It's been 6 days since the arthogram and pain test. While it's certainly not a fun experience, it was needed testing, so I'm glad I did it.
Day of (7/12):
Signed all my paperwork at the front desk, more paperwork with the nurse. Then I popped a pain pill I had leftover and they wheeled me off for some xrays. Then it was on to the arthogram. I greatly appreciated the doc at this place, he was much gentler and seemed in less of a hurry than the guy I've previously used in Austin. He put in the Kenalog, Lidocane, and dye.
My hip felt full and my leg felt wobbly and weak, but when he was done with me I was in less pain than when I'd come in. Which was a pleasant surprise. MRI was boring, as expected, but went by quickly. And they pumped music from my phone into headphones for me, which was a plus. Overall, I can't say enough good things about the staff at the Memorial Hermann Outpatient Imaging clinic. They were awesome. I felt comfortable and well looked after, and it was obvious they knew what they were doing.
I kept up with pain meds until the evening when I decided I didn't want to take anymore. Big mistake. Once the Lidocane had worn off, I was a very unhappy camper. Pain level was high enough that I couldn't sleep, even with Ambien.
Next day (7/13):
Mom drove me back to Austin in my car. Took my pain pills like a good girl, and the pain level was tolerable. Right before we pulled into my driveway, Dr A's office called with the results of the MRI. Fastest. Results. Ever.
Yes to FAI, but hopeful that we won't have to tackle that surgery right now. Pain is probably coming from labral tear. Waiting on Kenalog to kick in (takes 7 - 10 days) to see if it relieves pain. They didn't see the femoral head stress fracture on the MRI that Dr L was worried about. Scheduled for a follow up in Houston August 6, and we'll likely go ahead and set a surgery date then. I feel pretty comfortable with Dr A, so Chris (my husband) and I are thinking we'll let Dr A do the repair.
Following days:
I've been pretty uncomfortable since I got home, though the pain has definitely gone down and I don't find myself needing even my 800 of Ibprofen most days.
Monday (7/16), I saw an Active Release Therapy (ART) Chiropractor who does a lot of work on hips. Expensive for a short session, but willing to try it for a little bit to see if it helps. Have another appointment scheduled for Thursday of this week.
Yesterday (7/17) , I got the munchies around 4 pm and figured it was just boredom because of sitting. Then I got a headache and became dizzy and a bit agitated. A few hours later, my hip started to feel oddly loose and my entire leg felt weird, almost in an it's not attached to my body kind of way. It definitely felt really weak. However, I could take tiny strides instead of hobbling. Thought maybe the Kenalog was starting to work. By 9 pm I was super flushed and sweating. By 11, I was freezing. By 12, I was exhausted and hoping I didn't need medical attention...but I was going to try to sleep.
Slept for almost 10 hours. Woke up because I was done sleeping and not because of hip pain. Strange sensation. I haven't gone nuts walking around or anything today, but I have been able to do the necessary things with very little pain. Headache and dizziness are back again. Called my mom to ask about that (she's a nurse). She suggested snacking on carbs. That does the trick for a few hours, so I guess I'll be snacking more than I'm used to.
If I understand this correctly, the relief of pain using the Kenalog means soft tissue damage, which should mean that repairing the labral tear should alleviate my pain. So maybe we can put off or avoid this open surgery with bone shaving stuff...at least for now.
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