Tag: wonky hip

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Pass the tequila

My hip feels great. It’s not even three weeks since the surgery and I’m about 95% back to normal, except it’s better than normal because I don’t have the crazy hip pain anymore. I actually went grocery shopping today pain free. It’s absolutely amazing.

Went to my herb guy, Majid, on Wednesday. He said I’m 50% better overall than when I first went to see him a month and a half ago. He also said that my ph balance is good and the hormones look good and if we want to start trying to get pregnant again we can. I’m trying to decide what level of commitment I’m up for…do I start the lovenox? Do I go back to acupuncture? I have to say it was pretty great this month just knowing I was not pregnant. No tests, no wondering, no counting days, no contemplating due dates. I was simply not crazy this month. It was a nice respite.

I think this month we should not try to get pregnant, but at the same time not try not to. This is what my sister-in-law did and guess what, she’s pregnant. My friend with the new baby suggests drinking more. She, as well as many people she’s talked to, were evidently really drunk when they conceived. It sounds counter-intuitive (and somewhat harmful) but maybe it’s worth a try. I’ve tried everything else.

I have my next lyme dr. appointment next Sunday on November 8th. I recently read the most up-to-date information regarding lyme and pregnancy and the concensus is that I have to be on antibiotics the entire pregnancy or risk passing lyme to the baby which can cause several problems which include everything from heart, brain and lung damage to death. So I guess I’ll be on antibiotics either until I have a baby or reach meopause. Great.

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Back from pain

No posts for a while because I was recuperating. Had the surgery, it went well. Had absolutely no pain whatsoever from Wednesday through Saturday so I decided (stupidly) to go out on Saturday night. Went to a gallery opening and a pumpkin carving party. I paid for it all on Sunday. Went to work for a half day on Monday. Came home, took my first pain pill, and got sick. Now I’m in pain and I’m throwing up. Tuesday, went to work half day, got a new prescription, came home, ATE something then took the medication. Ahhhhh, sweet relief. Had physical therapy on Wednesday which put me back a few days, lots of pain. Had my follow up with the doc Friday morning and ever since I’ve been feeling great. He said he fixed everything and I should be off crutches by this Wednesday. Well, I was actually off of them yesterday, so I’m ahead of the game.

During the pre-surgery prep, the nurse asked if I was pregnant. “Uh…no.” She made me take a pee test just to make sure.

Now it’s time to think about the shoulder….

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Under the knife

Met with the hip doctor, Dr. Guanche in Van Nuys. He looked at the MRI and said I have a tear in my labrum which is a piece of cartilage that goes between the ball of your hip and the socket. He said I also have some fraying and some extra bone. He’s going to fix the tear and shave the bone. He’s going to do this on Wednesday.

It’s a general anesthesia with a nerve block so I’ll be out all day, but it is outpatient surgery. He said I could go back to work on Monday, but everyone I’ve talked to says that’s crazy. We’ll have to see how I feel. I’m relieved it can be fixed. I just hope there aren’t complications or something and I end up worse than I am now. Positive thoughts….

Crutches for a few days and physical therapy and I’ll be good to go in 6-8 weeks, allegedly.

One of the advantages to all of this is that I can’t take a lot of the crap I’ve been taking, like the herbs, vitamins, etc. So my pill intake is diminished at least until Wednesday!

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No plan is a good plan

So we’re taking a break. Which is to say, I’ve totally given up, almost. No more IUI, no more shots, no more counting. I’m just done. The focus is on managing the lyme disease and fixing the hip. Majid, the herb guy, along with my best friend and my own conscience, have told me lately that until those things are under control I’m just not equipped. So I’ve been really good with my new diet of no sugar, dairy or white stuff, and I have an appointment with the hip doctor on Friday to see what can be done. I can barely carry around my unpregnant person with this hip…I would be completely incapable of carrying around two people.

On a side note, my lyme dr. told me to keep upping my Magnesium until my leg problems resolved. What he failed to tell me was that too much magnesium can really mess up your, uh, intestines/bowel. So really I should have upped the Magnesium until my stomach could tolerate it and then stop. So I’m backing off a bit and reducing to 1,250 mg instead of 1,500. Thank you Majid for filling in the blanks.

Also, I can barely hear myself think with all the ringing in my ears. A nice feature of the Zithromax, I’m told.

On a completely related note, I’ve become quite attached to the rum and caffeine-free diet coke.

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Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse

Have you ever thrown up on yourself while you’re driving?

I used to be able to answer no to that question.

But this morning I had an arthrogram of my left hip. This delightful procedure started with me changing into a mini-gown and being wheeled in a wheelchair out of the MRI room, through the physical therapy room, past the waiting room, out the back door of the building, across the parking lot entry and into the Radiologist’s office so he could inject a bag of saline and contrast into my hip joint with a really really big needle. So many questions…like (1) why isn’t the Radiologist in the same building as the MRI machine? (2) why couldn’t I have changed out of my clothes in the Radiologist’s office? and (3) why wasn’t I given a blanket for my long trip cuz it was friggin cold outside?

After the whole needle in the hip thing, I was wheeled back on the same route back to the MRI machine. The MRI guy said I could choose some music. I said, “anything relaxing…that isn’t Enya.” Well, he must have heard, “anything relaxing…how ’bout some Enya” because that’s what was piped into my earphones for a half hour whilst I sat, unmoving, in my little MRI coffin.

So because the whole arthrogram/Enya thing was pretty traumatic, I thought I’d make myself feel better with a nice soy latte from Starbucks (no more dairy for me). Driving back to work on the 101, enjoying my nice latte, I started to feel…not so great. Then I started feeling hot and quivery. I thought to myself, “relax, you just feel nauseous…you won’t actually throw up.” Boy was I wrong. Suddenly, at about Silverlake Blvd., I started to really feel like I was going to throw up. How lucky was I that I had my lunch in a plastic bag sitting right next to me on the seat? Not very, because the bag had a hole in it. That’s right, I threw up three times into a bag on my lap which then quickly leaked out all over my skirt, my top and my iPhone. Of course I had no napkins because that’s just my luck. I found some Kleenex in my purse, rolled the bag up as best I could and threw it away in a public trash can somewhere off Third street in downtown. I called work, told them what happened and that I was going home and then I called the doctor to make sure the source of my instability was the latte and not some horrible deadly reaction to the arthrogram. It was the latte (and the Enya).

I’ve eaten lunch since and am feeling better. But this was seriously not a good day.

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Impatience

Again, my impatience got the best of me. I went in yesterday morning for a blood test instead of waiting until Sunday for a pee test. Really, if I can avoid 3 extra nights of Lovenox shots and progesterone suppositories, how can that be bad?

Took the test in the morning and got the results at 3:30 the same day (yes, it is amazing). She said my HCG was 4.5 but they are not sure whether it means I’m pregnant or it is residual HCG from my shot two weeks ago. I did the math and if I ovulated on the Saturday between IUIs, then add six days for travel, then considering the HCG doubles every 48 hours, I would be right around 4.5 yesterday. On the other hand, it could just be from the shot.

So I have to go in on Sunday morning for another blood test, but this time I have to wait until Monday at 3:30 to get the results. I’m looking for anything above a 4.5.

Cross between jello and scrambled eggs…this is my brain on conception.

Also, saw the hip doctor about my, yes, hip. He said a cortisone shot should fix me right up. Problem is, I can’t have cortisone because of the Lyme Disease. Then he said he could take an MRI to see what’s what, he thinks maybe the pain on the outside of the hip might be caused by a tear of something on the inside of the hip because of my lack of range of motion. Problem is, I can’t have an MRI if I’m pregnant. So, if I am pregnant, I’m living with this hip for a very long time. If I’m not, I’ll have a fixed-up hip with no baby to carry on it.