bloods to check for infection but she didn't think that was likely as the symptoms had eased up with rest and ibuprofen - but she wanted to rule it out. I've been told to take things a bit easy for the next 8 weeks and to keep taking the ibuprofen . I've also been told to work on my hip abducter exercises although my range of motion and muscle strength seems good. I'm to go in for a follow-up appointment in 3 months time (which I can cancel if the rest and NSAIDS have cleared up the problem). I'm to phone in on Friday for my blood test results.

Nancy

 

[Jaycey]

Oh dear - painful stuff for you Nancy. Fingers crossed on all the results. Can you take any other NSAIDS? I agree ibuprofen really does not do anything for my tummy!

 

[HaggisWhisperer]

I've tried diclofenac before -which was a disaster. I've had some success with naproxen if I get the enteric coated ones, but they weren't completely free of side effects. My GP also gave me a few sample tablets of some Pfizer NSAID about 9 years ago but I can't remember the name - but it was pretty bad as well. I might ask my GP for a script for the EC naproxen and I'll see how I go with that - it has been a few years since I last took it. Are there any other NSAID that are supposed to be better with the gastric side effects?

 

[Poppet]

Oh Nancy, just read through a few of your posts.. You are having a tough time.. I hope the rest and the anti inflammatories work for you... You need a positive break that is for sure.

Good news that there is no loosening though ... Hugs xx

 

[Josephine]

I'm afraid not. If a person cannot take NSAIDs they're pretty much stuckered. However, paracetamol and ice should be a good alternative. Or have you tried Ibuleve gel? Maybe you could get away with that since it's not actually going through your stomach and will be effective as the trochanter is superficial. I used it on mine along with paracetamol 3 to 4 times a day and ice quite a lot of the day! In fact, I have two fairly large gel packs and would just toss one onto the settee before I sat down! Very soothing.

 

[HaggisWhisperer]

The hospital phoned up with my blood test results - I had a bit of a panic as they said they would only contact me if there was a problem. No problem though, tests were clear for infection. Looks like it probably is the dreaded bursitis then. It had eased off after I had taken the ibuprofen for a week, but yesterday it was pretty bad again. I had walked into town at lunchtime yesterday but it is only a mile or so, I wouldn't have thought it would have had such an effect. I think I'm also going to have another attempt at dealing with my excess weight as apparently that can have an impact on the bursitis as well....

 

[Poppet]

Hi Nancy

So pleased for you that here is no sign of infection, but sorry about the bursitis. It is amazing how one day our pain levels can be good doing an activity and the next day we do the same and it is all down hill..

Good luck with the weight loss - you can do it

 

[tashia]

I am so sorry to hear about the pain. I can't take NASID either and it does cause a bit of a challange. (sp) sorry. I have found that messages work and do help reduced the swelling and also going into a pool and just walking also helps. I do lots of sewing and I found that I need more than one chair. They are so difference so when I start hurting or tender I try another one. I do know this is expensive but I feel I am worth it. I don't know what I would do if I was working and was not able to use difference chairs. Accupucture also helped. I hope by the time you get this the problem is gone or least much less.:doggieshmooze:Tashia

 

[HaggisWhisperer]

I do lots of sewing and I found that I need more than one chair. They are so difference so when I start hurting or tender I try another one.

I do a lot of sewing as well (hand and machine), but fortunately I find that that affects my shoulders and back more than my hip. That could also be that I am concentrating so hard on what I am doing that I forget my hip and I only notice my shoulders cos they are interrupting my interaction with my sewing machine I'm still working up to finding free motion quilting a relaxing persuit.

 

[HaggisWhisperer]

Thought I would post an update on the bursitis situation - I followed the advice of the "arthroplasty practitioner" at the hospital, I managed to take the ibuprofen for the 8 weeks (the gastric side effects actually died down a bit after the first 2 weeks which was good). I had stopped the tablets, rest and icing just before I went on holiday and the pain didn't recur although I wanted to put my hip through its paces on holiday before cancelling the follow-up appointment. Although I didn't do as much walking on holiday as I had hoped (Scottish weather rather than hip pain), the hip didn't bother me and I didn't need to take any pain relief. This was a huge relief. The diet has also been going quite well and I've lost about 21 lb - I don't know whether it has helped the bursitis, but my jeans look better . I went ahead and cancelled the appointment an so far so good.