22 days left

As I sit here and study whilst resting on a heating pad and throbbing, I think to myself - "ONLY 22 MORE DAYS!" Scary and exciting. I really, really need this done, much more than my previous two scopes. It is getting ridiculous to have the hip being so bothersome all of the time.

I am arranging to pick up crutches from my best friend. Although they are not the ergonomic ones, they are the normal ones but are made of aluminum so they are fairly light and manageable. I will definitely be a pro at these crutches since I've had to use them a total of 8 weeks prior to this. So, by the end of 6 weeks this summer, I'll be able to go out dancing on crutches. (well, not really, but point stands, I will be an expert!)

So in the next 22 days I get to: take my medical board exam, move out of my apartment, have surgery, drive/move back home. Can somebody fast forward these next couple of weeks? Please?!?

Reminder Why I Need Surgery so Badly

You know, sometimes I really just wish I was a normal mid-twenty year old who didn't have to live in pain all of the time. Tonight was a really bad night for me. I went to my boyfriend's family-gathering which was held outside. It was really fun, but it got cold, and I started to tense up, and now I hurt like, well, lets just say I hurt a lot. I took two muscle relaxants and now am lying on a heating pad but my groin hurts so much I can barely stand it. I don't remember being in this much pain prior to either of my previous two hip surgeries. Which makes me worried that things are more damaged inside than before.

I can hardly stand this anymore and can't wait to get this all fixed up so that I can move on with life. I sometimes come across other people's blogs and they haven't posted in such a long time, and I think to myself that maybe one day I won't have to post on here to vent my feelings and concerns about my hips because one day I will have two healthy hips. Oh, I can't even imagine what my life would be like if I hadn't had any hip issues. It would be totally different!

1 MONTH!!!! eek!

One month right now I will be in surgery (almost done!!! actually since I am scheduled to be in the OR from 10:00 am to 12:00pm). Honestly, it makes my stomach flip to think that I'll be getting fixed up RIGHT NOW in 4 weeks. Craziness!

I can't wait to get it done because I can't keep living like this, but I am absolutely terrified since I know how crappy it will be afterwards and how much work the physio will be after to recover.

Some Sleep

Yesterday I called the pharmacist to see if there was anything that I could take that was over-the-counter to aid in my sleeping. She recommended that I double my dosage of muscle relaxant and acetaminophen before bed. I did this last night and I could finally fall asleep within a reasonable time period. I was a bit groggy this morning, but that might be because I didn't actually get to be early enough last night.

Gosh, only 33 more days of this hip pain before I can get fixed. I am strangely excited to get this over with!

Hopefully third time is a charm! LOL

One Year Post-Op

Today marks the day that I had my left hip scope. Actually, I was in surgery a year ago to the exact time I am posting this. When I went in for that surgery I was so excited to get my hip fixed because my first scope worked out perfectly.

But, things are still worse than they were than when I had my last scope. It is so sad to be in so much pain all of the time. Honestly, it sucks because I continually am thinking about my hip and now I can't even get to sleep without taking pain relievers + muscle relaxants. I have tried to fall asleep without taking the meds but last night I tossed and turned for over an hour and finally gave in and took them. When the throbbing stopped I was able to get to sleep.

So, in a year I have done another year of medical school and mustered up the hip to being worse off. So, I have one month and five days until my revision scope with my different surgeon. I am terrified to get it done now because what if this scope doesn't help? It has to help! Ugh.

Well, I should get my butt out of bed and get my day into gear.

Surgery Details

A lot has happened since the last time I posted. I have surgery booked for the 7th of July at 10:00AM for femoral osteoplasty, acetabular osteoplasty, and labral repair. It is going to be an outpatient procedure where I will have to go back to a hotel room (since I have to be out of my apartment July 1st). Then we have to drive home which entails stopping every 1-2 hours so I can move around to prevent DVTs. Given that this drive normally takes 11 hours, this is going to really, really suck trying to get home. But, it must be done. In all reality, I am scared to death of the drive home; even more so than the actual surgery. I think I'll need all of the prayers I can get to get through that time. Thank goodness for narcotics!

We are still trying to iron out details about how/when I need to move since I have a week or so where I have to be out of my apartment and my surgery. I think that one of my friends will take me in, and I know that my boyfriend would take me in too.

I also found out that I will be NWB for two weeks, in TED hose for two weeks, then graduall

y transfer to WBAT for the next four weeks. All the while with no physiotherapy - all trying to prevent tearing of the repaired labrum. Furthermore, I am going to be wearing one of these lovely braces for six whole weeks:

Wow, that is gonna SUCK to wear all summer

ugh.

Here We Go Again

Well, it looks like I am able to get just a hip scope instead of a PAO or labral reconstruction. I am so thrilled that there was enough labrum left over from my first scope on the left side to have the local surgeon refix what labrum is left. It appeared on MRI that there was no labrum left, but upon seeing pictures from my previous surgery, this surgeon thinks that there is enough that he can fix it up.

It appears that I have done something to the anterior labrum (again) and the posterior labrum looks a bit chewed up on MRI as well. So, I assume that I will get both of them fixed during the scope. Also, I had an incomplete CAM osteochondroplasty, so that will be taken down and the surgeon said that he would like to take some of the acetabular bone off as well to be safe because I have such a propensity to tear that we want all possible impingements removed. Which is good for me since I do NOT want another surgery. So, of all the surgeries I will have had, this will be the most work done inside the hip. But, I am up for this since I can't possibly keep living like this. I have had sore hips fro 4 years now and my current hip state is the most painful pre-op that I have ever been. It really does suck; but there is hope that I can get it fixed! yay.

I get a surgery date either tomorrow or the next day and am stoked about getting it done. Weird to say how happy I am, but, I just want a chance to not be in pain. Before both my other surgeries I knew that my hip hurt and that it was annoying, I couldn't exercise and had to be careful what I did, but this hip now is on a different level. I understand that it is only the labrum that is messed up, but now that I have more tearing than I ever have and that I have never actually healed from my surgery a year or so ago, it really does hurt more than ever. I can't walk a step without thinking of it, I can't lie on my side unless I have two pillows between my knees, I can't sit for more than 10 minutes without readjusting because of the groin pain (which is difficult to deal with when I am sitting studying 12 hours or so each day). All in all, I am fed up and needing surgery. Which means I want surgery really badly.

Heck, this will be hip surgery number three in the last three years. Hopefully this is my last surgery for a very long time. I would assume that I'll need hip replacements when I am older, but hopefully that is a very long time from now.

So, I'll post when I get a date and start planning the logistics behind this operation. I think I'll have to order a T-shirt that says: Hip Chick on it (from that website!) God knows I am a hip chick :)