Getting a Hip Replacement

Boy! Sorry for not updating earlier. I guess I thought about doing it so I thought I'd done it but hadn't.

Okay, so here goes:

Went to a doctor who supposedly knows all about AVN. It was sure a surprise to him! He said that, no, he does not. He did agree with the other doctor that I should probably get a core decompression done. He also decided that he should do a cortisone shot to see if it would take some swelling down in the hip. Boy! Did that hurt! The next day I could hardly walk, for pete's sake. Anyway, it didn't work. The pain didn't subside. Even a teeny tiny bit.

So I decided to do some research of my own. I found an online support group of people with AVN. Almost every single one of these people has had asthma bad enough to be on major doses of prednisone - just like me. Many of them have battle cancer, too. What I found was that core decompression is not a cure. It just puts off the eventual hip replacement. It's not guaranteed to make the pain go away, either.

So, I decided to go back to my original doctor and get a hip replacement done. Now, when I first went to him a year ago, he said he could do both hips at the same time. Since I have gained 20 lbs in the meantime? No such luck. So, I'm going to do the right hip on April 27. When I've recovered from that one I'll do the left hip.

I've applied for short term disability. I haven't heard back, yet. It's certainly not guaranteed that I'll get it. This is a pre-existing condition so we'll see. I really want the disability now so that I can try to get into some sort of better shape prior to surgery. The aquafit class and beginner yoga classes I want to go to are only offered on weekday mornings so I'd like to be able to attend those.

In the end, I'm happy to have the hip replacement set up. I'm in so much pain on a daily basis that I could just sit and cry. I know that the hip replacement won't be a walk in the park but I have to stay focused on the end result - just like I did when I was doing chemo.

That's all for today.
ttfn

My Hips

I went for my MRI on Monday. I went to see my doctor on Tuesday. This is what he said.

My hips are 30% dead. They like for your hips to be 50% dead before they'll do a hip replacement. Therefore, he thinks I should do a less invasive operation whereby they drill holes in the hips to reduce the pressure thereby getting rid of the pain. However, he doesn't do this operation.

So...he's going to call around and try to find me a doctor who works with young people with Avascular Necrosis and see what that doctor says.

I have no feelings about this. It's not good, it's not bad, it just is what it is. There's no pill to help with the pain. I told him I've been self-medicating with Green Apple Martinis and he said whatever helps. So, there ya go. I must now go make myself a drink!

TTFN!