Current hip status

[beowabbit]

(Current hip status: beowabbit is currently very hip.)

Going to work was a really stupid idea. My theory was that if I’m going to be in pain and discomfort anyway, there’s no real advantage to not being at work for it. What I didn’t count on was it taking almost two hours for me to walk from the parking garage to my office building. (Admittedly, I’m counting the three times I sat down on benches.) That normally takes 10min if I stop to buy an apple and a coffee on the way.

However, the campus police were very kind and sent over a Safety Patrol van to get me back to the parking garage from my office when I left (early), and the drive back to Quincy was uneventful and less painful than the drive from plumtreeblossom’s to work had been.

On the way home, I stopped by the drugstore and got crutches. I’m not sure they’re an improvement over the cane. They’re better for standing still for long periods of time, and they’re much quicker, and they’re more stable, so there are fewer of the nasty surprises, but they are much clumsier to handle, harder to keep from falling when I set them aside because I can’t hook them on things (and bending over to pick anything up is not so much happening at the moment), and while the cane basically left me fine most of the time with occasional moments of serious pain when I stepped wrong or had to rebalance, the crutches basically hurt just a bit on each “step”. I think the crutches are probably net worse on my hip. If I feel like I can go out tomorrow, I may buy a second cane, and try the two-cane approach. (Assuming, of course, I’m not magically all better tomorrow.)

I left a message for my doctor’s office as soon as I got in to work today, but haven’t heard back yet. At this point, I don’t think it justifies an ER visit, because my best guess is that medical science is going to tell me to suck it up and wait, and in the meantime keep my weight off it and take lots of painkillers, which I am already doing. (Well, modulo the stupidity of trying to go in to work today, but I’ve learned my lesson. Thanks, plumtreeblossom; you were right. On the other hand, I got lots of sympathy from my co-workers.)

In other news, my flowers are still beautiful, and my kilt still makes me very very happy.

Comments

[spacechicken.livejournal.com]

i gotta tell you, I never go to the doctor for anything, but if I woke up with such disabling pain that i couldn't walk for more than a day and hadn't injured myself I would already have my appointment scheduled. You can always cancel it if it gets better. I'm just sayin'.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

I'd like to say that I'd do that, but the last time it happened, I did what beowabbit is doing... and wound up wishing I'd gotten an appointment ASAP instead.

beowabbit ... Please get an appointment ASAP? Pretty please? I totally understand not wanting another huge medical mystery, but it may not be that mysterious at all, and I hate to think of you in the bad kind of pain, relatively immobilized :(

N.

[beowabbit]

See my reply to weegoddess here.

The medical mystery angle doesn’t make me less inclined to fight and scream to get seen; it makes me more so. When I had something wrong that I didn’t understand, I did go to the emergency room. This thing, I think I do understand, more or less.

Thanks, though!

[agaran.livejournal.com]

My sympathies.

[bitty.livejournal.com]

also try getting a massage. not on the hip -- that would be agony -- but if you're walking funny to accommodate the pain, you're putting a strain on different muscles to compensate and a massage ain't gonna' help the hip yet, but maybe if it brings enough relief/pleasure to the rest of your body it'll let you cope for a little bit. and help prevent longer-term side effects from the hip trouble.

[cutieperson]

actually, pressure point massage in the hip joint might do wonders. it is painful even without major underlying issues, but the relief is worth it.

[bitty.livejournal.com]

While I'm a fan of pressure points, I was more concerned about him getting the hip massaged before he knew what was wrong, on the offchance it's more than a muscle problem.
OTOH, if he doesn't go see someone today and find out what's wrong, I think we'll all kick his collective ass, which would result in some deep-tissue work for free.

[(Anonymous)]

You're so hip you can't see over your pelvis!

I hope tomorrow morning finds you markedly improved.

[beowabbit]

I am indeed a hoopy frood. Thank you! (Curious who this is, if you feel like sharing.)

[xauenmurph.livejournal.com]

ack! I hope you can get that sorted out fast. When I had sciatica, I iced it, and that actually helped a lot. I don't know if that's a bad idea for other conditions it could be, though. Yes, stay off it.

Feel better...

[arfur]

*hugs beowabbit's top parts*

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

It isn't getting better. Why suffer? Call your doctor NOW.

[beowabbit]

I did call my doctor, as soon as I was somewhere I could make a call. I have gotten no response yet. I love my doctor but he and his entire group are overscheduled. If I need to see a doctor within a few days, I need to go to an emergency room. (And judging by how much better I’m feeling today than yesterday, my intuition that this isn’t emergency-room material seems correct.)

[drwex]

Did you call and ask for a "sick person" appointment? it's possible they don't understand the prominence of the problem. If they can't see you ask for a reference to someone who can.

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

Please please please go to your doctor. A lot of people here are offering some great advice (ice, massage, etc) for pain that may or may not be related to what you're suffering. Go to a doctor, get a referral to someone who has expertise in this area (could be a chiropractor, could be a PT, I have no idea - I'm not a doctor and don't even play one on TV).

If your car was this messed up, you'd take it to a mechanic; you certainly wouldn't keep driving it around as it stalled every 3 minutes. If your toilet stopped working, you'd call a plumber; you certainly wouldn't keep flushing stuff down there as the flood on the bathroom floor got deeper. You are more important and more complex than a car or a toilet. Please take care of yourself!

[beowabbit]

See my reply to weegoddess here.