Kelly-Dahl Campground

Mummified

Just a little update. My attempted MRA hurt for a day, but nothing a little Tylenol every 6 hours couldn't solve. Wednesday night I was able to do a few climbs with Ty and Alina. During my last climb both of my hips twinged, so I played it safe and stopped climbing for the night. I was so wonderful to be back on the wall!! I've lost so much strength but with a little hard work I should get it back.

The next morning I had my second private Pilates class. I did a lot of stretches that opened up my hip joints. It felt great to stretch this area in a controlled manner. Pilates are amazing. It doesn't feel like I'm working out but the next day my muscles are sore.

This weekend I went camping with Ty and Silvia up at Kelly-Dahl Campground near Nederland. The first night was sooooooooooo cold! Even with my +10F mummy bag I was chilly. Sleeping was somewhat tough. I had a sleeping pad beneath me, but whenever I turned to my side the ground was too hard to my hip. Other than that no pain this weekend. I was even able to hike on a slight decline without needing to slow down. =D

Angry Hip

Today I went into Children's for angiography and MRI. The hospital is super cute, colorful, and lots of fun sounds. This is where the fun ended.

I went back to radiology where the radiologist explained the procedure. They would be using digital x-rays to locate my hip capsule. The capsule contains liquid around the hip. The radiologist first numbed me with lidocaine (27 gauge needle). Then he used a 10 centimeter (22 gauge) needle to access my hip capsule. Once he got in the "right" area they would inject contrast (iodine) to make sure they were in the right area. If they got in the correct area they would inject Gadolinium, which is the contrast of the MRI. The Gadolinium would expand my capsule allowing the MRI to capture any cracks in my cartilage. Sounds easy huh?

The first try didn't work. The needle wouldn't enter my capsule or they couldn't find it. After another try I needed some more lidocaine. Actually after the hour plus of trying they went through more than a syringe of lidocaine. They hit my bone twice... owwww. They also hit a nerve causing my whole leg to jerk. That was not fun. At first it didn't hurt but it was bad at the end. Reasons why they can't get into the capsule include inflammation and scar tissue. This radiologist is one of two in the hospital that preform this procedure. The other doctor gets to try next Wednesday. I can't wait. =P

Can You Say SCARY??

Tomorrow is the MRI with contrast injection. I've been talking to people who have had this done. The consensus is pain and doctors not getting the needle into the hip socket the first time. I hope my radiologist is better, but they work with kids and typically not adults. I am a bit bigger than a kid. Hey I am taller than most people. sigh. Fun times ahead.

But this whole hip thing has re-affirmed what awesome friends I have. People are so willing to help me out, however they can. Friends have offered to drive me to my appointments and others have offered to help out or let me stay at their place if I have surgery. They say good friends are hard to come by. I must have lucked out. I have some of the best friends around!

Pilates

Dr. Sink suggested that I try pilates to strengthen my core. It's possible that this exercise will stop my pain. Hopefully.... I had my first class today. It was with Susan at The Pilates Center. My first class was so much fun! It's like playing with a bunch of random contraptions. The hardest thing was focusing on the correct motions and which muscles to contract. Hopefully this works out.

While at work I got a phone call from a man asking to speak to my Mom or Dad. I was so confused until he realized I was the patent and I was an adult. We got a good laugh out of that. The joys of going to a Children's Hospital while being 24. Dr. Sink has asked me to get an MRI to see if my cartilage has been damaged. I'll be going Tuesday afternoon. I'm scared though. They will be injecting a contrast agent directly into my hip joint to improve the image quality. I have a call into the doctor to see how much pain I will be in afterwards. I hope I can drive home because the bus ride would be 3 transfers and take 2 hrs and 20 minutes. Yuck.

It is crazy that one week ago I was running or exercising everyday. I even was taking tennis lessons. Now I have so much on my mind of what this means. It's great to know what is wrong with my hip, but it is still scary. I know there are treatment options, but being the person I am, I have read way too much on this topic. I have been learning the good, the bad, and the ugliest of results. I just need to remind myself that nothing has changed from this week and last. My annoying hip hasn't changed... now I have a name for the annoyance.

I finally know..

Since Monday I have found out so much. It's been a lot to take in. I have so much to get out of my head, but first I should give some background.

Junior year of HS I started water polo. My couch was worried that I was going to drowned during "Hell Week" but little did he know that I was going to get hooked on H2O Polo. The next year I joined synchronized swimming to get in shape for polo. During the season I injured my ankle but didn't think much of it. Then in the spring I started water polo. I'm not sure which season it was in 2002 but I partially dislocated my hip. The school trainer didn't know how to treat hip injuries, so she had be on stretches and off sports for a week.

In the Fall of 02 I began the University of Michigan and joined the Synchronized swimming team. I was on a team routine and a trio. Practice was 2.5-4 hours three times a week, plus competitions on the weekend. That December I fully dislocated my right hip. I had never felt such pain in my life. I went to the University Health System and they put me into physical therapy. I was barley able to get to classes and I couldn't stay in single position for longer than 5 minutes. The pain was unbearable. I had an adverse reaction to the pain medication and had to stop taking it after one day. I didn't swim for a month and when I returned I quite my trio routine. After this season I never went back to synchro or polo because of the pain it caused, specifically when egg-beatering.

Fast forward to today. I don't allow myself to do squats, lunges, egg-beatering, yoga, or hip exercises because of the pain it causes me. I also have to be careful when hiking downhill, playing tennis, or rock climbing because these activities can also cause pain. A past boyfriend also commented on hearing my hip pop whenever I walk and could feel it if his hand was on my hip while walking.

Trust me, living a limited life sucks. I wouldn't say this affects my daily life but it does limit my activities. I typically say it is weird to "know" your hip is there. Normally a person just moves without noticing a muscle or joint is involved in the process (think of blinking).

Monday I went to Dr. Ernie Sink a Orthopedic Surgeon out of Denver Children's Hospital. He took some three x-rays and gave me my diagnosis: Femoroacetabular Impingement. Basically my hip socket is too deep and thus my femoral head (top of the the leg bone) hits my hip bone when my leg is perpendicular to my body. When the bones hit it can cause my hip to dislocate out the back of hip socket (butt area). Doesn't that sound pleasant? The x-ray above is the image from my right hip. You can see two divots on my femoral head. That's where bone has been sheared away from the impingement. I now understand why my hip hurts when I egg-beater. It is basically a constant bone on bone grinding. Sigh. Well that's all I am up to writing tonight. In the coming days I'll update about prognoses, further testing, and possible surgery.

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At the beginning...

So this blog will encompass my life and the hoops my hip puts me through. I was just diagnosed with FAI … more of this to come.