squirrelymom and christa....I have had back problems start since my hip surgery so I think the realignment of my hip and the readjustment to muscles changing and healing have brought on what was already there but masked by hip pain and posture.
I was diagnosed with a compression fraction T10 but the surgeon looked at the xrays and my MD and both say its an old one. I also have scoliosis and severe disc degeneration and the lower back and tailbone can be very painful and there is some sciatic problems. The surgeon ruled out this piriformis muscle syndrome and said that it is a really rare bird but to go back to physio with a new agenda he devised for the PT which involves my back and hip.
Also I had a bone scan and I have rather bad osteoporosis. Four years ago there was nothing so this has come as a shock and let down for me. I have been put on vitamin D, calcium and a drug called Actonel which you take once a week BUT the day after I was so ill with stiffness, pain between my shoulder blades, severe nausea, headache and a feeling like I had the flu. I ached all over so I stopped and will not take it again.
It took several days to calm down and the pharmacist told me these all serious side effects that often force people to stop taking this family of drugs. In the meantime my sister had taken one in the same class as this drug and her MD took her off these drugs for bone help for osteoporosis saying there is no serious evidence they work well and have in fact been known to cause hairline fractures.
In fact her MD took all her patients off these drugs so I just wonder despite the hope they give if we are better off with vitamin D, calcium and physio for osteo. We cannot stop what is happening or repair what has happened but my hip apparently is doing great and I feel no hip pain related to the surgery but pain in the hip and buttock from the back and the sciatic issue.
Both doctors told me the sciatic pain will eventually go away but may take months. I take tylenol 3 and lorazepam (once a day) and it helps and lots of hot showers and heating pads when I go to bed and read or watch TV. I hate being like this but I also get out and am using my cane more and more with caution so I am feeling better that the walker is going by the wayside, something I was really upset about two months ago. I still have a limp but part of that problem is that my left knee needs a replacement. On that I am going to think long and hard because I do not want any more post surgical complications or surprises and really wonder if I have the stamina to deal with knee surgery.
I wonder if the drug you take for osteoporosis is causing your stiffness. I was so stiff after just one dose that I could hardly move and felt like your said a robot. It may be the cause and while it seems impossible joint pain and muscle pain and stiffness are classic side effects. Perhaps have a bone scan done and xrays to look at the state of all your bones right now after being on this drug and ask your doctor to review the literature on them because of the concerns I have now heard about.
I may just live with what I have and forget these class of drugs because there is no way I can function on them.
Good luck to both of you.
United States
I've been enjoying the hospital bed and the new 50" TV (we have a 32" in the master) so much so (not to mention the no snoring zone) that I'm dragging out moving back where I belong! My recovery will be the longest recovery period known to mankind!
that you get a date soon!
