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

[jrnyc]

thanks, rohr, jen and jackie...

i started the Skelaxin tonite...it is 800 mg and says to take it
twice a day...
took it almost 2 hours ago...all i notice is i feel dizzy...
i notice nothing different in my muscles, or how my back and left hip
are feeling...
i don't like this feeling...i do not know if i will take even one more of these
pills...i really do not feel good...and i think i will not be able to take Ambien
to sleep tonite...but do not think this dizzy feeling will help me sleep...

thanks again for the good wishes, you guys...
jess...and Sparky

[LindaRacine]

i mentioned to the PA that i am wondering about surgery...
as usual, she was against the idea...in my experience, pain doctors and
their staff are against fusion surgery.

Hi Jess...

I'm happy to read that you're finally going to try PT. I think of all the things that can help, it's the most promising. In my experience, the only thing that seemed to have helped were injections, PT, and anti-inflammatories. I was taking both oxycontin and percoset for the TB pain after my surgery. I found that narcotics were a total waste. When I stopped taking them, the pain didn't change in the slightest. Unfortunately, I couldn't take anti-inflammatories when the TB first started (because of the fusion surgery), and I can't take them now because they've torn up my stomach. Injections worked well for me, but, like you (though for different reasons) I'm concerned about repeated injections.

Are you considering surgery for the TB, or are you talking about back surgery? Unfortunately, I think back surgery has a bigger risk of making the TB worse than making it better. There is surgery for TB, but I can't really find anyone who says its worthwhile.

--Linda

[jrnyc]

Linda, i was thinking about back surgery...
not good to hear that it could make hip pain worse..
ugh...doesn't make sense to me...
yes, i will arrange some PT sessions next week...
though i have my doubts...ever since PT in NYC told me there
was nothing they could do for my spine...

ended up that the Skelaxin made me dizzy, which i didn't
like...it did help me sleep, which was good...so i didn't need any Ambien...
AND...only time any med has helped constant neck pain...
arthritis in neck, from Lyme and a previous car accident...
supposed to get an MRI of neck...not sure why..
(already had X-ray)...

so i am pleased the Skelaxin helped severe neck pain...
and will probably just take the medication at nite...

hope you are feeling good...
your PM box is filled...

jess...and Sparky

[titaniumed]

Linda, i was thinking about back surgery...

When our spines are in really bad shape(as adults) and we cant maintain after exhausting all efforts, that’s an indicator. I do agree with PT, it was the one thing that helped me the MOST, before and after surgery. And I totally agree with Linda about the meds being a total waste. I like using the words, “Not worth a damn” (with Copenhagen tucked in my lower lip) Hey, that was pretty funny! “Hey cowboy, does your horse use chew too?” (smiley face)

I also had MAJOR pain in my hip, 1”circle on my right side greater trochanter, and flames on my ankle.. I don’t know and cant say exactly what caused it, but I do know that that pain subsided immediately after surgery. This was most likely some sort of impingement in my lumbar. Funny how pains in specific areas can originate in other parts of the body. A classic example is sciatica pain.

Meds help, we cant do without them sometimes, but they can be destructive. Its in the fine print. Steroids are also not the safest things in the world...

I don’t like taking drugs that cause dizziness. Are they worth a damn?

That’s ok, Copenhagen isn’t worth a damn either.....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jess, your x-rays looked bad last year. I know, mine were a train wreck also.....Maybe a visit to one of the scoli heavies in NY again would be a good idea. I know, you have done that a few times, but I think you should go pay another visit and maybe you will hear the words you need to hear. Each surgeon will convey different thoughts...and my decision was based on these meetings, and upon hearing the words “It will help”. After hearing what could go wrong.....this is what I needed to hear, and I needed help. BAD. I was dying. I couldn’t do it anymore.

Do not influence their decision at all. I know my surgeon sent my x-rays around town, (most likely TCSC) and that’s great, but if several surgeons are looking, you cant throw a wrench in the gears. A surgical plan is a surgical plan.

Ed

[jrnyc]

thanks for the thoughtful concerns, Ed...
i didn't feel good reading that fusion surgery could possibly make
bursitis in the hip worse...
but doctor thinks my left hip problem is really caused by
uneven loading of spine...IF that is true, i would think
surgery might help the hip, because it would correct the
uneven loading...

i have to find out if Lonner takes my "new" insurance
of the Medicare "Advantage" variety...it is no advantage...
one surgeon i wanted to see in Manhattan does not take it...
i am in the worst pain so far...and i understand how those in pain
choose surgery...
i am still so afraid of it, though....and the PA saying "what if you
come out worse" doesn't help, of course.

jess...and Sparky

[WLB1]

SI joint pain

Hi Jess, and Sparky,

Thanks for your comments on one of my threads. After I was referred to my pain Doc by my surgeon, I was immediately tested for SI joint pain. I drew each knee up to my chest and then turned the knee as far as I could to the outside. Ow. The hot poker burning feeling the back of my pelvis that radiated up my sides and down my legs is classic si joint pain. That is as positive a test as can be done for the SI joint, which is the semi-joint that fuses the sides of the pelvis to the sacrum. if your curves unbalance your pelvis, you will feel it in these joints, which take the brunt of the forces generated by the curves to the pelvis. The pain Doc did two SI injections, which is both the definitive diagnostic test for the SI joint and the temporary fix for the condition. If it makes you better, it is the SI joint. If it doesn't, it isn't. SI joint issues don't show up on X-ray. For me, the injections were a god send. Most of my low back pain was generated by those suckers. I wish I had the injections before my fusion. I would have had to have surgery anyway, cause I was loosing bowel control, but I would not have had to deal with the awful post op pain.

Jess if I were you, I'd think about calling the pain folks and asking them about your SI joints. It couldn't hurt to ask!

[WLB1]

Sorry about the last post.

Jess, I am new to the forum and not aware of the travails you suffered from your SI joints. I tried to delete it, then to modify it. Never mind! You know as much as me. My burning pain did come from my SI joints.

[jrnyc]

that's OK, WBL1...i was just writing to you about the overdose
i had with steroids, and how it caused my cortisol to crash to
almost zero...that makes you feel exhausted...like having mono...
took 6 months to come back...and i was so lucky my cortisol
level came back...

i am so glad you got relief from the shots...
just be careful not to get too much steroid...

i am going to risk the smallest amount of steroid possible for
a shot in left hip next month...with my fingers crossed that it
doesn't touch my cortisol level. the hip thing has been going
on since last May/June...and when i thought it was healing, it
was just the NSAID helping the pain...which was fine, til i had
allergic reaction to the NSAID...i cannot take any NSAIDs anymore.

i hope you continue to feel better from the shots...
and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

jess...and Sparky

[rohrer01]

Hmmm... The doctors think I have left SI joint problems. I tried the knee up thing and it didn't hurt at all. Maybe it's all in my lower back?

[jrnyc]

hey rohr
what happens if they press hard into the buttocks...individually,
one side at a time, with a thumb...? do you go thru the roof???...

the shots for SI work so well...if they can just figure it out...
i had almost every kind of shot before they figured it out...
and then... bingo..the SI shots were first shots i ever got that
relieved my back pain....wish i could still get them!

i hope your doctors can figure everything out that is going on
with you...and that they can alleviate your pain..

hugs and a tweet...
jess...and Sparky

[LindaRacine]

your PM box is filled...

jess...and Sparky

Me? Looks like there's plenty of empty space.

[rohrer01]

hey rohr
what happens if they press hard into the buttocks...individually,
one side at a time, with a thumb...? do you go thru the roof???...

the shots for SI work so well...if they can just figure it out...
i had almost every kind of shot before they figured it out...
and then... bingo..the SI shots were first shots i ever got that
relieved my back pain....wish i could still get them!

i hope your doctors can figure everything out that is going on
with you...and that they can alleviate your pain..

hugs and a tweet...
jess...and Sparky

They pressed my hips together and that caused pain. I think that he pushed on the little dimple area, too, which also caused pain. Now I don't remember for sure what all he did. I had a SI belt that I thought didn't help at all. Then one day when I took it off, WOWZA did that pain ever come back intensely!!! But it hasn't been like that consistently so I'm just not sure. I'm going back for another injection on the 2nd. We'll decide whether to try another epidural or the SI when I go. Things definitely radiate to the left. I couldn't get out of bed today I hurt so bad. My lower back AND my whole left leg, especially the outside of my lower leg. But it could be the muscle disease causing the leg pain. The only way to rule that out would be to get the SI injection. It's just that the very first and second epidurals that I got gave me 100% relief from the lower back pain. I thought it was a miracle! Now they don't seem to help that much at all.

[jrnyc]

hey rohr
i am so sorry you are in so much pain today....i hope resting helps
and that it feels better later on tonite...

last week when i was at pain doc, the PA pressed into the back,
midway down the buttocks...i went thru the roof...the pain went
right thru me...

i never got much help from epidural shots...very first time in
Columbia Pres Hospital in Manhattan the injections helped a little
for a few weeks...that was it...the next two times...nothing...
it took a long time and alot of other injections to figure out where
to put them...and then bingo...helped right away...
but it took alot of volume of steroid to help...so i ended up with
the overdose...

just be careful with your next injections...no matter where they
put them...to not get too much of the steroid...
i am nervous about getting steroid shot in my hip Dec 11th...
and will have my cortisol and adrenals blood tested after
that, towards end of December....

jess...and Sparky

[JenniferG]

"i am still so afraid of it, though....and the PA saying "what if you
come out worse" doesn't help, of course."

I doubt a surgeon would do your surgery if he thought there was a good chance you'd be worse. I think there's a far greater chance you'd get some, if not a lot, of relief, but I'd rely on the surgeon's advice and if he's willing to do the surgery, I think that to the best of his great knowledge, you're likely to be better off.

I understand that fear. I had it too - cancelled my first date for surgery but then, a few months later, re-booked it. I hate to hear about the pain you're in but until you're ready, it's not time to book. But still worth thinking about it, talking about it, getting used to the idea. Good luck with the steroid needle.

[jrnyc]

thanks, Jen
you are always so helpful and supportive...

jess...and Sparky