Wow! Reading about what has happened to everyone else makes me feel kind of lucky. My problems are almost over and should be solved for quite a few years. I guess you could say I had a typical childhood. I broke my wrist twice, leg once, collapsed a knuckle once and burned my face playing with black powder. (Sound familiar WR?) As far as I know, none of that led to my problem though.
About a year and a half ago I was seeing a Chiropractor for some back problems. I have had hem off & on for years, but never as severe as others like EZRider. After a few manipulations I started having severe pain in my hip. So severe that I was walking with a pronounced limp. I complained about it to the Chiropractor & he referred me to an orthopedic Dr about an hour & a half away from me. I went to see him & he put me through the paces. I had several months of Physical Therapy & a couple of rounds of steroid therapy. Nothing really helped. I still hurt when I walked (or stood up, or sat for too long, etc...) and the joint would also pop a lot. The most uncomfortable feeling though was when I would take a step & it would feel like it was dislocating. The Dr was finally able to justify sending me in for an MRI. I had it done the Monday before Thanksgiving last year. That Wednesday I apparently received a call from the Dr office telling me to get off my feet. One of the Nurses even kept calling over the holiday trying to get ahold of me. When she finally reached me I was told to stay off of my feet & only walk to the bathroom or my bed using crutches.
The diagnosis was Avascular Necrosis. To put it simply, the blood flow to the head of my Femur was damaged & the bone was slowly dying. This Dr blamed it on my drinking a couple of beers every day then refused to have anything more to do with me. He referred me to another Dr in the area. I am really happy about that because he was a rude b******! I am also happy about that because the Dr he referred me to is phenomenal! He even holds part of the patent on the hardware he put into me. None of the other Doctors I have spoken with agree with the first Doctors diagnosis of the cause, but I have cut my drinking back to a couple of times a month. Better safe than sorry. In fact, I have even been told that this problem could have been caused by the steroid treatment I was given for this or another one given for some back troubles. Either way it goes, I have it & I accept it. Just need to get through it & be done.
On February 13 of this year (a friday) I had the first of two hip replacements. I was back to work as a welder 3 months later. I went through pain management to try and give the first side as long as possible to heal and strengthen. When I could no longer stand it, I went back to the Surgeon and we checked the degradation of the remaining hip. It was bad enough to warrant another surgery, so on November 18 I had the other side replaced. They tell me that the problem is now completely gone and once I am healed I will live a full & productive life again. I just need to find another job that is less physical. That way I make the new hips last as long as possible. Since I am only 36, this makes a bit of sense to me. I was told that I did this at the proper time. Both sides were examined after surgery and they had both partially collapsed and had fractured. Not a severe fracture, just a hairline one, but they were not healing. Right now it is just getting through the physical therapy that bothers me. I know it is a necessary evil though. She should be here to torture me in about an hour, so wish me luck! And I also want to wish everyone well with their own trials. You have all shown me that you do not need to let it get you down. You can find joy even when it looks like there is none to be found.
