Thursday, November 14, 2013
1 week from PAO surgery!!
Here we are a week out from my PAO surgery with Dr. Buly at HSS in NYC!! I thought that I would be getting really nervous, but I am not. Life here at my parents house just keeps rolling along with the kids' basketball games, home work, and plays so there is not much time for me to freak out. Adam (my husband) has been working a lot so I have not seen him much and he is normally the one that I would complain to about being nervous. I suppose its a good thing that I have not had a lot of time to focus on the surgery itself! Too much thought about things like this will drive a person mad. So, in 4 days we will pack up the van and be off to NYC!!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
When the worst in life brings out the best in people
Its kind of funny how some of the worst things in life turn out to show you the best in people. This upcoming PAO on the 21st will not be the worst, nor the hardest thing I have ever gone through in life, but its one of those really hard things that makes you wonder, why me? Why is it that I am going through all these surgeries and all this pain? But its also these moments that shows you the best from the people in your life. I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people on earth when it comes to family. I have known my entire life that my family will always be there for me, no matter what. Wouldn't matter how big of a mistake I made, or how much I hurt the people I loved the most, they would always be there for me. I know that not many people in the world can say that, so I am beyond lucky to always have this support system. Then you add in my husband and his family, plus friends, and compiled are some of the best and most amazing people on this planet.
The prep for this surgery alone has brought out the absolute best in all the above mentioned people and I have not even had surgery yet! Since my house in Houghton, MI is an older home with steep stairs and the bedrooms and bathrooms on the top floor, my mom and I knew as soon as we were told about needing a PAO that I would not be able to recuperate at my house. So that meant moving in with my parents, for 3 months! Now, for a normal family this would not be a big deal, but my family is far from normal. Four years ago my parents took in three foster children who were left by their parents at the preschool my mother used to work at. For the past four years my parents have cared for a loved these kids as if they were their own. My sister and I too have welcomed them into our lives without missing a beat as if they were always our siblings. To us, anyone in need was welcome, and these kids were in desperate need. So obviously with 3 kids, my parents have a full house, but that did not matter. Without missing a beat my mother started planning for my husband and I's stay at their home for a few months. Moving around furniture, making 8 hour trips up to Houghton and back home with our clothes and dog, you name it, my parents did it. Another saving grace for my husband and I is that my in-laws own some hardware stores in the area, thus my husband is able to work while I recover.
If these things were not enough to make you thankful for wonderful family, the next piece of amazing news will make you thankful for friends! After I called my friend Chelsea, who lives far away, and had a good cry with her on the phone about my surgery situation, she also got to work seeing if some of her family's friends had a vacant place for us to stay in during the week of my surgery in NYC. Amazingly enough, her father has a friend who has an apartment in NYC that she offered to me, my mother and my husband while we are in NYC for my surgery, FOR FREE!!! I was literally in shock when Chelsea told me about this amazingly gracious person. I mean, who offers their home to complete strangers for an entire week?! I pretty much just started crying.
Since that time I have been in contact with the owner of the apartment and she is the nicest lady, even sending me pictures of the apartment and the view! Its times like these that I realize, I am the luckiest person on earth. Yeah, these surgeries suck and yes, I am not happy about it, but if there was ever a lesson to be learned here its that I am surrounded by one of the best support systems ever. So this post is a shout out to all those in my life who have cared for me in ways that I can never repay. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Sarah
The prep for this surgery alone has brought out the absolute best in all the above mentioned people and I have not even had surgery yet! Since my house in Houghton, MI is an older home with steep stairs and the bedrooms and bathrooms on the top floor, my mom and I knew as soon as we were told about needing a PAO that I would not be able to recuperate at my house. So that meant moving in with my parents, for 3 months! Now, for a normal family this would not be a big deal, but my family is far from normal. Four years ago my parents took in three foster children who were left by their parents at the preschool my mother used to work at. For the past four years my parents have cared for a loved these kids as if they were their own. My sister and I too have welcomed them into our lives without missing a beat as if they were always our siblings. To us, anyone in need was welcome, and these kids were in desperate need. So obviously with 3 kids, my parents have a full house, but that did not matter. Without missing a beat my mother started planning for my husband and I's stay at their home for a few months. Moving around furniture, making 8 hour trips up to Houghton and back home with our clothes and dog, you name it, my parents did it. Another saving grace for my husband and I is that my in-laws own some hardware stores in the area, thus my husband is able to work while I recover.
If these things were not enough to make you thankful for wonderful family, the next piece of amazing news will make you thankful for friends! After I called my friend Chelsea, who lives far away, and had a good cry with her on the phone about my surgery situation, she also got to work seeing if some of her family's friends had a vacant place for us to stay in during the week of my surgery in NYC. Amazingly enough, her father has a friend who has an apartment in NYC that she offered to me, my mother and my husband while we are in NYC for my surgery, FOR FREE!!! I was literally in shock when Chelsea told me about this amazingly gracious person. I mean, who offers their home to complete strangers for an entire week?! I pretty much just started crying.
Since that time I have been in contact with the owner of the apartment and she is the nicest lady, even sending me pictures of the apartment and the view! Its times like these that I realize, I am the luckiest person on earth. Yeah, these surgeries suck and yes, I am not happy about it, but if there was ever a lesson to be learned here its that I am surrounded by one of the best support systems ever. So this post is a shout out to all those in my life who have cared for me in ways that I can never repay. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Sarah
Friday, October 4, 2013
When life gives you lemons...
So these last few weeks have been really difficult. It was such a shock hearing that a need the ultimate hip surgery to fix the real problem with my hips. I feel betrayed by the medical community and frustrated with the surgeons I had seen. For so long I was told that nothing was wrong. For example, the first surgeon that I saw in Marshfield, WI after I got my diagnosis told me that since I had good range of motion still that I did not have FAI and that if I continued to have pain that I should go back to my general practitioner. Well of course I was going to continue to have pain, I had already been in pain for 5 years! The blatant dismissal without any further investigation was heart breaking for me at the time. I did not give up on my hip though and pursued a second opinion with the surgeon who would eventually do my first scope.
Looking back at all the surgeons I saw, all the PT that I did, and all the general practitioners that I went through, all the while hoping that maybe, just maybe, this surgeon or doctor or PT would make it all better, once and for all. Because of the lack luster care from the medical community, my distrust in doctors has gown exponentially. I always want second (or third, or fourth) opinions about things. I do a ton of research about everything now before I trust anything a doctor says to me, which really goes against everything I was taught growing up. I was taught that the doctor knew how to fix you when you were sick and that was the end of it. There was no questioning him/her, it just was. Which is why I think that this was all so hard from the beginning. To question that a surgeon could be wrong was just not something that I had heard of, but it is now something that is second nature to me. Which, when you think about it, is a great thing. Critical thinking should always be used in all things, but to have to question someone who is suppose to make you feel better, who is suppose to be on your side, seems maddening. Add to that the hundreds of dollars you get the privileged to pay for their 'opinion' and I sometimes feel insane! If I wanted to discuss opinions then I would just have a heated conversation with certain family members and that's free. But to pay for the privileged of someone to tell you that your wrong about your pain and discomfort seems barbaric in our modern society. But I shall digress from this conversation seeing as I could go on forever about the American medical system and the insanity of it all.
What I really wanted to write about tonight (or early this morning) was how much I have learned and how I want to share what I have learned with everyone! I never want someone to suffer like I have. I never want someone to think that they are crazy because some untrained doctor or radiologist cannot find the correct diagnosis for their pain. In the past week I have been sharing my story high and low, in all corners of the internet trying to get the word out about FAI, labral tears, femoral anteversion, etc. I see posts on Reddit about groin pain and how they are told is a hernia or a strained muscle and I can only shake my head because I know that at least 10 of those 20 posts I saw are going to be misdiagnosed and most likely have either FAI or labral tears but they will suffer in pain until someone somewhere down the line makes a correct diagnosis.
What happened to me should have never of happened. Doctors, PT, nurses, etc all have a duty to patients to not give up on them until finding out the true reasons for someones pain. For $500 for an initial consultation with a surgeon, patients deserve more than 'I do not know, see someone else' and pass the buck onto a different doctor. Its maddening! And its awful that its allowed. Everyday people are passed off and shoved away when answers are not easy to find. Is that was med. school is teaching students, how to pass the buck without follow up?! I find this unacceptable.
But, given my situation I want to make the proverbial lemonade out of lemons. I want to share my story in as many places as possible, with as many people as possible to get the word out about FAI, labral tears and how finding a well educated and trained surgeon is the single most important thing you can do for your care. It does not seem like a big deal when you are looking at your first scope because if your are anything like me, you'll think 'I am not special, I do not need a "top" surgeon to fix me, I just need someone who is a surgeon', but I beg of you, please do not fall into this trap. While I did not have any glaringly obvious done deformities, like dysplasia, I have a ton of rotational issues, none of which were found by my first two surgeons because a rotational study was not done. Imagine how much pain and money and heartache would have been saved for me if my first surgeon had the training and forethought to order a rotational MRI or a CT scan? I even had family members encouraging me to see the hometown surgeon because "You don't need the best, you just need someone who can get the job done". Oh how wrong they were. I think that hip surgery is often mistaken for knee surgery, especially scopes, in the sense that its easy, its done routinely, and often has very little complications. But the hip is a very DEEP and hard to reach joint, something that the knee is not. Thus access is tricky and limited.
So to wrap up this late night rant, PLEASE go to the best surgeon you can afford. Find a surgeon who has trained at top hospitals like the Hospital for Special Surgery, or who has done a fellowship with top scope surgeons like Dr. Philippon, Dr. Kelly, and Dr. Byrd. ALWAYS ask for a rotational study to be done either through an MRI or a CT scan (this is more accurate). Then get a second opinion and a third opinion. Many surgeons like Philippon and Kelly do free film reviews, take advantage of this! Send in your films. And last, but not least, please educate yourself on these things. Know what would make you a good scope candidate and what would not, know what your angles are (alpha angle, CE angle, version angles are all important) and if your surgeon does not know, run for the hills, run as far away from that surgeon as possible!
So I will leave you all with that note. I will be spending a lot of time on the internet these next few weeks, trying to spread my story far and wide so that I can hopefully help just one person avoid the heartache and pain that I have endured due to the medical communities error. If your reading this, please share with anyone you might know suffering from hip/knee/lower back pain. You may just save their sanity! Thanks for reading!
Looking back at all the surgeons I saw, all the PT that I did, and all the general practitioners that I went through, all the while hoping that maybe, just maybe, this surgeon or doctor or PT would make it all better, once and for all. Because of the lack luster care from the medical community, my distrust in doctors has gown exponentially. I always want second (or third, or fourth) opinions about things. I do a ton of research about everything now before I trust anything a doctor says to me, which really goes against everything I was taught growing up. I was taught that the doctor knew how to fix you when you were sick and that was the end of it. There was no questioning him/her, it just was. Which is why I think that this was all so hard from the beginning. To question that a surgeon could be wrong was just not something that I had heard of, but it is now something that is second nature to me. Which, when you think about it, is a great thing. Critical thinking should always be used in all things, but to have to question someone who is suppose to make you feel better, who is suppose to be on your side, seems maddening. Add to that the hundreds of dollars you get the privileged to pay for their 'opinion' and I sometimes feel insane! If I wanted to discuss opinions then I would just have a heated conversation with certain family members and that's free. But to pay for the privileged of someone to tell you that your wrong about your pain and discomfort seems barbaric in our modern society. But I shall digress from this conversation seeing as I could go on forever about the American medical system and the insanity of it all.
What I really wanted to write about tonight (or early this morning) was how much I have learned and how I want to share what I have learned with everyone! I never want someone to suffer like I have. I never want someone to think that they are crazy because some untrained doctor or radiologist cannot find the correct diagnosis for their pain. In the past week I have been sharing my story high and low, in all corners of the internet trying to get the word out about FAI, labral tears, femoral anteversion, etc. I see posts on Reddit about groin pain and how they are told is a hernia or a strained muscle and I can only shake my head because I know that at least 10 of those 20 posts I saw are going to be misdiagnosed and most likely have either FAI or labral tears but they will suffer in pain until someone somewhere down the line makes a correct diagnosis.
What happened to me should have never of happened. Doctors, PT, nurses, etc all have a duty to patients to not give up on them until finding out the true reasons for someones pain. For $500 for an initial consultation with a surgeon, patients deserve more than 'I do not know, see someone else' and pass the buck onto a different doctor. Its maddening! And its awful that its allowed. Everyday people are passed off and shoved away when answers are not easy to find. Is that was med. school is teaching students, how to pass the buck without follow up?! I find this unacceptable.
But, given my situation I want to make the proverbial lemonade out of lemons. I want to share my story in as many places as possible, with as many people as possible to get the word out about FAI, labral tears and how finding a well educated and trained surgeon is the single most important thing you can do for your care. It does not seem like a big deal when you are looking at your first scope because if your are anything like me, you'll think 'I am not special, I do not need a "top" surgeon to fix me, I just need someone who is a surgeon', but I beg of you, please do not fall into this trap. While I did not have any glaringly obvious done deformities, like dysplasia, I have a ton of rotational issues, none of which were found by my first two surgeons because a rotational study was not done. Imagine how much pain and money and heartache would have been saved for me if my first surgeon had the training and forethought to order a rotational MRI or a CT scan? I even had family members encouraging me to see the hometown surgeon because "You don't need the best, you just need someone who can get the job done". Oh how wrong they were. I think that hip surgery is often mistaken for knee surgery, especially scopes, in the sense that its easy, its done routinely, and often has very little complications. But the hip is a very DEEP and hard to reach joint, something that the knee is not. Thus access is tricky and limited.
So to wrap up this late night rant, PLEASE go to the best surgeon you can afford. Find a surgeon who has trained at top hospitals like the Hospital for Special Surgery, or who has done a fellowship with top scope surgeons like Dr. Philippon, Dr. Kelly, and Dr. Byrd. ALWAYS ask for a rotational study to be done either through an MRI or a CT scan (this is more accurate). Then get a second opinion and a third opinion. Many surgeons like Philippon and Kelly do free film reviews, take advantage of this! Send in your films. And last, but not least, please educate yourself on these things. Know what would make you a good scope candidate and what would not, know what your angles are (alpha angle, CE angle, version angles are all important) and if your surgeon does not know, run for the hills, run as far away from that surgeon as possible!
So I will leave you all with that note. I will be spending a lot of time on the internet these next few weeks, trying to spread my story far and wide so that I can hopefully help just one person avoid the heartache and pain that I have endured due to the medical communities error. If your reading this, please share with anyone you might know suffering from hip/knee/lower back pain. You may just save their sanity! Thanks for reading!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Consultation with Dr. Buly at HSS
Its been a while again since I have updated my blog because I was waiting until after my appointment at HSS with Dr. Buly which was a week ago today. I consulted with Dr. Buly originally for my femoral anteversion which was found on my pre-op MRI in Dec. of last year. I was told that it may or may not cause continued issues, that only time would tell. Well, before I had surgery in Jan. I told myself that I would not wait longer than 6 months to get this checked out. Dr. Philippons team wanted me to wait a year before consulting with someone, but I had already waiting long enough for answers, I was unwilling to accept waiting any longer than 6 months from surgery. So when I was still in some pain in August, I booked an appointment with Dr. Buly.
The few weeks leading up to my appointment with Dr. Buly I was not in a lot of pain and even contemplated cancelling, but I didn't as my mom had already set up time to come with me, etc. so I kept my appointment. My mom and I decided to drive out to NY seeing at plane tickets were almost $500 per person. Add that too a cost of cab fares and hotels and for a 2 night stay in NY city it would have cost about $2,000. So driving and staying north of the city at a campground was the cheapest. It was a beautiful drive out to NY and the campground that we stayed at was perfect. Since we are not city people, it was nice to be able to leave the city after a busy and exhausting day at the hospital. So we left Traverse City (where my parents live) and drove out to NY on a Sunday as my appointment was on Monday. It was a beautiful drive and PA is so pretty! We got to NY around 6PM and had just enough daylight to set up the tent and then fall asleep.
We left for the city pretty early the next morning even though my appointment was not until the afternoon so that we could look around the city a little. So driving into the city was not nearly as bad as I thought that it was going to be and we got lucky because the president was at the UN, only about 10 blocks away, but FDR drive was not shut down, so we were not effected at all. We got a little lost coming into the city, but the GPS put us back on track and we got to the hospital without a problem. After parking we walked around a little through some of the neighborhoods and saw a cool collection of Buddist art at Sotheby's, even though scary looking men in suites follow you around.
After looking around for a bit, my hips were getting tired so we ended up back at the hospital early so I just got checked into x-ray and had those done as well as my CT scan. After that we went to Dr. Buly's office to wait for my appointment. Dr. Buly and his assistant Elaine are so nice and personable, it was unreal. There were no fellows, or nurses, or other staff, it was just Dr. Buly and Elaine, it was so nice to spend so much time with the actual surgeon! Dr. Buly, after looking at my x-ray and CT images, recommended a PAO (periacetabular osteotomy) and an FO (femoral osteotomy). I was really shocked by this recommendation because never before had hip dysplasia been mentioned to me, which is usually what PAO are used to fix. But I guess after all these surgeries, the rim trimmings done had actually made my hip slightly dysplasic, which when combined with my femoral anteversion means that there is not enough acetabulum to cover the top of the femur head. Dr. Buly then called his colleague, Dr. Helfet, into the exam room so that he could look at my images and examine me to get his opinion. He agreed that a combination PAO and FO would be the best course of action. Dr. Buly also wanted me to consult with Dr. Sink to get his opinion about the PAO. So we stayed in NY an extra day so that we could see Dr. Sink on Tuesday. Dr. Sink basically agreed with Dr. Buly and Dr. Helfet.
Today I got the results of my MRI and CT scan as well, which shows excessive femoral anteversion on both the left and the right, as well as excessive tibial torsion externally. The combination of these is known as miserable malalignment syndrome. I also have a labral tear and FAI in my left hip with will have to be taken care of at some point. My MRI showed a lot of cartilage wear and tear on the front of both hips, although the right hip is so much worse. I was told that if I do not go through with surgery for the PAO and FO I will most likely be looking at a total hip replacement in 5 years.
So, now that this post is getting really long, I am now in the process of booking my first surgery with Dr. Buly for the PAO and FO. I am really just super disappointed and scared. 3 years ago when I had my first scope, this was never suppose to be an issue, but here we are, staring down the barrel of at least 3 more surgeries to fix all of these issues. I am still in shock I think, but time will help me get over it I am sure. Anyways, no good news this time, but I will keep everyone updated as surgery gets closer!
The few weeks leading up to my appointment with Dr. Buly I was not in a lot of pain and even contemplated cancelling, but I didn't as my mom had already set up time to come with me, etc. so I kept my appointment. My mom and I decided to drive out to NY seeing at plane tickets were almost $500 per person. Add that too a cost of cab fares and hotels and for a 2 night stay in NY city it would have cost about $2,000. So driving and staying north of the city at a campground was the cheapest. It was a beautiful drive out to NY and the campground that we stayed at was perfect. Since we are not city people, it was nice to be able to leave the city after a busy and exhausting day at the hospital. So we left Traverse City (where my parents live) and drove out to NY on a Sunday as my appointment was on Monday. It was a beautiful drive and PA is so pretty! We got to NY around 6PM and had just enough daylight to set up the tent and then fall asleep.
We left for the city pretty early the next morning even though my appointment was not until the afternoon so that we could look around the city a little. So driving into the city was not nearly as bad as I thought that it was going to be and we got lucky because the president was at the UN, only about 10 blocks away, but FDR drive was not shut down, so we were not effected at all. We got a little lost coming into the city, but the GPS put us back on track and we got to the hospital without a problem. After parking we walked around a little through some of the neighborhoods and saw a cool collection of Buddist art at Sotheby's, even though scary looking men in suites follow you around.
After looking around for a bit, my hips were getting tired so we ended up back at the hospital early so I just got checked into x-ray and had those done as well as my CT scan. After that we went to Dr. Buly's office to wait for my appointment. Dr. Buly and his assistant Elaine are so nice and personable, it was unreal. There were no fellows, or nurses, or other staff, it was just Dr. Buly and Elaine, it was so nice to spend so much time with the actual surgeon! Dr. Buly, after looking at my x-ray and CT images, recommended a PAO (periacetabular osteotomy) and an FO (femoral osteotomy). I was really shocked by this recommendation because never before had hip dysplasia been mentioned to me, which is usually what PAO are used to fix. But I guess after all these surgeries, the rim trimmings done had actually made my hip slightly dysplasic, which when combined with my femoral anteversion means that there is not enough acetabulum to cover the top of the femur head. Dr. Buly then called his colleague, Dr. Helfet, into the exam room so that he could look at my images and examine me to get his opinion. He agreed that a combination PAO and FO would be the best course of action. Dr. Buly also wanted me to consult with Dr. Sink to get his opinion about the PAO. So we stayed in NY an extra day so that we could see Dr. Sink on Tuesday. Dr. Sink basically agreed with Dr. Buly and Dr. Helfet.
Today I got the results of my MRI and CT scan as well, which shows excessive femoral anteversion on both the left and the right, as well as excessive tibial torsion externally. The combination of these is known as miserable malalignment syndrome. I also have a labral tear and FAI in my left hip with will have to be taken care of at some point. My MRI showed a lot of cartilage wear and tear on the front of both hips, although the right hip is so much worse. I was told that if I do not go through with surgery for the PAO and FO I will most likely be looking at a total hip replacement in 5 years.
So, now that this post is getting really long, I am now in the process of booking my first surgery with Dr. Buly for the PAO and FO. I am really just super disappointed and scared. 3 years ago when I had my first scope, this was never suppose to be an issue, but here we are, staring down the barrel of at least 3 more surgeries to fix all of these issues. I am still in shock I think, but time will help me get over it I am sure. Anyways, no good news this time, but I will keep everyone updated as surgery gets closer!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
So, its been a while...
So, its been a long time since I have updated my blog just because this recovery has been so emotional and physically hard that one day I was feeling great and the next day I could barley move, nothing seemed consistent from one day to the next, which makes it a little hard to tell others how you are doing.
Since my last post my recovery had seemed to progress well, although slowly, with often setbacks. But, by the end of May I was doing some light jogging. In fact, the last week of May I was able to jog 3 days in one week and it felt amazing. I had stopped physical therapy about 2 weeks before this, although I was still doing exercises at home. I would still get occasional pain just above my groin while lowering myself down stairs or something similar, but overall, I was feeling pretty great.
Then...I had some family things to take care of which sent me home for a week in the beginning of June. Its an 8 hour drive to my parents house and then another 4 hours to see other family in another part of the state. I was home for a week before coming back to my house (another 12 hour drive). I was only home a week when my grandmother passed away so back home I went (another 2 12+ hour drives). By the time I came back home at the end of June, my hip had suffered some pretty significant set backs, I was in daily pain again. I figured it was a short term flare up and did not think much of it, but after 2 weeks the pain was only getting worse. I was taking 2 summer classes at Michigan Tech so I was sitting for 3 hours a day plus trying to work at my old job at the law office a few times a week. The combination of a lot of driving plus sitting at work and school was causing things to only get worse. I was getting a lot of groin pain, pain in the front of my hip, and knee pain. After a few more weeks of this, I became concerned and contacted the surgeon in Colorado again. While waiting to hear from his team I decided that it would be best to get an opinion on the femoral anteversion issue. I called a surgeon that was recommended to me that's based in New York and scheduled an appointment for the end of September. Dr. Philippon does not deal with femoral anteversion so he cannot really tell me much more about it other than I have it and it might effect the outcome of this surgery. I feel like until I get an opinion from a doctor that does these kinds of surgeries I will never know if this pain is caused by the anteversion or if its just a part of this healing process. Its been about 2 months of constant pain so far though, so I don't feel like I am making any rash decisions, even though I am tired of all this hip stuff.
So that's the update for now. I currently have two weeks off from classes before I start taking some more classes this fall. The break has been nice for my hip. I am still trying to get on the bike a few times a week as well as doing some stretching that was given to me by Dr. P. So far, the groin pain has calmed some, but the pain in the front of my hip and in the knee is still bad most days preventing me from being on my feet for any length of time. Hopefully I can get some more answers from this surgeon in New York.
For anyone else out there suffering, I hope that you too get answers soon and that everyone has pain free days ahead!
Since my last post my recovery had seemed to progress well, although slowly, with often setbacks. But, by the end of May I was doing some light jogging. In fact, the last week of May I was able to jog 3 days in one week and it felt amazing. I had stopped physical therapy about 2 weeks before this, although I was still doing exercises at home. I would still get occasional pain just above my groin while lowering myself down stairs or something similar, but overall, I was feeling pretty great.
Then...I had some family things to take care of which sent me home for a week in the beginning of June. Its an 8 hour drive to my parents house and then another 4 hours to see other family in another part of the state. I was home for a week before coming back to my house (another 12 hour drive). I was only home a week when my grandmother passed away so back home I went (another 2 12+ hour drives). By the time I came back home at the end of June, my hip had suffered some pretty significant set backs, I was in daily pain again. I figured it was a short term flare up and did not think much of it, but after 2 weeks the pain was only getting worse. I was taking 2 summer classes at Michigan Tech so I was sitting for 3 hours a day plus trying to work at my old job at the law office a few times a week. The combination of a lot of driving plus sitting at work and school was causing things to only get worse. I was getting a lot of groin pain, pain in the front of my hip, and knee pain. After a few more weeks of this, I became concerned and contacted the surgeon in Colorado again. While waiting to hear from his team I decided that it would be best to get an opinion on the femoral anteversion issue. I called a surgeon that was recommended to me that's based in New York and scheduled an appointment for the end of September. Dr. Philippon does not deal with femoral anteversion so he cannot really tell me much more about it other than I have it and it might effect the outcome of this surgery. I feel like until I get an opinion from a doctor that does these kinds of surgeries I will never know if this pain is caused by the anteversion or if its just a part of this healing process. Its been about 2 months of constant pain so far though, so I don't feel like I am making any rash decisions, even though I am tired of all this hip stuff.
So that's the update for now. I currently have two weeks off from classes before I start taking some more classes this fall. The break has been nice for my hip. I am still trying to get on the bike a few times a week as well as doing some stretching that was given to me by Dr. P. So far, the groin pain has calmed some, but the pain in the front of my hip and in the knee is still bad most days preventing me from being on my feet for any length of time. Hopefully I can get some more answers from this surgeon in New York.
For anyone else out there suffering, I hope that you too get answers soon and that everyone has pain free days ahead!
Monday, April 15, 2013
WOW...3 months (or 12 weeks) out from surgery
So today is 3 months out from surgery and I am getting better and better each day it seems like. Today I went to the gym and did 15 minutes on the elliptical, as well as the lunges on the treadmill and other PT exercises with minimal pain afterwards, just a little ache. I am getting so antsy to get outside and do some yard work and walking, but alas, the weather here has not cooperated yet. Yesterday we got about 5 inches of snow again. Luckily its melting pretty fast by the next day but it certainly makes for sloppy, wet ground, not ideal for walking on with a newly operated hip. So I am trying to be patient, planning a garden and such instead.
This last week has been pretty uneventful, the hip has felt good and my stomach seems to have settled down which is a huge relief as it was really getting in the way of me attending PT. Well, not much to report on this week, I just cannot believe that its already 3 months out.
Hope everyone else is pain free :)
This last week has been pretty uneventful, the hip has felt good and my stomach seems to have settled down which is a huge relief as it was really getting in the way of me attending PT. Well, not much to report on this week, I just cannot believe that its already 3 months out.
Hope everyone else is pain free :)
Monday, April 8, 2013
If its not one thing, its another!
Today is 11 weeks post op! I am in shock how fast the time has gone. Physical therapy is still going well even though I have not been able to attend as much as I would like. Recently my stomach pains have become the real issue, preventing me from going to physical therapy as much as I should. Last week I was only able to attend one day. But during that one session we really pushed the hip hard. I did lounges on the treadmill for 2 whole minutes! I thought that I was going to die! I am doing 3 sets of 10 of lounges on the ground with 2lb weights as well as side leg lifts and back leg lifts. Its crazy how much I can do and the progress that I can feel. But I can also still feel a lot of weakness. My pain has been minimal for the past 3 weeks, which is really promising considering I cannot take any NSAID's. I still have numbness along the outside of my thigh and under my knee cap. My scars seem to be healing up well, but I can feel a lot of scar tissue underneath my outer most scar. I have been using Vit. E oil on them and massage to break it up.
My stomach on the other hand seems to have a mind of its own. I have been taking Prilosec now for 2 weeks at the increased does yet on Thursday I had horrible stomach pains again. Is a combination of nausea and actual physical pain. I am not sure if anything sets it off in particular but it usually starts in the evening after having dinner. I have tried taking Pepto and Tums but both of those usually just make things worse. I was in pain for about 6 hours until some pain medication I took finally kicked in. Friday was not much better, although I was able to sleep a little more. I had a low grade fever all day which had me worried. I called my doctor but he was out of town and the fill in doctor only suggested that if the pain got worse I got to the walk-in or ER. Well Friday night the pain got worse so I went to the ER. They were not able to do much for me, they basically just suggested that I call my primary care doctor about setting up an appointment for a scope of my stomach. They were able to prescribe some antibiotics in case it is an infection, plus some pain pills to take when the pain gets really bad. So for the past few days I have just eaten toast and drank water because of the nausea.
So overall, the hip is feeling really good, minus some aches and pain here and there but this stomach thing has really put a damper on my progress. On Wed. I have a follow up appointment with my doctor regarding the stomach issues so hopefully then we can come up with a game plan for the next step.
My stomach on the other hand seems to have a mind of its own. I have been taking Prilosec now for 2 weeks at the increased does yet on Thursday I had horrible stomach pains again. Is a combination of nausea and actual physical pain. I am not sure if anything sets it off in particular but it usually starts in the evening after having dinner. I have tried taking Pepto and Tums but both of those usually just make things worse. I was in pain for about 6 hours until some pain medication I took finally kicked in. Friday was not much better, although I was able to sleep a little more. I had a low grade fever all day which had me worried. I called my doctor but he was out of town and the fill in doctor only suggested that if the pain got worse I got to the walk-in or ER. Well Friday night the pain got worse so I went to the ER. They were not able to do much for me, they basically just suggested that I call my primary care doctor about setting up an appointment for a scope of my stomach. They were able to prescribe some antibiotics in case it is an infection, plus some pain pills to take when the pain gets really bad. So for the past few days I have just eaten toast and drank water because of the nausea.
So overall, the hip is feeling really good, minus some aches and pain here and there but this stomach thing has really put a damper on my progress. On Wed. I have a follow up appointment with my doctor regarding the stomach issues so hopefully then we can come up with a game plan for the next step.
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