Hip Update: Orthopedic Surgeon Visit

by - Wednesday, July 26, 2017

A couple people have asked me for an update on my hip situation, and until Monday afternoon I didn't have much to say. My hip has been about the same. Some days it hurts a lot; some days it's OK.

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I've wrapped up physical therapy for the moment while I was waiting on my appointment with an orthopedic surgeon.

I was at the beach last week, and running on the boardwalk is one of my favorite things to do. I tried not to let me hip stop that too much. I jogged a very slow mile my first day there.

My hip hurt, so I walked the rest of the time.

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The remainder of my time at the beach, I didn't really attempt much running. Instead I stuck with walks on the boardwalk. I guess it was better than nothing, but it kind of broke my heart.

I had my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon Monday. I'm not sure how to describe how it went. There were some good things and some bad things.

On the positive side, the doctor said he'd like to try to avoid surgery. That was one of my biggest fears, so I was happy to hear that.

On the negative side, he also couldn't quite figure out what the problem was. He looked at my MRI and said there could potentially be a small labrum tear. But he also said I don't exhibit the common sides of a labrum tear. That's exactly the same thing my PT said.

So for now, he wants to try a couple of things to see if any of them help.

First up is a month-long course of a prescription strength anti-inflammatory. It's a drug that was originally released to treat arthritis. While on this drug, alcohol is 100 percent forbidden because there could be some nasty interactions/potential liver failure.

The timing of my month of sobriety totally sucks. I'm not a big drinker in the first place, but I had a whole bunch of events already scheduled this month where it would have been nice to be able to grab a drink.

I go back to the orthopedic surgeon in a month to see if this medicine helps with anything. If not, we could move on to things like cortisone injections or another MRI with some contrast/dye to see what those pictures look like and if anything comes back more clear.

Then of course, there's always surgery. For obvious reasons, I'd like to avoid surgery. I'm really hoping this medicine does the job.

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2 comments

  1. Hugs and thinking of you! Hope you squeezed in one last drink before starting that medication!

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  2. that sounds familiar. my foot is still busted, nobody knows why, and I did a month of arthritis anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy with no change. I hope you have better results!

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