Left SI joint and right hip.

[WLB1]

My visit to the pain control Doc yielded the cause of my horrific ongoing back an leg pain. I was fused from t6 to S2 on June 21, 2013. I had a left thoracic curve of 17 degrees and a right lumbar curve of 33 degrees in an adult onset Arthritis. After several rears of stability, my back began a rapid descent. I lost control of my bowels and was in some really bad pain from the waist down. My feet were especially painful. Four months post op most of the pain in the surgery area has subsided, but I still need pain meds because of pain running downy the upside of my right leg. I have a horrifically painful spot on the back of my left hip. Feels like I am being burned with a hot poker. I am also feeling the pain of my moderately damaged left hip. Could this be the result of the twisting force of my scoli? How long must you wait after a fusion surgery to have a hip replacement or SI joint fix? I feel like I am playing whack a mole with the pain, here!

[jrnyc]

i have not had fusion surgery...yet...
despite a lumbar curve of 70 and a thoracic of 42...

BUT...i had a labral tear of my left hip...do not know how...i did not fall, did not do anything in any way to hurt that area....
doctors suspect it was caused by the unbalanced loading of my spine, because it is so crooked...
i suddenly started having a LOT of BURNING and stabbing pain in the left hip...the pain was made worse by walking...
my pain doc ordered an MRI....and there it was, showing on the radiology
results...labral tear with no evidence of fracture line...

just thought this might interest you, even though i have not had any
fusion surgery....
and...all that helped was taking an NSAID, which really surprised me...
specifically diclofenac...and REST...for months.

best wishes...
jess

[Irina]

Jess,

She can't take NSAIDs for 6 months after the surgery. I am sure both of you know this, just saying...

[WLB1]

Thanks, Irina. I sorta knew that, but was not really sure. It is on my list of questions to ask my surgeon next week! Once again, I am so grateful for having this forum. At four months out I am still so drained of energy. We're it not for being able to search this forum and realize feeling wasted most of the time is normal, I would be forcing myself to be up and doing. And make things so much worse! I was taken off my tramadol by the pain management PA, and given a 15 mg sustained release morphene sulphate x 2 x24 hrs. Took the first, last and only one I will ever take last night. It was terrible. Not only did it not work as a pain reliever for me, it kept me wired all night. Anxiety and insomnia and pain, not a good triad. So now I am just on three 5/325 Percocets a day. If I can slowly wean myself off that amount in the next two months, I can go back on my celebrex! Yeah! A plan has formed in my mind as to just how to get myself out of having to go to a pain clinic! Now I just need to figure out how to do cardio with out standing!

[loves to skate]

So sorry for your pain. You might try swimming for cardio. A warm pool just might make you feel better.
Sally

[jrnyc]

yes...i do know she cannot take NSAIDS yet...
just telling her what happened to me, and what helped...
resting actually helped the most...

WLIB...before you make a plan without needing a pain doctor...
do you not want to get an X-ray or MRI or some kind of radiology pic of
the hip...to see what can be seen...????
i am glad for you that you can take Celebrex...i am allergic to it, and highly
allergic to Vioxx, which is now off the market...
i am nervous being on any NSAID, but for now, am risking Diclofenac...just
not every day.

it is not comparable in that i did not have fusion surgery...yet...
BUT...before thinking hip replacement, etc, it is good to
tell the doctor and let them order whatever radiology might let
them see what is going on...
Linda Racine told me i probably had a labral tear, even before i
saw the doctor, and sure enuf, she was right...
it seemed crazy to me...i did not injure the hip at all...
BUT...i was in denial as to how differently loaded my spine makes things...
so that is apparently what did my left hip in...

hope you feel better soon...
that burning pain is NO fun!!

jess...and Sparky, the wonder puppy

[WLB1]

My spine surgeon referred me to the pain clinic. He always refers to local PCM at 3 mos po because he really does not want to deal with it. It is best for me since he is a four hour drive away and they are here. Plus it is easier to accept the pain will be with me for the long term than to worry about why I still hurt. I had thought I would be "cured". I do not know if scoli can be cured in that I will be dealing with the affects of this major horrific surgery for the rest of my life. That is ok,though. I would do it again, since I am so much better now than I was before. In the run up to having such a surgery with a week known surgeon at a place like Duke, there is nothing about my health that he did not know test wise. X-rays, blood tests, cts, MRI. The pa knew exactly what my issues were when I came in the door from the surgeons notes. As far as this surgery goes, I would say it is not for the faint of heart. I do not know how anyone not in terrific pain before would feel they made the right choice. At least I would not have!

[jrnyc]

hi WLB1
i used to get steroid shots in SI joints...it was the only shots that
ever gave me any pain relief...worked great until they overdosed me
with too much steroid...relieved all my lower back pain for about
3 months at a time...

would your surgeon allow you to try any injections for the lower
back pain...if you wanted to...?
just a suggestion, because it would be alot less radical than having
hip replacement...

jess...and Sparky

[WLB1]

Getting an injection next week! Thanks!