beowabbit | The bad: Weird hip problem

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The bad: Weird hip problem

The bad is that I am in serious pain and can barely walk.

Saturday during the day I noticed a mild twinge in my left hip joint, the kind of thing I notice from time to time which normally goes away on its own in an hour or so. Saturday night I sat down at the computer for a couple of hours. When I got up, I was quite sore and limping. I have no idea what if anything actually happened to cause this; to my knowledge I didn’t do anything unusual. I had a hard time finding a position that worked for me to sleep in, but I found one (on my back, knees together and slightly bent on top of a pillow). When I woke up I felt a lot better and thought “Great! Maybe I’ll be over it.” Then I tried to get out of bed, though.

I was seriously hobbling yesterday, but able to make my way around. I bought myself a cane at the drugstore, on the theory that recently I’ve had two twisted ankles and a bad hip, and

plumtreeblossom has had occasional minor knee and ankle trouble, and her mother visited and could really have used a cane while she was here, and it seemed like an investment with excellent returns. And I drove to

plumtreeblossom’s instead of taking the T, despite the fact that that means I have to pay $20 for parking at work tomorrow, because I didn’t think I could handle the walk to and from the T station.

It’s a good thing I have that cane; I don’t know what I’d do without it.

I was mostly OK for my date with Mare, limping with the cane and occasionally in pain but functional. When we went to bed (around midnight) I tried to duplicate the position that had worked for me the previous night. I woke up once probably around 1:30 and had to get some Aleve. At 3:00 I woke up moaning and couldn’t stay in bed because I couldn’t find a position that didn’t hurt. Even with the cane, I couldn’t pick up my left leg to take a step and I couldn’t put any weight on it, so I had this funny shuffle where I’d scoot my good foot forward on the floor, balancing with the cane, and then slide my left leg along the floor. Sitting hurts a lot less than lying down, so

plumtreeblossom set me up in the living room with my laptop. (I don’t normally carry that with me; it’s fortuitous that I had it with me today.) I’ve been sitting for an hour, and I’m feeling a lot better. With the cane I can take steps; even a few small steps without it. (I tested this just now by going to the kitchen for a cupcake and some water.) An hour ago I was debating whether I needed to go to the emergency room right away, but now (if I don’t get worse) I think I probably won’t even have to tomorrow.

This is weird. Nothing happened to cause this. It definitely feels like a joint thing; it feels like it’s right in the ball-and-socket joint (although I don’t know if that’s the sort of thing I can tell). It’s definitely not muscular. And although even small movements hurt, it seems like it’s very seriously aggravated by long periods of immobility (like my couple hours sitting at the computer or my three hours in bed tonight), and it seems like using the joint (however gently and gingerly) helps.

*Sigh.* I hope this is just a weird thing that goes away and doesn’t come back, and not the first discovery that I’m developing arthritis or something. The last thing I need is another major medical adventure to embark upon.

Anyway, I think I’m going to try sleeping in this chair shortly. I’m feeling a lot more comfortable now.

Sorry for bending your collective ear!

PS — The other bad is that the wireless here seems to be really sporadic. :-)

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I had a similar problem a few years back. I had to get cortisone injections in the joint, which are agonizingly painful. Luckily, after a few treatments, my hip decided that it was better to behave than to go through that again, and only gives me minor problems now.

Oh, and the best explanation I could get from the doctors was that it was an inflammation in the hip joint, that the combination of cortisone and other anti-inflammatories would relieve, and that it just happens sometimes. No good reason for it - but it wouldn't go away without the injections.

Questions that come to mind for differential diagnosis (YMMV):

1) does it hurt when you passively move the joint (meaning, if you relax and the joint is moved by someone else)? if yes, it may be a sprain. If no, it may be a strain.

2) do you feel any similar twinges in the other hip? (if yes, may be rheumatoid inflammation-related, if no, may be osteo-related)

3) How are you sure that it isn't muscle related? It sounds like it could be sciatica. You might not know that unless/until you got it checked out.

4) have you been eating a lot of nightshades lately?

Hope it feels better soon...BTW, DO NOT USE HEAT on it. That will just increase any inflammation. ;-}

1) does it hurt when you passively move the joint (meaning, if you relax and the joint is moved by someone else)?

It hurts when I move the joint actively or passively, but some particular motions hurt one way and not the other. (Lifting my knee towards my chest, for instance, hurts if I do it actively but not passively. But rotating my leg along the long axis hurts whether I do it or whether, oh, say, for instance, a cat leans up against my foot.)

2) do you feel any similar twinges in the other hip?

Nope. Well, except that I’ve been walking so funny and putting so much more weight on the other hip, so I’m starting to feel twinges now, but they don’t feel remotely similar.

3) How are you sure that it isn't muscle related?

I’m not sure it isn’t muscle related, but the sorts of things that hurt (e.g., very small passive movements), and where the pain subjectively seems to be) doesn't seem muscular.

It sounds like it could be sciatica. You might not know that unless/until you got it checked out.

Yeah, I just looked up sciatica on Wikipedia (not the best source, I’m sure) and there’s a particular spot where pressure hurts particularly badly that coincides with the path of the sciatic nerve. So this seems quite plausible.

4) have you been eating a lot of nightshades lately?

I eat potatoes (but probably less than average for an American) and peppers, but I haven’t had particularly more of them lately than I’ve always had.

BTW, DO NOT USE HEAT on it. That will just increase any inflammation. ;-}

Thank you so much for that advice! Otherwise I might have tried a heating pad tonight.

By the way, I thought your expertise was in speech pathology; how’d you learn so much about this sort of thing? Or is it just that you’re omniscient? I wouldn’t be surprised at that, since it would be just one of your divine characteristics.

I also was a licensed/certified massage therapist for several years (not the hippy-crystally kind but the serious anatomy and physiology kind) and have a hobby of studying health issues and how to preserve function, especially through diet. (BTW, no, I'm not practicing as a massage therapist these days. At least, not officially.)

Though I like the idea of being omniscient. Would make things wicked interesting for awhile. But only for awhile.

If it is sciatica-related, I know some great passive positions to help relieve the pressure (and if it isn't, it won't cause damage), though it's a little hard to explain in text. Will I see you anytime soon? I can show you.

(Stuff that I learned as part of my bodywork training, btw. Yay for massage! And training! :)

Will you be seeing a specialist about it?

Will I see you anytime soon? I can show you.

Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to leave the house except for medical care until this is significantly better (unless maybe there is parking just a few yards from where I am going). Not interested in repeating this morning’s adventure, character-building though it may have been. Thanks, though!

I definitely support you going to see a specialist first and soon and not going out until then! *hug*

Jay, honey, this sounds serious. Anything that incapacitates you to that degree is not something to mess around with. Go to the doctor now!

I've never heard of arthritis coming on this suddenly -- my understanding is that it's usually twinges that build up to more serious pain over time. So if it's not gradual deterioration of the joint, then it's some process you want to investigate and treat.

If I were you, I'd take ibuprofen or naproxen (whichever works better for you; ibo is better for me) as often as the package directions allow and apply ice for 20 minutes at a time every two hours. If you don't have an ice bag, a bag of frozen vegetables works almost as well. Ice can really help with inflamation!

Please update us as soon as you know what's going on. And take CARE of the Jay -- he's important to a lot of folks!

Seconded on the "see a doc, NOW" part.

I have four possibilities and there are probably more.
- arthritis. Mine came on pretty suddenly, except it was probably building up and I just passed off the twinges for months
- bursitis.
- adhesions. My father had this problem in his shoulder. He had off and on again pain for a while then woke up one morning with his shoulder totally locked up.
- accumulated inflammation. If you've had problems with your ankles and such it's probable you've been walking oddly and you may have just done enough of that to cause something in the hip to swell up.

Seriously, my friend, make a doc appt ASAP.

OW! I am sorry you are in so much pain!!!

Could this be the reason for your pain -->

"Beowabbit tried to give you a piggyback ride while you were wearing your heavy purse, your totebag, and his big backpack"

Perhaps you pulled or wrenched something and did not feel it until the next day?

That could be a possibility. Me plus all that gear would have been pretty close to 200 lbs, or, too much. He never did make it to a standing position, but that full weight was on him while he was trying to rise to a standing position.

I would feel awful if that was the case.

I didn't mean it that way! Just something to think about as a cause, to aid in consideration of a treatment. To tell a doctor.

I’m virtually certain that’s not it. I never made it upright, so the weight wasn’t compressing my spine, and that was Wednesday, and I didn’t have any trouble until Saturday.

(By the way, it wasn’t that I couldn’t stand up; it was that I could tell that I couldn’t stand up safely. Mostly as in, without spilling you onto the sidewalk.)

Smooches and love!

*hugs!* Meep! Hope it gets better soon!

First: Ow! I'm really sorry; you've had more than enough medical stuff to deal with lately. May this end up being something simple and more importantly, done soon.

Second: I agree with folks above about seeing a doctor asap and about using an ice pack and anti-inflammatories. If you really want to hold of on going to an MD, at least see what a chiropractor has to say about it. If you were in this area I'd recommend mine because he works with a number of modalities and often has insight into what's going on even if it's not a "chiropractic issue" (and is not beyond saying "you need to go to an MD with this").

Third: Pineapple and papaya both have anti-inflammatory properties. Fresh is best, but dried and canned, can help too. I'm not saying this will be enough but it can't hurt.

Again, I hope this is over and done with very quickly.

Sweet darling, if there's anything at all I can do to help, just let me know. I don't have a tight schedule this week, can deliver dinners or things you need. Let me know if you decide to go in for X-rays. If it helps, I'll take a taxi and go too.

Thank you, sweetie. I’m pretty much OK as long as I’m sitting, and I’m mobile enough that I’ll be able to get to the bathroom and the kitchen with the cane, so I think I’ll be OK for a while. I can’t imagine I’m going to come in to work for a couple of days at least. I’m waiting to hear back from my doctor’s office (wasn’t able to talk to a human).

If it’s sciatica (which is what I’m starting to think), it may well just be a be-gentle-and-wait sort of thing. But I wonder if the mild reaction I’ve had sometimes to my testosterone injections might be producing inflammation in other parts of my body, since I’ve had three serious joint injuries since I went on it. (Also since I went on the Vitamin D supplements, and I’ve heard and read that that Vitamin D can cause inflammation, too. But I haven’t been very good about taking that anyway, lately.)

I guess there are a good number of possibilities. It was mentioned above that we might have agrivated with our piggyback horseplay on Wednesday. I hope that wasn't the case.

I'd say this qualifies as an emergency per doctor's appointments. I hope yours is able to see you very soon. I'm thinking about you and loving you.

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