tjcarst

This may be a bit long, I apologize in advance and thank those of you kind enough to bear with me through this post. It is long because I do not know the exact cause of my pain, so I'll start where it started. I think.

For the record, I am a 5'7" 120 to 125lb 34-year old female with no history of an injury to either hip. I have sprained my right ankle three times. Ouch! But that's about the extent of any joint injuries in my past.

While I was making my bed on Saturday, March 27, I came around the corner pretty fast and cut it short. I slammed my left hip into the sleigh-style footboard of my king size-bed hard enough to move it a little bit. That'll leave a bruise, I thought to myself. No severe immediate pain to indicate anything else might have happened.

The next day was Sunday and I had plans to do some major plantings in my back yard. I don't recall anything painful upon waking up and getting around, but I do recall some pain while kneeling, but nothing major, I spend many hours happilly digging and planting. I didn't notice much the following week, just a tiny bit of stiffness. From the bruise I thought.

The following Friday night (6 days later) was another thing. I woke up sleeping on my left side, something I never do. There was severe, intense pain in my left hip. When I rolled onto my back, I had to use my hands to bring my left leg back to a normal 'flat on my back position' with toes pointing straight up. It felt like when you watch TV while raised up on one elbow for a long time and then when you try to move, it hurts. But I swear it felt 50 times worse. It brought tears to my eyes. I was pretty stiff when getting up and about. I had a hard time raising my left leg, it felt stiff at the front of the hip and I had some difficulty going up and down my steps at home. I actually led with my right and sort of picked up/drug my left leg. I could not lay on my stomach or back. I went to work, but had much diffuculty raising my left foot to shift my manual speed car. I actually killed it one time while trying to spare a squirrel's life (he was lucky). I would experience pain if I stayed in one position too long, like 45 minutes, or if I continued to move for a similar period of time.

After 2 weeks, Aprill 12, to be exact, I finally went to the doctor. They did x-rays and didn't see anything abnormal. They were happy to report there were no early signs of arthritis. They told me it was most likely a deep bone or possibly tissue bruise that would not show up on an x-ray, but it should go away on its own. They gave a prescription for 500mg Naproxen, to be taken twice a day. They said it if kept bothering me to come back. No mention of how long this should be. I refused to take the Naproxen after seeing all of the side effects. Stupid idea, I suppose.

I used to exercise 25-30 minutes a day on an elliptical machine to keep my borderline high (varying from 185-215 total) cholesterol down. I was no longer able to do this amount of exercise. I can't grocery shop for more than 30-45 minutes at a time. I now buy clothes off the internet to avoid walking at the mall. I don't enjoy playing pool, something I used to be able to enjoy for hours on end. I could stand 6-8 hours with no problem. Go to a hockey game and stand 2-3 hours, go play pool and visit with friends for a few more. In 2-3 inch heels, no less. No problem.

June 16, I went back to the doctor as I was still unable to resume normal activities or even sleep on my back, although the pain was less intense. After seeing me and hearing what was happening, they sent me the same day to have a CAT scan done. Nothing abnormal, except a small ganglian cyst in my left hip.

June 27, I go see a specialist. He examines me and reviews my x-rays and CAT scans. He theorizes it may be a small tear in the cartilage in the hip joint, something that is indicated by the cysts in the joint. He orders an MRI. He also orders me to take the Naproxen, which I do. No improvement from this either. Same old pain whether I remember to take it or not. He also notes that when raising and then lowering my leg straight out from my body there is a distinct popping sound as my leg returns to a normal position. I don't have much strength when I lift my leg and I also notice that if I rotate my leg out to the side or across my body (at least a 45 degree angle or more I am guessing) there is immediate sharp pain in the hip joint. I do not know if this has always been present, I have just noticed it now. I was visiting with a friend and put my left foot on the front of my right shin at a bent angle and moved it to the side, a movement I sometimes make, I don't know why, althougth it must look silly.

July 1, I have an MRI. The specialist reviews the results and calls me at home to tell me he is referring me to another specialist to discuss the possibility of scoping and debrising (sp?) the hip to clear it of the cartilage that is there as a result of a tear.

July 27, I see the 2nd specialist. He reviews the results and says it is most likely early osteoarthritis as indicated by the cysts in the hip. He gives me a steroid injection, and tells me to come back in three weeks. The steroid injection gives me no relief. However, by now I've been given the go ahead to do some light exercising, so I get on my elliptical for 5-7 minutes a day on a level of 2 (normally I go at 5-7 for 25 min, a 2 would have been a waste of my time before). I still can't sleep on my back or stomach. I now notice slight shooting pains in my inner left thigh and some pain on my lower left back/upper buttock (I figure it was due to the change in my normal gait in that I am gentle with my left leg and favor the right, like a slight limp and a slight dragging of the left leg for months). I also notice that if my leg hangs off the edge of a stool and my feet don't touch the floor, I experience shooting pains in the joint that make me flinch.

August 16, today, I go back to him and report that I've seen no changes. He schedules an arthroscopic surgery for September 2 to clean out the cysts and any debris that may be present. He indicates that this does often bring relief to arthritis sufferers. It could be weeks, months, or years of relief. No guarantee. I also asked him if this would allow him to rule out a tear (my hope that this is all it is and not arthritis). He says yes. He said this type of surgery is only performed on someone who is young, someone who could see years of benefit from this surgery. He also says that he can strectch the ligament that is causing the popping sound as he believes it is now tight as a result of the joint being swollen. This concerns me. I have a ligament in my forearm that was stretched in an injury and it now pops and is nowhere near as strong as it used to be.

Does anyone else have any ideas on what could be wrong? Would surgery help if it is (osteo?)arthritis? I am so frustrated (and tired of spending money and getting no real diagnosis).

tjcarst

I edited to indicate height/weight, to add pain in thigh/lower back, type of arthritis diagnosed, add info on the popping sound, and correct many typos.