View Full Version : I am sitting here in pain!
I have terrible pain and stiffness across my lower back and hips.
A brief history I am a C-5 incomplete 7 years post. I developed HO in both hips in the first 3 months after injury and have ben on 400mg Didrinel twice a day ever since. Over the past 4 years I have fractured both femur bones and have rods and screws in both legs.
About a week ago while doing range of motion exercises I heard and felt a clicking noise in my right hip area. This didn’t happen all the time, and was not painful. Two days ago I heard a little pop, now I am in pain all the time. It is really bad when I transfer out of bed in the am because it is slightly uphill. Once I am up and sitting it is bearable.
I called my Othorpedist but he can’t see me until next week. If I go to the emergency room they will just do an X-ray. I don’t trust anybody but my doctor, if the pain is bearable should I wait until next week. The only change in my meds is that last month they gave me a generic brand for the Didronel
And to cap it all off my G5 iMac died!
Thanks
Riz
razzle51
07-28-2006, 06:51 PM
hang in there , its up to yuo if you need to go to the ER.
what is Didrinel ?
sjean423
07-28-2006, 07:01 PM
When I was diagnosed with HO I was put on didrinel for a specific lenght of time (don't remember exactly, somewhere around 10 weeks I believe). I understood that if you took it too long it would weaken your bones. I would be worried that something is broken, the trip to the ER for x-rays sounds like a good idea to me!
NorthQuad
07-28-2006, 07:47 PM
Damn Riz, I swear I felt pain when I read you broke both femurs. I am always worried that I'm going to break one. Good luck with getting well.
lynnifer
07-28-2006, 08:33 PM
I think I would go for the x-ray too - better to know as soon as you can.
wanttolive
07-28-2006, 09:29 PM
I had a fractured right femur bone (due to cancer) last summer, and it has slowly healed to about 90%. I, too, have a rod and screws. My hip started popping when the upper screw slipped enough (due to lack of bone density) to start grinding into my pelvic bone.
On Tuesday of this week, I had day surgery done to remove the upper screw. I am sore and haven't moved around a lot, but I haven't had any additional popping or pain at the hip.
If you are in pain, I definitely recommend a trip to ER. They can do x-rays to find the problem and hopefully ease your pain.
Best wishes!
WantToLive
Cancer-related SCI, 12/2005
What a day!
We decided to go to the ER to get an x-ray so I get home Friday afternoon at 4 o'clock, it is raining buckets and the wind is blowing like crazy. I pull into the garage, close the door and the power goes out. My wife manualy opens and closes the garage door and off we go to the ER.
The wait in the ER wasn't too bad, they did x-rays of both hips and a ultrasound on the right leg because I have had a blood clot before. The good news is no blood clot, the bad news is that the screws that go into the ball on the top of the femur are protruding througth the bone and rubbing on bone. They give us copies of all the films and we head home. We get home about 8:30 pm and still no power. Thank god for the portable ramps I keep in the van, it is 4 steps up into the house. Power didn't come back on untill 4am. When I spoke to my neighbor in the morning he said that we had a tornado come through the area.
So I will call the othopedist Monday morning and hopfully get an opointment right away.
Thanks all,
Riz
David Berg
07-29-2006, 08:55 PM
Riz,
Just to clarify, how long has that screw been in place? Any indication why it's just now starting to cause problems?
David,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to, but I am borrowing a computer whenever I can until mine is fixed.
The screw has been in since 2003. That is my biggest concern is why did it move, is it do to bone loss, although I had a bone density done last year and it showed a slight osteopina. I called the orthopedist office first thing this morning and told them the result of the x-ray. The nurse said that it does happen and it is not an emergency. If it felt painful use a cane to walk. I said I am the doc's patient in the wheelchair, the one with the SCI. She said that the doctor would call us back shortly. Well 3 hours later and 5 more phone calls we finally hear from the doctor. He gave me an appointment for Wednesday. So I'll wait, he is a great doc, but his office staff sucks!
Riz
David Berg
08-02-2006, 01:20 PM
So I'll wait, he is a great doc, but his office staff sucks!
I swear, sometimes it seems like you have to settle for one or the other. It's amazing how often I've found great doctors with rude staff or the other way around. I'm at a bit of a loss now because I moved recently and I don't know anything about the docs around here. When I was growing up here I had a pediatrician who had such a great reputation that the local med school has a fellowship named after him, but he's long gone so I can't use him for leads.
Update!
I went to the Doc's yestarday, they all were as nice as good be. I have to go in for surgery next Thursday to have the screw removed, hopefully there will be no other problem, in and out the same day.