oohheykate's MPFL reconstruction on 4/14/2011 (LOA & MUA on 6/21/2011)

[oohheykate]

Milly,

I think my hip OS is thinking about a repair also because the tear is just partial and not full. And I kinda expecting that after the numbing stuff wears off that I'll get more pain in my hip before it, hopefully, feels better. I'll definitely keep you guys updated.


I still don't have a date for my cortisone shot. My mom missed both phone calls yesterday, I don't know why. My dad called back today and the doctor that my OS referred me to doesn't take my insurance. I don't understand that because he works at the same hospital and they accept my insurance. Oh well. They're going to call back Monday with a referral to another doctor.

[Runner1993]

Any progress in getting the cortisone shot? My orthopedic was the one who did mine so it's weird that yours won't do it. The physical medicine doctor maybe will use ultrasound to see it and get it to a more precise location? At least, that's what my physical medicine doctor was going to do with using an ultrasound to do a nerve block.

[oohheykate]

No progress. I was told to call back today if I hadn't gotten a call back and I when I did, the people were out of the office for MLK day. Ugh. So I have to wait until tomorrow, hopefully.

But, I guess my hip OS doesn't do them because with any hip injection, to be safe, it needs to be done under ultrasound or fluoroscopy.

[DebraJean]

Oh kate!! I'm so sorry your hips bothering you along with your rt knee!!  Here you have been helping me and your still dealing with LOTS of things.  Sending you good juju, vibes and everthing else to help you! Love your tat! I'm too chicken to get one.  Deb

[oohheykate]

Thanks, Deb I appreciate it! I've been going through all of this for awhile, it'd be weird NOT to have something bothering me. And you'd be surprised, that tattoo didn't hurt one bit. Now my foot tattoo...that's a different story! Haha.

I hope your knee is continuing to improve!

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

The hip joint is deep rather than close like a knee.  The will want to use the floroscope to make sure they get the meds where they need to go.  Hope it works out.  I have found medical insurance to be a bit odd.  The hospital may take your ins, but individual docs can choose not to take it.  Weird and frusterating.

Milly

[oohheykate]

Yeah. I think this is going to be done under floroscope rather than ultrasound but I have no idea! The hospital called today to schedule me but they forgot that the doctor I was referred to doesn't take my insurance so I was told to call back later, which I did. I was told that "someone" in my Ortho's office will be doing the injection. It may be the doctor I was referred to and they'll just bill him through a different department. I'm supposed to get an appointment tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

[oohheykate]

Good news! My cortisone shot is tomorrow morning at 7am. Bright and early. I can't think of a better way to start my day, haha. And I'm not allowed to go to school afterwards.

[Runner1993]

Awesome! Good luck! Let us know what it's like!

I haven't seen a doctor for my knee in 5 months! The part of me that wants to stay with my current doctor is stronger than the one that wants me to get my knee fixed. What would you do, Kate, if your current knee OS left?

A girl I went to high school just had her ACL, MCL, and MPFL reconstructed yesterday along with a meniscus repair. Ouch!! If she gets better before I do, I'm going to be extremely disappointed.

[oohheykate]

Thanks, Runner!

Hmm, that's a tough one. First off, I would be depressed because my current knee OS is awesome and the best OS I've had so I would probably cry...not even exaggerating. But, in the end, I would find a new OS because if you ignore knee problems, they just get worse (most of them time).

It's difficult to find an OS that you like who is also great at what they do but maybe you'll luck out again, if you decided to find a new one. Who knows?

Ouch is right! Do you know how she managed to tear all of that at once?

[Runner1993]

Did they tell you if it's going to be done under the fluoroscope? I can't believe your appt. is so early!

I just wish I knew if he was going to be practicing again soon! I'm afraid to get a new one because I feel like they won't understand my knee and will push me off since I don't have a torn ligament or anything serious like that.

Maybe I should just travel the several hundred miles to go see yours :p

Well, that was the third time she hurt her knee. First time, it was patella dislocation and MCL. Then the same thing a year later plus a minor ACL tear I guess since she never had surgery. She recovered really well from both. Then, I guess she did all of that on just a lay-up in basketball... must have landed wrong.

When is your trip again?

[oohheykate]

I have a feeling it is going to be done under fluroscope but I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that I have to be there at 6:30 to register which means I have to get up at 5am I usually wake up at 8!

It would be nice to have a definite answer. Maybe you could see someone else to see what their opinion is. You said you wouldn't do anything surgery wise until Spring break anyway, right? Maybe then you'll know for sure what your OS is doing and know where to go from there?

Haha! My OS is wonderful so maybe you should

Oh, man. That's rough! I hope she has an uneventful recovery.

I leave April 20th and come back on April 23rd. It's not that long but, hey, it's going to be a lot of fun! I see my hip OS again the week of my Spring break, we're aiming for April 4th. That way, if my cortisone shot has worn off, I can get another.

[oohheykate]

I got my cortisone shot!

I got up at 5am because I was supposed to be at the hospital by 6:30…Yeah, I was super early and radiology didn’t open until 7:30 even though I had a 7am appointment so after I registered, I just sat there. But after that, it was all fun and games! Seriously, the nurses and nurse practitioners at the hospital were awesome. They were all making fun of the one NP for dyeing his hair orange. I couldn’t stop laughing the whole time. Apparently, they take cortisone shots very seriously. I was prepped like I was having surgery— no breakfast, blood pressure cuff and all. I was taken back to an OR because that’s where the fluroscope is. The doctor who did the injection is really good at his job. The only thing I could feel was the Lidocaine. I was surprised when I saw the contrast going into my joint on the screen because I didn’t even feel the needle go in. I felt immediate relief. But, now that the Lidocaine has worn off, my hip is killing me. I do not want to move. I have a pretty sweet limp right now.

The doctor walked out of the room way ahead of me and told my mom that he would have been done twenty minutes sooner if we weren’t socializing. The NP said that he admired how focused I am on my career/determined to become a doctor because he had no idea what he wanted to be when he was 18.

And I follow up with my hip Ortho on February 1st.

[DebraJean]

Kate, hope the shot works for you.  I don't know much about hips but wishing you good luck!! Deb

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

At least you know where the pain was originating from.  It may take up to a week for the cortizone to really work.  I hope it does and gets you some relief for a while.

Milly