It's been awhile

[BBQJOE]

I was here a number of years ago when I shattered my knee. I thought for sure they would come back later and do it, but they never did.
They gathered up the pieces, gathered them into some sort of mesh bag, and put it back in place, or at least that's how I understand it.

It's been maybe 5 years, and this knee still gives me pain once in awhile, and I certainly can't walk any marathon. (Not that I'd want to)
But it's still a pain! I just live with it.

About 5 months ago I injured my hip.
It was either from a fall, or sleeping in the drivers seat for some hours, maybe both.

But either way the pain didn't start right away, then one day I felt pain from my lower back straight to my knee. I figured it might go away soon, so I took some ibuprofen, and carried on.
A week or two later, the pain was still there, and wasn't getting any better.
Some reading and talking to other people seemed to indicate sciatica.
I decided to see somebody about it, but couldn't get in for about a month to see the bone and joint specialist. So I made an appointment, then decided to go see a Chiropractor.

My wife had seen this guy once before and had good luck, so I gave him a try.
The dude was a bear of a guy. I mean big!
He put me in a position and tried to pop my hip.
Somehow, this position entailed crushing my thigh between him and the table.
I didn't notice right away, but the next day my thigh felt as if I had bicycled 15 miles up a mountain.
A week later, I was still in so much hip and leg pain, that I decided to take a percocet I had in the cabinet. It helped quite a bit in conjunction with the ibuprofen, until I ran out.

A few days later, I couldn't take the pain and went to the ER. They took some hip x-rays and sent them to my Doc. Doc gave me a shot in the back side, and said my hip was swollen.
He gave me a 6 day steroid pill pack, and told me to report back, it didn't help at all.

He scheduled me for a steroid shot under a CT scan, but that was gonna be two weeks away.
He gave me some cyclobenza-something to relax the muscles, and some tylenol 3.

By this time, I am up to about 15 ibuprofen every day, and totally relying on a cane.
I went back to the Chiropractor, and told him his work didn't help any at all. He gave me another adjustment, and damn if he didn't do the same thing, and crush my leg again.

Two weeks later I got the CT scan shot, and it helped, but not much. It did relieve the hip pain enough though to let the thigh pain through, and it was bad.
In the meantime, the muscles in my leg started snapping and popping, like if you drag your fingers across the knuckles of a fist on your other hand.
My wife could hear the noise from across the room.

I just saw the specialist again, and explained how nothing seemed to be working.
I have gone through tons of Ibuprofen, tubes of aspercream, bottles of Biofreeze and every other ointment out there including, but not limited to Emu.
I stood on my leg to show him the snapping. He told me that was normal!
No. No, it's NOT normal Doc, and it hurts.

He now says that I need to see a physical therapist, but that won't start for about three weeks.
My knee is killing me, my hip feels like someone hit it with a hammer, my thigh is a mess, and he wants me to wait another three weeks like this.

I am at month five of this stuff, and I'm about to go insane with this 24 hour pain.
I can sit easily, but standing, walking, or worse, climbing into bed is torture.
I asked him for some percocet, he said no. We don't want people getting addicted.

Yeah, I sure would hate to get addicted to being free of pain, and being able to get something done around my property.
I'm a grown man, I'm 56, and I think I can handle something as simple as percocet without getting upside down with it. But no.
He gave me something called Meloxicam. It worked for about two days.

This is hell. Doctors don't care.
I fear I need surgery.

 

[Susan209]

Oh, @BBQJOE, that does not sound nice at all. I can't really offer you any advice, but surely an admin will be around soon that can.
Just wondering, if your current doc is not helpful, can you find a different, non-affiliated one for a second opinion?
Sue

 

[Jamie]

Has your hip been xrayed? Is this specialist you're seeing an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hips? If you've had an xray and the doctor determined that arthritis is not the problem and you haven't injured your hip, then it's possible that seeing a therapist can help you. It all depends on what the diagnosis for your hip is. I didn't see that in your post.

 

[BBQJOE]

Has your hip been xrayed? Is this specialist you're seeing an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hips? If you've had an xray and the doctor determined that arthritis is not the problem and you haven't injured your hip, then it's possible that seeing a therapist can help you. It all depends on what the diagnosis for your hip is. I didn't see that in your post.

I'm sorry, I forgot.
He's saying osteoarthrititis. I don't know what it is, but somehow I'm not buying it.
His plan is for 6 weeks of PT then a followup visit. If positive results aren't achieved, he says the next step is seeing the next guy up for investigation of complete hip arthroplasty.
This came on so suddenly, that I don't think it's what he says it is. But what do I know?
The only thing I do know, is it hurts all day and night, and walking is a real bear.

It feels like I've been in a car wreck.

 

[Jaycey]

@BBQJOE So sorry you are getting the run around from surgeons. Frankly I would skip PT. It won't work and may make things worse. Right now you need that hip to settle.

Does the "snapping" feel like a ratcheting gear? If so, the joint is probably damaged which would explain all this pain. Osteoarthritis basically eats away at the joint.

Sounds like you need to find another surgeon who will work with you. I know it's a lot to take in but if that hip does need replacing it's not the end of the world. All that hip pain will be gone post op.

 

[BBQJOE]

The snapping does not feel like ratcheting.
A lot of it is the muscles or tendons in my thigh. It sounds more like crunching. But it's also in my knee, not so much the hip. The hip on the outside feels like i've been hit with a hammer.
Sometimes when standing still, my hip will kind of pop, and it feels like I've just been "Lowered" a half inch.
He says it's weak muscles.

I guess my main gripe is the speed at which these doctors work, and their application of pain management.
I wish there was a pain meter they could use so they could see that I'm in as much pain as I tell them I'm in.
I also fear that PT is going to be a complete waste of my time.
I don't know what I want them to do, but I want them to do something.

 

[Jaycey]

Have you had an x-ray of that hip? A good surgeon will take one look and make the call. In my experience PT only made things worse as the hip was already gone. Waste of time and money.

 

[BBQJOE]

Have you had an x-ray of that hip? A good surgeon will take one look and make the call. In my experience PT only made things worse as the hip was already gone. Waste of time and money.

Yes. The stated observation was that the hip was swollen.

 

[Jamie]

If you have a diagnosis of arthritis in your hip and you are in a lot of pain, I agree with Jaycey that you might as well just have the hip replaced and be done with it. This is very successful surgery and it is the only real way to deal with arthritis. You can try other things, but arthritis never gets better....only worse with time and activity.

Get some additional opinions right away and don't fool around with the pain. Frankly, there is not much to be done in the way of pain management when one has an arthritic joint. Most pain medications barely touch the pain and you don't want to be on them long term anyway.

I suggest you take a look at our new Pain Management section here on BoneSmart. If you click through some of the informational links, you'll find a survey you can complete to take with you when you talk with your doctors. It puts your pain problems and the impact pain has on your life down on paper so you can properly discuss it. There is a tab at the top of the page to take you to this area of the forum.

As for someone telling you your hip was "swollen" by looking at an xray, that tells me you are with the wrong doctor. Xrays do not show swollen tissue. The purpose of the xray is to determine the condition of your hip joint. Is this doctor an orthopedic surgeon?

 

[BBQJOE]

Actually, this is a satellite of another office. This man is a nurse practitioner, working under a doctor. The place is called Flagstaff bone and joint.
I'm going to call my GP and see if I can't get a referral to someone else, which will also take a multitude of weeks.
Where I live, doctors seem to be far and few inbetween.

 

[Horseshoe]

Az has some good orthopedic surgeons, there have been several members who went to Jimmy Chow and had great results. He does the Superpath approach which interested me at the time.

Imo, it's best to insist upon seeing a medical dr or specialist/surgeon. I confirm this before the appt to ensure the dr will be there. Office fee is the same so why not see the dr?

 

[BBQJOE]

Imo, it's best to insist upon seeing a medical dr or specialist/surgeon.

There's a lot of things I insist on in this world.
Getting them is another story.

 

[Jamie]

Unless your insurance specifically requires it, you shouldn't need a referral to see an orthopedic surgeon. Your problem is you're getting poor advice from people who are not specialists in this area. Nurse practitioners are not a good resource when you're talking about the type of problems you're having unless they are associated with an orthopedic office.

I suggest you call and make an appointment with this surgeon who is within driving distance from you.

Dr. Robert Lock, II
Bullhead City, AZ

He sounds more than capable of giving you an accurate assessment of your hip and knee. Or you could drive to Phoenix, where there are many good ortho doctors. I suggest you not wait, as the pain will only get worse. Take that printout I mentioned earlier so you can accurately discuss your pain. Here is a direct link to the pain survey.

 

[BBQJOE]

Unless your insurance specifically requires it, you shouldn't need a referral to see an orthopedic surgeon. Your problem is you're getting poor advice from people who are not specialists in this area. Nurse practitioners are not a good resource when you're talking about the type of problems you're having unless they are associated with an orthopedic office.

I suggest you call and make an appointment with this surgeon who is within driving distance from you.

Dr. Robert Lock, II
Bullhead City, AZ

He sounds more than capable of giving you an accurate assessment of your hip and knee. Or you could drive to Phoenix, where there are many good ortho doctors. I suggest you not wait, as the pain will only get worse. Take that printout I mentioned earlier so you can accurately discuss your pain. Here is a direct link to the pain survey.

Do you know this doctor, or did you use your superpowers to pick him?
I don't think I really need referral, if he takes my insurance.
But the really hard part is throwing darts, and hoping to land on a good Dr.


Edited to add. His reviews are pretty mixed.

 

[Jamie]

I don't personally know this surgeon. I search on the web for good doctors just like you can do. I don't put much stock in reviews, though. They are usually not very meaningful. Instead I look at what the doctor's specialties are and read any other information that's out there about him or her....things like where they studied medicine, what fellowships they may have had, papers they've written, awards given, and newspaper/magazine articles about them. So it's not really a dart board for me. This surgeon seemed like a good choice within a reasonable distance from you. There aren't any in your city hospital that appeared to have solid experience with hip replacements.

 

[BBQJOE]

I don't personally know this surgeon. I search on the web for good doctors just like you can do. I don't put much stock in reviews, though. They are usually not very meaningful. Instead I look at what the doctor's specialties are and read any other information that's out there about him or her....things like where they studied medicine, what fellowships they may have had, papers they've written, awards given, and newspaper/magazine articles about them. So it's not really a dart board for me. This surgeon seemed like a good choice within a reasonable distance from you. There aren't any in your city hospital that appeared to have solid experience with hip replacements.

Thank you very much!

 

[Jamie]

Only you can decide who is the right doctor for you. I suggest you meet with him, talk over your issues and decide for yourself whether you believe he can help you. If he doesn't give you a feeling of confidence, there is nothing wrong with getting a second or even a third opinion.

 

[BBQJOE]

I am in the process of seeing doctor Lock. We'll see.

 

[BBQJOE]

I couldn't get anyone up off their butts, so decided to go see a pain management doctor, who ordered some MRI's. I also wasn't going to wait for insurance to step up to the plate, so I just went ahead and paid for them. I'm pretty sure the doctor I was previously seeing thought I was a pill seeker and faking the whole thing.

The PM people sent me to a specialist who took some of his own x-rays. I don't know if you folks dig on x-rays, but here's a few. The top if the femur (head) is all but gone, and most likely dead, which is most noticeable in pic 3. Yeah, I've been faking it Doc.

So the specialist definitely says complete hip replacement. I'm not so scared about the operation itself. Hospitals do this stuff all the time. What concerns me, is that their schedule has no room until Jan sometime.

They gave me some Vicodin, and that didn't touch the pain. Then he's prescribed some morphine slow release at 15mg twice a day. That isn't touching it either.

At this point, what's a person to do for two months?
Should I continue to ask for better meds until the pain is gone?
Should I continue to try and do the things I normally do while in pain?
Should I go to couch potato mode for two months?

I'd just as soon be put into a coma and woken up when they have the time for me and the operation is done.

 

[Josephine]

Well for certain your right hip is totally mashed! No doubt about the need for a replacement.

Should I continue to ask for better meds until the pain is gone?

Not possible. There is no pain med known to man that will adequately quell arthritis pain.

Should I continue to try and do the things I normally do while in pain?

As far as you can, yes.

Should I go to couch potato mode for two months?

Well that's one option!