Debilitating hip pain

Debilitating hip pain

Hello,

I have been diagnosed with UC 15 years ego, had all the usual tribulations with blood, etc. Taken prednisone for flare ups, currently in remission on Asacol maintenance doze. about 5 years ego started having hips pain, discomfort. MRI. X-rays show nothing. Therapy, chiropractors do not help. GI is useless – prednisone is the only thing he knows…Tried Celebrex – bad reaction – dizzy, chest pain. Few times per year hip pain nocks me out so bad, I am pretty much immobile for few days. I am thinking of cortisone shots. Anyone had them? Should I see arthritis doc?

Any advise is appreciated.

Hi,
I got some relief from hip/sciatic/back pain through a good massage therapists who knew how to do something called "myofascial release." It was recommended by my golf coach, who is a bodybuilding champion and helps pro golfers with rehab. It was a combination of many things the physical therapists did and chiropractic moves, too. I think it helped a lot and was very soothing besides.

I also have had three shots. One in February 2008, but I was already doing better so I don't know if it did anything. Then I irritated it again in October 2008, finally broke down and got two shots in February 2009 and am fine now. So right now I can say the shots worked for me.

I think they would have been able to tell on the MRI if you had arthritis. The specialist I worked with was an orthopedic surgeon, he ordered the MRI, found some slightly bulging disks but no arthritis, and referred me for the shots. Also gave me oxycodone, but was only willling to refill it once (and I used it very judiciously) since I was hesitating on the shots!

Yeah, I should mention I got lots of mixed advice from everyone about whether to get the shots.
I finally decided I had suffered enough and it was worth a try, even my golf coach agreed.

Be sure you check the cost/co-pay so there are no surprises.

I've taken a few massage classes. It was great, we would give each other massages during the lab part of the classes. Our department head would lecture us all the time about the negative effects of steroids and cortisone shots. He would say that cortisone shoots provide some relief initially; however, they age the joints.

You should tell your massage therapist if you have taken steroids, especially if you have bone issues as a result. You should also tell your massage therapist about any medications you are taking, any ailments you may have, and any pain you may be experiencing. Your massage therapist will then make an assessment as to whether or not he/she can give you a massage and if so whether or not there are any areas, he/she should not massage.

A few contraindications include:

Osteoporosis - No massage or gentle massage depending on condition of bones - bones could break
Infection/inflammation - No massage - the infection/inflammation could spread
Coronary Artery Disease - No massage - a blood clot could get released into the blood stream
Acute injury - may need to stay away from area depending on extent of injury
Pacemaker - do not massage near any pacemakers!!

Well its a sixer. I am joking. The thing is once you are on steroids for long period, the side effects tend to show up on your bones and joints after a couple of years. The main areas affected are your knee and hip joints and ofcourse fertility. All my siblings have hip joint pain. It is not only related to steroid but also an outcome of UC. Another major thing which starts showing is severe boils on your back. That is the signal that "man now its' time to take a decision - either go for surgery or try some drastic method to cure it". My boil did not cure for over 8 months even after my surgeries and use of copper sulphate.

Little more info - I have not taken prednisone for more then 10 days at a time and it was at least a year since I took it last time. My hip pain episodes so severe that about a year ego I had to call 911. Emergency room just pumped me full of pain killers and sent me home! After that I went for Xray and MRI – nothing showed. The irony of the situation is that my pain only lasts few days and by the time I get to see a doc/specialist my pain is pretty much gone. Takes about a week to feel almost no pain. It’s very frustrating...

Crohnie4now said...
Hmm, I always thought weight bearing exercise were a good thing for the joints..

Weight-bearing exercise is good for the bones (except for injuries of course). I use weights at the gym, figure skate, and take Kathak, a kind of Classical Indian dance (we spend most of the time stomping in class). These kinds of sports are great for the bones.

Of course, you will need to modify your exercise if you have brittle bones. There is always swimming... I'm not too keen on swimming though. So it's understandable why I refuse to take Prednisone. I love sports, but not all sports.

Thank you all. I will make app to see rheumatoligist and go from there.