Hip pain caused by scoliosis...????

[jrnyc]

caving in

i have been without NSAID's since my latest allergic reaction at the beginning of December...and my left hip pain has gotten worse...
so i am caving in and having steroid shot in left hip on January 24th..
pain doc was too booked to arrange it sooner...
i am taking a chance...my cortisol showed a drop on latest blood work (end of December)...went from 14 to 10.5...no apparent reason why...
hormone doc in CA guessing it is from stress of pain...constant
hip pain, now there even without any activity on my part...

i hope the smallest possible dose does the trick...i cannot risk getting anything more than that...
i had no idea the Diclofenac (splg?) was helping me so much until i had to stop taking it.

jess...and Sparky

[LindaRacine]

Hi Jess...

Hope the injection doesn't cause a reaction. It's been quite awhile since you've had any, so maybe you'll be OK. Wanted to let you know that I've been sleeping on a memory foam mattress for a few weeks, and my TB is a lot better. It's strange, because prior to that, I slept on a top of the line SleepNumber bed with a memory foam topper. And, I had a memory foam topper on the bed before that. I would have thought the mattress would give me the same result as the topper, but there appears to be a difference. For the record, THIS is the one I bought.

--Linda

[rohrer01]

Hi, Linda.

I would have thought a sleep number with the topper would have helped, too. I thought about getting one, but you can "try" it all you want, but until you've slept on it for a while, you just don't know if it will help.

I also read your review. You said "very soft", but the bed says "medium-firm". So is the bed itself softer than they advertise it?

My hips were hurting last night. I had an episode of my right hip hurting that lasted a good two years. When I finally, out of desperation, had the MRI w/contrast it showed up nothing. After the MRI my hip suddenly quit hurting as well. I just thought that I had a tear in the meniscus and when they injected the contrast it caused it to flip back into place. I'll never know. They wanted to do an arthroscopic exploratory surgery and I said, "No way!" As long as it isn't hurting anymore, I'm not messing with it. I hope last night wasn't a prelude to more hip pain!

The only bed that I've gotten relief from for my lower back pain is a Craftmatic Adjustable Bed (1993 model - just the base) with a memory foam mattress + egg crate that I bought from Wal-Mart for $200.00. I think it's because it raises my legs into a more comfortable position. But, this is bad because I can't sleep with the hubby when I need it. It's a twin and he can't sleep on a bed that isn't flat. :/

Are you going to sell your Sleep Number bed? I'm just curious. What size is it? I suppose the cost of shipping it more than halfway across the country would make it out of the question for me to buy it from you, anyway. Last year we bought a gently used king size Sealy Waikiki Beach Reflexion bed. It's super soft and super comfy, except my lower back still hurts when I sleep on it for too many days in a row. It did give me much greater relief than the old hard mattress that we had with the multiple egg crates, down mattress cover, and 2-1/2 inch memory foam topper. I just hate investing money into a bed just to try it. I can't get a queen size bed up my stairs because of the box springs. It has to be twin, double or king sized. Ugh!

Oh, the bed dilemma!

[rohrer01]

i have been without NSAID's since my latest allergic reaction at the beginning of December...and my left hip pain has gotten worse...
so i am caving in and having steroid shot in left hip on January 24th..
pain doc was too booked to arrange it sooner...
i am taking a chance...my cortisol showed a drop on latest blood work (end of December)...went from 14 to 10.5...no apparent reason why...
hormone doc in CA guessing it is from stress of pain...constant
hip pain, now there even without any activity on my part...

i hope the smallest possible dose does the trick...i cannot risk getting anything more than that...
i had no idea the Diclofenac (splg?) was helping me so much until i had to stop taking it.

jess...and Sparky

Jess,
I'm so sorry you are in so much pain! My SI injection worked well enough that my oxycodone can help with the rest. Without the oxy, the lower back pain can still get quite intense.

My son had some pretty significant hip pain when he was about 16 years old. He was limping around. I took him in for MRI's of both hips. They used contrast and wanted to compare the "good" hip with the "bad" hip. He has a torn meniscus. Of course, they wanted to do surgery right away. When we went to see the surgeon and my son pointed to where it hurt, it didn't match up with where it "should" have hurt with the torn meniscus. He pointed to the outside of his hip instead of the inside, which would have been in the groin. The doctor gave him a steroid shot from the outside which worked to eliminate all of his pain. Surgery avoided! He also has congenital shallow hip sockets that could have been fixed with leg braces (congenital hip dysplasia) when he was an infant, had the doctor been on the ball and noticed it! It's been 10 years since his injection. He has some hip pain, and always will, from the dysplasia. But that shot was a one time deal and he hasn't been that bad ever since!

With my son's story in mind, I'm hoping that you'll only need one shot for this, ... ever. I didn't know that pain could lower your cortisol levels. That works against you in so many ways. I'm so sorry to hear this!

Have you figured out which surgeons take your new insurance, yet? If you can get in to see a Physical Medicine doctor, they are pretty good at figuring out where your pain is originating from. Mine has been great! They aren't surgery pushers, either. Although, they aren't like the pain doctors that will tell you it's absolutely the wrong thing to do.

Are you going to have your cortisol checked one more time before your shot? It might be a good idea for you to have your cortisol checked two to three weeks after your injection, too.

I do so hope you can get your pain under control. It's so miserable to live in constant pain!

((((HUGS)))) and Tweets

Rohrer01

[jrnyc]

hey Linda...
thanks for the info...wow...that looks like a really thick mattress...
i like soft mattresses...i just never thought of getting a memory foam because a few people who had them told me that they were disappointed, that the ones they bought kept the memory of their shape and lost "newness" pretty fast...
i do not know if that is true of any of newer memory foam mattresses...or if it is true of top of the line ones...???

hey rohr...not sure what a meniscus has to do with hip pain...?
i have a torn meniscus in one knee, cyst in other, arthritis in both...
but that has been true since well before i got the bursitis in left hip...the knee problems started years ago...and MRI of knees showed what was going on with them....
my cortisol check was done recently...i will probably get it rechecked
within 3-4 weeks after the steroid shot...thanks for the concern.

i took Sparky to Manhattan to visit....one friend hadn't met him,
and another hadn't seen him since he was 3 months old...we walked
in Central Park...at least, they did...i couldn't walk...the left hip
burned after 3 steps...so Sparky walked with friends and kept coming back to check and make sure his momma was still there...
sweet boy had a great time sniffing sidewalks...all those thousands
of dogs who peed there before him...he was so happy. we did have
to take cabs everywhere we went...i could not walk at all.

jess...and Sparky

[Pooka1]

Jess,

I think you are making a good decision to get a lowest dose shot. You have to do something it sounds like. I really hope it helps and doesn't affect your cortisol. Or if it does that your cortisol will rebound quickly though I know you feel terrible when it i slow as I recall.

Such a fun adventure for the baby monkey!

I wish there were more options for pain. We can send a man to the moon but can't control some pain. It's crazy.

Good luck. Hang in there.

Sharon

[LindaRacine]

Hi, Linda.

I would have thought a sleep number with the topper would have helped, too. I thought about getting one, but you can "try" it all you want, but until you've slept on it for a while, you just don't know if it will help.

I also read your review. You said "very soft", but the bed says "medium-firm". So is the bed itself softer than they advertise it?

My hips were hurting last night. I had an episode of my right hip hurting that lasted a good two years. When I finally, out of desperation, had the MRI w/contrast it showed up nothing. After the MRI my hip suddenly quit hurting as well. I just thought that I had a tear in the meniscus and when they injected the contrast it caused it to flip back into place. I'll never know. They wanted to do an arthroscopic exploratory surgery and I said, "No way!" As long as it isn't hurting anymore, I'm not messing with it. I hope last night wasn't a prelude to more hip pain!

The only bed that I've gotten relief from for my lower back pain is a Craftmatic Adjustable Bed (1993 model - just the base) with a memory foam mattress + egg crate that I bought from Wal-Mart for $200.00. I think it's because it raises my legs into a more comfortable position. But, this is bad because I can't sleep with the hubby when I need it. It's a twin and he can't sleep on a bed that isn't flat. :/

Are you going to sell your Sleep Number bed? I'm just curious. What size is it? I suppose the cost of shipping it more than halfway across the country would make it out of the question for me to buy it from you, anyway. Last year we bought a gently used king size Sealy Waikiki Beach Reflexion bed. It's super soft and super comfy, except my lower back still hurts when I sleep on it for too many days in a row. It did give me much greater relief than the old hard mattress that we had with the multiple egg crates, down mattress cover, and 2-1/2 inch memory foam topper. I just hate investing money into a bed just to try it. I can't get a queen size bed up my stairs because of the box springs. It has to be twin, double or king sized. Ugh!

Oh, the bed dilemma!

Hi...

I'm unsure why I said it was very soft. I actually hadn't slept in it at that time. I would say the description of medium firm is about right, though I've never slept on a memory foam mattress until recently, so can't really compare it to anything. I don't intend to sell the Sleep Number bed. I recently bought a new condo and it has 3 bedrooms, so I needed to furnish the 3rd bedroom. The memory foam mattress is in the guest room, but I'm going to have them swapped.

--Linda

[jrnyc]

hey Sharon
thanks for the encouraging words...
i decided on the shot because the pain has just been too
much, and it doesn't require that i walk for it to hit me...
i stand at the sink and wash a dish and left hip starts
burning...

yes, Sparky had a blast...he had so much fun, it was worth
the huge cost of round trip car service...you can take a dog
on a plane, but not a bus or train...there is a bill trying to go
thru Congress to change that...but the train companies...like Amtrak...
are fighting it...the old expression
"if you want a friend in Washington D.C., get a dog"
is true, but so far, Congres had not gotten this bill passed...

i could have flown round trip to CA from east coast for what
i paid for car service round trip from CT to NYC....crazy...
but Sparky made it worth it!

jess...and Sparky

[rohrer01]

hey Linda...
thanks for the info...wow...that looks like a really thick mattress...
i like soft mattresses...i just never thought of getting a memory foam because a few people who had them told me that they were disappointed, that the ones they bought kept the memory of their shape and lost "newness" pretty fast...
i do not know if that is true of any of newer memory foam mattresses...or if it is true of top of the line ones...???

hey rohr...not sure what a meniscus has to do with hip pain...?
i have a torn meniscus in one knee, cyst in other, arthritis in both...
but that has been true since well before i got the bursitis in left hip...the knee problems started years ago...and MRI of knees showed what was going on with them....
my cortisol check was done recently...i will probably get it rechecked
within 3-4 weeks after the steroid shot...thanks for the concern.

i took Sparky to Manhattan to visit....one friend hadn't met him,
and another hadn't seen him since he was 3 months old...we walked
in Central Park...at least, they did...i couldn't walk...the left hip
burned after 3 steps...so Sparky walked with friends and kept coming back to check and make sure his momma was still there...
sweet boy had a great time sniffing sidewalks...all those thousands
of dogs who peed there before him...he was so happy. we did have
to take cabs everywhere we went...i could not walk at all.

jess...and Sparky

Maybe it was a torn labrum that he has. I think the difference is in the depth of the cartilage, the labrum being the thicker structure. The problem that causes pain is that the cartilage flips over and can cause the hip bone to rub on it, creating pain. I have a friend who is a PT and she related it to the handle of a bucket that can flip back and forth. When it is in the right position it doesn't hurt. When it flips over it hurts like the dickens! Anyway, his pain was on the outside of his hip and one steroid shot did the trick. Like I said earlier, his hip problems stem from the shallow hip sockets. It kind of makes me mad that they missed that in him as a newborn. They are supposed to specifically check for that! It's totally treatable and if NOT treated can lead to a life of hip pain and difficulties.

I'm glad to hear that you got to get together with some friends at Central Park. I'm so sad to hear that you couldn't fully enjoy your stay and your visit because you couldn't walk! That just saps the joy right out of things. I hate pain.

Sparky's a good doggie. I'm glad you have him. He seems to keep you going on days you might otherwise feel like giving up. Really good animals know when their person needs comfort and they are great at offering it. My little Juliet (Chihuahua) was very good at comforting me. I had to put her down because I think Wal-Mart put the bad dog food back on the shelves after the dog food incident. After she ate it she was so sick for weeks that I couldn't take seeing her suffer anymore. ='( I really miss her!

[rohrer01]

Hi...

I'm unsure why I said it was very soft. I actually hadn't slept in it at that time. I would say the description of medium firm is about right, though I've never slept on a memory foam mattress until recently, so can't really compare it to anything. I don't intend to sell the Sleep Number bed. I recently bought a new condo and it has 3 bedrooms, so I needed to furnish the 3rd bedroom. The memory foam mattress is in the guest room, but I'm going to have them swapped.

--Linda

As my house empties and I try new beds, I'm doing the same thing. They go in the spare bedrooms. It's good that you keep it, actually. Sometimes one bed will be more comfortable for me than another bed. I'm glad I can switch it up if I need to. I need really soft beds. I'm so bony that anything even somewhat firm just kills me. It's horrible.

[jrnyc]

hey rohr
i wish our pets could stay with us forever...
but know that you surely gave your little Juliet the best
doggie life possible...
that is what i want for Sparky...he is an angel in my life...
i waited decades for my own dog, until i retired...
so the fates took pity on me and gave me the best dog in
the world...i swear...the best little boy...
he is so good and sweet and i am so lucky to have him...
he is the best thing in CT that ever happened here...

more snow is coming for 24 hours...then bitter cold..
it makes everything hurt...i am so sick of winter...
am planning a visit to southern CA end of February...

jess...and Sparky

[rohrer01]

Same thing here for the weather. It's supposed to be freezing rain/snow, then plummet to -15^o with wind chills of -30^o!!! Ugh, I don't mind the snow. The ice is SO pretty in the trees when the sun finally comes out. But, the bitter cold makes everything hurt!

[jrnyc]

so far, so good....steroid shot in hip worked like magic....
different doctor...liked her...she only gave me 20 mg instead
of "minimum" of 40....regular doc i go to there prob would
have insisted on 40....

dealing with awful norovirus since late Sat nite...early Sunday...
finally getting better and husband got it...he never gets sick....
very contagious...do not need a cruise ship to catch this...
it is all over CT per internet...i blame filthy Amtrak i took to NYC
on Friday....
hoping puppy cannot catch this...no 10 pound little dog or cat
could survive this....internet claims few viruses if any pass between
humans and canines....this house is full of germs and no one well
enough to wash them away yet....
poor puppy so confused why momma hasn't been taking care of him
for 2 and a half days...now i have to get up just to care for little
sweet puppy

jess...and Sparky

[Pooka1]

Jess, great news on the hip pain! That's great that the small dose worked. Will you get your cortisol level monitored going forward?

That norovirus sounds bad. Take care of yourself.

Hugs to the baby monkey.

[jrnyc]

yes...will get it checked in about 3 weeks....

yes, this virus is worst...

Sparky sends hugs...

J.