So here goes....Is this you too?
My hip hurts (substitute your own hurting body part). This started some months ago, an occasional thing. I took a couple of Tylenol and mostly ignored it. But then, over time, it got more common that after a walk, or a yoga class, or too long in our reading chair that hip pain became more than an annoyance and downright painful. I took a couple of Ibuprofen instead of Tylenol. I ignored it. Mostly.
Over the past month or so, there is no more ignoring it. One night after a 3 mile treadmill session with various incline settings, I could barely walk. I mean stooped, hobbling, hurting barely walking not able. I took Ibuprofen AND Tylenol and started to worry.
After that I noticed that upon every rise from the chair, my first few weight bearing steps were a hobbling limp with a little "ouch". I realized I'd been ignoring the occasional sore knee that throbbed out of the blue for no reason while just sitting there watching TV. And every morning I woke up with a sore, stiff neck. Is it possible to "sleep wrong" every night?! One morning it was so bad that for the rest of that day and the next, I couldn't turn my head. What was going on???
I am married to a retired Rheumatologist. This joint pain thing is right in his wheelhouse! He did an exam that resulted in sort of a shoulder shrug since I didn't scream upon examination, but there was perhaps a wee bit of "maybe?" around the possibility of osteoarthritis in the hip. I called his colleague, a still-working Rheumatologist, and scheduled an appointment. She did a full and thorough exam and ordered x-rays for neck, hip, and knee as well as lab tests requiring about a pint of blood. Nothing. Nadda. Well, not totally nothing -- maybe a wee bit of arthritis in the neck, maybe a wee bit in the knee, maybe a little something-something in the hip, but none of it adding up to stiffness, soreness, and hobbling around in pain on a regular basis.
So...I left with a Physical Therapy referral since the whole thing might also be a mechanical structural response to my lifelong touch of scoliosis. Back in the day, like 60 years ago when I was diagnosed, they didn't do anything about it. Just "Oh, that's a thing; good luck!" So I've spent my entire life being a bit crooked and compensating with musculature that crooked-ed in the opposite direction. I guess my body is now saying "enough!" At least that's my understanding at the moment.
Maybe PT will teach me how to sit and stand and walk so this annoying ouchiness will subside. At least I hope so. Because I am very humbled by this and would prefer to go back to feeling invincible.
At least, that's the view from here...©
Amen, sister!!
ReplyDeleteI know you know. :)
DeleteYou certainly speak for me. BTW I was surprised how much PT helped me thru various ailments. Not cured, but improved.
ReplyDeleteMy first PT appointment is next week. Fingers crossed!
DeleteI'm part of your "we," but in my case, they found degenerative scoliosis and disc disease, and one vertebra kicked out of alignment with the next. My rheumatologist (I have autoimmune RA) set me up with physical therapy and also a repeat bone density scan, which found osteoporosis in the neck of the femur. More PT. It's probably because of the bout of hyperthyroidism in the early stages of Hashimoto's that required radioactive iodine and, now that my overactive thyroid has been quelled, I need Synthroid. I call it being caught up in a game of Whack-a-Mole. but I'll keep playing, for sure. Tell your husband that rheumatologists are so important. My body is not so happy right now after today's physical therapy session, but I'm so glad to be finding another way to augment the exercises I was already doing. "We" overcome a lot, don't we?
ReplyDeleteLinda, thanks for you comment and sharing your journey. It sounds like you are experiencing multiple issues requiring a Sherlock Holmes level discernment about what is happening and how it all inter-relates. My husband often said getting to the diagnosis and finding appropriate treatment was very challenging to doctor and patient alike. I always admired his perseverance and he most loved working with patients who worked with him through the process with patience and good will/optimism. It sounds like you are just such a person!
DeleteAfter I had a stroke 10 years ago that left me in a wheelchair, I started to read a lot about the brain. "Welcome to Your Brain: Why You Lose Your Car Keys but Never Forget How to Drive and Other Puzzles of Everyday Life" by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang surprised me, because the thing that they thought was THE most important for avoiding the worst consequences of aging was (drumroll) regular exercise. I had already had quite a bit of physical and occupational therapy, and had found a trainer who could work with me even in a wheelchair, and that genuinely resonated with me. For me, working out at the gym with a trainer, going every week for 4 years (and counting, because I'm not going to quit doing what makes me stronger) has made me into a living miracle. I have come so much farther than they told me I would in the hospital, and it's all been due to the consistency. You have to keep doing it. I've discovered that you will keep improving until you die, if you don't quit.
ReplyDeleteYou are truly an inspiration! I know people who have just given up -- or use age as an excuse for a sedentary life. I have continued my yoga practice and my walks, have started PT and do my exercises faithfully, hoping to regain function without pain. As soon as I'm cleared by PT I plan to find a personal trainer for strength training as well. Gotta keep on going! Thank you for sharing your journey. And thanks for the book recommendation.
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