Update...

Last year I told you all about my recent issues with my "good" hip - see story here. I just wanted to update everyone about it.

Since I wrote that blog, the saga has continued. That cortisone shot didn't do much good for me. It was intended to address bursitis. I told my Doc that it was bone pain I was feeling, but they didn't see any bone-on-bone action happening in my hip so they decided to treat the other pain that is more obvious to them - tendinitis. They can tell I have that because it smarts when they poke their finger into my hip muscle. But, the cortisone shot did little for me.

The next week, then, they tried a steroid shot into the muscle area where the tendinitis is. It didn't do much for me either.

Then I went to see Dr. Morrey about a month later. He also said he didn't see any bone-on-bone stuff going on, but wanted to investigate further, so he sent me for a bone scan. I've had them before, they are painless so I wasn't freaked out about it, but I had forgotten about the stuff they have to inject into you three hours before the procedure. As usual, it took them three sticks before they could inject me - that was lovely.

A week after the scan my doc called and said they wanted to do a hip study where they would attempt to withdraw some of the fluid from my hip area to study for infection and such, and then inject me with steroid and anesthetic there in the socket area. I won't go into the dismal details, suffice it to say - I had the same reaction before - out cold. It wasn't fun. And, they were unable to get any of the fluid out either.

However, I got up from that procedure and was able to walk - almost skip - out of there. Had I mentioned I had been using crutches for the week before the procedure? Yeah, it was that good.

So, I've had some relief, now the pain I feel is mostly the tendinitis which is pretty awful at times, but that deep bone pain has lessened considerably.

This past Monday I had an appt with my doc. He showed me the results of my bone scan - there was significant uptake of the stuff they injected which means there is something going on in the bone even though the x-rays don't show it. He said upon closer examination of my hip he can detect a deformity on that side that is similar to what happened to my left side, but to a much lesser degree.

Bottom line: I can do the cortisone shots up to once a year, and once they no longer last me that one year I will have to have it replaced. Not the best news but, and I know this sounds cliche', there are so many people so much worse off than I. I know a family who put their 19 year old daughter in home hospice care this last week...things could be so much worse. We all have challenges, and this is simply mine. But that doesn't get you all out of sending me flowers and cards and chocolates and visiting me when I finally do have the surgery...I have to get something out of this, right???