Possible AVN of the hips, is an MRI absolutely necessary?

Oh, that changes things! Can't be AVN then. See, I am wrong once in a while! :blush:
 
Don't see what? There's nothing to see!
 
Are the same lesions or bony islands on the older x-ray? I'm not used to looking at radiographs. I'd be delighted to know it's not AVN, especially with my past use of prednisone! But that still leaves the question of what's causing the pain.
 
Are open MRI's good enough to give some answers? I know most surgeons prefer closed MRI images because the resolution is much better.

I'm still looking for answers. It doesn't take much walking before my hip joints are killing me by the end of the day. Previously very active (only a few months ago).

I'm sorry, I know a lot of people here have much worse cases than me or more advanced degeneration. But I know something isn't right.
 
I still get intermittent hip pain after use. I cancelled the MRI because of the noise levels and my hyperacusis. I'm thinking about doing a nuclear imaging bone scan first. I know it's not as sensitive as the MRI and can sometimes miss AVN.

@Josephine Do you know much about nuclear imaging bone scans?

I just don't know if it's worth the risk of making my other condition worse to possibly catch this in the early stages. From what I've heard CD can be done if AVN is caught in the early stages, but it seems like that has limited success and often only buys the person some time.
 
Do you know much about nuclear imaging bone scans?
On inasmuch as I've had one! What do you want to know?
From what I've heard CD can be done if AVN is caught in the early stages, but it seems like that has limited success and often only buys the person some time.
Well that is true but the problem is that people often leave it late as they don't KNOW how to evaluate 'early stages' and they therefore do wait too long! It's not their fault, that's just the way the cookies crumble!
 
On inasmuch as I've had one! What do you want to know?

I know bone scans aren't as sensitive as an MRI, but can they still detect AVN in the early stages when it's not visible on an x-ray?

Well that is true but the problem is that people often leave it late as they don't KNOW how to evaluate 'early stages' and they therefore do wait too long! It's not their fault, that's just the way the cookies crumble!
Do you think CD would have a higher success rate if it was caught earlier (ex. stage 1)? What I don't get is the pathology of AVN, the blood supply gets interrupted, but even if it's temporary the bone can continue to deteriorate.

That's my conundrum. I know something isn't right and have had past usage of high dose Prednisone, but I have other medical reasons for not wanting to do the most sensitive test (MRI). I'm just trying to evaluate if getting an early diagnosis is worth the risk of the MRI making my hearing condition worse. It's a personal decision, I know, but I just don't know what to do. If there isn't much that can be done besides THR even if it's caught early on, then I'm tempted to just wait and see.

I'd be happy to do any other scan: CT, nuclear bone scan, etc.
 

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