Final Countdown

So here I am, one day until surgery. I am feeling pretty numb considering. I have my pre-op with Dr. Erikson today and I will find out what time I am going in. I picked up my crutches yesterday and changed out the hand and arm pads since these are rentals. Even just messing around on them for a few minutes made me sore so I have to try and figure out how to use them without hurting my arms at the same time. They require you to be there 90 minutes before surgery so I need to find something to keep me busy ! I am thinking maybe some Brain Age on the DS if I can pry one away from the boys.
My back is sore today and both hips are extremely tight. We took the boys to the park last night and I think the long walk probably did it to me. My right hip is getting worse every day and I am now wishing we did that one first. It was the whole reason I went to the doctor to begin with. I am now realizing as well that the Gabapentin worked great for the nerve pinching feeling I was having along my pelvic rim. That pain is so attention grabbing.
Rob helped get the room ready by running cable for me and getting a fan for in front of my air conditioner. He put the big TV in my room too. I am still trying to find silk sheets and got the jammies yesterday. Being able to slide in and out of bed is going to be invaluable.
I feel like there is so much to do but I think I am ready. Tonight I will be doing the last of the laundry, I got the groceries done and the house is clean. I probably will not be able to update the blog for a few days while I am recovering but I will definitely keep everyone updated and hopefully share something valuable from it. Not a great way to spend the 4th !

Slackage !

Wow have I been a slacker this last week ! I did a ton of stuff this last weekend for Heather's basketball and tried to catch up on a little needed rest. I ended up with a horrible migraine on Friday and stayed at the ER for 8 hours while they tried to knock it out. I swear the headache is still hanging with me. The doc said it may be due to stress and I am reacting to it now since the surgery is only 2 days away. My pre-op is tomorrow at 3:00 and I picked up my crutches last night. It is so hard to believe this is actually going to happen !

The verdict

After reviewing my films and the CT Dr. Erikson will be fixing my hip next Wednesday, July 1st. I have a labral tear which will not be reattached, but removed and the bone will be shaved down to prevent any more impingement. There was only a small sign of arthritis in my left hip. I am pretty excited since he said I would only be missing one week of work and judging on how my recovery goes we could do the other hip within a month. I was concerned more about my time off but it looks like Jim is more than willing to help me out with that and make sure I can get through this as quickly as possible and get back to a normal schedule at work.
Rob sat through the scan last night, which took a whole 3 minutes to complete. The results were amazing and it was pretty much the coolest thing I have ever seen. They combine the 600+ pictures into a 3D model and rotate it to get a full view of the pelvis ..... just amazing to see what medicine can do.

Home again

Wow what an extremely long week since I last updated ! The camp went great for the girls and they did extremely well. They seated in first place but lost the championship by 1 point. They were crushed but they were so proud of how well they did by only losing 1 game over the 4 days in their division.
So ..... the drive, excruciating. We only stopped a couple of times because of how late it was getting and it was too dark to trust the girls through the mountains to drive. The beds were even worse. We stayed at the Adams State College in the dorms and those beds were like sleeping on bricks. One of the girls needed my extra blankets and pillow so I gave them to her and used a small sleeping bag. I paid for that every single day I was there. Both hips and my back were so sore I could barely walk. One of the other coaches even gave me a vicodin so I could sleep Thursday night. The drive home was even worse but I did manage to sleep 13 hours in my own bed Sunday morning. My emotions have evened out since I stopped taking the Gabapentin as well.
Tonight is my 3D CT and my follow-up with Dr. Erikson is in the morning to talk about what's next.
Rob and I are working things out too and we are trying to figure out what we keep doing wrong ! He is going to try and drive me tonight if he gets off work early enough.

A good day

I think I am finally going to have a good pain day ! I woke up a little tight again this morning with a dull ache in the back, same spot as yesterday but the pinching I felt is gone. I feel a little flush but doing pretty good and no limp for the second day in a row. I am down to one Tramadol for relief now instead of 2. I am really concerned about the drive I am making tonight for Heather's basketball camp. 5 hours sitting stationary is most likely going to hurt me so I may try to stop frequently so I don't cramp up and pay for it tomorrow. All 4 of the girls I am taking drive so if it gets too bad I will just let them drive some of it for me.
I am overwhelmingly sad today too. Rob and I are splitting and I am devastated. I won't discuss here why, but the timing could not have been any worse or the circumstances. Just when my body starts to feel better my heart got crushed. I am not sure how this will play in my recovery but I am determined to get through everything and be a better woman for it.

Surgical candidate

I just got a call from Madeline again and she told me I in fact have a large labral tear and Dr. Phillipon has decided I am a surgical candidate .... well no shit lady !
I politely told her I have a new doctor and figured after not hearing from her for the last 3 weeks that they had no intention on seeing me. She just said ok, that she will send me my films back and hung up. That actually felt realllllly good.

It's Monday again

Definitely the least favorite of the days of the week !
I feel pretty decent today with the exception of some tightness in my lower buttock area on both sides. There is a small pinch on the left side but I can't really tell where it is coming from. The nausea is a 2 and I am happy not to be on the verge of tossing cookies, even though lately there are no cookies to toss. I took my temperature last night and I was back up 100 which concerned me a little since I was feeling flush but decided to go to bed instead of calling the doc. I was down to 99.3 this morning which is a good sign. Physically though I am exhausted. My body is weak and tired feeling but for once in a long ass time I am not limping !
I put in 6 hours at work yesterday trying to make up some time for all my doctors appointments. I try and make them as early as possible but even the 7:45 appointments have me rolling in to work around 10. I keep looking at the light at the end of the tunnel though and know eventually my life will be normal again. I am definitely learning to get a lot more done on the days I run late for fear of not being employed !
As a side note, Madeline left me a message this morning from Dr. Phillipon's office but I have no desire to call her back ... you know, afford them the same courtesy they showed me for the last 2 months.

The horror !

Friday right after I got back from my Arthrogram on my hip I got a call from my PT, Dr. Oeser. My white blood count was at 32000 and she sent me directly to the ER fearing I had an infection or an abscess from the injection. I had been feeling extremely ill and the pain was horrible. I had so many blood tests that I look like a crack whore on holiday, the tracks running both arms. By Friday night my count was back down to 11000 with some antibiotics and I suffered through 3 MRI's in one day. At least for this one I got 2 doses of Valium !
I am feeling so so today, I am really tired and my back is tight, but I am definitely better today than I have been. I do feel nauseated but I have stopped taking the meds and cleaning my system out with the exception of the Tramadol for pain.

Ooowieeee

So, went in yesterday for the Facet Joint Injections and can't even describe the pain I felt. The needle hitting my bones and going through the muscle was horrible, and the pain I feel today is almost torturous. I had a low grade fever when I went to the doc this morning for my hips and my blood pressure was up. That totally has to be from the pain. I have started crying twice already today just from the pain (x-ray done).
I also saw Dr. Erikson this morning for my hips. He took some x-rays and it was the frog kick position which was excruciating ! He only took my left hip for now since it appears to be in the worst shape. I have an MRA scheduled for tomorrow and a 3D CT scan for the 22nd (cool huh!). He moves like lightening and he could hear the catching and popping as clear as day. He said he can definitely do the surgery arthroscopically and is rushing to get it done due to the quick degeneration I am experiencing. The pain meds just don't cut it anymore. They had every single thing scheduled and authorized in one morning. Makes me wonder why other offices can't seem to do this .. maybe patient volume ? He wanted the new scans so he can see right down to the last detail what he needs to fix. He wants to do my left hip first and then do the right hip 4 weeks after. This would give me a much shorter recovery than the open hip. I believe this man was sent to me to ease my pain finally.
Rob and Heather came to drive me home from the surgery center and that man took care of me like no one else ever has before, even picking up my meds from the pharmacy. He wasn't lying when he said he was there for the long haul and I love him more for it.

I'm gonna cry !

After all the frustration with trying to get in to Dr. Phillipon, I called Dr. Laws office and asked them if they could send me to a different doctor. They gave me the name of one more doc even closer to me, Dr. Jon Erickson. So I called his office and explained what my diagnosis was and everything going on with Dr. Phillipon. I spoke to Kathy and she couldn't have been a more pleasant lady to chat with.
So, needless to say .... they are seeing me Thursday morning at 8:30 !!!!!!!!!!
I felt like crying and kicking myself at the same time for not calling the office sooner to request a new doctor. I do have to go and get copies of all my films again but it will be worth it. I will be at the surgery center in the morning for my injections anyway so it's a one stop place to get everything I need done. Wow, I can not describe the feeling of relief I have right now.

Hi !

So ... not a bad weekend. Heather and I went to Water World and I got the sunburn from hell. I ached a little when we started and the water felt good, but by the end of the day I had no range of motion and could barely walk on my left hip. That was bad enough but then some jackass stole my shoes !!! I had to go the rest of the day without my flip-flops ($2 from WalMart!) and go through the parking lot. Heather gave me hers so I could drive home.
We had 40+ layoffs Friday so my stress level is extremely high and I feel very sad for those let go. I am scared for my own job and for obvious reasons, losing my own benefits to be taken care of.
I have my Facet Injections in 2 days and I am anxious to see if it helps at all. I am nervous but Rob will be there with me and is driving me home. I guess they sedate you a little bit, enough not to care what's going on.
I have yet to hear from Dr. Phillipon's office and quite honestly can't feel anymore neglected or unimportant than I do to them as I do now. I have attempted to find another doctor and have even asked them to refer me to someone who actually cares and will call me back. This of course was all on voicemail since no one ever answers the phone there. It has now been 5 weeks since my initial call to them and I am no farther than I was then. I am sick of the pain, I am sick of trying to get them to respond to me and most of all I just feel like giving up.

Big Surprise

Well one more day "til the end of the week" and I didn't hear from them. I highly doubt they will have the courtesy to even call me tomorrow. I am ready to ask for a different doctor to be referred to.
The pain is absolutely horrible in my right hip and hurts all along the top of my pelvis, a new spot for me to hurt at. There is absolutely no relief at all. My arm does feel slightly better and doesn't hurt like it has the first part of the week so hopefully what ever I did to it is healing. My left butt cheek hurt for a bit while walking but I haven't been very mobile today. I have been trying to stay pretty still and use my heating pad as much as possible.
I am anxious to get home and see my puppy. Missing him was definitely depressing me and I didn't need another thing on top of it. Rob had lunch with me today too so it's been a good day all around. My mood has changed to be more positive and hopefully watching Heather play bball tonight and win would be a bonus.

He's home !!

OMG Dakota is home. Brandon was walking to his friends house and walked right up on him. Finally some positive news this week !

"By the end of the week"

I swear if I hear that one more time. Madeline called me today and actually said "I should be getting back to you by the end of the week". Well, it's Wednesday, not really much time left in the week now is there ? So in Dr. world it translates to ha ha, we will call you next Tuesday and you'll like it. She actually used the Memorial Day holiday as an excuse ! They have had my films since the 28th. I did make sure to let her know that the pain isn't fixing itself and it's getting much worse. So, what the heck, we will just wait another month !
Dakota is still missing and I haven't been able to locate him at the pound. My emotions are so screwed up right now. I miss my dog terribly, I am in so much pain it's unbearable and I am constantly distracted. I am so tired too but pretty sure it is the medication, which of course is doing nothing to help the bulk of my pain.
The kids and I will be headed to the pool tonight and I am hitting the hot tub for my shoulder and back pain, let's see if it works. I might even get frisky and walk in the lazy river, yay me !

Rain rain go away ..

What a dreary day outside. It's in the 50's again today and it's still drizzling. On a pain scale I about a 5 today which isn't too bad. My poor puppy Dakota went missing yesterday and I overdid things by walking for hours looking for him. Emotionally I am a wreck and the weather sure isn't helping. Both hips hurt a little at the bottom of the cheeks and my arm continues to hurt and is now sore to my elbow. I didn't sleep well at all either so it's been a rough day.
I called Dr. Phillipon's office yet again and left a voicemail for Madeline. This is getting seriously irritating now. It's been over a month and I still have yet to even get a single question answered by that clinic. I don't understand how they could expect someone to deal with the level of pain I have without a single thought for their well being. I understand they are busy and I have tried very hard to be patient but the waiting like this is a joke and detrimental to me mentally.

Rob met with me for lunch today so that definitely helped me. He is staying with me tonight to help me get the shopping and stuff done. I am stopping at the animal shelter again on the way home and praying my baby puppy is there. I have this feeling deep down that he is fine, kinda like I get with my kids. Man I can't take much more.

Lost

Not a bad weekend pain-wise but the hip is certainly sore this morning. It's weird that my arm started hurting Friday night and has yet to provide any relief. The pain level when it's bad is around a 9 and shoots pain from my shoulder to my elbow. It's a deep pain and feels like someone is stabbing me down the middle of the bone. I swear if one more spot hurts!
I pulled back a little on the Tramadol as well, I was having some pretty significant breathing issues during the weekend. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't catch a good deep breath and I know that's a side effect, I must have had my dosage schedule off or something. I do feel much better today and am only taking 2 doses a day until I talk to the PT.
No word yet from Dr. Phillipon's office but it's no big surprise at all. I figure I may hear something by the end of the week if I am lucky. I may try and call them around Wednesday.