Temperatures like these make a "normal" person's bones and muscles ache. Now imagine an anatomical abnormality with complication. Even on regular cold days I feel like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz in need of an oil can. This week I felt like I needed my own personal Pennzoil Pit Crew!
In addition to my bilateral hip dysplaysia I was diagnosed, through the use of MRI arthragram, with anterior and posterior labral tears with degeneration. Labrum is present in ball and socket joints, like the hip and shoulder, and serves several purposes. It is sponge like, acts as joint lubrication, shock absorption, and helps in pressure distribution and stability.
I knew there was "something" wrong for a few years. Unfortunately it took finding the right doctors, the right imaging center, and the right radiologists to use the proper amounts of contrast when performing the tests to know what that something was. I had been feeling clicking and popping in my hips that wasn't right and wasn't natural. It didn't feel too good either. After a while it got really painful and I began to seek out medical attention.
After a few failed attempts at physical therapy, an Arthragram that wasn't thorough enough and and MRI that either wasn't clear enough or read correctly, they FINALLY found what I had been feeling-Yes folks, I had tears in my labrum. I mean, after almost 39 years of walking and being active on dysplastic hips, how could the labrum NOT be at least a little ragged??? I have come in contact with my fair share of doctors in my life for various health issues. The best ones have always been the ones that LISTEN the most to EVERYTHING you have to say and RESPECT the fact that you are living in YOUR body and you know it the best. You know what feels "normal" and when things aren't right. Everything cannot be explained in a text book or, these days, with a computer simulation. I wasn't going to stop until I found the right specialist with the right eye to see what I was feeling.
I was not going to take ibuprofen from dawn till dusk when all it was doing was damaging my liver. I had tried a few other higher lever prescriptions, but nothing to the level of narcotics-I was NOT going there! I have never been a person to seek out medications; the medications were not going to fix the problem. The anatomy was still there. I was however a huge fan of exercise, diet, and finding natural foods that had antinflammatory properties.
Tuesday January 7, 2014 Proved to be the coldest day on record in the last 20 years.
This is what I woke up to :
On this day Pittsburgh, and much of the United states was under the veil of the "Polar Vortex" . On these tundra-temperature days I had been wearing layers as directed . For my hips, I was also wearing an extra layer of "Spanx" over my CuddlDuds base layer pants, or tights and knee socks.
I had go to Allegheny General Hospital Medical Building to see my Surgeo, Dr. Timothy J. Sauber, and also get a pre-operative physical from his CRNP, Janice Poletti. After the physical, my husband I braved the brutal wind chills to go over to Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) for blood work, a chest x-ray, and an EKG.
All in all it was a pretty smooth day with very little waiting. AGH has a very nice coffee cart in its main lobby and we were able to part via the valet service for free, courtesy of the doctor's office. Our initial appointment parking in the garage was not free. You cannot win them all.
While I was in the lab getting my blood work done I was given a red blood recipient bracelet that was put on my right wrist and told to keep it on at all times, It has my name and an identifying number on it. It will be used as a reference with the blood bank to have reserves ready for me if the need should arise during surgery. I had never heard of this. They were very , very serious about this. If for any reason the bracelet was damaged or came off, I had to come back and get a new one put on by them and the information had to be registered.
My final thoughts regarding living with labral tears and hip dysplaysia are those regarding being keenly observant of buses that stop along my walking route from MY drop off point in the morning to my office building. On a normal, non inclement weather day, my bus drops me off about 5 blocks away from office. Very uneventful, except for the occasional Pro-Life activists (however they usually stay away until Friday). Since my work has brought be back into the Downtown area of Pittsburgh, I have become very adept at noticing which buses are due to stop at certain spots along my walk that may be able to take me a little further on my way. A nice thing about the Port Authority of Pittsburgh ( one of the few nice things-VERY FEW) is that riding within the city limits , the Golden Triangle, is a free fare. On more than one occasion I have surprised a co-worker by showing up on her morning bus because I have hopped on to ride a few blocks to take me around the bend. If it saves me a few labored steps, it will save me a few hours of pain recovering from my walk. There is just nothing worse than feeling good otherwise in the morning and starting the day in pain. I am in pain all the time for the most part, most of it I have just "learned to live with," but if I can avoid exacerbation I am going to do it.
Until Next Time Friends~Drive Slow
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