Monday July 6, 2009: MRI day

Firstly, happy birthday to my nephew Oliver.
I called at 9AM the phone number I was given on Thursday for the MRI place and discovered it wasn't my usual place. However, they had an opening at 1:30, so I made the appointment and then made an appointment at the ortho's for Thursday afternoon to get results. The MRI place, in Brewster, is actually in a shopping center next to a UPS store! Not the same amenities as my usual place-no music, no stars to stare at during the scan, but the scan was done. It was the most uncomfortable MRI I ever had. No contrast, but in order to get the hips in the right position, my feet had to strapped together in a pigeon-toed position for the entire scan. Not fun, but when I had the xrays at the ortho's last week, my feet had to be in that same position so I guess it was necessary. Also my lower back hurt and the hip bursitis area wasn't comfortable either. I was given the CD with the scans on it and the report will be sent to the ortho office by Thursday.
Then this evening, I managed to slip on the bathroom floor but didn't land on the new part of the knee, only the thigh and the area right under the knee cap. I've iced it and hopefully will not have a future problem because of it!
More on Thursday after my ortho appointment (which isn't until 3PM).

Wednesday July 1, 2009: Welcome to July

A new month, a new orthopedic problem. Since we were in Boston on June 12-13, my hip has ached a lot, enough to the point that has woken me up and kept me awake. Yesterday I finally gave into the pain and called the ortho office. Dr. Schweitzer is on vacation and wouldn't be available until late next week for appointments. I could get an appointment with another one of the orthos there (after telling the scheduler what the problem is) and got an appointment for this morning. So I went. Xrays were taken immediately (the reason why I chose to go to the ortho office rather than the rheumy office). The doctor came in with them. They show there is something going on in the left hip (ha, just typed knee first--probably after years of typing problems with the knee, lol) but he can't tell without an MRI if it's arthritis in the hip or a labral tear there or both. So one is in the process of being scheduled. He could tell I have hip bursitis but at least my ITB is okay. If the MRI shows arthritis, then I can have a shot of cortisone. He also mentioned a round of Synvisc, which is a off-label use of it. I said I'd only do that if insurance okays and pays for it since I'm sure its cost is similar to Supartz (which was about $400 a pop, including fees for the administration of the shots). If there is a tear, then arthroscopic surgery is done to clean up the debris. He did say I have excellent flexibility (something I've been told by a lot of people) and my bones on the xray look good and strong.
So hopefully tomorrow I'll get a call about the MRI schedule. I'm hoping to have it early next week. After I get the appointment made, I have to call the ortho office to make my follow up (results) appointment.
I would like to thank my parents for inheriting the bad knees gene (thank you, Dad) and the bad shoulders and hips gene (thank you, Mom)!