SIDE NOTE....

So I just wanted to give you the 411 :) I didn't make it to my Surgeon's apt today w/ Dr R, because while I was so focused on my hip..the flu came around the corner and KO'ed me...big time (and yes I ended up in the hospital..twice..surprise , surprise!)  I kind of feel like I am in that movie "Outbreak" with Dustin Hoffman. Anytime anyone enters the room with me they are wearing a hospital mask...the fun just never ends (yes I am being sarcastic..don't ya know me by now ;) )! They are going to fit me in for another apt in 2 weeks with Dr R., so I will have more hipster updates by then..until then back to bed. The Flu totally sucks!

ps. If you are feel like some other online entertainment besides my hip drama ;) I am currently messing around with a new blog from my bed..one focusing on photos/videos instead of words to express my creative story telling side ;)...it's a total work in progress, but it's keeping my mind off the flu and my hip..you can check it out here at : http://sjzphotography.tumblr.com/  :)
Plus I also have my other "wordy" blog if you haven't checked it out yet. This blog is filled with my musings on all things besides hip as well as interesting interviews with some quite fabulous people that live in my neck of the woods  (examples, photographers, beauty experts, my friend who went to Australia w/ Oprah Winfrey, personal trainers, musicians, and LOTS more)..it's a fun blog to write and hopefully even more fun to read : http://sj-sarahinthecity.blogspot.com/
Ok the flu is telling me to get off the computer and go back to sleep ;) Good Night Hipsters!

THE END!.......

The End! Well not for my blog, because unfortunately the hip saga is continuing, but the end for...
1. Dr M
2. Children's Hospital
3. Saving/ Preserving my hip

I had my final apt with Dr. M ironically on Feb 25th the 1 year anniversary of my SDD open hip surgery w/ Dr M. At one year I was supposed to be recovered from this surgery, but here I am at CH getting a 2 HOUR MRI for both my hips.

A two hour MRI seemed a little bit like a piece of hell when I was first told about it. How can I sit still for 2 HOURS without moving, plus my hips gets so stiff from keeping them in the same position. I was told they could not sedate me or give me medication to relax me, because of the contrast dye they were injecting me with in case of an allergic reaction..ugh! Then they told me they had a ipod system where I could bring my iPod in and at least listen to my tunes while I was MRI'ing ;) So I spent about 4 hours the day before making the perfect most relaxing MRI mix around...all my most favorite chill songs to get me through the  two hours.

Got to CH and got injected with the dye..no reaction..good! Then I had to walk around with my crutches for 20 minutes to move the dye around my body for the MRI..not that easy since the most I have walked around in the past year is possibly 5 minutes..at most. So we did half walking around half lying on the hospital bed moving legs around (almost like a mini PT session ;) ) Then I was ready for the MRI. I told the nurse I had my iPod for the machine..she looked at me with a face I knew no good news was going to come out of.."um, the ipod machine in the MRI room you will be in is broken"...WHAT????? Ok now I was freaking out. So then I said, "well you guys have at least headphones and your own music"... Nurse, "No, but your boyfriend can come in and stay with you"  Ok..so D brought some books into the MRI room and figured he could read to me.... Nurse, "Yea, that won't work, we are giving her ear plugs for the noise..she won't hear you at all"
In the end I made it through the two hours..and due to good behavior I got a 5 min break between the two hips, so an hour..5 min break to stretch..an then the last hour! The last couple of minutes I was going to ask how much longer (but so scared she would say 20 more minutes..which I don't think I could have handled), and then a voice came over the loud intercom saying 2 more minutes, and we will be done..YES!
Next Up: Dr M apt.:
Dr. M pulled up the MRI's.
Left hip looked pretty good...some fraying of labrum..small impingement but overall compensation is probably causing pain.
Right Hip: Totally beyond repair. No labrum... almost complete lost of cartilage in the section that moves when you walk...this is why pain is so constant. Quoting Dr M. "I am a joint/ hip preservationist Dr..I try to preserve hips in young people...but I know when to call Uncle and I am calling Uncle..we were to late in fixing your hip...destruction was pretty bad when I went in there..try to stop it from spreading, but it has and there is a point when there is nothing left to work with, and your hip is at this point.....
I think you should go to the apt. with the Dr I set you up with and find out how to handle your severe arthritis, and see if he can do a hip replacement..it is hard to get a hip replacement approved for someone your age, but you need it, so hopefully it can be done"

CRYING COMMENCES...
*Tears of frustration
*Tears of four years of pain and four painful surgeries/"recoveries" for nothing
*Tears that I will have to move onto a different Dr..for whatever it is worth..Dr M is a wonderful Dr. who has been so helpful and kind, as well as the only surgeon I truly trust. We have been through a lot together the past year and he was extremely supportive, and I truly believe he tried his best to save my hip.
*Tears of what is to come next for me and my hip

I left Children's Hospital speechless...D stopped on the way home to get me McDonalds french fries (a very guilty pleasure of mine that I rarely allow myself to have)
I ate my french fries and crawled into bed, and didn't get up untill the next morning. My head had to much to process..I actually felt so sad by the time I got home..I couldn't even cry.

I woke up the next morning feeling a little clearer and refreshed and realized that this is the end of this section of my hip chapter....can't change the past. Hopefully I have learned a lot from it and that the future will present a life with a pain free functioning hip...fingers crossed.

See New Dr (Dr. R) in 3 weeks about what is next (at an adult hospital ;) ) and will keep you updated on what will happen in my hispter saga......

Screwed?!?!

Today I went for my two week post surgery check up with DR. M (I am really only 1.5 weeks post surgery, but lets not split hairs about it ;) )
To the left is the beautifully drawn masterpiece of my hip by Dr. M. The scrambled mess on the drawing is the artistic version of all my cartilage that is bad/gone/ and or destroyed. I also have no labrum left either (so glad the first two surgeries to repair my labrum worked!...and yes that was me being totally sarcastic)
So The Brief Version:
* Removed Bandages...incision looks ..um lets say..gross..yup that's a good adjective!  It will get better w/ time...he cut into a good 4 to 5 inches of my SDD incision. Good News no infections and it is healing well!
*Stopped Pain Meds (DR M was actually shocked...he said "good job, because I know you must be in pain") Pain meds are like poison to my body..they make me so sick, but on the same note they are a little piece of heaven when you are in severe pain....it is my body's catch-22! Ice, ibuprofen, and rest can take care of me  now.
**Now that the screws are out we will be doing a double MRI of both my left and right hip..yes my left hip also has FAI and is hurting currently..but we are so not going there at the moment. It is a 2 hour MRI..I am actually freaked out by this more than surgery #4 (OK maybe I won't go that far nonetheless not happy about it)...I really don't know how I can stay still in a MRI machine for 2 hours!

So I now have two appointments set up with two different hip surgeons in two different hospitals who do hip replacements..I am not going to rush into this..I want to make sure this is the only way to go..and one opinion at this point won't cut it for me!

Good news I can start to go back to PT next week..just no aqua therapy for a month (boo!), because of the incision.

I guess the best news from all of this is that that screw removal really seemed to have help the sharp pain I was getting in my side..so YAY..a surgery worked..but I couldn't help feeling a little "screwed" leaving my appointment with Dr. M. 


(Picture to the right...2 weeks post op...I put on some make-up and made myself feel more human than patient..it actually picked up my mood ..which is nice after a looooooong 2 weeks ;)

Later Hipsters! xo

Screw It!

4th Hip Surgery: Had to even change my intro to my blog.

So on Jan 12th 2011 I had my three screws that were in my hip taken out. Also I had my IT band lengthened and leftover stiches from surgery #3 removed. As well as a cortisone injection into my hip joint for pain relief and diagnostic means (to check-in on my arthritis situation in my hip). Dr. M felt that the surgery was a success..to define sucess with this surgery:

1. Screws did not break during removal

and I survived..;)

A little pre surgery drama set the tone for the next 3 days:

1. Massive Snowstorm was heading to Boston for the morning of my surgery

2.A relative of Dr. M died the day before and he had to leave right after surgery during the storm to a funeral in NJ (Dr. M called me the night before surgery to tell me this and to go over all the possible outcomes "bad things that could happen" during surgery)

3.I was told by Dr. M that I would have a covering surgeon follow me post operative (lets just put it this way..I wasn't a big fan of the "covering Dr"...enough said)

So a Action Plan was put into effect: Plan is as followed:

 A. D and I packed our bags and headed out the night before surgery to stay with my Dad and my Stepmother who live close by to the hospital

B. We parked my car in the Beth Israel Hospital parking lot to avoid parking issue in Boston..and shoveling!

C. Slept

D. My Dad and D got up at 6:30am and shoveled out my Dad's car (HUGE SNOWSTORM..predictions were correct) while I showered w/ this cleansing shower treatment the hospital wanted me to use (that was the first time I had to do that..maybe because I was at an adult hospital this time around ;) )

E. Made it to the hospital because of my dad's superior driving skills and was the FIRST patient to arrive at the OR for my 8am Check-in (no stickers for being on time..awww i missed the good ole days at Children's Hospital ;) )

F. Dr M arrived at 9am (surgery on)

New Hospital but same old routine..... put on a hospital johnny that was way to big and did not cover my backside....had IV put in...went over my thousand allergies and had and in depth talk with the anesthesiologist (the please don't let me die speech I usually give them ..just to keep them on their toes)... then Dr M and his gang come by and do the greet and meet....then I get the speech about all the what if's.....I then sign my life away on the dotted line....Dr M then autograph's my right hip...Mr. anesthesiologist comes back and gives me the "relaxing med" through my IV (and trust me those meds relax the heck out of you to the point you are almost laughing going into surgery..I think I actually started making jokes, and I was scared out of my wits only a few moments prior)...and then they wheeled me into the OR..Lights Out!

When I awoke..Ok I don't remember much at that point..I do remember that they gave me a container with my screws (a request I made before surgery..and as my friend pointed out why not I paid for them)...I remember having the chills really bad...and I remember I wasn't allowed any visitors..(that kind of sucked.) I think a few hours went by and then I got wheeled to my hospital room. D was there when I got there (at least that is what he told me) in all seriousness I actually don't remember a lot of the first day and night, but D was by my side the whole time so he filled me in. It took me 24 hours before I actually got some sleep..well besides when they knocked me out for surgery...does that count as sleep?? I spent a total of 3 days in the hospital. I felt pretty lousy the whole time I am not going to sugarcoat it for you..there was a lot of pain and the medication made me very sick. I got up on my crutches and walked the hall a little by day 3 and that felt really weird. I only can described it like this: It felt like they sewed a lead weight into my hip. It was heavy, tight, and painful to move, but I did walk and that is what you have to do to move on!

Dr M had to re-open 4 inches of my 12 inch scar from my last hip surgery (it is still covered up with bandages, so I have no idea what it looks like..all I can tell you is that it's real itchy..ugh). I see Dr M in a week for my follow up and I think bandage removal. I am now officially one week post surgery and I am definitely doing better than I was a week ago. My pre- surgery pain has subsided (yay), but I have surgical pain in it's place..it will be interesting to see how my hip will be feeling once it has healed...fingers and toes crossed that it will feel much better. It is truly a pain to be in pain..and that my friends is quite the understatement ;).

Dr M says the first two weeks are the worst....so I will get back to you in a week and let you know how things are..until then I am going to keep on resting and healing!

**Thank You D for staying with me morning, noon, and night for the 3 days in the hospital..I can't thank you enough for being my prince charming!

**Thank you to my family and friends for all your encouragement, love and support!

I Always Think People Are Joking When They Tell Me I Have A Screw Loose ;)

Well actually I have 3 screws that need to be removed!
So to backtrack a moment:
On Christmas Eve I felt a sharp shooting pain in my hip that literally made me scream out loud (I actually think I scared D and his brother). After resting for 10 minutes or so the pain subsided. 48 hours later it happened again..twice! To describe the pain that I felt I believe is virtually impossible...but the only thing I can say it didn't last long, but the sharpness of it took my breath away ...OUCH!
I then developed swelling next to my incision going towards the back of my leg..kind of like a tennis ball under my skin. After a few calls back and forth with Childrens Hospital's on call staff (who are great by the way) I decided to pay them a visit. They waived the "I am to old for Children's Hospital rule" for me that night. So back at CH one more time. They got me into a room in the ER immediately after walking in the door (impressive) ! I had some X-rays done on my hip , was administered pain medication (which did help), and some Zofran for nausea (upset belly due to pain) . After seeing two surgeons and the ER Dr. their  conclusion was that I had no infection, but an abnormality on my X-ray, swelling in my hip (duh), and a very tight IT band and Psoas tendon, as well as tendinitus in a new set of muscles/ tendons?? in the back of my leg. They felt that my "hardware" should be removed/ my body was rejecting the screws and causing some havoc in my hip. On Monday when Dr. M was back at work he looked over my reports and X-rays and felt they were right and has now booked me for surgery.... NEXT WEEK!! I guess this time there really is no waiting game. So 2011 and one more hip surgery........4th time is the charm ????!!!!
 Dr. M is also going to be doing a cortisone injection as well that day into my hip joint for a diagnostic tool and  for possible pain relief as well (there was talk last month at our visit of possibly needing to replace my hip..this is one tool he will be using to see how my hip is doing).
Hopefully the removal of the screws will bring me the pain relief I so desperately need. This hip is really making a mess of things for me and I need it to behave...like NOW!
So at this point I am back on crutches to reduce swelling, and waiting patiently (kind of) for next week to come and get this hopefully LAST surgery over and done with.

I really hope this works...I am done with pain, surgeries, and my hip in general! I will let you know how it goes..until then please keep your fingers crossed for me! Cheers!
(X-ray of hip is post -surgery Feb 2010)

One Aggravated Hip and Hipster!!!

OK! Where shall I begin.... I don't want to come off as one very angry hipster..I prefer to be a more chill hipster, but that may not be the case at the moment....due to ONE thing....at my apt with DR M. this past monday he put out the word "THR"!!!!!!!!!!

For all you non-hipsters THR=Total Hip Replacement. Now if I am not mistaken I just spent the past 4 years of my life undergoing 3 surgeries and 3 recoveries so I would not have to have a THR, because it was not recommended for someone my age. For Reals!!! I am at a lost for words..which is very unusual for me ;)
So at this moment I am awaiting a day surgery in January at BI hospital since I am now officially to old for Children's to have a diagnostic procedure on my hip joint. According to DR. M it just may have been to late to save my hip with the "conservative method" due to the arthritis in my hip from all the cartilage damage and lack of labrum. Again for all you non-hipsters..A THR (in most circumstances) would have been a much easier surgery and recovery than the surgery I had this past year. Also a THR will not fix my psoas tendon issue caused by my previous surgeries..again lost for words. He is not quite sure how my psoas tendon will turn out..there is not a lot he feels like he can do..it's a very tricky tendon that has been inflamed for years. Immobilization of it will only make my hip worse and doing surgery on it could risk making the tendon worse..can I  say WTF on here..well it's my blog and I just did! I told you I was angry!
At this point I am still using my cane for distance, still can't drive (that "drives" me crazy) and still in physical therapy. My physical therapist has been amazing and is not quite giving up on me and my hip like I feel Dr M is at the moment. He is still all about strengthening my weak and atrophied muscles, protecting my tendons, and trying to get my hip to work as best as it possibly can..Yay PT Guy.... my hip and I thank you!!!!!!!!

I will leave this post off on a happy note..don't want to be now labeled as the "Angry Hipster" ;)!!!  "D" got me a puppy...(take a look back to my post on "Puppy Love") and I was right puppies really are the best medicine!!

A Hipster In Waiting....

 I am sorry I haven't written much lately. Like my title says I am a "Hipster in Waiting". I had my procedure a month ago. Two injections: one around my psoas tendon to see if the inflammation can calm down and the other for my IT band inflammation and bursitis. I can say my IT band seems to have improved since the injections, but not much improvement with my psoas tendon which is truly beyond frustrating..it helped maybe for a few days maximum..after one week of excruciating pain post injection. I had to actually go back to taking my pain pills for three days post injections. When I saw Dr M before they knocked me out for the procedure he said that "the fix" for this may take a bit, but he would try his best to truly fix my hip. I am seeing him in a few weeks to discuss what comes next...is it all my psoas tendon or am I still having issues with my actual hip that is making my psoas tendon not calm down. What happens next I am not so sure, but I will make sure to get back to you once I know ;)

In the past month I also had my birthday..which was a great weekend with some of my family and D (pic to the left of b-day weekend), but it also marks the fact that I have been in pain every day for four years with this hip which is in all honestly is quite depressing. I just don't understand why they can't fix my hip, it really doesn't make sense... they do face transplants nowadays how can a hip be so challenging!! I know I am not the only one with this frustration..I have so many fellow hip sisters who have had multiple hip surgeries and still haven't been cured, and I can't figure out why it is so difficult for our Dr's to fix us. Would a hip replacement be the answer?? Or have we been messed around with so much that it wouldn't take the same?? So many questions and not enough answers.
I also tried acupuncture for my hip this past month...if it wasn't so expensive I would do it every week (It really should be covered by health insurance). I didn't see a major improvement with my hip, but it helped me relax and took some pain away during the visit..it was very cool and I definitely want to have another session. I would be interested in the long term results.
I also started back with Physical Therapy. I had to take a break for two weeks because of my procedure, and then due to my health insurance I had to reapply, so I went through a new PT initial evaluation again. My PT guy said that I have muscle atrophy and some very tight muscles. So back to the gym first for a few weeks  to build up strength, and then hopefully back into the water for some more aqua therapy which I feel is the best therapy for me and my hip.
Well that's it for now....Later Hipsters ;)