Bilateral THR ByGosh ByGolly ByLateral

[nmscienceteacher]

ByGosh what about FMLA? I believe that is federal and has to be granted...not sure. Ask your union about it. I have also used a Belleruth naperstack's Cd...I used the one for preparing for surgery. It was really good.i also use Andrew Weil's Sound Mind, Sound Body CD a lot...used it last night twice when I had trouble sleeping. It pretty much knocks me out all thermite. I think it has really helped me reduce anxiety...which helps reduce pain too. I am not good at the self discipline of daily meditation but I am pretty good at listening to music and I seem to get quite a benefit from it. You might check into it for help in dealing with pain.
Hope things in the groin pain area clear up soon for you...I had many years of groin spasming and have been on a muscle relaxer as needed for years. Thankfully the problem seems to be resolving after this last replacement.

 

[Songlady]

O, Goodness, ByGosh - I just now had time to read a bunch of pages in your thread (couldn't do that from my tablet while away) - what a story about your son! And I have to put in 2 cents for trying meditation of some sort, even just breathing and "following the breath" for 10 minutes a time or two a day, for starters.
Interesting, the discussion of muscle relaxants. Because of my IBD, I can't take NSAIDS or a lot of things. Some 10 years ago when I fell off a horse and cracked a rib, my GI put me on valium and tylenol at the same time, as a safer alternative, and that took care of the pain. (It was the day before Thanksgiving and we were having a crowd to our house... it was a funny story, actually, with my riding buddy and husband sworn to secrecy so my mother wouldn't find out, and they had to lift the turkey out of the oven, etc, all while acting as if that was what they would normally do...)
BUT - more to the point: Would a 504 Plan be possible for you? We had to put one in place for Songboy when he missed a few months of school because of IBD, and kept it in place during high school so he wouldn't be penalized if he came in late or had above-normal absences. Somewhere during those years I heard of a teacher with health issues who also had such a Plan. Might give you some protected space if you could put in part-days for a while....?

 

[ByGosh]

Nylsor @zauberflötee LeeApril26 Kim22 Poppet nmscienceteacher Songlady and whoever else wanders by.

I was told that I didn't qualify for the FMLA, as my job is part-time, and I hadn't put in the required # of hours you need to in order to qualify. I'll double check that, though. And I've never heard of a 504 applying to employees, I just have them on the children. Interesting....
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I think it will come down to how long they'll hold my job for me, and if I can perform it eventually.

I had called the new OS twice about please getting me in sooner, as I was in alot of pain, and really wasn't functioning much. He wanted to see if a change in my activity would resolve the tendonitis he diagnosed before doing the shots. I was persistent and I explained there's really no activity to change, as I'm hardly doing anything. Well, he called my primary and my rheumatologist both of whom I informed about the visit, and I got a call that the shots are scheduled for next Tues. I assume they must have advocated for me, or at least was supportive of my going sooner.
Meanwhile, I saw my primary on Tues to discuss all of this and requested some imaging studies of my hips in the hopes we could find out what's wrong. I thought at the time that I would be waiting for the cortisone shots for 5-6 more weeks, and I wanted to be proactive with this, and not wait so long for answers.
I had an ultrasound done of my groins today and the doctor, who is excellent and very experienced saw that on my right side, I had bone spurs, and a fluid pocket, and on the left I had bone spurs, fluid, irregular bone and calcified tendonitis. He said I have a reason for having pain, and will fax the report to the OS, my primary, and my rhematologist.
I don't know what all of this means, yet, but it doesn't sound good to me. I'll tag Jamie first and see if she can help me understand the implications of this. I'll also put a call into the OS and my primary so they know there's a report for them.
Let's hope it's not too major - I believe I've read that people can get bone spurs after THR, but I wonder about the fluid (which he felt could be post-op healing - a pocket of blood, or something.) I also wonder about the calcified tendonitis and how that is managed?

Oh dear, the plot thickens...I'm scared and worried and want to get to the bottom of this, and hopefully have it fixed.. I also feel that perhaps more imaging should be done to be sure the implants aren't in the wrong place, or rubbing, if that's possible to tell. Sounds like the start of a long haul, but we'll see.

I also think I have a UTI, and brought a urine to the lab this AM, and called the gynecologist, who gave me meds until the culture is back, so at least it's being treated. Gee, I feel pretty hopeless right now, I'm sorry to say.

 

[ByGosh]

Also thanks for the meditation info! I appreciate the suggestions. I wonder if it's available on i-tunes, since I don't have a CD player. Although my daughter does - now to find out how to get them. Any info on that? Probably Amazon.
nmscienceteacher I really like Andrew Weil. I read his book on healthy aging, and was getting his newsletter for a time. He's great - very informative, still seated in Western medicine, but combining it with alternative therapies, too. I do think that Cd would be worthwile, as well as the one LeeApril26 and Songlady mentioned.

 

[ByGosh]

Kim22 I wanted to answer your questions about my pain meds. I currently take a prescription antinflammatory every day, and Tramadol 200mg total in divided doses with 1000 mgs. of acetaminophen each time. If I get severe pain otherwise, my primary told me to take hydrocodone. Thankfully, with the limitation of my activity, icing and using the TENS machine, I haven't had to resort to it that often.
After my luncheons, I needed it once a day for about 5 days due to the pain. I avoid activity that promotes pain as much as I can. But I feel the pain is getting worse now, so I may need it more often.

 

[Nylsor]

Well, he called my primary and my rheumatologist both of whom I informed about the visit, and I got a call that the shots are scheduled for next Tues. I assume they must have advocated for me, or at least was supportive of my going sooner.​

Well, thank goodness for that I thought - then I read about the bone spurs. Oh you poor, poor thing. I don't know anything at all about bone spurs post-op but I do know about them pre-op. My right hip had bone spurs - I was shown the ones on the x-ray where they could be seen protruding from my hip. They occur when the bone is wearing away and the brain tells your body to try and grow new bone. At least that's what I was told. Is this correct Josephine ? Perhaps Josephine can throw some light on this newly discovered problem. And I still can hardly believe your job is in jeopardy due to ill-health. A lecturer I was managing was involved in a serious car crash and was off work for many weeks. When she wanted to return to work, I re-arranged her timetable so that it was less onerous and part-time and even moved her to a different classroom which meant she didn't have far to walk. Human Resources kept her on full pay for nine months until her doctor considered she was fit to return to work full-time. I haver never met you dear ByGosh but I would imagine that you are an exemplary employee and your employers should be doing everything they can to make life easy for you at this very worrying time. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers - I can't tell you how sorry I am to hear of this new worry x Ros

 

[LeeApril26]

ByGosh. I typed a long reply and think I lost it. Should it show up I apologize for duplicating.
I am most impressed that you managed to get three doctors working together, and it's great that you had the scan. The results are scary, I know, but you are on the road to a solution, after going over lots of bumpy tracks. I know nothing about the medical implications of yourscan, though I do know that I had bone spurs on my old hip, and my husband has them on his foot. Painful. Where are yours growing?
I hope you can still have the cortisone shots for pain relief while they are working on a treatment plan.
You can go to belleruthnaperstek.com to try out free meditations. There are usually two, and order CDs if you have a CD/DVD player on your computer. There may be a way to download them to a smart phone or tablet if you have one.
Hang in there-it looks like you are on your way to relief. Hope it comes very soon. Juggling all this while citing for your job seems totally unfair, but you are doing great. Have at them!

 

[Kim22]

ByGosh I am so sorry to hear about your new problem and like Ros said I have no knowledge of post op bone spurs.I hope Josephine or Jamie can answer your questions.I am holding you in my thoughts and my prayers and I really hope the cortisone injections help you on Tuesday.

 

[Josephine]

on my right side, I had bone spurs, and a fluid pocket, and on the left I had bone spurs, fluid, irregular bone and calcified tendonitis

Bone spurs are simply outgrowths of bone which occur when there is an inflammatory process where the muscle tendon is attached to the bone. What happens is that bone cells are laid down in the soft tissue and start to change it into bone in the form of projections. In certain situations these can cause pain all on their own. The bone spur in the heel is a typical example - the sufferer has plantar fasciitis (tendonitis in the sole of the foot and heel) and the inflammation causes the creation of a bone spur which itself can be as painful as a sharp needle! In other words, as the doctor has described it, 'calcified tendonitis'!

Injections of the usual depomedrone (cortisone) and local anaesthetic can ease the inflammation and hopefully allow the bone spurs to regress.

 

[ByGosh]

Josephine Thank you so much for the quick reply! I feel somewhat better now. Any thoughts on the fluid he saw? What is the best way to image the implant - CT scan? Thanks again, I appreciate any information that you may have for me.

 

[ByGosh]

Thanks ladies, Kim22 LeeApril26 Nylsor - I'm not even thinking too much about my job right now, to tell you the truth. But the ideas, support and suggestions you gave me may prove to be very helpful when the time is right. I hope the shots can do something for me, it's getting overwhelming.
Thanks for the info about the meditations, Lenora. I'll look them up.
Thanks for your vote of confidence on my work ethic Nylsor - nice of you to say that. I am a hard and diligent worker, true, but sometimes they just want a warm body. I'll worry about that later, though.

You're all great! Thanks again.

 

[Poppet]

Hi ByGosh, I am so sorry you are having pain and concerns over your job all at the same time, I don't profess to understand the rules and regulations in the US. All I know, understand and can relate to is the worry and stress of the unknown factor around job stability, I know this well!

I would imagine the accumulation of fluid could be related to inflammation in the area of the areas of abnormal hardening of the bone spurs in the soft tissue, and pain results from this deformation of the bone spurs and fluid accumulation in the joint, but I will tag Jo for sure Josephine

 

[zauberflöte]

ByGosh my dear, what a mess. But you know, my first thought was, "now you know there's really something causing the pain", and the second thought is, if you hadn't advocated for yourself you'd still be lying on the couch! Knowledge is power, we like to say here, and whatever is going on with your groins is better to know about than not. I liked Josephine's take on the matter, and hope that the cortisone will do its thing properly. Way to go for getting the injection moved to next week. Sometimes you just want to box authority's ears, don't you?...
You have been in my prayers.

It pretty much knocks me out all thermite.

@nmscienceteacher well remind me not to stand near you when you get ready for bed!!!!!

 

[LeeApril26]

ByGosh. Re:Josephine's description of plantar fasciitis-that's what my husband had and two shots did the trick. It's been fine for years, and he walks about 30 miles a week, works out and plays tennis from April to October. Sounds hopeful.

 

[Nylsor]

Good morning dear ByGosh. Yes, you are quite right re the job situation but it just infuriates me. Anyway, let's get the groins sorted out first. I think, and sincerely hope, that you will be amazed at how quickly and effectively cortisone shots work. I had them in both wrists twenty years ago when I developed carpal tunnel syndrome and they were marvellous. I was injected in the afternoon and had the first entire night's sleep without pain that same night. I wish the same little miracle for you, dear. You have just suffered enough. Thankfully, at least you know now what the problem is and that's a relief in its self. AS zauberflöte said, knowledge is power. How true. I pray that all will go well on Tuesday and that this will be your first step to a full recovery. You are in my thoughts and prayers and I'm planning a little trip around London for you, Kim22, LeeApril26 and anyone else who'd like to come along! Kind thoughts from across the Pond Ros x

 

[Josephine]

Any thoughts on the fluid he saw?

Yes, as Poppet said, one of the body's many reactions to inflammation is create pockets of fluid in the area called bursa.

What is the best way to image the implant - CT scan?

CT, MRI whatever. All fine.

 

[Songlady]

ByGosh - Wow!!! What you have found out is huge! And I second what ZF said - if you had not advocated for yourself, you'd still be lying on the couch wondering if this was just a really slow recovery! I am hoping the appointment Tuesday will bring you even more information, and more importantly, some physical relief!
I had a cortisone shot in my heel for plantar fascitis when Songboy was about 2.. so, 18 years ago, and it worked great. Also, I had one into my hip bursa after a fall in the ice long before I knew THR was in the picture - and the effect was miraculous! I hope the same for you!

 

[Songlady]

And - Nylsor - I'd love to come on the trip around London!

 

[ByGosh]

Josephine Thank you, our Mother Hen, for answering my questions and giving me hope. What would I do without you, and Poppet and the other moderators, too many to name, and all of these truly wonderful, kind and supportive people on this forum? It's a god send. Thanks to all of you, especially to you, Josephine, for your hard work at your day job, and your dedication to us and your hard work here. You help so many patients find their way through these trying times with your experience and wisdom. You're invaluable to us.

 

[ByGosh]

Poppet Thanks so much for your understanding and your empathy. You know how difficult these things can be. Any matters involving our health and well-being are so unsettling to us.
It's good to have someone as knowledgable and caring as you, and the others, to provide us with support and information. I can't tell you how grateful I am to be a part of this forum. I would be in the depths of despair without all of the encouragement and help I get from everyone here. Thanks for your caring and hard work helping all of us.