JMacca's hip safari

[JMACCA]

This age thing is nonsense.

Couldn't agree more!

However, he also said that, in his opinion, the time I need the surgery is now, while I am still working etc. and need a good quality of life.

Now that is the type of surgeon that I want - someone to take in the whole picture, not just what they do / don't see on the MRI's and CAT scans.

Doctor doing? Yep! When I need a new roof or other work on my house, I get at least three estimates and plans of how to do... My body deserves at least the same!

You are right @Me2 - we would do that. It frustrates me that 'shopping around' is seen as negative. In fact this surgeon had the cheek to ask me how many surgeons I had seen. Those who would 'doctor shop' for sympathy or something like Munchausen syndrome would be few - yet surgeons have a way of making you feel low on the 'food chain' or that you are doing something wrong. The simple fact is, this is financial for me. I tell you what, I could think of better ways of spending $175 than on the surgeon I saw.

Hey @JMACCA - just wonder how you are?

Thank you so much for checking in @Zelda. I am doing OK. I am just waiting for next Tuesday when I have an appointment with another surgeon. I hope he is better than the last. This time I am going in with pretty low expectations and I am hoping to drive the conversation a little more rather than the surgeon 'leading the way'.

Work has been busy, my promotion is great but the are really trying to work around the possiblity of surgery, so the longer that I don't have a date the more difficult it is for them, and I am very conscious of how great work have been during this situation. But having a team of people waiting on you is certainly extra pressure that I am very conscious of, and yes it stresses me out somewhat. If this next surgeon is a 'no go' I am not sure what I will do. I think I will need to postpone surgery to a time after the team is established with me and I do not like the pain prospects for me - plus that would also mean that I would most likely need to have all the MRI's and CAT scans done all over again. Not a great situation to be in - perhaps I need to make a couple more appointments with surgeons - Thoughts?

I saw my GP again this week and I have elected to go back on pain meds as it is too difficult to manage with over the counter meds. I am on a good schedule with them and take the minimum and it just takes the edge off. But it means that I have weekly trips to the GP to refill scripts, which is the reason that I stopped taking them as taking the trip and waiting every week for a script was a bit too much. It can't be any more - I am at the stage where they are not an option.

So, I am in a bit of a holding pattern at the moment. I want to plan and get excited about the future, but I just can't. I am frustrated, which I am sure that you can all understand.

 

[Zelda]

My instinct is don't wait - see as many surgeons as you need to and get it done. Don't wait to see one before making an appointment with another - have three or four lined up and cancel if you end up liking the first or second one. I had this lovely plan to wait until summer for my operations which would have made everything very convenient for staff and pupils at work but it just didn't happen because my pain levels took a huge jump in a matter of weeks and I just couldn't work at all.

I do hope you find someone soon. All this uncertainty is the worst.

 

[MommaCatt]

@JMACCA, remember when you see the surgeon that you are the interviewer, they are the ones looking for the job, you are in charge. Too many times in medical situations, people forget they are hiring the doctor to preform a service, you wouldn't put up with lousy service from any other employee or service personnel (plumber, mechanic, electrician, banker).

Stay strong, journey on, hope you get good news soon!

 

[Tweetybrd]

Good luck on Tuesday!

I agree to keep making appts and seeing different drs. When you are a younger person with this problem they all look at you and dismiss that it is a huge problem and want to just wash their hands of you. I have seen 5 hip OS's and 1 back OS in the last yr. It gets old and expensive.

Do they ever offer anything besides oral meds? Have you had a cortizone shot? Not sure how things work over there with your medicine.

 

[JMACCA]

My instinct is don't wait - see as many surgeons as you need to and get it done.

Yes I agree. I think I am going to put my husband on the job and get him to ring around today.

they are the ones looking for the job, you are in charge.

It is SO true - yet why do we feel it is the other way around??? They have this power!

Stay strong, journey on, hope you get good news soon!

Thank you SO much!

I have seen 5 hip OS's and 1 back OS in the last yr. It gets old and expensive.

Yep. And I have only seen 2! yet I think going through scans, injections and appointments since the beginning of the year I am so sick of telling my story.

Do they ever offer anything besides oral meds? Have you had a cortizone shot?

Yes, I have had cortisone in the bursas on both hips as my first surgeon wanted to make sure the pain wasn't due to those but rather in my hips. The last surgeon I saw wanted to do injections into the joint - however, I am not going back to him as he was awful, so I don't want to have my results sent back to him, and I think that he was giving that to me just to placate the situation as he scribbled it as I was going out the door. The injections in the bursa's did nothing.

@Josephine I am wondering if you could tell me why people need to wait 3 months for THR surgery after cortisone injections into the hip (whether they work or not)?

 

[Tweetybrd]

@JMACCA I was told when I saw the last OS who is going to do my surgery, if you have corizone in the hip the three months before surgery it increases the change for infection. Maybe @Josephine can explain more.

 

[Tweetybrd]

Good Luck tomorrow @JMACCA with the new OS. Crossing my fingers he is a keeper.

 

[Josephine]

I think going through scans, injections and appointments since the beginning of the year I am so sick of telling my story.

There is a very simple answer to this. Write it all out un tabular form meaning a list, not an essay! Have copies and hand them out!

@Josephine I am wondering if you could tell me why people need to wait 3 months for THR surgery after cortisone injections into the hip (whether they work or not)?

Tweetybrd is correct. If an area has been injected with cortisone it will very possibly be susceptible to infection for several weeks thereafter.

 

[Chihuahuan]

@JMACCA I did what Josephine suggests about making a list. Mine included all prescriptions and doses, prior surgeries, and the story of my hip over time --pain levels etc. I also took a copy of my x-rays.
It really helps to hand this over in a clear format then they know where to begin their narrative.
I researched my OS's background before I saw him.
The first thing he did was to shake my hand and say "I'm Bob ............" how can I help you?

 

[JMACCA]

Write it all out un tabular form meaning a list, not an essay! Have copies and hand them out!

That is a really great idea! Thank you!

I did what Josephine suggests about making a list.

Wow! I really wish that I had done that!

Good Luck tomorrow @JMACCA with the new OS. Crossing my fingers he is a keeper.

Thank you so much - he is a keeper! A really nice, approachable person. Direct, but with a reasonable 'bedside' manner.

He is not keen to do a THR. He did a very thorough examination, listened lots and took notes. He states that I have FAI but as it is not causing arthritis he is not keen at this earlier stage to do any surgery until it is investigated more. He wants me to have one hip injection (in my worst hip). He doesn't seem to think that it will work, but he wants to see what happens to my pain level. He has inferred that it might be muscular not joint related. Okayyyyy. I am not sure about that but hey, who am I to argue? I still don't have the range of movement that I want and I am still experiencing pain.

Although I still feel frustrated that the pain won't be going away anytime soon, I am happy to work with him to 'tick all the boxes'. I think it is going to be a long journey. I feel frustrated because I have no control over the path that they put me on. I can't see what is going on in their head or what they are thinking. They are always reluctant to share that information.

So, now I need to refocus, not on the short term, but on the longer term - what can I do over the next few months to make my health better, make my days better and get more out of life while dealing with pain and restriction - I am not sure what that looks like yet. I am quite scared actually as I am not sure what that looks like or how to do it. Ignore it? Continue to be disabled? I guess that is what it looks like.

So, my plans are at the moment to take meds on the clock, look at ways to lose weight. I am not sure what to do other than that. I worry about the stress that pain has on my body. I worry about what my health will look like in the future.

ANY suggestions welcome...

 

[Chihuahuan]

@JMACCA Glad you have a "keeper". My hip story began about ten years ago when I lost the ability to sit cross-legged. I had the first x-rays five years ago when I was having pain and difficulty walking --they showed arthritis but not enough for a replacement --yet! I had a PT who was able to rotate and re-lube the joint. I kept doing the exercises and it lasted five years.... until earlier this spring when everything became much worse and x-rays clearly showed the need for replacement. It is so important to be accurately diagnosed and treated. It takes a lot of patience and sometimes is a long journey.

 

[Tweetybrd]

@JMACCA So glad to hear at least he is someone that you can work with! I feel that is half the battle sometimes. So many I felt like they just wanted to get rid of me like I was too much trouble. I really hope the injection helps give you some relief. It is strange the hoops we have to go through but better then unnecessary surgery.

Hang in there!

 

[belweav]

Because I had seen a spine specialist before the OS fory hip, I was warned that the OS would do shots first to keep the insurance company happy. I was the hip OS with that in mind. The hip OS saw the x-rays and said that there was no point in shots because of how bad the hip was.

 

[JMACCA]

Hi everyone!

Sorry, I haven't been around - it has been a crazy couple of weeks.

I had my hip injection today into my right hip - they go through the groin - not the most pleasant of experiences, but my right hip felt like a million bucks!! It is the first time in a long time that I have actually smiled! NO PAIN!!

I know it is just the anaesthetic but damn it felt good! My left side feels horrid, but I feel like I could dance on my right!

I was asked by the surgeon to do the things that aggravate my hip, so what was a girl to do but go SHOPPING and sip COFFEE in a cafe with hard seats! It was amazing and I was out in total for 4 hours. It is starting to niggle a bit now (5 hours later), I am not sure how long the anaesthetic lasts, but if that is what it feels like keep on jabbing is what I say!!

The surgeon is convinced that the pain isn't in my hip but rather the muscles around it and therefore he wanted to try this first - I am not sure what this means (@Josephine I would be interested in your thoughts).

It is really nice to be out and about - I haven't been out at all for about 3 weeks and it was really nice...

 

[BizzyLizzy]

@JMACCA - I was wondering how you were doing. So glad the injection gave you some relief - long may it last! Great to hear you got out and about. Hope you had some cake to go with that coffee...

 

[JMACCA]

No cake @BizzyLizzy but a nice big lunch - it was delightful! It was in a cafe with lots of gorgeous handmade wares for sale too so there was lots of walking around looking at all the gorgeous items...

Tonight I have sent an email to my first surgeon cancelling the surgery because I am unable to afford the upfront costs ($10,000 all up). I feel quite sad about it as I think he is the best surgeon for the job. Yeah, and I feel a bit teary. With this new surgeon, it will be a long road again (it has taken me 8 months to this point with my previous surgeon to seeing my new surgeon). I feel so close yet so far in this journey.

 

[BizzyLizzy]

@JMACCA , sounds like my sort of place! It is so nice being able to have a good browse around places like that when you're not in pain. I really missed that kind of thing pre-op. I used to try, but it was miserable.

I really hope the injection continues to work for you. So sorry you are having to travel this hard road. It took 2 years for me to get to my actual operation. When I started out, I kept being told it was bursitis, then I was told it might be a labral tear. It took months for anyone to agree that I should have an x-Ray, but luckily for me, the x-Ray showed severe arthritis, so there wasn't much question about what should happen next. There was some discussion about my age (and I'm a bit older than you!) and I wasn't keen on the first OS I saw, but eventually I got a referral to the surgeon who did it and everything went fairly smoothly after that. I really hope you get some resolution in the near future - you are so young, and you need your life back.

 

[Josephine]

The surgeon is convinced that the pain isn't in my hip but rather the muscles around it and therefore he wanted to try this first

I would imagine he means doing PT but if it is muscular then I would say it would be the very worst thing you could do.. I'd also argue with his conclusion that the success of the injection shows it is not the joint. I would have said exactly the opposite, that pain relief following a cortisone injection in the joints shows it IS the joint.

 

[Wrknitout]

I hope the pain relief from the shot is still holding up. Take care and keep us posted please.

 

[JMACCA]

Hi all,

Thank you for your lovely words and support. On Friday I was able to do a little housework - it was lovely and Saturday I was able go and watch my son's hockey game - the first time in a long time!!

After that I was a little sore and my left hip was very painful and my right (where I had my injection) was at about a 3-4. I rested for the rest of the day.

It took 2 years for me to get to my actual operation.

Thank you @BizzyLizzy for your support and sharing more of your story! It means a lot. I suspect that this is going to take some time to get sorted out and 'prove' that I am not making this up. Sometimes I feel so stupid when talking to the surgeon, like they think I am making it all up.

I would imagine he means doing PT but if it is muscular then I would say it would be the very worst thing you could do..

If it was muscular @Josephine what do you think is the best way to tackle that? I suspect that there is some muscular issues there but IMHO I think they are as a result of me adjusting because of the pain.

I would have said exactly the opposite, that pain relief following a cortisone injection in the joints shows it IS the joint.

That is what I thought too. How do I explain that to the surgeon? How do I get them to listen?

@Josephine, some of the pain has returned (within about 2 days post the injection), but not to the extent that it was before. Could you please tell me how long it would have taken for the anaesthetic to wear off, when the cortisone would start working and how long I can expect to 'get' out of the shot? Does the pain come back gradually or would it be sudden? I am kinda waiting for the 'other shoe to drop'.

I hope the pain relief from the shot is still holding up.

Thanks so much @Wrknitout, I have been smiling for the first time in a long time and it is pretty darn good! Although some of the pain has returned, I am hoping that the cortisone does its job and kicks in - I am now at the end of the 4th day post the injection.