One of my dear college friends just sent me a message about a mutual acquaintance, who is apparently experiencing very similar hip issues, and just had a second surgery. Interestingly, this woman was also diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which is something that my daughter supposedly has, which would mean that I might also have it. I wrote about this here: http://39andhip.blogspot.com/2014/11/food-for-thought-18-weeks-6-days.html.
While I was contemplating this, I realized that there are a lot of people out there who have hip problems, and while it's good to not be alone, OMG, having surgery to repair a torn labrum is right up there with being on the autism spectrum, having ADHD, or being gluten intolerant. It's that common now. It's trendy! And cool!
Okay, so I'm being purposely flippant. Sort of. Since I had this realization, I keep thinking of my poor dad, who was diagnosed as having Celiac Disease a few years ago, in his mid-60s. This was the worst type of punishment for my dad, who has always been an amazing baker and has always enjoyed flour-y, gluten-rich baked goods. I wish I could trade places with my dad, as I've never been a baked goods gal. I do realize that there is gluten in many, many things other than bread and pastries (even in soy sauce, wtf?), but I still think it would be much easier for me to be gluten-free than it is for my dad. Fortunately, there are many gluten-free options available now. While my dad appreciates this, he hates the idea that people might think he insists on gluten-free food because he is part of the anti-gluten movement and will not eat gluten because it is now very trendy to not eat gluten.
And to empathize with my dad, I hate the idea that people might think I am having hip problems because pretty much every middle-aged woman has hip problems and it is now very trendy to have hip problems and to have hip surgery to correct aforementioned hip problems. It's practically like having a Botox injection or dying your hair.
Call me cynical, but I'm currently reading a great book called Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies. And while it is very fascinating to read about cancer, it also provides a very interesting perspective on the history of medicine. In reading about some of the procedures that used to be performed a few hundred years ago, I find myself grateful for modern medicine. (Surgery before anesthesia... who would agree to that?!*) At the same time, I realize that someday the procedures we go through now will be looked upon with the same scorn by future generations. I can just see this era written up in medical journals: 'In the early 2000's, it was very common for women to have hip surgery that ultimately ended up doing nothing, or inflicting more pain than the torn cartilage itself.'
* In fact, this is a big reason why Charles Darwin chose not to pursue a career in medicine; he found surgery in the days before anesthesia to be horrific.
With that said, I saw my orthopedist on Tuesday, even though I never got the snake oil cream that was supposed to be sent to me. You know it's bad when you go to your orthopedist and you get VIP treatment. His assistant was super apologetic about me not getting the cream, and my orthopedist went on and on about compounding pharmacies and how super shady they are and... and... and... whatever. I told them it wasn't a big deal just because I felt like this was beyond cream. Like... I'm willing to try the cream, but at the same time I want to move forward with other possibilities.
Fortunately, my orthopedist brought up the suggestion of the arthrogram before I even mentioned it. He agreed that regardless of what I decide in the future, it would be good to know what's going on for sure. I asked him what he thought could be a cause for the continued pain, if not normal, post-surgery pain. He said it was most likely that my labrum just never healed, for whatever reason. Then he said that sometimes the anchor used during surgery could come out, but that was unlikely without a traumatic event. Then he told me about a patient he had who fell after surgery, which made her anchor come out. This was interesting, because after multiple consultations with Dr. Google, I was aware it was actually possible for the anchor to come out, and I kept thinking back to the day of surgery, when I fell. It seemed unlikely to me that the fall did anything considering my hip didn't hurt for a long time after that, but now I wonder. I also wonder because I read the surgery report, and apparently during the surgery, my orthopedist tried to insert a second pin, but it wouldn't stay in, so he ended up not putting it in. That's not exactly encouraging. It's all... food for thought.
So the plan is: arthrogram on March 3rd followed by 'F/U' with my ortho sometime after then. (It cracks me up that 'F/U' in medical speak is 'follow up.') I was actually impressed that he recommended me getting my arthrogram at a place other than the one associated with their practice, telling me this other place had the best MRI machine and best radiologist. He also brought up the possibility of me seeing a different orthopedist again. (He is sooooo trying to get rid of me, lol.) However, we will discuss that at my F/U appointment once we have the results of the arthrogram.
And so it continues.
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